Hi Everyone...
I'm pretty lazy with not a lot of time so I'm just copying my race report from Triathlete.com into here for those that don't head to that site very often. I'm really at a loss right now... I have all these ideas for what I want to do as far as training for next year, but am told I have to take time off. Unfortunately, I feel absolutely fine (except for the remaining 2 brutal blisters!) so I'm having a hard time justifying taking time off. I hope everyone else is doing well and having lots of fun. Next race will be Oct. 10th... Green Bay Duathlon. Not expecting much out of it, but doing it just for fun :) Enjoy the read!
Don't have tons of time so this is going to be little shorter than the reality of my day. Be happy for that!
The day started out great... was a little nervous (ok, very nervous) to get started, but that's to be expected for the first one right? Skipping ahead, Mark and I waited until just before 7 to get into the water. Found my spot in the crowd at 6:57 and just took in the scene. Amazing. Canon went off and I took off. Got strong armed by a lot of people in those purple swim caps, including one solid punch to the cheek bone, but overall, I felt great in the water and made it out in 1:18:05. I was happy with that. All smiles heading up the Helix.
Took my time in transition. Thought it was more important that I have everything than to rush through it and forget something essential. Also, realized it's quite hard to get clothes on when you're wet... towel in the transition bag next year I finally got out of there and into one of those fabulous portapotties getting out of transition in 14:14. Not stellar.
Bike started great. I was having a blast... making sure to keep under my ability so as to not burn out before taking on that second loop. I got to mile 45 all smiles and it all went downhill from there. I've been battling GI issues for a few months now, but had started to feel better in the days before the race so I was hoping it was behind me. Unfortunately, not on Sunday. I was hit full force to the point that my abdomen was cramping so bad that the pain was going into my back, sides and shoulders as I was trying to tough it out. By the time I got to the special needs area I was doubled over off my bike and sitting in the grass. I fought off the volunteers suggestions to call in help claiming I would make it to the end, and after about 20 minutes of lying down trying to figure out what to do, I got back on my bike and pushed for Mt. Horeb. By the time I got there, I was in desperate need to get off the bike again. Thought it might be a good time for a bathroom break since the line was short and while I was in there I heard this huge POP followed by someone saying "who rides a TREK?" Lovely. My rear flatted while lying on the ground. Lucky for me, there was a guy there who was not going to continue due to severe cramping in the hamstrings who helped me change it because I was in no condition to do it on my own. I stayed at that aid station for another 15 minutes lying in the grass as the wonderful voluteers poured bottle after bottle of ice water over my head before heading to Cross Plains. I was so excited to see that my family was still out there waiting for me. Completely fried from nerves of course, but still very motivational and a big lift. From there I started to feel a little better and made it to the top of Timber for an excursion into the cornfield. Jumped back on the bike completely discouraged from how the bike had been going, but confident that I would make the bike cut off. That is, until I heard another huge POP as I turned onto PB. This time I almost went down as I was holding a water bottle in one had when my rim started fishtailing. I chucked my waterbottle into the field as I said my few choice words for the situation and started fixing the flat. Luckily, the stronger winds that had picked up worked in my favor on the way back in to transition which allowed me to make fairly good time. That, and the fact that my legs were fresh from my constant breaking and very slow 60 miles while I was trying to fight out the pain. Anyway, I was only on the bike for 7 hours of my 8:33:51 bike split. Good times.
Again, took my time in transition and took quite a bit of time talking to my family who had waited for me to finally get back into transition. They were great and I was so happy to see them. By this point I knew I really didn't have a chance to run the marathon due to the continued abdomin cramping but not to fear cause I'm one hell of a walker! I took off at like 5:45 for my 26 miles, again all smiles because I was going to overcome this day if it killed me. About 4 miles into the run I did feel a bit better and was able to run... I decided to run walk for a while to make the most of it and ran about 6 miles on the first lap. Pain got really bad again about mile 11.5 and I started wondering if I would be able to finish, but the support for me was amazing and gave me new energy as I trudged back out for another 13 at around 8:00pm. A guy out there on the course pointed out to me that we only had 9 miles left with 3 hours to go and that I would only have to average 20min miles and that I could slow down. Even then I just slightly reduced my speed and continued on. Getting to State Street was a struggle but I had such a great time on that Street that it carried me through to the end! Mark and all my friends where there, I was handed my glow stick (which was truly the only reason I did this event- to get a glow stick) and my gang managed to get the entire street to chant "Becky!" It was amazing! I think I held that smile for the next 3 miles! Anyway, insane blisters had formed on my feet by now and walking was incredibly painful but I just continued on. To stop the babble... I made it back to the square in pretty good form considering - with everyone there cheering me on and walking in with my parents. Jogged down the chute to finish out my marathon in 6:09:41 for a finishing time of 16:30:41 or something close to that.
It was a long, tough day... but I still had a lot of fun and was amazed by the support and emotion out there. I've already signed up for next year to try to do my race the way I know I can.
Thanks for reading... congrats to all those who finished or even made the attempt. A very special thanks to all those who kept me going with the words of advice, motivation and determination. You helped me earn that medal!
