Rachel
09-03-2009, 07:47 AM
Race day morning. Woke up at 3:00am to feed myself once more before the long anticipated race. Breakfast consisted of bowl of oatmeal topped w/ cinnamon, banana and brown sugar w/ a side of toast topped w/ peanut butter and banana. I am officially sick of eating and look forward to going back to a "normal" person's diet again. Finished my coffee, hopped in the shower, put my hair in braids (Iron Maiden style, of course) and headed down to the race at 5am.
We arrived at the race start at 5am. I got body marked, saw Sue Marsten, wished eachother good luck and headed into transition to get myself ready, warmed up, etc. Waited in a line 100 + people deep for the porta potty and finally gave up. It was 20 minutes 'til so I put on my wetsuit and decided to head down to the giant porta potty known as Okanogan Lake.
I saw Casey a few minutes before heading down to the beach and he told me he lost his glucose checker for the run. Fortunately, he ran into Laura's husband, Brian, and asked him to go back to the house to pick up the extra and hand it to Casey as he headed out on the run.
Casey and I walked down to the beach together, said our good lucks and good byes and parted our ways on the beach. I went to the far left/outside, away from the masses, and proceeded to get in the water for a quick warm up. I looked around for Laura but could not find her amongst the sea of blue and pink swim caps. So told myself it was time to put on my "big girl pants" and do this thing! So that I did.
The horn blew and I walked into the water, taking my time, along with hundreds of others, while the faster swimmers took off. The water was very shallow, clear and a very comfortable 70 degrees. Perfect! I said one last time to myself once more "let's go Rae...." put my head down and swam 2.4 miles in 1:18. I enjoyed the swim. In fact, I enjoyed it so much that I must've stopped a good 10 times, for just a moment, to check out the scene around me. And I listened. It was so quiet out there. The only thing I could hear were the strokes in the water.
I got out of the water, got my wetsuit stripped off by one of the wetsuit strippers, got my transition bag and walked into the women's changing tent. I was in no hurry. I kept my tri shorts on and just put on my helmet and other gear, slapped on some sunscreen by the sunscreen team (yes, there's even a group of people to do that), and off I went.
112 miles of beautiful, mountainous terrain. I was warned not to hammer out of T1 and to hold back on the first 40 miles which are notoriously flat and fast. The reason for this is because of the many climbs that would await for me between mile 40 and 90. So that I did.
I held back until mile 40 where the climbing began and then I kicked it in. I passed a ton of people on the hills, including most of those who passed me in the first 40. I knew I'd see them again. I stopped twice on the bike. Once at the base of our first climb to go pee, and the second at mile 70- to pick up my cookies from Special Needs.
I felt great for the entire ride, despite the rising heat and smoke from nearby forest fires. Every aid station I would pass through (every 10 miles), I would grab water from the volunteer, drink a few gulps, and pour the rest into my aero drink and over my head, to help keep me cool. I drank some gatorade too. Made it over Richter Pass, the 6 rolling hills after and then up the final ascent to Yellow Lake- with no problem. The cheering crowds and support from the volunteers was incredible. We were treated like pro athletes.
I ate all the food on my bike, stayed within my heart rate zone and kept well hydrated. I passed a bunch more people on these climbs and before I knew it, I was making the final 12 mile descent back to Penticton. I rode 112 miles in 7 hours...not as fast as I could have gone, but I really wanted to be conservative to be sure I had legs for the run.
Entered transition, handed my bike to a volunteer, and went into the changing tent to get ready for the run. Taking my time, I chatted with another lady next to me, slathered my feet w/ vaseline and headed off on the run.
Mile 1 felt great. Mile 2 felt okay too. By mile 3 I started feeling notl so well, beginning with side stitches, then general nausea and bloating. It worsened as the miles went on. I walked each aid station, alternating between gatorade and water, hoping that I would feel better so I could take in some energy gels, or anything that would give me energy as I was fading fast. I walked a lot between miles 5 and 13, initially just at the aid stations, and then on each hill. I ran when I felt I could and walked when I had to. I was lucky to hold a 10:30 min/mile pace in between walk breaks. At about mile 8, I wasn't feeling any better and remembered some advice a friend gave me the night before. He said, if I was feeling bloated or nauseous to stop any food and just chew ice. So that's what I did.
I made it to the halfway mark (13.1 miles) at Special Needs at 2 hrs, 30 minutes..not exactly what I was planning on for the first half, but at this point in the game, I didn't care and it was all about survival. I feared the worst - that my stomach had shut down and I would soon be on the side of the road, joining the many others who were either vomiting or having a much worse day than I already was. I knew I was crashing and had to get some energy in me in order to continue on. Fortunately, I had packed some of my favorite Cola flavored energy chews in my special needs bag and put a couple in my mouth. The caffeine hit me pretty quickly and I was feeling better within a mile. By mile 15 aid station, I saw Laura heading the opposite direction, gave her a hug, told her how hard this was and how bad I had been feeling, etc. She said she was feeling the same and that she'd see me at the finish. And onward we went. One foot in front of the other. I was feeling better and decided I was going to try pepsi and ice as this was the only thing that sounded remotely good to me.
These aid stations are like huge buffets, offering water, Gu, ice, sponges, Pespi, gatorade, Power Bars, oranges, bananas, grapes, chicken broth, pretzels, etc. At every aid station, I would take 3 ice cold sponges, placing one under each shoulder strap and the other in my shirt. Ice down my bra and shorts to help keep my core temp down. The weather was hot and humid. Lots of medics on the course.
Just after mile 16 the Pepsi kicked in and I was feeling better...boy was I happy! I started running again and caught up to my friend Jeff, who was walking ahead of me. We proceeded to pull each other to the finish, mile by mile, step by step, running between each aid station. I continued with the pepsi and ice....I was on a high!
We ran back into town and before we knew it, had only 2 miles to go. Then 1 mile. Then 400 yards. Jeff and I were running together when he said "Rae the finish is just up ahead..now's the time to give it all you got". So that's what I did.
I don't know where it came from, but I sprinted to the finish, passing Jeff and breaking the tape! I was an Ironman!! It felt great to be finally be done. Now I could stop. The catchers at the finish line ran up to me and walked with me a bit. I was feeling nauseous for about 30 minutes after, but no medical attention needed. Many other people around me were hurting bad, passing out, vomiting, etc. I felt great that I wasn't one of them.
Casey met me the finish and we got to exchange our day's stories with each other. I finished the marathon in 5 hrs, 20 minutes with an overall time of 13 hrs,56 minutes. Much slower than I had hoped to run, but being my first Ironman and not having any time goals, I'm very satisfied. If I ever do another one, I now know what it takes and will have something to improve upon. Arizona?? Maybe next year.
We arrived at the race start at 5am. I got body marked, saw Sue Marsten, wished eachother good luck and headed into transition to get myself ready, warmed up, etc. Waited in a line 100 + people deep for the porta potty and finally gave up. It was 20 minutes 'til so I put on my wetsuit and decided to head down to the giant porta potty known as Okanogan Lake.
I saw Casey a few minutes before heading down to the beach and he told me he lost his glucose checker for the run. Fortunately, he ran into Laura's husband, Brian, and asked him to go back to the house to pick up the extra and hand it to Casey as he headed out on the run.
Casey and I walked down to the beach together, said our good lucks and good byes and parted our ways on the beach. I went to the far left/outside, away from the masses, and proceeded to get in the water for a quick warm up. I looked around for Laura but could not find her amongst the sea of blue and pink swim caps. So told myself it was time to put on my "big girl pants" and do this thing! So that I did.
The horn blew and I walked into the water, taking my time, along with hundreds of others, while the faster swimmers took off. The water was very shallow, clear and a very comfortable 70 degrees. Perfect! I said one last time to myself once more "let's go Rae...." put my head down and swam 2.4 miles in 1:18. I enjoyed the swim. In fact, I enjoyed it so much that I must've stopped a good 10 times, for just a moment, to check out the scene around me. And I listened. It was so quiet out there. The only thing I could hear were the strokes in the water.
I got out of the water, got my wetsuit stripped off by one of the wetsuit strippers, got my transition bag and walked into the women's changing tent. I was in no hurry. I kept my tri shorts on and just put on my helmet and other gear, slapped on some sunscreen by the sunscreen team (yes, there's even a group of people to do that), and off I went.
112 miles of beautiful, mountainous terrain. I was warned not to hammer out of T1 and to hold back on the first 40 miles which are notoriously flat and fast. The reason for this is because of the many climbs that would await for me between mile 40 and 90. So that I did.
I held back until mile 40 where the climbing began and then I kicked it in. I passed a ton of people on the hills, including most of those who passed me in the first 40. I knew I'd see them again. I stopped twice on the bike. Once at the base of our first climb to go pee, and the second at mile 70- to pick up my cookies from Special Needs.
I felt great for the entire ride, despite the rising heat and smoke from nearby forest fires. Every aid station I would pass through (every 10 miles), I would grab water from the volunteer, drink a few gulps, and pour the rest into my aero drink and over my head, to help keep me cool. I drank some gatorade too. Made it over Richter Pass, the 6 rolling hills after and then up the final ascent to Yellow Lake- with no problem. The cheering crowds and support from the volunteers was incredible. We were treated like pro athletes.
I ate all the food on my bike, stayed within my heart rate zone and kept well hydrated. I passed a bunch more people on these climbs and before I knew it, I was making the final 12 mile descent back to Penticton. I rode 112 miles in 7 hours...not as fast as I could have gone, but I really wanted to be conservative to be sure I had legs for the run.
Entered transition, handed my bike to a volunteer, and went into the changing tent to get ready for the run. Taking my time, I chatted with another lady next to me, slathered my feet w/ vaseline and headed off on the run.
Mile 1 felt great. Mile 2 felt okay too. By mile 3 I started feeling notl so well, beginning with side stitches, then general nausea and bloating. It worsened as the miles went on. I walked each aid station, alternating between gatorade and water, hoping that I would feel better so I could take in some energy gels, or anything that would give me energy as I was fading fast. I walked a lot between miles 5 and 13, initially just at the aid stations, and then on each hill. I ran when I felt I could and walked when I had to. I was lucky to hold a 10:30 min/mile pace in between walk breaks. At about mile 8, I wasn't feeling any better and remembered some advice a friend gave me the night before. He said, if I was feeling bloated or nauseous to stop any food and just chew ice. So that's what I did.
I made it to the halfway mark (13.1 miles) at Special Needs at 2 hrs, 30 minutes..not exactly what I was planning on for the first half, but at this point in the game, I didn't care and it was all about survival. I feared the worst - that my stomach had shut down and I would soon be on the side of the road, joining the many others who were either vomiting or having a much worse day than I already was. I knew I was crashing and had to get some energy in me in order to continue on. Fortunately, I had packed some of my favorite Cola flavored energy chews in my special needs bag and put a couple in my mouth. The caffeine hit me pretty quickly and I was feeling better within a mile. By mile 15 aid station, I saw Laura heading the opposite direction, gave her a hug, told her how hard this was and how bad I had been feeling, etc. She said she was feeling the same and that she'd see me at the finish. And onward we went. One foot in front of the other. I was feeling better and decided I was going to try pepsi and ice as this was the only thing that sounded remotely good to me.
These aid stations are like huge buffets, offering water, Gu, ice, sponges, Pespi, gatorade, Power Bars, oranges, bananas, grapes, chicken broth, pretzels, etc. At every aid station, I would take 3 ice cold sponges, placing one under each shoulder strap and the other in my shirt. Ice down my bra and shorts to help keep my core temp down. The weather was hot and humid. Lots of medics on the course.
Just after mile 16 the Pepsi kicked in and I was feeling better...boy was I happy! I started running again and caught up to my friend Jeff, who was walking ahead of me. We proceeded to pull each other to the finish, mile by mile, step by step, running between each aid station. I continued with the pepsi and ice....I was on a high!
We ran back into town and before we knew it, had only 2 miles to go. Then 1 mile. Then 400 yards. Jeff and I were running together when he said "Rae the finish is just up ahead..now's the time to give it all you got". So that's what I did.
I don't know where it came from, but I sprinted to the finish, passing Jeff and breaking the tape! I was an Ironman!! It felt great to be finally be done. Now I could stop. The catchers at the finish line ran up to me and walked with me a bit. I was feeling nauseous for about 30 minutes after, but no medical attention needed. Many other people around me were hurting bad, passing out, vomiting, etc. I felt great that I wasn't one of them.
Casey met me the finish and we got to exchange our day's stories with each other. I finished the marathon in 5 hrs, 20 minutes with an overall time of 13 hrs,56 minutes. Much slower than I had hoped to run, but being my first Ironman and not having any time goals, I'm very satisfied. If I ever do another one, I now know what it takes and will have something to improve upon. Arizona?? Maybe next year.