Florida, Fear, Family, Friends, Fighter, Failure, Future Ironman

So many fwordz for this weekend..................but the biggest and best were family, friends and fun.

Let me set the stage, Saturday morning we got up ready to go check in, do our practice swim and drop off our bikes.  I have NEVER felt so calm before a race before.  Denise, my cousin our driver, Brian, Frankie and I loaded up in the car and went over to the start of the race.  We all were wrong thinking the practice swim started at 8:00 am which was really 11:00 am so we decided we would go ahead and check in.  I ran into one woman who could have made or broke me because she was pretty rude and condescending when I asked if I was in the right line, I was just excited and didn't want to jump ahead of anyone and I mean I've done races before I know how it's done in other events but this one was so different.  I ignored her and did what I know to do at other races and got in line where my number was.  CHECK IN COMPLETE!

We also decided since we had time to drive the 56 mile bike course so we would know what we were up against.  DID ANYONE KNOW FLORIDA HAS HILLS?  I don't mean rolling lati-da hills, I mean freaking hills like Charlotte?  Neither did I.  Thank goodness for the drive.  DRIVE DONE!

Next up the practice swim.  Now did I mention I have never done an open water swim?  Other than jumping off the boat doing a little swim then floating with a nice cold drink in my hand.....but that's for another blog.  I thought i was going to be nervous but I wasn't.  I walked up said I'm going to the first buoy then come back in.  The reason for that was because where everyone was going out they were also coming in.  There was no way to tell if I was headed straight for someone coming in without keeping my head above water.  So.....PRACTICE SWIM DONE.  After I got out I knew no matter what I was wearing my wet suit.

BIKES DROPPED OFF DONE!

I was tired and went to bed at 7:30 that night knowing I had to be up at 4:00 am to get this party started.  AGAIN, I have never been so calm and have NEVER been able to get to bed that early before a race.  I knew I wasn't going to be the first, I have a hybrid bike and I don't clip in for gosh sakes.  I just started swimming so I knew I was going to utilize all 70 mins of my swim cut off for the swim.  I guess I had come to terms with this was my first and I just wanted to finish and enjoy the ride.

4:30 AM SUNDAY APRIL 12, 2015

We all got up on schedule, each did our morning routine for race day, everything was on point!

We left at 5:30 am like we had planned and arrived when we had planned.  We weren't together because our numbers were staggered but we were all on the same level.  Making sure all your things were laid out so your transitions would be easier was harder for me because I was going to have to change after every event.  I've learned for next time, I'm buying a tri suit.  The ladies all around me were wonderful!  They kept telling me this is your first enjoy it!  Have fun and that was my plan! 

 At this point Frankie and I are wearing wet suits so we are now going out in the last wave which was 45 mins behind my original wave and 20 mins behind Frankie's.  You would think that would start to make me nervous but again, nothing but excitement!  I had trained for 7.5 months for this.  I just kept telling myself it's another training day......with 1650 other people training with me.  

7:54 shows up and we're off!

I don't swim so I'm doing what I've done in the pool and it lands two kicks to the face for me and swallowing a crap load of lake water which also means some choking involved.  I figure out who is doing the kicking and quickly get away from him.  Thank God for CROSSFIT!  I knew I was racing against 70 mins and I wasn't stopping at any kayak, buoy or anything for any reason.  There was no stopping me.  The course was rough, not knowing exactly the layout of the squared M made it difficult to know where to make the turns so that meant head out and asking questions along the way.  The current was horrid from the jet skis, boats and kayaks there to save us in case of an emergency.  But again because of CROSSFIT i knew what I had to do.  Break it down.  First turn, only 3 more to go, once I got to the last turn I knew I was all good from there.  One of the volunteers even looked at me when I looked up to make sure I was still on course and said take your time you're at the end and doing good.  I knew then I was beating that clock I was racing against and that was all I needed.  As I got closer to the shore I could hear my mom being my BIGGEST CHEERLEADER, "GO DAWN GO!" "YOU'VE GOT THIS BABY!".  That was all I needed.  I came out of the water, she kissed me and said go!  This is where you are gonna kill it!  I had conquered the one thing I didn't think I could and I did it with 10 mins to spare!  Thanks CROSSFIT CHARLOTTE for that.  

My transition time was too long because I had to change out of my bathing suit and wet suit into my biking gear.  But no worries I had that 10 mins from the swim.  I got all suited up and was off on the bike.  I was feeling GREAT!  I was on a high because I didn't think I would get through the swim.  I knew I could do the bike part because I've done 56 miles several times before.  This portion I was racing against a 5.5 hour time frame.  No worries..................right?

Mile 5, mile 10, mile 15 mostly overcast and cloudy miles, a few bouts with the sun popping out and flat........ahhhhhhh.   Mile 20, mile 25 the sun is out and it feels like someone has put my in an oven and I start to get a cramp in my right quad.  I keep going thinking it's all good just hydrate more, take some different pills I have for these things and it's all good.  mile 30.........standing as best I could for this cramp and tackling some of the most awful hills in this 91 degree full sun heat.  mile 33 i get off the bike because I HAVE NEVER suffered from leg cramps.  everyone who knows me knows i have legs for days, i've even been called quadzilla.  I don't get leg cramps, something's not quite right.  I found some shade under a tree and get off the bike to stretch my leg and get extremely lightheaded so I lay down and stretch and take some water.  One of the cops shows up and asks me if I'm ok, I say I think I just need to rest for a minute and he says you don't look so good and that's when I say I don't feel so good.  He calls medic to come check me out before I attempt to continue on and they ask me about my medical history.  I tell them I do have high blood pressure but yes I have taken my meds.  They take my BP and it's 80/50 with my heart rate at 135.  They ask me again you have high blood pressure?  I tell them yes and they take it again manually just to make sure but no difference.  At this point they are loading my bike in the van and telling me I need to go to the hospital.  In an Ironman you can't have any sort of communication device.  No MP3 player, no phone, no nothing.  I kept asking if there was an alternative because I knew my family would be worried and I knew my mom's phone was dead because she asked me for my password when I was coming out of the water.  They radio'd back to medic at the Ironman command post and found there was a doctor and staff on site and sent me back there.  I was in no position to walk, crawl, or sit up staying conscious was all I could do.  4 bags of IV and keeping my body cool with ice and water was all they could do.  I had suffered from extreme heat exhaustion.  It was 91 degrees and 90% humidity!  My poor mother and everyone on the Ironman staff had gotten word I was headed to the hospital but after about 35 mins there I remembered her phone was dead and had them call mine to let her know.  Of course she was there in no time and of course my no tear crying had gotten worse.  I was so disappointed.  All those hours of training after working the hours I do felt like a complete waste.  I was mad at my body for not cooperating, mad at the sun for coming out, just MAD!  And for those of you who know me know stopping because of that isn't like me.  I will push through and keep going but for some reason this time I knew it wasn't the time.  I was about to go down a pretty steep hill and if I didn't stop who knows what would have happened.  I know everything happens for a reason, today wasn't my day to claim my victory but today was the day to make sure my cousin Frankie claimed his.

I got out of the medic and asked my mom where he was.  I knew the running wasn't going to be good for him because he's just not a runner.  STRONG SWIMMER AND CYCLISTS but runner.....no.  I waited for him to come by and we all knew he was going to think I finished already and that's exactly what he said.  I showed him my bandage and said you have to finish this for both of us.  Please.  Then off he went!  I'm SO PROUD TO SAY NOT ONLY DID HE FINISH BUT HE FINISHED WITH TIME TO SPARE!  I'm so proud of you Frankie!!!  I'm proud of Brian too, he's a fighter!  Broke his record on that course and that was what he set out to do.  We all learned from this experience to take it on to the next. I can't wait until our next one!

WE LIVE TO FIGHT ANOTHER DAY

That's what I'm banking on.  I rode home and went through the Ironman schedule looking to see when I would fight another day and where it would be because I will not go back down to FLORIDA.  I've already chosen next June in Maryland and or next August in Augusta.  WE have to celebrate our defeats along with our victories.  We learn from them and move on.  Those times we don't get the ending we were hoping for humble us and make us grow.  I had a long drive home to start figuring it all out and I've got a plan.  And as long as I have the love and support of my family and friends like I did this weekend I know it will happen.  

As a side note, the Ironman staff was EXCELLENT.  Even going as far as making a follow up phone call to make sure I was ok and received the best care I needed.  When I went to turn in my time chip they all knew I was upset and couldn't have been more encouraging and supportive, so kuddos to your staff, you've made an Ironman fan out of me.  GREAT EVENT in that respect!