I Am Half of an Ironman!

The beginning: an hour wait in line to register. This was really a huge pain after traveling eight hours. They only had 2 volunteers working packet pick up when we arrived. Ughhh....I love standing in line in the hot sun.


Check out the packet pick up lines. Ouch!

So, Joy and I opted to NOT go out to dinner. It was already 8:00 at night and we were so tired. So, Subway sandwiches PLUS a cookie each filled our tummies.

Next we had to get our stuff ready for the morning....what should I choose for nutrition? Chocolate or banana- which one will I like tomorrow? Decisions, decisions.

Off to the race! Here is the report.

Swim: wetsuit swim...yes!!!! I had a good swim...no panicking, just swimming. I came out of the water around 35:20. (The results add about a minute and a half b/c they added part of the transition time which included a huge run up a hill to the swim times). I was happy with my time...I wasn't sure if 35 minutes was a reasonable goal for me, but I did it! AND, I discovered why Joy is sometimes slower in the swim at races even though she is soooooooo much faster than me at practice. It is because she piddles and daydreams in the swim at races! She was playing with her wetsuit when she should have been swimming- she knows what I am talking about!

T1: really about 3 minutes, but results will say around 1:30 since they calculated it from the mat at the top of the hill. No big news here...on my bike and off I go!

Bike: Here is where the race begins. I decide to go very, very easy the first 10 miles. 17 mph average...low HR. I have never done this distance so I am not sure what to expect. Joy passes me at some point very early on looking strong. I watch all of the athletes ride like mad men at the beginning of the race. The race is very, very hilly. I LOVED it!!! I felt so strong on the hills. At mile 20ish, I decide to pick it up another notch because I am feeling good. I pass all kinds of people on the hills. I feel great. Mile 30, I say what the hell...this rocks. I pick it up even more. I now have passed dozens and dozens of people that went out too hard. I pass tons of girls that I drop easily. Never once did I feel bad on the bike. I am so glad I was conservative- especially since it was my first half IM. I now know I can push it more on the next race, and I am glad I was super smart for my first one. I felt like I could've kept going on the bike. I wasn't sure what kind of goal to set since I have never ridden this distance or these kinds of hills, so I thought that under 3:00 may be doable- or maybe not, I didn't know. It was totally doable- 2:57.

T2: I am dismounting from my bike and a shoe flies off. I just ask a volunteer to grab it for me and I keep going. I make sure to put on some extra body glide and sunscreen on my shoulders (too bad I forgot to get my back). I get my stuff and start running out. Shoot...I get to the mat and no race number, so back I have to go. ughhhh that was painful. Grab my number and head back out of transition. This was around 2 minutes.

Run: My plan is to run 9 min miles. Start off easy and try to pick up the pace later. First 3 miles I settle into pace. I start off at about 8:15 and then slow down some to stick with the plan. THANK GOODNESS I did before it was too late. Hilly run (the first half especially) with FULL SUN beating on us and NO SHADE. By mile 4 I know this is going to be a bad day for a lot of people. People were walking within the 2nd mile. My goal was to run the whole half marathon, no matter what it took.

Mile 3-6...I used to laugh at Joy for walking water stops. I am now enlightened. I am used to sprints- you run through a water stop, grab some water, take one gulp- keep going. But at these longer distances in the heat, you can't do that. You have to make sure you are really drinking and taking in everything you need at the stations. That meant I had to walk up to the table (since no one was handing anything out- you had to get it yourself). I figured the extra 15-20 seconds I spent at each station would be better than the hour I would lose in the race if I skimped on hydration. I took everything- water, heed, ice towels, e-caps....I did it all! Every station was a new towel over my shoulders. That is all I could think about was getting to the next towel!

*****I promise to write the next blog on the very exciting thing I did at the mile 6 water stop. It is so funny it gets its own blog. I did something I never thought I would do or was even capable of doing. I don't want to leave you hanging, but I must finish the story.*****

Mile 6-9...more of the same. The only thought I have at this point is- I WILL NOT WALK. (grabbing water did not count). I would not stop running to walk, even for a second. Tons of people were walking and puking. It was the mental challenge of the day, and I was determined to win. And I did win. No walking. (Although I did make a pact with myself that I would not race in devastating heat ever again). I was maintaining my 9ish pace, getting in tons of fluids, and moving. The flats were wonderful...I felt like a runner. The hills sucked and I felt like a penguin.

Mile 9-11...I am going to finish. Then I see a girl in my age group that passed me at mile 4 of the run, just laughing and talking. She is not laughing and talking now. Guess she didn't realize how destructive heat is. Wonder if I can catch her?

Mile 11...I get on her back and hang on. I really don't care at this point who comes in front of me, I am just so excited to finish my first 1/2 IM- alive.

This is me in my final mile-

Mile 12...it is now or never. We pass the last water stop and I skip it- the only time in the whole race I skip a stop. The last mile has the last big hill in it. As strange as this is, I think of something Bree Wee posted in a blog when she was told that her race was over the hill. I realize that if I am going to stay in front of this girl, I have to drop her on the hill. I am not sure if I really care or not, since my main goal is to finish. I throw off my magic blue towel- the one that has kept me alive in the heat. Then I go. I run my last mile in 7 minutes and voila...I have finished my first half ironman in 5:40.

Yahoo! Then I get the WORST calf cramps after the race. It was sooooo funny as I yelled, "help, help!" to a spectator who came and tried to stretch me out! It was the Chicago Marathon all over again, I swear. The ONLY time in my whole life I have gotten cramps like that have been the two hottest races I have ever done.
Here is my friend Hamid...he makes the legs all better!

Damie and Joy, Rock N Roll Half Ironman Finishers! Joy ran an awesome race to place 2nd overall!!!! I have complete sunburn on my back and butt from the race- like I need any more wrinkles to go with my gray hair.

I had a great time (doesn't it always seem that way when you are finished?). I loved the swim and bike. I hated the heat on the run, but I was glad that I had the ability to stick to my pacing plan. It gave me a lot of confidence for the next race, and I am really glad that I was able to finish the race with a strong last mile instead of a miserable shuffle. So, what is next? Tons more of the long stuff and lots of fine tuning :)

Thank you for reading, and thank you for all of the positive comments, emails, and phone calls. I appreciate the wonderful support!