Dang! Not sure where to start, but I’ll give it a go…
For someone who was never driven to do any Ironman, heading to Kona for the Big Dance was pretty intimidating. On one hand, I knew I had earned the right to be there, on the other, I worried that I didn’t want it bad enough. That being said, I did the training, devised a nutrition plan and headed to Hawaii with some fairly ambitious goals…didn’t tell many folks, but I was shooting to get as close to 11:00 and Top 5 in my AG as possible. Of course, the bottom line was always to finish the race standing on my own two feet.
The trip to the Big Island was a little rough. Left the mountain at 4:30 am and hooked up with Iron Sherpa Lorie in Phoenix. We got to the airport only to find that our flight to LA had been cancelled. It took us all day, and two airlines, to get to LA. Obviously,we missed the flight to Kona and ended up spending the night and catching an early flight to the island. Not the end of the world but certainly a hefty dose of unwelcome pre-race stress.
We had an awesome condo in Kona. Right on Alii Drive, actually the spot where Natascha hurled last year …on the beach and offering views of the surfers from dawn to dusk. This was great entertainment for me as I spent the majority of the time pre-race on the patio with a bottle of Gatorade EHF in hand and my feet up…per my coach’s instructions.
He did let me out long enough to oogle some of the finest looking, super-fit bodies I have ever seen…gender did not matter…the flesh on display was simply amazing.
We also managed to fit in the Underpants Run. What fun! Had to talk everybody into it, but in the end, Team ATP made a strong showing!! Not to be missed and a fine way to lighten up the pre-race nerves.
Did a few swims, a couple of easy runs and bikes,including a trip up the last 25 miles to Hawii. I knew that the course was going to be just my style…long, rolling hills. All I could do was hope for light winds and try not to worry about the run.
Got registered, did the expo, collected a few autographs, swam in the endless pool, bought the obligatory IM stuff, ate a ton of carbs and rested, rested, rested. By Friday, I was raring to go.
Checked the bike in and headed to the condo for dinner with the crew. Sherpa and I had prepared an excellent dinner of grilled chicken, salad, pasta salad, bread, papaya and pineapple. Coach took one look, commended the meal and then declared that it was basically off limits to me! Ahhh, nothing like some yummy plain, white spaghetti with lots of salt, a 1/2 a chicken breast and a Gatorade Carbo Drink to keep a gal satisfied!
Slept well and was up early to get to body marking. Love those fancy stamps and professional looking numbers!
I got my transition stuff arranged and sat around talking to some of the other competitors. Soon the longest, slowest version of the national anthem was sung and the pros were off.
A huge herd of racers created a bottleneck into the water and I was pretty darn close to the back of it. Darn! Rookie mistake for sure. When a guy started yelling at us to jump off the pier or you’re not going t make it, I knew I was not off to a good start.
They had been telling us all week not to get close to the pier because it was dangerous, so there was no way I was jumping. Just pushed through the herd as fast a possible and actually made it into the water and about 200 yds from the start line when the race started. One good thing was I never got in a crowd as I just got to work trying to catch up to the folks I wanted to race with. Swim was totally uneventful but I never got a good draft and ended up about 5 minutes off my expected time.
No worries, though…just kept thinking it was a long day.
Rushed to get on my bike, totally forgetting about a little thing called sunscreen…oops! I had put a little on pre-race and just hoped it would keep me from getting too cooked.
The bike was fun from the get-go. Yeah, it was a little windy, but I just kept reminding myself of all the ugly, windy training days and tried to be grateful that I had tons of wind experience. I could see other riders getting tense and scared in the never ceasing head- and cross-winds and was just glad I could relax and keep moving forward.
Got dinged for drafting…who, me?…at about mile 40-ish when I let my mind drift a little and got myself in a bad position just as a marshal drove up. Had to stand down while she wrote me up and marked a huge red slash on my race number.
Got back on the bike and made a concious decision to just let it go. No sense wasting precious energy getting pi$$ed about it.
It did force me to ride much more conservatively after that…no way did I want a second, disqualifying, penalty. I stayed totally aerobic while trying to pass as many folks as possible. Passed my old coach at the turnaround in Hawii and have to admit feeling pretty good about it.
Time flew and it seemed too quick that my ride through the famed lava fields was over. The run loomed. Given a choice, I would much rather have continued riding!
Put my 4 minutes in the penalty box to good use…drinking, stretching and letting my HR go down. Then it was off to get my hat, shoes, fuel belt AND sunscreen and head off on the run.
I felt good and my first 2 miles were about 7:45 pace…whoa, baby…gotta slow that down! Settled into an 8:30 pace and just kept moving from mile marker to mile marker. Played with a gal in my AG before getting past her for good.
The run was not bad, I never really suffered. Up Alii Drive, out on the Queen K, into the Energy Lab…no big problems. Just one foot in front of the other and keep eating and drinking. The songs I had been singing on the bike (a bit of Dwight, the Bodeans and some Aerosmith) stayed in my head as I trudged along.
It gets dark early on the island and as I came out of the Energy Lab I was handed the dreaded glow ring…damn, I didn’t want that at all. At mile 21 things started to get a bit less enjoyable…my hips, knees and feet hurt and I had to admit the novelty had worn off. Drank a little coke, tried some chicken broth and kept moving.
Finally I was at the aid station at mile 25. It was right in front of a Starbucks on a wicked descent down Palani Drive that just made my legs scream. The guy asked coke? water? Gatorade? I suggested that I’d rather he run in and get me a venti Mocha Frappucino with whipped cream, but he graciously declined and I continued stumbling down the hill.
I could hear the finish as it flattened out and I made the last couple of turns. Ditched the hated glow ring and hit the finish chute filled with cheering spectators. What a rush!!
Then it was over. I could stop. And I really wanted to brush my teeth!
I was very satisfied to get in under 12 with the conditions. Stoked to find I had managed sub-4 in my first marathon ever.
My first coherent thought, after the tooth brushing, was I want to do that again, cause I know I can do much better…and I will…bet on it.
All in all, I totally enjoyed the experience. My training and nutrition were right on. My support team was stellar. And I know I’ll never do an ‘easier’ IM…now that I know I can do the distance, I’m gonna have to make them hurt. 
Stats:
Swim - 1:20:11
T1 - 3:17
Bike - 6:24:23
T2 - 9:09
Run - 3:59:13
Total - 11:56.13 6/43 W45-49