Richard - Great job!!!!
OK, my race was a mental roller coaster with lessons learned. Yes, that means it's looong. you may be sorry you asked.
Wow, kind of a crazy race. Started at packet pickup. Couldnt find it. Luckily, we ran into the title sponsor, who could not find it either. He had the cell for the race director, though. So, we get our stuff, and I see that the oly starts 15 min after the sprint this year.
Not like last year. Now, it will be very tough for me to finish before awards. Such is life. Time to drive the course and go home.
Get my stuff together that night and have no bib. :O Ugh. Had to be at packet pickup or just otside. I knew they could fix it, although I know it would have been an easier fix if they were doing race day registration and they werent. So not what I needed to deal with.
Wake up to thunderstorms. Guess you could call it waking up, but I didnt sleep much. Was hoping that the storms came early and would miss the race. Nope.
Head up there and they just kept saying the race was not cancelled yet. There was supposed to be a clear window coming and they could do a 1-hour delay. I go to registration , ready to ask them to look for my bib in case it got turned in. My lucky day! I just said I los t my bib and she pulled it out. Yay! I was all prepared for a long story and it was too easy.
Then again, my bib worry was minimal compared to my storm worries. I know I will be DLF. When they look at the weather window will they give someone as slow as me time to finish? Will I be in the water (as I would be last out) when lightning strikes or will they pull me out? Will I be on a back road on my bike when the weather turns bad. Will I get pulled off the course. Id rather not start if I will be pulled.
The race was to start at 8 am. At about 6:30, the director announces that there is a front coming and to take shelter in our cars. They will let us know after the front. I look at dh and a firend of mine and say, should we get our stuff in transition first. Its supposed to close at 7:30. Luckily, the former RD and friend of current RD walks by then and says well have plenty of time to get our stuff setup, just clear out before the front hits.
So thankful that I could check on other WISHers from my phone while we waited it out. They had mentioned possibly only doing the sprint if there was not a big enough window for the oly. Again, what if they think its big enough and its not for me. Ugh.
At about 7:45 it clears up a bit. The director has decided there will only be sprint and du and it starts at 9. OK, I really wanted to get the oly under my belt before the ½ IM, but being struck by lightning or pulled from the course today would not help my mental game. This is probably best-case scenario. Besides, I was a bit disappointed not to do the sprint, because I wanted revenge from last year.
So, I get my stuff sorted and such. Put a rain poncho over all my gear and hope people are a little more kind about kicking stuff around when everyone is trying to keep their stuff dry. Many people who were to do the oly left, but I still needed another race under my belt. Needed to figure out what I had for Xtra nutrition, as it was going to start an hour later.
Then it was time for the pre-race meeting and national anthem. The race director sang the national anthem. But it was more just leading us. Something really cool about a couple hundred people singing it together. Gave me the chills. I have had recordings and listened to amazing voices, but to be singing it with the athletes you are about to race with seemed better than any of the other times
Finally, we make it to the start. I feel like Ive been through an emotional roller coaster. The water is like bath water. Nice. They say go and we trudge into the water. Its really shallow for quite a ways. Finally, I can swim. Slow and steady, slow and steady. I have been practicing doing 27 strokes and sighting. Thats about a pool length for me. If I am breathing hard, I can check my time and confirm that I need to slow down. Was doing ok. Even rounded the first turn before anyone asked if I was ok. Ugh. I gave the standard Im fine, just slow. They were very kind and tried to make light of it. Looking back, I had been swimming off course and could not find the buoy when I surfaced. I probably looked a bit lost and I breathe pretty heavy when I surface. So, back to it. Checked my watch when I knew I was over half way and I was enroute to a PR. Cool. Almost caught a couple on the last stretch. Had it been a bit longer
Finished strong. Was bummed to realize they had moved the chip mats. I looked at my watch where they had been, though, and I was at least 2 minutes faster than last year and last year I PRd! My swims have paid off. Was thrilled that I was able to get myself back into my groove when I was going too fast. Just wish the one volunteer was not finishing with me while doing a leisurely-looking breast stroke while I felt like I was swimming to beat the band.
So, up the hill to T1. Trier to jog, but it was killer. Pretty steep slope. Jogged when I got close to the top and then went into T1. Thats when I realized it was a good thing it was only a sprint. I had forgotten a Gu. Oops. Must bring xtra to ½ IM. Did pretty well with my bike. I cant run in my bike shoes, though, so I just ran in my socks and put the shoes on when I could mount. Not great. Need to work on that. Oh, and the grass was a bit wet. Yuck! Was happy with my bike. Classic. I knew I should pas dh on the out and back. I knew hed see I was last and be worried. SO, I shouted, Im last but having an awesome race! When I saw him. Must have sounded so weird to anyone but us.
Passed 6 people. Was hillier than I realized with no good downhills to make up for it. Either around turns or bumpy road. Still I gave it my all and was pleased. Was able to take one shoe off, without unclipping, put that foot down and get the other. Not stellar, but good for a beginner. With clips.
Back to T2. Did well. Was stretching on my way out and realized I forgot my visor. I am very sun sensitive and I forgot barrettes, so I needed it to help with stray heir too. So I jogged back. Of course, the crowd started yelling that I was going the wrong way. I could not get them to realize I knew that. Felt so dumb. I got to my area and realized it had gotten stuck in the poncho. Grrr
. Off to try again. 2 people passed me in T2. Not surprising.
Got a few blocks away and saw I was going faster than I had in a while. Not fast, even for me, but my run has been awful lately and it was faster than my goal pace. Then, I realized I was only a half mile in. Then, I looked and realized I could beat 2 hours fairly easily. So, I pushed. There were people I was trying to pick off, but when I thought I was getting close, theyd speed up. Still, I was doing well. No one was catching me and I was going to PR. Of course, my tri math got in the way and a few times, I thought I needed to do 8 mpm to make it. WTH? Sad. My tri math is awful. I was trying to minimize turns and knew the next turn was left. Staying to the left side when I saw the woman ahead veer right. WTH? Then, I got a better view. There was a family cheering and a girl with the hose spraying in the street. Love that about the local races! Off to the right I went and thanked them profusely.
Passed a volunteer with a little over a half to go. He cheered for me. I said thanks for being out. He said, very emphatically, No, thank YOU for being here. Nice. Still, I could not be there w/o volunteers.
With about a quarter mile to go, dh was waiting with cow bell. Ran with me a bit. Told me the woman ahead had nothing left and I could get her. I told him shed been toying with me fro 3 miles. She had more than he thought.
Picked up the pace, though. It was a curvy finish, so I didnt pick up as much as I would have had I seen the finish. I always walk a fine line with that. See it too soon and I kill myself and die before the line. Too late and I leave too much in the tank. Still, I was glad to have energy left.
My watch, which should be slow, showed 1:52:58. Woo hoo! And I didnt feel too bad afterwards. For such a roller-coaster start, seems like it all went as was best for me. Very fun race! Still dont have the final results to compare to last year, but I am happy.
The first Ironman Texas will go off May 21, 2011, with a swim start about 2.7 miles from my house. Registration opens at noon tomorrow and, though I am far from ready, I can already tell I am sucked into the excitement enough to register early for this one. I'm going to really have to look at my training, but I guess it works out for me as I am currently targeting an October HIM in my training schedule.
The guy working there claimed he was jealous because I was efficient (apparently my duck steps land in the same place)... I bet he says that to all the runners! 
Uh-oh. And it was a steep hill from the beach to transition. I decided to walk it and try to get my HR under control before I hopped on the bike. 
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