Here's the breakdown:
The
swim didn't even go well and that's usually where I can do decently.
10 minutes slower than my normal time. I couldn't breathe right off the
bat and my right shoulder seized up immediately and stayed that way
(even as I type it hurts to move my neck). I don't know if it was my
wetsuit but it may have been. I need to figure that out before Rev3 OOB August
25th! It wasn't a panic attack or anything as I am very comfortable in
the water. So not a great start.
The
bike, again, was brutal. B-R-U-T-A-L. There was a headwind the entire time and I
really didn't think it was possible to go up that much without going
down...but alas, it was. The two big downhills were nice, but with the wind I had to brake
a bit so I didn't get blown over. I made it all the way up Big Nasty
so that was a small accomplishment. I think finding a 56 mile hill and
riding it as much as possible would be good training for this course. I'm still a little baffled that they ran out of water with at least 20 miles to go for the slower people (A.K.A. ME!)sucked, but I had enough in my Speedfill to get me
through, thank goodness I got water at each aid station just to top off
before they ran out. A triathlon
that has been going for 31 years that has that difficult of a course
absolutely needs to make sure that they have enough water, especially
for those at the back of the pack who are struggling!
The
run. Oh the run. I got to transition and was limping off the bike,
happy to have made the cutoff but unsure how my feet and knees would
handle a half marathon. I was in pain with every step, but eventually
that went away. Honestly, I walked about 60% of it and ran when I
could. I just kept looking at my watch saying "I am going to finish
this course if its the last thing I do!" It was a
race against the clock, a first for me, and hopefully a last as well,
but considering it was an uphill hike the first few miles, my time isn't
all that bad. LOL. There was a girl named Ashley I met maybe near mile 7 or 8(?) who I ran with the rest of the way and she helped me finish in time.
I
don't know if I drank too much water but I felt sick almost the entire
run. I think I just got back to a "normal" color pee today (Monday) so I'm not
sure too much water was the case. The last 2 miles was sheer
determination. I wasn't even in that much pain I was so focused on
finishing in time. Thankfully that downhill helped my last mile to the
finish, although I think if I hadn't of been so determined my quads
would not have held up.
Never
been happier to see a finish line!!!!! One perk to finishing at the
back is that I got the finish line to myself:) My friends were there to
cheer me on and I got my medal and I got to stop moving forward with a
time crunch....best part of the day.
There
was a girl we were with this weekend who is a Mom and she said that the
course was harder than childbirth. I think that says something. There
were also a lot of seasoned Ironman athletes saying that with the
course profile, and the conditions Saturday, that it was as physically
challenging as doing a full Ironman. At least I now know that I will
finish IMNZ:) HAHA.
I
definitely had to remind myself how lucky I was to be able to feel pain
and how many people would give anything to even be that miserable just
to have feeling in their limbs and body again.
I got to see some great friends this weekend and meet some awesome new ones. Totally worth the 7.5 hour drive:)
Overall,
I think a Mark Twain quote sums it up perfectly.
"I'm glad that I did
it. Partly because it was well worth it and chiefly because I shall
never have to do it again."
I'll
go cheer, but unless I get good at hills and start enjoying them, I
don't think Wildflower will be in the cards for me again.
