I'm now seven days post-
Ironman Wisconsin/my first Ironman and I can hardly believe it's all behind me! After having my life practically revolve around training both mentally and physically for this event over the entirety of the past year...it feels odd to have it be in the past. On Thursday I wrote a
short post with some details about my big race and am now finally sitting down to write my "big" post. Get ready...this will likely be wordy and long! I don't want to forget a bit of my adventure...so I'm going to try to get it all documented here. This was definitely one of the biggest events of my life thus far...something I hope to never forget.
What a day...
The Day Before:
On the morning of Saturday, September 7 I went on a short bike/run with fellow triathletes Steve and Dan. Our bike was a short 20 minutes, just enough time to allow us to run through our gears one last time. The run was just 10 minutes, a perfect duration to loosen up our legs and to help us mentally get ready to race. After our workout, we went out for breakfast...I had a big, yummy omelet. Then, we headed down to Monona Terrace to rack our bikes and drop off our transition bags.
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My bike with all decals (Go #129!) in place and laden down with my bags all packed up
and ready to leave for the night in the transition areas!
Yes David...I AM wearing an Ironman visor BEFORE completing the 140.6 distance...I'm a poser, I know. |
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Dropping off my bike gear bag for T1!
Towel, cycling shoes, socks, chamois cream, nutrition...
Both transition areas were located inside Monona Terrace. The concept of indoor transition areas
was a whole new glorious experience for me! |
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Leaving my Run Gear bag in the T2 room, ready for race day!
Towel, running shoes, socks, race belt/number, chamois cream, nutrition, change of shorts (just-in-case...) |
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| View from a walkway above the bike racking area taken Saturday: soooo many bikes! I had fun just looking enviously at all of the beautiful (and super expensive!) bikes owned by some of the more hard-core triathletes present! :) Someday?! |
After all of our bags and bikes were successfully placed in their appropriate locations, we headed back to the hotel to clean up and get ready for dinner. We had early dinner reservations at
Bunky's Cafe, a restaurant that came highly recommended by my friend Jamie who used to live in Madison. Our group was so large, it took three large tables to seat us all! My parents, sister and her family and friends Jenn and Matt and their family, friends Jillian, Kelly and Andrea, and fellow racers Steve, Dan, and David were among those in attendance. It was great to have a "last supper" with many good friends and great fans (kudos to David for making the reservations for us all!)! My gluten free pasta with chicken was delicious...but much of the dinner was a blur. I was definitely starting to feel increasingly nervous about the big day ahead. I ate, chatted with family and friends and snuggled my sweet nine-month-old niece Macy all while trying my best to keep the nerves suppressed.
I remember looking around one of the tables at my family and at my friend Jen and her family and informing everyone, "There may be a time tomorrow when I say I want to quit.
Don't let me!" They simply looked back at me, and the look on my mom's face told me that she thought I was a little bit nuts. However she, for one, took my request to heart and dealt out some well-timed advice on the next day as I grinded along the bike course.
After dinner we racers headed back to our hotels to make our final preparations for race morning and hit the sack EARLY (though I don't think I fell asleep for at least an hour after lying down!). Alarms were set to go off before the sun would rise and I checked and double-checked my race-day accessories, especially my Garmin and my timing chip, before turning in for the evening.
The Morning of the Big Race:
Sunday morning, September 8 I woke up early...4:30 am to be exact. I had all my race-day attire set out for myself the night before, as well as my race-day breakfast: a PB & J
Bonk Breaker bar and a banana. My stomach felt nasty and after I consumed the banana, I had to force the bar down. I didn't feel like eating a darn thing, however knew I needed to start getting some calories/fuel for the day down the hatch.
Since we had left our bikes and gear for both transitions at Monona Terrace the day before the race, there was very little to bring on race day morning. I packed my final items in my mesh wetsuit bag (goggles, swim cap, wetsuit, Garmin watch, "morning gear" bag (that I could check and pick up after the race), two "special needs" bags for the bike and run legs of the race, timing chip, water to drink throughout the morning prior to the start, and some
PowerBar performance energy fruit purees which are one of my favorite training/racing nutrition items), and was out the door of the hotel around 5:10am.
The race start area (Monona Terrace) was about 15 minutes away from the hotel where I stayed with some friends and fellow racers. We found parking a short walk away and made our way to the terrace to make the final preparations (put water in bike bottles, air up tires, etc.). As we hurried around, I tried to ignore the feelings of nausea welling up inside me. I'd never felt more like vomiting prior to a race than I did that morning. Thankfully I didn't throw up...but there were a few points when I thought I might. I was so very nervous and worked up!
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View of the bike rack area from the walkway above..dark dark dark!
It was hard to believe we'd be racing about an hour after this picture was snapped on my phone... |
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View of the capital from the walkway above the bike rack area on race morning...the finish line is in front of the capital. Approximately 15.5 hours after this picture was taken, I crossed this finish line...
as it had gone from dark to light back to dark again! |
This photo is blurry, as it was taken in the dark...here I am with Steve and Dan, fellow racers,
and Superfan Kelly...you can hardly tell how nervous we were as we smiled for the picture!
By 6:30 am we slid/squeezed into our wetsuits and made our way down to the water for the start of the swim (and the start of the race!). As I stood waiting in the herd of triathletes with Steve and Dan, I felt my stomach turning over and over. I stared down at the ground and was amused to see many wet spots...pretty sure people were peeing themselves down the legs of their wetsuits. Awesome. This made me laugh to myself and kept my mind off of being nervous for at least a minute or two. After a few minutes of waiting, by some miracle, our friend David made his way over to us! I have NO idea how he spotted the three of us in the sea of black wetsuits, multi-colored goggles, and green and pink swim caps....but we were all glad he did! It was nice to be able to exchange some encouraging words and smiles amongst friends before making our way into the water.
The Swim:
Just a few minutes after we walked into the water and swam our way out to the starting line...the sound of the cannon signaling the race start rang through the air. I took a deep breath, pushed "start" on my Garmin and started swimming. Prior to the beginning of the race, I was freaking out slightly about the nature of the GIGANTIC mass swim start at Ironman Wisconsin: all 2600+ athletes start as one massive wave as opposed to breaking the swimmers up into smaller waves/groups that start separately. The thought of thousands of other people flailing around in the water near me, potentially kicking/hitting/swimming on top of me, really made me scared. However, I felt an odd feeling of peace and mental calmness as I started swimming.
The swim portion of triathlon intimidates me at most events I participate in. I am not a strong swimmer, but have at least gained some confidence since my first
awful open-water experience at a triathlon in May of 2011. Since then, I had two summers' (2012 and 2013) worth of weekly (sometimes twice weekly) open water swim practices and had a total of 12 triathlons under my belt prior to Ironman Wisconsin. I don't necessarily "like" the swim portion of races, but I definitely hate it a lot less than I used to! I was thankful for all of my practice and training, but nothing could've really prepared me for THIS:
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| A sea of swimmers in Lake Monona at IM Wisconsin! |
In some years past, the swim course of Ironman Wisconsin has been a two-loop course (a 1.2 mile loop that participants swim around twice) . More recently, it had been changed to a larger one-loop course. While a 2.4 mile course does sound just gigantic and almost never-ending to me, I really think that a one-loop course sounds a lot better to me than a two-loop course (never mind the fact that they are obviously the same total distance). Mentally, I just think it would be difficult for me to have to PASS the swim finish line to do a second loop before getting to exit the water.
The water was a bit choppy, as the day was rather windy. Having had endured 3-5 foot waves in Lake Michigan at the
Racine 70.3 in July though, this water felt like smooth glass in comparison. Though I hated the Racine swim at the time, I was very thankful that I had that experience as I was swimming in Madison because I felt much more confident and comfortable in the water. I was able to get into a smooth, easy rhythm of breathing on alternating sides after each third stroke and felt pretty good.
After two turns (first we started out swimming parallel to the shore, turning left at the first buoy to swim perpendicular to the shore, and then turning left again at the second buoy to swim back toward Monona Terrace perpendicular to the shore) I met my first really annoying swimmer of the day. A girl in a Blue Seventy wetsuit (I can still picture her in my head) kept running into me on my right side. At first I gave her the benefit of the doubt...assuming we were both swimming crookedly. I started paying more attention to sighting and realized that I was actually swimming pretty straight. Then, I noticed that she had somehow gotten over on my left side...and was again swimming into me. This continued on for a while...first she was on my right, then my left, and so on. I started having really mean, nasty thoughts go through my head and realized that I just needed to get away from her. I decided to simply increase my speed (I had been staying fairly steady/consistent until that point) and swim away once and for all. So, I pushed hard for 100 strokes and then let up...thankfully I never saw her again.
The second really annoying swimmer of my day was a man who first swam on top of me...and then a few strokes later after he had backed off, smacked me square in the head with his outstretched hand. Come ON buddy! I get that swimming in the midst of hundreds of other people is kind of a cluster...but how do you really have that much decreased awareness of where your body is in space?! I actually did pop out of the water for a second and yelled at him, knowing full well that he probably didn't hear me (or care :)).
In what felt like far less time and effort than I had anticipated, I had rounded the final buoy and was making my way to the swim finish! My left shoulder started feeling a little bit of soreness, but all in all I felt great throughout the entire swim. I made my way to the shore, stood up on slightly wobbly legs and got out of the lake in front of many cheering people.
Swim time: 1:43:09
I had estimated that I would swim between 1:30-2:00. I was happy with my finish time! I had NEVER swam 2.4 miles before, so was actually feeling quite ecstatic when I exited the water! The best part was...I didn't even feel very tired at all! I felt READY to take on the bike! It was a great feeling.
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| Crossing the timing mat post-swim |
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| Crossing the swim finish line and starting to work my wetsuit off |
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| Heading over to the wetsuit strippers |
I shuffled my way toward the transition areas and came upon the wetsuit strippers (woot woooot!). Two signaled me to sit down, each grabbed a leg of my suit and pulled. In seconds my suit was off, one person handed me my suit and the other helped me up. I jumped up and started jogging toward Monona Terrace. Right after I turned around, I tripped over some dude's head! He was laying down having his wetsuit removed like right in the middle of the walkway! I stopped for a moment, but he seemed fine, so I continued on. A volunteer yelled at the volunteers removing that man's wetsuit to remind them to make sure the walkway was clear, and I shrugged it all off as an accident I couldn't help.
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| My cousin and super-supporter Matt snapped this picture as I ran to the helix to go collect my bike gear bag post-swim |
I ran up the winding helix (on days when Monona Terrace isn't taken over by Iron athletes, the two helices are the entrance and exit to the adjacent parking garage) and entered the room where the bike gear bags were held. I grabbed bag #129 and hurried to the women's changing area. A volunteer quickly waved me over to her and brought me to a white chair where she dumped out my bag and started helping me pack away my swim things into the bag (I would be able to collect the bag and my belongings after the race) while donning my compression calf sleeves, socks, bike shoes, and helmet. She helped me get the compression calf sleeves on, which was quite helpful. My arms were kind of shaky from the swim and weren't working very efficiently I discovered! I also made sure to apply ample
Buttonhole chamois cream (my body's savior where the stupid bike saddle is concerned).
I grabbed my sunglasses, slurped down a fruit puree and drank some water the volunteer brought me and then was on my way outside to collect my bike. As I ran down the rows and rows of bikes I heard the volunteers yelling numbers to each other, indicating which bikes to grab from the racks and hand to athletes as they ran past. When I arrived at my rack...no one had grabbed my bike for me yet and I had to get it off of the rack myself. It really wasn't a big deal, but a bunch of volunteers all felt the need to apologize profusely about it.
I crossed the bike start line and hopped on...ready to take on 112 miles!
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| Excited to get going on the bike! |
T1 (Transition 1) time: 11:11 (I definitely took my time! I wanted to make sure everything was just-so)
The Bike:
The Ironman Wisconsin bike course is no joke. It's known for being a hilly beast. I had come up to Madison to ride a portion of the course one time in July this past summer and was very glad that I had the opportunity to preview the course. The preview helped me gain some confidence and made me feel like I would definitely be able to finish the course on race day.
The course is referred to as a "lollipop." It consists of a straight portion (the "stick") that leads to a round portion ("the loop") that is approximately 40 miles. You first ride out on the stick, then circle the loop twice, and then ride back on the stick.
As I started out on the "stick," I was pleasantly surprised to see my friends Jillian and Andrea within the first three miles out cheering along the road. This helped give me a mental boost as I started on my way. Within the first half hour I saw two cyclists along the side of the road fixing flat tires and felt immediate sadness for them. Additionally, I saw an ambulance go screaming by me! These occurrences freaked me out and were good reminders to me not to take anything too recklessly or beyond my training and ability!
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| Climbing up one of the tough hills |
Early on during the bike, my stomach started acting up. It was nothing horrid (compared to some of the GI issues I've battled in the past!) or race-ending, but unpleasant all the same. I knew it was very important to stick to the race nutrition plan that my coach had helped me with and that I had been practicing during long training rides, but the significant discomfort I was feeling did prevent me from consuming as many calories as I am sure that I needed.
I did make sure to drink plenty of water and took a salt pill about every hour or so. When I started out on the bike, I ate a Bonk Breaker bar (220 calories) and I took banana pieces at most aid stations (held in the outstretched hands of brave volunteers for cyclists to simply snatch as they rode past). For my entire time on the 112 course, I consumed just under 1000 calories when I should've probably consumed more like 2000.
When I was around mile 40, working on completing my first go-around of the "loop" portion of the "lollipop" I was confused to hear someone to my left yelling at me about a red card. I turned to look to my left and saw a man on a motorcycle holding up a small rectangular red card and telling me I had received a red card and therefore must report to the next penalty box on the course. Turns out he was giving me a drafting penalty. I gave him a confused, "what?" His response was to YELL at me and tell me that I was following too closely behind the cyclist in front of me and that there needed to be four bike lengths between us. I wanted to retort with something nasty, but thought better of it...no use in getting kicked out of my big race!!
This soured my mood for the next 15 miles or so. I. Was. Ticked. First of all, I felt that the call was ridiculous. When the call was made, I was in a literal cluster of bikes. I wasn't the only one within "drafting" distance of other bikes. Plus, it occurred on an ascent. Some bikes were slowing down, others were speeding up. It was hard enough to keep track of what I was doing, much less worry about where the other bikes were in relation to me. I can assure you that I wasn't gaining any sort of aerodynamic advantage based on my position on the bike in relation to any of the bikes anywhere around me. Second of all, I was CLEARLY not in contention for any sort of age group award or any awards at all for that matter. Even if I was drafting slightly for a few seconds (which I wasn't), what's the big deal? Third, he was just mean! No need to yell and be nasty dude!
After this happened, I kept my eyes peeled for the next big yellow penalty tent. I was super paranoid that I would miss it and get kicked out of the race or something. Additionally, I was super paranoid about getting another red card and made sure to be nowhere near other bikers as much as I could control it!
I finally saw a yellow tent marked "PENALTY BOX" about 15 miles or so after I had received the penalty. I slowed my pace and rolled to a stop in front of the tent. As soon as I stopped, a volunteer hit "start" on a yellow stop watch in his hand. Another volunteer asked me for my name, race number and for the color of card that I had received. I gave them the requested information...and also informed them that I thought it was a stupid call and that I didn't feel I deserved the penalty. They shrugged (not that I expected any other sort of response, I guess :)). They told me that I would be allowed to continue on my way after 4 minutes. During my wait, they took a big fat Sharpie and marked a slash through the race numbers on my bike and on my helmet. I felt like I was wearing a scarlet letter or something! Soon, a second poor soul stopped for his punishment. I sulked for a few minutes and then realized that I should've been using the time to re-hydrate and force down some nutrition. I drank some water and part of another Bonk Breaker bar and was soon told that I could go on my way.
One of my favorite parts of being stuck in the penalty box is the fact that my good friend Dan passed by as I was waiting. He looked at me incredulously and asked what I was doing. I informed him with a frown that I was a "bayad girl," to which he smirked and continued on his way.
As I rolled out of the penalty box, my mood was poor at best. I had held onto a 16-17mph average pace until that point (I had a 16 mph goal for myself for the ride), but the 4 minutes of not moving did nothing but hurt my average speed. As luck would have it after just a few miles as I rode through a quiet neighborhood in Verona, I heard a girl to my left screaming my name. It was my good friend Rosalee! She was in a backyard, along with her husband Bob and their sweet 1-year-old Lincoln! Naturally I didn't stop or visit or anything like that, but just seeing them and hearing their cheering voices helped immediately pick up my mood. I COULD carry on...thanks to the Lentz family! I smiled, picked up my pace, and pressed onward.
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| Riding through the scenic Wisconsin farmland |
Slightly past the halfway point of the bike course was the bike Special Needs stop. Here a large group of volunteers stood with the neatly organized special needs bags each participant had the opportunity to drop off the morning of the race. In my special needs bag, I had placed some extra nutrition items (including
pink lemonade Honey Stinger chews), chap stick, bandaids, chamois cream and salty plain potato chips...my favorite frequent during-long-ride craving. I made the choice to stop to eat my chips, use the porta potty and re-apply the chamois cream. I had dealt with some pretty nasty chafing throughout the training season. While I felt "ok" and not as if chafing was imminent, I wanted to be proactive on race day and made sure to apply ample chamois cream at all opportunities! When I stopped, I lamented the fact that I had JUST stopped less than 15 minutes prior (at the darned penalty box)...but knew that some salt, chamois cream and a bathroom stop trumped saving a few minutes at this point in the race for me.
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| All smiles :)...having a little bit of fun. Pretty sure I didn't look this cheerful through all of the bike course though! |
After the special needs stop, I hopped back on my bike and set off, ready to start the second go-around of the loop of the lovely lollipop. My second time around was definitely more challenging: I was starting to get a bit tired and I know my average speed continued to decrease. I did my best to keep my head up (and my heart strong!). The spectators definitely helped my morale! Not only was it encouraging to see members of my personal entourage (including my parents, sister, brother in law, niece, the Tegeler family, the Lentz family, Jillian and Andrea, Jill and Brooke) but it was also awesome to see my good friend Kelly along with other friends and fellow members of the Tri Sharks...as well as a surprise sighting of my friend from undergrad, Rachel, cheering out along the bike course!
It was great seeing my family at a number of places out on the course. My sister, Megan, did an excellent job of coordinating my "fan club" and at providing advice to people regarding where to go and when. Later I was also informed that my cousin Matt did a stellar job of navigating and getting the group around to places on the course! THANKS to all of you! One of the best moments of seeing my family out on the bike course involved hearing my mom yelling, "DON'T QUIT!" This instantly brought a big smile to my face.
Additionally, the many enthusiastic strangers along the course provided welcome distraction as well. One area in particular, Old Sauk Pass where there is a series of long and challenging ascents, had incredible crowd support. Crazy fans in costumes (including a number of Satan-clad spectators informing cyclists "You're in HELL!"), with cowbells and other noisemakers and with colorful posters all provided entertainment. At one point, a fairy smacked me in the butt with a sparkly wand as I fought my way up a hill. During my second pass through Old Sauk Pass, a loud and steady almost tribal-sounding drum beat helped me find a steady internal rhythm to grind my way up the hill.
None too soon, I completed the second loop and made my way back along the "stick" toward Monona Terrace to complete the bike leg of the race. Riding along Lake Monona on a trail parallel to John Nolan Drive, I stared out at the lake reminiscing on the 2.4 mile swim that I had already completed hours before. I realized I was about to complete my second first-time feat of the day: riding my bike 112 miles! Not only had I never swam 2.4 miles prior to IM Wisconsin, but the longest bike ride I'd completed until that point was 104 miles. It was a pretty great feeling to have these two accomplishments behind me as I rode up the helix at Monona Terrace to my second and final transition.
I hopped off my bike and thrust it into the hands of a waiting volunteer. I wanted to say, "Keep it forever! I never want to see it again!" but refrained. I hurried inside to the second transition area where volunteers were waiting, happy to help us sweaty and tired athletes change into our running shoes, etc.!
Bike time: 7:26:41, which is an average of 15.04 mph for the 112 mile course
T2: 6:43...five minutes faster than my first transition, transitioning from the bike to run is a bit less complicated than transitioning from the swim to the bike! I kept my same tri kit on, though I considered changing my shorts. I ate another fruit puree, drank some water, re-applied chamois cream, changed my shoes and was on my way!
The Run:
I remember vividly that my legs felt pretty odd as I began running. The sensation was a bizarre combination of heavy and jello-y. Thankfully, they did loosen up after a few minutes of running. In spite of my fatigue and minor generalized pain, I was excited to be starting on the run as it is the event that I am the most comfortable with out of the three.
I was able to spot fellow Epic athletes Steve, David and Dan all twice during the run. The course was an out and back course with a few extra small loops that is completed twice. This is a bit of cruel torture as runners are forced to pass by the finish line after one half-marathon-distance loop and then must continue on for a second loop. As I passed the finish line my first time around I had to actually listen to the crowd cheering as finishers were announced. Sigh. My consolation prize was a quick stop at the area with the run special needs bags that was not far past the turnaround. I didn't take much at this stop...just a few potato chips...and continued on my way.
I was able to see my friend Sarah with her three sweet kiddos twice as they cheered in the downtown area by the capital. In addition, my friends Jill and Brooke camped out nearby the same area. Brooke took off running with me so we could chat for a few blocks on two different occasions as I passed them....definitely a fun distraction.
I also saw my family in a few places along the run course. Most notably, I saw my dad and sister somewhere after the halfway point and witnessed my dad chasing me down so he could take a picture with his phone. I actually did stop and humored him with a smile so he could snap the photo :). Later, Megan told me she was glad I slowed and stopped so that my dad didn't have a heart attack. Ha!
My sister informed me that she would see me again at mile 19, and I clung to those words for the next ~5 miles. I ran (slowly!) most of the way, but allowed myself to walk through the aid stations as the fatigue was setting in with a vengeance. It started getting darker, which was a bit of a mood killer.
Unfortunately, my gastrointestinal system was not kind to me throughout my big race. I mentioned having stomach unrest on the bike, and it got increasingly worse during the run. I had to visit ~5 porta potties during the run. Ugh. Thankfully my "issues" weren't super horrible, but things were unpleasant to say the least. Later, when I checked out my Garmin data for the race I noted that 11+ minutes of my run were "not moving" read: on the porta potty. Sick! Eh, I guess it's the name of the game for endurance athletes at one time or another.
I saw one bright yellow sign that made me smile along my running journey: "Go, Random Stranger, Go!" In May I met my own "random stranger," JB, at the
River City Marathon in Peoria. Since that race, we've become more than simply "random strangers" and are now good friends...but still continue to call one another "Random Stranger." Seeing this sign was almost as if it were a message from her, and it made me smile. Thanks, Jen! You have now gotten me through TWO races!! :)
As I approached the noisy State Street area and mile 19, I heard Megan yelling and saw her running toward me. She ended up running the next mile and a half with me...a very welcome distraction. I'm pretty sure this is frowned upon by race officials...but I was beyond caring at that point. Plus, it was dark...so it was probably pretty hard to tell that she didn't have a race number or chip on.
During our run together, I told her the story about my red card from the bike. A man behind us spoke up, "sorry to eavesdrop, but do you have a green road bike?" I told him that I indeed do and he replied, "I was right behind you when you got that red card! I thought it was total BS! It was impossible to not be close to people at that point!" He went on to say, "I definitely made sure to back way off of everyone around me after I saw that! I didn't want to get a red card myself!" We chatted a bit more about the asinine call and I felt validated that an un-related person offered up his unbiased opinion that I had indeed done nothing wrong (at least not intentionally!). As if it really matters ;).
Around mile 20.5 Megan turned around to run back to where our father was waiting for her around mile 19 and told me she'd see me in about an hour at the finish! I remember telling her, "Hopefully less than that!" Well...I had to FIGHT through those next 5.7 miles at a run/walk/shuffle and I am sure it was actually MORE than an hour :).
My Finish:
As I ran into the downtown Madison area, the crowd of spectators became larger and louder. I increased my speed a bit out of sheer excitement. As I neared the finish, I tried to drink in all of the sights and sounds so that I would never forget them. I rounded the last turn and ran down to the finish line as I heard the words, "Rachel Matyasse from Normal, IL....you are an Ironman!" To my left I saw fellow Epic athlete Steve cheering and to my right I saw my good friends Jill and Brooke. I crossed the finish line in 14:35:18. Having estimated a finish time of 14-16 hours for myself, I was pleased and proud of this finish time!
Run time: 5:07:34 (the SLOWEST of my now nine marathons :)).
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| High fives |
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| Strong finish! This felt unreal :). |
As soon as I crossed, two volunteers ran up to me and one grabbed each arm. They brought me two cartons of chocolate milk and opened one for me...it tasted like heaven. One asked if I would like a blanket (one of the shiny metal blankets handed out after many races) and I remember saying, "I don't really know!" She took this as a yes and grabbed one for me, I was glad that she did! I didn't realize how cold I was until I stopped moving. Another volunteer put my medal around my neck and I was guided to the area where the finishers' photos were shot. After a few seconds of waiting, my picture was snapped.
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| Rachel Matyasse, You are an Ironman! |
I remember everything seeming very loud and my stomach feeling awful and my head hurting a bit. I saw my friends Brooke and Jill to my right and exited the finish area to go chat with them. I sat with them and ate some grapes and salty potato chips (MMMMM) and then my family (dad, mom and sister) found me. After a while I decided I needed to lay down to put pressure on my stomach...it was feeling really upset. Additionally, I remember really wanting to block out some of the very loud noises.
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| This felt GREAT! My dad snapped this photo |
While I rested in my half-passed-out state, my sister went to a local candy shop that was still open and bought me some salted caramel fudge. Upon her return I ate a big chunk...YUM!
Fun with Numbers:
My finish was 76th out of 105 in my division (30-34 year old females...interestingly I increased my standing in my division from 86th after the swim to 84th after the bike to 76th after the run!), 385th out of 637 females and 1781 out of 2544 overall participants. One set of numbers that astounds me is the comparison of total number of males (1907) to females (637). There were three times as many men in this event as women. Crazy! Kinda makes me me feel a bit more hard-core :).
This experience was truly one of the best of my entire life. I am so thankful for having had the opportunity to train for and complete the 2013 Ironman Wisconsin. I learned that I am capable of far more than I dreamed possible at the beginning of this journey. I am grateful for the support of my family and friends who have stood by me as I worked toward this lofty goal. I know most didn't really understand what I was doing, or why, but still stood by me and it means a lot. I have an incredible support system.
Thanks to my talented, patient and skilled coach
Laura who provided advice and stellar training plans. Thanks to all of the athletes and friends in my area who swam, biked and ran with me over the past year, as well as offered advice. One of the great things about triathletes is that most never tire of talking about the sport! I was always able to find someone who wanted to talk about whatever I was curious about....for example, a simple timid question about my ill-fitting bike saddle sparked a Facebook conversation among a wide variety of women that lasted for days and resulted in me finding a saddle that worked MUCH better for me on my long rides than what I had been previously suffering with. The triathlon community is fun, supportive...and hilarious...and I am honored to be a part of it!
Now that Ironman Wisconsin is behind me...what's next??
Well...I'm participating in the 2013 NYC Marathon in just 48 days! I am jumping back on the running wagon tomorrow with an easy 4-mile run to see what kind of condition my body is in (I'd taken the past week off of training, aside from a hot power yoga session on Thursday and tonight!). I'm also going to be hitting my fundraising efforts hard over the next month! Check out
my story to learn more about Easter Seals, an organization that serves children with special needs, and why I'm excited to run with Team Believe to help raise funds for these children and their families.
After that? I'm currently undecided :). Over the next few weeks I hope to give serious thought to next summer's race calendar and start to formulate a plan. For certain, 2014 will involve a 70.3 (or two) and a marathon...preferably a marathon in a new-to-me state so I can add to my list of states (that currently includes Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Virginia, California, Washington DC, Wisconsin and will soon include New York!).
If you actually made it this far...I'm impressed! Thanks for reading...and thanks for your support! It truly means a lot. Diana Nyad commented after her record-breaking swim a few weeks ago that hers is not a solitary sport. The same is true of triathlon. From the outside looking in, it may appear to be...but in reality behind each athlete is a team of supporters without whom their accomplishments would not be possible. I am eternally grateful for mine, including both people mentioned in this post and those not specifically mentioned as there are really too many to name.
In closing...if you have aspirations of chasing a lofty dream: Go for it! I truly believe that if I could chase and accomplish mine, so can anyone!
Happy training (and dreaming!)
