Virginia Triple Iron (Page 9)

Renee, I can't believe you were up at 2am... I went straight to my bed when I got home!!

It was absolutely an incredible, incredible weekend.  I was the only one who's cell phone had spotty to nil reception. 

Gosh.  I"m still high from it.  It was a nonstop flurry of activity. 

I still can't believe that one's body can handle a double iron man or a triple iron man.  You guys are amazing.  I do have to say, normally when I read something on BT it sticks with me for a couple of hours.  I'm still amazed days later!

Woo Hoo! 

I posted my thoughts on the weekend in my blog and wanted to share them with everyone. It was my most unique triathlon experience ever. Actually, probably one of the most unique weekends of my life. During the car drive back, Sherri, Christine and I discussed the weekend and Crewing Lessons Learned and although I'm sure I was quite lucid at the time, many thoughts have escaped me.

The past several days are a blur but I want to try to recap. It was a unique and wonderful experience.

Thursday, Christine (Lucy) and I packed a load of gear and drove to Brunswick GA where we hooked up with Sherri (oliveview). Loaded her Suburban - we had a ton of stuff! We drove through rain for about 80% of our trip. Spent the night at my sis' in Pinehurst arriving around 930p.

Friday, we drove to Lake Ana State Park. It took forever!!! I thought we would arrive at 2p; we got there around 530p. Quickly unloaded. Christine (deepbluesea) and Max arrived. Sheila came over with the darling kids!! We headed down to the race site and met Tommy Boy (Madcow), Ernie (ejc999), Tony (aluminum1), Brett, DZ, Andrea, Shelly and others. Gina was biking. Setup our campsite/MadCow Harem Central next to Gina's crew tent/canopy. I have to say, Brett, Andrea, Andrew (shanks), DZ, Ernie, Shelly and a few others whose names escape me were extremely dedicated and hard working. It seems funny to talk about working hard when others are doing Double and Triple Irons but there was alot of hustle going on. Alot. I think I met Frank (scubapunk) sometime Friday evening, too. Anyway, went back to the cabin, Hollis arrived, we all yakked for a bit, showered and went to bed.

Saturday morning, Sheila came over with the kids, we all had waffles (thanks Hollis!) and grabbed more gear and headed to the race site. I had promised Brett and Andrea waffles for breakfast but they were not to be found when we arrived. We went to the swim start and without much fanfare, the swim began. Waded in to give Tom some hydration, taking Seany Boy with me on my shoulders so he could say hey to his dad. We watched the swimmers go back/forth for awhile, Seany Boy tried to use his considerable charm to convince me to lick the bottom of his foot, Ernie scored waffles. Christine/Lucy and I headed back to the cabin and I made cold pasta lunch to take back to the tent to share with all. Watched Tom, Gina and Tony make bike pitstops. I think I napped in the tent for a bit. Went back to the cabin, made dinner and returned with it. Helped (mostly watched) Frank and Christine and Christine pitch Sherri's 2room tent. Stayed until about 10p then headed back to the cabin for a little sleep. Returned at 2am (and stayed until the finish the next evenign) when Tom was on his first run lap. Paced Tom for 3 laps (6miles) then handed him off to another of his Harem ladies. On our first lap, at the very outset there was an Italian racer (Vicenzo?) who we passed. He looked pretty bad. I said something intending to be encouraging (he looked like he was in pain), gently patted him on the back and he immediately walked to the side of the road and hurled. I have the magic hurl touch. Anyhoo, we alternated pacing Tom throughout the night and following day. It was pretty wild. Tony was running like a jackrabbit. Gina was steady and strong. Some racers looked strong; others seemed to be the walking dead. It was painful to watch a few of them; they did not look good like the guy who was licking the air. Cathy was not doing well (she did the Triple) and I think ended up in the med tent for a couple of hours. Frank was sent off on this errand and that errand - what a NICE man. He did ALOT of work for us and did so cheerfully.

Tom came in for a little nap (like 30mins) before sunrise then he was off again. I made pancakes and coffee for everyone. At lunchtime I threw together a spaghetti lunch, taking the path of least resistance - jarred red sauce.  In between meals, I was pacing Tom which I really enjoyed doing. I sang to him as a way of torturing him into picking up the pace a bit (poor man). Lauren got to pace her dad. Sheila took Seany Boy with her (I believe on her shoulders!) during one of her pace laps.

Sherri worked her off. She was all over Tom's nutrition, had numerous *ahem* discussions with the race staff when there were discrepancies about Tom's lap count (hurray for meticulous record keeping on our part!). She slept maybe 45 minutes and she pushed Tom when she thought he needed pushing. Then she would just downright order him when he needed nutrition, wasn't hydrating, etc. She was totally watching his back.

We watched Gina finish in the middle of the night. Watched many of the Triple and Double finishers coming in (I missed the #1 Triple guy finishing but caught Sergio and the others who followed).

Christine/Lucy and I paced Tom on his next to last lap. Sheila joined him for his last lap; the kids joined him as he approached the finish. Tom, his family and crew joined up for a bit then we sent him ahead to the finish with his family. I wanted to cry; I was so happy for him. It was a tremendous feat and Tom, though exhausted and with trashed quads, smiled and was pleasant and kindly throughout the entire event - even when I sang Gracy May or Meatloaf or Queen very badly.

On the one hand, I am amazed that our entirely female crew + Frank worked so well together. Many strong personalities under our roof but we all stepped up, chipped in, hustled, did whatever was asked of us. On the other hand, knowing these women as I do, I'm not at all surprised that everything worked so smoothly. I will brag and say my BT buddies are the cream of the crop. So, I'm not at all surprised that we were able to get along and work together so effectively when the heat was on.

Frank was a new meet for me and he couldnt have been more helpful. Frank was generous with his labor and fetching; he also helped out a number of other racers with bike issues. I know they were very thankful for Frank's assistance. When Frank wasn't crewing for us or another racer, he paced on the bike. Amazing. 

We had 3 children in our group, another in the canopy next to ours (Cathy's young son), and another boy whose mother was racing. They weren't just well-behaved, they were good spirited and played together very well and kept themselves busy playing super heroes or board and card games.

I've been to IMFL and there is no comparison on the kind of 'jockstrapping' that goes on. I found IMFL to be alot of waiting and cheering (nothing wrong with that, it was a very fun experience). This weekend of crewing was alot of planning, thinking 3 steps ahead, hustling, team work, improvising - and alot of putting others before yourself. Alot. I think having a sense of humor and a generous spirit makes it easier for everyone. I didn't encounter a single primadonna all weekend.

I'm trying to remember it all but there was just so much I took in, so much hustling about, so many fine moments to remember. It was a unique experience and I'm sure I'll be talking about it for a long time.

(Tom finishing.jpg)

A quick note of emphasis, Ernie was the crew chief for Tony (if there really was such a title since it was far more a group effort to support all three racers)... I deserve no credit for helping in Tony's very impressive performance, in fact I think I was asleep for almost 1/4 of it.  I rode a lap and shuffled a lap with him and that was it, Ernie was a world class trooper for him.

More stories later, I haven't been at the office in >week so I'm swamped.

bts

Sherri's photos but I'm just so excited about sharing the weekend, so here our darling Hollis.

(Masked Hero.jpg)

He doesnt look like he's been moving for 34/35 hours, does he?

(Tom is done.jpg)

Thanks for the re-cap from the support crew, Renee! You guys are all awesome!

Tom - Love that last pic of you in the chair!

The race director told Tom that he would like to tap into the BT community for support next year. He was in dire need of volunteers.

I guess that means we represented BT well.

Lucy (Christine) just put up a great album--

http://beginnertriathlete.com/discussion/photos/photo-thumbnails.asp?albumid=6782 

Wow! You guys are great! Your support has meant so much to me and no more so than on the run. The emails I recieved were given to me at the perfect time. A time when there was some confusion on the laps and I just couldn't handle repeating laps.

This race was incredible. People say it is a family, but until you are out there, you really can't grasp how much of a family it was. Nothing proved that more than on the run, when the triple's 2nd place athlete (Kathy) was hurting bad. She had spent hours sleeping and in the med tent. I watched her throw up several tmes and I thought she would quit. Her husband had been with her the whole time, but was probably getting tired. the third place woman (Michelle) was feeling great and moving on the run. If she had pushed it, she probably coud have overtaken Kathy, but instead she spent 3 laps pacing her. Where else would you see an athlete help another one beat them?

We are here in DC, but before I go, I have to say I absolutely ave to thank Sherri (oliveview). For months she had been preparing for this race with one object in mind, taking care of me. She was selfless and under control and only had to use her mother voice on me a couple of times. I never had to think and she told me to stop thinking severa times out there. I never doubted that she wold be there for me.

The rest of the BT crew were awesome as well. Ernie, Shelly and Grems were great on the bike. Shanks is a stud and should have been racing last weekend...period. Brett is incredible and Gina is very lucky to have such a devoted crew chief. Frank, my testosterone buddy, I wish he would have ridden with me more, but I understand he was quite busy back at camp. But he made me happy just being near him. Christine (Lucy), renee, Hollis, and Christine (deepbluesea) the BT harem were life savers. I will have to be more detailed about each one in my race report, but they gave me memories (some nightmares) that I will never forget

Last and definitely not least, what can I say about Happycow and the little cows? I can type and type and never fully say how much they mean to me, so I will leave it at that. I'm getting emotional again, so I will stop

Thank you BT