Here are all the pictures from my race. Most of them were from my friend Ginger. A few were from my family and a random blog reader!   I can’t thank Ginger enough for her support.  She had to leave at mile 8 of the run, so that’s kind of where the pictures end.    My family didn’t get many shots because my camera didn’t work!   Oh well, maybe that’s a good thing, because I got emotional and cried every time I saw them.

Action shots:

Scenery:

Awards Cruise:

Here’s a funny anecdote. I talked to the USAT head official on the cruise.  I think his name was Bill and he was a nice guy.    He asked how my race went. I said I did great and got first place in my age group, despite my first ever penalty. He had his official clipboard and asked for my bib number. I said it was not necessary to look it up, that I knew the exact moment when I got the drafting penalty:  it was just a moment of inattention not dropping back quickly enough after being passed.   He asked for my bib anyway…he seemed to really want to look it up. So he looked up bib #81. The notes said “female, green shirt, black shorts, white helmet, within 1 bike length for 25 seconds”.   I said, yup, that’s me.  Can’t miss my green Trakkers colors, lol!  I explained how I always pass guys, and they can’t take a chick hit and so they pass me back and then slow down. I was tired of playing leapfrog with this one guy.   Just as the motorcycle was coming along, I forgot to drop back while I was considering whether to hammer to drop the guy for good, or what should I do. That’s how I screwed up. The USAT guy said I was the first athlete he ever talked to who did not try to argue myself out of the penalty. I laughed at that. I mean, in every sport, except maybe the televised sports with instant replay, the referees are always right, and there is no arguing. Right?

I have the rough draft of my race report done. I always write that over on the BT site, then transfer it here and clean it up.   If you are dying for the nitty gritty details, here it is.

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Thank you so much to everyone who supported me.  It helped me stay focused to know so many people were cheering me on, both in the blogosphere and at the race site.   Special thanks to my family who were there cheering me on and helping me at the finish line when I was completely drained.  And to Ginger who came out to cheer me on and take pictures!  Alot of folks shouted my name out on the run course and I didn’t even know who you were. I hope you had a great race!     And to a blog reader named  Neil – I hope you finished well!

I did not quite make my 12 hour goal,  but I feel really great about my race.   I made my desired pace on each leg of the race, but I wasted alot of time in Transitions.   Plus I got a drafting penalty due to a moment of inattention not dropping back quickly enough.

The run was extremely painful.   At mile 7 it felt like there was stone in my shoe.  I took it off and there was no stone – just a hard lump on the ball of my foot.  I saw Ginger at mile 8 and she said I probably got a bone bruise during the long run on cement in bare feet from the swim to T1.   She said don’t worry about it, that Ironman was supposed to be painful.     It took every ounce of mental toughness in me, and then some, to keep running through that pain.   It was like 3 hours of  ‘Suffer Section‘.  I kept trying different things to get through it. When one thing stopped working, I’d try another.    At some point, I wondered how @GoSonja would have handled it.  Then I thought I will just imagine she is running and not me.    So, that is how I got through the last 13 miles, by imagining she was doing the running.  It worked.  Thank you Sonja!

I think the pain during the run made me forget about hydration.   I was drinking every mile when my Garmin beeped at me.  But it must not have been enough.  A few minutes after crossing the finish line, I felt dizzy.  I tried drinking some Pepsi.  That made it worse.   I asked my husband to take me to the medical tent, where I spent 90 minutes being treated for dehydration.

I had planned on my final tweet of the day being my favorite quote, “When you like suffering.  When you like the pain in your legs and all your body, it means you are good.”    But when I finished the race, I did not like all the pain I had  suffered from mile 8 onward.  I hated it.  But I was still good.

Official results are up at the Setup site (not the B2B site)…

Swim: 01:00:27
T1 + Bike: 06:16:30′
T2: 00:13:26 19
Run: 04:34:07
Drafting penalty: 00:06:00
Total Time: 12:10:28

I went to the awards cruise…and got 1st Age group Two women my age were faster (including the one I wanted to beat), but they got in top masters. That’s fine by me!   After the race, I wanted to congratulate the woman I was chasing down all day. I saw her both times in the changing tent.    But I only just saw her as I was staggering to the medical tent, and was not coherent enough to stop and talk.   I don’t think she reads my blog, but in case she does, CONGRATS – you were amazing out there!

Picture of me getting my award:

http://www.twitter.com/triblogcarol

Follow my race on Twitter!

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Well, I’ve got all my gear bags packed up.    I think packing is the most stressful part of this thing called Ironman!  I may change my mind about that at mile 20 of the run course!

Yesterday morning I woke up feeling awful.  Lots of coughing and tightness in the chest, and I was feeling pretty bad about things.   I did not feel good about my race while packing up all my gear bags   Today, I woke up feeling a little better.  I’m not 100% healthy, but I feel I’m on the upswing, and I feel good about my race. 

I want to thank all the peeps who emailed me words of encouragement to me over the past week.  It really means alot to me that you are out there supporting me. I especially want to thank my friend: Ginger Spansel (Aquaphor Chick) who gives me so many helpful tips and is even going to the race to cheer me on; Cindy Bolin who wrote me a very sweet email filled with funny things to make me smile; and Rebecca Dewire who always has words of support for me I’d also like to thank the blog readers who always post supportive comments: Krista, Scott, Karen, Rene, Tricia , Jennifer,  Kati, Jennifer, GoSonja and Kelley.  Thank you all so much!

Check it out: Recommended Training Plan Book: …Triathlete Magazine’s Essential Week by Week Training Guide by Matt Fitzerald

I decided to do my planned tempo workout on the treadmill doped up on the cold meds:   36 minutes with 16 at LT.    I also decided to make it an extra hot workout by keeping the windows shut and NOT using a fan.    I have this theory that raising the core body temperature will kill off my sick germs, much like a fever.  I’ve been debating testing this theory all week, but erred on the side of getting  rest.  Today, this felt right.

I was really really hot and thirsty.   I chanted “Quick feet, quiet feet, hot hot heat” inside my head.   (I bet Ginger will like that mantra).  My HR numbers were higher than usual, but I expected that (meds + heat).   The workout went great and was a great confidence boost for me!  I was able to hold the hard pace for the full time, and my breathing felt good despite some chest congestion.  And the ‘practice the pace’ set I did after the LT set felt right.   Pace of 9:30 felt not easy but not hard either.   Pace of 10 felt easy.

Of course, I realize that a long day of racing may play out differently, but I am going to race it…GAME ON!!!

Still planning on using the Four Keys to Ironman Execution strategy.   I will go by feel, not heart rate since I will probably take the cold medicine (unless I feel a ton better on Saturday morning).

Oh, and my legs feel totally fresh today, even after this workout.    All week they felt heavy and I had all kinds of unusual aches and pains: ankles, right groin, right IT band.   I always get weird pains during a taper.

Update later in the day: I’ve been researching cold medicines and safety during endurance sports.  The best article I found was here: http://www.sportsin...old-flu-remedies.htm   Sudafed can raise heart rate.  I already figured that out.  It can be bad during a race if you have problems with high blood pressure, which I don’t.      Acetaminophen  and Guaifenesin both sound like they are pretty safe.  Ibuprofen is  not in my Tylenol medication, but I thought I would mention that is very bad to take during a race because it can interfere with water absorption and also damage kidneys.

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I’m sure this is a cold not a flu.  I haven’t lost my appetite, I don’t have any fever and I don’t feel wiped out like I want to sleep all day.  Tho I am taking naps in hopes of healing faster.

A cold peaks on day 2 or 3 after onset. This is day 2.5. So, hopefully, I will feel better in time for my race. Did I convince anyone?

This is certainly a drag, but “it is what it is“.  I should be finalizing my transition and special needs bags, but I can’t bring myself to do that.  I should be recalling my best workouts of the last month and remembering the mental toughness that got me through them.  I should be running through my race strategy inside my head and visualizing myself crossing the finish line with a number less than 12 on the clock.

But instead I am wondering how will I feel on race day.   And should I take some cold medicine on race day?  If I take some cold medicine, will that affect my heart rate.  So maybe I should skip the HR monitor and race by ‘feel’.   Anyone have any recommendations about what type of cold medicine to take and if/how it affects heart rate?

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The Bad news is that I woke up with a terrible sore throat today. I’ve been gargling with salt water, getting lots of rest, drinking Gatorade G2 and taking Airborne (some vitamin thingy).

I hope this doesn’t turn into the full blown cough that my family has had for three weeks.

I’ll post an update tomorrow how I feel.  I tried so hard for the past month not to get sick. I have about ten bottles of hand sanitizer around my house.

Oddly, I’m not stressing about this too much.  I mean, what I can I do besides take care of myself and hope for the best?    If I get better in time, it could turn out to be a good thing.   I am getting lots and lots of rest and not stressing about whether or not to do the workouts on my training plan.

Still, I feel like saying “Wah. Somebody call the Wahmbulance!”   Only because that is fun to say!

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It’s almost 1 am. Since we set the clocks back, it’s really 2am. No wonder I am so tired. Had to pick up my daughter from a party, so that’s why I am still up.

I did Rodney Yee Yoga early this evening (after writing my Nirvana post).    Yoga always shows me how sore and tight I am.  Very sore and Very tight tonight!   There’s really no reason for me to be sore and tight. I rode my bike 45 miles easy yesterday, and ran 7 miles easy today.

Mentally, I still feel super dee duper. Physically, I obviously still need some more rest. I’m not doing any workouts this week until I can do the “Tree Pose” without difficulty. When I can do that pose, I know that I am good.

1. Had  a bad run.  I enjoyed the run.    I felt like I was running well with fast feet while still going easy and holding back .   But every time I looked at my Garmin  it was showing a pace of greater than 10min/mile.  I wondered if the heavy cloud cover affected the accuracy of the GPS.   When I got home, I plotted the course out on my BT account, and it showed the same distance and pace.  Crud.   Not worried, tho.  My fast feet are just waiting for race day.
2. In my rush to get out the door for my run, I grabbed any old pair of socks.   Stupid move!  When I got home, I had a very bloody blister on my left heel.  I put some Aquaphor and a band-aid on it.  Feels okay.    I am not the least bit worried about it.  It will heal up in time.
3. When I got home from running, I noticed my teenage daughter’s car was not in the driveway.  Yet, I remember her coming in the door late at night.   That was weird.   I knocked on her door and asked “where is the blue car?”  She broke down in tears and said she crashed it into a guardrail after hydroplaning on the wet roads.   Thankfully, nobody got hurt.   The car has a nice big dent in the side and needs a new tire.  This is not stressing me out either. Could have been ALOT worse.
4. I’ve been having shooting sciatica pains all day.   Not worried about that either.   I always get new weird pains during my taper.  I think it’s my body just healing stuff that I didn’t even know was hurting me.  That’s what I’m telling myself.

I am very thankful to be in such a positive mood despite all these stressors.  It sure beats crying because it’s a sunny day!

My plan for the week is to do lots and lots of Rodney Yee’s “Yoga Conditioning for Athletes” DVD.   I did that every day leading up to Duke 1/2.  Flexibility = Free speed.  I’ll take it.

While driving home from picking up the blue car, I was listening to the radio.  The DJ was talking about the band, Nirvana.   He said that Kurt Cobain was inspired to write the song “Smells Like Teen Spirit” when a rival painted graffiti on the wall: “Kurt smells like Teen Spirit”.   Teen Spirit being the deodorant made for teenage girls.    I always wondered what that lyric meant.   Love that song…

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The Fog Has Lifted
Ready, and Raring to Race
Energy Abounds!

…a haiku by me

Last week I wrote about being in a Negative Space, which I attributed to  a ‘Recovery Fog’:  a state where your body sort of shuts down  forcing you to recover from months of hard training.

I finally feel like that recovery fog has lifted.  I woke up this morning bursting with energy.   I did a short swim and a short run today, according to my taper plan*.   I kept it easy, held myself back, and yet still made my desired paces.  And,  I am still bursting with energy.

‘Save it for race day’ will be my mantra for this coming week.

Oh how I wish my race was tomorrow instead of in 8 days!  To tell you the honest truth, I liked the months of hard training much better than this tapering business.  I want pain, more pain.

* I am following Gale Bernhardt’s taper plan now, rather than Matt Fitzgerald’s training plan (Level 3 Ironman).   Matt’s tapering just has too much at a time when “less is more”.  Since my body was screaming for rest last week, I pulled out Gale’s book.   Even so, I am ONLY doing the workouts on Gale’s plan if I feel like it.  Otherwise, I sit on my duff and take it easy.  It’s all good!

Check it out: Recommended Training Plan Book: …Triathlete Magazine’s Essential Week by Week Training Guide by Matt Fitzerald