Race report time again! Here’s a recent report from SBM friend, Charlie and her first 70.3 at Chisago Lakes Half Iron!! She rocked the race, and she says “maybe” she’ll think about a full iron distance someday. I am putting money on “someday” being more like 2012. Charlie and her husband, Kevin (“Kdog”) are destined to be best friends with me and the Expert. Only we haven’t all actually met yet. But give us time. Here’s her report!
“Dude, the [race] was AMAZING.. Here’s a ‘lil synopsis of it.We [me and my husband] pull up to the infamous Paradise Park in Chisago City, MN (I am feeling terrified at this point about the whole idea of a 70.3). We pick up my packet and I happen to glance over at the lake below that I will be swimming in on Sunday. I’m thinking: Holy cow that is really how far I have to swim? I cannot believe how far those buoys go out. You have got to be kidding me!! For those who know me, I am a marathon runner, so the run I can do and the bike….well, that we learn how to do at a young age…but the swim… oh man I hate the swim. Hate is a strong word maybe fear is better.
My eyes immediately started to well up with tears, Kdog (my husband who has done one Ironman) looks over and says, “Charlie if this is how you’re going to act we’re not coming back here on Sunday. You can do this”
I wasn’t so sure I could but at least he believed in me. 🙂 But alas, I do go back to Paradise Park on Sunday. Here’s how it unfolds…
The Swim:I had met a girl named Lisa (mother of 4 girls by the way) at the bike rack. She reminded me of Dory from [Finding Nemo], the Disney movie. She was a hoot, and this was her first 70.3 as well. She quickly introduced herself to me and was super friendly. As I stood there on the beach anxiously awaiting to get in the water, Lisa (who I had since lost site of in the sea of wetsuits and green swim caps) located me….
“Ready for the swim she says?” I was not, I was nervous as hell.
She says to me, “I am not real “churchy,” but I always just tell myself “God is Good.”
… I took her advice. That is what I told myself….and it worked. God is good. God is good… Suddenly, I was swimming with no anxiety although. It was hard to see because it was foggy (air temp was 64; water temp was 75, so the fog over water was thick)… could barely see the bouys, and therefore, sighting was tough. But I just kept after it. I probably swam an extra half-mile, so the swim took me a long time (55 minutes). Normally, in the pool, we’re talking about 35-40 min. But! I made it and I was so happy I finally conquered my fear of the water. Nothing else mattered at the point….
The Bike:
I accidentally took off too early on the bike. The officials were hollering at me… but I couldn’t stop since I was clipped in (ooops!). It was windy and the roads were rough on parts of the route. It was hard too, because [the course] had mile markers on every mile.. 56 miles takes a while…
There were lots of nice people on the way though who were very encouraging which helped a lot. The bike took me 3 1/2 hours, I had to stop at the port-a-potty (which ironically enough was right where I needed them) and water stops, plus the wind, a lot of rough roads (potholes, etc.), which I hadn’t really trained for. I know I know excuses are for losers…. Just saying.. It wasn’t my best time….
The Run:
I got back from the bike and I felt like I was the last one in….it seemed that all the bike racks were full. My sister made mention that I might have been one of the last ones in too and then proceeded to ask me if I was ready to run 13 miles now? Good lord, no I wasn’t.
However, something came over me. I felt empowered that I had made it this far, and so as I was running, I just kept subtracting the miles. 11 Miles to go… 10 Miles to go. Didn’t seem so bad after the swim and the bike. The course was an “out and back”, so all the athletes coming back were so encouraging (great job, keep it up.. step by step) so that was really nice. Plus, I had a great opportunity to see all the different people competing, old, young, big, small.. We were all in “it” together.
I saw Lisa again on the run and ironically enough in “Dory” fashion she forgot my name as I was passing her. She said “Oh hey there’s that marathon girl I was telling you about, ‘What’s your name again?'”
I finished strong on the run at 2:08. Even I was surprised after swimming/biking that far.
Moral of the Story:
I just took it task by task. Never focusing on what was next, which I think helped a lot.
That’s about it. I loved it ! My official time was 6 hours and 43 minutes. I was shooting for under 7… but really, I just wanted to finish before they closed finish line at 8 hours.
I definitely would do it again ….and would possibly consider a full Ironman…..someday.”
Thanks, Charlie! Check out Charlie and her brother’s non-profit organization, yRun: a great organization if you are looking to run for a cause or have a way to get your cause out there.