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 Swim
Comments: Ok, this is where the fun starts. I thought I would DNF 5 seconds into the race. I put my face in the water and my right goggle lens immediately fills with water. I lift my head to dump it out and surprise, the strap is not attached to the lens. Can you say OH CRAP! So naturally, what do I do, I panic! Ok, it's a freshwater swim, maybe I can do it without goggles. WRONG! As soon as I put my face in the water, I swallow half the bay and panic some more. OK Marcy, calm down and think for a second. Let's access the situation. I roll over on my back, and see that the strap is not attached and the little thingy (i think that's the technical term) that holds the strap in place is missing. OK...I'm a little calmer now. Thread the strap through the loop and tie it in a knot. Pray that it is tight enough to keep out water but not too tight that they would squeeze my brains out of my ears. It all worked out. The goggles fit fine, no leaks, still had all of my brains and aside from that I had a really great swim. The water was a comfortable temperature, I was really happy with my bouy sighting. My biggest issue with the swim was the fact that the guys waves started 3 minutes after mine. With the time I lost messing with my goggles it didn't take long before I was being trampled by a bunch of testosterone laden competition junkies. The way I looked at it, I was there first, it was my lane! Get over it Skippy. What would you do differently?: Check my goggles a very carefully. Not drink so much bay water. Other than that. I was happy with my swim. I just swam my race at a pace I was comfortable with.  Transition 1
Comments: I know this seems long, but I have no reason to rush through the transition and forget something (like my helmet or shoes)! To my defense, my bike was racked about as far back in the transition area as possible. Had a gel and some water, put my socks, shoes and dry shirt on and grabbed the bike. Was so excited running out with my bike that I tripped over it and dropped it right before the mount line. A little embarassing but no harm done. What would you do differently?: Not be a clumsy doufus and fall in front of a hundred people.  Bike
Comments: LOVED...LOVED...LOVED the bike course. It was fast and just fun! Felt great as soon as I started pedaling. For the first 20 miles or so, got passed by lots of guys, and I passed a few women. Once we hit the hills, I was able to pass a bunch of people. I even passed a guy on a P3. Ok, he passed me back about 30 seconds later but hey, I still passed him. The aid stations were great. Each one had a differnt theme. There was the Hawaiian station, one where they were all dressed like pirates and one that was a carnival theme. Not sure what the fourth was, I was getting a little tired by then. Bike functioned great. After my history with flats I was kinda worried. Saw a lot of people of the side of the road with flats. Every time I passed one I told my bike how proud of him I was :) One of the hilly roads was a real problem. Not sure the name, but it was A 2 lane road with more car trafic than I was comfortable with. At one point there was a truck hauling a horse trailer. Passing him wsa kinda scary. What would you do differently?: Nothing. I felt like I drank enough, ate enough and just enjoyed every moment of being out there. Transition 2
Comments: Yeah, I managed to run with my bike without falling!!! Grabbed 2 electrolyte tabs (thanks Trisha), got my shoes and hat and off I went to the sufferfest! What would you do differently?: Nothing...this was a good transition for me.  Run
Comments: Hated every single step. My plan going into the run was to run between aid stations and then walk the aid stations. I was able to do that for the first loop, but that plan went to hell after that. It was just so hot, and there was no escaping the sun. I had to walk more and more each lap. There were lots of aid stations, and the volunteers did a great job. They did have a problem running out of cups at a few of the stations. By then, I was feeling sick to my stomach. The thought of putting anymore water or gatoraid into me was pretty nauseating. I started sipping soda and that did seem to help. I knew the run was going to be hard, but it was so much worse than I thought. But I knew I was going to finish, I knew I was not last and I just kept putting one foot in front of the other. The best thing were the sponges in ice water. If not for them, I think a lot of people (including me) would have not made it through the run. What would you do differently?: Have the power to control the climate. I know that I really need to work on my run. That has always been my downfall. Even people who excel in the run were having problems out there, but I probably could have saved 30 minutes or so if I was a stronger runner. Post race
Warm down: Ran across the line, hugged Steve and lost it. I just started crying...just for a minute. Not sure if it was because I just accomplished this amazing thing, because I was totally exhausted or what, but just having him there at the finish line was the best feeling ever. He has been my number one supporter and I know that I could not have accomplished this without him. Walked around a little. Hung out with oliveview for a few minutes waiting for a few other BT'ers to come in, packed up my stuff and dropped by bike back at tribike transport for it's trip back to Texas. Went over to the pavilion but even though I was starving, the thought of eating made my already queesy stomach worse. Steve kept trying to get me to drink Gatorade but I could not even look at the bottle. Got on the boat back to the Lodge and realized that my 8 month journy was over. What limited your ability to perform faster: The heat and the fact that I am a sucky runner! Event comments: Can't wait to do it again next year. I went into this race with the expectation that I was going to finish, and I did. After my goggle problems, when I thought my race was over before it started, I was just thankful for every inch I moved through the course. I can't say enough about the volunteers out there. They stood out there for hours in the blazing sun and were just awesome. Their encouragement, especially on the run, is what kept me going. It was also so great to meet other BT'ers. I made so many new friends and i can't wait to see you all again. Profile Album Last updated: 2006-05-22 12:00 AM
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United States
Ironman USA
82F / 28C
Sunny
Overall Rank = 1826/
Age Group = 40-44
Age Group Rank = 83/94
(This is going to be long!)
Got to Florida on Friday afternoon. Checked into the Wilderness Lodge and headed right over to Ft. Wilderness to get my bike and register. My bike was there waiting for me. Tribike Transport was great and I highly recommend them. Put the pedals back on and gave it beck to them for a few hours cause I forgot my bike shoes and I wanted to take it for a ride to ensure that it was working well. Got through registration with no problem and spent some money buying lots 70.3 stuff! Went back, got my shoes and took the bike for a short ride. It functioned great!
Went back to the lodge and went to sign the BT list on Ty Darby's door. His door was open so we went in and talked to him for a few minutes. While we were there, Josh Berman showed up and we all talked about how nervous we were. Had a great ravioli dinner Friday night.
Saturday, decided to drive the bike course. Called Trish123 and she came with us. Glad we did cause I learned that the course was a lot hillier than I thought. After the drive, went over to the race site to rack my bike. It felt like I was leaving my kid at his first day of school. I kept going back to check this or that. I would take two steps out and have to look back to make sure that he was ok. We went back to the hotel, and I tried to relax a little before meeting up with the other BT'ers for dinner (Thanks for putting that all together Jess). Got to meet oliveview, aiimne, badgerironman, marmadady xterratri, pkingfla, f150 and I know I forgot a few of others (sorry about that). Dinner was great. It was especially great to meet the families of the racers (richard, Leo and Marmadaddy's family). It really calmed my nerves down a lot. After dinner, went to the market to get some water and went back to the hotel to attempt to sleep. Got no sleep Saturday night (no surprise there).
Got out of bed at 4:30, took a quick shower, ate a PB&J uncrustable, some Gatoraid and headed down to the transition area.
Unpacked all my stuff. Trish123 was racked right next to me and it was great having someone there I knew. Arranged and rearranged my stuff 20 times. Ate a bananna, went to the bathroom. Oliveview was doing bodymarking!! Again, seeing a familiar face was so comforting. Went down to the beach to wait. Saw Jess and Jorge. Also ran into badgerironman, tydarby and pkingfla. Soon enough it was time for Trisha and I to head down for our wave!