Vineman 2011 Race Report

After a long 9+ months of training it’s finally race week. I was fortunate to be able to take the week off of work and try to relax and get everything ready. It’s fire season and anything can happen with my job so I was glad I made that decision. There’s a lot to get ready, numerous lists to check not once but many times. I go for walks with Louie to clear my mind and not be consumed by what’s coming up. I keep my diet simple but make sure I’m taking in enough calories. I’m sleeping pretty good throughout the week and am grateful for that. The usual questions are asked – “Are you ready? How long do you think it will take?” I answer back – “If I’m not ready now, then I never will be” and “I have 16 hours to finish.” This is a note I posted on Facebook on Thursday, July 28th:

Ready or not….Ready!

Race day is in less than 48 hours, yes it's down to hours and surprisingly I'm not feeling stressed. The stress may hit later but for now I'm getting everything ready and feeling calm, excited but no stress. I've been training for over 9 months, trying out my nutrition plan and different gear and have that down, I know the course and I'm ready. I'm ready for whatever the day brings and of course hoping for everything to go as smooth as possible. I'm ready to face my demons that like to show up during the swim and hoping they stay in bed. I'm ready to ride my bike longer than I ever have and hoping for no flats, no mishaps. I'm ready for a very long day and to be running on the course after dark and hoping that I come in before the sun sets - one can always hope, right? I'm ready to embrace it all and hoping to have more fun than I do pain.  I'm ready to honor and remember those that have battled and continue to fight the C-Monster and hoping that in my lifetime there will be a cure. I'm ready to give it my all, to endure and get past the hurdles and go the distance. I'm ready to be an Ironwoman!

It’s the day before the race and so much to do. I make the decision to not swim with the team. Driving from Napa to Guerneville and back to Santa Rosa would be too much and I was doing pretty good keeping the stress level down. My plan was to do what I can to keep it that way. Tim has taken some time off from work to be with me from start to finish. I can't say it enough, he is my #1 fan, my best friend, my rock and this journey would have been so much harder without him by my side. We get to the hotel and check in early. I sure have a lot of stuff! We make our way to the Inspiration Lunch and meet up with the team. It feels like everyone is trying to relax as much as possible – hard to tell what’s going on behind the smiles. I know I’m starting to feel like there is still so much to do. Lunch is over, we get some instructions from Coach Mike about packet pick-up, setting up transition and where to meet for the short bike ride later. Tim, my driver, sherpa, best friend and my rock, drives us to Windsor High along with hundreds of other athletes and parking is limited. Good thing we had the Mini – can always find parking with her! We have some time before the next mandatory athlete meeting starts so we walk around to get oriented with the finish line set up. We walk through the expo and I feel too overwhelmed to buy anything. Shocking! I can always find something to buy. I’m ready to go stand in line for the mandatory athletes meeting. We get a spot in the front of the line and are joined by some of my team mates. Everyone is excited and I can feel the energy. The meeting does have some useful information but I get the feeling the crowd just wants to get going. I try to pay attention as best I could. Once the meeting is over we all rush to the exit to get a stamp as proof we attended. Then it’s off to stand in line to show my ID and USAT card, get inside and another line to pick up my packet, another line to get my special needs bag and one last line to be weighed. “Why do we need to be weighed?” I ask. “In case you end up in the med tent” I’m told. I don’t want to know anymore so I don’t pursue this. After I get my timing chip checked I can go set up my transition. I’ll start by saying apparently I wasn’t paying attention to everything people were telling me or reading all the signs. So that being said, I spot Joel’s fish flag that he has tied next to his transition and think, this is a good place. I get all set up, check it a few times then go and find my husband. Before we head to the car I get this feeling I should go check it one more time. Good thing! When I go back I see Joel and tell him I’m set up near him. He looks at me and asks, ”Are you set up in the woman’s section?” Huh?! Ok, time to find another spot. I get set up for the second time and feel confident that this time I’m good to go. My family is coming into town and I have plans to meet them so we head up to Healdsburg. I regret that I won’t be spending time with the team later on but there is only so much I can do and I can’t stress about it. We have an early dinner with the family and head back to the hotel. Back at the hotel I work on getting everything set up and packed for the swim and bike. I get my water bottles ready and put them in the fridge and hope I don’t forget them in the morning. Ok, time to try and sleep.

It’s race morning and after about 6 hours of a restful nights sleep I wake up at 4:00 am and quietly crawl out of bed while Tim sleeps a little longer. I go into the hotel bathroom where I have my race attire ready, look in the mirror and say to myself – “This is it.” All week I wasn’t feeling the usual stress I have before an event and that morning I still felt pretty calm. My goal for the day was to conquer the swim which has been my biggest challenge, make all the cutoffs, to finish within 16 hours and to have fun. Smile and have fun! I make some coffee, prepare my breakfast and double check that I have everything while Tim showers and gets himself ready. As a spectator, it’s going to be a long day for him too. We both go through everything and check again. He’s been in the support role enough times and is so helpful making sure I/we have everything. Ok, it’s go time! When we open the hotel room door there is an envelope with cards inside from the coaches and captains. I take them with me to read on the way.

We load up the car and head to Guerneville. The cards from my coaches and captains touch my heart and make me smile – and almost cry. Coach Phil tells me to “Remember to smile throughout the day. It will make for a better day.” That’s my plan! There’s a bit of traffic and we finally make it to the parking lot. Tim parks the car, we gather all my gear (so much more than what I’ve needed for a marathon) and walk to Johnson’s Beach. On the way one of my team mates, Aki, drives by and gives a shout out. Wow, this is really happening!  We drop off my special needs bag and make it to the beach. I see one of my Tri More team mates Kathleen. She is having an emotional moment and I give her a big hug and tell her she is going to do just fine. Kathleen is another source of inspiration for me. In addition to all the challenges we face with training and preparing to complete an Ironman, Kathleen has Type 1 diabetes. Today she will complete the full Aqua Bike as part of her training for Ironman Wisconsin on 9/11 with Team WILD (We Inspire Life with Diabetes). Go Kathleen! There were so many people I knew and I was using up time stopping and talking with them. I need to set up my transition and when I get to my assigned row there aren’t too many spaces left. One of the other athletes is nice enough to move her bike over to make room for mine. I thank her - a random act of kindness to set the mood for the day. I see Julie and other people I know and again more hugs and chatting. I hear the announcer say that those in my age group need to make it down to the water.  What?! I look at my watch, I have 15 minutes before my wave, I don’t have my wetsuit on yet and I still need to use the porta potty. Ok, now comes the stress! I manage to get down to the beach and Tim and our friend Janet start to take pictures. I hand my things to Tim, tell them “Not now, I need to use the bathroom!” and hoof it to the porta potty. I make it back and get all suited up with 5 minutes to spare. Ok, breathe…. I see Elise and there’s time for a quick hug, good luck, and Kodak moment. Now it’s time for me to get moving towards the water.                  

                                                   

Knowing my history of letting panic overwhelm me in the beginning of the swim I head right into the water and swim out to the start. I wasn’t going to give self doubt a chance to take over. I position myself towards the back but not all the way. The horn goes off and I tell myself, just swim to the bridge and you can take a break if you need it. The first bridge is where the water gets shallow and you can stand. I make it to the bridge, take a quick break and keep swimming. I continue to give myself short goals – just swim to the house with the flag, to the turn around, to the next dock and before I know it I’m on my second loop. I purposely do not face the shore because I don’t want to see the finish knowing I still have 1.2 miles to go. I’ve read that the swim portion of a triathlon can be a contact sport, but seriously?! With the exception of the overly aggressive swimmers who felt the need to swim over the top of me and were beginning to piss me off, I was enjoying the swim. There are times I do stop and walk but I end up swimming further than I ever have. I truly believe I had someone helping me along, keeping me company. All week, that morning and during the swim I thought of one of my honorees, Hank Brock. Hank knew how important this was to me and he encouraged me. He believed I could do this and after awhile so did I. There was no panic, I had fun in the water and I came out with a smile on my face. When I spot Coach Sedonia I think there was some fist pumping and a few shouts of “Yeah!” I did it, I conquered the swim!!

Ok, time to transition into my bike gear.  One of the volunteers helps me out of my wetsuit and I run to my bike. At least I think I ran. I do find out later I took a really long time (14+ min) in transition but I wanted to make sure I took care of everything as I have 112 miles to ride. I’ll practice on shortening my times on the next one. I’m finally ready and say “Let’s go for a ride Hank”. I head out of transition with my bag of gear to hand off to Tim. I see Coach Lorraine and she walks beside me and offers to take my bag and give it to him. One of the many times throughout the day when I will be overwhelmed by the support I had out there. It’s hard not to smile as I spot Tim, my friends, coaches and captains and they are cheering me on. Wow! I’m doing an Ironman!!

I walk my bike up the short steep hill, get to the top and clip in – time to ride. I’ve trained on the course many times and know the route, I knew I wasn’t getting lost.  The weather is perfect, nice and cool and no triple digits predicted. We got lucky! As I ride down

River Road

I see a CAL FIRE engine parked across the street. I shout out “Go CAL FIRE” and they respond back with “Go IronTeam!” Ok, I’m having fun! We are riding through the back roads and everything looks so beautiful! I had finally done some calculations the day before and estimated the average speed I needed to ride to meet the cut-off and to not overdo it so I could complete the marathon. It also gave my family an estimate of where I would be at a certain point. I stop at the first aid station to use the porta potty and see Kathleen. She is doing great now and I give her a hug and remind her that I knew she would. I start getting excited around mile 18 knowing I will be seeing my sisters and the rest of my family soon. They rented a house on

Dry Creek Road

and that was the staging area for friends and family as I passed by twice. At about mile 25 I spot my niece’s husband Stan up ahead and give him a thumbs up. He shouts across to the rest of them “Here she comes!” They are holding up signs which I can’t read, ringing a cowbell and cheering me on. Seeing them makes me smile and then cry – ok, just keep riding. As Coach Neil Fraser says “You can cry while you ride.”

           

                                                                                                                                                              

The course has it’s challenges but I have trained on harder roads leading up to this. I can do this. I make it to Chalk Hill at about mile 44. As I continue the steep climb I hear honoree Laura’s cow bell. She said she would be about ¾ of the way up and the sound of that bell was one of the sweetest sounds I’d heard in a long time. I pass Laura, thank her for being there and continue to climb. There’s Coach Lorraine and I’m almost to the top. I crest the hill start the descent and tell Chalk Hill to kiss my a…..As I make my way through the airport area I see one of my RWC Marathon team mates, Jill, and her cheers keep me smiling. I turn on to Shiloh and some guy standing at the corner yells out “That’s her!” Mark and Beth, my dear friends of almost 30 years managed to find me. Beth can always make me laugh and that moment was no exception. I laugh as she jumps up and down, yelling “That’s her, that’s her” and “You can do this woman!” I make it to Windsor High and for just a moment I think – oh great, I have to do that again. Oh well, just keep riding. As I turn the corner at Reiman and Starr I see my IronTeam mates. I don’t know if I said anything but I did give them a smile and a sign to say I’m doing ok. A couple miles up and I stop at special needs as I had planned. I eat half my peanut butter and jelly sandwich, look through my bag and grab a few things for the road. I regret leaving my bag, there is some good stuff in there! I some how missed the memo I could hand it off to one of the coaches from the LA IronTeam. Oh well, I give Coach Kristie one of my extra chamois butters, and let another girl use the sunscreen and tell the volunteer to take out the good stuff before they toss it. It’s time to ride.  With the exception of being a bit uncomfortable in the saddle I’m doing pretty good. Somewhere on

Westside Road

I spot Mark and Beth again. More laughs and smiles as I keep riding. As I ride up to the house on Dry Creek I see my brother-in-law Brian. I look across the street and the crowd has gotten bigger. They were the best cheering section ever!

                                                                                                                                                                                                           

Before I make the turn onto Hwy 128 off of Canyon I see a red truck parked along the road. When I hear some guy yell, “Go Alicia!” I realize it’s my good friend and honoree Tom. I see Tom one more time near Jimtown and his cheers send me on my way to Chalk Hill. Oh yeah, one more climb up Chalk Hill. I keep pedaling, thinking of Tom, Hank, and another friend and honoree, Mike, who lives in Washington and couldn’t be out on the course but told me he would be the wind at my back. I felt his presence pushing me along when I needed it. As I start climbing “the” hill I start listening for the sound of the cow bell. Oh yeah there it is and I tell Laura how much I love that cow bell. Coach Lorraine is still near the top and I tell her I’m doing ok” and head back to Windsor High. As I did the math I calculated how much time I would need to complete the run. I was hoping to get back by 4:00 but would have to settle for around 4:30.

Another long transition, but again I knew I would be on my feet for a long time and wanted to be as comfortable as possible. I’m glad I decided to freeze my drink for the run and put it in a small cooler. I take the time to rub some Body Glide on my feet and along my upper arms, apply some sunscreen, quick stop at the porta potty and away I go.  I wanted something to eat so I stopped at my special needs bag. Hmm, a Nutter Butter sounds good. I grab 2 and pop one in my mouth. Oh yuck! Immediately I realize that was a bad idea. I barely get one down and toss the other one away. Ok, I’ll stick to liquids for now. As I turn the corner I see Tim and our friends Janet, Chandra and Tom who will be there to the finish.

 My running plan was to run for 5 min then walk for 1 min. My legs laughed at that plan and seemed to say “We can walk and that’s about it”.  So I power walk for awhile. Eventually I am able to run the down hills and some flats. The course is lined with my IronTeam peeps, other people I know and I see my team mates at various points. I’m having fun high fiving and smiling at everyone. When I make it back after one loop with 2 more to go I do the math. It has taken me about 2 hours and if I kept that pace up I was going to make the cutoff with a little bit to spare. It’s going to be the slowest marathon I’ve ever done but I’m ok with that. At this point I know I am going to finish even with my fast walk. Another reason to smile! I see another RWC Marathon team mate, Carla, and her cheers kep my spirits high. I pass by Tim and our friends and tell them “There’s good news and bad news. The good news is I’m going to finish and the bad news is it’s going to take me longer than I thought.”

Off I go with my fast walk and slow run but it’s forward motion. When I see my team mates who are further ahead and closer to finishing I’m excited for them and a little jealous. But then I tell myself it’s ok, my race my pace and enjoy the journey. My legs continue to feel tight and heavy but thankfully no issues with my knee. I’ve had IT Band issues and pain in the past and was a little concerned but so far so good.  When I start my last loop I get my long sleeve shirt and my headlamp from Tim. The sun will be going down and it’s going to get dark out on the course. It’s a quick sunset and it’s really dark and lonely out there. Except for the aid stations everyone else who was out there cheering has packed up. I stick to mostly walking because there’s not enough light to run and the last thing I want at this point is to stumble and fall. I pass the last aid station and they offer me some Gatorade and water. I thank them and say “Unless you have a burger and a beer, I’m good”. It’s been a very long day and I’m really hungry. As I get closer to the finish and the streetlights I turn my headlamp off as I don’t need it anymore. I know I have just enough left in my legs to sprint down the finish chute so I continue walking and save what I have. As I round the corner I start to run. It’s all mostly a blur. I hear the announcer say my name, I see my sister Yolanda, I’m high fiving people (I don’t know who) on the side and then I cross the finish line. I ended up crossing and grabbing the finish line ribbon the same time as another guy and in hindsight I could have waited just a bit so we both could have had our own moment. But like I said, things became a blur and I wasn’t thinking about anything but finishing. Someone put the medal around my neck, I spot Tim, my family and friends and then slowly the picture becomes a little less blurry and I start to see my IronTeam peeps.  It’s time for hugs, congratulations, pictures, more hugs. Wow, did that just happen?! Yes it did and I am an Ironwoman!

When asked how my day/race went I have to say I had the most amazing day. I was lucky and couldn’t have asked for a better day. I read my Facebook note again and I had the kind of day I was hoping for. The moments when I start to think, maybe if…I didn’t take so long in transition, didn’t stop as many times on the bike, tried to run more than walk, etc., etc., I stop and tell myself “Don’t go there.” I had a smile on my face the entire day and I had fun. I can think ahead to the next one and how I can train harder to be faster but this one was everything I wanted it to be.

This has been an awesome journey and I am grateful for the training and help from all my coaches, captains, mentors, team mates and support staff. The friendships that were made will be with me forever. I couldn’t have completed this without the support of my wonderful husband Tim. He knew how important this was to me and was always there with whatever I needed. Family and friends understood my commitment and why I/we had to miss many gatherings because of training and I thank them for that and for sharing in the journey. I am so thankful for everyone who supported me with moral and financial support. Yes, I am the one who completed the event but I did not do it alone. And to all the honorees – you will continue to inspire me. I do this for you.