After handing off my bike I felt a huge sense of relief. Time was not the issue. I didn't know what time it was or what time was on the clock. I was relieved because mechanicals could no longer slow Kenny nor I down. That was the biggest happy of the day.
I ran through T2 bags, Picked up my bag and yelled to Tony our friend and Transition Captain that Kenny had several on the bike. He had not seen Kenny come in so I was able to relay that he had which was nice. I snagged a high five (or maybe it was a hug) and then ran into the T2 "tent".
My first instinct was to yell, and I did. I think I gave all of the volunteers a wake up call and a giggle with my "WOOOOOO HOOOOOO". My next thought was "Whoa this tent is stupid empty". Seriously maybe 10 athletes in the entire room. More volunteers that you can imagine and it was quiet. That gave me a sudden jolt of "Oh my God, am I running behind?". At that point who knew (I didn't really care) because I had a mission.
My first decision was do I take off my arm coolers? After looking at my chafing again from the swim the quick decision was Hell No. Ginormous red rubbed raw areas the size of a baseball/softball were under each arm and I wasn't going to take the chance that it would slow me down. Pulled the arm coolers up higher, off went the helmet and bike shoes, on went the run shoes while my volunteer sprayed me down with my sunscreen (ouch the chafing) and then I grabbed two items: my number belt and visor connected together and a gallon size bag that said "Take me with you" and off I went.
On went the visor and number belt as soon as I started moving out of the room. First immediate stop was the port o potty for pee break number 4 (5?) of the race. Then a run out of T2 with my gallon bag. I think I stunned two volunteers sitting on a bench in T2 because they had no clue why I was running with a huge bag of items. In that bag? My fuel belt with flasks and a huge bag of lays potato chips. Why stay put when you can make forward progress while prepping for your marathon?
T2 Time- 6:03
Ironman Florida 2015 Run
My first immediate thought was "Find Laura's Family". I knew my friend Laura (from Fatgirl Ironman Journey) had a tent set up right outside of transition and I wanted to say hey and see how she was going. Got the thumbs up (while I was running) and I continued on.
At the start I was able to maybe get down 5 chips before I decided I didn't want to carry them any more. They were a super nice treat that I needed and enjoyed but next time I am packing a few less.
My goal for the run was a 4:30 run/0:30 walk strategy while taking in fluids (Infinit Go Far) every other interval, gel as needed (Rocktane in a flask watered down) and just keeping my head in the game. I felt comfortably challenged by my run walk strategy and knew it could be potentially difficult in the later miles but that I would commit to it whole heart. I also walked each aid station with the plan of Ice in the bra and shorts, water for drinking and cooling and just a second to catch my breath.
Serious Props to my friend Jason for snagging these photos of me while I was heading out of transition
You can't see my face but I just love these photos. You can see just how dirty my aero pads on my bike are though. Sheesh, I need to avoid white arm coolers in the future.
Lap 1 of the IMFL course is always a blast. there is enough light to see your friends and say hi. You are meeting new people. Hearing a ton of music which is a welcome change from the wind and car sounds while on the bike. I do keep a racing mindset while in an Ironman but it is also important to note that I am not racing for a podium spot nor any sort of speed. So while I am race oriented, I am also fun oriented. Anything that keeps me in the game and getting one foot in front of the other is what I am aiming for.
The first few miles went without too much hastle. Much like 2013, I could tell that my body was not tolerating Rocktane very well which was no surprise to me. I either need to train more with gel or abandon that in a effort to try something new. By 5 miles in I could tell gel was not going to do it for me so I stopped trying to force it in. No need to upset my body.
Infinit was working well. But again my mile 5, sloshy stomach had already set in and I was thinking of ways to troubleshoot while on the run. Aside from ditching the gel, I decided to adapt my run/walk strategy to walk a few additional steps when I was taking in liquid for digestion purposes. After one or two sets I could tell that helped immensely. Heading into the state park, I could hear Loud Loud awesome music and realized I was coming up on the BASE Performance aid station with salt. I remembered my coach telling us in our personal athlete meeting the day before "Try salt if you get an upset tummy." So I did.
HELLO ELECTROLYTE SALT!
Seriously my new best friend! Aside from the fact that everyone at that aid station was hella cool, they had the miracle pixie dust. I had tried salt in prior races long ago but this by far was superior to anything I had ever tried. As not to upset my system too much with something new on race day, I did two licks every 6 or so miles and It was amazing. Base saved my race. Seriously.
Past that aid station I did get to see Kenny. He was about a mile a head of me during lap one and I felt comfortable with that. Given all of his troubles on the bike, I knew he would pull ahead in the run but it is so nice to see him on the course. I know we may never race an Ironman together again so it was special to share the course together, even though we were technically apart.
Once I ditched gel and added salt, the remainder of the first lap was pretty uneventful. I saw plenty of Bazinga and Local Friends which rocked. Coming close to the end of my first lap all of a sudden I reazlied my coach was running next to me. I believe I interrupted her dinner at Mellow Mushroom and she played frogger with the traffic to come and see me. :)
Heading into Special needs, I saw some family and then I found my mom waiting for a photo. I immediately went a hugged her and said "OK I ran my half now you go run yours". (She is running her first half marathon in January.) We got a good laugh before I headed on. In special needs I ditched my gel flask, quickly switched out my fuel belt bottles and grabbed my second bag of chips. I already had my light attached to my belt so there was no need to grab a headlamp. I also at this point finally remembered to ditch the CO2 and spare tube I had in my back pocket from Bike Special Needs. Oops.
 |
| Kenny passing through special needs |
 |
| Coming into special needs |
The second loop gets a bit more tricky. It's pitch black. Some aid stations are dying down with less energy while others are getting more happy shall we say. :) You feel yourself pulling closer into a darkness between aid stations and it just feels a touch more lonely. Knowing that nutritionally, I was starting to fade I opted to switch my 4:30/0:30 strategy to 4:00/1:00 which worked beautifully for the second half.
I kept my light off as much as possible as I really didn't want to blind others but also just wasn't feeling like I needed it as much this year except in some areas that were ridiculously dark. Heading back into the start park I knew I should be seeing Kenny soon as, I expect him to be pulling away from me. I knew once I got within 0.50 mile of the turn around, I either missed him (bummer) or he was slowing. Shortly after with maybe 0.50-0.75 miles separating us I hear "If you can catch me I will run with you." Talk bout instant motivation. He was with fellow Trimarni Athlete Maggie which was super cool!
I did catch Kenny just after mile 20 coming out of the state park. He and Maggie had split by that point. Kenny and I stayed together on and off for about 3ish miles. I tried my hardest to motivate him but his feet were so raw and sore he was having a hard time running. Around mile 22 I made my final port o potty stop to see what was going on with my jacked up stomach. Kenny kept moving forward and I let him know I would catch up with him. Thankfully I found out it was only gas that was keeping my tummy flip flopping. Coming out of the Port o Potty I worried myself that I had gone the wrong way and was heading back out to the state park instead of toward the finish line. I hadn't caught Kenny and was just over thinking things. Finally I just asked another runner "We are heading to the finish line, right?" As soon as the words came out of my mouth, I found Kenny. LOL
After another few minutes of walking together, Kenny finally sent me on. I felt so horrible for not sticking with him but also knew he would not have said it if he didn't mean it. Before we parted ways, we made the deal that I would stick around in the finisher chute for him so that we could get a photo together.
From that point I picked up the pace significantly. On the Ironman Tracker I go from a 16:32 to 15:07 and then to 12:50. At mile 25 I found my coaches chatting on a dark road (No really I did) and they ran me in for about a mile. Fastest mile of my marathon but damn did it feel food. I was burning fuel in the tank like crazy but it did feel good to go fast that late in the race.
Making the move past special needs and to the finish chute is such a relief. No need for another lap. The finish line is a blur. Tons of people. Loudness everywhere. Tons of High Fives. Just some awesome, awesome feelings. I got to see my family members which was awesome. (Still need to remember to stop for more hugs!) The one thing I do remember? I had an awesome song to finish to this year: Party in the USA by Miley Cyrus. I am such a music person and this memory will stick with me because of that.
I happily waited in the finish chute for Kenny. He came in almost exactly 10 minutes after I did. It didnt feel nearly that long. Fellow TriMarni Athlete and just overall awesome Sherpa/Photographer snapped this photo just after I finished.
 |
| Yes, I am just typically that smiley after long races |
Finish Time- 15:08:05
Overall Division Rank- 61 (of 83)
Overall Gender Rank- 403
Overall Rank- 1751
Non Wetsuit Division Rank- 49 (of 65)
Non Wetsuit Gender Rank- 312 (of 456)
Non Wetsuit Overall Rank- 1278 (of 1513)
And that's all she wrote folks. The blogging certainly won't stop here as I feel I have so much more to write. However the next ironman adventures won't be until 2017 when I am planning on tackling Cozumel. Hopefully my Spanish will be superb by then that I can attend both the Spanish speaking and English speaking athlete meetings!
Here are some late additions to my photo collection from my friends Ryan and Laura's Husband, John!
 |
| Look at everyone's face |
 |
| I always bite my tongue when concentrating |
 |
| Look at all those bikes still in transition :) |
 |
| Seriously Smiley |
