Wow. This was an absolutely brutal swim. I had heard things about the Ironman swim starts... and I was afraid of getting kicked in the face. What I really should have been afraid of is getting sledgehammered from behind.

I got hit over the head several times. Clawed over, pushed down, and I took either an elbow or a foot to my right eye. Thought for sure I'd have a black eye once I took my goggles off. But I didn't.

After one particularly intense bop to the head I decided I'd had enough for a moment, so I made my way over to a kayak and hung out there for a little while. I used that opportunity to take a breather and and fix my wetsuit pull cord thingy which had come unattached and was wrapped around my arm.

I think I inadvertently attempted to swim the buoy line. Started toward the front and right on the buoy line. For some reason I thought it looked like a straight shot and it would be a good idea. It was not.

Although, I'm not sure where else I would have wanted to start. I had a straight line, and my sighting was good. I just got repeatedly clobbered.

Interestingly enough, I swam a 1:17 on this course on 8/22 at the OWS race. I swam a 1:17 in the washing machine, too. So, whatever. I didn't expend much energy.

Running up the helix was a trip. The whole thing was lined with spectators, blowing horns, ringing cowbells, shouting, cheering, screaming! It was... awesome!



Not much. My wetsuit got stuck on me... so it took several tries for the stripper to pull it off. That took time... and then I couldn't get up easily because my knees don't bend... I required 2 volunteers to hoist me up like a crane. (!)

My plan was to go easy for 40 miles. See how I felt. And then handle myself accordingly. Made sure I got my nutrition going, as I'd practiced, and stuck meticulously to the nutrition plan. I'd read that if you felt good, you should be eating almost constantly on the bike.

And eat I did.

I had 3 bottles of Infinit
2.5 Powerbars
A bag of crushed Oreos and FigNewtons
A RedBull
A Gatorade
A couple of banana pieces... like 3 or 4 maybe?
2 bottles of water.

I felt like a million bucks. Seriously I couldn't believe how GREAT I felt, and how much easier the course felt on race day than it felt when I rode it on 8/22. I was seriously discouraged on 8/22. But I guess a little rest goes a long way.

Hooked up with CindyK fairly early. She was cruising. Also hooked up with my friend Irish Peter and our other friend Vik. Rode with them for a while.

Made lots of friends out there, chatted, had fun, was relaxed and happy. Stayed in the small chain ring for the whole deal. I was SO afraid of pushing my knee too far or causing further problems, I thought I'd just play it safe, and the SCR seemed to be working out speed wise.



On the ride back, I saw djdavey (I recognized his mohawk) sitting on the side of the road. I shouted out "Hey DJ are you OK?" and the woman (volunteer?) that was sitting with him said they'd already called for help.

Kept going... riding along without a care in the world, heading back into Madison, when I got stung by a bee! I ran into him and he struck my right arm. He immediately STUNG me (Ow!) and then the little jerk flew off, leaving his disconnected pulsating stinger in my arm! I picked it out.

I knew from previous bee stings that I don't usually swell up right away. I knew it wouldn't have much of an effect on the rest of my day, but it would eventually become an itchy, burny, and swollen problem. And it has.



Ouch!

Not much. Maybe push a little harder? I don't know. I felt awesome, so I really don't think there's much I could have done differently on this ride. Probably my favorite bike ride of the year.

If I could bottle how I felt on the bike and sell it, I'd make a fortune.

Just gave my bike to the first person who asked for it, and took off into the changing area. Running in my bike shoes.

In the change room I saw MissKelly and LisaC. They helped me, along with this other volunteer, Mia.

I forgot to take Advil.

Take some Advil.

Well, here we go.

I knew going into this thing that my run was undertrained. Mostly because my body and joints take FOREVER to recover from long runs. And then I broke my toe. And then my right knee started to act up... so there were a number of variables going into this "run".

If I was feeling good, I was hoping to hold 13:30/average per mile. Otherwise, I would do as well as I could for as long as I could, and then walk the rest with a purpose.

Managed to do alright through about mile 10 or 12. Was starting to get REALLY sore in the feet, in the knees, in the shins... everywhere.

Degenerated into a 50 steps of walking + 50 steps of running plan. And that worked for a while. Except I kept losing count.

Saw so many people out there... it was amazing! And awesome. My sister, my friends from HBFC, the donkeys, djdavey and crew, Trixie, my sister again, my brother in law, Kelly and Lisa. Tony Goggs. It was never ending. I felt like I knew someone everytime I turned around. It. Was. Awesome.





Me and my sister.



Greeting Lisa from HBFC. I was so excited to see them!

Saw Chris around mile 2ish at the aid station. He stopped and gave me a kiss. He was really sweaty.

Saw him again at his mile 25. He came up behind me, tapped me on the shoulder, and gave me another kiss. I smacked him on the butt and told him I'd see him in 14 miles.

There was a guy behind me who said: "Was that your husband?" I said: "Boyfriend." He said: "That was so cool!" And then I joked and said: "No, I just met that guy!" Heh. (This doesn't sound as funny now as it was on Sunday... hmmm... perhaps I'd had too much Gatorade)

Anyway, I finally decided it would probably be better for me and my body and my joints if I just kept a steady "fast walk" pace. About this time, AmyJo caught up with me... like around mile 14 or 15 or so. I was so happy to see her. We walked the rest of the way together. The sun went down. We continued to walk. We chatted a bit, laughed a lot, cried a little, and we just kept walking with a purpose.

After dark, it was like dawn of the dead out there. Darkness, and people walking with these glow necklaces around their necks. Sometimes the only thing you could see in the distance would be 4 or 5 glow rings coming your way. It was too dark to see the people they were on!

Surreal. To say the least.



Not much. It was what it was. It was pretty much exactly what I expected. I'm glad I didn't go any easier on the bike.

Came across the finish line. Immediately saw Chris, who obtained a VIP pass from Bob Stocks (THANK YOU!) so he could be behind the finish line area for me.



Then hung out with the BT gang, saw KT and Scraps. Sat on a curb. Needed 2 people to help hoist me up afterwards. Basked in the immediate post IM glow.


Defective joints and lousy running skills.

What's a girl to do?


I know many people think these IM branded races are "rip offs"... but I have to say... I paid $550, and it was worth every single penny. The whole thing was a first class event. Well organized. Well run.



Just. Plain. Awesome.



I'll do it again. Just need to get these knees figured out.