It's over...it's finally over.

Final thoughts: If you’re still reading this, you deserve a Finisher’s Award, too. Despite my best efforts at not putting a time expectation on myself, I did have some vague goals in mind. I wanted to be right around an hour on the swim, right around 7 on the bike and under or at 5 on the run. I didn’t quite get to all of those goals, but considering the conditions and the circumstances, I am proud of my race. I do know that it was the best I could do on that day. I conquered my own demons and my body. I pushed through when I had to and was able to stay relaxed through most of it. Most impressive – I didn’t even cry when I finished. (Anyone that knows me will also know that that’s as large a feat as anything else.)

My impressions of this race distance aren’t exactly what I had expected. I do not think I’ll be attempting another iron-distance for a couple years. I’m sitting here, a week later, with some decent pain still in my legs and feet. I know that I can and most likely will do it again, but do not feel the need to rush into anything. I have proven that I am capable and that is enough for me. I have, however, developed what I hope is a long relationship with running. I’m going to leave here shortly and go to the gym and attempt my first run since Silverman. I don’t think it’ll really go well – I’m still not even great at walking yet. I enjoyed the zone I was able to get to during the race while I was running. Just letting the world go and doing what needed to be done, I’m hoping I can get there again soon. I’ve even mentioned the possibility of running a marathon in the spring. Hell, I’ve already done it once, right?!

What got me through the low times during Silverman was the thought of my parents, my friends and everyone else encouraging me and thinking of me. I couldn’t have done it without the huge amount of support I had.

I wound up with the third-fastest time in my age group – but since #1 was the first woman overall and #2 was the first Nevada woman (great times Tracy and Beck!), I rolled up and wound up winning the age group. I’m not sure that I’m comfortable even claiming that, but I finished. I had the fourth fastest swim time and wound up with a 12:38/mi. run pace. I rode my bike through hail, thunder, stinging rain and horrendous winds with mechanical issues (in the desert, where it doesn’t rain, did I mention that?). I ran into the cold, dark night and kept pushing through my pain to the finish line. I could not have asked for a better day.

And now, it’s all the beer, cheeseburgers, pizza and ice cream that I want for another 6 hours (One week). Mother of God, this is the longest race report ever written. But what else could really be expected from me to describe such an epic day?

And it's only a marathon....

Run: Surprisingly, I don’t really remember too much about the run, nor do we have any photos (so I'll just use the photos of Gar...). I remember that I walked about the first ½ mile, stopped to pee at Mile 1. (Note: Thank God I finally peed…I had to for awhile, but was starting to get worried that I hadn’t yet…possibly a bit of hydration mis-management, shouldn’t I have had to do that earlier?) I kind of just zoned out into my little blank area where I wasn’t really thinking about much, just running. I had my timer set (Thanks Bob D!) and was following my plan pretty well. My muscles were responding to the running and I wasn’t hurting as bad as I was on the bike. I knew it was only a matter of time until that changed, but was staying pretty positive at that point. It was starting to get dark and cool off, and I was passing some people and just running along. If I started to hurt a bit much, I walked for awhile and took a break. I wasn’t putting too much pressure on myself for the marathon – I still wasn’t sure I could do it. (I was honestly doubting whether I could even walk that far…)

About ¾ through the first lap (course is 2 13.1 mi loops) I walked/ran for a bit with a really nice guy who was also giving it his first shot – first full, first marathon….we bonded for a few minutes. He was a really happy guy with a FANTASTIC attitude. I needed him for a few minutes, that’s for sure. A few miles later we both kind of realized that my running pace was a bit faster than his and I realized that me running any slower was starting to hurt more and him running faster was starting to hurt him. So we cut loose – he did finish though, and I’m proud to have shuffled along with him for awhile! I ran into Gar the first time around there and he was still having some calorie issues. He was looking better, though, and I was feeling good about both of us at that point.

It’s about then that you start chugging down this hill that’s like, 2 miles long or something. I hadn’t noticed quite how long the bleeping thing was on the way up, but it felt much better going the opposite way, that’s for sure! Finished out that loop and got to Special Needs – picked up my blessed long sleeve shirt and ditched the short sleeve (that was rubbing holes in my arms – TOTALLY forgot to body glide up before running…crap!) My good old, dependable Drumstick Dash shirt (acquired on a short run back in early spring after it was abandoned in a thicket – I let it suffer for a couple of days before rescue - it's not stealing!) and I, my little compression shorts, Capri tights, calf sleeves and visor with the newly acquired glow headband and off into the night I went. I didn’t realize how many of the half people I was still running with on that first loop, but wow did it get lonely really quick on the second.

Just trying to get back to the banners…keep running.The volunteer staff was thinned down a little bit, the course traffic had thinned out a lot, it was dark and getting cold and I was starting to hurt again. I just kind of retreated into my head and was depending on my usual tricks and jokes. “Just what makes that ant..think he can move that rubber tree plant….an ant..can’t..move a rubber tree plant…..but he’s got…HIGH HOPES!” Rinse and repeat as necessary, and don’t forget the arm motions…the innocent bystanders may think you’re crazy, but damn them it’s been a long day and the song keeps working. (I started singing the song about 20 miles into the bike ride…sometimes all you need is a slogan.)

There comes a point in the marathon where I think everyone just kind of gets delirious. All the fast people were long gone (probably already home and clean), the only ones still out there are the folks like you, the ones having a really rough day or the ones that are plugging along at their own speed. Either way, no one really feels great and everyone pretty much stops talking to each other. You start saying something to just about everyone that passes, but they’re quiet and much less intelligible than the comments were earlier. It’s now “good job” or “we’re almost there” or “keep chuggin” or something along those lines…but it’s said on a wheeze, or almost a whisper. But you know they’re still saying it too, and we’re all on the same course, and somehow that helps everyone keep going.

(Gar coming through halfway, example of how desolate and lonely it was getting...) I started seeing many more people with the space blankets wrapped around them or tucked into their shirts. Let me tell you – they make some noise! I would drive myself crazy with all that crinkling, but if it helps then go for it. I still wasn’t getting super cold (but was wearing some layers) and was getting closer to home. About mile 18 (or something like ¾ up that long-ass bastard hill) I ran out of the last “uphill” energy I had left in my body. I had, back at the beginning of the loop, decided that uphill walking was ok – well, any walking was really ok – and that I would just maintain running whenever possible. Quite frankly, I was impressed as hell that I still had the ability to run at all. I dropped a gel somewhere around 21-22 (the last one I was going to take and the one I really wanted) and was heartbroken. I couldn’t bend over to get it!! I started to try and realized with a giggle that I would face plant and I didn’t want to ruin the Drumstick Dash shirt with blood and I was NOT going to hospital because I fell over trying to get a gel that I had dropped when I had 6 others in my little pack still. Sorry Frank, I littered, maybe someone else was able to use it?!?!
Charging down the damn hill again, finding my run cadence and feeling surprisingly good (getting closer to the finish apparently does that to a person), passed a chick that had passed me a couple times during the uphills and we had a good laugh. Maybe there are benefits to not being the skinny chick and maybe I can find an “all downhill” race. I’d be unbeatable! (The natives, starting to get restless and cold....so was I - still running..)

My run nutrition was pretty much in line with what was planned on the bike, around 200 calories. I was shooting to pop salt tabs whenever needed, eat a gel an hour and carrying 20 oz of concentrated Gu2o, hoping to drink about 6 – 10 oz mixed with aid station water per hour as well. I had another bottle of drink to pick up at Special Needs to refill my fuel belt. I didn’t really manage myself to that plan though, and while I was consuming gels fairly on schedule I opted to leave the concentrate at Special Needs. Thus, I went the whole distance on 20 oz of concentrate, which should have been about 40 oz of fluid plus water. I think I was confusing the aid station volunteers when I kept saying I was fine and didn’t need anything. I felt pretty good though, and am not sure my stomach would have tolerated much more.

The last 1.5 miles starts with trudging up the last part of that damn hill you just charged down (in my case very, very slowly) and then you turn onto a Monon-like path. Then it’s across the road and into the finish chute and you’re home. I managed to coerce myself into running the path and started coaching to put my arms up as I crossed the line. I thanked the last few officers again (I’d now seen them 4 times) and that was it.

I threw my arms up in the air as I crossed the line and spent a few seconds realizing what I had just accomplished as they start throwing space blankets on you and removing chips and putting medals around your neck – it’s quite hectic and a bit more than my brain could handle at that moment. I just kept thinking, Mom and Dad over there, go left. I then started laughing because, while I was able to get my arms up, I didn’t have the energy to also lift my head, so my finish photos are quite hilarious. Run Time 5:31.

I'm just going to sit here and have a bit of a cry...ok?

T2: I wandered into the tent in a bit of a daze. I wasn’t in any hurry to get out of there, having not decided if I could do the run or not, and just sat down and told the super sweet volunteer lady that “I was just going to have a bit of a cry now,” if she didn’t mind. She told me that was perfectly find and asked me if I was cold. I took a few minutes (18, to be exact) to get myself together and relax a bit. I knew the marathon was going to be ugly and while I still wasn’t convinced I could do it, I was sure that I could plod along for awhile and could make the final decision halfway through. There was a young girl that was very talkative and funny and she helped me feel a bit better about the world in general.

This was clearly the lowest point of the whole thing for me. My body hurt, my mind hurt from being alone for so long and it was starting to get dark-ish. I had made the cutoff in plenty of time (it was around 2:30, cutoff was 5p) but I just was having major doubts. I kept thinking about all the people that were thinking of me and everyone that’s helped me and I knew I couldn’t give up – I had to at least try. So a gel later, some stretching, some tears, some whining and a little bit of water and off I went….to run further than I’ve ever run before, after biking further than I’ve ever biked with more climbing than I’ve ever climbed…..easy, right? I had the slowest T2 time of anyone in the race (which doesn’t make me happy) but I managed to fight off some pretty big demons. T2 – 18:44

How to Bike Up Many Hills...

Bike: Bike shoes, glasses, socks and a quick joke to the transition volunteers (who had just gotten yelled at because some schmuck – maybe the sideways swimmer? – couldn’t find his helmet. It had blown off his bike and was sitting a bike or two over. Ass. Like those nice ladies wanted anything to do with your helmet...) about inappropriate farm animals and I’m off.

Now you know I’m having a bit of an issue when I stop and step over my bike instead of the running, flying mount that’s quite the norm... I figured that between the gale winds and the uphill boat ramp start and the 2.4 mi. swim I might be safer to just take it easy. So I gear down and hunker down and just start spinning and stretching my legs out up the hill – into the wind. (Have I mentioned that there was a lot of wind, and that it was coming straight down the hill? Just wanted to make sure that was clear…) It probably took me about 15 minutes to get up that first hill – I went just as far from side to side as I did forward. Some nice guy (read: smart ass) rode by me and said something like, you’re clipped in now get small, meaning to drop down into my aero bars and be a smaller target for the wind. Yeah, right. I was a bit more focused on breathing, moving forward and not getting blown over. Have fun Aero Man… (Note the wind blowing the sign almost horizontal above my head….yeah, wind.)

Up to the main road and headed across the wind for the next 10 – 12 miles. Absolutely getting beat up by the wind – riding more sideways than anything else trying not to get blown off the road and into the canyons on either side. Oh, and did I mention that the rain had started at some point while I was slogging up the first hill? So now not only am I riding in some of the strongest winds I’ve ever ridden in (on borrowed, deep-dish wheels on an aero bike), but it’s on wet pavement (in the desert, where it never rains)! Happy, Happy, Joy, Joy! How lucky is THAT??

There are some fairly decent rollers through the first section which would be GREAT for my riding style if I hadn’t been holding on for dear life and on my brakes almost the whole time. It was somewhere during this time that I started crying for the first time. I wasn’t quite sure if I had really signed up for all that, and not sure that I could endure it for over 100 miles. It was around then that I also made the decision that if it didn’t let up by 40 – 50 miles; I wasn’t going to make it. I was going to give up. I started thinking about all of the training and how Mom once voiced to me that they thought that if I had to quit this one I might not ever try one again and how when I first asked him if he thought I could do it Dad had answered no without much thought. Low point #1 and only about 30 minutes into the bike…fantastic.

So as the rain poured down, I kept riding. I also kept getting colder, wetter and more miserable. About 12 miles in the course turns – the only turn in the first 90 miles with the exception of the turnaround – and then the wind is behind you (or at least that’s what they tell you, it’s not really behind you at all, more like just off your right butt cheek). It’s also downhill around about 2 miles and there’s a bridge on a curve – and you’re still in the desert where it doesn’t rain. The wind reached it’s full potential, I was about to wear out my brakes, I was basically bawling and about then I started praying out loud. To anyone else I might have looked a bit crazy, and I probably shouldn’t use that tone with God, but it was getting me through what needed to be done.

I’m not entirely sure at what point the wind died down but I started to relax a little bit and feel a little more secure on the bike. I kept telling myself to just pedal and relax and I think I was going up a long, long hill. I passed 30 miles and was feeling decent again. It was freezing-ass cold and I was no longer feeling my legs, feet, fingers or arms (which could have contributed to the decent-feeling-ness) but I was making it up the hills and cruising right along. At some point in training I had figured out that I wanted to shoot for a 14mph average speed – that would get me to the cutoff in plenty of time. There was a lot of time where I was way below that speed, but I was evening it out on the downhills.
Watch out for those Japanese Tourist-like parents! They fly by you at Mach 3, then simultaneously pop out of all 4 car doors and start snapping pictures and screaming. They’ll get you coming and going….

I’ve always been pretty decent at descending and apparently the Zipps help that cause. I was descending like a rocket and feeling fairly ok about life at that point. I still wasn’t sure I could make the cutoff and I still wasn’t sure I could do the whole thing, but I just kept telling myself to enjoy the ride and the scenery. And let me tell you, the scenery is flat-out amazing.

Gar’s parents showed up fairly early on and we hop-scotched for awhile. (Apparently I go downhill a bit quick to get a decent picture, but they made me smile a couple times and it helped.) I figured that Gar was right on my tail and about to pass me at any moment – which was expected – so I just kept riding along. Somewhere around 40 miles in, the sun came out about the time I got to the top of a massive hill (which also signified the end of the smooth pavement). I spent the next few minutes blasting along at an alarming speed and having the time of my life – getting all sorts of odd stares from the guys coming the other way and I even caught some air a couple of times off of the bumps in the road. If ever riding in Bloomington on those sketchy roads for a couple years with Anna racing downhill has paid off – it was right then.

I had started to notice, however, a really annoying habit my bike had picked up. I kept dropping my chain anytime I shifted into my big ring. I did figure out how to shift and get it back on the fly – a trick I’ve been trying to learn for years – but I was starting to get damn angry. About a mile from the turnaround I couldn’t get it to pop back on and wound up completely locking up my gears – sending me skidding into the gravel on the side of the road to dislodge the bleeping thing (and there were plenty of bleeps…believe me). Got to the turnaround and things were starting to ache a bit in my hips and knees and then I was over halfway and – of course - uphill. Only a few miles to a PB&J and some fresh bottles. Also a chance to stand on my legs for a minute. Saw Gar coming flying down the hill and yelled at him that I needed help at Special Needs. Not sure if he heard me, but it made me feel ok.

I grabbed my bag and relished the chance to chat with Ron for a couple of minutes while Gar came pounding back up the road. The special needs station was pretty slick – this little guy tried to catch your number as you went screaming by downhill and they grabbed your bag from the truck and put it by the road, then when you come up the hill (at a snail’s pace in my example) they call it out early and hand your bag to you as you roll through. The super nice volunteer tried to get me everything I needed in under 10 seconds until I laughed and told him that I was in no hurry, I was waiting on my buddy to get there to fix the bleeping bike. A quick derailleur adjustment later and a heavenly PB&J (3/4 of it anyway) and Gar, the bike, and I were ready to go. Found out that he wasn’t feeling so hot and was struggling a bit. But off we went again…headed toward the barn.

My knees were starting to ache a bit and I had been battling a massive cramp in my left hip for about 30 miles at that point, not good signs but I decided to just kind of stick to the plan and keep spinning along. My parents disappeared again somewhere around mile 60 or so to not be seen again until transition – they got hungry. Gar had been ahead of me for part of the first hill, then dropped back and continued his own struggles.

I was trying to keep things under control with the heart rate and my knees and stretch my hip whenever possible – nothing too strenuous, I had switched into survival mode. I played cat and mouse for the rest of the bike ride with this hilarious chick with a beautiful accent – she totally rocked the uphills and I would go screaming by on the downhills. That made it a bit more entertaining. The wind showed back up as we got closer to the lake and I hit another low point and struggled for awhile. Shed some more tears, cussed a bit more, wished my parents hadn’t disappeared and just wanted to be off of my bike. Was again struggling with whether or not I could finish and what the hell had made us decide to do this to begin with. It’s really hard to imagine the enormity of the whole thing at that point – you can’t really get past the little things that hurt. It helped to look out at the scenery and breathe. I was paying my dues and still surviving. (Taken just prior to the parental disappearing act, I believe while they drove by blaring Britney Spears….thanks kids.)

I finally made the turn off of that damned road and onto the bike path – that’s at about mile 90 - 92. I knew that meant the dreaded “Three Sisters” was just ahead of me. Three fairly short but super-steep hills (18% grade) back-to-back that sap the life out of just about everyone. I wasn’t too worried about the Sisters, I had the gearing ready for steep and knew I could do it (thank you Hilly Hundred!). I also knew that these were followed by about 4 miles of “false flat”…where it looks flat but it’s really not, you’re headed up a slight hill and these just tend to drain whatever energy you have left. I pounded up the Sisters – some quality climbing and actual pushing out of the saddle actually felt good and was just cruising up the path in my own little world – I tend to do fairly well at false flats, something about just zoning out and pedaling tends to work well with me. I knew most of the major climbing was done – but so was the fantastic scenery, now it was into suburbia.

I was struggling again and getting more and more sick of my bike and this bike path is literally in the middle of nowhere, not really much scenery, no other people, just the occasional turn and bump. I still have no idea where this part of it is on the map, all I know is that it would be cool to have nearby to train on, but that it sucks majorly to ride on from mile 93 – 100. Between the hills, my hips, the weather (it was now drizzly again and a bit windy and just getting cold), my knees and my arms hurting I just spent most of the next 5 – 6 miles crying and suffering. But I kept pedaling, knowing that quitting out there wasn’t an option, some animal would be the first to find my carcass.

When we were looking over the maps in the days prior, Gar mentioned that at about mile 105, there was a nice, long downhill that started and that’d be a good point to start spinning out the legs, flushing them and getting ready for the run. I don’t know if that’s quite what I accomplished, but I know I rocketed down the downhill and didn’t pedal for a long time. I don’t know if flushing them out was even applicable at that point – I was just trying to get myself back into a positive mindset and trying to keep “on task”. I just plowed through the last miles wanting off my bike and wanting to be done.

I rolled into transition and had a hard time standing up, left hip and right knee were just angry and I was a mess. My right Achilles was also really pissed, which is actually a nagging injury that’s shown up a few times on long rides. I’m sure it’s related to the repeated motion of pedaling and can maybe be fixed by positioning. Most of the rest was just wimpy aches and in my head. I was surprised that my hamstring – another nagging injury for most of the summer/fall – wasn’t really angry at all. (Thanks Vern!) It had threatened a couple of times but never really started hurting like I’m used to.

My nutrition plan for the bike was to try to take a gel in the first little while on the bike and then start taking them about every hour. I wanted to go through a full bottle about every hour and take a salt tab every hour or so as well. That would put me around 200 – 225 calories an hour, depending on if I nibbled any of the Chewy bar I also had in the bento. I had one regular mixed bottle on the bike when I left transition, the aero bottle filled and a 3x concentrate bottle to mix out of. At special needs I picked up another concentrate bottle, had an extra “regular” bottle and refilled the Gu selection. I upped the salt intake from time-to-time as I felt a little crampy or wimpy, but I’m fairly sure I managed to stay somewhat on schedule. I left the “normal” bottle at Special Needs since I hadn’t touched the original one. I had managed to go through almost 4 bottles at that point though, so I did need to pick up the concentrate. As far as the nutrition goes, I felt pretty good at the end of the bike ride and don’t know that I would do anything differently. I probably missed at least one gel and wasn’t quite on time with the bottles, but again I felt pretty good – 112 miles considered. Most of my pain was aches and just related to how long I had been pedaling that bleeping bike.

They took my bike from me and I’m fairly sure I mentioned that I didn’t want to see the bastard for a long time. (Needless to say with a marathon ahead of me, that wasn’t a problem!) I was handed my transition bag and hobbled into the tent to decide if I could take on the third leg of this insanity. The bike ride humbled me completely and taught me the value of grit. I’m not sure that I could accomplish that on any other day by itself, let alone after that swim and before that run. There’s a reason this course is deemed the “hardest out there”. I felt every foot of the 9500 climbing. Bike Time: 7:40

Wouldn't it figure the longest part of the race has the longest part of the write-up??

Transition - the Blessed Tent of Salvation

Transition1: Have I ever mentioned how much I dislike my wetsuit? It’s a great wetsuit and it fits well, but the damn thing and I just DON’T get along. I just don’t like having something that tight around my neck and shoulders. Moving up the ramp I start clawing at my wetsuit and trying to get the tail to pull the zipper. (There is a wonderful picture of this time …I’m looking far less than stellar, but it’s 100% evident how brutal the swim was…) My shoulders were toast, I was already freezing and I could no longer breathe. (Someone needed a nap…)

It was then that my little angels entered my life – someone asked if I needed help and next thing I knew I had 4 pairs of hands on my pulling various parts of my wetsuit down my body – sweet, blessed, fresh air – and telling me to lay down. No problemo – but isn’t this an odd place for my nap? They grab my wetsuit and start yanking and pulling while I laugh hysterically and next thing I know I’m laying on the hideous yellow carpet (which Frank CLEARLY got on sale in mass quantities) half naked. I don’t know if they handed me my wetsuit or not – but I definitely like those people!

Into the blessed change tent of salvation and as close to the heater as I can get….some really nice and very funny lady comes over and starts helping me – she put my arm warmers on for me just like Mom used to do with my girly tights!!! A little chamois cream for the bits (and the Nice Lady grabs a towel for me to wipe the “extra” off my fingers – she’s a doll) and I’m out the other side of the tent headed toward my bike.

First thing noticed: the gale that’s trying to blow me back into the tent.

First thought: oh hell, this could be interesting. When what to my wandering eyes should appear but a small herd of bundled up Eskimo parents yelling with cameras in hand!! Definitely a bump to the mentality there, and some quality humor at that…now, how am I going to ride my bike up this hill, into this wind…only 112 miles left...T1 time: 6:20

How to swim Uphill....

Swim: Maybe I didn’t notice or pay very much attention to the wind as we were standing there because it was at my back. Maybe I was thinking the water felt so great because I was peeing in my wetsuit. Maybe I didn’t notice the ominous clouds because they were behind me. Maybe I should have looked around a bit more…

The first part of the swim was met with the expected chaos – caught a quick kick to the right temple and an elbow to the ribs but nothing major. Was able to plow around a couple of people (including Gar apparently) and headed straight to the buoy. I noticed during my warm-up that they were a bit crooked and just focused swimming straight toward the yellow turn buoy – good strategy. I was in pretty open water with really no one around – big crowd off to the left following the buoy line.

Still feeling good and swimming straight, I was reminding myself not to follow the purple caps (relay swimmers) as their day was much shorter than mine. Then I made the turn for the long reach down to the turnaround. Immediately I noticed the water moving in a different direction and realized that I was going to need to spot more off the far buoys to save energy. I also know that spotting more equals swimming crooked for me, so I took a quick second to look at my line and figure out where I wanted to be. I managed to not veer too far either way over the course of that leg and realized I was gaining on the lead pack.

It seemed like the further down that leg we went the stronger the crosswind was moving – I started to think that was because of the way the land was shaped (read: big ass hill down toward the lake – does wind have gravity, too?) , once I got out of the water I realized that point in the swim was when all hell started breaking loose in the sky, but that’s later..more swimming first.

Made the turn for the short leg at the far end of the swim course and was swimming basically across the wind. Holy hell did it get choppy quick! I was being pushed around a lot and fighting at almost a 45 degree angle to swim straight. I had waves breaking all the way over my body – not a feeling I’m used to – and actually started to get a little panicky. I had a few moments where I lost all sense of form and realized I was just flailing and not breathing right and was just basically swimming like crap. A few quick pep talks and I was headed back in the right direction and got the form back in line.

Turned again to head back down the long stretch and was swimming almost into the wind. My shoulders were starting to feel the stress but I kept reminding myself to do the work under water and relax on the recovery – I was having to pull my hands through really high to clear the chop and that was starting to hurt. The front group had split up a bit and I was gaining on a few of them. I was also having massive problems figuring out where I was headed – it isn’t exactly a straight line and the final turn buoy wasn’t visible given the small mountains that were the waves. I wound up off to the right at one point and only noticed because I was getting caught by a couple of people – that didn’t seem right. So I took a second and realized I was all outta whack and was headed apparently to Arizona (screw your swim course Frank, I want to go this way…the long way to transition, across the lake).

At this point the sun was gone, the wind was howling and I was pretty sure I was swimming up a mountain. A kayaker efficiently herded a couple of us around the last buoy and now we’re headed for home and directly into the wind as it’s howling down a hill almost a mile long….I’m swimming to the right of a couple people (one very efficient male swimmer and a very efficiently drafting relay swimmer) and see this orange cap appear off to my right – he’d managed to cut the last buoy and was headed back into the fray. (I would normally whine about cheating – but not in those conditions, it wasn’t any easier regardless of where you were) For a short time I had a nice little lane lined up, catching a nice side draft from the two on my right and using the schmuck on my left as a guide. Schmuck then promptly closed the lane and swam directly into me (how do I manage to find contact and chaos 2.2 miles into a 2.4 mile swim?!). After a brief tussle he disappeared and I’m pretty sure the other two dropped back and onto my feet.

Mom’s convinced I was the only person that actually swam straight in off the last buoy – I’m not entirely sure, but I know I spent a long time hauling ass. The wind was blowing so hard (and the water was so clear) that I was looking at the same piece of seaweed for entirely too long and swimming harder than I have in almost 10 years. I finally just got mad and started hammering – made a little bit of progress and suddenly my hand is dragging in the sand. I stand up and immediately realize that it’s cold – WAY colder than it was last time I was standing vertically. Also notice about that time that the wind is hell bent on not letting me out of the water….start plowing through the water and everyone is hooting and hollering – the guy ahead keeps saying 107, 107. I thought he had it wrong – my number was 189. Turns out he was calling my time to me, whodathunkit. Jogged up the ramp and was directed toward T1…what an epic freaking swim – uphill almost all the way. Swim time: 1:07.

Pre Race....

(as previously mentioned...I'll post the full-blown race report on here in chunks...)

Pre-Race: Gary’s alarm went off at 3:30, making the most atrociously annoying sound, and was met with an impressive threat and scowl. (The intended 9p bedtime the night before had come and gone and I’m not sure that we went to sleep until about 11. Knowing the consequences of staying awake, it was still hard to shut up and sleep. Apparently, though, I was able to do just that and was snoring within minutes. Since I’m sure I don’t snore, I’m convinced it was just Gar hearing himself, because he was certainly making noise all night.) After I threatened Gar’s alarm and shut the others off, I managed to get the race gear on and put a couple more layers on to stay warm. Checked through the bags one more time to make sure nothing was leaking and everything was packed and it was off to the shuttles. A good 20 minute ride on a dark bus as you’re getting ready to take on one of your biggest goals isn’t exactly soothing. Text messages flying between Indiana and Nevada, however, helped a bit as Dan proffered the last-minute encouragement I apparently needed.

Stepping off the shuttle onto the boat ramp I quickly realized that the temperature wasn’t nearly as cold as had been expected and I started peeling off layers. (Remember this, it becomes important later…) I filled the bento box on my way past the bike, dropped off the special needs bags, grabbed my shoes, socks, glasses and helmet out of the T1 bag and put those on the bike and just hung out for awhile. I was watching others get their stuff ready and noticed that the wind was gusting and swirling at a fairly decent clip. It was about that time I heard someone mention a 20mph sustained wind forecast. I have fairly good bike-handling skills on a normal day, but riding on borrowed 404’s in heavy winds could be another story. Ah well, no sense worrying, at least everyone has the same wind, right?

Hung around a bit, soaking in the moment (Holy shit…I’m really getting ready to do an Ironman…ohboyohboyohboy), then started the blur of getting in to the wetsuit and getting my dry clothes turned in and getting everything locked and loaded. Anyone that knows me and had witnessed it knows that the “Wetsuit Dance” is funnier than it should be. It involves much dancing, bending, stretching and “oomphing” – this day did not disappoint.

As I headed out into the water listening to everyone shiver I thought about how great it felt – I was actually getting ready to do this thing...The sun was looking like it was getting ready to peak over the hills, the wind didn’t feel too bad, the shoulders were feeling good and the stomach was calm. I was standing just a few people back in the water anticipating a good swim and being able to jump out in front. Got a good laugh out of Race Director Frank trying to get away from the air horn Dave Scott was aiming at him and then it was go time….

Check this out...

Now this is cool...I totally DID that...and am seriously considering buying the full movie....

http://www.vimeo.com/2310667

Race Report....

So it's a bit epic. Some have already seen it and run in fear. I'm going to post the entire thing here in chunks over the next few days. Stay tuned, might make it a bit more palatable. First episode, "Pre Race" to air later today.

AW

Surviving...

Holy Hell....I'm still having things that hurt that I didn't know I had! My knees are a wreck if I'm on them for too long, my right achilles is toast, my left hip is almost dysfunctional and I'm just not quite working right. But that's ok. We've moved from our little casino/hotel in with my parents in their condo. Hung out down on the strip for a while last night and that was interesting. Headed out to do a little bit of shopping here in awhile too. CIRQUE SHOW TONIGHT, so I'm super stoked about that. Then it'll be time to lock down and get ready to head home tomorrow.

Awards breakfast was yesterday. Since I finished kinda later than I anticipated, I didn't really know where I was in the standings or how that stacked up. Got to hear Dave Scott and Macca both speak yesterday, as well as some great words from Race Director Frank as well (who is still no longer my friend). All-in-all, a great experience, though not one I intend to repeat next year. One is enough for awhile.

But here are the stats from the race:

-4th or 5th overall swim time

-14:43:32 (fourteen hours)

-83rd out of 137 finishers

-12th woman out of 23 (I think)

-First in my age group (technically 3rd, but one of them was the first woman overall and one was the first woman from Nevada, so they roll out of the age grp and I bumped up)

From what I can tell, about 30 some people started the race and didn't finish, but there were a bit over 200 on the participant list, so I'm not sure what happened there.

A full race report will be in the works, with more pictures, but I've still got a lot going on out here and am still hurting. So....stay tuned.

So....

Finished....right around 14 hours and 47 minutes or so, will probably find out the specifics tomorrow at the awards breakfast - where we think I might have gotten 3rd in the age group. Was a bit slower than originally hoped, and there are a LOT of factors to that. From the wind forecast to be sustained 20mph w/40mph gusts (which was a very low estimate) which whipped up amazingly choppy lake, to the same wind causing MAJOR problems on the bike, and my bike just NOT cooperating mechanically. I dropped my chain at least 10 times total, but did learn the neat trick that they've been trying to teach me for years in how to pop it back on while riding (sometimes....I did manage to completely lock the pedals and chain up at one point and wound up skidding into the gravel. So between the wind and rain on the bike and that combined with the never-ending hills (9,600 ft of climbing), I was toast coming off the bike headed into the run. So let's run a marathon with over 3,000 ft of climbing, too. A little slower but still under my original goal of 15 hours. Altogether, a very great learning experience. It will be at least a year before I attempt another one, and it'll probably be a more manageable course.

Gar kind of fell apart too with stomach issues on the bike that bled over to the run that were started - again - with the damn wind and chaos of the swim.

I was, or so the parents say, the second woman out of the water in a 1:07. It'll be interesting to see what the "typical" time from today was and how many people canned the day after or during the swim.

Altogether, fantastic experience. More details coming.

Mid-Race

I'm writing this early, but it'll post at some point tomorrow while I'm out on the course. Just taking a second to revel in how amazing this journey has been and how blessed I am to even attempt this thing. I've gotten so many text messages over the past couple of days (which makes me wonder if anyone but Gar and I are actually reading this) and it's so touching to know how many people remembered. (Yes, I understand it's all many of you have heard about for awhile...so I'm sorry for that, too.)

You are all such wonderful friends and I am so lucky. Thank you.

Again, if all goes well, I'm hoping to have accomplished this huge feat by about 8-ish local-time (11p EST). Whether I am actually done by then or not, I'm so thankful for the opportunity to even attempt this. Walking among the Challenged Athletes out here (Vets that have lost a limb or been otherwise gravely injured and have persevered and are competing here with the rest of us schmucks) it really puts things into perspective. How lucky we all are, how blessed and how amazed we should all be at the Master Plan. Thank You, for the opportunity, and thank the rest of you for the support.

Oh...

...and for the record, I think Alabama's #1 ranking is a complete joke. I hope Florida spanks them in the SEC Champ game....I respect the Tide's a decent team, but I don't think they're worthy of #1. Then, I don't think I'd really ever think that though.

WAR EAGLE. (Anyone makes a crack and I break your toes....so they're suffering a bit right now, whatever....)

Wow....

Checked in the bike and transition bags today, rode the bike around the hotel for awhile today, ate some Mormon pancakes this morning, got some food to eat in the morning (WalMart Neighborhood Market IS just as bad as the regular WalMarts), ate some El Pollo Loco, heard the end of the pre-race meeting and drove a medium chunk of the bike course for tomorrow....holy hell, what have I signed up for?

What I've seen of it looks to be somewhat manageable, though fairly intimidating. I'm going to try to add a slideshow of the pictures here in a bit...we'll see how it goes.

Headed off in a few to have dinner with the parents - all of them. A table for 8 should be entertaining with this motley crew. Going to try to get to sleep around 8:45 - 9....that should be somewhat entertaining. I've apparently perfected my ability to pass out within minutes.

I'm a little nervous, but surprisingly feeling ok about this whole thing. I'm just ready to get the show on the road. I know it's going to be hard and that there will be more than a few challenging moments and some low spots, but I've got so many people sending me good vibes and prayers, not to mention the cheering section here with me in town and out on the course, I'm feeling pretty good about my chances of survival.

So for the Indiana/midwest crew, start thinking good things about 10:45 - 11a tomorrow...that's approx. when I'll be headed out on my bike (hopefully) for a 112 mile ride. Mom should have the cell phone all day and it should be turned on, I'll try to get her to reply to any text inquiries if she can. I'm hoping to be off my bike by around 3p here (6p Indiana) and that's when things will REALLY get interesting. If it's a good day and things are going well, I'll hopefully be done by or right around 8p here (11p Indiana). If all goes well, cheeseburger and beer should be in-hand by 8:30 - 8:45....TBD on when I can actually eat them.

Phil. 4:13 - I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

Free Stuff

Anyone thinking of doing this race should do so....I haven't even done it yet but I'm thoroughly convinced...look at the free stuff you get!

Headed off in a few to the free pasta dinner...anyone who feeds me is a friend indeed!!

Girly Girl Tomboy...

I have been defined. Woke up and wandered down to get coffee. Apparently I was wrong on "the schedule", today's a day off to get other stuff done. Woke up and wandered down to the Starbucks. Hanging out here for awhile, getting ready to shower then it's off to the packet pick-up, wander around the expo for awhile, then off to a little extra-credit shopping and wait for the parents to be around.

Woke up in the middle of the night and my feet were killing me. Put on a pair of compression socks and life got a little better. Staying on "Indiana time" might get harder over the next couple of days, but I did manage almost instantly pass out at midnight IN time (9p here). Woke up this morning and wandered down to the lobby to get coffee. I got more than a few strange looks....and people aren't even subtle about it!! One guy made eye contact, then stared blatantly at my legs. Gar says I look like I just stepped out of the 70's, I vote soccer game. Either way, I embraced long ago that I'm ok looking like a dork. (Note the Starbucks and complimentary newspaper, already read...I'm secretly 40 years old....nice reflection Gar)

Told you so....

I told you there would be stupid funny moments. I just tried to take the little card out of my camera and stick it into my computer so that I could load up a couple of the pictures I took today. I promptly stuck the card into the entirely wrong slot on the computer (where the wireless card goes) and couldn't get it back out. Gar performed a quick pseudo-surgery on the computer using the room key and voila! Included are just a couple of our new "home".

We went for a 12 minute run today around the hotel property. Promptly both discovered that we are tired, not hydrated enough and starving hungry. And that's long enough for the muscles to fire up and know what the intent was.

Tomorrow morning is slated to get up, maybe another quick run and/or bike and then it's off to the expo and packet pick up. There's a pasta dinner and the parents are all arriving at some point or another. So it'll be an interesting day.

The good news: we found an Einstein Bagels place just down the road (as we drove around for about 30 minutes looking for breakfast...anywhere) and that might be hit up again tomorrow.

The even better news: There's a Starbucks in the lobby.

Quote of the day: "You can have all the liberals you want and you'll never get the guns out of America. Just look at Southern California, it's not the registered guns causing the problems....they didn't go to Wal-Mart to buy their AK." (Good job Gar)

Morning Workouts...

I swam at the IUPUI Natatorium this morning for the first time in YEARS. Seriously, years. I haven't swam there since I was in high school - when it felt like I swam there all the time. I had forgotten what an amazing pool it is and how great it feels to swim in such a great pool, a competition pool and one of the fastest pools in the world! (Yes, pools really can be faster or slower than one another based on construction alone!) It was a nice, easy shake-out swim, but still, it just felt good.

Busy night of packing, panicking and forgetting ahead. Fly out at the crack of dawn tomorrow. I'll have the computer with me so stay tuned. Here is where life starts getting interesting!

Taper Workout - Monday

I'm skipping the swimming portion of tonight's broadcast...probably adding it to tomorrow. I refuse to go through the trouble of going to the pool and going through the rigamarole of swimming when the entire thing is only going to be 15 minutes long.

3x10 min on the bike with increasing intensity - while watching Dancing with the Stars in the living room.

3x10 min run build to race pace - 5min easy, 2 min med, 2 min hard. 3.27 total mi. 9:08 pace. It's wimpy to the gazelles reading this, but it's flat out hauling ass for me. Bring on a marathon - I'm clearly ready!!! (insert hysterical laughter here)

Pasta....yay.

The "New Stuff" List

Ok, I have a bit of a problem, but at least I readily admit it. Below are some of the things I've acquired throughout this process this summer....(note: some of this isn't specific JUST for this race)

-Bike Fitting
-New Saddle
-New Cassette (gearing)
-New Cranks (pedal arms)
-AeroBottle
-Compression Socks (3 pair)
-Compression Sleeves (2 pair)
-Compression Tights (1 pair)
-Cycling shorts (2 pair)
-Tri Top (2)
-5 Cans Gu2o
-Appx. 6 boxes of Gu
-4 water bottles
-2 half-iron entry fees (Muncie and Great Illini)
-Silverman Entry Fee
-Plane Ticket to Vegas (b-day present)
-Hilly Hundred Registration
-New Running Shoes

This is just some of it....but the approximate cost for the above is little over $2k. I don't know that there's been much more "new"...so that's good. And of course I think it's worth it.

-Tri Shoes

This guy gets it:

To the uninitiated, North Shore Road will impose a demanding series of inclines that never end--- a series of inclines that get you both going out and coming back. Frank Lowery, Slverman race director, is a cruel, cruel, course designer. Just ask Chris McCormack who has stated that it is the toughest cycling stage he has ever encountered.

I think that the Friday night Silverman pasta dinner will officialy put me over the top. Chris McCormack, Dave Scott, fourteen countries... all... fifty... states. Yeah, that will blow my mind.

And how about that phenomenal volunteer to athlete ratio? Can you believe that there will be 4 vlounteers to every single competitor. Unbelievable.

Welcome, Silverman, to the ranks of one of the most demanding and most quality full distance races on the planet! I am very humbled that I have an opportunity to partake of this experience.

Yeah, I'm there, too. What a great thing this is going to be. How lucky I am - Win, lose, finish or not. He summed it up pretty well somewhere else:

...it's about dreaming/imagining that what seems impossible... is within reach.

How to ruin a weekend....for four.

Not directly related to the race, but worthy of posting as it has affected the taper training and will most likely take a couple more days to recover.

Went to the "Here Come the Mummies" concert last night at the Vogue. For the record, one of my favorite bands. Yes, they're a bit odd, but they're incredibly fun and I'm devoted. Not the smartest thing to do - go to a concert in a smoky bar and stand and jump around for a few hours. Whatever. Dressed comfortably, had good friends and a good time. Leaving the concert right afterward (around 12:45) I learned that someone had parked TOO CLOSE to my car - and hit the front bumper, cracking it. Called Dan and got IMPD number and called it in - first call to dispatch at 12:54. Since the car was still there (STILL THERE!!!) and I've listened to Dan discuss enough times how much more they can do when everything is still there I decided to wait and deal with it. Snapped a few photos with the camera since I had it. Waiting...waiting...waiting...saw a police car just around the corner and talked to the guy - said he had to wait for the tow truck for that car but if no one else had shown up by the time he was done he would help me. (Note: I specifically asked this guy if he could help me. He said he would if there wasn't anyone else. This becomes important later.) Cool. I describe the car and where we are and walk back. Tow truck comes and goes, still no cop. During this time I'm also trying to flag down any other passing cars (per instruction from Dan) with no success. I figure you know, it's Halloween, they've got bigger issues and I understand that. I go back around the corner since the tow's gone to see if the cop is done. Bastard is gone! Had to go out of his way to turn around and go the other way to avoid me. Shithead. So I continue the saga.....trying to flag down...calling Dan and whining...getting colder and colder...still standing outside (in scrubs, a tank top and a lab coat - I did have gloves though) and freezing. I called dispatch back and was told the standard "Someone's on their way..." a couple more times. (Turns out there was a robbery and someone shot during this time - so I do understand things being busy and slow...I really do.) I finally called Dan again at about 2:45 crying and pissed. An officer from another district arrives shortly and gets things rolling - no less than 30 seconds after the chick arrives back at her car insisting that she didn't back into my car and she even had someone watching her back up. Note: This does NOT change the fact that she was entirely parked on the yellow curb. The front foot and a half of my car was on yellow....but that's another story) So....crash report written, information taken, yada yada yada....we get on the road to home at about 3:45.

Turns out schmuck ass IMPD officer literally got on the radio to dispatch and said, "I'm not taking another report up here, get another officer down here to help," and went back to his own district. And...that was the second time last night he did that crap. So...I called and spoke with the supervisor (at 4:50a) and was assured that he would be spoken to (again) and that the dude is just a jackass and his behaviour was "unacceptable bullshit." I wasn't really going to push it much further than that and file a formal complaint, everyone is entitled to a bad day and I'm not really about getting people in trouble. Was feeling the same way about the chick and the bumper...i wouldn't be stupid enough if I hit a car to actually park in that same space, so maybe it wasn't her, or maybe she didn't know she hit me, the damage isn't really awful, yada yaday yada...I was then reminded that I am a bit of a softie and quick to forgive and that's not necessarily a good thing. I work hard for my car and I love it, it's new and someone damaged my property (and the officer believes that it WAS her that hit it). Likewise, if the scmuck did that crap to me, and someone else that same night, what's the likelihood that he does it all the time and hello - your badge says IMPD not SOUTH DISTRICT. I've never been a big fan of anyone saying "that's not my job" and maybe someone should stand up for the little guy and remind the prick of what his job really is - to help the public.

So I finally got to sleep at about 5:20a....and I was worried about jumping around for a couple of hours on my feet. Hmm...guess I didn't anticipate standing outside in the chilly weather on my feet for another 2.5 hours in addition to that, in the middle of the night. Needless to say my legs are a bit trashed, I didn't eat dinner, didn't have nearly enough water, stood jumping around in a smoky bar for a long time and was way too close to too many people. I've slept most of the day - completely cancelled my 1.5hr run (might spin out my legs here in a bit just to move some) and have tried to get my body rehydrated and back on track for tomorrow.

And I woke up angry. This putz might have saved himself about 20 - 30 minutes (but did later learn that he was called back up to the Ripple at about the time I got to leave to take a crash report....karma's a bitch.) and in doing so effectively ruined 4 people's weekends. Noah had to be at work at 8a, Kate's kids were coming home at 8:30 and have a full schedule for the rest of the weekend, Nick intended to build a fence today. Not to mention that he put in jeopardy something that I've been working towards for months (if he can be selfish, I can too). Even if it doesn't go anywhere and nothing gets done, I'll be following up with the supervisor again this evening to find out how the conversation went and file a formal complaint. If it does nothing else, maybe he needs a "time out" to think about what the point of his damn job is.

So that's how one little guy ruined a weekend for at least four - and maybe someone else ruined a weekend (or insurance policy) for an unsuspecting girl who just happened to park in the wrong spot. In my selfishness - I'm sincerely hoping the weekend is all that's affected and I can stay healthy and get back on track with food, rest and the race will still be fine.

stupid broad ripple.