Mastering the Chill: Tips for Swimming in Cold Water
September 22, 2023
Juggling Act: Strategies for Athletes Navigating a Hectic Family Schedule
January 11, 2024
I still can’t believe I’m a freaking IRONMAN! By far my greatest athletic accomplishment to date! Anyway… It was a great challenge bouncing back from having a baby, but I did it! In the week leading up to race day I felt so much uncertainty. There were many times I felt that I had rushed myself into getting back into racing. My mantra has always been, you can do hard things so I knew I had to try my best.
Most of my stress came from the fact that I was traveling with a 5-month-old and making sure that she had everything that she needed. Aside from that, it was the stress of flying with Roo, my bike. I was worried that she would get damaged or something would end up missing. But it all went just fine!
One thing I will be doing before my next race is learning how to change a flat! I felt good about my last few workouts other than my lack of having any long runs under my belt due to my janky hip. But December 7th came quick and we were on our way to Florida!
After seeing my bike at the airport and Teags being great on the flight, I knew things were shaping up to be fantastic for me! My biggest weakness has been nutrition during races and even leading up to them. So I knew I had to be smart about what I put in my body… I made a list and stuck to it! I was hydrating as if I was going to be roaming the desert for days. I like to scout out the race area, so I made Justin and my sister go to Ironman village twice with me to navigate the area and get a good feel of it. Also to help calm my nerves! I felt really good once we got my bike altogether and nothing was missing! I did realize that I did not bring my tire pump, but my brother assured me there would be a ton in transition, he was correct! Saturday came and it was time to drop rue off for her sleepover in transition period I did something that I’m not sure too many people do… I was preparing to race with no knowledge or kit to change a flat… Here we are, the eve of my first 70.3! Teagan had not been sleeping the best at the Airbnb, so I knew it would be a really early morning. We all went to bed early and as I drifted to sleep it began… the nightmares of all that could go wrong…
Race Day
Here it was, race day! The day I have thought about for over a year was finally here! I hydrated and ate and we were out the door! I made it to Roo, checked the tires, they felt hard so I left them. I set my stuff out the way I do with every tri and made my way back out of transition. My sister came early with me so I met back up with her and continued to hydrate, stress, and visit the restroom. I wanted to make sure that I saw Justin and Teagan before I went into the swim, so I seated myself in the back of the pack. Some time went by and I finally saw him, of course he did not hear me yelling for him, so I chased after him. I got to say hi to him and by doing that I seeded myself a little higher than I thought I could do. But i was already in the chute! GO TIME!!
Swim
I did another thing that most don’t do… I wore new goggles on the swim. They worked perfectly! My wet suit was fitting perfectly and only took me about 15 minutes to achieve that fit. I was worried about being swam over due to my seeding but it was achieve that fit. I was worried about being swam over due to my seeding, but it is what it was at that point. Into the water I went… I felt like I crushed the swim!!
Bike
Going into the bike I felt pretty good, but also so nervous. I started off feeling really good about my progress. I was drinking about every 5 miles and eating about every 10 or so. The headwind sucked and I mean sucked! But what really got me stressing was the road got rough and realizing that if I got a flat I was in trouble, big trouble. But I didn’t!! Thank goodness!! I felt good until about mile 50 and my butt and back started to bother me. But I was close, I just needed to deal with it! I felt like I drank enough and ate enough to not only make it through the bike, but to set me up for the run! I wish my bike would have been a little faster, but overall I’m pleased.
Run
I hurt ALL over! I took off on the run and saw my family for the first lap and I was overcome with happiness that they were there cheering me on! There were two big, to me, hills that I walked up, but otherwise I tried to run as much as I could. When I did walk I tried to keep it to no more than 2 minutes at a time. I drank and ate at almost every aid station, also took ice to put in my top and water to dump on my head. The entire first lap the sun was out and it was hot! The second lap there was some cloud cover, thank goodness! The start of my second lap, seeing my family again made me cry. I was happy to see them, but sad I had such a long way to go and that they were out in the heat and sun because of me. Then my sister came running alongside of me. Telling me how proud of me they all were and how good Teags was doing. I felt better and pushed forward. I did the same thing the second lap as I did on the first. I was close, so close, but literally everything hurt. I came to the last aid station and did the same thing I had done at all the aid stations, drank, ate, drank, then gave myself a cool down with water. Except at this last station instead of dumping water on my head it was Coke. I turned on what I had left of the turbos and came across the finish line! I did it, I DID IT! 70.3 baby!
It felt so good to be done, I had a lot to be proud of and a lot to work on. After the race and after we got home I had a lot going on, not only with the holidays, but with my health that I had to take some time to get some answers. Not only with my hip, but some other health concerns that I had to get figured out. I did not/have not really worked out since my race. Time to get back after it!
Let’s go Chatty 70.3!
