Long Overdue

After 6 months of intense training, it came down to this...70.3 miles and a little over 7 hours of agony... joy... exhaustion... pride... pain... and triumph.

I woke up at 4:30am to eat a big bowl of oatmeal amongst other things, about 600 calories worth. I barely slept the night before, but I knew I'd be nervous and unable to sleep well. I headed out to the transition area with the team at 5am to prepare for the long road ahead.

We had a late start. In fact, we started late enough for Steve to make it (he needed his sleep)! So he was able to take a few pictures of my start. We started in the water (instead of a beach start), so we had to swim a little way to the buoys in the 57 deg water! Luckily the wetsuits not only allow for warmth but also flotation, so I just reclined in the water preparing for the longest day of my life (so far).

As the countdown to our race began, my teammate and I squeezed hands in the freezing water and looked at each other with both horror and excitement.

Last few meters to the swim finish...

Lets just say that wetsuits are not flattering! Here I am trying to strip off my wetsuit while I'm running...you have to be a multi-tasker!

My transition to the bike went well. Thanks to the advice of a fellow triathlete, I was sure to spray sunscreen on myself after the swim. I knew I'd be out on the bike for over 3 hours and the Galveston sun is not very forgiving.

On my way out I felt very confident. My coach and I had put together a very strict nutrition plan and I was drinking and eating very well and exactly when I was supposed to. However, about an hour into the ride I started getting a terrible pain in my chest. I had never had problems like that on the bike before and kept trying to figure out what was causing it. Stopping was definitely not an option, so I rode sitting up as far as I could and slowed down my pace tremendously. My best guess as to what I was feeling is that I started eating solids at the beginning of my ride and it wasn't digesting. I switched to gels only and after about 45 minutes I was feeling better. It definitely slowed down my time, but at least I got through it.

(The Gulf of Mexico is over my shoulder. The entire bike ride was along the sea wall, very beautiful!)

One of my favorite parts of the bike ride was that you can see everyone on the course. So every time a Team In Training person goes by, we holler at each other "Go Team!" It was very encouraging. The cycling was my least favorite and definitely my weakest link. I did beat my goal by completing the 56 miles in less than 4 hours!





I knew after the 3+ hours on the bike I would be so happy to start running. Just me and my legs...








I continued to rock my nutrition plan and never, at any moment, felt weak or dehydrated. Steve and other teammates watching said that I seemed to keep a really good pace the entire time. I was determined not to stop except for the water stations. And after 13.1 miles of running and 2 hours 34 minutes, I finally crossed the finish line.











This experience was amazing. There were definitely times during my training when I thought "what were you thinking getting yourself into this" and "you will never make it". I'm sure some of you may have even thought it. It certainly would have been easier to quit. It would have been easier to make excuses why I didn't do it. But I didn't just do this for myself. I did it for others as well and I couldn't let them down, nor could I let myself down.





I remembered a quote I heard back in high school my freshman year during those cross country days and kept saying it to myself when I felt weak:





Pain is Temporary, but Pride is Forever.

I'd like to thank all of you who supported me: those who sent me money for my fundraising, those who kept up with my training and asked how it was going, those who said "good luck" or "congratulations", and those who believed in me.

Thank you for helping me see the "Ironwoman" in myself.

Thank you for helping me to support a cause that is way bigger than me and my accomplishment.