The ironman world championship is about overcoming adversity and divine intervention..... God wanted me to finish

Well, here it is... my much anticipated race report. Kona is a stunning place, and the water here is the most beautiful water I have ever seen. I was nervous about swimming in the ocean with jellyfish, sharks, etc... however, once I got here and took a practice swim, all that fear went out the window! The water was crystal clear and you could see everything. I could go on about what a wonderful week I had, the incredible people I met, and the awesome swimming with the dophins adventure I had, but I know you all want to hear about the race, and I only have 20 minutes at this internet cafe, so let's get to it.

The swim:

It took about 15 to 20 minutes to make it through the massive line to get into the starting shoot to get to the water. I waited around until 20 minutes before gun time and ended up standing in this line right up until start time. The swim was a floating start, and I swam out to the very back of the crowd and right as I got there the gun went off, and off we went. This was the least jostled I have ever been in an ironman swim. Probably because I was in the back where I belonged and all the other racers were damn fast! The swim was an out and back and swimming out to the turnaround I had this asian guy swimming next to me the whole time who I could not get rid of. He was wearing a speedsuit and wasn't even kicking his feet, so it didn't make it convenient for me to draft off of him, however, he decided to draft off of me and I ended up pulling him for at least a half mile before I finally did a massive kick, turned over and yelled "GET OFF ME" at him. My little tribute to Gilbert :-)

Coming in from the swim to transition was pretty uneventful, took me a while as I had to use the port a potty and slather sunblock everywhere. Plus, they made us run around the entire perimeter of the transition area in order to get to our bags, which just added time. I was super impressed that they were able to fit transition and bikes in such a small area on the pier. The bikes were racked in wood blocks which was super cool. Got off on the bike and out on the Queen K and things are going well. My swim took me a lot longer than I anticipated. Thanks a lot drafting dude.... and I was one of the last cyclists out. The bike was very lonely, as I truly was out there by myself. They had bike aid stations at what seemed like every 10 miles, and I poured water on top of my head and on my jersey and arm sleeves at every single one and that kept me cool. I heard reports that the asphalt was well over 100 degrees, but it really did not feel that hot to me. At just after mile 40 I had every triathletes worst nightmare happen. I got a flat tire. Who knows, how long I was riding on it, I had just made the turn towards Havi, and all the age groupers were passing me to come back at this point. It had gotten really hilly and windy and I felt like I was riding on bumps yet there were no bumps. A single speed bike guy passed me and at that point I knew something was seriously wrong, so I looked down and noticed the flat. I stopped and realized that I did not have a tool to let the air out of the valve extenders and I was freaking out. How the hell was I going to change this tire without that tool. I had practiced changing these race wheels once before and I absolutely had to let all of the air out of the tires in order to get the tire off. Without that tool, I was in real trouble, because the tire still had a little bit of air in it. At this point, a true act of god occurred, as a bike mechanic van pulled up and asked if I needed help. I'm dead serious!! How could I possibly be this lucky!! They stopped and changed the tire for me. No joke! Took them less than 10 minutes and I was back on my way. I managed to catch up to the single speed bike guy and a couple of other people who passed me. At the turn around I had a fierce tail wind which allowed me to make up some time, there were also fierce cross winds as well. Let me tell you, I have never in my life cycled in such fierce winds. I was truly scared that these winds were going to knock me over and cause me to crash. I saw several injured people who this had happened to while I was riding, and it was a very scary experience. Once I turned back onto the Queen K, I was riding into a head wind. The hills were not that bad on this course and I still did a decent time despite the flat tire. At one point on the bike I looked down and noticed that my legs were red. This really concerned me because I still had about 25 miles left to go at this point and I stopped and asked someone who had parked their truck to cheer if they had any sunblock I could borrow and they did. This was the second miracle to happen for me during this race. I wanted to cry at this point as I couldn't believe my good fortune and I was getting emotional. I was blessed to get a lottery slot and any negative thing that happened seemed to have a solution right in front of me. I truly felt that God was with me and wanted me to finish this race. As I reached transition I still had over and hour and a half left before the cutoff time. Yay! I started the run off strong and didn't even need to bring my sunglasses as at this point it was cloudy and the sun was starting to go down. I knew the sun would set around 6 pm and I knew it would get pitch black at that point so I wanted to run as strong as I could before I would have to start walking in the dark. Once I got to mile 5, I got a spurt of energy and was running at a really good pace. Had to have been at least a 10 minute mile pace, which for a ironman is pretty damn good. Once I got to mile 11 the sun had set and it had gotten dark. At that point, I had to start walking as it was just too dark to run and was not safe at that point. It was a lonely last 13 miles as there were so few of us left on the course at that point. I would try to run whenever I would get to any aid station that had light, and at the turnaround, a truly awesome volunteer must have walked half a mile with me holding water and gatorade for me while I walked. He told me I only had 6 miles left to go, even though I had 8 miles left and knew it. Oh well, gotta love volunteers! I started running again in the last half mile before the finish as I had reached the town lights again. I can not tell you how awesome it was to run in and have so many specators there giving me high fives and telling me how much I rock! This was a constant for the last half mile of the race, and what a truly amazing experience it was to cross that finish line. I want to thank all of my friends who offered me encouragement when I needed it, I want to thank all of you for reading this and putting up with me during my training, my breakdowns, and just listening to me talk about nothing but this for the past 6 months. It was an experience of a lifetime and I'll cherish it forever. Thankyou to God for giving me this wonderful opportunity and for pushing me past my limits. Truly, Anything really is possible

I'm leaving on a jetplane.......

Hi everyone,

Well, I am packed and ready to go and will arrive in Kona on Monday night. I'm excited and ready to do this race!! I am bib number 1162 and you can follow me on race day (Saturday October 9th) at ironmanlive.com. I'm also trying to get my race splits fed to my twitter account, so you can check that barring that ironmanlive doesn't have any issues. My twitter handle is @lauriev. Since, I'm traveling by myself I will not have anyone to feed my facebook profile, which would have been awesome, since everyone of my dear friends is on facebook, but it is what it is, and I'm not bringing a computer with me, so you are stuck with my iphone pics uploading to facebook. I am bringing my camera and hopefully will meet some adopted friends for the week to take pics of me while I'm doing the race. The cool thing is that I have met several people online who have offered to be my friends for the week, so I really won't be alone out there. Did I tell you how excited I am about this? Not to build this up too much, but I have dreamed of this day since I was 21 years old in college watching Mark Allen win the ironman world championship. I'm amazed that I've come this far and am getting a once in a lifetime dream to do this. Yes, people, miracles do happen, and they may not happen at the most opportune time, or exactly when you want them to, but if you want something bad enough it will come. Now, if I can channel that to the rest of my life, I'll be golden :-)

Thank you to all of my friends for your support and encouragement!!! I hope to make you all proud!!

Laurie

Two Weeks away... and I suck at fundraising

Hi everyone,

Well, it's crunch time and my big adventure is almost here. Tomorrow I do my last long run... 18 miler on tap, and then it is taper time! Woo Hoo!! Last weekend, I did a 92 mile bike ride on Saturday, a 15 mile run on Sunday, and a 2 mile swim on Monday. I'm tired all the time and I'm ready to get this over with.

I also have two more weeks to raise money for my charity. My dad passed away in February from Colon Cancer, so to honor his memory, I decided to raise money for the Colon Cancer Coalition. When I first came up with the idea, I had grandiose dreams. Raising $10,000 didn't seem too far out of my reach. Erin Truslow, helped me come up with the idea of asking for $1 for every mile of ironman, which comes out to $140.60 per person. I figured, surely I could get 100 people to donate that amount.... I was wrong. Dead Wrong. This is why I am not in sales, I suck at asking people for money. Except my mom will disagree with me on that, but I digress... Getting my friends to even donate $10 was like pulling teeth. The majority of the money I have raised have come from either friends of my dad's or from acquaintances that I barely see that I have somehow managed to touch with my mission. Don’t get me wrong a few friends have donated and I am extremely grateful for their generosity and a big thank you to all of you. I just wish that I had a better personality. I wish I had the charisma to charm my 250+ facebook friends into donating $10 each. I will never do this again, and I need to stop feeling like I am a failure at everything. In my last post, I posted a phrase that someone had said to me, about not needing to do an ironman to prove that I'm not a failure in life.... Failure seems to be my nemisis. I've been feeling sorry for myself the last two days, because I lost a job to someone who gave a better presentation than I did. The non profit, that I was really excited about, really made me go through a lot of hoops and called all of my references spending 30 minutes with each one, now I get to call all of my references and tell them that I didn't get it because the other girl gave a better presentation than I did. They made us give an hour long presentation to the marketing department, and I did a good job... just not good enough.... Let's hope that I am good enough to cross the finish line in Kona....

"Laurie, you don't have to do an Ironman to prove you are not a failure in life"

Yes, I heard those words this week and boy it felt like a little light bulb went off inside my head. Seriously, is this why I'm doing Ironman Triathlons? For anyone who really knows me, this totally makes sense. The sad thing is that I'm on my third one now, but I have made a promise to myself that it will be my last one. Once this is over, I can take a break, and then find some other way to prove that I am not a failure in life....

In terms of training, I'm about to pull my hair out. I did a 92 mile bike last week, and I'm on tap to do the same or more tomorrow. Training by myself really sucks and it really takes a great amount of motivation and will power to make it through. Sunday, I'm slated to run for 16 miles. I have to give myself mental rewards at this point, and my mental reward for the next two weeks is that if I just get it done, then I will have a whole week of doing nothing in Hawaii leading up to the actual ironman. If I can get through these next two brutal weeks, I'll have a complete week off of working out leading up to the race, and I can enjoy Hawaii. Afterwards, if I finish, I can brag for the rest of my life, and hopefully feel that I am an accomplished human being that doesn't have anything to prove anymore.

If I can complete the Ironman World Championships, what is to keep me from getting a great job, marrying the man of my dreams, and living a happily ever after life?

I fell into a burning ring of fire, I went down down down and the flames went higher, and it burns, burns, burns,... The ring of fire!

Holy Smokes! There’s a reason they call it the Ring of Fire! I can honestly say this was one of the toughest rides I have ever done, but I’m so glad I did it! 70 miles of brutal non-stop hills in 101 degree weather. Yep, I think I’m ready for Kona now! Seriously, this ride is not for the faint of heart. I was good and hydrated and didn’t drink alcohol at all the week leading up to this event. I carpooled to Luckenbach with my buddy Sara and her friend Mary. We all met up at 5:30 in the morning at Sara’s house for the hour and a half ride into Luckenbach. I had my alarm set at 4:40 am. God that is early. I am so not a morning person so anything before 5 am feels sacrilegious to me. Anyhow, I made it to Sara’s house by 5:30 and we were off by 5:45. We had no problems getting there and took our time getting ready. By the time we got to the start line the 70 mile and 112 mile bikers had already started so we were last out, before the 40 mile group took off. No biggie, this was not a race to me and I knew it was going to be a tough ride. I’m so glad that Sara kept me company on this ride. It’s hard for me to find someone to do long rides with and Sara is training for Ironman Arizona and we ride about the same speed so it worked out great.

I knew the first section out towards Blanco was hilly, as I had ridden it a few weeks before with Erin and crew, and this is also where I had my nasty bike wreck; However, due to my wreck, I had not had the pleasure of climbing the hardest hill on the route . Right before the town of Blanco we made a turn on Crabapple road, and there was a nasty hill. Now, I’ve ridden the Leakey hill and this one felt just as bad. I was wheezing so heavily that Sara was afraid she was going to have to give me cpr. No joke! As I came up to the hill all the other cyclists had given up and were walking it, but I was determined to NOT have to get off my bike, and amazingly I made it up that hill. Everyone thought I was gonna die, doing it, but I did it! I think one of the things that helped get me up that hill was that all of the other bikers who were walking it were there cheering me on, saying you can do it! A short distance after the hill, there was an aid station and I stopped there to wait for Sara, and it turns out that one of the ladies that was cheering me on was a former coach with the very first triathlon training group I joined before doing my first triathlon back in 2002. I was so excited to see her and she told me how proud she was of how strong I have now become. For those of you who don’t know, my first triathlon was not a pretty experience and it has taken me years to get over my fear of open water swimming. It was so nice to run into her and hear her words of encouragement. Yay! Big shout out to Gina Lardon and Tri-Zones Training.

Sara and I took our sweet time at that aid station and I reluctantly got back on the bike for the next leg of the ride. The next leg was pretty uneventful, a few more hills and neverending sun and heat. We made it to the next aid station and I wanted to hitch a ride back to the start with the dreaded SAG wagon, but it was not to be, as Sara wouldn’t even let me think about it. “ It’s only 14 more miles, you can do 14 miles”. Ah, yes, ONLY 14 more miles, ok, as I wheeled out I jealously watched about 7 to 10 people board the SAG wagons. 8 more miles down the road and we came to Eli’s Meet Rack Aid station. Hands down this was the best aid station, as there was chocolate cake on hand. Thanks Eli for taking such good care of us!! That chocolate cake really hit the spot, and Sara and I were off for the last 8 miles of our journey, and I have to say it was the longest 8 miles of my life. By this point it was over 100 degrees out and the sun was beating down. There was a stretch of freshly laid asphalt that made the experience even more enjoyable…. NOT! At one point I crested a hill to see newly laid black asphalt and another neverending hill and I yelled an obscenity at the top of my lungs. I was bonking and wanted the ride to be over. The thought of yet another series of hills on hot black asphalt was enough to do me in. Seriously, it was so hot it was dangerous, and I’m still trying to figure out how I managed to finish this ride, as those of you who know me, know that I do not handle heat well and have succumbed to heat exhaustion on several occasions. We finally finished and Sara and I ate while we waited for Mary to come in. The chicken sandwich I got at the end, wasn’t quite enough for me so I purchased one of the pulled pork sandwiches and potato chips in addition to the two beers that I drank. I told Sara that she would have to stop by Dairy Queen on the way home for me to get my blizzard fix. After that amount of riding in that heat, I can pretty much eat whatever I want and not worry about gaining a pound. This is one of the few perks of ironman training…..aside from getting in great shape….. After tough workouts like this one, I can eat whatever I want and not worry about it.

I can honestly tell everyone, that training in the brutal Texas summer is definitely taking it’s toll on me. I’m not one to advocate doing more than one ironman a year, and there’s a reason for that. After I did Ironman Coeur D’Alene in 2009 I only took 2 weeks off before hitting the training grind again and I quickly burned out . I signed up for Ironman St. George last year to be completed in May of this year and started training for it, never dreaming that I would get one of the coveted slots to Kona. I found out that I got a slot for Kona less than a month out from Ironman St. George. Had I known I probably wouldn’t have signed up for St. George. Also, had I known that St. George was going to be as difficult as it was, I wouldn’t have signed up as well; however, even though I’m starting to burn out, I’m so glad I experienced the toughness of the St. George course, because it gives me the mental will power I need to know that I’m going to be able to do Kona, and everything will turn out alright. I know it’s still 6 to 7 weeks away, however, I’m ready for Kona now!!!

Score: Redneck Trucker 1, Laurie's dream of completing Ironman Hawaii -1

Well, as I say, it's not IF you get in a wreck, it's WHEN you get in a wreck..... I have now had my second serious bike wreck, thanks to an impatient redneck in his pickup truck.

I was previewing the Red Licorice Events Ring of Fire 65 mile bike course with some RLE team mates starting in Luckenbach. We were on about mile 15 on a two lane highway when a very big tractor was coming towards us on the other side of the road as he should be when suddenly I heard shouting. I couldn't figure out why they would be shouting about a slow moving tractor on the other side of the road until I saw what they were shouting about. A big black pickup truck was heading straight at us going the wrong way at least 90 mph trying to pass the tractor. We had nowhere to go, as there was no shoulder on this road and everyone was hitting their brakes and I was trying not to crash into my team mates when I lost control and totally bit it in the middle of the road. Apparently the truck driver swerved, narrowly missing us and just kept on going. I was very lucky. I was lying there on my back in the middle of the road afraid to move, when my team mates came and got me and gingerly moved me to the side of the road while they called 911. I was bleeding from the back of my head and was extremely dizzy. The tractor stopped and several other good citizens stopped to offer help, and unfortunately it took over 30 minutes for the Fredericksburg EMT's to get to me. It's a good thing I only had a minor concussion, as I probably would have died out there had it been more serious. Both Frederickburg and Stonewall sent an EMT and fire truck, however, the city of Blanco which was only 10 miles away would not send anyone! Luckily, the hospital did a cat scan and found no damage to my head other than the four staples that had to be put in to stop the bleeding. I'm still recovering and still feeling woozy, and I do have a bone chip floating from my ankle, so my doctor has told me not to run for 2 to 6 weeks. I'm hoping that the ankle will heal quickly, as I'm not giving up on my dream to do the Ironman World Championship in Hawaii. Hopefully this will be a small set back, albeit a very expensive setback. Luckily, I do have my cobra insurance, however, I'm still going to have to pay several hundred out of my pocket to cover the hospital bills and bike repair bills. I'm just happy to be alive and to not have any serious broken bones. I often forget just how dangerous of a sport I have taken up. I want to thank all of my friends for their support and good thoughts! I get my staples out next Monday and will start up my cycling and swimming again then. Looks like I'm going to end up walking the marathon of ironman, but hey... it's not the first time, I've had to walk a marathon... and I am only getting one chance to do Ironman Hawaii.... Perhaps I'll be the lucky last finisher to cross that line at midnight!

Breakdown number 1 has arrived

Well, I was feeling that I wasn't training enough a few blog posts back, and now I'm starting to burn out again. This past week felt intense and I'm still nowhere close to where I need to be. This heat is really getting to me and perhaps my general attitude needs an adjustment. I'm starting to question why I want to do this and getting a general apathy altogether towards training. Is this normal? I don't want to get into my personal life here, but I have to admit, I'm hitting a negative spiral and I don't like it. I have no motivation, nothing to get up for, and what feels like nothing to look forward to except a very expensive trip to Hawaii by myself. I think I need my happy shot now.

Last Saturday I did a 2.4 mile open water swim in Lake Travis and I came in last place. I don't think I did too poorly with an overall time of 1 hour 40 minutes. That is only 10 minutes off of my Ironman St George time for which I had a wetsuit on, and only a minute off of my Ironman Coeur D'Alene time for which I also had a wetsuit on. I didn't realize a wetsuit could make that much of a difference, apparently it does. The swim felt like much longer than 2.4 miles and it was hard knowing I was the only one left out there. I had my own personal kayak escort which was kind of nice. I got a couple of suggestions from some people observing my swim on my stroke. Apparently I wasn't catching enough water. Anyhow, the next day I did a 43 mile ride in Luckenbach with the Red Licorice Events team. It was fun and a challenge to keep up with the group. I just have to accept that I am a slow triathlete and that I have been given a huge privilege to compete in Kona, and accept that if I'm lucky I will finish by midnight.