Christina's IronTeam Page
Swim, Bike, Run, Save Lives
Race Report
Vineman August 2, 2008
Swim 01:16:35.9 T1 00:08:59.9 Bike 07:16:39.8 T2 00:09:33.2 Run 06:33:21.9
Finish 15:25:10.8
Before I can explain to you what happened during the race, I have to help you understand my "fans." A few days before the race I had some nightmares. This is not unusual, but the content of my dreams was slightly strange. In one of them I was getting ready to start the race. As I made my was down to the starting line people were wanting to give me a hug and tell me "Good Luck." As I hugged each person another came up to me. This was great for a minute, until I realized everyone else was getting in the water. I tried to explain to them that I had to get in or I would miss the race, but they seemed to not understand. They said it was OK that they would love me no matter what happened, and continued to hug me. No one seemed to be aware of my distress. The other athletes all swam off without me, on their way to becoming Ironmen while I stood on the shore, showered in love and support. I woke up in a panic. I was glad to realize it was only a dream. The night before the race, my nightmare came true. OK that might be an exaggeration, but my "fans" made it clear they would be nothing short of overwhelming. I settled in for a nice dinner with my parents, Katie, my grandma and Bene and Jim at the hotel restaurant. Jenn joined us and immediately became a member of our family. Everyone was really excited. My Grandma showed us her green shirt, and explained she would wear purple the next day. She also showed us her purple and green mardigras beads. My mom kept hopping up and running over to other tables asking everyone their race number, so she could better keep track of them during the race. My mom's phone kept ringing during the entire meal, and each time another person would join our group. Suzy, Megan and Nick soon joined us. Suzy cried at meeting Jenn again, because she was already an Ironman. They told us about how they had bought a die-cut machine to make the most perfect posters the race had ever seen. Then Becky, Don and MaryAnn arrived. They came with t-shirts and sweatshirts for everyone in the cheering section. Jim asked why he would need a t-shirt and a sweatshirt. My mom looked at him and said, "Sometimes you are hot, and sometimes you are cold." Becky also informed us how they had amps and a boom box, and would be playing music wherever they were cheering. They asked us questions, and told us about how excited they were. Everyone gave their predictions for who would finish first, but everyone hoped we would finish together. Bene and I had agreed that if we were together at any time on the third loop of the run we would stay together from that point on until the finish. I am a faster swimmer than she is, and we usually bike about the same, although her snazzy new bike makes me nervous, but she can run much faster than I can. Ideally, I would get enough ahead on the swim that I could hold her off until the third loop of the run, and then when she caught me we could finish together. I wanted us to finish together more than anything, but I wasn't so sure this could happen. At the most I would be ten minutes ahead of her on the swim, and that is not much at all on the run. Still everyone had faith in us. I could see in that moment they believed we were the two greatest people ever, and it was simply impossible that one of us could be greater then the other. There were lots of hugs, and funny stories, and everyone was preparing to be to be the best cheerers they could be. Each hug, smile and story was great, but all together it was a little overwhelming, and I began to wonder if I was going to be able to get to the starting line. Just in time dinner was over, and we had to rush off to the coaches relaxation session. Bene and I looked at each other and said, "Our family is out of control." Jenn smiled and said, "Yeah, but that's why we love them."
I was pretty nervous as we headed down to the swim start. Once we got there I was slightly calmed by all the familiar faces wearing volunteer shirts. People from our team had volunteered to be there in the first transition area. They directed us to the proper places to rack our bikes, made sure we had everything we needed and carefully wrote our numbers on our bodies. My stuff was really organized as I had checked it over and over, so it didn't take long to lay it all out. I had decided not to wear, or even bring my wetsuit. As I looked around it seemed that not that many people were swimming "naked." This made me worry that maybe I was making the wrong decision, that the additional buoyancy might be worth the discomfort and restricted movement. These worries were of course pointless, because my wetsuit was safely in my hotel room, and would remain there no matter how much I worried. It seemed we had all the time in the world, and then it seemed the race was starting so quickly.
As we entered the water the temperature was perfect. Cool, but not cold at all. I also saw that Sherri was not wearing a wetsuit either. Finally I was comfortable with my decision. I got close to Bene and Jenn. We waved to our family and shouted. Everyone was floating there so calmly, and I was treading water like mad. I knew I did not have to work that hard to stay afloat, but my nerves kept me moving. I tried to slow down, no sense in wasting energy now. Then I heard someone say we need a "Go Team!" before the race starts. Someone counted from three, and we shouted "Go Team!" We were ready. Then everyone counted down and we were swimming. At first I found it hard to get my own water, it was pretty crowded. But soon I was able to get some space and swim like I know how. The water was perfect. Not gross at all. Not cold. No current that I could notice. I told myself to stroke perfectly, and enjoy it. This was the easy part of the race for me. It seemed to take forever to get to the turn around. I thought "Wow, that was only a quarter of the way." I had heard a lot about the turn around, how it is so shallow you have to stand, but I was pleasantly surprised I could swim the whole way. My feet could easily touch the bottom, but if I stayed in the center the ground was not in the way of my stroke. As I finished up the second lap I spied my dad holding a bright green sign that said "Go Team!" It was so bright I could see it each time I sighted coming up on the next turn around. When I was nearly there I stopped and gave a shout and a wave to the family. They shouted back and I swam on. This time it took no time at all to get to the turn around. Several races were going on in the water this morning, this meant faster swimmers who had started after me were constantly passing me. Each time I tried to slip in behind them and draft off them for a minute. (Good thing I had all that practice drafting off Andrew.) As I was coming back on the last leg I heard someone shouting my name. I looked up and there was Jeremiah, swimming along beside me. I did a bit of breaststroke and we chatted a minute, and then I swam on. I soon reached the swim finish and climbed out. My dad told me I had finished the swim in 1:16. That was faster than I had hoped, especially considering I chose not to wear my wetsuit. I high-fived everyone on the way up. The volunteers from my team had moved on to wetsuit stripping. I didn't have a wetsuit so I smiled at all their cheers and ran over to my bike and began changing.
I saw Sherri leaving right as I was coming in and was so excited to see she had had a great swim time. I got changed into my bike clothes, and had a little snack. Before I even finished I saw Bene coming out of the water. I was super psyched she had an awesome swim, but then I realized the swim is the only place I have an advantage over her. I wanted us to finish together, and with her swimming so well I knew she would pass by me while I was still on the bike. I told her I would see her on the bike course, and then I was ready to go. I wrapped my things up and handed them off to one of my "fans." I ran over and hopped on my bike. We had been warned to have out bikes in the proper gear, so I easily climbed on a started off up the hill. I saw more of my family, and a few members of the tri team. They all shouted and screamed as I rode up the hill. I tried to remember not to waster energy cheering back, and gave everyone a nice calm thumbs up. I got to the top of the short hill saw more team volunteers directing me to turn the corner and was on my way.
Right as I began on the bike course I saw Danielle and Shen. I immediately forgot not to cheer back and gave them a nice loud shout. The bike felt great. I was moving pretty quickly, but I kept trying to remind myself an Ironman is about pacing, not going fast, but I kept feeling so good. Early on I ran into BoJ. He looked at me and said, "You are smokin'!" I tried to tell myself he is right, slow down, but I kept going. In Geyserville there was a short out and back. There I saw Christy, not too far behind me. I thought of what an amazing cyclist she is, and thought it would be great to get to see her again soon, when she passed me. Not long after that I caught up to Sherri. We chatted a little. I loved the rolling hills on Highway 128. They are really my specialty on the bike. I asked Sherri if she thought we were going too fast. She said we should just do what we had to. As we got to Chalk Hill Sherri pulled ahead of me. Then when we began to descend Christy pulled ahead of me. We chatted for a minute, and then she was gone. We were close to finishing the first loop. I began to feel a little tired, but I knew my "fans" were just ahead. As I turned onto Shiloh I could see all of their purple shirts like a beacon. I said, "That's my family," and waved. As I got closer I slowed down and high-fived people as I passed. As I biked on with a huge smile on my face I heard another biker say, "You have great fans!" I was so pumped I quickly caught up to Christy. She commented on my "fans" and I told her it was really hard for me not to go too fast when I knew they were out there being so awesome. I reached the next water stop, approximately the half way point on the bike. Unfortunately they had run out of water. I had of course just tossed my bottle before realizing what was going on. They were filling bottles up from the pool, which wasn't strikingly clean, but it was wet and cold. I waited for a guy to finish with a bottle, and then filled the bottle, which he had just had in his mouth, with water from the pool, and drank it. It is amazing how delicious this seemed at the time. We soon reached "Special Needs." Sherri was there when I arrived and Christy came soon after. I got a quick snack and some more chamois butter, and I was off. Sherri soon came up behind me. We talked a bit more as we began our second loop. We thought Christy had taken off ahead, but she soon came up behind us and we found out she had been hiding in the port-o-potty. The three of us biked on near each other through the second loop. Again when we came to the hill Sherri passed me on the uphill, and Christy on the downhill. I only had a little ways to go and I would finish the bike. I looked down at my watch. Oh no! I had finished the bike course in 7:16. That was way faster than I had anticipated or even hoped. Well at this point what was done was done, but I might be sorry on the run.
We headed in, again passing my "fans." A lot of people had spread out, getting spots near transition, and early out on the run course. It seemed like they were everywhere. I had seen Becky on the street when I was on my bike, and then she was there when I came into transition too. I asked her how she had gotten there, and she said, "I ran," that made me laugh. I began changing my clothes. Coach Dan came over and began helping me. He sprayed sunscreen on me, put my hat on, fastened my Garmin to my wrist. Before I knew it my rest was over and I was out on the run course again. I was so excited I felt great. I ran past a few of the other coaches and team members, and then some of my "fans."
About 10 minutes into the run I realized I might not be feeling so great. Each time I took a step my stomach was bouncing around. I decided to lengthen my walk interval, and see if that helped. Walking was definitely better. My stomach did not feel great, but it was not a crisis. I tried to walk as fast as I could. I knew I had about 7 hours to complete the marathon within the time limit. It was fine to walk all I needed but no dilly dallying. I saw Andrew and he gave me a hug. He said he couldn't stop, but was way glad to see me. I noticed I had goosebumps all over my arms, and was feeling a little cold. Since it was really warm out I knew this was a sign of dehydration. I tried to increase my water and enduralyte (salt) intake, without doing anything that was going to hurt the tummy. (Everything is a careful balance.) Until this point I really didn't notice how hot it was. I mean I knew I felt hot, but I was doing an Ironman, I wasn't expecting to feel comfortable all day. At this point though I realized it was an incredibly hot day. I looked around and barely anyone was running. Everyone was feeling the heat. Later I was told it was around 95 degrees. No wonder I was feeling thirsty. Christy caught up to me at some point on the run. It was nice to be with someone I knew. We talked a bit. I told her that I was going to be an Ironman, and then I burst into tears. That was the point I really knew it was true. I was going to finish this race. Christy laughed at me and told me she was so happy to have seen me cry. We laughed a bit and told each other entertaining stories and reminded each other to keep up the walking pace. As I neared the end of the first lap I saw Jeremiah. He told me my girlfriends were waiting up ahead. I was wondering whom I could expect to see next. As I neared the last water stop, people began asking Christy and I if one of us were Christina. I said, "Yes," and they kept saying, "People are waiting for you just ahead." Then we saw them, jumping and screaming and holding signs. There were Danielle and Shen. I talked with them for a minute and kept moving. We passed my family soon after. Everyone had moved over to the run course. I high-fived everyone and gave them some big smiles. Then we passed some of the coaches, and a lot of people out there supporting the team. And the first lap was over. The run was 1/3 of the way done.
As we began the second lap Katie and Dan ran over and asked how we were doing. I told Katie I had a list of complaints, but that I was going to finish. She laughed. On the way out Mike walked with us a bit. Christy confessed to him that I wasn't eating anything. Mike suggested I eat pretzels at the aid stations, and stay away from anything sweet, but get some food in. Now, Mike reports that I then looked at him like I wanted him to shut up. I wasn't thinking that at all (I am pretty sure), but I wasn't feeling so great, so I didn't give him my normal 1000 megawatt smile, or even the tongue out to the side, so he may have been confused that my general lack of happiness was directed at him. I told him that I would be able to run again, but just not yet. He told us we were about to "Get cheered big time," and turned back to wait for others. He was right. We then passed my family. They were screaming jumping and waving signs. We high-fived them and kept moving forward. Around the corner we saw Becky and Amy. They told us they had watched a lot of people get penalties for being paced, so they weren't going to run with us, but they did jump around a lot which was entertaining. As we approached the corner I heard someone announce, "Christina is coming!" and I could hear Danielle and Shen. I was so excited to see them I forgot to get the pretzels, which I had really intended to try. Soon after Christy said she was ready to try running. I said I was OK with that, and we began to run. It felt OK and I was glad. After about 2 minutes my watch beeped to indicate a rest interval. I was getting kind of tired, so I told her to go on, and I was going to try to listen to my watch from here on. I began to walk, and then got a little wave of light headedness. Hmmmm, maybe it was a good idea to eat something before running. I continued walking. I felt like there was some danger of my positive bubble breaking. I kept telling myself I could not let it break, but I think it might have had a small leak and some negative thoughts were coming in. My walking pace slowed down a bit. Bene passed me. I knew we wouldn't finish together, but I knew we would both finish, so I tried not to be disappointed. I remembered to get pretzels at the next aid stations, and they went down pretty well. At each aid station I got a few more, and felt a little better. I kept waiting to see Bene coming towards me. She should be coming soon. She had passed me so long ago. I finally saw her as I neared the turn around. She was not very far ahead of me, so she must not be moving much faster than I was. As I reached the turn around I saw Hank, an honoree for another team. He asked me if he would see me again, and I said "Of course. I am going to finish this race," and I turned around and began to run. I did my best to follow what my watch said to do, running for four minutes, then walking for one. A few times I saved my walk intervals, because I didn't want to waste them on the downhill, and added in a little extra walking where I need it on the uphills. I felt great. The air was cool, I was able to take in lots of pretzels at each stop, and the blisters that were plaguing my feet from so much walking felt loads better when I ran. I began passing people who had passed me. This was the sort of run I had planned for. I thought maybe I could catch Bene and then we could be together on the third lap and we could finish together. I knew if I could catch her I could keep up with her. I passed Danielle and Shen. Danielle shouted here she is, and then about a million people started screaming "Christina!" I told them I was so glad it had cooled down. Danielle explained she had made a sign that said "So hot right now!" but had hidden it because she didn't think anyone wanted to be reminded how hot they were. Ha ha ha! Around the corner I spied Brian and Cilla. I had to ask. I just needed to know if it was possible. So I asked them. "How far ahead of me is Bene?" Brian said, "Not far at all. She is the next flames jersey ahead of you, I think you will see her when you turn the corner." My watch beeped for a rest interval, and I kept running. I tuned the corner and I could see flames just ahead. I heard my family cheer for Bene, and then I saw them turn and cheer for me. They told me Bene was right in front of me. I said, "I know, and I am going to catch her on the third loop!" The screams that came in response were deafening. My watch beeped again to rest, and I kept running. I saw Christy running towards me, and I stopped briefly. I told her that I was so glad we were both slow enough to be completing our run in cooler weather. She laughed and agreed. As I turned the corner I saw some more friends from the team cheering us on, but I could really only focus on one thing. I was getting closer to the flames jersey ahead of me. My watched beeped again, but there was no way I was stopping. I heard the announcer call Bene's name as she completed her second loop. I could see her getting her bracelet, and then he called my name. I saw her turn to look for me when she heard my name, and I sprinted right over. We hugged and screamed and at that moment we knew we were going to finish together.
I told her I was ready for a walk interval. By that time I had skipped three in a row. She said we could do whatever I wanted. We walked a bit, and saw some people from our team. We told them that we were going to finish together. We saw our family, and they were ecstatic. They always had known we were going to finish together. Each time we saw a person we knew or had met we told them about how we were going to finish together. We walked most of the uphills, and jogged on the downhills. At this point nothing really mattered. We got out to the turn around and both gave Hank a hug. We told him that we were going to finish together. We turned around and suddenly realized it was pitch black. It had been getting darker all along, but now it was dark dark dark. There was no denying it. It was hard to see our feet, and the ground was bumpy with potholes and cracks. Bene said she was worried about the danger of stepping in a hole and getting hurt in this dark. I told her I would carry her across the finish line if that happened, but I agreed we should walk, because I didn't think I could carry her 4 miles. We began walking. My blisters hurt so badly, all I wanted to do was run, but I couldn't see my feet at all. I thought of my headlamp waiting for me in transition. The headlamp I should have grabbed at the start of the third loop. The headlamp I had completely forgotten about in my excitement of catching Bene. We bunched up with other people on the course, everyone trying not to trip. I tried to keep walking quickly, but my blisters hurt so badly. We were carefully watching the mileage. We knew we had less than a 5k to go. How could it be taking so long? 5ks are quick. I pressed the light on my Garmin so I could check the mileage again. Now 2.5 miles left to go. Really!?! All that walking, and hurting, and time passing, and we had only gone half a mile. Each time there was a car or a house or a person providing any light we ran. At last we came up on the last aid station. The asked what we needed, and I was honest with them. "I have a finish line photo coming up, and I need to look good." They helped me to wash all the salt off my face, and advised me to get rid of my glow necklace. They helped me adjust my clothes, and race number so I looked great, and then we ran off. Now there were streetlights and we could see. As we ran I reminded myself I needed to get rid of my fuel belt. From here on in, it was all about looking good for the picture. I tossed my fuel belt on the ground at Trista's feet. People around me laughed as I explained I wasn't accepting outside assistance, I had just dropped my fuel belt, and if Trista happened to be nice enough to pick it up then that would be great. I saw Dan and gave him a sloppy hug. We did a little walking as we got close to the corner. We wanted to be running when we crossed the finish line. We saw Danielle and Shen and I told them they were in the wrong place, they needed to get to the finish line. Danielle sweetly explained they could run a lot faster than us right now, and would be at the finish line. They ran ahead and we saw others. We got close to the finish line and the sides were lined with people. We ran over and began high-fiving everyone. People we so excited for us. Then we grabbed hands threw them up over our heads, smiled and crossed the finish line.
Finishing was pretty overwhelming. Andrew was waiting right there for me with a hug and some chocolate milk. I wanted to hug everyone, and people were crying. I was crying. There were lots of pictures taken, and lots of hugs. Part of me just didn't know what to do. I was no longer training for an Ironman; I was an Ironman! I am an Ironman!
Thank you so much to everyone for all of your support. The encouraging words during training and as I was preparing for the race were invaluable. Special thanks to everyone who was there for me during the race. I know it was a really long day, quite hot, and not easy. It was great to know that you were all there because you support and care about me. I heard about my fans from my teammates, as well as many other random people on the course. I heard whispers about you through the halls of the hotel. Everywhere I went I heard she is the one they were all cheering for. I definitely had the most obnoxious fans at the entire triathlon, and I wouldn't have had it any other way. You made yourselves visible, and lent your support to every athlete out there. I have heard from so many people how your cheering helped them to smile and enjoy their experience. I also think your posters contained more words than this race report, and that is no small feat. Thanks to everyone who called, e-mailed, sent text messages, and wrote on my Facebook wall. It was great to know so many people were thinking about me. Thanks to everyone who donated money to LLS in support of me. You made this about something more. Thanks to you this was one step (or many steps over 140.6 miles) toward curing cancer. Thanks to all of our honorees. Your lives inspire me to do great things. Just like Ironmen you come in many shapes and sizes, and just like Ironmen you probably didn't anticipate this would be a part of your life. I am thankful that I was able to choose this path, and hope that the path I am taking can help improve the path of you and others in the future. Thanks to my wonderful team. It was an honor to be out there with many of you on the course. Your friendship and presence got me through many training days and without a doubt across the finish line on Saturday. Thanks to those Ironteamers who were not racing. Your help and special attention as race volunteers really helped to smooth the nerves and get me in the water in the morning. You guys also had a long not so easy day, full of volunteering and workouts, but you were still there and smiling at the finish line. It made me wish I could be there for all of your races. Thanks to the coaches of our team. Thanks to you we were well prepared for the race, physically, and mentally. We were ready when things went right, but also when they went wrong. Over the course of the last year you have led us through accomplishments we never knew were possible, and believed in us before we even believed in ourselves. Your leadership extends beyond helping us to be better athletes. You help us to be incredible friends, and work together to achieve something more than any of us could on our own.
Now the race is over, but I am still a little overwhelmed. This was without a doubt the most intense thing I have ever done in my life. The race was a symbol of all that has happened in the last year. I put training above so many other things in my life. I spent so much time with people I barely knew, who are now some of my closest friends. Most weekends I achieved things I thought were impossible. For the last 10 months I have looked forward to Mondays (our rest days) with an enthusiasm I never thought I would feel for the end of a weekend. I triumphed over sickness. I achieved new levels of heath and fitness. I wondered and worried if this day would ever come, and if when it did if I would be ready. Now it seems like it was all a given. It is now a reality, and all my doubts seem silly. I wanted it and was willing to work hard for it, that was the real achievement. I now know if I want something, it is as good as done. I am capable of working, sacrificing, and even some suffering, but I am not capable of failing.
I am an Ironman!
