TLDR: Ironman PR by 17 min! Cold swim, BUMPY but fast bike, and got the run done! :) 9th AG. Kona Slot!
The start of the race went according to plan - lined up with Isaac and got lucky to start with Justin too!!! We poured water in our wetsuits 5min before to help us warm up before the cold water - and I think it helped a ton. I wanted to take the day mile by mile and the swim was the first 2 ish! Three beeps and then it was my turn to start! Ran in and hit the water - BRRRRR!!!! I knew I would warm up (and if I didn’t I just needed to try harder! ) so just took big breaths and swam towards the first buoys. This course seemed like it would be straightforward. A couple turns and then a LONG out and a medium back and a couple more weird turns. I felt like the course was crowded for most of the swim and I definitely got knocked around more than I usually do. Someone even hit my watch halfway through the swim and started what would be a “40min t1” on my watch and stopped my normal 500yrd notification beeps. Cool. Overall the swim went fine, I was tired and my arms felt cold at the end but it sounds like the cold affected me less than most people so thankful for that! So glad to finish the swim and get out of that DISGUSTING water (I couldn’t even see my watch in the water) and excited to hop on my bike! Not my best IM swim, but definitely not my worst!
1:08:39 - 8th AG
Ironman AZ bike- I was ready for this ride. I knew the course, I didn’t mind three loops (keeps you honest if you're trying to get a certain time!), and I knew I’d done all the prep to have a solid 112 miles. The first loop was SO windy but my watts felt easy and I could tell my legs were ready for this! What I wasn’t ready for - the horrible road conditions!!! SO bumpy. Holes everywhere. Really wish the roads had been better - it felt dangerous especially as the course got more crowded and bottles, hydration sets and all kinds of carnage were scattered everywhere from bumping off people’s bikes. I was so nervous about getting a flat! Lap 2 wasn’t memorable except getting passed by the pros and lap 3 I was so pumped. I was en route to PR my bike! I was confident I could but I tried to make conservative goals coming into this and just plan on less than 6 hours. I’d had an old hamstring injury flare up during taper and I was worried it might not hold up this whole distance. I felt it a bit on the ride - but what distracted me from it was the backs of my knees sticking together from all my nutrition bumping out of my torpedo onto my legs. It was so sticky for every pedal stroke that I actually have scabs behind my knees from it. Super annoying and never happened to me before!! I tried to rinse it off with water but it took multiple bottles from aid stations of water bottles to get off - and really didn’t stop until I refilled my torpedo for the last time.
I was proud of multiple things from this ride - my nutrition and hydration were on POINT. My legs felt like they could have done another lap (but you couldn’t have paid me to go over all those bumps another round)!! For years I spent so much of my bike leg of races scared and nervous - not confident in my riding ability or bike handling skills. This last year I’ve so thoroughly enjoyed my rides. I’m more confident on the bike than I’ve ever been! Was stoked to be getting off the bike with a significant PR (28min PR on this course and 20min IM bike PR!)
5:46:58 - 7th AG
Ironman AZ
I’d had an old injury flare up the week of the race I was worried about - and it showed up step 1 of the run. I felt a 7/10 pain in my knee right from the start of this run. I was devastated. I’d worked so hard for this race (we all work hard to prepare!) and spent time away from my baby - I couldn’t let that sacrifice be for nothing. I was going to run until I absolutely couldn’t. I would run 2 miles, walk 1 minute. I was trying to stay present in each mile and would repeat to myself “six, 6, this is mile 6” to distract myself from “you have 20 more to go and you might not make it”. Magically at mile 8 the pain went away. I was ELATED!!! I kept up my run a mile/walk 1 min averaging around a 10 min mile. I felt totally in control and solid. After the first lap as I approached mile 16 I realized I would get this done. I was overwhelmed with gratitude. Grateful for my family and friends’ support. For my training I was able to do. For my body for getting through all of this - the training and this race. For a solid day when so much can go wrong. I kept moving forward - some miles were good and some weren’t. At mile 20 I saw Rosanne running like she could run all day and I was pumped - she must be having a great race too! She passed me around mile 23 - but those last 6 miles from when I saw her were my fastest of the day. I negative split my marathon and squeaked out a tiny 1min IM marathon PR. I wonder now “could I have pushed more?” but I just felt so solid that whole run, I’m pretty happy with it!! Someday I’ll get that 4hr marathon, more work to do. I definitely am not back to running like I did pre-baby, so I'll take it!
4:27:28 - 21st AG
IM Arizona - 11:35 - 9th AG!!! I’ve never cracked top 10 at a bigger race like this. I was elated. I got a PR on my bike and my run and an overall IM PR by 17min! I’d call that a super successful day!! I was so thankful that Isaac also had an AMAZING race (he was SO fast despite battling injuries all season) and I was so glad Rosanne also had an amazing race! Success feels great but it’s better together!! While it was a hard day, I couldn’t feel luckier at how the pieces came together. It felt like all the choices I made along the way were worth it. Every time I had to leave Chloe while she cried with separation anxiety, every time I wished that I was with her instead of on the trainer, all the help I had to ask my family for… it was worth it. As a new mom this last year, I was CONSTANTLY second guessing every decision I made as we built in our training for this race. Am I a bad mom for leaving my daughter for something so selfish? Am I a better mom FOR training and having things for ME? Am I asking my family for too much support? Am I not asking for enough help? Is this worth it? In hindsight - yes. This was worth it. I am a better mom when I still have things carved out that I love doing, and it's ok to not spend every spare minute I have with my daughter. She likes other people, too. The relationships she gets to build in my absence are so special and I'm so thankful for everyone that loves spending time with her.
1:08:39 - 8th AG
Ironman AZ bike- I was ready for this ride. I knew the course, I didn’t mind three loops (keeps you honest if you're trying to get a certain time!), and I knew I’d done all the prep to have a solid 112 miles. The first loop was SO windy but my watts felt easy and I could tell my legs were ready for this! What I wasn’t ready for - the horrible road conditions!!! SO bumpy. Holes everywhere. Really wish the roads had been better - it felt dangerous especially as the course got more crowded and bottles, hydration sets and all kinds of carnage were scattered everywhere from bumping off people’s bikes. I was so nervous about getting a flat! Lap 2 wasn’t memorable except getting passed by the pros and lap 3 I was so pumped. I was en route to PR my bike! I was confident I could but I tried to make conservative goals coming into this and just plan on less than 6 hours. I’d had an old hamstring injury flare up during taper and I was worried it might not hold up this whole distance. I felt it a bit on the ride - but what distracted me from it was the backs of my knees sticking together from all my nutrition bumping out of my torpedo onto my legs. It was so sticky for every pedal stroke that I actually have scabs behind my knees from it. Super annoying and never happened to me before!! I tried to rinse it off with water but it took multiple bottles from aid stations of water bottles to get off - and really didn’t stop until I refilled my torpedo for the last time.
I was proud of multiple things from this ride - my nutrition and hydration were on POINT. My legs felt like they could have done another lap (but you couldn’t have paid me to go over all those bumps another round)!! For years I spent so much of my bike leg of races scared and nervous - not confident in my riding ability or bike handling skills. This last year I’ve so thoroughly enjoyed my rides. I’m more confident on the bike than I’ve ever been! Was stoked to be getting off the bike with a significant PR (28min PR on this course and 20min IM bike PR!)
5:46:58 - 7th AG
Ironman AZ
I’d had an old injury flare up the week of the race I was worried about - and it showed up step 1 of the run. I felt a 7/10 pain in my knee right from the start of this run. I was devastated. I’d worked so hard for this race (we all work hard to prepare!) and spent time away from my baby - I couldn’t let that sacrifice be for nothing. I was going to run until I absolutely couldn’t. I would run 2 miles, walk 1 minute. I was trying to stay present in each mile and would repeat to myself “six, 6, this is mile 6” to distract myself from “you have 20 more to go and you might not make it”. Magically at mile 8 the pain went away. I was ELATED!!! I kept up my run a mile/walk 1 min averaging around a 10 min mile. I felt totally in control and solid. After the first lap as I approached mile 16 I realized I would get this done. I was overwhelmed with gratitude. Grateful for my family and friends’ support. For my training I was able to do. For my body for getting through all of this - the training and this race. For a solid day when so much can go wrong. I kept moving forward - some miles were good and some weren’t. At mile 20 I saw Rosanne running like she could run all day and I was pumped - she must be having a great race too! She passed me around mile 23 - but those last 6 miles from when I saw her were my fastest of the day. I negative split my marathon and squeaked out a tiny 1min IM marathon PR. I wonder now “could I have pushed more?” but I just felt so solid that whole run, I’m pretty happy with it!! Someday I’ll get that 4hr marathon, more work to do. I definitely am not back to running like I did pre-baby, so I'll take it!4:27:28 - 21st AG
IM Arizona - 11:35 - 9th AG!!! I’ve never cracked top 10 at a bigger race like this. I was elated. I got a PR on my bike and my run and an overall IM PR by 17min! I’d call that a super successful day!! I was so thankful that Isaac also had an AMAZING race (he was SO fast despite battling injuries all season) and I was so glad Rosanne also had an amazing race! Success feels great but it’s better together!! While it was a hard day, I couldn’t feel luckier at how the pieces came together. It felt like all the choices I made along the way were worth it. Every time I had to leave Chloe while she cried with separation anxiety, every time I wished that I was with her instead of on the trainer, all the help I had to ask my family for… it was worth it. As a new mom this last year, I was CONSTANTLY second guessing every decision I made as we built in our training for this race. Am I a bad mom for leaving my daughter for something so selfish? Am I a better mom FOR training and having things for ME? Am I asking my family for too much support? Am I not asking for enough help? Is this worth it? In hindsight - yes. This was worth it. I am a better mom when I still have things carved out that I love doing, and it's ok to not spend every spare minute I have with my daughter. She likes other people, too. The relationships she gets to build in my absence are so special and I'm so thankful for everyone that loves spending time with her.
Big thanks to Isaac, my family, and my friends for all their support along the way. BIG thanks to my coach who got me through a long season with patience as my body readapted to training and rebuilt endurance. I’m not sure I have ever been MORE ready for off-season... it's definitely time to rest up physically and mentally - gotta get ready for Kona and Finland next year!!!
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