I got the bike all set up, bags dropped off, wet suit on, and finally went on to the beach. We saw Doug right away and that was great. My nerves were better now so I was all smiles again. Katie, Chris and I huddled together near the front and just chatted while we waited. A race photographer was amused by us so there should be lots of photos of the three of us being silly.

Oh Canada was played for the pros and the rest of the racers started filling in. I expected it to be more crowded around me but that was more than made up during the swim. Oh Canada played once again and we were off. We lined up about 3 rows back and directly in line with the buoys. The first few minutes were fine, lots of contact but all feet and arms. Then it felt like a tidal wave came surging in from the back. Everyone was pushed on top of each other. Now when you tried to move your arms it was landing on someone’s back, butt, waist, etc and there literally wasn’t any room to swim. I was forced vertical for a second and realized it would be easy to panic in that situation. Thankfully my nerves had turned to aggression and I just forced myself horizontal and kept at it. It settled out after a few more minutes.

The draft was amazing. I didn’t have to change course on the way out to stay in the bubbles, only to avoid being kicked or the occasional breast stroker. A word about that – when you are in a very massive crowd and are wearing a wetsuit there is no need to breast stroke to sight. Simply pop your head up and float in a horizontal position. I can’t tell you how many times I got kicked in the chest by someone in front of me who randomly started breast stroking. I rarely sighted on the way out due to the mass of people. I simply followed the crowd. At one point I noticed a man doing the back stroke and thought to myself, “That poor guy is already struggling.” Well that poor guy passed me doing the back stroke about 30 seconds later and I never saw him again. WOW!

People told me the turns get crowded but luckily they went very smoothly. My friend Chris got kicked in the ear so bad here she had to grab a kayaker for a few minutes. She blacked out a little bit and had blood behind her eardrum. Luckily she finished strong. Once I cleared the second turn buoy I lost some of the crowd. At one point the Blue Seventy swimming next to me and I started racing towards a stream of bubbles about 50 yards in front of us. Darn Blue Seventy beat me so I swam off to find my own bubbles. People didn’t swim straight on the back half of the course. I’d get in a group and then have someone cutting across me at a 70 degree angle. I felt like that crazy fish in the fish tank from Finding Nemo who was very possessive about his bubbles. Every time I found feet to draft I’d keep thinking in my head, “my bubbles.”

Soon I could hear the people on the beach. When I started seeing the grasses I knew I was getting close. Then the rocks, sand, I’m there!!! I stood up at 1:25 and cleared the timing mat at 1:26. I wanted to swim a 1:30 so I was off to a great start!!!!


I wouldn't change anything. I had a great time and it was cool to be part of the largest mass start in Ironman history!

I was very lazy at the wetsuit strippers, sorry guys, but they managed quite well. Into the changing tent and gagged from the aerosol sun spray in the air. A very nice woman helped me change. The best part about her was she held up my tube of Assos cream while I struggled into my shorts and repacked all my swim crap to save me some time. After the full kit change I was out of there. I wasn’t too concerned about my T1 time but was pleased to see it didn’t take me as long as I expected. Got to the bike and checked that the front tire still had air. With fingers crossed it’s off the to the bike course.

I saw the iron family on Main Street and was sent off with lots of cheers and smiles. It felt great to be heading out and I was having such a good time. At one section a group of people were banging their hand clappers in unison and there was just enough background noise I didn’t recognize it for what it was, I thought there was something wrong with my bike! After a quick panicked look down I relaxed.

The first part of that ride is fast. I was averaged 19mph on the first hour without going over 110 watts. Gotta love an aero helmet, aero wheels and gradual descents. The fist aide station was at mile 10 and they had a whole Breast Cancer Awareness theme. There was a huge tissue paper pink bra and lots of men in pink bras as well. Sadly about 2 miles later there was a mass section of flat tires. A volunteer was on our side of the road telling everyone to move over because there were tacks. Really? Unfortunately I must have passed 25 cyclist out with flats in a 1 mile stretch. That sucked. Of course a race referee was riding right next to me for those 2 miles making me extremely nervous. I kept waiting for her to tell me I was blocking but there was no way I was getting anywhere near the right side of the road. Thankfully she eventually moved on.

Going through the orchards was beautiful but I was surprised how many stinging insects were out. Something crawled under my race band and took a nasty bite out of my wrist. I’m surprised I didn’t take out the bikers around me with my swerving to get the damn thing out!

We passed through the gas station turn and started the climb up Richter Pass. Now I have a rock hard stomach when it comes to food. I can eat anything and prefer my nutrition solid on the bike. However my nerves that morning were so bad that it settled into a sour gut. My nutrition consisted of a gel every 30 minutes with apple slices, beef jerky and peanut butter crackers throughout. But the apples I was eating were much tarter than what I trained with. I think the combination of the nerves and tartness did my poor gut in. I looked long and hard at the port-a-potties at mile 40 but decided to risk it since I was at the base of Richter Pass. Ugh.

I am pleased to say Richter Pass was not that bad. But the poor Canadians couldn’t handle the heat. I saw lots of people puking and pulled over already on this climb. Poor guys. There were heart rate monitors and Garmins alarming all over the place. The crowds were great and after four sections we were up and over. The down hill wasn’t as crazy fast as I would have liked due to a head wind but never the less down hills always feel good. On to the rollers. Once again I didn’t think these were bad. But I wouldn’t call those rollers either. Those were climbs. Personally what made every thing better was the pitch was never too steep and they weren’t switch back climbs so you could settle into a steady pace and just go.

It was at this time that I began wishing I had stopped at the port-a-potties. I’d stopped with the apples and was chasing the gel shots with jerky to curb the sweetness. When I finally hit the next aide station I took water with me into the potty. Only in an ironman would someone say they were relieved only to find saddle sore blood on their chamois. Thankfully I had packed some Imodium with me and took one as a preventative. It helped, so did the peanut butter crackers, until I lost them at the first bump. Damn.
With a slightly happier gut I was off on the flats and onto the out and back. This is a great course in that it is broken into several sections. I’d heard how hard the out and back is but once again I was pleasantly surprised. My gut was feeling a little better and I like seeing all the people so the lolly pop shape really lifted my spirits. The special needs bags were out here as well and that was at mile 75. Mentally I knew I only had 25 miles until 100 and then it was all down hill from there. No sweat. I got to see both Katie and Chris during this section. I only took my third gel flask from my SN bag and tossed everything else. Yuck! Funny what you think will sound good looks awful on race day. At this point the aide stations stated having trouble with their water supply. One local farmer had his garden hose out and people were refilling that way. Only once did it affect me. I asked for water from the first volunteer and he said they were out but when I passed the last volunteer at that station I saw him passing out water bottles. I was already out of position to grab it so at then next station I made sure to shout water at every volunteer until I found some.

I rounded the corner at the Big Bear produce stand and smiled. We’d found that stand last year and really enjoyed it. Now it was up Yellow Lake and down home. Once again I didn’t think the climb was too bad. They were playing Flight of the Concords Business Time when I got to the crowds, that was great. Climb, climb, climb and finally I’m at the top. Now I get to descend. Again there was a head wind so it was a little more reserved. There were a few “I’m gonna die!!!” moments but that is what makes descending great.

A little trick I’ll share. Doug had installed a GPS tracker on my phone during my long training rides and it was a nice feature for him to track me on race day. I had my phone in my bike bag and he was able to track my exact position all day. Very helpful when the course only has one timing mat at mile 40.

The bike took me longer than I would have liked but ultimately I wanted to be back in by 4pm and that is exactly what I did. Some very wonderful volunteers took my bike and raced to get my run bag. I assured them there was no hurry and they were moving way faster than I was. My gut did not like going vertical. I did another clothing change and decided to try the port-a-potties in transition before hitting the run. Sadly that didn’t make me feel any better. My gut was not happy with me at all.

I was taking a gel every 30 minutes and it was time during the out and back on Lakeshore Drive for what turned into my last shot. I forced myself to attempt one more but that almost had disastrous consequences. I bent over on the side of the road and nearly threw up on this very nice man in a coconut bra and grass skirt. I started walking from there. I passed my iron family on Main Street again and after hugs all around explained what was up. I managed to jog a little after I left them but I was mainly walking for the first 3 miles. Every aide station it was ice down the sports bra, water, pretzels and an orange slice if it looked good.

Even though I was walking much sooner than I’d wanted I never really felt down. I knew I was going to have to deal with something unexpected during the day and there were still plenty of things I could try to get this under control. I focused on getting my body temperature down and settling my gut to the point where it could start processing fuel. By mile 4 I was feeling much better and started running again. I would run from aide station to station and walk through them. My spirits were doing quite well at this point and I was back to having a good time. After about mile 9 I started having side cramps that wouldn’t go away. These weren’t muscle cramps either, they were more like high intestinal gas cramps. So that put me back to walking. I saw Chris between miles 9-10 and we were both so glad to see each other. Big hugs and happy tears.

The spectators were great all along the course. I joke with several of the local residents that were having little neighborhood block parties asking where my wine was and they were enjoying our suffering way too much. Almost every house had either a person standing with a hose or their sprinkler on. That was great. There was one crazy family on a boat at the point with their music blaring and cheering up a storm. I even saw a family of deer on the cliffs. There is lots of time to look around when you’re walking.

Coming down the hill into the turn around was the changing point for me. For one thing I knew I didn’t have enough time to walk the whole thing. Secondly my family had talked about driving out to the turn around and I really wanted to see them. Plus I didn’t want them to see me walking again. So I picked it up and trotted down the hill and through SN pick up. My daughters ran with me for a few minutes and Doug a little farther. He was honest with me and said I needed to do a lot more running to make the cut off. I could tell by his face he was concerned and nervous for me. I think it was a combination of not wanting to let everyone down and the fact that I was now on the way BACK that really helped. There is so much to be said about knowing you are on the way back and each step is a step closer. The cramps were gone, the sun was down and it was time to run. Thankfully I found it didn’t hurt to run faster so I stopped with the old man shuffle and started doing something that could be recognized as a run (or at least a fast jog.) I tried to share my new found energy with other racers and encouraged them to stay strong and make that cut off. It was so sad to see so many people that were already in the depths of despair.

I started just using the water and Pepsi at the aide stations. What was up with the chicken soup? Someone needs to stock Canada with some Campbells. That stuff was gross. Such a disappointment too because all you ever hear about an Ironman run is the chicken soup. Well not for me. I passed a girl somewhere in the high teens milage and the poor thing was limping on a bum knee. I gave her my sample packet of BioFreeze. She was very grateful. The motorcyclists came through and started handing out the glow necklaces. It was kind of a weird view. I was in between two groups for a while and felt like I was chasing the fairy lights. As we approached the point the crazy family from the boat was still there rocking away. Bless them. Music is such a mood lifter.

In all my training the pivotal point was the 20 mile marker. As long as I made it to that point I knew I could get it done. It was a great feeling to reach it. That also was the point in which you reentered town and the crowds started to pick up. Even though I felt so bad for the people that were walking and had absolutely nothing left I took strength in knowing that wasn’t me. I had the fitness left to bring this home strong and was out there doing it. It felt great to hear people encouraging a walker in front of me and then tell me I had a great pace and looked really good. I felt good (as good as you can I mean). Even when I took walk breaks I was power walking. Even though the blisters on my feet hurt and I was tired I knew the sooner I reached that finish line the sooner it would be over. Doug and Paul found me as I was walking down the one way section of Main Street and were thrilled to see me. I had cut 20 minutes off my return time and they said I was looking fantastic. I made that turn under the PowerBar arch and the crowd was amazing. I was so happy. I was crying, smiling and running all at the same time. Going down Lakeshore Drive I passed my coconut bra man and waved a Hi and I Remember You. He remembered me too and said I was an Ironman. Geeze it took FOREVER to reach that turn around but I was rockin’ it. The crowd just kept getting louder and louder. You could see the lights and hear the announcer. People were yelling, “Tracy you are an Ironman” all down the street. The crowd was banging on the walls of the finishing shoot. I lifted my head high and enjoyed every second running through that finishers shoot. Even though this announcer didn’t say I was an Ironman I heard him call my name. I thought of all the people who might be watching this on line, my family right there, my Dad, the crowd, just everyone. I crossed that finish line one very happy lady. I hugged the woman who gave me my finisher’s medal. I cheesed it up for my finisher’s photo. I smiled and thanked everyone. Because after all, I AM AN IRONMAN!!!!!


I wouldn’t change a thing about my training or the race. Race day is about so much more than the swim, bike, run. It is about putting them all together and dealing with the conditions as they unfold. I am proud of myself not only for crossing that finish line, but for the strength and knowledge I’ve gained training for this. I was brave and strong and I did it!!!!