I loved Sunday, however sunday was final day of a long climb....trying to fit my life of being a mother in with training for an Ironman. Some days it brought me to tears from sheer exhaustion and other days it kept me sane as a single mom (only kind of because my husband works over seas).
And it really was a family Ironman because I would never have got to the start line with out my family's commitment to help...babysitting, driving over during rush hour traffic so they could hang out at my house without the perk of playing with Max because he was sleeping and making my workouts a priority...how amazing is that!
So sunday! I got up at 4am after a good night's sleep (the first one in 8.5 months because Max slept in my parent's room) and did the mundane getting ready stuff. I ate my normal breakfast of toast with PB&J and had a huge cup of coffee! We headed down to the start line and I got dropped off at the Starbucks and that couldn't have been a better coincidence because I used their bathroom! Went to body marking where I told them the wrong number and then headed through to my bike. I pumped my tired and got to see Richelle and Sarah! And then I sat down with Hope and Mark and just hung out until it was time to put my wetsuite on. I ripped my wetsuite the day before but Richelle hooked me up with Aqua Sphere and they lent me one for race. It was kind of funky looking with the gold shoulders but I didn't get a sore shoulder...something that happened every time I swam in my Blue Seventy! Then after I got my wetsuite on I headed through the gets and made my way over to where my family was hanging out...I wanted to make sure I could see Max before I started because it was going to be the longest amount of time I would be away from him. And after some pictures the canon went off. My mantra through the swim was smooth and steady. And for the most part it felt really good...it always amazes me that I can swim nearly 4km and I even did it faster this year! Because I was a touch faster I got into more traffic and even got a couple of hits to the head!
Transition was good. I tried to be fast. The volunteer was amazing. And I was off to my bike.
My plan was to ride "cheesy easy" the first 120 km which gave me plenty of time to look for my family along mainstreet and soak in the whole experience. It was quite busy on the bike...people everywhere. I got to McLean Creek and it was a little tough with all the congestion. I got a flat tire about 15km before Oliver and for the first time (maybe ever) I changed the tire by myself. It took me a couple of minutes to orientate myself and figure what to do but eventually I got a new tube in, however I got a little overzealouz with the CO2 cartridge and had to do it all over again. But surprisingly it didn't really effect my game plan or my mental state...I was still feeling good. I cruised up Richter and over the rollers and then after Special Needs I put a little more effort in. Riding up Yellow Lake was awesome...I knew my family was going to be there so I just concentrated on seeing them, which was awesome, and the next thing I knew I was at the top. The ride down there was a head wind so I had to work a little harder than anticipated.
T2 felt pretty fast and my legs didn't feel and jelly as they did 2 years ago.
The beginning of the run felt awesome. I couldn't believe my pace was feeling so easy and I was trying to get myself to slow down. I met up with Angie at The Cherrylane Mall which was great because it was nice to chat for a bit. Not too long after that my stomach started to go crazy. It wasn't emptying and it felt so horrible. I knew I needed to get some calories down and keeping drinking soup for salt. The calories were the toughest part because my stomach felt so awful...but I managed to get some bananas and coke down. I stayed away from gatorade and gels because the thought of them was making me ill. Over all I maintained a fairly good pace but I felt like I was suffering...it was one of the toughest runs I've ever done. I was excited to see the turn around because then I knew I only had a 1/2 marathon left and I knew I could do that. There were so many great people out there with encouraging words that helped me keep going. Seeing all the TTL athletes through out the day was so great!
The finish line was amazing! It was so great to have my husband, son and family there to cheer for me and take care of me! I knew I was looking pretty rough because every volunteer I walked by had a very concerned look on their face and asked me if I needed anything. I tried to have a massage but my stomach would not cooperate. However, I did manage to get down a piece of pizza...it tasted so good!
And now, a couple of days later I'm starting to miss training and am looking forward to moving again!
I already miss Ironman, hopefully one day I'll make it back there!
