I had been really looking forward to racing the Rev3 Half Ironman in South Carolina! And equally excited to see-and meet Trakkers teammates. My teammate Kiersten was flying to Atlanta and we would make the easy drive to Anderson together Friday afternoon.

My recovery from Ironman Louisville went very well. I bounced back quickly and was able to get in a solid block of training, and was really feeling better than before IMKY. My biggest obstacle-as always-allergies. For that reason (since they suck all of my energy), for the past month I did ALL of my cycling inside. It was more important to get strong workouts than enjoy the sunny weather. I was still feeling the negative effects of the beautiful ragweed running, but hoped it wouldn’t do too much damage. As race week approached though, the allergies worsened.

Then, another big stress hit. My husband’s mother, who had been ill, became gravely ill a week prior to the race and we learned she would not get better. Needless to say it was not the best week, and my focus was not on racing. Cris insisted I still go to SC with Kiersten, as he planned his trip to New Mexico.

Kiersten arrived Friday morning and we hung out at my house for a few hours before hitting the road. During the drive she began to experience the true joy of the south as she began to experience an allergic reaction and a rash appeared. We eliminated all the possibilities and deduced it was the south-or me-one or the other.

We headed straight to the race site and registered, saw some teammates and went to the hotel. Kiersten began her inhalation of Benadryl that evening.

Saturday, as I went about my pre race routine, Kiersten took my car to urgent care and got a steroid shot which helped reduce some itching. I tried to stay inside as much as possible, though not as much as I would have liked, to avoid that great air myself.

My goal on Sunday was to do the best I could. I was not as rested as I would have liked and certainly the emotional stress was high. It really helped being around my teammates, and I was looking forward to this new course.

From the get go, my swim felt horrible-probably the worst I have had. And it was one of the most beat up swims I recall. Seriously-I would have gone faster doing sidestroke! Zero energy, flat, no fun. To make matters worse, when I got to my bike I could not get my wetsuit off! It should be easier to get off than on! All I thought was “at GFT there will be wetsuit strippers thank goodness”.

I was thankful to be on my bike, and the ride started well. I was passing tons of people-one of the bonuses of having a crappy swim. It was VERY windy, and a hillier route than I expected, but I like the hills. As the ride went on, the good old allergies came alive-ears and head swollen, throat sore, grew weaker. And, it was quite hard to breathe. No escaping this. The bike slowly became quite unenjoyable. I wanted to be done, I wanted to be home, I wanted to be inside. My head was not in the game. The ride got harder and slower. I was doing a lot of self talk and it was all negative-having debates with myself about continuing. It was certainly not one of my finest moments. But I ended with YOU ARE NOT QUITTING!!

The ride finally came to an end, and I talked myself into running and just seeing how I felt. For the 1^st mile my legs felt so-so, but I heard SO many people cheering for me that it gave me a mental boost (Thank all of you!!). I made a pit stop after mile 1-it was more mental than physical I believe; when I started running again my body had loosened up. As the run continued I felt better and I wanted to pick up the pace, but each time I tried I would get dizzy-a result of the inflammation in my head/ears. So, I just cruised along. The miles ticked away much faster than they did on the bike, and though it was one of my worst race performances, I finished and that was the goal.

When I crossed the line I continued to have some trouble breathing and a few dizzy moments, but they subsided. Kiersten and I walked over to get my bike out of T2. Low and behold, I discovered my rear tire was COMPELTELY flat!! Wow-it wasn’t just me sucking that made my ride so slow I thought! I had a slow leak!! (As ML said when I told him about it, “the gift that keeps on giving”). The tire/tube was fine before the race-who knows, but this discovery actually made me feel a little better….as if the hills and the wind weren’t enough, I had the added joy of racing on a flattened tire. Always an adventure!

Kiersten and I said our good byes and headed back to Atlanta. Sadly, Cris’ Mom passed away 2 days later (Tuesday), but she’s at peace and pain free. I will be honest, that it is difficult to get my head focused on racing an Ironman in 9 days (from the time I write this), but I am sticking with my goal, and focusing on the things I can control. My recovery from SC is moving along and am ready for a “race prep” weekend.

I want to say a HUGE Thank You to Rev3 for always putting on the BEST races!! Thank you to my second family, my Trakkers teammates-there is no one else I would have wanted to be around during this stressful time than all of you and I am grateful for your support. Thanks to Kestrel, Recovery Pump, First Endurance, TriSwim, All3 Sports, Tyr and Synergy Release Sports for your amazing support and products that keep healthy and moving!

Let’s go race Ironman #9!

Thanks for reading

Categories: Triathlons