I think anyone who embarks on the journey of doing an Ironman is well aware of the anxiousness in the lead up to it. Have I thought about all the what ifs and know how to problem solve, managed to get in enough long runs, bikes, is my nutrition dialed, how many salt tablets and how much sport glide can I put on to prevent chaffing?

Although I was a rookie at this Ironman thing my challenge in this race was not whether I could finish it. It was how fast can I finish it, how much do I dial back my power to respect the distance and can I get enough calories on the go. My training was there. 

That morning I had a calm confidence. When the gun finally went off I loved every minute of the swim. It was a tough one with lots of chop, winds and current. I tucked in behind Michelle Vesterby and let her do the sighting and lots of work. I thought – this is my start to patience. I looked at the fishes, blue ones, tiger stripe ones and yellow ones. The water was an incredible clear blue where you could see right to the bottom of the ocean. When we caught the guys I made my move keeping Michelle within sight. I got ahead and came out of the water first woman. Excellent.

Despite asking an official the day before, I learnt that one MUST go through the change tent even though you don't really need to. I had to back track a little unless I wanted a penalty, hence the slow transition.

The bike was 112 miles of awesomeness. At first I was with Michelle and a male pro who was kind enough to keep her company. I am not sure if it was their strategy to drop me but it was not going to be my race if I stayed with them so after the first 10 miles they continued on together without me. I spent the next 100 miles on my own until Sophie and Yvonne came up on me in the last two miles of the bike. I sang songs to myself, ate my picnic of GU gels, drank and drank some more. Other than my back getting sore from being in a tucked position for 5 hours, I loved every minute of it.

Getting onto the run I felt good. I found a great rhythm and just went with it. Still super aware of hydration I grabbed water at every single station. Held ice in my hand (the best way to stay cool) and again was super happy and actually enjoying myself. There was just one problem – I really really had to pee. I thought of water falls, told myself to relax, let it go... Apparently I have not mastered this skill among the professional league of triathletes. I started to really cramp with the pressure so at mile 12 I found a port-o-potty and finally found relief. When I stopped it became apparent that I had missed something. I looked at my gel flask and it was full. I walked through the aid station and realized that this was not good. I started to run and began the process of thinking – there will be bad times and the good times are around the corner, pain is temporary so say hello, it is ok... the problem was that it wasn't ok. My body had reached beyond where it wanted to go, I walked again, tried to run but the dizzy self said no. I had to refuel and get sugar into me. For the next 10 miles I drank every cup of cola and gatorade I could get my hands on. I walked and walked. Other athletes along the way encouraged me which was a life saver. I must have looked miserable. The last three miles I thought I can do this. I can run 3 miles. I started to go having had almost 1.5 hours of refueling and low and behold my body came around....

At the finish line I was done. I did not savor the moment of accomplishment and was admittedly frustrated. Twenty-four hours ago I thought never again. Ironman-check! With some perspective now I realize that I had 7 .5 hours of fun. Really. I messed up taking in calories on the run and in a race like Ironman there is no room for messing up nutrition. I learnt this lesson before in 70.3 and know better. From here I can only go one direction and that is to get back on my feet and be better next time. I am an Ironman after all and anyone who undertakes such an endeavor has that little something that says yes you can be better, do better and strive for the moon. Why wouldn't I? I am just getting started!

The Nitty Gritty Details:

Swim: Nineteen Skin suit
Bike: Shiv TT, SRAM Red components, Zipp 808 rear, 404 front tubular
Nutrition:
Swim: GU 15' before start,
Bike: 5 Superfood balls, 5 gels, 2 bottles concentrated GU (blueberry pomegranate -4scoops), 10 bottles water (approx. calorie content total 2300)
Run: dismal – maybe 3 gels, and then a whole lot of coke and gatorade.

Better late than never right?  Life since Austin 70.3 has thrown a few curve balls but I am finally catching up.  

Austin 70.3 was a great race to be part of again.  To be on "home turf" getting the cheers, seeing familiar faces, riding familiar roads is a huge advantage. Like every other race this year it was COLD on race morning.  Not just a little cold but full on wear my down jacket over my 5 other layers and my NIneteen wetsuit.  The best place to be was in the water which was balmy in comparison but that was only 5 minutes before race start.  

Swim:  25:43   (First finisher out of water)
Starting out was the normal get going, find your rhythm and settle in and try desperately to go in straight lines despite looking directly into the sun.  I noticed right from the get-go this girl just whizzing through the water.  She was having trouble sighting though and missed staying right of a buoy. It was then I lost her.  I actually didn't know after that if she was ahead or behind.  She was just gone.  

When I ran through transition, threw on my jersey (it was THAT cold!) and made it to the dismount line, Mark yelled at me - 1 minute down.   I thought WHAT? This is new! I quickly got into the chase of this girl.  

Bike:  2:28:14  (Second off Bike)
My bike was a dream again and Bicycle Sport Shop lent me a disc wheel so I got to appreciate the thwump, thwump, thwump sound of the wheel.  I love that! As soon as I could I grabbed my gloves and put them on.  My hands have a tendency to loose circulation in the cold which makes it REALLY hard to change gears or do anything.   I tried to keep the power steady at 220 watts.   When I passed Lauren Brandon I thought - great, stay steady, your in the lead.  I was in for a surprise.  

Run:  1:27:23  Splits:  6:47, 6:41, 6:33 (Third Place)
Coming into transition Mark yelled at me "4:30 down on the lead".  If I was surprised by Lauren out of the water first I was shocked to learn Rachel McBride had gained a tremendous lead.  Sadly I had no idea she passed me and put serious time in!  But success comes when you stay in your own race and that is all I could do at that point.  Again I had to bite hard when Jennifer Tetrick flew by me in the first few miles.  I thought - not yet, hold steady.  Long way to go and just kept her in sight.  By the second lap I had caught her again but was then passed by Yvonne.  I started to feel good so I thought give a little more juice.  By the third lap I thought - I still have more in me, run Yvonne down!  I went for it closing the gap a bit but not enough.  She finished 1 minute ahead and I had a serious negative split.  

Overall the race was solid.  Because I raced Austin 70.3 I did a direct comparison of my SRM bike power.   It was almost EXACTLY the same. Check out the analysis below.  

When they say every second counts, every second really does count!   This is what I will take with me to Ironman Cozumel this weekend.  It will be a race of patience, control and nutrition.  The fitness is there.  My mind is there and I am ready!