Beach 2 Battleship - TriathlonFull Ironman

We all walked down to the beach and I got in the water to get the "cold zipper" moment over with. It was a great temperature. Swam 25 yards out and back to get my breathing set. We all gathered at the arch with 5 minutes to go. National Anthem and then "Lose Yourself"...we were like a bunch of jumping penguins! The gun went off and we ran down to the water and dove in! My first mass swim start was a little crazy. I was positioned behind all of the fast men and in front of the women, probably 1/3 of the way back, partially towards the right. It was crazy and I got clawed, punched, kicked, grabbed, you name it. Other than that, the swim was awesome. I hit the water tower which was about 1/2 way and there was no way that I was as tired as I was in the HIM...I was hoping that the current was as awesome as they said it would be!

Stay towards the outside more so I can get in my groove and not have to take time to stop and cut a path away from people.

Climbed out of the water on a 3-4 step ladder at the dock, which was difficult to do in a wetsuit and goggle adn I was pretty disoriented. Got 3/4 of my suit off and had help with the last leg...thank goodness for those strippers! Showered in the fresh water showers (quickly) and ran the 400-600 yards with my suit in hand to the T1 tent. Grabbed my bag and dumped stuff out in a little spot that was open. Tried to towel off a little bit and then get my pants, 2 shirts and socks on. It was tough because I was so salty from the swim! Packed up the bag and headed out towards my bike. Fumbled with a banana and my gloves.

Shower off a little more to get less salty. Better body glide in those key places :)

Got up to speed and held a 20mph average for the first 60 miles since there was no wind/minimal tailwind. I kept telling myself "Don't push on the bike. If you feel like you can push, DON'T". once again, there were not many women, just a bunch of fast men! I took in Perpetuem and Cytomax for the first 2 hours, then a power bar, 2 mini weight watcher oatmeal bars, an espresso GU, 2 bottles of HEED, 1-2 bottles of water, 1 bag of nilla wafers (those were the best thing EVER). I probably got in 1200 calories on the bike, which was about 200/hour, right on the money! Stomach felt great.

Stopped at the 67 mile aid station to take off my top layer, hit up the bathroom (aka behind a tree) and get going again. I needed that aid station for temperature reasons. Then, we hit a headwind....bummer! I dropped down to 18ish but still felt ok. I needed mile 87ish aid station for sanity reasons! I was incredibly lonely at this point and I had to stop just to see people and hear conversation! I passed a girl at mile 88 with a sign that said "Taint Sore?" Um, HECK YES!!!! I laughed for the next 3 miles or so! I was HURTING in my sensitive regions! I tried to think about things, but nothing came to mind. I ended up singing, "Rubber duckey", "whose bed have your boots been under", and "Apple bottom jeans" a bunch to stay busy!

Mile 90 was sweet because there was very little left. Mile 100 was awesome and then mile 109 with a huge bridge to get to the 110 sign! Have never been so happy to get off my bike! Flew off, someone grabbed my bike and pointed me towards my bike to run changing bag on the hangers. Now that is service! Thanks volunteers :)

Do more long bikes to get used to sitting on the bike for that long. Practice some hills when I am fatigued. Strengthen my scap stabilizers and back to prepare for 6 hours of aero :)

Overall, really stinkin' happy with my bike. 15 minutes faster than my ideal time (6:30)

Someone grabbed my bike in T2 and took it for me! No need to rack my bike! Grabbed my bag and spilled out my running stuff. Bike stuff off and into the bag. Body glide everywhere (except in my sports bra where I was keeping some Hammer Gels on the run and I chafed! Bummer! Slipped into my running stuff and headed out on the run with some pretzels in hand...that salt was a life-saver! Stomach still feeling good, but a little sugary after all my stuff on the bike.

Body glide between ' the girls ' to protect them from Gel-related chafing :)

WOW. I felt incredible! I was heading out and my first mile was a 9:15ish and I stuck with it for the whole race! I felt strong, nothing hurt and I was hydrated/full of nutrition so I was ready to run! I mentally settled into the run and was happy to be running (and just SO happy to be OFF of the BIKE). I met a lot of people and we talked at points on the run which helped me mentally. Saw dad and JB at mile 3 and that motivated me for a long time. There were some frat-looking guys with a "Show me your CHIPS" sign, standing right near Jonathan and dad...they cheered for me really loudly every time too! Turned around at mile 6.5 in the woods; turn arounds mess up my groove, so not too thrilled about that.
I had my watch set for walk breaks every 10 minutes and it was 5 minutes off from when I would hit the mile marker...I was mentally engaged the whole run, checking my mile pace and then hearing the beep to walk. I will forever swear by the walk-run program as I met up with people, passed them, and never saw them again. I don't think that I ever hit the wall. I definitely got my 2nd wind like 3 times on the run.
I made it back to mile 13.1, didn't need anything from my special needs bag, and then turned around for lap 2! Back up the hills!
Saw Jonathan and dad at mile 16 and raised my arms up and did a little jump...haha what a nerd. Everyone laughed, which made me laugh. All of these women cheered for me, "What a great smile! I saw that jump, you have too much energy! Go Baby!!!! You look beautiful!" That is awesome....I would be good-to-go if everyone just said "GO babe, Go baby!" the whole time. Felt like a rockstar.
Turned around at mile 20 and headed back for 6.2 miles to the finish. at that point it was getting dark and I was so motivated to get back. I was hydrated and just grabbed an orange at the aid stations. One more GU at mile 23 and I was off! Saw dad, blew him a kiss and went to meet Jonathan at the finish line. I cut out walk breaks at mile 20 so I could use the walking time to walk up the hills instead...smart move. It was time to pick my battles and running up hills was not one I was going to fight. Crested the last hill and turned it on to get to the finish line. Ran down the crowd towards the 13.1 turnaround, shouted "I"m finishing" and watched them direct me further on towards the finish. I kicked in my fast twitch fibers and sprinted across the finish line! WOO HOOO!!!!!!!!!
Nutrition: water, heed, pretzels (my new favorite nutrition thing), animal crackers, Hammer Bars, banana, orange slices (sucked the juice from them, but didn't want to mess with any fiber), 1 E tab and 1-2 Gels. I basically have a stomach of steel. Everything settled SO well and I never had any GI issues! Stopped at mile 4 on the run to use the bathroom adn then didn't have to go again until the finish line.

I could go faster next time. I looked too fresh at the finish :)

Got my mylar, medal, shirt, pizza, hot chocolate. Walked to pack up my stuff, see Erin and Kelly and then head back to Noelle's. Had a beer, took and ice bath and stretched a little.


Crazy swim start; Wind on the bike; wanting to conserve on the run so I did'nt hit the wall


Great race! Thanks volunteers! Wetsuit strippers and bike-takers were the best ever! What a treat. Wilmington is beautiful. I had a great time!!!!! A great first IRONMAN