So many things can prevent an athlete from making it to the starting line during their training journey. Most athletes train for at least 1 year for this 1 day event that lasts up to 17 hours. Many of our athletes fought personal battles during their training. From 4 am training rides, overcoming fears, learning new skills, to 7 hour bicycle rides that leave you burnt & chafed in all sorts of uncomfortable areas, one feels the entire spectrum of emotions in this sport.
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| The elusive Ironman Finisher Chute |
Marsha unexpectedly lost her beloved father earlier in the season then developed strep throat the day before the race! Jeff was diagnosed with Prostate Cancer & juggled chemotherapy with his training. Kem suffered a broken hand from a cycling accident & still managed to train through it with the help of his Coach James. Getting to the starting line of the race, is the real journey.
Numerous things can go wrong on race day. There are bike crashes, drafting violations, flat tires, losing bottles & nutrition, cramping, dehydration, illness & muscle strains, all part of the process. The journey that each athlete experiences is unique to their own. It reveals character, builds confidence, requires perseverance, dedication, passion, trust and teaches one the important lesson of learning to go with the flow. Shawn broke 2 toes exiting the swim & continued on with the entire race!
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| Marsha with a 2 hour PR! |
Here is a race report from Mary Kelly. It was such a pleasure to coach her & her husband Doug this season.
Ironman Chattanooga 2017
September 24, 2017
I am an Ironman (again)! On Sunday, September 24
th
, I crossed the finish line of my 3
rd
Ironman
in 13:54, which is a PR of over an hour. What a day, and what a journey this year! I am going to
restate something that I am most proud of...my husband, Doug, and I have crossed each full IM
finish line together. In 2015 we were dating; 2016 we were engaged; 2017 we were finally
married! Surprisingly enough we don’t want to kill each other during these long, stressful (but
very fun) days.
Ironman Chattanooga 2017
September 24, 2017
I am an Ironman (again)! On Sunday, September 24th, I crossed the finish line of my 3rd Ironman in 13:54, which is a PR of over an hour. What a day, and what a journey this year! I am going to restate something that I am most proud of…my husband, Doug, and I have crossed each full IM finish line together. In 2015 we were dating; 2016 we were engaged; 2017 we were finally married! Surprisingly enough we don’t want to kill each other during these long, stressful (but very fun) days.
Pre-Ironman
Thursday before IM, I met Doug at the IM village to quickly check in over lunch. We were given our backpacks (which are way cooler than the last 2 years) and all our race goodies. I grabbed a name shirt for each of us and some Little Debbie snacks on my way out. I felt like such a good triathlete as I ate my oatmeal cream pie on the way back to work (← that was sarcasm)! That night we ate dinner with a good number of our FX Multisport family. It was great to relax and laugh about the long year of training we have all had this year. It’s also nice to hang out with these wonderful people while we aren’t wearing spandex and covered in sweat and who knows what else.
All day Friday I was at work watching the clock to see when I could finally go home. The day passed fairly quickly, and that evening we went to another dinner with the Base Performance team. I have been lucky enough to be on the race team this year. It’s a fun group of people who are very welcoming and encouraging. I strongly suggest anyone interested look at joining that team!
Friday evening I packed all of my transition bags with the help of my trusty checklist. I’m a type-A planner, but what triathlete isn’t? We went to bed fairly early that evening; IM was quickly approaching!
Saturday morning rolled around, and I took our dogs to the vet for boarding. I’m pretty sure they couldn’t make it all day Sunday without going outside, and I didn’t want my parents to feel obligated to let them out for us. I went out to the barn to see my horse after dropping my sweet puppies off (and feeling guilty when the oldest looked back at me like I was abandoning her). Seeing my horse is probably my favorite relaxation place on this earth. No watches, no stats to track, just quiet peace (usually) and happiness! For some reason as soon as 10 am rolled around, the time bike/gear check-in started, I felt like I was running behind and my stress level went up. I quickly checked my gear bags one more time, we loaded the bikes on the car, and off we went back to the IM village.
Bike and gear check-in went smoothly and quickly. Boy, was it getting warm! The heat made me a little stressed about race day, but I have no control over the weather so I tried not to think about it. Doug and I had a light lunch, and then went back to our house to be lazy for the remainder of IM eve. My right heel had been hurting some the last few days, plantar fasciitis coming back, so I iced my foot and hoped for a good day on my feet on Sunday.
Race Day
Bright and early at 4 am, the alarm sounded and we rolled out of bed. Everything was already set out. Clothes, special needs, breakfast, bike nutrition. 20 minutes later we were out the door and arrived at transition right when it was opening, or a little before apparently since we had to wait in line! We dropped of our special needs bags, and then off to the bikes we went to pump up the tires and drop off nutrition. We had planned to meet our favorite training partner, Marsha, to ride over to the swim start together, but somehow we all missed each other. Doug went ahead a few buses before me because I was waiting on Marsha, but when she didn’t show, I went on to the swim start. I maybe sat on the bus stress-sweating because I didn’t want to sit at the swim start by myself and all of the other erratic thoughts one has due to pre-race nerves. Luckily I found my husband and Marsha by walking the line once I got there! Whew, what a relief! We all laid down and tried to get some rest as we waited for the swim start. Time passed quickly, and then BAM race time! I struggled into my swim skin, put my cap and goggles on, and then we started moving quickly to the dock. A hug from Marsha and a kiss from Doug, and then it became go time!
The Swim
Swimming has always been a “just get through it” thing for me. I’m definitely not fast, but not the slowest either. Just kind of average. I settled in fairly quickly. My normal plan is to breathe 5 times on each side (10 total) and then sight. I also try to guess how many strokes it will take to get to the next landmark. The island, 100 strokes. The next bridge, 150. Usually I’m wrong, but it helps to pass the time.
It seemed like the swim was flying by. In no time, we were passing the Boathouse and then the rowing center. I assumed the current was flowing fairly well that day. The bridges came up quickly, and next thing you know it was time to turn left for the swim exit. My official swim time for the 2.4 miles was 1:01:01. Much better than my planned time of 1:10. Up the ramp, grabbed my bike bag, and in to the change tent I went! I swam in what I would wear on the bike, but I did make sure to slow down to make sure I had everything (from chamois cream to a snack) before heading out again. T1 took less than 7 minutes; once again better than the 10 minutes I had planned.
The Bike
I settled in quickly for a long time of riding 116 miles on Milo, my Cervelo PC3/awesome wedding present for Doug. Every 7 minutes I was sipping on my combination of Skratch Labs pineapple and watermelon Base aminos mix. I was eating Larabars along the way. Time felt like it was passing fairly quickly. I wanted to keep my heart rate in zone 2 for the majority of lap 1, which is around a 17 mph average for me. Doug and I caught up with Marsha, and little training group settled in for a good bike ride! The rollers down 193 felt easy; I think all that climbing up Lookout Mountain has been a big help this year. Very quickly we were turning onto Hog Jowl, and then cruising through Chickamauga to Special Needs. I ate my pb&j, grabbed my Snickers bar for later, slapped on some more chamois cream, and off we went to finish lap one and cruise through lap two.
I felt great on the bike. I knew I was keeping my pace and effort in check. Nothing major really happened during lap two. I continued to eat and drink, and at each aid station I was grabbing a bottle of water to spray all over my head, neck, and shoulders to keep cool during the bike ride. We quickly hit the end of lap two, and turned right to head back to town…woohoo! For some reason on the way back to town right before St. Elmo, I was extremely uncomfortable on the bike. Aero felt awful, sitting up felt awful. I think my lady bits were considering jumping off my body at this point. I toughed out the last few miles, and rolled back in to transition for a bike time of 6:44, again better than my planned time of 7 hours.
After handing off my bike to the awesome volunteers, I was handed my run bag by an adorable little girl, and back to the changing tent I went! I changed completely for the run. It’s refreshing to wear loose clothes that aren’t drenched in sweat at this point. I put some more lube on and stopped by the sunscreen tent (no chafing and no sunburn happened to be a goal for me this year) made for another 7 minute transition, again ahead of the planned 10 minute transition I had written down. Off to the run we went!
The Run
I like to run. I am actually trying to run every day this year. Yes, I did run the day after IM, and it wasn’t really that bad! But the IM marathon is potentially my nemesis, my enemy. I have yet to have a good IM run, and this year wasn’t really much of an exception. We saw Robyn very early on in the run (hi Coach!) which was a nice boost. At this point I was feeling pretty good, and I was looking forward to the last leg of the race. I was grabbing ice at each aid station to put in my 70.3 Worlds finisher hat (← shameless proud of myself for that race plug) and in my sports bra to keep cool. I was sipping water and some Gatorade at each aid station. We slowly made our way down Amnicola (my least favorite part of the course). My plan was similar to the bike; take the first loop very conservatively. 
Unfortunately at some point, my stomach decided it hated me. This has happened every year. Nutrition fails me, and I’m shaking my fist at my run right now. I have had some great training runs this year; I have felt strong and optimistic, but once again the IM marathon said NO to me. Doug and I kept moving. Walking as needed and running when I felt able. We got to see our TRIbe friends, Connie and Sam, and Marsha’s husband on the first loop, and each time was a little boost of energy! We had friends on Barton Avenue partying in the front yard who took pictures and yelled for us. I was a little envious of them at the time. Through the golf course and back up and over Barton. There were tons of supporters which was awesome! Once we got to the Walking Bridge, we saw 2 of our very good friends, Ashley and Daniel. More photos, and Ashley even ran across the bridge with us! 
We stopped at special needs, where I grabbed some peppermints and a few jolly ranchers. I felt tired, but all we had left was a half marathon. I had just posted time I was very proud of 2 weeks ago; I wanted so bad to have anything similar on race day. Nope. Mama Bear, aka Coach Robyn, told us that the race really starts at mile 15. Guess what…I started throwing up at mile 14.5! Guess I didn’t fuel correctly after all! Anyhow, a great volunteer brought me ice and some cold water, and essentially said I was nuts if I didn’t finish because we had more than enough time to finish the second lap. For the record, not finishing was never an option!
Lap 2 passed slowly. Eventually we left Amnicola, and got to witness a gorgeous sunset on the Riverwalk! It was getting dark out, and the temperature was finally dropping. My parents were at the top of Battery to cheer us on. It was a relief to see them! We crossed over Veterans’ to finish out the last few miles of our run. I was trying to do math the entire second loop to figure out how much time we had for the remaining miles because I wanted to finish under 14 hours SO BAD. Eventually we had 45 minutes to do the last 5k. I could do that in my sleep, right?! We saw Connie again on the Walking Bridge, and she walked across it with us. She is such a strong and inspiring person! When we started down Riverfront towards the finish, she was still yelling for us from the bridge. The finish line lights came on, and people started crowding the chute. I made sure to high five as many people as I could (especially the kids). Doug and I grabbed hands and raised them together as we crossed out 3rd full IM finish line together! It was incredible! Mike Reilly said both of our names, and even mentioned we were an Iron couple finishing together :D
Our total run time was 5:54, which was slower than my planned time of 5:40. But who cares!!! We still finished under 14 hours (13:54:27 to be exact).
IM Reflections
I am so proud! Sunday was over an hour better than my original PR. I am so proud of Doug for having a great day! I am also grateful that he stuck with me even though I bet he could have done much better. The next time we attempt a full, it will most likely be every Ironman for himself/herself so he can see how good he can do. I am lucky to have such a great training partner/husband/Ironmate in him.
To Marsha, you are amazing! Thank you for training with us and congrats on a great race! To the rest of the FX team, thank you to each of you. I believe we have a great group of people on the team, and I can’t wait to get to know each of you even more! The volunteers and the crowds were awesome Sunday. I truly think it was an amazing day!
That being said, I am looking forward to taking a break from the full distance to focus on getting faster at the 70.3 distance! I am excited by the year that I had (the Chatt 70.3, Costa Rica 70.3, Worlds 70.3, and IMChoo), and I am encouraged for next seasons of triathlon! I will be stronger and faster (hello climbing up mountains more and masters swim and speed sessions), and I will figure out nutrition! I am not done with fulls forever, but I am proud of being and Ironman x3!
Ironman Chattanooga 2017
September 24, 2017
I am an Ironman (again)! On Sunday, September 24
th
, I crossed the finish line of my 3
rd
Ironman
in 13:54, which is a PR of over an hour. What a day, and what a journey this year! I am going to
restate something that I am most proud of...my husband, Doug, and I have crossed each full IM
finish line together. In 2015 we were dating; 2016 we were engaged; 2017 we were finally
married! Surprisingly enough we don’t want to kill each other during these long, stressful (but
very fun) days.
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