We’ll back up a few days from go-time to set the stage. Or
maybe a few months. Last June, Melissa and Nicole agreed to do this race.
Together. The three of us. Melissa wrote our training plan. Nicole ran with me
at least once a week and we all rode together as often as possible. These two
women are waaaa-aaaaa-aaaaay out of my league. Their fitness and their strength
lifts me up and inspires me, but I am in no way equipped to keep up with them
in any sense of the word. Maybe someday I’ll get there, but that day is not
today.
Some more history: Melissa and I have known each other since
we were 8, maybe 9. Our lives have intertwined a few times in the past, crisscrossing
and saying “hello” here and there. A season of softball, a year or two of our kids
sharing the same preschool. This time, it’s for good. She’s stuck with me
forever. What to say about Mel. She’s superhuman. In college, she played
softball, soccer, AND ice hockey. And she’s beautiful, a strong Christian, a
good friend, an amazing mother and wife. She’s the bees knees. And Nicole?
She’s all of those things. She’ll do ANYTHING for you. She loves well and plays
well and serves well and I’m ever so grateful that our paths crossed long
enough to forge a friendship that I believe is here to stay. (I’ll go ahead and
pat myself on the back for my ability to make friends with amazing people.)
Now that you know who I was blessed enough to race alongside,
I’ll carry on. Nicole was having a hard time finding a wetsuit that didn’t grow
hands and strangle her every time she jumped in the water. After four borrowed
suits, she FINALLY found one that worked. The last week before the race was a
smooth taper peppered with several trips to the lake to try the wetsuit out before
race day. Here we are, after FINALLY having found the winner. Thank God!! This
was Thursday, by the way. T-minus 66 hours until race day. Word. Nothing like
cutting it close!
Friday we rode down to athlete check-in. Melissa drove the
weeine van, the three of us, and two little munchkins to the island. Last year,
the check-in line on Saturday was 3 hours long and I was NOT into standing
around for 3 hours when I should’ve been hydrating with my feet up. We zipped
through check-in (despite the fact that Nicole’s ID was on the glass on her
scanner at home – oops!) and sat through the painfully long athlete briefing in
the blazing hot sun. Our little people were amazing and hung in there for us
for the entire meeting. We rushed back home to get bigger munchkins home from
school. The Longos had us over for spaghetti again (which is fast becoming a
tradition!). I consumed my weight in carbs and diligently double-fisted my
Gatorade and water. I was in bed early and was trying to relax as much as
possible.
My amazing husband let me sleep in on Saturday and fed me
oatmeal pancakes for breakfast. More carbs – yay! I took Bruce the Bike on a
little jaunt around the neighborhood to make sure everything was in working
order and then headed down to the island again for mandatory bike check-in.
Completely uneventful, which is ALWAYS welcome! Nicole and I walked over to the
swim start and got the lay of the land. The weather man had been calling for 25
mph winds for days and we believed it. The wind was ridiculous!
We headed home and I made my superstitious traditional meal of fetuccini alfredo with chicken (more carbs – yay). My family loaded up everything in the truck and dropped me off for a sleepover with my buddies. We were trying to shave some commute time in the morning and this saved me about 30 minutes of sleep (which was WELL worth the effort). I think I slept better knowing that there were 5 people with alarms set for 4:20 or earlier and I knew I wouldn't miss the race. This was by far the most sleep I've gotten before a big race. I'm not sure if it was the fact that I knew there were 5 alarms set or if I wasn't at home and had zero other things to stress about or what, but I'll take it. Six solid hours beats the pants off of 4 fitful hours!
Once again, we loaded up and headed to the island. We had Nick and Jonathan with us and we had LOTS to laugh and joke about. It was such a fun morning of preparations. SO much less nerve-wracking that being alone and whiling away the time. Our team was solid, excited, and ready to face the day. For some strange reason, they had us park about 5 blocks from Moody Gardens, which sucked. My race plan did not include walking a mile in flip flops! Whatever - it was what it was. The five of us goofed off all the way to transition and harassed each other about which song would be stuck in our heads. We made our way into transition and said our goodbyes. I saw Nick once more at the swim start and Jonathan blew by me on the bike at about mile 25. That would be the last time I saw these guys on race day. I won't say anything AT ALL about Mel's lucky sweatshirt.
If you'll remember from last year, I met some amazing women on the way to the swim start. I was alone and scared and nervous and lots of things. This year? I saw SO many people one the way to the dock. Krista and Heather and Nick and Randi and I hugged and smiled and wished everyone good luck. The vibe was AMAZING. Not to say I wasn't nervous, but the excitement and the energy far overshadowed my anxiety about the day. The work was done and it was time to get down to brass tacks.
Gah. I can't figure out how to flip that. Just turn your head.
It was 7:12. Almost time. I asked Melissa to pray. I don't know exactly what she said, but her prayer was full of gratitude and jubilation and praise and when she finished, we were all crying. I think this is when Nick walked up, which was a welcome distraction and gave us all a chance to wipe our eyes. 7:16 and we were on the dock. 7:21 and we were cannonballing into the water. 7:24. Game time.
The horn blared and off we went. People talk about the brutality of an open water/mass swim start. Up until this point, I've been blessed enough to avoid such things. This race ended my streak. I think I positioned myself a little too close to the front. The first 100 yards were a turgid whirlpool of arms and legs and fists to the head. I couldn't get in a rhythm and I couldn't break free of the crowd. By the time I broke through that first buoy, I was in my own bubble, but I'd had the snot beat out of me. I never lost control of my breathing - for which I was extremely grateful - but I was worried about Nicole. Blessedly, she was fine and didn't have the same experience I did. Whew!
Once we made that first turn, the wave behind us caught up to me. This was the point of the swim where things just got flat stupid. A wall of 4 men in orange caps went completely over the top of me and I was pushed under. Not cool, orange caps. Not cool. A guy in front of me was swimming zagzags and a woman from the first non-pro wave was back stroking. It was mass chaos, but I just kept stroking and looking for my own space. By the time I turned that last buoy, I was about done with these crazy cats. I had plenty of gas left in the tank, but I was just done being in the water with these crazies. My feet found the ramp and up I went!
Official swim time - 45:46
I always look like a lunatic coming out of the swim. I'm always grateful and relieved that I didn't drown. I really, really, really wanted to come in closer to 40 minutes, but given the fact that I had to swim 1.2 miles while fighting a wrestling match? I was ok with this. I dropped down at wetsuit stripping and got a hearty cheer from Nicole and Melissa's husbands. Then I saw Krista and Ann and a bunch of other people I knew and I felt like I had wings! On to the bike and to fight the wind!
T1 was smooth. I shoved a waffle in my mouth, dried my feet off, and girded my loins for cycling. I felt like I was moving quickly, but my time showed otherwise. Away I went!
Official T1 time - 3:53
As I mentioned, everyone had been on and on about the wind. This is Galveston. OF COURSE there's wind. We ride in the wind every weekend so I'm not sure why anyone would have expected anything different on race day. Here's a fun fact for you - EVERYONE I talked to said, "Oh get your head wrapped around this - it's going to be a tailwind on the way down and a headwind on the way back." Well see. My daddy taught me how to read a map and I could see the little arrow indicating wind direction and I KNEW in my bones that EVERYONE was wrong. I KNEW that we'd have a cross-head on the way down and a cross-tail on the way back. But EVERYONE was so convinced that they were right, I just kept my mouth shut and decided I had to be an idiot and I tried to wrap my head around that. Well guess what? I'm not such an idiot and that wind did exactly what I thought it was going to do. It wasn't much help on the way back in, but it beat the heck out of a head wind for the back half of the course!
I settled in early on the bike and got as comfortable as one can get on a tri bike. I started drinking and taking my salt. I was SUPER focused on my salt as I had some cramping issues at Oilman in November. Pedal, pedal, pedal. Flat, flat, flat. Wind, wind, wind. I actually passed a fair amount of people which truly surprised me. We were in the 6th swim wave, so there really weren't that many people on the course ahead of me, but I found quite a few to pass. Right around mile 25, I hear Melissa cheer me on from the other side of the course. She just FLEW on her new bike and really put a hurtin' on that course. I was so jazzed to see her and got a huge surge of energy. Back to business. Pedal, pedal, pedal. Flat, flat, flat. Wind, wind, wind. Just before the turnaround, Nicole came up behind me. FINALLY! I was so worried about her. I truly expected her to catch me by mile 10 (and would not have been surprised had she caught me in the first 10 minutes!). We chatted for about 60 seconds and off she went. Apparently, she had some technical difficulties in T1 and had a hard time getting out of there. She stopped at an aid station and I passed her only to be passed again about 5 minutes later. I noticed my hamstrings and QLs were just tired. I wasn't cramping at all, but I was just tired. I took in some more salt, ate another shot block, brought home the bike, and dismounted feeling strong but tired. Actually more tired than strong, but I was glad to have my legs back underneath me. (After some thinking and race analysis, I realized I only took in 99 calories on the bike, which was a HUGE mistake that I paid for on the run. Lesson learned.)
Official bike time - 3:30:12
T2 was fast and furious. I traded my cycling shoes for running shoes, grabbed a hat, and pulled my Gatorade bottle off the bike. Away I went, feeling fast and actually moving fast!
Official T2 time - 2:05
This is where the rubber met the road. The run was HARD. It was hot and it was hard. I saw Julie and Liane just coming out of transition. I was feeling strong. Sort of. I thought I had a 2:35 in me, but my body said otherwise. Just before mile 1, my left hamstring cramped. Hard. I had never cramped like this while running and I had NO idea what to do. I hobbled through it, stopped for some water, and took some more salt. As I worked through it, I was thinking, Well hell's bells. I guess I'm getting ready to walk 12 miles... It finally let up and I was able to run again. I took it easy, worried that I'd be right back in this boat if I pushed too hard. As I ran, I saw a LOT of friends and family. Heather and Gracie, Randi, Penny, Crystal, Ann - a ton of people who believe/d in me. I wasn't sure where my family was, but I knew they'd be there. I rounded the parking garage where they were last year and my heart sank. No family. I pushed on up a stupid hill and over a stupid overpass and was cursing this stupid race when I saw my mom and dad's Tahoe. I didn't think they saw me (they didn't, but Daniel did!!!), but I knew they were there and I knew they were coming. I picked up my pace a little and was so grateful to see them on the way back for loop 2. Just before the end of the first loop, I saw THE cheering squad - Nicole's entire family, Melissa's family, Julie, Liane - I can't even name all the people who cheered for me. I stopped and I told them, "LISTEN to me. I am HURTING. My hams are gone. I'm hot. I'm already out of gas. When Nicole and Mel finish, GO HOME. Do not wait here for me." They encouraged me and lifted me up and off I went. Again.
On the back half of loop 2, I saw my family for real this time. I stopped for hugs and kisses and MUCH needed motivation. I was so happy to have them there for me.
It was shortly after this that I met up with David. I didn't know David, but he approached me and asked if he could run with me. I'm always up for a running buddy, so I gratefully accepted. Wow. This dude? Loco. He signed up for this thing having never done a triathlon. Race day was his first time in a wetsuit and his first time in open water. Word? Well. Whatever, dude. He was on track for a sub-7 and needed somebody to pace him in. We ran together and chatted about our kids and high school coaches and why we were out there doing what we were doing. The time passed quickly and before I knew it, we were on the homestretch. David told me that he could tell I was mentally tough and that he didn't think he would've finished without me. I'm not so sure about that, but a buddy is a buddy and I was happy to have one.
One thing to mention about the day is that it was HOT. Did I mention it was HOT? At every aid station, I stopped and poured ice everywhere I could manage. Thank GOD they had cold sponges. I soaked two at every opportunity and stuck one in my bra strap and one on my back. I basically had water running down me the entire 13 miles. I knew I was getting blisters, but whatever man. I was almost done and a blister never killed anybody. I considered stopping and wringing out my socks at one point, but I was afraid that once I did, I'd never get my shoes back on. After actually seeing the blisters, I made the right call.
We FINALLY made it to THE cheering squad and I nearly cried. I was sure they would've gone home long before now,
but they waited. My friends are amazing. Have I mentioned my propensity to pick amazing friends?? I made it in across the finish line and actually heard my name this year. It was such a rush and I'm so glad I persevered. David found me shortly after to shake my hand and thank me for helping him through. Crystal found me first and gave me the most awesome high 5 ever. Julie was close behind and then I found the mother lode of supporters.
We are some happy ladies!!! Official time - 7:18:35
I am ever so grateful for this life and these people I get to call my own - the husband who handles weekends with the kids, my parents who pick kids up from school so I can train (or nap...), the friends who train with me, the friends who pray with me, the friends who ask me about my training. I wake up some mornings and I just can't believe that I get to do this sport with these people in this place. I am so incredibly blessed and grateful and I can't wait to put my money where my mouth is. April 22, 2017 is going to be best day ever and I am so beyond honored to toe that line with these ladies and show IMTX what this body can do.
