Arizona IRONMAN 140.6 November 15, 2015

The LONG winded version Just over a year and a half ago, while training for a marathon I stress fractured my femoral head for the 3rd time (rotating legs) and decided I needed to do something different if I was ever going to reach my goal of qualifying for Boston. I signed up for Vineman 70.3 in an effort to force myself to cross train. It needed to big enough that I would put in the work to get stronger. I ran 3 more marathons while training for Vineman and participated in Ironman Boise 70.3 in a relay group. We went to California in July for Vineman. A few weeks before the race we met Brandon Sadler at a SLTC event and found out that he and his wife Jessi were also doing the race. We became facebook friends and met at the race. Vineman was beautiful and I really enjoyed racing. As I finished I thought to myself, I could have gone the full distance today if I had to… I wouldn’t like it, but I had enough leftover that I felt like I could do it. The whisper of desire to do a full had been planted. I talked with Jessi about it and she felt the same way. I was looking at Arizona for 2016 but it was so far away it was hard for me to commit, not knowing how my body will hold up over the next year. Jessi figured out that through Endurance Sports Travel this years IM AZ still had spots available. We talked back and forth and pretty much talked each other and our husbands into signing up for the race. We had 4 months to prepare. It was so much fun to have a girlfriend to train and prepare for the race with. We chatted, texted, trained and supported each other through the whole thing. Training for an Ironman takes a lot of time and commitment. I am grateful for a spouse who not only understands it, but who trained side by side with me coaching me along the entire time. He has over a decade of knowledge on the sport, he has read countless medical studies, hired different coaches, read the books, he knows his stuff and there isn’t anyone I would trust more to advise me. He had me listen to podcasts from Endurance Nation both specific to Arizona and on race day execution. He found a youtube video of the bike course so that I could ride it from the comfort of our basement. I also worked with my doctor to keep my RA in check and minimize the inflammation from the impact of training. The biggest thing he had me do was double my MSM dosage to 10gm a day and reminded me to take my vitamins, minerals, fish oil and antioxidants along with eating healthy. For one of the 1st times ever I slept good on race night. I wasn’t anxious or worried. I had no expectations other than to finish. We woke up early, before the alarm went off and got ready to go and picked up Bill, a great friend who flew in from Colorado to support us for the race. In transition I had my bike racked right next to Josh. It was nice! I took our special needs bags to the drop off points and he pumped up our tires. I came back and we walked around for a bit and got ready for the swim. Time went by very quickly between 5:30 and 6:50. Before I knew it the cannon had gone off and the pros were in the water. I finished putting on my wetsuit, got a good luck kiss from my sweetheart and waited to enter the water. The line moved quickly so I didn’t have long to fret. The swim start was what I was the most afraid of for this race. I have herniated discs and bone spurs in my cervical spine and can not turn my head properly to breathe while swimming without inducing a debilitating migraine that shuts me down for days so I swim with a snorkel. I was afraid I would get bashed in the face with the hard plastic or be constantly clearing water from the snorkel. I didn’t have to wait long, my goggles and snorkel were completely ripped off my face within 200 yards of the swim start. apparently another athlete did not think I should have it. I tried not to panic as I choked and sputtered grabbing my equipment before it disappeared in the murky water. I recovered quickly. I tried to settle in and swim easy but it felt like I was swimming back and forth as much as forward trying to find holes between other swimmers to move forward. I was afraid of the time I was loosing and decided to just count to one hundred over and over and over again. It calmed me down and I swam. I was happy when I reached the turn around and it didn’t feel like I was being hit or drug backwards nearly as much on the way back. I relaxed and enjoyed the swim. It felt good to be in the water, I wasn’t cold and I was on my way to completing a goal I never thought possible. Out of the water in 1:29:45. T1 was a long loop through wet dirty ground. My feet hurt by the time I made it into the changing tent. My friend Shelby was volunteering and I was beyond grateful to have her help me get ready! She brought me cups of water and helped me wash the mud off my feet. She went through my bag, handing me everything I needed and helped me get dressed. She gave me a hug and wished me good luck and sent me on my way. Time 11:33 Bike. As I left transition I heard my Dad yelling and cheering. It made me smile to know he was there. I turned on my bike computer and started peddling. I looked down and noticed I had no cadence or power measurements. 90% of my bike training was in the basement and I planned to ride by wattage. Ahh! No wattage! I stopped, messed with the computer, jostled the bike around, turned the power on and off. I tried everything I could think of but nothing would make it work. It showed it was connected but no measurements. Well, I remembered what Josh told me, “stay in your box, things are going to go wrong and when they do only think about what you can do about it right now” I had planned to start out conservative so I did that, based on effort. The 1st loop was much slower that I wanted to peddle, it felt way too easy, but I hadn’t ridden the course, I could not afford to blow up so I took it easy. On the second loop I knew what I was facing so I picked up the pace. The wind had also picked up a little bit adding a minor head wind on the way out. I had a rain jacket on to warm me up and by the start of the second loop I was finally warm so I dropped it at an aid station. Big mistake… within a few minutes it started raining heavily. I was glad I had at least kept my long sleeve shirt. It continued to rain for the remaining 70ish miles. The second loop I averaged more than 5 miles an hour faster than the 1st and still felt like I was going easy. I was excited for the final loop where I would push the pace and help make up time from the slow start with not knowing where my power was at. I loved the three loops on the bike. It made it possible for me to see Josh as he sped away in the opposite direction ahead of me. My favorite moment of the day was when Josh was headed toward transition finishing his last loop and I was starting my final go round… he yelled across the street “I love you” Climbing at mile 70 my right knee was being pelted my rain and wind and getting cold. I could feel the radiating pain of an RA flare starting. It radiated up my knee into my hip and low back. It made me nauseous and I started to panic. Am I done?! If my knee flares now there is no way I can finish. I reminded myself to stay in my box and focus. I changed position on the bike, coming out of my aero bars and sitting up. I pulled my foot out of the clip and tried stretching and kicking my leg to relieve the pain. I peddled with just my left leg for a bit. (Hooray for one leg drills.) But one leg couldn’t do the work alone for 30 more miles. I found a position where I used the bike seat to squeeze against my leg to help control the nerve pain and only peddled lightly with my right leg. If I could make it to the top of the climb I could coast slowly most of the way back if I had to. I visualized staying in my box and not thinking about the what ifs. I even pretend to hang out in I Dream of Genie’s magic bottle, but the rain interrupted the fantasy as the bottle filled with water so I stayed in my very soggy but cozy cardboard box instead. I hid from the rain in an outhouse for a few minutes trying to warm up my knee but mostly I just lost time. I made it to the top of the hill and proceeded to peddle back as hard as the pain would allow. I knew I could push harder but wasn’t sure I would be able to run on it if I did so I just went easy. Coming in to transition my teeth were chattering and I was shaking uncontrollably. Time: 7:10:29 I was so happy to be off the bike. I was freezing! It was a welcome relief to walk into that warm changing tent. I had thrown in a run outfit “just in case” I wanted to change off the bike. I really hadn’t planned to, but I was soaked head to foot and thought starting dry would be my best chance to avoid hypothermia. I had shorts and a tank top. I started changing but my fingers, which don’t cooperate great on a good day, were frozen and completely useless. I had to wait for a volunteer to help dress me. But at that point I didn’t have any self dignity to worry about I just wanted dry clothes on. I felt like I was in there forever shaking uncontrollable. I asked a volunteer for an emergency blanket and wrapped it around me and headed out for the run. Time 10:44 Run. Coming out of transition both Bill and my Dad were waiting for me. Bill gave me a pep talk reminding me to let go of the things that went wrong on the bike and to start running. He told me I had to get my core temp up quickly so I could finish my race. My dad ran with me for a few minutes telling me how proud he was of me and then I was on my own. The volunteers brought out the chicken broth early and between that and my little foil blanket I was warming up. I have heard other athletes joke about how delightful chicken broth is on the Ironman run. Personally I don’t like chicken broth, but it was the most delicious and appreciated thing I had ever tasted that night. I stopped after a mile and relocated a dislocated toe and then moved on. Running slowly flushed the radiating pain from my knee. I felt good and wanted to run faster but the plan was to stay between 10 & 11 minute miles so I didn’t end up walking the last part of the marathon. I walked aid stations and ran the rest of the course. For the most part my run felt easy. I was running a pace that was easy for me to maintain. A third of the course was on a dirt trail by the river and with the rain it was a muddy mess. It was dark and hard to see where I was stepping. I rolled my ankle once slipping in the mud so I slowed down even more through that part to stay safe and watch my step. At the half way point I grabbed my sweatshirt from my special needs bag and a pair of gloves. I dumped the foil blanket just before it started raining again. I saw a pile of them by a trash can a short distance later and picked one up. I wasn’t making the same mistake twice. I would carry it the rest of the race, I was staying dry. Somewhere around mile 18 my legs started to hurt and cramp up. I decided I probably needed more minerals so I took the 6 tums I had in my pouch, drank more broth at aid station and continued on. After another couple miles the pain subsided. I loved anytime there were spectators with music playing. It helped me pick up my pace and remember that running is fun. As I finished my last mile I took off my sweatshirt and sunglasses (I looked like a dork, but they are transition lens and I still needed them to see in the dark) I tried to compose myself and not break down sobbing as I came into the finisher shoot. I could hear Josh, my dad & Bill yelling from the bleachers. I did it! I finished my Ironman and I still felt great! Time 4:45:53 Total race time 13:48:24 I wanted to stay and be there when Jessi finished, but as I got cold the nerve pain in my legs started firing up. When it does this the only way I can stop it is to soak in very hot water. I needed to get to the hotel before the misery started and I couldn’t stop it. As we started to leave I heard someone yelling my name and looked over to see my friend Shar Madsen Cardona from high school. We both live with chronic auto immune diseases and have bonded over social media. I was so happy that she came to my race! I cried and gave her a very stinky hug. It was a big surprise and I appreciated seeing her. I sincerely appreciate all the love and support I was given for this race. I heard friends yelling and cheering for me all day long. I felt the support from afar when I was struggling. It was amazing to see so many there volunteering and cheering for us. Bill, Jack, Rory, Jeanette, Shelby, Mick, Andrew, Wesley, Jen, Chad, Suzanne, Vicki, Wesley, Ryan, Tom, Shar and everyone else who was there cheering& volunteering thank you for being there! Thank you for the prayers, cheers and support from home as well. I know it carried me! That night I even slept well. I usually run a fever and sweat all night long after running a marathon. Not tonight. Slept good, got up feeling good. No blistered feet, not even a gimpy stride. (some serious chaffing from my improvised bike style the last 30 miles but that is it) We got home after a 10+ hour drive in white out blizzard conditions. I raced my youngest son down the street because he was waiting in his Ironman shirt and wanted to race. I then ran up and down the stairs laughing hysterically because I could. (I will blame the endorphin high for the delirious sense of humor.) As far as nutrition: (mainly an after thought for me IF I ever do it again) Breakfast: bagel, cupcake & coconut water, diet coke and water Bike: 8 scoope cytomax, 1 ½ scoop ISO-100 protein, 5gr beta alanine, 2 licks of base salt every 30 min, 1 gel, 1 ½ bags honey stinger fruit snacks, half a banana, 2 mini donuts, a handful of Pringles, water Run: Chicken broth, coke, oranges, grapes, pretzels, water. Mz9AR7Lil2ZcskwLLVdMt2Q/s1600/12244496_10205462681876833_2139879761680017055_o%2B%25281%2529.jpg" />