Ironman Florida Race Report

A Ten Year Dream Come True 

2nd in AG

  IMFL has been on my short list since I started doing IM 10 years ago. My intuition said it was the race for me. I love it hot & salty. But over the years, different people (coaches) discouraged me from doing it, saying it was a course for “the fast runners” suggesting I was not a fast runner. So instead, I chose races with big hills, CDA, Wisconsin, Chattanooga & Cozumel. (ok Coz has no hills, that was for a vacation). IMFL would be #5.

  This year, to celebrate my 40th birthday, I signed up for IMFL. Not with the hope of KQ, but just to do it. Bucket list item & all, having  totally forgotten that 10 years ago, after my first IM, I pledged to have a “10 year plan to qualify for Kona by the time I turned 40”.

    Stephen, my husband signed up as well. So, this is the first IM that we have trained for & raced together in the same year. All the others, we have alternated years. Our 2 girls Alexa (20) & Emma (13) put up with our crazy training lives. It’s what we do, it’s IM life. We even have a 13 year old dog named KONA.

  In May, Jenny & James DeLong, Stephen & myself, went to PCB to do Gulf Coast Half Distance triathlon as a training day for upcoming CHOO 70.3. Somehow, I placed 1st in AG. James also got on the podium in his 1st 70.3 distance race!! This win sparked a fire, and the thought of, what if…? So, I reached out to a fellow coach who collaborated with me on some Ironman Training Camps; Slayer from Tri Coach Georgia, about the possibility & what it would take to dig deep for  KQ at IMFL. And from there, together, we turned my life upside down.

TriCoachGeorgia & FX Multisport CHOO Camp

Coach Slayer & I at CHOO Camp

 The summer was a full one. 2 weeks after Gulf Coast 70.3, my races included Chattanooga 70.3 where I placed well, Ironman Steelhead 70.3, 10th AG, Augusta 70.3, 2nd AG & qualified for a Chattanooga 70.3 Worlds Championship slot.

Early Morning Training Rides with Stephen & James

    Training was intense during the hottest summer in history here in the deep south. My weekly run & bike volume steadily increased under the close watch of Coach Slayer. Every day began with a few minutes of quiet meditation and visualization. Every night was recovery focused to ward off injury. Listening to my body and mindfulness was key to performance. This included spending hours on the yoga mat with my recovery tools & frequent visits to Ron Reading & Virginia Lee for sports massage as well as biweekly PT at Summit Physical Therapy, to keep my SI joint aligned. Another key element to keeping healthy: Dr. Adair of McCallie Chiropractic. All of this, along with a weekly yoga sesh kept the niggles at bay.

   Big thanks to Richard Rogers & Jay Martin for their weekly open water swims on White Lightning. Every Wednesday night during the summer, we would swim the Tennessee River, the Ironman Chattanooga swim course. It was a highlight of the journey.

Swimming CHOO course on Wed nights

   Another large part of this journey involved physical changes. I needed to run lighter. With the help of fellow coach & friend Spartacus, we shed >20 lb of excess weight. Daily nutrition is an integral part of performance and must not be under appreciated.

WHERE THE RACE REPORT BEGINS

Prerace Pinapple Willies

 Friends Jenny & James DeLong (also a coach for FX Multisport) joined Stephen & I in Florida for a weekend of Ironman racing. Jenny, was the MOST AMAZING race sherpa in all of sherpa history. I actually avoided the flu shot at work, because it makes me ill & received a mandatory suspension & class 2 write up for not getting it. But that is a whole nother story.

So, I came into this race 80% healthy. 2 days before we left Chattanooga, I was diagnosed with a mild rotator cuff tear of the right shoulder, a bone spur & bursitis. Emergency text to the amazing PA Ryan Bowman & he had me seen & treated in just a few hours!! Apparently my bone structure is misaligned causing issues from all the swimming. Because I had been having shoulder pain for weeks, I had significantly cut back on my swim volume. Other than that, my body felt ready to race. A little runner's knee & some moderate hip pain; all part of the journey of an aging athlete.

Jenny, the Sherpa Fairy

  We entered race registration on Thursday, AWA allowed me to bypass the long lines. Cruised the expo & enjoyed the venue. This IS my favorite IM venue. What’s not to love?? The vibe is excellent; Sun, wind, salt, ripped up athletes & big smiles. It’s ALL GOOD!!! Met some cool peeps: Chance Regina from Fusion Sports who made my beautiful kit, Jason from Orr Wheels who sponsors TCG, Matt Miller from Base Salts & fellow Team Betty sisters, including Audra at Normatech. Thank you Audra for the VIP ticket! I gave it to our Sherpa Supreme Jenny DeLong & she enjoyed it.

Bike Check in

Susan Haag #100 IM!!

Getting the bags right

  

 Friday: Prerace: we did our swim bike run brick. I had the honor of meeting Susan Haag. She is the first woman to complete 100 Ironman distance races. What a woman & also a Team Betty sister!! 

The water conditions were epic. Crystal clear water, big fat jellies & we could see the bottom of the ocean 600 yards off the beach. Pre-race fueling consisted of a breakfast of LoadAbar & a lunch of  homemade rice bowl with 1 avocado, 2 fried eggs in butter, 4 slices of turkey bacon & a liter of coconut water. We all went out to dinner at FireFly, where I ordered a side of mashed potatoes water & everyone gave me a hard time while they enjoyed their AMAZING dinners. (highly recommend this joint) I really wanted the filet & a martini, but some sacrifices need to be made at times. This was not my first rodeo & I played it safe. Had an Isagenix protein shake when I got home before bed. We enjoyed some pre race banter on the balcony, stressed about the weather, wind & water temp… will it or won't it be wetsuit legal? In bed by 9pm. Slept good!!

Sunset Over the IMFL Swim Course

   Saturday: We stayed at the Shores of Panama; ½ mile from Transition, so we walked down together & set up our bike nutrition, dropped off  special needs bags (didn’t touch them during the race).WHAT A JUNK SHOW!!!! It was almost a riot trying to get into transition. People pushing their way in & out, almost like a mass swim start! The nervous energy was insane!

My special needs bag consisted of 2 Mountain Dews, a spare tube, 1 pair of socks.

   When we headed to the beach where we were stoked to find it would be a wetsuit legal day!! HOORAYYY!!! Headphones on: SOD= Rise by Katy Perry. Arms sharpied with mantras.

Head in the game. The 4 of us gathered for a quick prayer, hugs & we were off. Jenny, again was most excellent sherpa, taking all of our morning clothes & gear.

Big Day Ahead!

 Swim: Lined up in the corral with the 1:11 swimmers. Swim was pretty perfect, despite the big rollers. Kicked & got kicked, all part of the game. Noticed people cutting the swm course, & not staying outside the turn buoys, & thought that was crappy of them. But, not my problem. At one point of the 1st lap, I was all alone, had to ask the coast guard if I was going the right way (it was sunrise & I was blinded by the light) They said, not really & pointed me in the right direction.

Swimming is not my strength, but during the swim I felt strong, calm and happy. There was a force of strength within me that I had not experienced before. Whenever my mind started to wonder I would repeat the words KO-NA with each stroke. As I exited & re-entered the water, I saw Stephen was about 5 people ahead of me & I yelled hello with a big smile. 2nd lap was about the same except I was able to see the buoys better & stay on course. Exited with a swim time of 1:14. Lot’s of people said it was a tough swim. It was, but hey, it’s Ironman & we didn’t have a mass swim start, so, not so bad. I did see some jelly fish about as big as me, glad there were no JAWS. Pushing my way through a bunch of people who were lollygagging on the way through T-1; WTH are you all doing? 7th in AG at this point.

Rolling Swim Start

 T-1: AMAZING Volunteers. My helper informed me that 12-15 ladies were ahead of me. She was excellent. We put on compression socks after cleaning the salt & vaselining my feet/ not an easy task. Grabbed my stuff & headed out in a jog. T time 8:03. I took my time to get it right.

   Bike: It was windy with a strong Nor'easter that had settled upon us. I was riding a Cervelo P3 from East Ridge Bicycles, rear Flo disc from Jack McClarty, one of my athletes had lent me. Big thanks to Garth Mansfield & his crew from East Ridge for pampering me & my bike. They get it right every single time!!!!

   My pacing plan was very specific to power. I did not even wear a HR monitor. So despite with the heavy wind, I stuck to Slayer’s plan. It was humbling at times. No women passed me. I avoided the drafting, wanting a clean honest race. Stayed aero 99% of the time. The wind gusts were severe at times, blew a few people right off the road. Bike nutrition consisted of water, Base Salt every 5 miles, Ucan at mile 30 & 70, then 2 gels after that. Bike time 5:31:23 & 4th in AG. 

The Fusion speed suit was awesome, grabbed water from each aid station & showered in it. The whole time my mantra were the lyrics to RISE. “Victory is in my veins”, also, I prayed constantly, for my family, fellow athletes and felt the presence of my guardian angels, also “lovey”. Thanks MOM!!!

    T-2: 3:54. Pretty uneventful, incredible volunteers. Just can not say enough about how impressed I am with these volunteers. Shoes on, pockets dumped, race belt & visor on. As I was running out & saw TAZ & we ran together for a bit. The crowd support here is the best, so fun!

    Run: 3:40:27, ran into division rank #2.

During the 1st lap, Stephen Bentley, my past coach & friend for the last 10 years (he coached me for my first IM CDA 10 years ago as well as Wisconsin & CHOO) was there to cheer his GF on & gave me inspiration along the way.

Good friend & fellow coach Steven Bentley

Caught up with TAZ who was out having a good time & just kept running. Sherpa Jenny DeLong was there with music as well & updates. I did not walk at all. Sipped water from each aid station & at mile 10 started hitting the Coke. The run course is fantastic, lot’s of good energy out there with the spectators. Can I say again, this is my favorite race?!?!?!?!

Running with Taz

    

At mile 20, I was told that I was in 3rd place, so Taz was there to pace off of the next 2 miles. He was an amazing teammate, looking out for me, grabbing water, red bull for me, this is where the digging deep started. With 2 miles to go, Coach Slayer had one of his guys find me in the crowd & told me to DYJ & keep running!!

Running to the finish line

The thought that I may actually have a chance at KQ was hovering above my head, pushing me to run faster even though at this point, everything hurt. I wanted to hurl, hips, knees & feet were screaming. But that dream of a KQ drove me forward along with the good vibes from my teammates & the crowd. I was able to high five Stephen & James out there, they were killing it as well. The last 2 miles were pure adrenaline, pushing through the mass of athletes towards my goal. Crossed the finish line at 10:38:43, running into 2nd AG. How?!? Avg pace 8:24, last 2 miles at 7ish pace. Puked my guts out for 5 minutes immediately after they took my finisher pic. Taz, AKA Wes Hargrove was there with his family & they looked up my results right then & informed me that I in fact did place 2nd and THAT meant a KONA spot!!!! Thank you so much for that!! I had to give hugs all around, even though I was covered in puke, blood, sand, pee, salt & tears. I’m sure they were totally grossed out by that too. Sorry!

When a Plan Comes Together

    After a few minutes of aftershock, I stuck around & cheered for James & Stephen. They both finished with respected times. James in his 1st IM at 11 hours & Stephen PR’d 11:16. What a day!!!!

   Shout out to Garth Mansfield of East Ridge Bicycles for everything you do for me on the bike!!

LoAdebar for the amazing energy bars that helped fuel my day.

My wonderful family for putting up with my crazy dreams & plans.

Hubby Stephen for supporting me along the way.

Coach Slayer for getting me here (2 WQ in 1 season)

Jenny BFF for being the best Sherpa EVA!

Team Betty for all the good vibes from my Betty sisters. They were a huge inspiration to me this season.

Matt Miller & Base Salts for the on course support & fantastic products.

Base Salt Tent in the Paincave

Fusion Sports & Chance Regina for my beautiful speedsuit.

Brian Patterson AKA Spartacus for help with my nutrition.

Bless the hearts of my beautiful daughters Alexa & Emma who have put up with me this tough summer.

Also, to my parents, who I know, wish I would take up knitting and stay home, eat more food, cook & clean more, it finally paid off! You know how long & how hard I have worked & it was not all for nothing. I had the courage & dedication to pursue my dreams! And they came true!! I hope that can be an inspiration to someone, somewhere. Anything IS possible. But I could not have done it without the support of my loving family along with my triathlon family.

Awards Ceremony

   Sunday’s award ceremony was a memorable one. With my best friends in attendance, I was able to take the podium, my award and my Kona coin! (Jenny had to pay for the $999 when our CC security was too high) BFF comes through again!!!!! Best Day Ever!!

Going to Kona!!

FX Multisport Coaches Find Balance is Best

    This summer, Coach Robyn & her husband Stephen were interviewed by the Chattanooga Times Free Press. Both Robyn & Stephen are training for Ironman Florida 2016. Stephen works full time as a Sales Representative for NovoNordisk & Robyn works part time as a nurse. They have 2 daughters, one in college & the other in middle school. 
     A recent move to the country & purchase of a farm, keeps them extra busy. Trying to find time to train for Ironman, training FX Multisport athletes for their races, along with caring for their farm animals (3 horses, 3 donkeys, 3 dogs, 10 chickens, a cat named Stella) keeps the Wilhams very busy. Stephen also coaches the Collegedale Adventist Middle School girl's varsity volleyball team.
    Despite the hectic chaos this year has brought, Team FX Multisport Athletes performed extremely well at Ironman Chattanooga. 19 of the 20 coached athletes crossed the finish line on the hottest IMCHOO day in history the link "recent news"

Recent News

Tamara's Inspiring Journey to Ironman Chattanooga

This year I have had the privilege to work with a wonderful friend and athlete.

East Ridge Bicycle Triathlon Team

Her name is Tamara and her story is extraordinary. On September 25 2016, she will celebrate the journey at Ironman Chattanooga with a 2.4 mile swim in the Tennessee River, bike 116 miles in the Chattanooga Valley & run a full marathon while her city of friends cheer her name. My heart overflows with joy to be part of her journey. Getting to the starting line of an Ironman triathlon, is no easy task for anyone. There is suffering & difficulties along the way. Many people do not make it to race day. It takes deep passion & commitment to keep pushing when the body & mind want to quit. Heart & soul will carry you through when you want something bad enough. Below is Tamara's story. She is a member of East Ridge Bicycles Triathlon Team. What she doesn't mention is that earlier this summer, she battled serious injury and training took a back seat as she focused on healing so that she could be healthy for race day. Her mental strength is inspirational.

Tamara's story, told by Tamara:

September marks an anniversary for me that many people don’t know about. I will be 41 this Friday and looking forward to participating in my first IM. I wanted to share how I began my IM journey.

My journey actually started in September 2005, when I had a mental breakdown which finally led to my diagnosis of Bipolar disorder. Immediately, my wonderful husband sought treatment for me and during many years of therapy and medicine, I am who I am today. I admit this has been a long and difficulty journey but I am so thankful for a supportive husband, family, friends and the Lord. I would not be where I am today without His and their amazing, unconditional love. After being diagnosed, my therapist encouraged me to begin an exercise program.

I began running in 2006 hoping to release enough endorphins to be somewhat stable. I continued until 2007 where I began to be discouraged so I quit. In 2010, I learned of a program called Run For God by Mitchell Hollis. This is when I became literally crazy. I began running 5ks, 10ks, 15ks, Half Marathons, Split Marathon, Marathons, and Ragnar. During these many years, I have struggled with many injuries. It was in 2014 that I sustained a left calf injury that led to PT. The Physical therapist recommended I find a new hobby. One day I went to pick up my medication from my pharmacist, who is also a very good friend, She asked, “I have you ever done a Triathlon.” I said, no. She said, “Chattanooga is hosting a Half Ironman.” At that moment I told her I would check into. You guessed it, I began the Crazy world of Triathlons in 2015.

I participated in a Sprint Triathlon in April, Half IM in May and many Olympic Triathlons that following season. In September 2015, I signed up for Chattanooga Full IM.

My journey began in 2005 with mental healing but I can say that my true journey began the day I signed up for IM. I have struggled mentally and physically for many years but the JOY that comes from meeting new people, learning and listening to others stories of how they became an Ironman, the opportunity to encourage others is why I can say I am thankful that God has given me the mental and physical ability to hopefully on September 25, 2016, I will here my name Tamara Edwards you are an IronMan.

My Ironman journey isn’t just about the mental and physical aspect but the spiritual, too. I give praise to the Lord who gives me strength and endurance each day. This IM journey wouldn’t have been possible without knowing and trusting in him. On race day, I will mark upon my heart this verse, “Commit your way to the Lord, Trust in Him, and He will.” Psalm 37:5

Special Thank you to so many people, I hope that sharing my IM story others will find the strength to go beyond and mental and physical restrictions to becoming an Ironman. Ironman isn’t just a race it is a life of experiences.

Tamara

Please Cheer extra loud when you see Tamara on the course next week!!

Overcoming Injury & Persevering in the Spirit of Ironman Triathlon

As a coach and athlete, there are a lot of people who have come cross my path over the years. For some, it's been to help them accomplish something they have always dreamt of doing but never thought truly possible. For others, it's because they want to gain strength, speed & power to shave minutes off their finish times. Every single one of us has a story to tell. Each athlete is different, overcomes different challenges and fights different struggles.

With Ironman Chattanooga looming just days away, sharing some of my athletes stories (with their permission) will hopefully inspire someone out there who may be fighting a physical battle or emotional struggle. I am beaming with pride that Team FX Multipart athletes have fought hard this season to make it to the Ironman starting line. It is no easy task to get here.

This is the story of LoriLyn Hicks and this is an amazing story of comeback. We've worked through some challenges in training and she has done the work.

Written by LoriLyn Hicks

My first Ironman in 2014 was Texas. Everything was going well, and I was feeling confident. Mile 30 of the bike, I reached out to grab the water bottle from the volunteer, and knocked it out of her hand. Without thinking, I twisted back to save it, and felt this sharp shift in my back. Not good, I thought. It wasn't exactly painful, so I kept going. Coming into transition, my hip and back ached, I couldn't catch my breath, and something just felt wrong. At the medical tent past run special needs, I stopped to get checked out. The medic did a quick check and told me either I walked the rest of the way, or I dropped out of the race. I walked.

After a short recovery, I started training for IMFL that same year. During a run, my foot fell asleep. I went to my PT, who discovered I had displaced my SI joint, and dislocated a rib. Therapy began, and I trained through it. I had a great race in Florida, and was looking forward to starting Placid training. I caught a cold, and was in bed a couple days. I almost couldn't get out of bed my back hurt so bad. Still, I trained for another two months, but then became afraid of the pain and discomfort and went to a chiropractor in February of '15. My hip was still dislocated, my back had an eight degree misalignment, herniated L4, bulging 2 and 3, and my muscles and nerves tested at a stress level of 1200% The doctors had no idea how I was walking, the damage was equivalent to being T boned at 40 miles an hour. We also found birth defects, my L5 disc was encased between fused vertebrae, I had spina bifida in my L5 vertebrae, and sacralization of the spine. I've been through a lot in my life, but the day the doctor told me that my racing career may be over, and that even with treatment, I had to accept there was a chance I'd wind up in a wheelchair permanently, I was stunned. I was in treatment five times a week, we couldn't risk surgery with me only having four discs. I was placed on bed rest for a few weeks.

In July, I had a major setback, and found myself in a wheelchair to be able to go out of the house. I was so scared I wouldn't get out of it. The day I got engaged, you don't see it, but the wheelchair is just off to the side. Things got better then worse, and I was afraid I wouldn't be able to walk down the aisle. I kept working at my therapy and treatment, and not only did I walk down the aisle, I got to dance with my wonderful husband.

I refused to give up, I refused to believe I wouldn't get back to Ironman. In January I was cleared to train for the Half in Chattanooga. I promised myself that if I could get to the starting line, I would make it to the finish. Which I did! I was now a full year ahead of schedule progress wise.

Soon after, new X-rays were done to see how I had progressed. My back was healthy again, my only discomfort coming from the rebuilding of my abused back muscles. I was allowed to train for the Full. My life is different now, I have to consider my back in everything I do, and have to be ready to pull the plug on training at any time. In some ways I feel like it has made me a stronger athlete, and I know my body better now than I ever did. I'm under a constant series of system checks, analyzing every movement and pain. This past Sunday, the wheelchair I dreaded so much was used as a prop in a church presentation. I went and stood next to it after the service, reflecting on how far I've come in the last 19 months.

Soon the starting line of Chattanooga will call me. And for the first time, I have no real plan other than to listen to my body. The discipline I have learned will help me greatly once I am fully healed and can begin to push myself again. But for now, I am grateful to have the chance to participate in the sport I love, and the support of the people around me who keep me going when I feel I can't. I have learned that we are capable of far more than we think we are, if we are willing to believe in the possibility of what can be.
LoriLynn Hicks

See you at the finish line LoriLyn! You are an inspiration!
Coach Robyn

2016 Ironman Vineman Race Report

     Congratulations Lindsey for completing her 2nd Ironman triathlon at Ironman Vineman in Windsor California on June 30 2016. Lindsey worked hard, training for this race, regaining her fitness after suffering a leg fracture earlier in the year.
     We diligently worked out a plan to get her running the distances she needed, without further injury. It was pure joy working with Lindsey as an athlete, she never missed a workout & always had a smile on her face. We are very proud of her and her accomplishment.
     Ironman racing can be a fickled beast. Even if you come into the race in tip top shape, there are things out of your control, that wreak havoc on your race plans. Weather, road conditions, water conditions, and sometimes other racers can crack your day. The goal for the day is to be as prepared as possible to handle whatever the universe throws at you on race day.
   Lindsey did exactly that! 

With grace & style, she tackled Vineman by the horns & smiled her way 

to the finish line! 

Here is her race report

.

Race Report: Written By Lindsey Kenny

   Vineman was a point to point race which meant we had to drive all over creation, without cell phone service (the horror!) to set up our stuff. The swim was in a very small town called Guernville which had very limited parking so traffic was a nightmare race morning. So if you know anyone else doing this race make sure to tell them to allow twice the time they think its going to take to get there. It was VERY cold race morning, which seems to be the case in almost every IM event i've done. So i skipped the swim warm up and just hopped around and loosened my shoulders instead. There was pea gravel everywhere which made running as a warm up in flip flops or barefoot impossible. And again it was very crowded. The water temperature felt great compared to the air. So I knew when I got in my body would respond well despite not warming up. And it did. The swim was very shallow. About 4-7 feet deep in most places. However there were significant portions of the swim that were about a foot deep. I tried to swim/doggy paddle thru these instead of walking because walking on pea gravel is no fun barefoot. There was also a lot of seaweed and fog covering the river which made seeing anything almost impossible. I had to stand up and lift my goggles off my eyes just to get a sense of where I actually was in the river. The swim course when around several curves despite what the map looked like, so that made it hard to tell where you were going as well. The river was very narrow and all the athletes were very close and smashed together through the whole course. Which actually wasn't that bad because if you didn't know where you were going you just knew you were in the middle of a "school of athletes" and just swam onward. My swim time was 1:20. My watch said I went 5000yds. So apparently I look the long curves of the river. Nice. Oh well. It was a relatively easy swim despite being unable to sight and crowded. And it was my favorite part of the race. 

       I went through T1 quickly after grabbing my bag and heading up to the changing tent area. I opted not to take the time to change despite it being wet and cold bc I thought it would take too long and being cold would prob keep my HR down. Which worked out well. The mount line for the bike was in the middle of  a small, steep hill so I just walked my bike to the top of the hill and mounted there. Most people did the same. 

      The bike course was absolutely beautiful. But that did not make up for the un forgiving roads and multiple steep hills. My watch said 4660' of elevation gain. IM said it would be 3600'. IM are liars. These hills were awful. Super hard to get momentum on and they were plagued with many giant potholes, rough spots, large gashes, and other hidden objects. The worst part as that a lot of these rough spots were hidden by the shade of trees and were completely impossible to see. You just had to hold tight to your handle bars and pray you didn't hit one each time. Many people hit them and flipped off their bikes. At one point when I thought I was in the clear cruising in the aero bars I hit an invisible hole and was airlift/ejected out of my aero bars, and then luckily landed back in them. Whoooo. By the end of the bike I had a horrible migraine from holding on to the handle bars so tightly. It was like trying to mountain bike on my tri bike, in the aero bars. YIKES, OUCH, PAIN! The course was a lollipop stick with 2 loops of a lollipop. At mile 50 when we got to 2nd loop I wanted to cry and quit. I thought there was no way I could take another 62 miles of this. I was already in significant pain. Oh and I forgot to mention the giant freakin hill you have to go over twice in addition to all the other little hills. The giant freakin hill ranged in grade probably from about 12-15% at times. Most people walked up it the second loop but I was determined to ride to the top both times. And I did. But my HR went to 170 BPM. So much for not going over 155 BPM! HA.  Luckily I was able to tell myself to shut up and keep going if only for the bragging rights and finishers jacket. By mile 112 I was so over the bike I didn't care if I ever saw it again. I usually love riding my bike and have never come off of it so tired and beat to heck. 

     T2 I changed shorts to feel semi-clean again. Slapped vaseline under my armpits that were chaffed from my wetsuit. Put on my shoes and headed out. 

      The run was 3 loops with several rolling hills, both long and short. Usually during an ironman the run is the worst part because you are so tired and close to the finish, but I think I actually preferred it over the bike on this course (I know you are SOO surprised based on my description of the bike course lol). I tried my best to keep my HR under 140 BPM for the first 3 miles and then I was feeling "good" so I kept my HR under 155 BPM for the rest of the run. By feeling good I mean that I had a severe migraine but I knew this was from my death grip on my handle bars so I ignored it. Also my stomach was very angry and sloshing. I will be switching Nutrition companies after this race I believe. Same thing happened after my first IM, but worse this time. I kept taking in Base salt and gatorade to try to dissolve my belly of fluid. By mile 8 it worked! Yay for the little things. I abandoned my original nutrition plan, like I did during my first IM, and just went with what my body felt like it needed. And what it needed was a sip of gatorade and a sip of water at every aid station as long as Cliff blocks as needed through out. First 2 loops of the run went well.

 By the 3rd loop I was in severe pain in my legs, which was expected. At this point I would normally just push through, but since I knew I wasn't PR'ing anything today I just decided to take my time and walk a little bit to see if Jake could catch up with me and we could finish together and have a cute finishers photo. This gave me time to cheer on my fellow Betty's, chat with other athletes, and take in the moment. I ran/shuffled through the last 2 miles to the finish. The finish line energy was amazing as always and I was SO happy to be done. 

    I will never do this race again. EVER.
  

 The end. 

All photos: credit to Lindsey Kenny