When one does a triathlon, they earn the right to make it all about them for 24 hours, so while I am in that time frame, I’ll write, all about me.
I woke up at 4, eyes wide open an hour before my set alarm. I felt a surge of nerves and excitement. The pro staying with us was bumping around the kitchen to make and eat oatmeal before he went back to bed. I got up to eat, but never could have gone back to bed. I ate a bowl of cereal and blueberries, and checked my facebook. Once Todd was up, I dressed and we loaded up to pick up Angie. It is really nice living so close to the transition area, about a mile.
Everything had been packed up the night before so I was anxious to unpack and get set up to make sure I had everything. Fortunately, I did, and I immediately felt more relaxed seeing everything laid across my green CMS mat. Then off to the port-a-jane lines.
The swim waves had been bumped up by about 10 minutes so I was happy to fine Phil and Chad hanging out waiting, just have someone to take my mind of waiting. 
Just before my wave was called, 4 of my good friends showed up to see me off. After a round of hugs, photos, and well-wishes, it was into the water.
I was nervous about my goggles after a race last year when they never sealed and I was blind, but they were perfect and I began to relax… until I had to tread water. I wasn’t prepared to not be able to touch. I decided to look at it as my warm-up. Positive thinking.
And then we were off. I had just two goals for the swim, relax and swim straight. I definitely relaxed, I was in no big hurry, my goal was just to finish, after all. I felt pretty good until all the orange caps caught up to me and then I just felt slow so I had to consistently remind myself of my goals, and it was all okay. I think I swam pretty straight, too- right into a buoy once, but at least I was on target. 49 minutes, one second.
I exited the water to the shouts of my fans (Thanks Lauren, Laura, Chris and Beth!) and jogged to my bike. I took enough time here (6 minutes) to eat a banana, apply sunscreen, and get comfortable in my shoes. More cheers awaited me as I left on the bike- what an amazing feeling to be surrounded by community members treating you like a superstar. It was a gentle reminder than no one cared how fast I was going, just that I was going.
So I’m pedaling away. My goal on the bike was to hold 16 mph, which I did on average. My bike average was 16:08 so despite the fact that it felt really demoralizing to watch droves and droves pass me, literally hundreds of people, I just kept moving at my 16 mph. I ate a powerbar, I drank some water, I stretched my back continuously, I stopped to us a port-a-potty, and just kept cruising. My legs felt somewhat tired and I was grateful for the lack of wind and smooth blacktop. The only head game I played with myself was just after Gootee’s Marina when you see the road sign that says “Cambridge 17.” That moment reminded me that 17 miles would feel long in a car… and I still had to complete more than that on the bike. I grit my teeth and pedaled… 16 mph, 16 mph, 16 mph.
Back to T2. More sunscreen. More water. I’m not sure what I was doing for 5 minutes and 23 seconds. I knew I was in no hurry to start the run. This was the part of the day I was most worried about- the heat. And it was hot.
The first mile felt okay, until I got hot. Then my plan to only walk through water stops went to (insert explicit). In my mind, I began to insert lots of explicits. I was so grateful to hear Tina start shouting my name as I neared the mile two water stop. Tim, Dean, and Trevor took good care of me and filled me up on ice and cold, cold water. These water stops felt a gazillion miles apart. Misery followed me to the next one, but I was thrilled to see Todd out with a camera and a smile. When he asked if I was having fun, the short answer was “no.” I kept that question in my head though and it got a little more fun to run by Travis and the Ocean Odyssey crew, music pumping. I kept that beat in my head as I sweated through the bypass. One guy passed me and said “this feels like a lava field” and I couldn’t agree more. Heat just baked us off the asphalt. After the turn at the cemetery and that water stop, I was iced up and feeling a little better. As long as I kept ice in my sports bra, hat, and shorts (that makes for some excitement, let me tell you) I felt okay. The next two water stops were out of ice and luke warm soda just didn’t cut it. I began to fry.
Then, I got to the turn around and the world began to look up again. I was over the hill. Mentally, I knew I could make it in from here. I got more ice and began to jog more and walk less, talk more and curse less. The miles felt quicker (despite the fact that when you look at my times I actually got considerable slower.)
Before I knew it, I was kissing Todd again at mile 11, getting iced down at mile 12, and was ready to bring it home. I was walking just after that water stop when a 3-time Ironman ran up behind me and said “pick a gear, and finish strong” and it was the best advice of the day. The gear was a low one, but it felt good to jog to the finish, smiling. I had figured it would take me 7 hours, so 6:55, was right on target.
I’m not sure I would have crossed the finish if not for the support of all the wonderful people along the way cheering for me by name or simply yelling “Go CMS!” Everyone was just so supportive, I owe a lot of thank yous to a lot of people. And yes, now I can say it was fun.
Thank you for giving peace to the world.
My favorite color is purple.
Great job. Keep working hard.
I collect finger puppets.
Do you like puppets?
Thank you for keeping our country safe.
If you're losing in war tell the mistle company
to make a powerful mistle to blow up the enemy base
in 1 second.
I hope you have a happy holiday.
Thank you for saving our country and being so brave.
Can you keep working hard?
Keep up your braveness.
Love, Your Second Grade Fans
MCM Race Report
October 31, 2010
My First Marathon
Butterflies fluttery in my stomach, I’d been hydrating all week and headed to DC on Friday night with Karen, Katie, and Dave. We got off to a late start but checked into our hotel okay and were just 2 blocks from the expo. We got our packets and trekked about a bit. Then finding dinner on a crowded Saturday night in the city turned into our next obstacle. Eventually, we found ourselves some big bowls of pasta and went back to the hotel to continue hydrating, pack-up for Sunday morning, and sleep as best we could.
Sunday morning, the alarm got us up at 5:15- a very reasonable hour. We dressed, ate, and headed out to catch the Metro. We made it to the Metro stop for the beginning of the race and walked the mile to the start. By the time I got to the port-a-potty, I thought I was going to die. I somehow managed to successfully keep my bladder together long enough to avoid wetting myself pre-race. This was the most miserable I was all day. By the time we were done there, we went straight to the start where the gun had already gone off. We waited our turn to cross and we were off.
The first few miles were chilly, and we were stiff. By the time I shed my throw-away sweatshirt, I was feeling warmed up and ready to go. The first ten miles passed really quickly. Then, they incrementally began to feel longer from there. I had some achiness in my leg, which was unusual for me. Nothing I couldn’t run through. It felt great to get past 13.1, 16, 18, and eventually 20. Every step after that was the furthest I had ever run, so I ran with pride. We made it to the bridge in plenty of time and finally saw one of my co-workers… it felt really good to know a face in the crowd.
The bridge was only mild torture, and around this time I lost my partner and took off on my own. I went from running a 5:1 interval to running straight through. I was passing lots of people, and is somehow really motivating… I knew I wouldn’t make my 5 hour goal, but I was determined to be as close as possible. I started moving a bit a faster, grateful for every step I could take at that point. Finished the bridge and forced movement through Crystal City. I was singing to myself, breathing slow and steady, and taking it one step at a time. Lois was in my head all day- reminding me that this run was a gift and I unwrapped it slowly.
I was close to tears of overwhelming emotion throughout the day, but no more so than the last couple of miles. When I got to 26, the tears overflowed and I pushed it up the hill feeling strong at the finish. I just felt joyful then, and ready to take my shoes off. I felt silly crying as the marine hung my medal around my neck, but I earned the medal and the tears. Getting home was a long expedition, and a hot bath and meal never felt so good. I have never been so proud. And adding in a 6 minute port-a-pot stop, 5:04:25 is pretty darn close to my goal.
I am truly grateful for friends, motivation, and my healthy body. I am also grateful for GU, twizzlers, spectators (especially the ones who cheered for me by name), witty signs, Halloween costumes, and mile markers. Thanks to CMS too- and Katie- for the motivation to tackle these goals and achieve.
| Distance | MAR |
| Clock Time | 5:21:27 |
| Chip Time | 5:04:25 |
| Overall Place | 14663 / 21855 |
| Gender Place | 5076 / 8659 |
| Division Place | 950 / 1536 |
| Age Grade | 44.6% |
| Ctz | USA |
| 5K | 35:52 |
| 10K | 1:10:48 |
| 15K | 1:45:48 |
| 20K | 2:20:14 |
| Half | 2:28:17 |
| 25K | 3:00:43 |
| 30K | 3:37:01 |
| 35K | 4:12:20 |
| 40K | 4:48:39 |
| Divt | 1541 |
| Sext | 8675 |
| Pace | 11:38 |
I slept pretty well but woke up about 3:30- ready to go. I packed up and drank a protein smoothie on my way. Arrival and parking were easy, the volunteers were super, and I was happy to chat with a few other girls (we were all racked together which was kind of fun) who were also doing their first Olympic and/or first ocean swim. I also met up with a 68-year-old who had run this race 15 times. We walked together to the start, which may have been the hardest part of the day- full of anxiety, pacing out the exact distance that we would swim as we walked down the sand. One mile south, so we swam back one mile north.
The current was with us, and I was feeling pretty confident since I was able to wear a wetsuit. Trouble was, the moment that my face hit the water, my goggles were full and I swam the 1.5 K with salt water in my eyes (they still sting.) It was blinding, and I am already bad at siting my route. I was swimming way out to sea every time I finally could see a buoy. And then I would spend some time making it back. I am not sure how much it slowed me down, but I am sure it impacted me. I finished the swim in about 32 minutes, 14th out of 18 in my class. I felt okay, but really saved my legs by using my arms almost exclusively, and that was certainly another reason I was so slow. I was 340th out of 400.
The transition run is a long one as you make your way up the beach. I felt good and set off on the bike. The 41k was pretty uneventful. There was definitely a head wind in the first half and I was slow as I pushed through that. My knee hurt and my quads were angry and I was afraid to push it. Fortunately, we had a tail wind in the latter part of the ride, which helped me speed up and kept me motivated. My finish time was about 1:32. That placed me 335th. My average speed was only 16.4.
A quicker transition led to the run. My shins were almost debilitating in the first mile, so I decided I’d walk through water stops. A gu helped, too, and I loosened up. I was feeling tight and tired and began a mental mantra. My rhythm became: I.worked.hard.for.this.I.trained.hard.for.this.I.can.do.this, as I paced my steps. The turn around came and my spirits lifted, just to be on the home stretch. There were also signs along the way declaring the “wishes” of the kids we were running for: “I want to go to the Grand Canyon, I want to meet Cinderella, I want a man cave” and something like that keeps everything in perspective. I began to pass people and that was amazingly motivating. I increased my stride after the final water stop and finished strong in about 1 hour, 1 minute (230th). My pace averaged at 9:51.
Overall, I had hoped to finish in 3:00, and my final time was 3:12. I hadn’t added in transitions when I calculated my goal time, so once I subtract those 7 minutes, I was pretty close to where I wanted to be. I am not sure that I’ll ever be satisfied with my time unless I’m in the top 50%, and today I was well below that. I was 81st out of 122 women. I was 10th out of 13 in my division- BUT that means there were 5 DNF’s- so at least I am among the finishers. I’m better prepared for another one- and mentally more prepared for the Eagleman next year. It’s all about building confidence.
