What an incredibly amazing day! I still can't believe I did it. I feel so accomplished! I'll post pictures when I get them.
Woke up without an alarm this morning at about 5:15 so I got up and finished getting ready and headed out the door WAY to jittery to eat. I stayed at a hotel in Hurricane UT which is about a 20 min drive to where they told the athletes to park. For some reason I had it in my head that the shuttle out to the lake went until 6:30 so when I showed up at 6 and no one was there it was really hard not to panic. But, I made the drive back toward Hurricane to park about 2 miles away from the starting area. The shuttle bus I hopped on got to drive way closer than they usually do, so everyone was happy a late athlete was on board. I shouted "you're welcome!" as I hopped off and then I RAN to get checked in.
Let me tell you, I could not have cut it any closer than I did. Haha! Handed off my bags, got numbered up, threw my lovely purple swim cap on and RAN toward the start. Once I got there I realized I had forgotten my timing chip in my bag. Doh! Luckily they had a table right there at the water's edge with some extras. I'm sure it happens all the time if they're that prepared. By the time I hit the water my entire heat was already swimming away from the shore toward the start line which was about 50 yards out. I was about halfway there when the horn blew to start but I think it worked out better. I was able to avoid the huge crowd and my time didn't start until my chip crossed the line anyway. Also, I was so panicked about getting to the start line in time I didn't really have time for nerves. Bonus!
The swim went well, although it felt like I was doing terrible. Compared to the Caribbean that water was COLD! I wasn't used to wearing a wet suit either. Plus St. George is significantly higher than sea level - and I felt that the most during the swim. I felt like I never could get enough air and I never hit my stride and settled in, but I did it in just slightly longer than my usual time I was hitting during training. Woohoo! Coming out of that water was pretty cool. Tons of athletes all coming out at once, lots of volunteers helping us strip off our wetsuits. There was no way I'd have been able to get it off myself. Can I just say that all the volunteers were AWESOME too?! This one lady seriously helped me out in getting to the water in time. I couldn't have done it without her. I don't know how many volunteers they had, but it seemed like there were 5 for every athlete. They were great! So friendly and encouraging. It was nice. So, I'm out of the lake and I hobble barefoot over to where the bikes were racked. I read horror stories about people not being able to find their bike after the swim because they couldn't remember where they put it. I was glad that didn't happen to me. They had the area laid out really well and I had no trouble finding my stuff. Some of the pro's and wannabe pro's were really fast in & out of the transitions but I didn't even care. I took my time and made sure I was all squared away before I unracked my bike and walked over to the mounting zone. The same lady that helped me get checked in was there slathering copious amounts of sun screen on everyone so I got to see her and thank her and tell her that I made my heat on time and all that. I'm glad I got to thank her.
And then just like that I was off on the bike. I was SUPER nervous for the bike leg. I didn't really train for it, unless you call riding my bike to and from school plus 2 twenty mile rides that were more walks than rides. But, the biking went well. My roady is MUCH lighter than the bike I had out at school and the gears are better for hills too. About 5 miles in there was a pretty big climb. I was glad for it because it warmed me right up after that freezing lake water. The whole time on the bike I kept telling myself to "ride my own race". I really didn't want to blow too much energy on the biking only to die during the run. That strategy ended up working really well. I quickly found that I was in the middle of a group that all had a similar pace. During an Ironman you're not allowed to draft or anything like that, so the group I was with played leap frog pretty much the whole way. I told one guy that I felt like we should be good friends because we both passed each other like 20 times. :-) The bike course had lots of hills. None were overly steep, but there were a LOT of them and some of them were really long too. I was happy with how I did - and then at about mile 40 we hit Snow Canyon. WOWZER! That was quite a climb! I'm extremely proud of the fact that I didn't have to get off and walk. I don't think I could have gone much slower though :-) At about this point I really started worrying about having energy for the run, but I really wanted to make it to the top of the hill. Boy oh boy I was glad when I hit the top too. The downhill was super fun! I hit 43 mph at one point 0.o Never gone that fast on a bike before! From there on out it was mostly down hill right into the heart of town for the next transition. I tell ya, hopping off the bike after 56 miles really felt funny. It took my legs a minute to remember how to walk. This transition was much faster because less stuff was involved. Just a switch of shoes and ditching the helmet and biking gloves. I also had some ibuprofen in my bag which was a really great idea. :-) I started the run off jogging, but it wasn't long before I was walking. It was flat for the first 1/4 mile, but after that it took us back up hill and out of town the same way we had just come in on the bikes. Oh man that's when the mental games began. I could only jog for about 100 yards before I had to stop and walk. And my jogging pace was pitiful at best. Haha. It wasn't long before I noticed I guy about my age doing the same thing I was doing - which was trying not to die and cry at the same time! I've always thought running with a partner was way easier than running alone so I turned to him and said something about how our paces were similar - aka DEAD - and that we should stick together. Best idea ever! His name was Justin and before long we were chatting it up which helped both of us stop thinking about the pain we were in. They had aid stations every mile on the running course which was life saving. Anyone can run a 1/2 marathon if there are aid stations every mile. We'd run for a mile, hit the aid station, dowse ourselves with freezing cold water, drink a bunch of water and gatorade, eat an orange or banana, maybe stretch a bit and then set off on the next mile. All the while we were chatting and encouraging each other. It was great. The whole run was really interesting. I kept thinking over and over how it was more of a mental battle than a physical one. I think I physically could have gone faster than I did, but mentally I was about at my limit. I was also surprised at my breath pace, which was a lot slower than I thought it would be - both on the bike and the run. I was breathing way harder during the swim than I ever did on the bike or during the run. I didn't expect that. Anyway, it wasn't until about mile 5 that I really felt confident in my ability to finish. The 1/2 way point in the run had us way on the far side of a BIG uphill climb. We might have speed-walked the final mile up that hill, but we both felt good about it because when we were heading out we noticed that nearly everyone was walking up that hill. I'm super glad there was an aid station at the top :-) I think that was about mile 8 when we finished the final big uphill push. After the top of that brutal hill it was flat for a while and then at about mile 10 we started to drop back down into St George. The downhill really felt great on our legs because it makes your muscles work differently. Once we hit the city limits the sidewalks were filled with people cheering us on and one family that was handing out popsicles. HEAVENLY! About 2 miles out we realized that if we pushed we could finish the 1/2 marathon in less than 3 hours so we pushed hard to the end. I kind of got emotional during that last mile. It kind of hit me what a monumental thing I was about to finish. The finishing chute was jam packed with screaming people. Made me feel like a celebrity or something. Haha! Finishing strong felt SUPER great. I can't even describe how awesome I felt when I crossed that line! So amazing! Justin and I grabbed a photographer and got a picture together before we parted ways. I was surprised with how physically OK I felt after finishing. When I did my 1/2-marathon a few summers ago I felt like I was gonna die when I finished - haha! So I was kinda surprised I didn't feel that way today. I walked through the crowd for a bit and then found a shady spot beneath a tree to lie down for a bit. I may or may not have fallen asleep, because suddenly I heard the people sitting next to me ask themselves if I had stopped breathing. Haha! I guess I was really super relaxed. Sure felt good to just lie there for a bit though. They were serving pizza and soda and icecream sandwiches to all the athletes so I went and got some of that. I didn't realize how hungry I was until I started eating. HOLY smokes - I was suddenly famished! The soda didn't really do it for me. They had coke at almost every aid station. Every time one of the volunteers offered it to me I just thought, "ew-gross". Didn't appeal to me at all - but apparently it feels good on an upset stomach so that's why they offer it. Glad I didn't need it.
So post race and post meal I had to ask around before I found a ride back to the lake (20 mins) away to get my car. Got to my car and it wouldn't start..... because I left my lights on all day. RATS! In my frantic dash to the starting line I totally spaced turning them off. Rookie mistake. My ride's jumper cables didn't work so they took me to a store where I bought some and those didn't work either. I was worried it was a bigger problem, but Geico Roadside Assistance saved they day. The moral of the story is get a quality set of jumper cables. None of this cheap Chinese garbage crap. Apparently it really makes a difference. By the time I got my car started and back down to St George the party was over and I had to go behind the scenes to claim my bike and one of my gear bags. I was kinda sad I missed out on the awards ceremony and the atmosphere, but that's ok. I'll take advantage of that next time - and you better believe there WILL be a next time! I'm thinking one every summer. Call me crazy, but I'm hooked. Plus - everyone says that this course is the toughest one aside from Kona, HI. So if I can do St George then I should be good to go everywhere else. Who wants to do next years with me???
