Part 2 - The Swim
Part 3 - The Bike
I have never run a marathon. I've run/walked two Ironman marathons, but never run a marathon. I started this one ahead of where I was hoping I would be. My goal for this Ironman was to go under 14 hours. When I left the transition area and started the run, my watch said I'd been racing for 8 hours and 10 minutes. That gave me just under 6 hours. I was feeling pumped!
Heading out on the run is so weird because the world instantly slows down. After seeing a blur of spectators on the bike, now I can make out faces. I kept hearing people yelling my name, but I didn't see anyone I knew. Then my rattled brain recalled that I was now wearing my race number, which has my name on it. Duh! It wasn't long before I ran by my parents and high-fived them. I love that they made their way from the bike finish to the run entrance as quickly as they did - it's not easy!
The beginning of the run is tough. I'm feeling great from my bike split and I'm starting with a small downhill and the crowd is crazy loud. But... I was a little worried that maybe I'd gone too hard on the bike and wouldn't be able to run 26.2 miles. Then I made the first right-hand turn and the downhill gets crazy steep. It's probably an 18% grade and it's tough on the quadriceps. I had set my watch for a 10-minute run followed by a 1-minute walk. I was determined to stick to this pattern, and I was doing well. The only deviation was when I hit an aid station. I walked through each one of those, grabbing Gatorade or Coke, water, some ice, occasionally an orange slice or some grapes or a pretzel (for the salt, which I just sucked off). After taking it all in, I resumed my run/walk schedule until the next aid station.
Just after the first mile or so, I heard someone yell that the leader was coming through. Sure enough, there was Andy Potts coming my way! Andy won last year and was so kind to sign a bunch of autographs for all of us. He is a machine in the water and pretty much killed the course last year and again this year. All that, and he's a total babe! I shouted out a "great job" as he flew past me. The second and third place guys were well behind him and they were only about three miles from the finish.
After that, as I approached the next aid station, I saw Randy coming back to finish his first loop! We met in the middle of the street for a smooch (awww...) and I wondered when I would see him again. I knew what his goal was and I was happy to see that it was definitely in reach.
The run is nice because it's a chance to see everyone. The course is a double out-and-back done twice, so there is always company. I saw Matt and Keith go by and a lot of other people I know. The volunteers at the aid stations were great. They had everything ready to go and plenty of encouragement as we slogged around the marathon course. The part of the course on River Road is pretty peaceful. There aren't many spectators, just a lot of athletes and volunteers. We run along the river so it is relatively flat and on the way back, you get some great views of the Olympic ski jumps.
I managed to maintain my 10-min run/1-min walk the whole loop. After turning off River Road, it's time to climb the hill by the ski jumps. It figured that my 1-minute walk was after I'd run up the hill. Oh well. I refused to wuss out on the hills of the first loop! The run past the horseshoe fairgrounds is flat and has amazing views of the mountains and the 1980 Olympic torch. So inspirational!
As I get back into town, the crowds get bigger and there are many places playing music. This was great. I don't usually train with music, but it was fun to have something playing as we ran. Of course, when I heard Jimmy Buffett's "Cheeseburger in Paradise" I realized how hungry I was.
The worst part of the run is the ridiculously steep uphill before turning onto Main Street. It's the same hill we had to go down at the beginning of the loop. Of course, my watch did not tell me it was time to walk, so I ran up the hill. Well, I use the term "ran" loosely. I don't know if I would call it running, but I wasn't walking! I saw some friends along the hill and that was cool. I made another turn toward the oval, but it was still uphill. This is where I saw my parents again. They knew just where to be! I turned onto Mirror Lake Drive and ran past the club tent and my friends.
That part is always great! I realized that there were still cyclists coming in, and the road was pretty crowded. Bikes were in one lane and runners in the other going both directions. There were a lot of people around! At the special needs area, I dropped off my sunglasses. I don't know why. I guess I was thinking that it wouldn't be sunny anymore since it was after 5 o'clock. Of course, that's about the time the sun finally came out. I ran to the turnaround and back to the oval to start loop number 2. By this time, I saw Randy again as he was finishing his second loop.
My time for the first loop was around 2:20-2:25, although I don't have an exact split. I was pretty happy with that. If I could keep running, I would make it under 14 hours!
As expected, the second loop of the run was the toughest part of the race. I'd been out there for a while and I'd never run that much of an Ironman marathon before (injury always forced me to walk). But, I was determined to keep up my run/walk pattern as long as I could. I must admit that there were times I was very tempted to just walk. I started looking at my watch constantly to figure out when I could walk again. My legs HURT!!! But I kept going. At the aid stations, they started serving chicken broth. Now, that may seem weird, but I must tell you that, at mile 16 of the run, chicken broth was like crack. I couldn't get enough and after every aid station, I was anticipating when I would reach the next one so I could get more!! So warm and salty, it's just perfect. I even stopped to make sure I didn't gulp it down, but to savor it. Mmmmm...
Funny side story: When I was running down the hill past the ski jumps, I ran past two guys. One of them commented on my shirt, "You're wearing a Providence shirt? Wasn't that race horrible?" To which I replied, "Well, I qualified for Vegas there." I heard his running partner say, "I guess it wasn't so horrible for her!"
As I turned around on River Road, my spirits lifted for a couple of reasons. One, I was on my way back. I still had seven miles to go, but I was on my way back. Two, I saw my friend Jennifer for the first time all day. Jennifer attempted Ironman a couple of years ago, but didn't make the bike cutoff. Despite fighting asthma and arthritis in her hip, she signed up again for this race. I was SOOOO happy to see that she'd made the bike cutoff!! Yeah!!!!
At one point, I realized that I could walk the rest of the marathon and still go under 14 hours. That was both good and bad. Good because I could make it and bad because now I had an excuse to stop running and make my legs happy. Well, happier. This is the true test of Ironman. When faced with the choice, what do you do? Even though I left that bracelet on the bike, I thought of my friends' daughter and her amazing battle against stage-3 cancer. The struggles in my legs were nothing compared to the struggles that they've all faced. If they can get through cancer, I can run six more miles! I told myself to brush it off and move. Thank you, Gabby and family, for being an inspiration!
Somewhere along the way, it started to rain. We'd been incredibly lucky with weather all day. It rained early in the bike ride, but stopped about an hour in. The rest of the day had been mostly cloudy and a bit humid. The temperatures were in the low 70s, which made it nearly perfect. I'd been feeling the humidity on the run and when the rain started, it was a nice relief. Time to cool off a bit! Then the rain came down harder. Okay. We don't need THAT! So it ended. I think it rained all of twenty minutes and that was just enough. I was heading back into town and hurting, but still happy.
Of course, I had to face those hills again. I knew that there would be no shame in walking the hills. Most people were doing that, but damn it, I was going to stick to my run/walk. (Apparently I had become stubborn - when did that happen?) I knew if I started walking more than my allotted one minute, that I would likely not start running again. When I hit the steep hill, everyone was walking and I had another two minutes of running on my clock. At this point, I was definitely going to reach my time goal. I almost started walking it anyway, so that I wouldn't be walking on the flatter part. But, I looked up and saw Ricky. I don't know Ricky personally, but what I know about him is that he does not have the use of his legs. He did the Ironman bike course on a hand cycle and the run course on a wheelchair. He was at the steepest part of the hill and I can only imagine how much his arms must have been burning at that point. But, where most of us could stop and rest, he couldn't. If he stopped, he'd roll backwards. Everyone was cheering for him and I just prayed for him to make it to the top. He did and it was a huge moment of relief for everyone. It was also another "suck it up" moment for me. If he can push himself to the top of this hill, surely I can run to the top. So I did. Thank you, Ricky, for the inspiration!
My last few miles are a blur. I ran by the tent again, waved to my friends and family and tried to enjoy the moment. After the turnaround on Mirror Lake Drive, I had a little over a mile to the finish line. I also had one more walk break, but I decided not to take it. What the hell...
Lake Placid has the best Ironman finish line. The athletes run half a loop around the Olympic oval where Eric Heiden won five speed skating medals in 1980. There is a ton of room for the spectators, so the crowd is loud and fun.
I entered the oval and checked behind me to see if anyone else was there. I was feeling a bit selfish and didn't want to share my finish with anyone! The coast was clear and I got to run around the oval all by myself. As I ran down the straightaway to the finish line, with people lining the way and cheering very loudly, I heard Mike Reilly say, "Karen, you are an IRONMAN!!!"
My run split was 4:58:56, over an hour faster than the other two where I had to walk.
My goal for this race was to go under 14 hours. I knew it was possible, even if I had a few hiccups along the way. My official time is 13:07:56!!!
I crossed the finish line and immediately two volunteers were by my side. One of them put one of those mylar blankets over my shoulders and they both grabbed onto my elbows so I didn't fall down. It's weird to think that I'd been moving forward for 13+ hours and now they are expecting me to fall. But, the body is strange that way. I felt strong throughout the race, but the moment I stopped, I felt weak. I felt warm all day, but now I was shivering. But, it wasn't bad. My body settled quickly. Someone put a medal around my neck and handed me my finisher shirt and hat. I also got some chocolate milk and a bottle of water.
Randy was waiting for me at the finish line. He'd finally broken 11 hours on this course (10:47:29). I was so happy to see him! I'm so proud of you, Shmoopie!
My parents were there too and we visited with them before they left for home. Thank you, Mom and Dad, for your love and support!!
I grabbed my bike and gear and wandered my way back to the tent and to our car. We went back to our house to shower and eat something, then returned to the oval to watch the final finishers of the night, including our friend, Jennifer, who displayed amazing endurance and determination to finish 140.6 miles with an arthritic hip and a sprained ankle (from falling in T1). Love you, Jen!
I know that most people don't have any interest in doing an Ironman, but I would highly recommend that everyone goes to watch one someday. It is an amazing celebration of life. Everyone out there earns their race - there is no faking it. I'm often asked why I do Ironman. I think people expect a complicated answer, but the truth is very simple. I do it because I can.
What an amazing accomplishment, Karen. I'm seriously impressed. Congratulations! (a bit late)
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