August 7, 2019
It’s time to wrap things up on IMLP 2019.
Where did we leave off….ah, yes T2….
Got off the bike, grabbed by T2 bag and dashed into the changing tent. Sneakers on, visor and bib on. GU in pocket. Mouthwash (this was a fantastic idea!) Also…both in T1 and T2 I had a disposable face wipe…helped me to feel fresh heading into each part of the race! T2…8:16!
Going into IMLP I knew if I played my cards right that this would be my moment. Running is my thing. And I felt good headed out into the run. Saw a ton of people I knew and I just took all that energy in….Dean, Kurt, Eliza, Meg, Brenda and Molly, and the rest of the crew from HEAT and BASE Performance. I held steady, used iced to keep my body temperature down, and focused on running consistent and only stopping briefly at water stations. I alternated water and Gatorade, with pretzels every couple of miles. This was working pretty well, and around mile 12 I decided that since I still felt good, that I was going to finish strong and not fall apart. I it was only 2 more hours. I could do that. Aid station to aid station, one foot in front of the other.
Skipped my special need bag and grabbed a cookie at the half way point….choked down a couple of bites but that was all I could manage. And I never turn down a cookie! I felt fine, I just was done eating! Gatorade for a few more mile and at mile 18 I started to alternate with Coke. At some point I saw Dean who said he was on his way to pick up my bike and transition bags! Thank you Dean! The finish was so close! My pace got slower the last eight miles but not dramatically. The last hill climb was really hard and but I just kept shuffling along until I got to the top at mile 24. All the way along Mirror Drive I could hear Mike Reilly and his famous words! As I came around the final bend before heading into the Oval, Brenda and Molly were there cheering me on! I ran the 26.2 miles in 4:13:45.
There it was…the Red Carpet. Months of work, years of work. Physical work. Personal work. It wasn’t just the 13 hours and 40 minutes I was on course that day. That was just the celebration for the hours put in before I even arrived in Lake Placid. And at 8:37 pm on July 28, 2019 I became an IRONMAN!
Final thoughts….I am enjoying a few weeks of down time and getting ready to vacation with my husband. In all honestly, I tend to jump back into training too soon so this vacation came at a perfect time. I can already feel unsettled without my scheduled training anchoring my week. But I love everything about that day. And I want to do it again. While I am more that pleased with my effort on that day, I see a lot of places for improvement. One of my mentors doesn’t look at it as an off-season. She refers to it as a “Season of Improvement” and I couldn’t agree more. Because this is only the beginning.
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