Half Ironman 70.3
Maine August 26, 2018
It has been 3 weeks since my Maine Half Ironman Triathlon
(70.3 miles), still in awe that I finished and made the bike cutoff. Last year my Half Ironman (Tinman) was all
about finishing the course and there were no specific cutoffs that made me
stress out although it was one of my toughest races, was it tough because of
the rough waters, wind coming from all directions on the bike or was it tough
because I didn’t train as much as I should have for it.
Training for Maine
Half Ironman 70.3
Training began in late November of 2017, I had a goal to
race again in the NYC Triathlon and do another Half Ironman, although in
November I have yet to sign up for the Maine race I was still training for it.
I hit the pool several times a week, biked indoors on my trainer and completed
outdoor rides when weather allowed it and of course I continued running as I am
usually training for a race. As I was training I noticed how my swimming has
improved, my endurance on the swim improved and an hour or more didn’t seem so
grueling when I was swimming in the pool. As for training on the bike well it
was a love/hate relationship, I was able to bike and get the miles in but I
felt as if it was a struggle for me as far as speed. I was like the little
engine that could “I think I can, I think I can”, come race day my mindset
changed to “I know I can, I know I can”, although the weeks prior to Maine I
had my doubts on even doing the race because I didn’t want to face disappointment.
I had my team for encouragement, my friends that supported
me but still had my doubts. I would go on my Saturday rides and never made it
past the Market on 9w because I couldn’t keep up so I was left doing basic
route and hill repeats, this was very discouraging to me and I just became
frustrated. I did get the workouts in but I wasn’t having fun anymore, my
anxiety and stress got to me the last 2 months leading up to the race. When I
finished the NYC Triathlon in July, as soon as I crossed the finish line I said
I am not doing Maine, although I improved my time from 2 yrs. prior, the bike
wasn’t by much and the swim, half way through the swim I was feeling
constricted from the wetsuit. My teammate Cari convinced me to meet her for
open water swimming at least once a week and the practice in the suit helped a
lot. Although I was getting my swims and
my workouts in I still had my doubts on doing Maine, yes I paid for it and I
would have lost money but I think would have been crushed after 8 months of
training and not finishing. I had another teammate Jose S help me out on the
bike and believed in me more than I believed in myself. Coach Jose helped me out my last few rides also and said I can do it. My other teammate Daphnie who I haven't seen in a while was supportive breaking down my time on race and how I would do in each leg. A couple of weeks before Maine we had a 4 hour
time trial in Harriman State Park, 55 miles in the pouring rain, I finished in
4 hours and 15 minutes. I was disappointed then my coach said this course was
1000ft more elevation then Maine and the conditions were not ideal so then I
said maybe I can do this.
Everyone had their personal obstacles to overcome in this
race whether it was the swim, bike or run, we all had our challenges and anxiety
but at the end we persevered.
Race Week
Since I had my doubts on racing Maine, I didn’t put a lot of
thought how I would be able to go and afford it, I am unemployed and didn’t get
my unemployment check on time, so I had to scramble for money and had to
borrow, luckily the day I arrived in Maine I received my check. I arrived in
Maine with my teammate Marysol and her daughters, we checked in to the hotel and
then retrieved our bibs. We attended athlete briefing then went to check out
the beach and the buoys and swim course, boy did it look far.
Day Before Race Day
Went to swim start to practice with my teammates, a lot of
anxiety was happening. The waves pushed us around and the water was cold but
then after a few dips it felt ok. Coming back from the first buoy I was able to
get my rhythm. After the swim I went out for a quick 15 minute bike ride and
then a 15 min run with my teammate. Went
back to the hotel room organized my race day gear and nutrition, didn’t take a
picture of it which I usually do. I walked to the bike transition to set up my
bike and meet with the team for a blessing and words of wisdom from our coach
and other teammates. We then went out for a pasta dinner and back to the room
to relax. I was walking back to my room I noticed I didn’t have my helmet which
I wore when I took my bike to transition, I left my helmet at the restaurant
where we ate, had to walk a half a mile back to retrieve it and so glad they
had it.
Race Day
Swim
The day has come, 8 months of training blood, sweat and
tears and some laughs. Ok, may be a bit dramatic with blood, I did cut my ankle
with the ring of the bike trying not to fall. I get to bike transition, set up
my bike area close to one of my teammates Malibu, which I was happy to be close
to a familiar face. We set up our transition together since there was an empty
rack for a bike. The moon was still out, the mood was filled with focus,
anxiety, fears, nerves, excitement. I
get to the beach and see the most beautiful sunrise, we were able to go and do a warm
up swim and had a moment with Cari, my swim buddy aka my bad ass b*tch. The
athletes placed themselves in their predicted seeded time. I went way to the
back in the 50-55 minute range so I don’t get faster athletes swimming over me
or punching and kicking me. The swim was nice, water was clear and only bumped
into a few ppl, the turn was a bit harder I couldn’t really see the buoys, they
were further apart. The swim back to shore, I used the crowd for sighting
because again had a hard time seeing the buoys, need to get my eyes checked. I
finally finish the swim and looked at my watch 49 minutes, wow my fastest 1.2
miles, by the time I get to timing chip it was 50 minutes but I’ll take it. I
run out of the water and see my team Cheer Squad and coach, it was so awesome
to have them out there yelling and screaming. I was side by side with my Malibu
coming out of the water, we ran up to timing mat together. I got the assist to get my wetsuit pulled off
by volunteers and she kept going.
Bike
I get to transition and get ready for the bike. As I pedaled
and biked, it was game on, I was in race mode. I celebrated every mile, yelling
woohoo or some type of excitement, trying to stay positive throughout. I see
Malibu about half way through we played cat and mouse with each other pushing
each other on those rolling hills back and forth from then on to the last mile.
We were both worried about the time cutoff on the bike and making the 4 hours
as our coach wanted us to finish. I forget which mile it was but it was in the
30s and I told her we had 40 minutes to meet the cutoff and we pushed it, we
barely had any recovery because of the rolling hills. You would think nice big
up hill will have a nice downhill, nope we had to switch gears again to go back
up. We saw our other teammate Ali and it felt like a training ride, all of us
pushing each other. We were on the turn to the finish and we can see our
teammates and coaches yelling and screaming, we made that 4 hour time we were
stressing about for months, so glad we had each other through the 56 mile bike
course.
Run
Once I was off the bike I had to use the bathroom, I didn’t
stop during the bike since I was more on a time constraint. I get to bike
transition switch shoes, grab my visor, my fuel belt, race belt and head out
for my run, my first goal was to get to a bathroom haha, the first bathroom I
see I run in and not sure it was nerves but didn’t have to go after all of
that. I drank a lot of everything of the run course, as I noticed I didn’t
finish one of my bottles on the bike which was harder to reach for me. The run
was a 2 loop course, it was hot by the time I started a lot of people looked
like they were struggling. I am a runner and the running I still have to get
used to after finishing the bike, its not that easy even as a runner. I get to
the trail part of the course and welcomed the shade and ran into another porta
potty, as I exit the porta potty the volunteer directs me to keep going at the
turn. I see my coach and he said I was doing great on time and I did feel
good. I get to the start of the 2nd
loop and notice a 8 mile marker and my watch said 6 miles, I was thinking did
my GPS cut off on the trail, why am I missing 2 miles. I get to the trail again
and noticed a straightway on trail which I missed the first time since I ran to
the bathroom towards the turn and the volunteer directed me the wrong way. So I
finally figured out where I missed those 2 miles and that was where the timing
chip was. I made ran I ran that part twice to make sure I had run my whole 13.1
miles. I get to the last half mile or so
of the race and not sure if it’s because I am pushing hard or because I drank
way too much liquids on the run but was feeling nausea. I see finishers walking
back to their bikes with their medals, I see crowds cheering to finish strong,
I felt strong except that I don’t want to puke feeling. I get to the Ironman
finisher shoot and see everyone cheering, Trihuracan cheer squad in full
effect, what a great feeling to cross the finish line. I throw my hands in the
air and so proud that I finished and then right before I get my medal I puke
haha, at least it was after the cameras.
Post Race
A few of us went to eat and celebrate, we were all tired but
enjoyed each other’s company, shared stories, ate , laughed and was on a ice
cream sugar rush dancing outside of a bar lol
This training and race has showed me to not give up on
myself, I put in the training and just go for it. “Don’t Limit Your Challenges,
Challenge Your Limits”. I can go on and on, I went from barely swimming 1 lap a
couple of years ago with nose plugs to swimming 1.2 miles in the ocean. I went
from learning how to ride a bike a few years ago and learning how to not stop
like the Flintstones to clipping into my bike this past year. There is always room
for learning, improving and taking on new challenges.
My next big goal is the Chicago Marathon coming up in a few
weeks.
Until next time Happy Running, Swim, Bike, Hike, Dance and
Box.
