A Day to Remember Forever, Ironman St George 2012

   What a weekend!!!! I'm ecstatic to say that I have completed my first Ironman of 2012. It was the toughest one I've done thus far, but also the biggest breakthrough for me. It wasn't my fastest time, and everything didn't fall perfectly into place. However, I kept my head and body in line, and that would be my biggest feat of the day.
   I flew into Las Vegas on Wednesday and met my friend Katie, who would be racing as well. We had the most easy and amazingly beautiful drive north to St George. I will tell you all, if you haven't been to St George, Utah, consider going to race next year at the 70.3 event. It is one perfect town to have a race. Nice roads, friendly people, and stunning scenery. I never once felt the chaotic tension that is sometimes around city venues with tons of people, traffic, and that frankly don't enjoy having an Ironman in their community. St George was none of these. The entire town was welcoming and accommodating to all of us.
   My husband Rob arrived in late Wednesday, which gave Katie and I a chance to drive the bike course and check out the swim venue without dragging him around. I hope he appreciated that, as he would be number one bike mechanic, sherpa, and ultimate spectator on call for us the rest of the weekend.
   Thursday was an easy relaxing day. I just went and took a swim at Sand Hollow. The water was so clean and clear. I am sure many of the triathletes appreciated the conditions. I got to finally swim in my new Blue Seventy Helix wetsuit. It was awesome. The most notable difference in the new suit is the feel with my catch. I can really feel the water so much more. I really felt comfortable and strong in the water. Then after the swim, I went to the normal pro rules meeting, and bike shop to get my bike tweeked a little bit. Everything seemed in place.
  Friday was a little of the same. Jumped on the bike for about 30 mins, and got a little wet in the reservoir. It was really windy and hot on Friday, but the weather forecast for Saturday, race day, said low 80's and no wind over 9mph. That seemed perfect for me!!!


   Saturday morning came around fast, but I was feeling ready and centered. I had dealt with my pre race anxiety very well. I choose to read books that keep my mind in a good place. This week I was reading, "ZEN GOLF". Now although the book was written for golfers, any one in any sport can relate to the mind/body tool in this book and put them into action for competition.
   Katie and I got on the shuttle bus about 4:45. It was unbelievable how awake and chatty everyone was that early in the morning. We actually put in our headphones and tuned it out. Too much talk about race strategy and planning right before the race can create a lot of anxiety. For Ironman, I would hope that everyone would already have their plan in place and not need to worry or talk about it, but everyone deals with the stress in different ways. For me, I have learned to trust my plan and no matter what anyone else is doing or thinking, I stick to my plan.
   It was pretty breezy out at the Sand Hollow State Park transition. It was a  little chilly too, but perfect as we all knew the day would warm up in no time. Mike Reilly was on the speakers directing athletes where to go and announcing that the winds would die down before the start and we would be in perfect conditions for racing. Well, if you all haven't heard yet, mother nature threw us all for a loop Saturday morning. The pro entered the water around 6:30 and the water was calm and cool. I was feeling very centered and at ease. The swim is where I usually carry the most anxiety early on. I am still a work in progress on my swim and tend to worry about the outcome. The biggest focus of my race day plan was to stay present at every moment. So far it was working. I felt the most relaxed I ever have at the race start. The plan was to just put my head down and go my best. And that is what I did. I settled into a comfortable pace right off. The first stretch was 1,000 meters and I was able to clear the mind and just keep moving forward. I thought, "wow this is going to be my best Ironman swim yet." Little did I know what was coming. Let's just call it the PERFECT STORM. As, I turned the first buoy, I see that Jessie Donavan is with me and that both of us are realizing the water was getting a bit choppy. Not a big deal and we pushed ahead the 300+ meters to the next buoy. At the next turn it was like being smacked in the face.....a thousand times. The water was obviously getting worse and now we were directly into the chop for the next 1800 meters. For me these waves were a bit scary, but having someone by me made it less so. I've never really swam in bad conditions. I put my head down and stayed present and just realized this wouldn't be my fastest time but I would make it out of the water without a doubt.

   Jessie and I pushed forward the best we could. We were being thrown this way and that way, mostly up and down, up and down. After a bit, it became apparent that there was no one out there with us, no boats, no kayakers, no one.( come to find out they were either saving age group swimmers or not able to stay afloat themselves. It got chaotic and over 200 people were pulled from the water.) We kept each other in our sights, put our big girl panties on, and made it happen. It was so rough that there was really no way to get into a rhythm. We eventually made it to somewhere close to the final turn. The buoys had pretty much been spread here and there. I could tell where the last stretch went into the shore and went for it. I made it out and was very happy. That was one experience I don't wish to happen again, but if it does, I'm all prepared.

  T1  seemed like a breeze after that swim. But it was apparent that the winds had generously picked up and that this might be one challenge of a race day. Right off the bat the first 5 miles out of the state park we completely against the winds. I'd guess over 20 mph. Everyone that was on the road was pushing as hard as possible, which isn't the best thing to do when you've got 112 miles to ride, but it was the only option. Once out of the park the wind was at my back for a bit which was nice since there is a two mile climb following the park exit. I fared pretty well for  about 25 miles, as there were turns and ups and down not all against the wind. This course definitely kept me on my toes, but I really prefer that. Love the variety, keeps it fun!!

   I only got to see my cheering section once on the bike, but the timing was perfect. I saw Rob right before the turn off into the dreaded backside loop and the beginning to what I'll call the tornado. All I can say is that it was insane! The wind was so harsh and it wasn't going to give in to anyone. It was tough to even stay upright. All I could do was push my planned power no matter how fast I was going, and to stay present. My biggest goal for this race was to stay present. At anytime I let my mind wander or go into negative thoughts, I had tools that I prepared to bring me back into the moment and only stay there. I will admit, the mind always strays but the sooner I was able to bring it back, the better position I was in. It was a huge step in the right direction for me and my triathlon career. Never give up and believe in where you are in any moment is right where you are supposed to be.

   Ok back to the bike...it was tough. The "WALL" which is one of the longest climbs happened to be one of the only sections that was with the wind. WHAT A GIFT!!! By the time the course starts going downhill to end the first loop, it was such a relief. I had exhausted myself pushing for hours and climbing against the wind. We were all in the same position, so all I could do was push forward. Starting the second loop my legs enjoyed the downhill break, but they knew they'd have to get back into the groove again, and they did. I lost some steam on the second loop, but luckily the wind died down a little bit...a teeny tiny bit. I stayed focused and made it through each each mile the best I could. Boy oh boy, though, I was so happy to be done with the bike course.
 

   Heading out on the run I stayed as calm as possible. I usually get a bit nervous right out of transition and then settle in. This time was no different. I reminded myself to keep the pace under control and then would bring it up once I felt my legs were underneath me. Surprisingly my legs didn't feel too trashed after 6 hours on the bike. The run course was mainly flat but there was a gradual uphill on each out and back on all of the legs of the course that put a challenge into the run. By mile 6 I had run into 4th place and was astonish! This is where I got when I took expectations out of the result. I was super pumped and motivated. I even had my first bike pacer riding along with me. Its the little things:) That's Dave above. He got the crowd cheering for me and was so sweet and kind to me.
 
However, right about this time I started getting a shooting pain in my left hip. Out of nowhere, and not sure why. I wanted to freak out and for a moment a hundred things came into my mind about what was happening. I saw Rob and he just reminded me to keep pushing forward and do what I could do. I went back to being present and thinking about the rest of my body that still felt pretty good. I had to slow down and eventually was off of my pace, but I just had to control what was controllable. In the end, Gillian Clayton, who I had not seen the entire run, comes flying from behind the last half mile to best me by a minute. She had an amazing run split. I kicked it into a the gear I had left but couldn't catch her. I now wonder what if I had pushed through my pain harder, faster, longer or done this or that, but the past is behind me and I'm still learning a lot about myself and racing triathlon. I am so happy with the result that I accomplished at Ironman St George. It was an extremely tough day out there and the goal I had for myself to stay in the moment and keep going until the end was a success.

  I am super happy that I did this race. Not only because it was the last full Ironman in St George, but also because it was such an epic day for everyone. Ironman is never easy, but a day like today makes it extra special.  I'm super fired up now and ready to conquer 2012 in the best way possible.

Congrats to Meredith Kessler for putting out an spectacular race. She is the real deal!

  I have to say thanks to  my sponsors who help make all of this racing possible for me. I could not do with with out their support. Thank you, HED Wheels, PowerBar, Fuel Belt, Blue Seventy, Maxxis and Rudy Project.
 I also have to thank Heath Thurston and Jimi Young for helping pace me up Diagonal St when I started to feel my worst. I am never surprised by the love and care that other triathletes show each other. It is really an amazing sport to be a part of. To Sue Hutter, for being the ultimate spectator, support crowd, and photographer. And finally to Rob Spitler. I could not do any of this without you. I appreciate your support day in and day out.

As we drove away from St George the Rolling Stones came on the radio and this sorta stuck with me.
"You can't always get what you want, but if you try sometimes, you just might get what you need."

This was a day that not everything went according to plan, but the steps I made and the strength gained from digging deep are just what I needed for this day. I needed to show myself that I could accomplish anything I wanted to, and did! Thanks all!!