Chesapeakeman Ultra Distance Triathlon - TriathlonFull Ironman

I decided to start wide, given last year at IMFL I started too close to the buoy line and got thrown around like a rag doll. Current continued to push me further wide, but it was a nice push forward as well. I kind of knew that meant we were going to pay for it on the other side, but I didn't know quite how much. Continued to swim in a diagonal to get closer to the buoy line, and by the first turn buoy, I was in good shape. So I made the right turn and immediately started getting crushed with waves coming in from the right. No biggie, its part of the race. I continue plodding along and hit the next turn buoy. But instead of doing a 90-degree turn, I do a 180-degree turn and go back from the way I came! I think what happened was that I was hugging the buoy so tight, tighter than I realized, and headed in the wrong direction. Didn't take me long before I noticed that I was swimming head-on toward the rest of the field. I'm immediately confused; and then I realize what I did. So I get back on course (and even go around the buoy again) and hit the back side of the loop. Effing redonkulous waves crashing in over my head. Really tough swim course and it was into the sun, so sighting was a beeotch. I was so far off the buoy line and had to keep fighting my way in. I thought I would never make it to the second lap. But, I did and the second lap was much o the same. Nice push on the first leg, then waves coming in from the right after the turn, then waves straight on. Started to get some motion sickness on the second loop, big time.

I will say, though, for as tough as I felt the swim was, I was also proud of myself for not complaining about it. At one point, I remember saying to myself while swimming that everyone has the same conditions, so just suck it up and swim. When I hit that boat ramp, the water got colder and I was so happy to stand up. I did feel really light-headed when I stood up; I think even that small time in between a two-lap course helps compared with being vertical the whole swim. People were walking up the ramp, and I scooted by them, running to my bag and then the transition tent.

Learn how to swim with big swells.

11th fastest T1.

When I got into the tent, it was pretty full with women, which I took as a good sign. Everyone had trouble on the swim. My goal was to get in and out of there before most of those women, so I opted no arm warmers (ie, knee-high socks Tim bought for me at Walmart) because they would take too long to put on. I stood up the whole time while getting ready. I thought maybe that would help settle down my stomach and get me used to being vertical again.

Not much, was pretty good.

Ran out of TA and immediately hear Brad tell me that I'm the 13th woman to head out on the bike. He yells to me something like, "Pick them off one by one." And that's exactly what I was thinking.

My HR is immediately in the 160s from the adrenaline, but I knew that would be the case. The first 5-8 minutes were on neighborhood roads with lots of turns. I let myself settle in as much as I could; then, I hit the first long stretch of road (about 10 miles), with a nice tailwind. I was going about 23-24 mph and felt like I wasn't over-extending my effort in any way. Just like on the swim, I knew this tailwind would turn in my detriment as soon as we hit the turnaround. It did, but I still was able to hold 16 to 18 mph and feel comfortable. This section was a huge confidence booster for me. If there is one thing I hate, it is the wind. I can take (and actually like, most of the time) hills. But its the wind that kicks my ass. So the fact that I was going into the wind and still felt OK, I was happy. I settled in to the mantra of picking women off one by one, and I did.

After making a right, the headwind was gone and I was able to really go to work. Smooth road and easy sailing. My original goal was to have my HR around 135-145 the first 2 hours, then 145-155 the next 2 hours, and then hammer it home from there. But, I deviated from the plan and decided to keep my HR steady for the first 4 hours and see how I felt. So, I kept my HR around 150-155. I felt really good through the first loop. Saw Brad at one point and he told me that I was now in 4th place.

Headed past the special needs section (didn't stop) and then headed out on the second loop. I saw Brad shortly into the second loop, and he was telling me that I looked strong. Had a nice boost of energy there and continued feeling good until about mile 90. I knew realistically I should be pushing here, but I didn't have it in me. Kept my HR the same place, and actually faded a bit. Instead of 152-155, it was about 150. Couldn't push enough to get it up past 155.

The other thing is that there was NO ONE around me. I didn't see anyone the last 20+ miles. I think that plays some mentally on me. Not that I needed to be passing people, but just to have that sense of it being a race was gone. I kept mentally tough and plodded on to the school, where I hustled off the bike and into the T2 tent. I wanted to be fast; at this point, I thought I was in 4th place overall female.

Note on nutrition:
600 cal bottle of Heed (drank probably 450 cals)
7 gels, one at 10 mins in and one every 45 mins (intentionally skipped the last gel; should have eaten 8)

I am the ONLY woman in T2. On the bike, I had thought about when to pee. I ended up not peeing the entire ride. I never felt like I had to go bad enough. So my initial thought was to sit on the ground while I was putting on my sneaks in T2 and pee. But, it was on blacktop and that would have been totally obvious, especially given that no one else was in the tent, so it would have been awkward. So I opted to just lace up, grab my hat and water bottle, and pit stop at the first port-o-potty, which happened to be right outside the tent.

The volunteer was very nice and got me a cup of gatorade as I made my quick switches. 21st fastest T2, and that was also using the port-o-potty.

Nothing.

I exit the tent and see Brad right away. He runs along side of me in the grass and says, "Do you know what place you are in?" I reply that I'm not sure. He says, "Second overall." My heart races. I knew I had a shot to be in contention, but to be second off the bike was better than I had expected I would do. At this point, only God knows why, I am running at the pace of 7:45/mile. I was in the zone talking to Brad and I knew it was fast, but I didn't realize how fast. At the turn to the main road, Brad tells me to stay steady and I'm alone on the run. I slow down but that first quarter mile or however long it was paid its toll. I had a side sticker. I tried to gut it out but after mile 1 beeped, I let myself walk about 30 seconds to calm it down. I think that set the precedent for the day, as I continually allowed myself walk breaks at the aid stations.

Around mile 2, some guy running back in to finish his first loop (walking) says to me, "Are you doing the whole thing or the relay?" I say the whole thing and he takes a split. (I don't know why at this point, but later Tim and I put two and two together that he was taking splits for his wife, who was in third place overall at this point.) At mile 3, I take my first gel. I have never felt so disgusting taking a gel. I thought I was going to vomit. Soon thereafter, I see Tim running back to finish his first lap. And he just looks amazing. Smiling, talking, and running strong. This makes me so happy that my spirits rise and the next 3 miles are good. The turnaround is about mile 4.5. This is perfect, because now I can assess how far back females 3 and 4 are. Third place is about 10 minutes behind me, fourth about 16 minutes back.

I take my next gel at mile 6. Again, I want to barf. I also decided to use a flask, which I have never done before, so I know I am not even taking whole gels. I hit mile 8 and then make the turn to finish my first lap. Brad is there, taking my split and then running with me for a short while. I head back out on my second lap. See the third place girl. She is gaining on me and looks hella strong. I pretty much know she is going to catch me, its just a matter of how long I can hold on. I again see her husband coming the opposite direction, still walking and he takes a split again. I still don't really get why he is doing it, but I do remember every time I passed him he intentionally looked at me and then took a split.

I take a small hit of gel at mile 9 and still can't handle it. I allowed myself to be finished with the gel, as long as I continued to eat off the course. Then I started taking gatorade at every aid station to make up the difference. Miles 10, 11, and 12 were gatorade. Saw Tim again and he was still looking awesome. He blew me a kiss and I could barely smile at him.

Then mile 13 I started with the cola. Every aid station I stopped, drank the cola while walking and the started up again. It seemed like every aid station I let myself walk a little longer. At the second turnaround, the third place female is now 5 minutes down, looking ridiculously strong. Fourth place was now 14 minutes back. Third place finally catches me at mile 16ish. Of course, I was walking and drinking cola when she passed me.

Get back into the high school area to finish my second lap and hand off my water bottle to Brad. I haven't been drinking out of it and it feels like a brick in my hand. I honestly wasn't even thinking that I shouldn't do that; in hindsight I should have either ditched it in a trash can at an aid station or stopped to put it in my special needs bag.

Out on my third loop and I know I have to keep it together to hold on to third place overall now. I've slowed down quite a bit, but I am still running minus aid stations. I see Tim again, who sticks out his tongue and gives me moose ears. He's on his way to finishing and looks excellent. I couldn't be happier for him that he feels so good. About mile 20-21, I start getting wicked calf cramps. This has never happened to me before. I've been staying on top of my salt tabs all day. But maybe its too much cola? That's my first thought. I switch to water and gatorade and also grab a few bananas now at the aid stations. It seems to get better. I hit the turnaround, and fourth place is 10 minutes down. I calculate that she is making up 2 mins per half-lap (or 4.5 miles). So I figure that she will finish about 8 mins behind me, if I keep up my current pace. I finally convince myself to keep running through a few aid stations to make sure I keep third place.

That last 5K felt like forever! But, I manned up and got to the high school track. I was almost finished. I had no pick-up left. A guy is sprinting me down with about 50 yards to go. At first, I was like, seriously dude, you are going to pass me now? But then he backed off and told me that he is going to roll over the finish line (Blazeman style) and he would slow down. I crossed the line with a fist pump, and then found Tim and Brad.

8.22, 153
9.39, 152
9.20, 157
9.30, 156
9.33, 155
9.20, 156
9.42, 155
9.41, 155
9.36, 155
9.46, 154
9.58, 153
9.49, 153
9.48, 153
9.51, 154
10.01, 154
10.11, 153
10.03, 153
9.51, 154
9.59, 152
10.16, 151
9.53, 153
9.59, 153
10.07, 152
10.11, 152
10.11, 154
10.10, 155
6.25, 160 (My watch had 0.62 miles)

Continue run training. There is a lot of room for improvement!

Grabbed my finisher's shirt and headed to the gym for a massage and food. It was the best post-race massage EVER!!!


Great swag -- two short-sleeve shirts and one long sleeve, a nice sling-back bag, and other small stuff. It was different to be able to drive to do an IM-distance race the day before the actual race!

The best part for me was seeing Tim have a solid run and break 11 hours.

We also both appreciated having Brad there. Having someone out there cheering us on absolutely helps!!!