5:52:05

I did it. I think this was my biggest training week probably ever? I survived. And, I’m pretty proud of myself. Although, I did not come away unscathed. I am hobbling around today like a 90 year old woman and I am chafed in every place imaginable and more. But it was worth it.

When planning my training for last week, I knew if I could get through the week’s volume, that I could finish a 50 miler and finish strong. In fact, the last three miles of yesterday’s half ironman felt exactly what I imagine that last 3 of a 50-miler to feel like. Simply put: painful.

This is what last week looked like.

Monday: Run (AM) – 10.02 miles, recovery; Swim (Lunch): 2150 yards

Tuesday: Run (AM) – 10.93 miles, speed work; Swim (Lunch): 1800 yards

Wednesday: Run (AM) – 5.13 miles, recovery; Swim (Lunch): 2100 yards

Thursday: Run (AM) – 9.67 miles, fartlek

Friday: Swim (Lunch): 2000 yds; Bike (PM): 8 miles

Saturday: Long Run – 17.88 miles @8:23 pace

Sunday: Kerrville Half-Ironman: Swim 1.2 miles, Bike 56 miles, Run 13.1 miles

Total Miles: 137 (56.76 of those were running miles)

As I’ve been reflecting on this race, a poem by Shel Silverstein comes to mind. It goes like this: “Listen to the mustn'ts, child. Listen to the don'ts. Listen to the shouldn'ts, the impossibles, the won'ts. Listen to the never haves, then listen close to me... Anything can happen, child. Anything can be.”

To be honest with you, if you told me ten years ago that I would be training for a 50-mile run, competing in multiple half-ironmans, have run 15 marathons and doing it all for fun, I would have laughed in your face and told you that you were crazy. In fact, I would have been willing to bet a lot of money that I wouldn’t be doing any of this. As the poem says – anything can happen, anything can be. I find it amazing what the body is capable of doing once you put your mind to something. There is nothing amazing about me or my athletic capabilities; I don’t come from a family of athletes or genetic talent. It’s simply hard work and determination that got me to this point. I am an accidental athlete. And, as I told my husband on the drive home last night – if I can do it, anyone can.

Back to the race. We left for Kerrville around 10:30 am on Saturday. My legs didn’t appreciate a long run in the morning followed by a 3 hour car drive. I got out of the car once we got to the hotel in Kerrville and my legs were pretty tight. I felt a twinge of worry as to how things would play out tomorrow.

Pre-Race:
Pre-race activities were pretty mellow. I checked in and picked up my race packet. This was a point-to-point race, so there were two separate transitions so we had to rack our bike at T1 then check in our run gear into T2 the night before. Took care of everything then read for a few hours before we headed to dinner to meet a friend who was racing the Olympic distance on Sunday. I didn’t sleep very peacefully Saturday night – I never do the night before a race, especially when I am in a hotel – but popped out of bed at 5:30 am when the alarm went off. One of the nice things about our hotel was that it was only a few steps to the start line and transition 1. Ate breakfast and covered my legs in Icy Hot (works wonders).

Got to T-1 with about 30 minutes to spare until it closed. Quickly realized I did not have any socks. I know I packed socks, so I head back to the hotel room thinking they are in my suit case. We tear the room apart, but I cannot find the socks anywhere (we later realize upon arrival home that Flash had taken the socks out of my suitcase to chew on…we found them drool covered in the living room). I am panicking because I’ve got to have socks. Dan has one pair of socks, but they are thick cotton ones that 4 sizes too big for me. So Race Sherpa Dan hightails it to Wal-mart to buy be socks at the crack of dawn, and in a CLUTCH move throws them to me when I exit the water from my swim. I am grateful for the love and support of my husband, he saved the day!

Swim:
Being the second to the last swim start stinks. That is all I am going to say about it. Last to go, last ones out on the bike course, and last out on the run. Swimming is always my nemesis. I am always so frustrated that I swim and swim and get slower, not faster. I had figured I would swim right around 46 minutes, a pretty average swim time for me. The swim was beautiful and I swam *mostly* straight, and I did not swim fast, but I swam good for me. The swim seemed to go on forever, so I was ecstatic to finally make the final turn towards the shore. My split was 45:08, which turned out to be one of my better 70.3 swims. Out of the water we had to run a monster hill back up to transition, then it was off to the bike we go.

Bike:

Embrace the suck. This was my motto going into the 56 mile bike ride. I haven’t ridden my bike in a good seven weeks (or ridden over 46 miles in about a year), and while I knew I had good leg/core strength, I knew I needed more time in the saddle. I knew it would be painful and that by mile 20 my butt would be aching, but I wasn’t trying to set any records here – I just wanted to get through it without any mechanical issues (say what you want about my trusty road bike – it’s nothing fancy – but I’ve never ever had any flats or issues during a race, knock on wood!).

The beauty of this was, I enjoyed every minute. From the get go, my legs felt good and surprisingly fresh. The scenery was beautiful in the hill country and all the competitors were pleasant. The bike course was 2 loops, which I preferred because I knew what I had ahead of me in the second loop. The only downside of the ride was some of the rugged pavement that we rode on.

I started to get a little uncomfortable on the bike around Mile 40, but knew I could hang in there for 16 more miles. I ended up passing some people on the second loop which made my spirits soar. I had expected by bike split to be around 3:25-3:30, so I was elated when I found out I had ridden a 3:12:19 bike split (17.5 mph).

Dismounted by bike, struggled to find my run gear bag in transition, but after a somewhat slow transition, I was on my way for a 13.1 mile run through Kerrville.

Run:

I really have no complaints about this race except for one thing: the run course. It was 4 loops (each loop was about 3.2 miles). Loops are mentally tough. Especially after you’ve already swam 1.2 miles and biked 56, and have to pass the finish line 3 times before you can actually cross it. I felt like they could have come up with a better course. It was a mix of pavement and trail (rocks and thick grass) and sadly no shade on the course at all. Luckily for us, it was a cooler day in Texas, but it was still pushing 87 by the time I started my run. And the hills…those would have sucked once, but we had the pleasure of running each hill 4 times.

I had a great first two loops. I was averaging 7:35 minute miles and feeling great! However, that was the highlight of my run. About mile 8 into the run I started to really feel the effects of the week and struggled my way to the finish. I was able to somewhat hold it together on the third loop, still averaging under 8 min miles, but the fourth loop was rough. Really rough. At mile 10, I was fading fast. I was both light headed and nauseous and felt like I didn’t have any control over my legs. Just past mile 11, I had to stop to walk through a water stop. I was mentally starting to lose it. I remember thinking to myself: so this is what Mile 48 of the JFK 50 miler will feel like. Pure and utter exhaustion. I got myself together and started running again. I told myself to just keep moving forward. No more walking. The last mile was an eternity (isn’t that always the case?). One thing I will say though, is that the spectators and volunteers were awesome, especially on the run. Something I’ve noticed is that if you smile at people, they cheer louder for you. I LOVE spectators – people, no matter who they are, cheering for me really gives me a boost and helps me maintain a good pace, and a good attitude, in any race. I am thankful to them for keeping me moving. My run split was 1:48:47 (8:18 pace). While I would have liked to be a little faster, I did not get passed by a single person on the run. I guess that counts for something.

I ended up crossing the line in 5:52:05 and was the most exhausted I have been. Dan tried to convince me to go to the medical tent because I was pretty spacey and had goose bumps, despite the warm weather. I sat down for awhile and started taking in food and fluids and then was good to go.

Overall Thoughts:

I later found out that I had placed third in my age group! I was absolutely elated to have placed so well, and perhaps even more excited about my personal performance today.  To earn a “Podium Finish” (top 3) is more than I would have imagined for myself today. This ended up being my second best half-ironman time out of the six I’ve done.

I came into this race tired, not terribly well-rested or excited, and generally over tris. I leave feeling positive about the future, remembering why I love to race, and believing the best is yet to come.

On another note, watching an Ironman or half iron race is not a lot of fun. Unlike a marathon where you can go from place to place to watch along the course, spectators are pretty much stuck at the transition area. It takes a special person to come for 7 plus hours cheer for a half iron, so I really appreciate Dan for another great and selfless job as my race sherpa. This was his one weekend off from traveling for work, and he chose to spend it watching me swim, bike and run.

I am thankful for each and every person in my life- and you know who you are – who gives me support and encouragement, and helps enable me to travel to a race and give it my all, ending up with a great pay-off like yesterday.  THANK YOU!