Got a great rack spot right next to the bike carpet exit. I planned for the dirt transition and had an old towel for my floor space. I had my clear bag hung over the end post so I could throw things in it as they were used for a faster transition. A referee was walking around suggesting penalties would be given if your gear was not by your down wheel. Ugh..turned the bike around instead of all my stuff!
Jumped in the river to get accustomed to the temps which was refreshing and not hot like I expected. I hated the rocky floor. I wore sandals for the rocky entrance and threw them to Marcus upon entry.
I noticed the buoys were numbered but the first buoy only said TURNAROUND. hmm ok, guess this is for lap 1 ! I decided since it wasn't a real MASS start, that I would hug the buoy and start in front. No one heard the horn or gun or any noise except the crowd was screaming to go SO WE DID!!
I felt good with my rhythm until my hand touched rocks. I looked up and then saw others standing so I did too. I hated those little rocks on my feet, so I belly flopped and kept swimming and stayed center as much as I could. Soon I was counting those buoys 1 - 12 and then was in 6 inches of water at the turnaround. Ugh. stood up and the guy behind me ran into me. whoops. Belly flopped to the center again following the buoys. Only one buoy seemed off course and remembered not to go there next time. I rounded the turnaround buoy and started swimming again, and decided I was not standing up this lap. Once I got to #12, I over-rotated so I had room to pull and it worked great as I passed people walking the turnaround. When I got to buoy 2, I started looking at where people were getting out and it seemed to be about anywhere. So, I started angling toward the shore since it didn't say we had a right turn anywhere. I felt great and ran through the exit, passing a walker, as I noticed I had beat my goal by 2 minutes, and saw Marcus proudly taking pictures of me with my inked- polka dot cap so he was sure to pick me out of the group!
I was nervous about Chalk hill. It came about mile 45. The volunteers were awesome by cheering us on. I slowly cranked up to the top. I felt a little dizzy and wondered how I would manage at 100 miles. I gave myself permission to play it safe and walk it if I needed it next time. It was definitely going to be weather dependent. I felt strong after the first loop of 57 miles. I didn't see anyone I knew at the turn which made me sad. I started getting warm and noticed I was drinking faster than I planned. I was out of fluids mile 55. However special needs station was at mi 57. It was the first and only planned stop for the day. I added muscle rub to my shoulder, and decided to take all the salt pills I had because the temps were rising fast. My only disappointment was that I had only put powdered calories in my nutrition bottle at special needs. My thought was that there would be ice and cold water there to mix it well and it was all warm! That was a waste of time and it tasted like hot soup. I was behind on my solid nutrition so shoved all the leftover larabar pieces in my cheeks. Not good... I couldn't eat for another 1 1/2 hours after that. My body would not digest it. I kept drinking every 15 minutes.
By mile 65, I had really started to sweat and had a hard time seeing out of my glasses. My mile 80 it felt like flames were shooting out of my legs and feet. I started seeing cyclists on the side of the road in the shade either draped over their bike or laying flat on the ground. I told myself I could only stop at the aid stations for fear I would not get back on the bike. I had to stop at each station to pour ice water over my legs and chest. Each station I drenched my cooling towel which would always be dried out within 18 miles. It really helped control my temperature though. Others wearing tri tops looked like cooked pork chops on their backs as they passed me. I saw SAG cars with 6 bikes on the back taking cyclists off the course. It became a war zone of cyclists everywhere, passing out from heat exhaustion. I kept rolling. At the last station, I grabbed IM Performance to finish the ride. I had finished my electrolytes early again. It was really hard to drink not diluted but I knew I needed it more that just water. I was pedaling slow but SwiBikeMom said to me for hours... JUST KEEP MOVING FORWARD.... so I did.Then mile 90 arrived with the 2 hills before chalk hill and they were agonizing. I was panting like a dog. I faced Chalk Hill and tried my best to keep pulling up on the pedals and about half way up, I was concerned... a girl laid in the ditch and a volunteer sat next to her... then I heard an ambulance and fire engine behind me so I kept pedaling further... until I had to make a choice...risk a blackout and fall over or clip out and run up the remainder of the hill.
I chose the latter. A guy pedaled next to me at close to the same pace that I was jogging up the hill. We got to the top about the same time and I grabbed my inhaler and took 2 puffs to calm down. He said to me...no worries... you were great... this is just a hobby anyway! Yep, and then I knew I could give more to the last 10 miles, just like Sharon Chaix did when she did this course last year. I knew I could finish for sure but I was far past my goal of 7 hours and I started to cry. So I shoved away my pity party and moved on to meet my second goal and that was to finish. I pedaled as fast as I could so the breeze could cool me on the down hills. I felt so alone. I was sure to be nearly the last one to finish. I felt like a loser for walking and taking so long. I knew Marcus and Julie would be worried. I would be one hour late.
I started recognizing street names finally. I could hear the cheers as I rolled into the runway next to the runners for the triathlon. The thought of running started to make me hyperventilate. I remembered a one hour run was next. Then I saw Marcus dart across the lane to take pictures. I was so happy to see him. The Aquabike finishline was deflating. We didn't get to go under the big inflated arch with the triathletes. There were just a couple volunteers draping us with a little medal and a hug. I started to cry like a loser. I didn't see food, or people. I was alone.
I walked to my run gear, racked my bike and collapsed in the shade like I had wanted to do for the last 4 hours. Soon Marcus found me. He said the tracking data was not updating and he kept watching riders arrive in a van and was so worried that I never showed up. He kept looking for me to arrive with heat exhaustion but instead , I was a finisher and he was proud of me for enduring a race with over 100 degree heat. He heard it was 108 degrees on Chalk Hill. Many of our friends didn't finish today, including an elite athlete. By 4pm the announcer said there were over 700 full athletes on the course and only 15 had finished by that time which was an all time 25 year low.
After talking to my coach, she let me off the hook for the 1 hour run. No one was running anyway. So many walked the 1/2 or full marathon until the sun set. Some were pulled off the run course as well. It was Africa Hot.
My neck was quite stiff from the stress and cycling position but the physical therapy and chiropractic care a week in advance had definitely helped and the pain was tolerable more than usual. I had blisters on the base of my palms through my gloves. My feet were pulsating. I was happy I was off the bike though.
Once we went back to our place, I looked up the results for my age group. I was sad to see an 8:03 bike time. It should have been 7:03. Then I saw 8 of 18 in my age group didn't start or finish the race and I earned the 4th best cycling time in my age group and 6th overall. Wow, I wasn't a loser. I was a survivor and a finisher. The choices I made for OSMO pre hydration, pre-race coconut water, cooling towel, bike jersey, arm coolers, extra salt pills and even walking the top of Chalk Hill were all the reasons why I was a finisher. It was the hardest ride of my life. Now I am proud of my result.
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