2016 Victoria 70.3
I woke up at 3:45am and started to move around. I had a bowl of oatmeal with a banana, of
which I ate about half. About 4:25 Derek
and I headed to the race venue. He
dropped me off about ¾ mile away because of traffic. I walked down a dark road in the forest with
many other racers. I was calm and for
the most part ready to go. They
announced that the swim would be shortened due to extensive weeds at the far
end so instead of 1.2 miles we’d be going just about a mile.
I got to my bike and set up transition. I had everything I needed- including a pair
of earplugs I thought I lost so I was actually better off than planned. I made the decision to swim without my tri
jersey on because the air was still pretty cold. This meant I would have a dry top when I
headed out on the bike. I met up with
Rebecca and we spent time getting ready and headed over to the water about
5:50.
The Pro’s started promptly at 6am. Lining up for the swim was a bit of a cluster
because you had to seed yourself based on your estimated time. They didn’t have enough room for everyone to
line up so it ended up being a big mish mash of swimming levels. I still managed to hang out until the end and
got in the water at exactly 6:20. It was
a great temperature but since I had not gotten in prior to race start it was
still a bit of a system shock. After
about a 100 yards it was calmed down and enjoying my swim. The weeds were not too bad and others weren’t
kicking me so I was feeling pretty good.
My sighting was great and I only had to pull up twice to avoid a couple
of rogue swimmers. Towards the last 1/3
of the swim the weeds really showed up.
They were gigantic; slapping me in the face, getting caught across my
head, arms, and back, but it didn’t freak me out because mentally I had
prepared for it. I exited the swim and
felt great.
I was off to transition, a good 150 yards away so I had
plenty of time to take off the top of my wetsuit and other necessary
accessories. Once in transition I got
dried off, top on, and lubed up. I
didn’t put on any sunscreen and thankfully the weather was perfect and I didn’t
get burned. I tried to grab a bite of my
PB&J sandwich I planned to eat but I almost gagged so I got my bike and
headed out. Liz and Darcie were there to
cheer me on so that was awesome.
The second I got on my bike after I stepped across the
timing mat I knew I was in trouble. I
had no legs. None. Zilch. I had 56 hilly
miles to ride and a half marathon and no legs.
F. The first part of the ride was
supposed to be the easy part and by mile 20 my legs were no longer part of my
body. My feet were completely numb and
cold. Every hill was a battle. I felt
sick to my stomach and had a very hard time fueling on my ride. This upset stomach followed me all day. I saw a few people changing flat tires and
prayed that would not be me. Then at the
second aid station there had been a crash.
After that the hills really kicked in.
At mile 30 my chain fell off, going down hill. My legs were so tired I could barely unclip
to fix it. But that short rest was
enough to keep me moving. A few miles
later I was inches from T-boning a cat.
I ran over its tail and if I had hit it I would have crashed for
sure. Then 50 yards up the road the deer
were prancing all around so I was hoping to not to hit one of them. Then another awful short, steep hill, then
another and another.
When I got to the big hill (9% grade for about a mile) I
almost started crying. I didn’t know if
I could do it. There was an aid station
there so I stopped, used the bathroom, and got my ass back on my bike. Liz and Darcie were at the base of the hill
to cheer me on. I got into granny gear
(where I was most of the damn course) and just repeated “up and over, up and
over” to my legs and feet. It was slow
but I made it and did not stop to walk, which others did. At the top I got ready to cruise down and hit
just under 40mph using my breaks on the way down. I knew I needed every second. A ride I had only planned to last 3:45 was
looking more like 4:15. Then another
hill and another and another. But I just
kept going. I wanted to quit so many
times but just kept moving forward.
When I finally pulled into transition for the first time in
4 hours and 20 minutes I finally felt like I may be able to pull this out. I had 3 ½ hours to run a half marathon. My best time is 2 ½ hours so I thought this
would be totally doable. I got my
running gear on but the run exit out of transition was not clearly marked so I
had to find an athlete to ask where to go.
By this time many people had already finished and collected their bikes
so it was thinning out.
Once on the run I started my run 5 minutes walk 1 plan. I was doing ok for the first 2 kms but I had
19 more to go and I was tired. No legs remember? At the first aid station another racer named
Peter started jogging with me- he was going to walk the whole thing but liked
my pace so we kept each other going. I
was trying with all my might to fuel. I
had a headache setting in and my stomach was still not settled. I saw the family and got some cheers which
was so nice.
After the first lap we had 90 minutes left to do about 6
miles. I thought doable but I would need
to kick it into gear. He stayed with me
on and off the second lap around the lake.
But with about 4 miles left I knew I could not walk any more. I was shuffling at about a 14 min mile pace
and knew it was going to be close. Peter
dropped off and I didn’t see him again. I
started to get teary thinking I wouldn’t finish in time to get a medal (you
only get 8.5 hours). I got to the last
hill on the run and Liz was there to cheer me on. I needed it. I walked up the hill and ran down. At the bottom were Liz, and Derek. He had come to find me thinking something had
happened. He ran/walked with me the last
km of the race. Darcie joined us as well
and both of them helped get me to the finish line by jogging and encouraging me
to get it done. We came around the last
corner and I saw my parents and kids cheering me on. It was what I needed for one last push.
I crossed the finish line with 8 minutes to spare. I was thankful and relieved. I got my medal and my finishers hat and a big
hug from Liz who was there waiting for me at the end. My mom and dad were there with the kids – I
was truly spent and covered in salt. I
was happy to be done and grateful for so many things. – list below
- My Facebook friends Darcie and Liz – it’s amazing how tow people you’ve only met once in person can have such a profound impact on race day.
- I had a great swim.
- I didn’t get a flat tire.
- I didn’t hit the cat or the deer.
- I didn’t walk my bike at all.
- I didn’t give up even though I wanted to so many times.
- I kept moving on the run.
- I experienced the fear of not finishing in time.
- I didn’t get a single blister or lasting injury.
- I finished.
I know there are infinitely more things I am thankful for and
a long list of thing’s I’d do differently.
After the race was over I said there is no way I would ever do this
again. But there I sit, only two days
post race and am already thinking about how I can shave 20 minutes off my time
for next year. I don’t’ know if I’ll do
it again but I certainly won’t rule it out.
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