RACE DAY - IRONMAN CANADA -  August 26^TH 2012 – Race report & summary of my gratitude!!!

It all starts around 3am when I wake and stare at the clock because I can no longer sleep. What am about to do in a few hours, why do I think I can do this, am I ready, will I make it out of the water, will I make the cutoff? All of these things are going through my head as I just lay there… holy shit I have an Ironman today! After calming a bit, I get up, get dressed, have some coffee and off we go to the race site.  We walk outside and Mother Nature appears to be on our side, it is a PERFECT weather day and no wind – thank you God!!!

It is now 5am, I am dropping off my special needs bags, convinced I forgot something major, but it is too late now. I get body marked, go put food on my bike, pump up my tires, grab my wetsuit all along thinking to myself “you are doing WHAT in 2 hours?”

Mary, Brian and Becky are with me – THANK GOD – as my heart is racing so fast now, that talking to others was distracting me and keeping me calm (For those of you that know me well, I talk a LOT, and when scared or nervous it doubles, so you can only imagine – ha).. Out on the swim beach I start to freak, I am over prepared since I am so scared and even wore 2 pairs of goggles (yes had eyes in the back of my head) due to a fear of them breaking or leaking and having to swim 2.4 miles without them.

It is now 6:45 am and pros are off… 15 min away from the scariest swim start for me ever. 2700 people doing a mass start swim and then working out all day, are we idiots? To some this is a day to be competitive, to others it is personal and they just want to beat a previous years’ time, to some it is because they were given a 2^nd chance in some way and they feel blessed to take this challenge. To me and many others, we are Ironman virgins; it will be the FIRST TIME we ever take on an endurance event of this size! We all have different reasons for doing so, one of which is, because we CAN and we are blessed with our health to be able to do so. Thoughts of those that aren’t so lucky may also be what get some of us through the day (you know who you are)!! I get in the water and do a very short practice swim to just get adjusted and then out again to stand and look out on the lake at what I am about to begin! My heart is racing and I am still in disbelief that this is about to start.

THE CANNON GOES OFF at 7am and we are OFF… I made the decision to hold back a bit to not be in the chaos of ALL 2700 people, and say to myself, stay calm, just keep swimming and remember to breathe. After a few good punches  in the face, my leg being pulled on a few times, people who can’t site cutting me off, spotting a few scuba divers below that I just smiled and waved at and counting 31 buoys over the next 2.4 miles, I DID IT.. I am out of the water in 1:48 .. slower than normal, but over 30 min before the swim cut off and for the first time EVER stayed calm the entire way. The best part, I have a SMILE on my face & tear in my eyes. One sport down, two to go (oh and 138.2 miles – ha)

After a slow T1 due to dizziness and trouble standing (guess that happens when you have been horizontal in moving water for a while), I am now dressed for the bike and off I go to find Ronan and get on the course… The next 112 miles on my ass might I add (holy chaffing, but that is another story) were actually the most enjoyable 7+ hours I have had in a long time. The scenery was breathtaking, orchards and vineyard everywhere along the mountains and surrounding the beautiful lakes. Mary was right, this course was amazing! I clearly had a lot of time to think out there, so many things crossed through my mind… Random things from my Grandma looking down at me being proud as she was the one who always told me I could do anything, to Mary’s voice telling me to suck it up, to my beautiful goddaughter and how blessed I am to have her in my life, to the you-tube video my amazing friends made us back in Colorado, to the family of friends I have made over the past 7 years in CO, to my amazing niece & nephew back in Texas, to my sisters and brothers and how blessed I am to have them all in my life now & I am not going to lie, I was also thinking about how SORE my ass was starting to feel and how I actually was looking forward to getting off and running (WHAT? Who wants to do that) I was elated, smiling and just enjoying every minute, never once worried about my speed, simply still just wanted to take it easy and get to the end which was the ultimate goal.  The bike was coming to an end, I am close to getting off and see a few friends heading out on the run, I LOVED having friends out there with me, makes the day easier.

Are you kidding me right now, TWO sports completed & I have only 26.2 miles left (yes you read that right I have been out exercising for a little under 10 hours already and I still have a FULL MARATHON to go) and believe it or not I am STILL SMILING ….. Now off to the run…………..

Let the marathon begin, I am shocked at how good I feel and that I am so close to achieving this bucket list goal. I see so many fellow RMTC members on the run course (mind you most of them are on the 2^nd part of their run, and I am on the first ½ marathon, but I don’t care) I love it, waving, yelling their name, hugging all of them I see and then seeing Mary and yelling at her “Stay on your side” in-con-siderite” – (inside joke) (but she wasn’t feeling so good to keep up our ghetto humor)  Another great part of the run, seeing spectators that came out to support us and simply taking in the day for what it is. The volunteers and spectators out on the course are AMAZING, they truly keep us going and hope they all know what it means to us athletes for them to be there!! The run is going great, I am almost at the turnaround at mile 13 and feel amazing and it is just over 12 hours that I have been out there. They are starting to pass out glow sticks knowing the sun will set soon and I am SHOCKED at the time I am doing & how I am feeling great, but then what Mary told me begins to happen.. Expect the unexpected.. Mile 16 hits and everything changes. From mile 16 to almost 24 I am sick, nothing will stay down, I can’t eat anything, can’t drink anything and feel like daggers are being stabbed into all parts of my legs. I don’t care!!!!! I have gone all this way I am NOT giving up even if I have to walk it all the way to the finish, or hell crawl for that matter!!! Thoughts of others go through my head and how they wouldn’t give up their fight, this fight, or fighting cancer or other things life brings us.. DON’T GIVE UP TORI…. YOU CAN DO THIS!!!  I get to mile 24 and the town starts to light up, something comes over me and I start jogging again, I get to Lakeside drive and I see Kelly & Elizabeth (my friends that came to support me & I am sooooooooooooo grateful to them for being there) I can’t tell you HOW HAPPY I am to see familiar faces and also know that I am so close to achieving this goal..

Mile 25-26.2 felt like forever, it was almost like everything went quiet, I could see people cheering and smell those nasty fried donuts at the turn around (not good for a girl who has been throwing up – wish that sense would have faded too J) I see Kelly & Elizabeth again, YEAH – I know I am close, I pull out my Colorado State flag (that I had recently had signed by Crowie, Rinny & TO – 3 pro triathletes for those of you that are not aware) and I see the light… HOLY SHIT this is happening… I run into the finish chute, smiling ear to ear, flag over my head and an emotion that I can never explain to anyone...as soon as I cross the finish line, my head drops and I break into tears…

I DID IT - I AM AN IRONMAN…

I am the same girl who 8 years ago I couldn’t swim, I hadn’t been on a bike since I was a little girl and the thought of running a mile made me want to cry…………………a girl who never believed in herself.... BUT NOW...

I achieved something I never thought possible, I believe in myself in a way I never have before (the way Grandma always did), I didn’t give up and for the first time ever in my life, I was Proud of MYSELF  – I AM AN IRONMAN!!

NOW FOR THE IMPORTANT PART.. THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thank you to my fellow teammates who pushed me all season, thank you to Coach Charley and all of the other coaches in TNT over the years that pushed me, thank you to my friends who didn’t get mad at me when I didn’t go out so that I could go to bed early and get up at 430am to train, thank you to Kelly & the entire Smith family for taking me in as one of your own, thank you to the all in the medical world that got me through my injuries so I could make it to race day. Thank you to those that have touched my life that allowed me to keep going in their honor or memory! Thank you to my Grandma for looking down on me all day from above and reminding me that I could do it. And a big thank you to Mary Carey, who is the toughest person I know. She was the one that taught me how to swim 8 years ago (trust me it was UGLY), she talked me into not biking in tennis shoes and getting clip pedals and she never doubted I could one day run and not walk so much…She is not only a coach, but an true inspiration to me and best of all, an amazing friend.. I am truly blessed in life and I am still pinching myself from this surreal experience and achievement!  THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!

 

Thursday, August 23^rd through Saturday, August 25^th

Today is the day I head to Canada to endure on the biggest event to date in my life. I go pick up Kelly and we head off to the airport to meet everyone else to head out to Spokane before our 4 ½ hour drive into Penticton, B.C in Canada. What a beautiful drive, had I known this part of NAM was so beautiful, I would have taken a road trip years ago. We arrived at our rental house and were greeted by the sweetest couple who showed us around their home & even gave us some welcome wine, they were lovely! Off to a great Greek dinner we went.... I even tasted some Peach beer… there is no lack of peaches in the area!!! 

Friday morning we went for a practice swim and then it all started to get more real, if this morning was any indication of race day, I was now even more scared. Windy, choppy and white caps in the water, I lasted 10 minutes and was sea sick feeling, oh boy 2.4 miles is going to be long if these conditions stick around. We then rode our bike around a few blocks to check the gears, etc and ensure all was good for race day (that planned 45 min ride turned into 10 minutes due to the extreme winds). We are now off to pick up packet.

In line to get my packet and I am given a silver disco  colored wristband that the volunteer asked me if I ‘loved’  it since I had spend $700 for it.. (too funny), we got that and a bag and the basics for the race, holy shit this is getting real.  I am trying my hardest not to show the anxiety I am feeling and just try to enjoy the day with friends. That evening we went to our athlete dinner (bummed our friends didn’t join in as there was a 30 min wait and they were hungry – who can blame them). The dinner was nice and we got to watch past video of IMCA and also hear a few people speak. One guy had done over 100 Ironmen in his life (is he freaking crazy – who does that and who the hell has time for that, does he not work? but still very impressed) and then a few pros and also Sister Madonna – what an inspiration this woman is. 82 years of age, the first women to ever do Ironman Canada AND she was going to do it on Sunday with us again!! Okay now seriously, I BETTER suck it up and finish and for sure  don’t get beat out by an 82 year old (although she is way more experienced than I am) Seriously what an inspiration. We also learned that Sunday will not only the 30 year anniversary of Ironman Canada, but the LAST Ironman Canada, so another reason to get my butt out there and stay strong.

Saturday morning I got up early because I couldn’t sleep, thoughts of Sunday were racing through my mind. I decided to go for a little practice jog by myself before everyone else got up to clear my head a little. What an amazing area we are staying in. I ran alongside Lake Skaha and had some deer as company, saw an old gutted hotel building and just simply enjoyed the amazing views around me, vineyards and all.  Once back and everyone was up and ready, we set off to load our bikes into transition, drop off our bags and then had a great lunch with the crew overlooking the lake, did some gambling and headed back to the house for an early night.  We all worked together to make an amazing dinner and even invited Wes over to join us (he is our amazing bike transporter from Pro Bike Express), had a lot of laughs & turned in for the big day tomorrow.  At this point I am so nervous and scared I just want to pretend to sleep for a while and pray for a good day tomorrow! For anyone that knew me when I did my first triathlon in 2004, I had to be talked off a ledge the night before, I was so scared of the open water swim and the idea of doing an Olympic distance triathlon at all. I am guessing that person is either shocked right now or laughing at my ‘thought’ of doing this… because now I am doing 4 times that and 8 years ago I didn't know how to swim, didn't own a bike and couldn't run a mile – REALLY I am now attempting an Ironman?