Ironman Chattanooga 70.3...I DID IT!!!

I've lost count of all the Ironman races I've been to cheering for Trey...getting the cool backpack, sporting the Ironman t-shirts and that RED CARPET finish.  I remember thinking one day (maybe) it will be me.  I chose Ironman Chattanooga 70.3 to make my debut and what an AWESOME day it was.

We headed to Chattanooga on Thursday, luckily it fit in perfect with Trey's work schedule.  Pulling the camper makes for a longer trip so we basically got to the campsite, grilled and went to bed.

This was a Sunday race so I had a few days to get even more nervous!  Athlete check-in opened on Friday.  Trey was so into this being my first BIG race that he seriously almost forgot he needed to check in too...LOL!  We met Joanna at Ironman Village and got our packet and walked through the Ironman store and just kept on walking.  I wasn't about to jinx myself by buying a shirt when I hadn't even crossed the finish line yet.

They had started setting up the transition area, so we went and found our space.  Trey and I were no where near each other.  I was so happy to see that my bike would be closer to the "Bike Out", which meant I would not have very far to go trying to run in my cycling shoes.

Trey and I then headed to the other side of the bridge to get in the river so I could see exactly what I was getting myself into.  I could tell Trey wasn't sure if this was a good idea or not because if it didn't go well, well then that just wouldn't be a good thing - ha!ha!  I'm happy to say it was not as bad as I had expected it to be...I was assured that everything was going to be just fine.  After that quick dip, I was good.  I knew I could fight that water for 200 yds or so and make it to the turnaround and have smoothe sailing downriver (or so, that's what everyone kept telling me).  We then headed back to the campsite and met up with everyone else that was racing.  We ran out for a quick bite of mexican and went to bed with full belly.

Saturday...busy day - short workout (swim/bike/run) and bike check-in.  We all decided to try to meet up downtown for a quick spin on our bikes to make sure everything was dialed in.  So glad we did, I still have not mastered the front bottle system and found out quickly that my red carpet debut was not the day to try it.  A quick trip to one of the booths in the village fixed that - a cage on the back to hold an extra bottle and I would just stop at an aid station to switch them out.  The last time I reached back ended in a trip over the handlebars, so to play it safe we all agreed I needed to just pull over for a few seconds - I didn't want anything to ruin my day:)  We then went for a quick run, helped set up the tent for our awesome sherpas, and off to bike check in we go.  Racked my bike & studied my landmarks so hopefully I would be able to find my bike among all 2200+ of them.  It was such a relief to not have to worry about my bike on race morning.

RACE DAY...the day you get to show off and prove that your weeks of training has been totally worth it.  I didn't get here by sitting on my booty, missing workouts and not giving 100% on every workout.  It's a roller coaster - good workouts/bad workouts, positive thoughts/negative thoughts, I love my coach/I do not love my coach, this if fun/this is dumb - EVERY emotion and thought imaginable is included in the process of preparing you for YOUR DAY!!!

SWIM...#justgetmeoutofthetennesseeriver - my hashtag leading up to this race...LOL! I still don't like swimming, but I have proven to myself that I can do it!!  I knew from my previous years of coming to the full Ironman here that it is a long morning waiting for the swim start.  After setting up our transition area and making sure everything was ready we all met back at the tent and boarded the shuttle bus together.  Since it was a time trial start we (me, Trey, Joanna, Dave & Therese) decided to all jump in the river together.  This was very calming for me and made waiting in line pass a little quicker.

RFactor Coaching - Coach Rose Wilson...we will make you proud Coach

See you at the FINISH LINE...our first long distance race together

I've got this!!!

And we're off!!

1.2 mile swim..200yds or so upriver then over about 100 yds and then downriver - how hard can that be?? Well, swims are never easy for me but I was relieved to hear that a lot of people said this was not an easy swim.  The downriver swim portion was a cluster, it was so hard to find an area that wasn't covered in flailing arms!  I never really felt the relaxing, just enjoy, you can float part of this swim that everyone assured me I would feel once I turned that buoy.  BUT there was obviously a current because when the volunteer helped me out of the water and I looked down at my watch it said 32 min. and some seconds - WHAT??? Oh no, I must have somehow cut a buoy - ha!ha!  Oh well, I'm on land so who really cares how I got here.  I spotted Jorgia in the crowd and did my usual - "woohoo, I survived another swim" face and made my way to the wetsuit strippers/peelers (who ROCK!), ran up the hill and into transition!

HA!HA!HA!

BIKE...56 miles - here I come!  This is a beautiful bike course once you get out of town.  I knew to play it safe heading out of town, there's a few railroad tracks where everyone seems to lose their water bottles.  So between the tracks & water bottles all over the road I stayed focused trying to make my way out of town.  The bike course was very crowded, I was so paranoid about getting a penalty that I would just sit up when someone came back in front of me after passing me, then I would pass hoping I was really going to be able to make it by them.  I just never really found a comfortable groove on the bike.  AND then to top it all someone came up on me and said I've been chasing you down and guess who it was??? Joanna - the girl last year who would rather do anything but ride her bike. I was like what are you doing and why are you smiling...LOL!  So proud of that girl - I better pick up my bike game because she will be miles ahead of me next race:)  I kept pushing forward and ended up with a pretty good bike which set me up perfectly for a solid run.  I didn't overdo it (I always think about that 13.1 run that is coming up next). I really loved where my bike was racked coming back into transition, just a few steps and I was at my rack.


RUN...13.1 miles of HILLS & HEAT - doesn't that sound fun?  I've been afraid of this heat all week and knew this run was not going to be as fast as I had hoped and probably not a lot of fun.  That first mile did not feel great, but I was able to settle into a groove before the first hill.  I quickly decided after the first hill that it may be a good idea to power walk the hills, I am fortunate in that I love to walk and am able to make a lot of forward movement when I do walk.  My run throughout the course was power walked the hills, walked every aid station (and there were lots of them) and some random 1 min walks thrown in when I felt like it.  This worked great for me!  I really like a two loop run course...there are no surprises on the second time around.  The open highway was the hardest section of the run for me, I seriously thought I was running on the sun - no shade and nothing but concrete.  The cold sponges saved me.  The aid stations were so AWESOME and support and cheers all over the run course! Less than a mile out I walked a little longer on the pedestrian bridge that I really had to, but I just took a moment to take it all in...WOW - I did it!  I started running again, made it off the bridge, got to veer to the left this time and headed to the FINISH LINE where I was welcomed with tons of spectators and cheers!  It was everything I had worked hard for and hoped it would be!!  That's a GREAT feeling!

Here I go...almost 1 mile in and headed toward the hill!

HEY!

FINISH LINE!!

BOOM - YES!!!  5:52:32

Trey met me at the finisher's chute and we hugged like we had not seen each other in years!!  He was as proud of me as I was!!  I actually just rocked that!

I know I keep saying this but it was such a GREAT day...and to top it off Monday was Trey's birthday so we stayed an extra day to celebrate him and another trip around the sun!

Happy Birthday - Red Velvet made by George Moser - oh so delicious!!