Buffy's Ironman 70.3 Austin!

This report is (hopefully) Part II of my trilogy of race reports. I’ve got one more event to survive in October, but for now here is the second installment of…

My Family is Trying to Kill Me (Part II): Die Tri Harder

My last race was my mother’s idea. The only family member I can “blame” for me doing this race, though, is myself. It was entirely my idea. I was so psyched after doing Vineman 70.3 back in July that I registered for the Austin 70.3. As the race got nearer and nearer I wasn’t so sure I had made the best decision. Now that I’ve completed the Austin 70.3, do I feel like it was a good decision to do it? Hell, yeah.

I headed over to the expo center on Friday for athlete check-in. I was really impressed with how organized it was. They got us in and out and everything was done in nice, little, easy, baby steps. There was good shopping to be had there, too. Maybe a little too good – I left there with a bag full of new sporty goodies that I just had to have! My buddy, Sandy, was out there working Friday evening, too. I got to hang out and chat with her a bit, which actually made me feel very good and calm about the race and the event in general.

Saturday, I got up and did a very, very short mini-brick workout and headed back out to the expo center. I attended the athletes’ pre-race briefing that went over the course and the rules, and I dropped off gear in T2 and gear and my bike in T1. T1 and T2 were in separate locations for this event. Due to transportation issues on race day, bike check-in on Saturday was mandatory and gear check-in in T1 and T2 was optional. I loved it – much less to think about on race morning. I also loved the organization of the bike racks in T1 and T2 for this event. They all had stickers with each athlete’s name and race number on them – everybody’s spot was pre-labeled. There was no trying to figure out a “good” spot. You just went to your assigned place and that was that. I liked it that way, for sure. After I dropped of my gear, I headed back home and met my mom. She had offered to come over and braid my hair like she used to when I was kid. That also gave me one less thing to think of on race morning. And it was nice to have my mom take care of me, even though I’m 33 years old!

Race day began for me at the ridiculous time of 4:15am – so gross. Early morning alarm clocks are definitely my least favorite part of racing. I got up, got dressed, and grabbed my breakfast and the remainder of my gear (basically just my swimming stuff – everything else was already out there). Terry played the role of “super awesome husband” and got up to head out to the event with me. I’m not the sort of wife that feels like her husband has to go to every event. I race a pretty good amount and that would just be unfair for me to insist he go with me every time. I was really appreciative for his companionship at this race though as I was scheduled to start in the third to last swim wave. That would have been a lot of alone time for me to be sitting and waiting and being nervous!

Once we got out to Decker Lake, I got my body marked with my race numbers. We had a bit of a numbering mishap, but Terry kindly tracked down a paramedic and got some alcohol swabs to use as body marking “erasers”. We got my numbers all fixed up and I was good to go.

Even though we got out there early and I didn’t have much that I still needed to set up, the morning still seemed to fly by. All of the sudden, it was time for the national anthem, and it ended up being the coolest national anthem I’ve ever seen. There were two parachuters and the flag was attached to one of them – it was a giant, full-sized flag, too! It was really, really cool to see. It was unintentional, but very cool, too when the PA system went out right at the end of the singing of the national anthem and the crowd picked up and finished singing – I’m not the country’s most patriotic person, but that was really lovely.

Then the pros were off and the race had begun. I still had an hour or so to go before my wave started and I got really, really nervous. So nervous that I kept thinking I was going to burst into tears (which is not the norm for me). I’m not sure what it was, but I was freaking out. Terry kept asking if I was okay – I’d just nod my head and kept quiet. Finally, I decided that I needed to move, so we got up to go watch the wetsuit strippers. I’ve never seen a race with strippers before and it was awesome fun to watch! It totally took my mind off of being nervous. People would run out of the water and remove their wetsuits down to their waist. The athlete would flop down on the little carpeted area and stick their feet in the air. One or two volunteers would then, very forcefully, grab the wetsuit from the waist and yank it off in one quick pull. Water, neoprene, and limbs were flying everywhere! The volunteer would then simultaneously help up the athlete and hand them back their wetsuit and move them on their way into T1. It was so entertaining! Then Terry pointed at the time on his cell phone and I had to go line up for my start.

I walked into the water wearing my very awesome, new, sleeveless, X-terra wetsuit. Immediately I thought, “Oh crap, the water is too warm – I’m going to overheat out here!” Then my wave was signaled to start and we were off. After being out there for a few minutes I realized that, while I was warm in my wetsuit, I wasn’t going to get too hot. The water actually felt quite nice once we got further from shore. A little ways before the first turn on the swim course (we swam a triangular shaped course) the first wave of boys appeared around me. I knew this would happen as the only two remaining waves behind my wave were men in their early 40s. Those tend to be some fast dudes and I’m slow in the water, so I totally expected to be overtaken by them all. Shortly before the second turn I was passed again by what I believe was the bulk of the last wave of men. Once again, this didn’t bum me out (getting passed in the water). Swimming is not my strength. I actually got much further along than I expected before being overtaken by the guys. Somewhere there in the middle I got a nice little pat on the butt, too. I’m sure it was on accident, but it makes me chuckle thinking about it. It was just a gentle hand on my bottom – I like to think of it as a “sportsmanship-like” butt pat. Sort of like what football players do. Overall, the swim was much smoother than I expected it to be. It think in this distance of race, most of the people are very comfortable being in the water and just swim more smooth and straight than in some shorter distance events with more novice swimmers. For example, I love the Danskin Women’s Triathlon and do it every year, but I get beat to hell by other athletes out on that swim. Besides my little butt pat and a few touches to me feet, I don’t think I was touched at all out there at this race. It was pretty nice, smooth going. I actually had a surprisingly fast swim time, for me, of around 49 minutes. That might sound slow to you, but that is super fast for me!

I had promised Terry that I would use the wetsuit strippers, so I stepped out of the water and immediately started getting my wetsuit down to my waist. I ran up to a volunteer, slid down on my back, and put my feet up. One quick motion and my wetsuit was off. She pulled me to my feet and I was back on my way. So much better than trying to take that thing off myself! I walked a few steps while pulling off my goggles and swim cap and then started to run. I knew I wasn’t going to win or anything, but everyone looks cooler if they run through transition rather than walk. I was just keeping up appearances!

Despite my awesome run into T1, I had the worst overall T1 time. I hate that – I know that transitions are “free time”. I need to get in and get out, but it just takes me forever. Just putting on sunscreen takes me a good amount of time. And that is a step that I can not skip – I’m just too pale and I’m very freckle-y (okay, mole-y) so I’m already high-risk for skin cancer. I have to be careful with the sunscreen. Also, I decided to be chatty with the girl next to me. That probably took up some of my time. I just like to be social! So, eight minutes after exiting the water (eight minutes?! – groan), I was on my bike and back on my way. I got some good cheers from my fellow RLE brand ambassador, Adam who helping out at the bike start. It always is awesome to have someone you know cheering for you out on the course.

I know I said that I’m not a fast swimmer. Well, I’m not a strong cyclist either. I enjoy both, though, and I think that is all that matters. My biggest fear on the bike is getting a flat. I don’t really know how to change one. I sort of know, but it has only happened to me twice, so I haven’t been able to get in good practice at changing them. No flats on the bike for this race for me though! My only bike “malfunction” was a dropped chain. I dropped it after a 90 degree turn onto a short, but steep hill. This hill is part of the Danskin bike course so I’m very familiar and comfortable with it. I felt very confident going into it until I realized that I was pedaling and nothing was happening! I barely got clipped out before falling over. I had to put my chain on one-handed as I had keep my bike from rolling back downhill with my other hand. I stood there for a second to think what to do – I could walk my bike to the top of the hill or I could get on and take it from a dead stop. I didn’t want to look like I couldn’t make it up the hill, so I chose the later – and I made it. Not the world’s biggest victory, but it made me feel like a badass in my own little universe.

Most of the rest of the bike course was pretty uneventful. I was somewhat dismayed to see a lot of water bottles and gel packets all over the road. I feel like you should stop and pick up something if you accidentally drop it. I know it is a race, but part of it is keeping everything on you. The road is not our race day trash bucket. If people don’t start picking up after themselves we aren’t going to get to keep racing – it is as simple as that. There is my little rant for the day. Oh wait, I’ve got one more rant – there was the dog….

Seriously, I was chased by a dog at around mile 30. I’m sure it isn’t the dog’s fault. I do think his owners, who were outside in their front yard and not doing anything, totally suck. I’m a bit afraid of some dogs and this was a big, fast one. I saw him run after a cyclist for a bit and his owners whistled for him. He trotted back partway to them and then turned back to watch the cyclists. He let two ahead of me go and then took off after me – I knew that was going to happen! I tried to be calm and thought, “Okay, he just wants to run” but he started growling all mean-like and then barking real loud. And he just wouldn’t let up. He just kept on me. And his owners did nothing. Eventually (okay it probably only lasted for a few seconds), he turned and let me go on my way.

And the rest of the course really was uneventful. I saw my friend Beaux out helping change flat tires – awesome guy. Towards the end I did start to get tired and I felt like I should have probably taken in more fuel. I wasn’t in too bad of shape, though, and figured I’d feel okay once I got off the bike. I don’t usually have much trouble with discomfort from sitting on the bike for extended periods, but I sure did towards the end of this ride. I was ready to be not sitting on that bike anymore. I did get to see my most wonderful buddy, Carol, at the end of the bike and her cheering definitely perked me up.

Speaking of Carol, she wrote in a ride report for the Ring of Fire Ride awhile back that she kept singing Sunshine on my Shoulders by John Denver, which was strange because John Denver isn’t the most fierce workout music. Well, John Denver must be a saint of cycling because during this race I couldn’t stop singing Leaving on a Jet Plane for almost the entire 56 miles. Oddly, this wasn’t a bad thing for me. I hate my singing voice, but I actually was singing out loud at one point. Kept me moving.

I rolled on up to the dismount line, didn’t fall over as I always fear, and ran into transition. Yup, I ran into T2 – like I said earlier, it makes you look cooler if you run. I did much better with my T2 time, but still not great (~ 5 minutes). I ran out on only slightly wobbly legs and had my wonderful moment of “Ahhh…now we run…I can do this part!”

I got some more good cheers from Adam who was headed back to the finish line area. Shortly after that I saw my sweet Carol again. She really had the best spot – her volunteer location was right where she got to see cyclists twice and the runners four times. This run course was a two loop course that was part on roads and part on trails. As I was turning onto the trail part, I got some more cheers from my buddy Joey (of Red Licorice Events management team fame), who was out as the run course captain. I got to see him four times on the run as well.

So, it was hot at this point. It wasn’t getting hot – it was already hot when I started the run. It was a bit brutal. As we ran through the trail part of the course I realized where we were headed. Part of the course was the same as the run in the Danskin triathlon, which has a long, gross hill on it with relatively no shade. The race officials were smart enough to put a fellow at the top of the hill with a microphone to help motivate people to get to the top (twice – damn two loop course!). Even on my first loop I was already having to walk for little bits here and there. That really isn’t my style – I pride myself on my ability to still run at the end of a triathlon. It was just too hot and I was beat, though. I came up with a lovely strategy to only walk a minute or less at a time and only where I knew I wouldn’t see large groups of spectators, Carol, Joey, or the dude at the top of the hill. That didn’t leave me too much “walking” area and it kept me moving. I walked the bottom of that hill and then ran once I knew I was in view of the guy with the microphone. I got good props for running so I blew him a kiss (which also got a good response) and I kept moving.

The water stops were awesome on the run course. I really appreciate those volunteers – I know it was hot out there for them, too, and many of them were in full Halloween costumes! Everyone was so nice and supportive out there, and so many of us needed that support. Most of the rest stops had cups of ice, which was the best thing for me. I was drinking loads to cool off, but I got to feeling very full (too full) of liquid. I ended up putting a total of five cups of ice in my sports bra over the course of the run to keep cool. It was the most awesome feeling ever. I will also admit that I was hot enough that more than once I grabbed a piece of ice out of my sports bra and ate it. I know that is gross, but at that point I had to do what I had to do to keep moving out there. They also had iced-down sponges at many of the rest stops. My first one was great. My second one was sort of warm. My third one was the best. Full of ice cold water! I kept a hold of it and decided I would wait to throw it away until I got another cold sponge. I think the stops were running out of sponges at this point, though. So I kept holding it. And I kept holding it. And then I decided that it was my security sponge and I couldn’t let it go. It was all mental, but that sponge was going to stay with me until the end.

I finished up my first lap of the run and got some great cheers by all the finish line spectators. I saw the best sign that a group of spectators had, too – it said “Worst Parade Ever” – that made me laugh hard enough to pep me up. My coach, Shawn, and some other Pure Austin Coaching people that I know were out there, too. I got some good cheers and a great high-five and I started on my second lap. I knew I was slowing down, but somehow I felt better just knowing I was on my second lap. I was on the way “home”. I passed by Carol and Joey and got back on the trails. I walked the bottom of the gross hill and then ran the second half to the top. I caused a few guys to get jeered by the microphone guy as I ran past them (sorry, fellows). With only 3 miles left to go, I realized that I could beat my time from Vineman. I just had to maintain. I did slow down, but I knew that if I managed around a 10 minute/mile pace, I’d be okay. I was hurting as I was running toward Carol for the last time. She was at the top of a hill, so that was more uphill running, but I felt like I’d disappoint her if she saw me walking. So, I ran and got my biggest Carol cheers yet. I did let her know that if it wasn’t for her I would have been walking (thank you, Carol!).

I rounded a corner and knew I was nearing the finish area (about a mile to go). I started walking for a few seconds next to another girl. Poor thing wasn’t doing too good. She was finishing her first lap and was really hurting. She told me she just wanted to finish but she was worried about making it before the cutoff time. I tried to assure her that if she just kept up a steady walk, she could make it. I also tried to give her my security sponge (even though it was dry). She wouldn’t take it though – she probably actually thought I was crazy trying to give her a dry sponge while I explained that just holding it made me feel better. I tried to talk her up as best as I could, but I knew that I had to get moving again or I’d start to crash.

I started running again and knew that I was done – I would run until I crossed the finish line. Big cheers from Shawn and the PAC kids again. Then, as I turned another corner, I saw my lovely husband cheering me on. That was the best.

I turned the last corner and ran into Luedecke Arena to finish. It was very disorienting, but in a cool way. You run in and the air and light is all different and it is super loud with people cheering. I liked it – it made the finish line seem like an even bigger deal than it already was. I got my medal and started walking towards the food. And then I almost lost it. I don’t know why, but it was everything I could do to not start crying. What was it with me that day?! I know that I just accomplished something huge, but I think I really was emotional just because I was so spent. I felt great and happy and was so proud of myself but wanted to just cry – it was so weird. I got myself pulled together right before Terry found me. Oh, and I still wouldn’t let go of my security sponge.

We walked outside and bought a snowcone for me (delicious and perfect). Then we headed over to talk to Shawn, who very kindly handed me a beer. Best beer ever. And I still wouldn’t let go of that sponge.

We hung around for an hour or so and then headed off to collect my gear and get home. I was still holding on to my sponge. Once in the car, I finally put it down…in my lap.

We got home and I finally let the sponge leave me. A quick shower and we were off to celebrate with margaritas and bean dip – my favorite post race goodies. I went to the restaurant in high-fashion, too – I wore my new compression socks with my knee length shorts. I totally looked like an old man with dark socks pulled up high and long shorts. They worked wonders though. Compression socks, margaritas, and bean dip – all a girl needs to recover!