Jack's Generic Tri 2012

 I hadn't really planned on doing Jack's this year, but then I found out it fell on my birthday and that this would be the last High Five race at the Texas Ski Ranch, the ski ranch isn't my favorite triathlon location, but since this would be the last race there and on my birthday, I decided I wanted to do it. When does someone get the chance to do a triathlon on their actual birthday? and when they're turning 35- going into a new age group, I thought it might never happen again, so I definitely wanted to do it!

Sunrise at the ski ranch

I've done Jack's twice before, in 2010 and 2009. When I raced in 2009, it was actually a cool day in August, I don't think it got above 80 all day! I had a really good race that day and didn't think I'd ever beat that time. So my goals for this year were to beat my 2010 fastest bike pace, and I knew if I beat it by enough and had a good run maybe, just maybe I could get a PR for my birthday, but I wasn't going to be upset if I was way off a PR, it was forecast to be 100 degrees on race day. Then Jeff and I went hiking at Colorado Bend State Park the day before the race, we hiked about 9 miles and I fell down a river bank. About 6 miles through the hike I told Jeff, "I have revised my goals for Jack's, now I just want to have fun racing on my birthday."

Jeff and I pre-race. I'm wearing the birthday tiara, on top of my new Newton Running visor, it's just hard to see

Jeff and I pulled in to the ski ranch at 5:38am, I know this because we were a few minutes early and I wasn't sure they'd have the gate open and be ready for parking yet, but the main lot was almost full already and we got one of the last super sweet spots in the main lot right by transition. I went to set up transition while Jeff napped in the car. Katie body marked me and wished me Happy Birthday and "welcome to my age group" I've technically been in the 35-39 age group all year (USAT rules go by your age on Dec 31), but this was the first race where I really raced in my new age group (I raced in my new age group at Marble Falls, but all women under 40 started together and since it was an out of town race, the only person I knew in my new age group was Kelly Green). I walked into the transition area and was immediately greeted by Happy Birthday wishes and hugs from lots of Tri Zoners and other friends  and lots of "you're wearing the birthday tiara!!" Mohamed even gave me a Newton Running visor for my birthday! Thanks Mohamed!! I hung out with Tri Zones and TWCC before the race and got lots more Happy Birthday wishes.

My wave was set to start at 8:24, Jeff gave me a good luck kiss and Carolyn volunteering at swim start wished me Happy Birthday as I got in the water. I looked around for Amy B. I had seen her that morning (when she and Matt gave me birthday hugs) and I knew she was in my new age group, but I didn't see her. Then all of a sudden she was right beside me and said "hi Heather, I didn't know you were in my age group" and I replied "I'm in your age group NOW" to which she replied "oh yeah, it's your fucking birthday! Happy Fucking Birthday!!" Which made everyone around us laugh and a few strangers wished me Happy Birthday, then Jen Ritchie said Hi and Happy Birthday, I didn't realize she was in my new age group! Then just before the start (Logan was counting down as she was singing) Amy sang me her favorite birthday song "This is Your Birthday Song, It isn't Very Long"...GO!!!

The Ski Ranch water is pretty disgusting, a combination of goat poo (goats live on the island in the middle of the pond), oil, and silty mud. They have to do water quality tests, so technically it's safe, but it doesn't always look, smell or feel good.

goats on the island

I started swimming and immediately got gross ski ranch goat water in my mouth- yuck!! My legs felt tired when I tried to kick faster, I knew it was not good if my legs already felt tired! I swam a little too far to the outside by accident and when I got to the first turn buoy I was way outside of it. But otherwise I had a good (but gross) swim. As I got near the shore I could see and feel all the disgusting muck that gets stirred up and sticks to your face- Yuck! I was glad this would be my last swim in this water! I made sure to exit to the right side so the volunteers would grab my right arm to help me out and not my left scrapped up still sore arm. And someone handed me a wet wipe as I ran up to transition- thank you whoever you are! Swim time was 11:30, my fastest Jack's swim time is 11:16.

T1 was 2:59, 10 seconds faster than my previous fastest T1 at Jack's.

I got on the bike and my legs didn't feel too bad up the first hill, Red flew by me and wished me Happy Birthday again. Then Eva flew by and wished me Happy Birthday too. It became a theme (I'm a decent swimmer but a pretty slow cyclist so I get passed a lot on the bike) everyone I knew who passed me wished me Happy Birthday, then people around me who didn't even know me said Happy Birthday too- Fun! Plus I had Amy's stupid "This is Your Birthday Song, It isn't Very Long" stuck in my head! The first half of the ride went really well, I was averaging over 16mph (awesome for me), and the roads weren't as bad as I remembered. Then I turned onto the chip sealed road from Hell- Yuck! My scraped up arm actually felt ok in the swim, but on the rough chip seal it vibrated and really hurt, I couldn't wait to get off that road. The nasty road was longer than I remembered and I thought "I will not miss this bike course!" really it's just that one road, the rest of the bike course isn't bad but I got sick of that nasty chip seal fast this year. I was really feeling every little hill after hiking so much on Saturday too. But soon I got to turn back onto the frontage road and fly down the big hill, in the past I have been nervous on that hill, but this year I loved it! Bike time was 54:25 (15.2 mph) best previous bike at Jack's was 55:24 (14.9mph) so a course PR on the bike!

T2 was 1:36, 11 seconds faster than my previous fastest T2 at Jack's, even with an extra second or 2 to put my birthday tiara on my running hat!

I don't know how I ran a 10:12 pace at Jack's in 2009, but I knew I couldn't beat that, especially since it was already getting hot. I hoped to keep my pace under 11min/mile but I knew even that might be tough since my legs were tired from the start. I love the run at Jack's and I will miss that part of the ski ranch course. It's just an out and back, but it's mostly uphill out and mostly downhill back, my strategy is always to push harder than I think I should on the way out and then take advantage of the downhill on the way back. I also love that I get to see all my faster friends on my way out and my slower friends on the way back. It was especially fun this time, since I was wearing my birthday tiara and everyone wished me Happy Birthday! There were more people around me on the run than there had been on the bike, so it felt like everyone racing wished me a Happy Birthday! Fun!! My Garmin said my first mile was a 10:20 pace- wow that was way faster than I thought I could do! Mile 2 was about the same and I tried to pick up the pace as I ran around the lake to the finish line. Run time was 30:58, 10:19 min/mile.

Almost to the finish! Photo by Miguel Ortiz

 I didn't know my overall time when I finished, I knew I was close to an overall PR, so I kept checking the results pages, it took them a long time to post mine! When they did post them, I was looking at the page from 1:43-1:47 finishing times (my previous Jack's times were 1:45:39 & 1:45:51) so I thought mine still wasn't up, I checked the page above and there I was at 1:41:29!! wow a PR over the time I thought I'd never beat by 4:10! I didn't find this out until later, but I was also in the top half of my age group which has never happened for me before at any race! So far I'm loving being 35!!

Very Happy post race! photo by Miguel Ortiz

After the race, we went to the Gristmill for lunch with Vanessa, Miguel, Sandra, Jenny & JoAnne. We had a great time and they even got me a birthday dessert- strawberry shortcake, my favorite!

Vanessa, Miguel, Sandra, JoAnne, Jeff, me, and Jenny at the Gristmill- Yum!

me with my birthday strawberry shortcake, and still wearing the birthday tiara :)

 I had an absolutely Awesome time doing a triathlon on my birthday!! Thanks so much to everyone who was there and made it extra special!!

HITS Triathlon Corpus Christi Race Report

I have done a lot of the same races for a few years now. Kerrville was a new course for me (and everyone) last year, but it was still a Jack & Adam's race so I knew exactly what to expect. I was excited and a little nervous about doing a completely different race, I had heard some good stuff and some bad stuff about the first 2 HITS races and I just didn't have any expectations either way. I originally signed up for the full distance race, but downgraded to the half partly because I just wasn't getting in long rides in the cold, and partly because I knew it would be a small race and as a back of the packer I wasn't excited about being alone on the course for hours and hours. I felt like my swim and run training were really good for the half, but my bike training even for the half was a little lacking. So I had no expectations for HITS and no expectations for my race except to enjoy the race and have a new and different triathlon experience.

Saturday (day before my race)

Ingrid swimming with the dolphins!

We got to Corpus Christi on Saturday just in time to see some of the final finishers from the Olympic race, we cheered for a few finishers then walked down to the swim entrance to see if we could see Ingrid practice swimming. There was only one swimmer in the water and there were 4 or 5 dolphins swimming beside her! She didn't even know they were there.

They had listed the half/full packet pickup from 3-4 pm, but it was only 11, I asked if I could get mine early, "absolutely". We went to lunch and got back in time to watch the open race- what a great idea! It was very short and free, so a lot of kids and families did the race together. We had fun watching most of the kids doggie paddle through the swim, and cheered and high-fived them as they went into transition. After a few minutes I realized Dave Scott was standing right across from me, cheering in the slower kids too- very cool!

Ingrid, me and Spinnaker in transition

Ingrid and I got our bikes set up and did our warm up rides. It was crazy windy, 28 mph, I felt like I was getting blown all over the road and I was really happy the wind was forecast to calm down by morning. We weren't sure if we wanted to leave our bikes in transition in the wind, so we asked Transition Dude Joe if we could wait til morning, "sure you can leave them tonight, we'll have security all night, or bring them in the morning, whichever you prefer" Nice. None of the bikes already in transition were blowing around, so we decided to leave ours.

 We were waiting around for the pre-race meeting when Dave Scott walked over, that's when I got my photo op and he asked "are your legs feeling good for your race tomorrow?" Pretty cool.

Dave Scott and me

The pre-race meeting was pretty informal, in the transition area with Race Director Mark Wilson talking to us, there were about 80 athletes doing the half and 30 for the full. At one point someone asked about cut-off times, "don't worry about that, we'll be here...no big deal". He suggested that everyone carry 2 tubes "we had street sweepers clean the course, but you never know" I (correctly) took that to mean no roving bike support car on the course- not a huge deal, but hopefully something they consider adding as the races grow. He gave a couple of other useful points about the course, so I was glad I went to the meeting. On our way back to our cars I asked Rosie (Rosie of Houston who sometimes gets nervous in the water and has missed Ironman swim cutoffs a couple of times) if she heard that they weren't enforcing the swim cutoff time. "Really? Are you serious?" "yes, that's what Race Director Mark said" Rosie jumped up and down and squealed! "Heather you just made my race!!" I was just the messenger, but I thought it was pretty cool that they'd let people continue racing as long as they were able (within reason, I'm sure).

Pre-race

Cool tattoo race numbers, a first for me!

We got to the race site at 5:50 on race morning and parked less than a block from the start- awesome! It was definitely a more low-key relaxed pre-race atmosphere than I'm used to. It took me forever to set up my transition area, I had a ton of space, but it was a different set up than I'm used to and I had way more clothes than normal. I finally got everything set up the way I
wanted and got into Maggie's wetsuit. Ingrid had an extra pair of neoprene socks, so I put those on too. It was a cold morning but I knew the water would feel even colder. Official water temperature was 62, but Ingrid said she thought it felt colder during her practice swim. I didn't do a practice swim at all, I thought if I got in that cold water once, I might not be willing to do it again! Race Director Mark told us we could get in for a practice swim, most of us just laughed, but eventually we had to get in.
I waited until the 3 minute warning and got in fast, at first it didn't feel too bad, but as water got in my wetsuit-wow it was cold! I was shivering and couldn't wait to start swimming and hopefully warm up!

Waiting for the start and freezing in the cold water!

Swim

Countdown and air horn- GO

Easiest swim start ever! No contact at all, there were a little over 100 people starting, but we had a big start area. I think I had my feet touched 2 or 3 times the entire swim. I started swimming but had a hard time getting into my rhythm, swimming while shivering doesn't work too well for me, I tried to just keep moving. The first 5 minutes or so was tough, I wasn't sure I could stay in that water for 45+ minutes! But finally I started to get sort of comfortable, my hands, feet and face stayed really cold, but otherwise Maggie's wetsuit was keeping me pretty comfy (THANKS Maggie!!).

Sunrise and swimmer

My head started to hurt after a few minutes and I couldn't decide if it was just because of the cold water or if it was the 2 swim caps I was wearing to try and stay a little warmer. The sunrise was beautiful and it was fun to watch as I swam along. I know there were concerns about swim support at the past HITS races, but there was plenty of support in Corpus- lots of kayakers, a few jet skis, and police/Coast Guard boats, if I had any issues I'm sure someone would have been there in seconds. There were also plenty of big red buoys marking the course. It took me almost 27 minutes to reach the turnaround buoy, which is really slow for me. I assumed the cold water was just slowing me down and I tried to pick it up a little on the way back.

Great shot Jeff!

 By this time my hands, feet, and face were still really cold, but otherwise I was comfortable and enjoying the swim, but I was really happy I had decided to do the half instead of the full, I don't know if I could have stayed in the cold water twice as long! I came out of the water in 54 minutes, my slowest half iron swim ever, but also my coldest! I assumed my slow time was due to the cold water, but later I heard rumors that maybe the course was a little long, so maybe both the cold and a slightly long course contributed to my slower time. I bear crawled out of the water, the steps were just like the ones at IM Cozumel.

bear crawling up the steps

T1 

I got onto land and tried to jog to transition, but my feet were frozen and not really working. Announcer Alex was talking about me and as I walked by I said "wow! my feet are Frozen!" and he announced that! haha! I got into T1, and sat on the ground to get my wetsuit off (no strippers).

Hello! They gave me a stool, why did I sit on the ground??

I planned on wearing some extra layers since I don't warm up easily, so I tried to struggle into my long sleeved fleece bike jersey and it was tough with cold hands and being all wet! I finally got that on and had some trouble with my fleece lined tights too. My wool socks and bike shoes with toe covers went on easier (I did sit on the stool to put my shoes on) and and the rest of my gear was normal. I had fleece gloves that I was planning to put on over my regular bike gloves but I thought I didn't need them (biggest mistake of my day!!) My hands didn't feel too bad but my feet were still numb as I walked out to the bike mount line. T1 was 6:08.

Bike

Starting the bike

I got on my bike just as the full iron race leader was starting the bike. He was swerving all over trying to get his shoes on, so I yelled to let him know I was right behind him and passing. Of course he flew by me a few seconds later! Jeff was yelling something about him to me, but I couldn't understand him (he was saying "stay with that guy!" haha yeah right!). Ocean Drive was really pretty in the morning and I was enjoying the sunshine, but I was really glad I had decided on the extra layers because it was still pretty cold. There were at least 4 or 5 guys in transition with me, so I was surprised that no one passed me for awhile. My feet stayed cold and my hands were getting colder and colder, but otherwise I was really liking the ride. Police at every intersection stopped traffic and cheered for me, and there were more spectators than I had expected. I thought Ingrid should pass me around mile 6 or 7 since she passed me at both Ironman Cozumels around mile 12. Around mile 9 I started to worry that maybe she had a really bad swim, and finally at mile 12 she passed me (her swim was a little slow, but not too bad)! So at every race we have started in the same wave, Ingrid has passed me at mile 12 on the bike!

I had been a little concerned when I asked the HITS people if roads would be closed for the race and they said no, 358 is pretty much the main highway in Corpus and we'd be on it! Turns out they coned off a lane along with a wide shoulder and had plenty of police watching out for us, so I felt very safe even on the busier roads. I was glad we drove the 358 section of the course because when you see the tall part of that bridge it looks huge!! Luckily I knew it was doable and as I started the climb up, it didn't feel much worse than the long hills on Parmer. Park Road 22 was all chip seal-yuck! But I got a big tailwind, so I was going fast and having fun! It's a 2 lane road and was open to traffic, but it wasn't busy at all and the cars that did pass were super polite and safe about it. I got to the turn around at 1:46 minutes, which is great for me!

My hands and feet were still freezing and numb, so I stopped at the turn around to try and warm them up. It wasn't really working and the volunteer said "it's not going to get any better when you ride into that headwind" and he was right, sort of. My hands stayed really cold and I was mad at myself for not putting on the second pair of gloves, but my feet actually started to thaw out while I rode into that headwind. The headwind definitely slowed me down, but it wasn't any worse than a typical day out on Parmer. I really looked forward to seeing the big bridge again since I knew when we curved around the headwind would let up some and the chip seal would end. The bridge the second time was more fun and I let myself fly down the backside as fast as I could. It was also really pretty looking out over the water. There were only 4 turns on the entire course,

finishing the bike

but for some reason I almost made the turn back onto hwy 3 a block too early, luckily the police officer said "NO, NO, go straight!" when he saw me slow down and look to the right. The cones continued straight and there wasn't a sign, so I don't know why I wanted to turn there. The real turn was well marked and impossible to miss. I made the final turn back onto Ocean Drive and saw a couple of the full iron racers heading out on their second loop. I was completely out of Infinit, which has never happened before, and feeling hungry so I was glad to be almost finished with the bike (I did drink more than normal, but my speedfil straw wasn't pushed down all the way, so I wasn't completely out of Infinit. I guess if I'm going to race with that thing, I should probably train with it once or twice!).
As I got closer to the finish I started to see some of the faster runners on the run course. For a mile or so the bike and run were on the same road, at first I thought that would be an issue, but it wasn't. I assume if the race gets bigger they might need to change that, but with only 100 or so people it wasn't a problem. With 3 miles to go, I passed a run aid station. Aid Station Troy started jumping up and down and cheering for me! He yelled "I'll be waiting here for you!" Near the bike finish I passed Jeff and he asked "are you warm now?" in a joking tone (assuming I would be more than warm after a 56 mile bike ride) and I replied "not really". I was looking forward to running to warm up my hands and feet! I could hear Announcer Alex talking about me, but I don't know what he said. Bike time was 4:02, one of my slower half iron bikes but based on my training I'm not surprised or disappointed with that.

T2
It was a small transition area but when I came in I couldn't remember if I was in row 3 or 4, I guess I asked Transition Dude Joe if I was in this row or the next one, and he looked at my number and ran over to my spot and guided me in. I started to take one shoe off while standing up and he said "use the stool, it helps, I promise" Oh yeah, the stool! I sat down and took my shoes off, took my extra layers off and started getting my compression socks on. Transition Dude Joe asked "is there anything I can help you with?" in such a sweet tone I was sure if I had asked him to put my compression socks on for me he would have done it! But instead I said "no, I've got it, thanks though". I ran out of T2 while Transition Dudes Joe & Chris cheered for me and told me to have a great run. T2 was 5:50. Both my transitions were slow, but if I hadn't had cold hands and put on/taken off extra layers, I could have had some of my fastest transitions here. I had space to set things up however I wanted and the T area was small.

Run

I felt good starting the run, saw Jeff as I got onto the street and I finally started to really warm up! I was loving the sunshine, the ocean view, and seeing other runners on the course! We were running along the seawall and random people out for a walk saw my number and cheered for me, that was pretty cool. I got to mile 3 and Aid Station Troy started jumping up and down and yelled "I was waiting for you! You look Awesome! What can I get for you" I took a cup of water and thanked him. Love the enthusiasm! Around mile 4 or so, I saw Ingrid running back, she seemed to be enjoying the race too. I ran 4, walked 1 most of the run, near the beginning I felt like my stomach might be getting upset but after switching to the 4/1, my stomach felt better and was fine the rest of the run. When I got onto the road, I cheered for cyclists coming in and other runners on the course. I got to the run turnaround and saw the only volunteer who didn't cheer for me all day, he was napping! I thought about making some noise and waking him up, but I figured he had already had a long day and had a lot more hours out there, so he probably deserved a nap :)

Almost finished!

On my way back I saw the full iron run leader- he was flying! (but he wasn't the same guy who started the bike with me, that guy had mechanical issues and had to drop out). I was still feeling pretty good, my legs were a little more tired than I'd like, but I think that was mostly from the bike. I got back onto the seawall and more random people cheered for me. I've never run a race on a sidewalk that was open to pedestrians before, there weren't too many people out and they all got out of my way. I wonder if anyone had issues with that? With 3 miles to go I got to see Aid Station Troy for the last time. He yelled "you're Awesome! what can I get for you?" me:"nothing I'm good" "what? you don't want ANYTHING??" me:"how about a high five?" "YOU GOT IT GIRL!!!" "just 3 miles to go, YOU GOT THIS!!" I think I actually sped up a little in the last 2 miles and I saw Jeff and Ingrid just before the finish. Run time was 2:46, about 6 minutes slower than my fastest half iron run time, but based on my bike training, I expected my run to be a little slower. Overall time was 7:55, my second slowest half, but hey it's FEBRUARY and I did a half iron!

Finish Line!!!

Post-race
I felt pretty good after the race, we hung out with Ingrid for a little while, then went to shower and eat and came back to watch some of the full iron. I got back just in time to see Rosie start her run, she finished the swim, but had 3 flats on the bike,so she was pretty far behind her goal time.

Rosie starting the run

 I wanted to find out if anyone aside from the winner had finished yet, the only person who didn't look busy at that second was Dave Scott, so I asked, "no one else has finished yet...how was your race today?...I saw you finish. How are your legs feeling now?...how did you feel about the bike course marking and support?" Pretty cool to have Dave Scott asking about my race!!

We stayed to watch Deb finish and see some of the other racers hit the turn around point. We chatted with Race Director Mark, Announcer Alex, and Time Keeper Lindsay a lot. Alex asked my last name, then he looked deep in thought for a couple seconds and said "did you do Ironman Cozumel in both 2010 and 2011?" Yes, how did he know that??  "and he (pointing at Jeff) bought you a bike and that's why you did your first triathlon..." I had written that in my athlete bio, apparently Announcer Alex had pretty much memorized everyone's athlete bio to have good info for announcing- pretty impressive! 

Robert at the turn around point

It was also impressive to watch all of the HITS staff help racers at the turn around point. I saw Race Director Mark run to transition and get a jacket for someone who hadn't expected it to get so cold. I saw him stuff Snickers into someone's jersey pockets, I saw Announcer Alex help someone put his jacket on, and hug a few sweaty, smelly athletes at the finish. It was pretty obvious that these guys really cared about their athletes and would do just about anything to help them have a good race.  
Alex also told us all about Robert a fire fighter doing 26 marathons in his fire fighting gear this year, some of them as part of ironman triathlons to raise money for 911 victims- wow!


When Rosie hit the turnaround point, we decided to call it a night. It was really cold and I was tired and my feet hurt. So we ended our ironman spectating at about 8pm.




Overall thoughts about HITS
yes, I enjoyed the race and yes, I would definitely do another HITS race!

Pros:
 1. these guys really care about their athletes and it shows, I really didn't expect the personal attention from a "big" national race company, so I was impressed.
2. huge transition spots, and you don't have to worry about someone "camping out" as Red says, next to your spot and taking all your space.
3. I know there were concerns with the first couple races about course marking and support, but at Corpus the entire course was well marked, the swim was well supported, and there were plenty of police at intersections
4. they had aid stations every 10 miles on the bike and every 1.5 miles on the run and aid stations were all well stocked when I came through at the back of the half pack.
5. I emailed Haley with some questions a couple weeks before the race and she responded in about 10 minutes. At the race site when I had a question, I asked Mark, Joe, Haley, Dave Scott, they were around all the time and it couldn't have been easier to get answers.
6. 1 year age groups, even with my 7:55 time I was only 1 spot away from winning my age group, pretty cool for us mid to back of the packers who would never get an award otherwise.
 Cons:
 I feel like all of my "cons" are nit picky little things, but I also feel that for those planning to do a HITS race, these might be good things to know and expect, so here goes:
1. no wetsuit strippers.
2. no roving bike mechanic, although when Rosie got a third flat someone found out and took a tube out to her, so even though they're not roving the course they'll help out when needed.
3. 1 volunteer per aid station, not an issue on the run, but if you take hand ups on the bike and miss one, you're kind of out of luck. I'm sure this will change as the series grows.
4. in Corpus the run was partly on a public sidewalk (a big 10 ft wide sidewalk) I had no issues with that and didn't hear about anyone else having issues, but I could see it being an issue if there were a lot more pedestrians out or if there were a lot more racers.
5. no finish line clock, but Time Keeper Lindsay is right there and will tell you your finish time. Mark also said they're hoping to get a finish line clock soon. 

Fountain near the finish line lit up at night

Ironman Cozumel 2011 Race Report

Pre-race
I woke up race morning with a sore throat and tons of congestion, I did NOT feel good and I was NOT happy about it, definitely not the way I wanted to start my race morning. I told Jeff and Kristen that I felt sick and they both said "you'll be fine" so I tried to just go with it, but I was nervous. I mean, is it even safe to do an Ironman when you're sick??
My awesome Sherpa crew! Jeff, Linda, Kristen, Melissa, Katherine, and Ramona
Cindy cheering!
Kim, me, Ingrid and Del heading into transition

I aired up my tires, and put Infinit in all my bottles and went to find my crew. By the time I found them, I felt like I needed a nap, and of course that made me even more worried. If I was tired already how in the world could I do an Ironman?
still smiling for the camera, but really worried about my race. Check out Jeff's cool shirt!

I went back through transition and then handed Jeff my shoes and extra clothes over the fence. I started to cry, yeah I was that unhappy but I knew there wasn't really anything I could do (I had Jeff pretty scared at this point), I got a final hug and headed toward the swim.
They made the athletes stay back near T1 this year instead of letting us crowd around the pier. I walked up to the front of the area and sat down on a rock. I knew I needed to find a way to turn my attitude around. Even though I didn't feel good, I needed to find a way to race happy and enjoy the day even if it didn't turn out the way I wanted.

I started to think about THE BOOK. Emmie wrote:
"'in every sport there comes a moment when a spell of bitter weeping seems like a fair recess from whatever tough work is going on. It's only the steeliest among us who can fight the urge to turn negative...call it grace under pressure...' ...You are ready! The one unknown is what the race day is going to give you to contend with...when all is exhausted it will be your determination that puts your foot across the finish line. You are strong! If the environment overwhelms you or your physical strength fails you, cling to your determination..."

Wow Emmie! talk about giving me just what I needed! I thought about those words over and over all day long.

I also thought about what JoAnne wrote (it was really sweet and inspiring, but long so I won't put it all here). I told her a few months ago, "everyone has a bad race, it doesn't mean you're a bad triathlete, it just happens" I really didn't want my "bad race" to be Ironman Cozumel, but I also realized I didn't want to give up before I even started! I could feel my mental attitude shifting! I decided I was going to race happy and pay extra attention to my body, if I felt like I was truly hurting myself I'd stop, but otherwise I'd try my best and see how the day unfolded.
While I was having my mental pep talk the spectators were watching safety divers get in the water
Then we all listened to the Mexican national anthem
The pros started, and then they let the age groupers onto the pier. I walked along the pier hoping to find Jeff and my Sherpas, I really wanted to let them know I was feeling better mentally.
Hey! there you are! I know they were all SO happy to see me smiling and feeling better (mentally at least!)
Jeff told me to race safe and be careful out there, he's never told me that right before a race, so I know I really scared him when I was crying in transition.
I got a great big Mama Mudge hug! I could tell from the hug that she was also SO happy I had my smile back! I thought about that great big hug and Katherine's encouragement a lot through out the day too.
I found Del, he was easy to find in his new swimsuit! and we got in the water together again this year. We chose almost exactly the same start position, along the pier to the right. We kept wondering when the dolphin show would start, last year we watched it before getting in the water and while we waited in the water. This year they didn't start the dolphin show until after the age group swim start, probably to keep the athletes from gawking at the dolphins instead of getting in the water!
Swim
The gun went off and I started swimming, I felt like I was getting pushed and hit quite a bit, I think I swam closer to the buoys this year than last which is probably why I had more contact. I took advantage of open space whenever I could and tried to push through or get around people when I could, next thing I knew I was at the first turn buoy! wow that came faster than I thought! I checked my watch, 15 minutes in. My throat still hurt and my nose was stuffy and a little runny too, sometimes when I exhaled I could see snot floating through the water (disgusting, I know), but it didn't seem to be affecting my swimming! I made the first and second turns and it really seemed like I could feel the current pushing me along. I had more clear water at this point, but still quite a bit of contact. Whenever I had open space I watched for cool fish, and enjoyed the beautiful water! I saw a safety diver at one point and waved to him, he waved back and gave me a thumbs up! I kept trying to count people I passed, like Sandra told me, but I kept losing count. At one point I sighted and the submarine looked forever far away! but again I was there before a I knew it, checked my watch, under 1 hour! I knew I had a good chance at a swim PR. The stretch from the submarine to the swim exit seemed to take the longest. I saw a blue tang (Dory) during that time and sang to myself "Just Keep Swimming, Just Keep Swimming" all the way to the exit. I climbed up the steps and saw 1:20 on my watch, a swim PR by 1 minute! YAY!! I was SO happy! Official swim time is 1:20:20
High fiving my IronSherpas as I run down the pier to the changing tent.

T1
T1 went pretty smoothly, I rinsed off well in the showers, grabbed my gear bag, easy to find with Linda's red ribbon on it, and ran to the tent. I really really needed to blow my nose, I didn't have any kleenex so I used my towel and I kept thinking how gross that was going to be after the race, as if my wet swim stuff wasn't going to be gross anyway! I got some help getting my bike jersey on and getting sprayed with sunscreen by a Mexican volunteer. I grabbed the rest of my stuff and jogged out to my bike, put on my race bib/tracker and my helmet and took off for the mount line. There were people everywhere yelling "Animo" "GO, GO" "Si Se Puede" "Vamos" etc. I smiled and thought this is exactly why I wanted to come back for Ironman Cozumel again! I stopped just past the mount line and Jeff was right there! He yelled "I love you!" as I was pedaling away I yelled "I love you too!" T1 was 12:06.
Bike
I started pedaling and I didn't feel super fast and great but I didn't feel too bad either. There were lots of very animated spectators so I enjoyed them and hoped that my legs would warm up and feel great soon. I hit the first headwindy spot about 6 miles in and my legs felt tired and heavy, I knew that was not a good sign, but I didn't really get upset about it, just kept pedaling waiting to make the curve and see the waves crashing on the far side of the island. Ingrid came flying by me just before I made the curve, I knew that meant she had a good swim! I made the curve and felt the crosswind, but enjoyed the view, it's so beautiful out there! I wasn't going as fast as I had hoped in the cross wind, but I knew in 12 miles I'd make the turn to head back into town and get the awesome tailwind! I also saw a plane flying a banner, all I could really read of it was Vamos but I assumed it was a good luck to the racers banner. Later Martin from our hotel said there was a "really rich guy who paid someone to fly the banner with his name on it" Oh well, at least during the race I thought it was for everyone!
I made the turn to head toward town and I felt the tailwind, but I didn't feel like I was going fast with little effort, instead I felt like I had to work super hard even though I had a tailwind. But I knew there would be lots of spectators out cheering so I decided to work as hard as I could through that section and really feed off the awesome spectator support. It worked well, there were tons of people out chanting "Si se Puede!" and shaking their homemade noise makers. Even though I wasn't going as fast as I had hoped, it was really fun! By the time I passed by my Sherpas in town I was really happy! They thought I was still on pace for a bike PR and assumed everything was going great!
As I started lap 2, my legs felt really tired and I felt like I needed a nap. I was happy to stop and mix Infinit for the next 2 or 3 hours (my stomach never felt great on the ride, but it never felt too bad and I followed my nutrition plan pretty well). After stopping for a minute I felt a little better. I decided I needed to not worry too much about my pace and just concentrate on finishing, I was only 39 miles into a 112 mile ride and I was pretty worn out already. I loved passing the resorts and getting cheered for and I even loved being passed (and passing the few people I got to pass) because most racers were really encouraging and nice. I hit the headwindy section and felt exhausted, I wasn't sure I could finish the bike, let alone make the cutoff time! I decided I'd stop at the aid stations and rest for a minute (and blow my nose, which I was doing into the front of my bike jersey so I had a jersey full of snot by the end- disgusting!). I usually felt better when I started again, so that seemed to work. Kim G. had written "when you move those arms and legs in Cozumel, you're actually powering our smiles in Austin" for THE BOOK. At one point I thought "wow, I'm moving pretty slow, I bet they don't have very big smiles in Austin right now" and for some reason I thought that was hilarious, I may have even laughed out loud thinking about it.There were at least 4 or 5 big "seaweed signs" on the beach on the far side of the island, I loved seeing them!

Kim E. passed me on the cross windy section and she was having a really tough ride too. I told her I had to average 12 mph to make the cutoff time and I wasn't sure if I could do it. Yikes! But I kept moving and finally hit the tailwind again, this time I didn't try to go fast, I just tried to regain a little energy and draw encouragement from all the spectators. I rode through town to tons of cheering and finally saw my IronSherpas! Smiling because everyone is cheering so loud for me!!
This time Jeff was worried, I was pretty far off pace and as I rode by he asked if I was ok.
This is me replying "yeah I'm ok...well mostly" with Katherine and Melissa cheering their hearts out in the background.

It had rained a little during my second lap, but it rained quite a bit during my third lap, there were hardly any turns on the course so I didn't feel like the rain slowed me down. I still wasn't sure I could make the cutoff and I have to admit there were a couple of times I thought it wouldn't be so bad to miss the cutoff and get to go take a nap instead of run a marathon! But as I kept going I felt more positive that I could make it. I didn't really get any headwind on the normal headwindy section, but then I turned onto the crosswindy section and got straight on headwind. It didn't even occur to me to be upset about the headwind, I just thought about Emmie's words- "cling to your determination" and "grace under pressure" and even though it was windy and rainy, it was still beautiful out there.
I watched for all the seaweed signs and really appreciated the spectators who came all the way out there. There was a big group of extra enthusiastic spectators from Team Z (a DC area tri team) and they must have all stayed out there until the cutoff, and they cheered like crazy for me (they cheered for me on every lap, but it was extra special on lap 3!). I also met and rode with a guy from Shreveport for a few miles, it really hurt my throat to talk to him, but I appreciated the company so much that I didn't care. When I made the turn toward town, I got no tailwind at all, but I knew I only had 9 miles to go and I was going to make the bike cutoff! I actually passed at least 4 or 5 people on that last section and I tried to be super encouraging and tell them they were easily going to make the cutoff!
Sherpas Jeff, Linda, Melissa, Katherine, and Ramona- with the Spirit Stick on the bike course
Super happy to have finished the bike in time! Bike time was 8:17:28 and I actually finished over 30 minutes before the cutoff time.

T2
I got to transition and Jeff, Katherine, and Clara from the dive shop all cheered like crazy for me. I told Jeff I didn't know if I could finish the marathon, but I was going to try and it would be close. I really felt like I did NOT have a marathon in my legs, but at the same time I knew I didn't have 112 bike miles in my legs and I managed to do it anyway. I walked into the changing tent, sat down in a chair and took my time changing clothes, I was SO happy I had planned on a full clothing change, my bike shorts were soaked and already starting to chafe a little and my socks and shoes were also drenched. T2 was 9:45, which seems fast considering how long I felt like I was taking.
Run
I got onto the run course and saw that it was a couple minutes before 5:00, I had 7 hours to complete the marathon, under normal circumstances that would be easy, but on this day, I didn't know if I could make it. I did some triathlon math and figured I needed to average 15:30 minutes per mile to finish. My legs felt completely trashed, but I hoped maybe I could keep a 13:30 pace for the first half and slow down if I needed to for the second half.
Starting the run. My plan to be super visible for my Sherpas in my yellow hat and orange trimmed shorts worked perfectly!

I was able to keep to my 13:30 pace for most of the first lap (8.8 miles), there were tons of spectators on the course, even way out at the north end where it was a little lonely last year. I saw our divemaster Mariano (the one who asked about my bike shirt), when he saw me he jumped out into the street and yelled "Go Heather!...Vamos!!"

It had been raining a lot and a one point on the course there was a huge puddle (more like a lake), it was at least 6 inches deep and I couldn't see any way to avoid it, so I sloshed through knowing I'd have to do it 5 more times and knowing that it was very likely to cause some major blisters.
It's hard to tell from the picture but this flag is HUGE, it's one of the fun things to see each lap, when you can see it coming into town, you know you're less than a mile from the turn around.

Toward the end of lap 1 I started to feel really awful, my stomach hurt, my legs hurt, my head hurt, my throat hurt and I was SO tired. I knew there was no way I could keep my 13:30 pace much longer and I wasn't at all sure I could keep a 16 minute pace to finish. As I passed by my Awesome IronSherpa crew they had this sign for me! It was the BEST sign of the day!
They asked how I was feeling and I don't remember what I said, but I know it wasn't good something like "not good" "terrible" or "like I'm going to die" They were pretty close to the turn around, so I saw them again just a few minutes later and Kristen came out to walk/jog with me for a little while. She listened to me whine for a few minutes, then I asked her to figure what pace I needed to keep to finish by midnight. I'm usually really good at triathlon math, but I was really tired and I just didn't feel like figuring it out right then. She didn't say anything after I asked her, so I looked over at her and I saw her fingers and lips moving :)- normally I would make fun of her for that, but I was too tired. I did make a mental note to remember it though :) She finally came up with 16 minutes per mile and right then we were doing 18 minute miles. That made me really nervous! I told Kristen I felt so sick I didn't know if I could run much more at all, but if I didn't run I couldn't finish!

That's when she said "you know you have nothing to prove Heather. I'm really proud of you and you know everyone at home is proud of you too, no matter what happens" I really needed that! Finally I started running again, Kristen ran with me for a minute, then decided I was good and she turned back. Less than a minute after she left, I got a horrible side stitch, and I was walking again- ugh! I ran for most of the first 9 or 10 miles, but after that my body rebelled every time I tried to run.

Then a guy from North Carolina passed me, he was walking too, but walking really fast, I talked with him for a minute, but I couldn't keep up. Then I decided that maybe if I could walk super fast like him, I might be able to finish. So I started walking faster and I caught up to that guy! I kept walking super fast (and passed that guy) and checked my Garmin after each mile, I was walking at about 15 minutes per mile- I just might make it! I definitely felt better walking, my stomach settled down, my legs felt a little better, even my throat felt better since I wasn't breathing as hard. I passed by my Sherpas again and told them "if I can keep this pace, I think I can finish!" It was obvious to them that I was feeling significantly better.

Kristen came out to walk with me again and she had to jog to keep up with me. I told her "I'm not slowing down!" she said "you shouldn't!" I made the turn around and started my third and final lap, it was really late, but there were still lots of athletes on the course and still tons of spectators out! All the volunteers were still super enthusiastic and encouraging, and the music and parties were still going strong at every resort on the run course! Team Z had groups of spectators dressed in costumes at some of the furthest out points on the run! It was also getting crazy windy (like 30 mph windy!)! I knew a Norte was blowing in, so I was impressed that everyone was still out there!

I knew as long as my stomach held up, I could finish, but my stomach kept feeling worse and worse. Every time I ate or drank anything I felt worse, Infinit, Coke, oranges, even water made me feel worse. I have a fairly sensitive stomach anyway and I think between not feeling well in general and being out there SO long, my stomach had just had enough! With about 6 miles to go I decided since everything made me feel worse, I just wasn't going to put anything else in my stomach, it was only 6 more miles- although 6 miles walking takes a LONG time! I got to the turn around and only had 4.4 miles to go! Then I realized that 4.4 miles was going to take me an hour and 15 minutes! Yikes! ok, don't think about that just Keep Moving Forward (it's a line from Meet the Robinsons, one of my favorite Disney movies) and "when your physical strength fails, cling to your determination" Thanks again Emmie!

About a mile after the turn around I started to feel a little dizzy, I knew it was from not getting any calories or water, but I knew if I put anything in my stomach I would get sick and have to stop, so I just kept moving. Every time the wind gusted I was afraid it would knock me over and I started noting the people and ambulances along the way. Thank goodness there were still so many people out cheering! I was getting more dizzy, I knew I was in bad shape, but I also knew that mentally I was fine (I could still do triathlon math), and if I did collapse it wouldn't take any time for someone to get to me and help me. I tried to decide if I should go straight to medical at the finish or go find Jeff and my Sherpas and let them decide if I needed to go to medical. I finally only had a mile to go and over 30 minutes to do it!

With a little over half a mile to go I saw JEFF walking toward me! I can't even describe how happy I was to see him! He said I had slowed down so he was worried. I told him I felt dizzy and if I fell he should catch me (I did say that right Jeff? um seriously, you handled that REALLY well, I'm pretty sure if YOU said that to ME, I'd totally freak out!). I told him I wasn't sure I could run across the finish line, but I was so happy I was going to finish! When the barricades started, Jeff went to the spectator area and I kept walking, high fiving every one along the way. I turned into the finish chute and was super impressed to see there were still tons of people there cheering like crazy! About halfway through the chute I passed my sherpas and I decided I'd try to jog to the finish line. Wow! When I started "running" the crowd went insane! It was one of the coolest things ever! I made it!! Just before I started "running" in the finish chute

Run time was 6:47:35 and total time was 16:47:14, almost 13 minutes to spare. Obviously it wasn't the day I had hoped for, but I'm 100% happy that I was able to finish! I said all along that I'd love a PR, but if the day turned tough, I'd be completely happy just to finish no matter the time. I'm still not sure if it's safe to do an Ironman when you're sick, but I know it's possible- not pretty, but possible. This was easily the hardest thing I've ever done physically and I really feel like I pushed myself to my absolute limits to finish. Obviously I had some pretty low moments, but I feel like I mostly did "race happy" and enjoy the day, and I feel like under the circumstances that's a huge success! I'm proud that even on a tough day I was able to appreciate all the great things about this race, amazing spectator support, having my awesome Sherpa crew there for me, the beautiful bike course, the gorgeous swim, the support of so my other athletes, etc.Post-race, not looking so good. I think I'm either saying "Oh my god that was hard!" or "Oh wow my legs don't work anymore!"

I thanked my IronSherpa crew for being there. It was pure determination that got me to the finish and without my awesome IronSherpa friends and husband there encouraging me and believing in me and without the words of my friends in my head from THE BOOK I would not have finished. So THANK YOU to ALL of you!

I'd also really like to find that guy from North Carolina, I don't know his name or number so I'll probably never find him, but I don't think I would have realized I could walk super fast if I hadn't seen him doing it and I'm pretty sure if I had continued to try running I wouldn't have made it. I never saw him again after I passed him, so I don't even know if he finished.

Post-race
As soon as I stopped moving I felt my legs cramp like crazy! I shuffled through the finisher area, got my shirt and found my Sherpas. I congratulated Mohamed (he had a great first Ironman!) and Ingrid. Ingrid went with me to get my bike, then Kristen, Linda, Ingrid, Katherine, and Melissa pretty much carried me home while Jeff dropped my bike off at Tri Bike Transport. Ingrid, Kristen, and Linda carrying me home.

My legs were completely giving out when I tried to walk, and my feet felt like they were going to explode (I had nasty half dollar sized blisters on both feet). I was sure I wouldn't be able to walk at all the next day. After about an hour I was able to drink my recovery drink and eat a little. I woke up at 6 am (why does that happen?) and surprisingly didn't feel all that bad. My legs were sore, but I could definitely walk. I was still super congested, but my throat didn't hurt much anymore. The blisters hurt more than anything else.

My Sherpas took extra good care of me post-race too. Kristen and Linda went to the finisher store for me (and sweet talked the guy into letting them buy stuff for me) and got me a post Ironman care package. The Mudges set me up with the best blister band-aids in the whole world!My Post Ironman Care Package included, a cute fishy swim cap to make me happy, little bananas for potassium, chocolate milk for recovery, orange juice for my cold, soft cushy socks and band aids for my blistered feet, and Oreos cause they're yummy. Jeff also got a clown marshmallow pop and chocolate milk.