Be DQ'ed and still PR and smile

In 2013, I raced the Rev 3 Cedar Point half with a majorly bad attitude. I had PR’ed every race that season and went into this race believing that if I didn’t PR, it wasn’t a valuable race. Well, that race was drastically changed from the moment it began. The swim was moved from the shores of Lake Erie, over to the west bay of Cedar Point due to dangerous swells in the Lake, which equated to an extra .25 mile run from the swim to the transition area which I wasn’t prepared to run…...in sandals! With crazy headwind on the bike as well, I finished in a decent time, but NOT what I had prepped in my mind to race and thus at the finish line I emotionally collapsed. I wasn’t able to appreciate all that I had done and wasn’t able to celebrate the accomplishments of my peers. That day my coach held my crying face in her hands and said, “Amy if you expect to PR every race you run, you will NEVER last in this sport. You need to find the things that went WELL today.” Those words have run in my head ever since.

Just Tri gang for dinner! Early bird special! :)

Fast forward to September 7, 2014. It’s time for Rev 3 again and I'm racing the half distance….again. I went into this race obviously wanting to “race” it but also knowing it was meant to be a BIG training day for THE big day…..meaning IMAZ on November 16. The winds are always mighty at Cedar Point so I knew that going into it. The day before the race I got my race number, #343, checked in my faithful steed Killer (all pumped up with her new hydration system and fine tune up) and racked her for the night. I met up with some Just Tri peeps for dinner at TGI Fridays’ (always a fine establishment) and crashed at the hotel with Iron Ann and my family friend Jackie who was doing the half aquabike for the night. After some cursing at the standings in the Big 10, we went to bed.

Love the tri suit, thanks Wendy!!!

Race morning wasn’t super early as Rev 3 doesn’t start the half waves until at least 8:20am. My wave was set to leave at 8:45 and since the park isn’t open to the public until 11am, parking was awesome and aplenty.  I got all set up in transition and gave my pep talk to Killer, then made it down to the beach. The waves were huge and fast. The water was warm thankfully, but did I mention the waves were super big? I tried to let it out of my mind….had to get in anyway, right? Met up with some Balanced Tri/MIT gals and kept my cool for a while. Then it was time to line up. Peed in my wetsuit on the beach. That warmed things up a bit! Then we waded into the water before the siren went off. So far I was still good, but getting a bit nervous about the swells. They were big and often. My friend Nichole who was in my wave mentioned to me “I swear it wasn’t this bad on the warm up Amy.” Haha, yeah, ok Nichole. This was getting a bit scary.

My spot :)

The siren went off and I charged the waves. And lost. It was the most challenging .25 mile swim of my life. After hitting the second “sighting” buoy, I felt myself pulled underwater (slightly) by some current and lost my orientation of where I was and what I was doing. When I surfaced later, it had been at least 10 seconds and I was gasping for air and choking. The jet ski came up to my side and ordered me to hang on. I assumed this was for safety and to let me catch my breath. Sooner than I realized I was pulled onto the jet ski and we were headed for shore. I wasn’t fully sure what was happening but I started to realize my day was over. “No,” I thought. “I can’t be done!” When I reached shore, this guy named Eric came up and saw my number and whispered those fateful words: “I’ve got a DQ on #343.” Ouch. Punched in the gut. Eric then turned to me and said, “do you still want to do the bike and run?” “Really?” I thought. “I can still do that?” I said to him. “Yep, you’ve trained hard for today. You can still do the rest if you want.” “Ok,” I said. “I’ll finish.” He called someone on his radio to let them know I was continuing and I made the sobering walk to the swim exit to find my bike and continue.

On the way down the beach I wondered if I really deserved to continue. Should I keep going or just call it a day? I patted 2 other guys on the back who were making the same walk of shame…..it was sad and hard and humbling to not be out in the water with the rest. Whatever the circumstance, as an athlete your mind always starts to think what you could have done to prevent whatever happened.  I decided I HAD to continue….I had paid too much money and had come too far to throw away this training day. I was indeed going to find the things that went well today and celebrate THOSE things rather than my DQ on the swim.

I made my way up the swim exit and signaled to Iron Ann that I was out. Poor thing probably didn’t understand what was happening! After fully utilizing the wetsuit strippers (LOVE THEM! EVERY RACE SHOULD HAVE THEM!), I was off on Killer and we were going to have a run ride, no matter what.  I decided I’d congratulate every full Iron athlete I saw and I’d encourage everyone I could. I’d make this a good day, no matter what! I utilized my new hydration system and found that I loved it. In the end, I smiled at a ton of volunteers, and I finished with a PR on the bike for the half distance, FINALLY getting under 3 hours. And I didn’t cheat, didn’t draft and didn’t quit.

Origninally I had thought I’d only run a few miles off the bike….this was of course when I was walking on the beach after my swim defeat. I knew I had to run the full 13.1 miles and I set out to do it…...started out at a good clip and kept on my nutrition and hydration plan which worked wonderfully. My only downfall: forgetting sunscreen. The temps weren’t that bad but the sun was relentless and we were in full sun for a LOT of the time. I’m fair skinned and that didn’t set well with my poor, white-girl complex. I could feel myself turning pink and wishing I hadn’t made such a rookie mistake!

Seeing Iron Ann and Randy around mile 7-8 helped. Ann ran with me for a bit and I filled her in on the mishap of the swim. She told me my coach had called her and ordered me to finish the day. Yes ma’am! There was obviously no other options!

I rounded the corner to the last 2 miles of the run and kept going strong. It was a slog, as I could feel myself chafing a bit under my left arm and the sunburn was increasing. But I kept going and rounded the familiar turn to the finish. The announcer butchered my name and I crossed the finish in the best “thank-god-i’m-done-you-have-no-clue-how-much-of-a-day-this-was-for-me-mentally/physically/emotionally” kind of pose I could muster. That cool towel on my back by that lovely volunteer meant everything.

Here I come!!!

I was offered a medal and finisher visor and I took it….ultimately not because I truly finished the ENTIRE race, but more beauce I finished MY race….my mental “not going to give in the towel, especially this week/season” race. And that’s something I’m very proud of doing.

This would have been an easy day to quit and make up some excuse to tell everyone why it went wrong, etc. But that’s all Fear-Based Amy and she didn’t get a role today. Badass Brave Amy got to race today, and she’s the gal who will toe the line at IMAZ. Today was a great training day and I can tell you many things that went right if you ever are curious….I took in EVERY grateful detail of the day which I honestly can say did NOT happen last year.

Be DQ’ed AND still PR AND smile. Be Brave.

Be Merging

My last big race before IMAZ is almost here….Sunday morning will be the Rev 3 Cedar Point Half Rev (a half Iron distance triathlon) up in Sandusky, Ohio. I'm looking forward to attacking this course with a better attitude than I had last year……..

Last year I went into this race negatively and it spiraled from that point. The swim start had been changed which meant all racers now needed to add a .25 mile run from the swim exit to the transition area…and guess who didn't bring a spare pair of running shoes? Yep, that "run" across the Cedar Point parking lot sealed my fate. The bike was incredibly windy, which is actually why the swim was moved. The wind that year was so crazy that the waves in Lake Erie made the original swim there too dangerous. The run wasn't horrible, but by that point I had been struggling for so much with the negative thoughts that I never really enjoyed it. My overall finish time wasn't horrible, but I had gone into this race believing I SHOULD get a PR, because that's what I wanted……period. When that didn't happen I was crushed. Looking back though I'm glad that happened…..yep, I'm GLAD I DIDN'T GET A PR. Wow, can't believe I said that.

I learned in that race that if I ever expect to stay in endurance sports for the rest of my life, I can't get hung up on time goals that I don't meet. If time is the only thing that matters, my enjoyment of marathons and triathlons will die very soon. Last year my coach really challenged me to think about all the things that went WELL in the race and focus also on the things I wanted to improve for the next time. Each race comes with its own set of rewards and challenges, depending on the day and the circumstances in our life at any given time.

Rev 3 2013: me and my badass tats! :)

So this time around I'm focusing on the process instead of the end result. I want to focus on the process of being in each discipline and grateful for the things that go well even if the swim is moved, the wind is crazy and the run is just monotonous. Even still, there are plenty of things to learn.  I'm going into this race coming off some VERY emotionally charged weeks, some crazy events at work and a heavy heart for a multitude of reasons. I plan to be kind to myself while also pushing for a great training day. I want to smile and really "play" up there this weekend, enjoying the gift of splashing in the water, riding a bike and wearing a funny helmet and running the streets of downtown Sandusky.

And plus, with the recent announcement of the merger of the Rev 3 company and the Challenge company, this will be the LAST Rev 3 Cedar Point race in history………so why not celebrate?

71 days to IMAZ.

Be Merging. Be Brave.

Be Catchin': IMKY Part 2

The night before IMKY this year it poured. Hard. All those bikes were racked and ready to go on the great lawn by the Ohio river for the next morning and they were getting soaked. Made me hope that the transition bags were tied up tight for everyone the next morning. By race morning the rain had stopped and it actually felt a bit cooler than the previous day’s humidity (although it’s Kentucky and the humidity always returns). I woke up early at Julie’s house to make it down to the race start and see my friends off as the race started.

As I arrived down at the swim start it was about 6:30am and the race was set to begin at 7am. My mind got flooded with memories of my own start in that same line 2 years ago. The IMKY swim is usually never wetsuit legal and this morning the temp in the water was 79 degrees, so again no wetsuit. As I stood in that same line and the gun went off, we were let into the water two people at a time and my heart was pounding, my hands were literally shaking. This was the start of what would be a very long day, something I had spent months preparing myself to begin.

IMKY Swim Start

I found my teammates and some others I knew were racing, along with my coach who would be vying for a spot in Kona. There were a lot of us down there to cheer the Columbus triathlon peeps on and it was fun to be around all that excitement. I snapped a few pictures of the scene and once everyone was in the water I made my way around to the start of the bike course to see folks off. EVERYONE had amazing swim times this year! Not only are folks good swimmers but the current in the water this year was stronger which helped tremendously! PR’s all around!

Just Tri selfie :)

The start of the IMKY bike course takes athletes out of downtown Louisville and out east of town around the city of LaGrange, KY. It’s a hilly and challenging course, with over 5000 feet of elevation change over the entire 112 miles. It’s the longest part of the day and spectating on a bike course is challenging if you don’t know who you’re looking for or if you’re doing something else while your athlete goes by! My poor parents missed me twice on the bike course just because I flew by them on both loops! I got to see some of my friends out on the bike course and then decided to make my way back to Julie’s for my own 12 mile run before my volunteer shift that afternoon at the finish line!

12 miles in the Kentucky heat=rough! Julie managed to find the flattest 12 miles she could for me which meant there were still some serious hills to climb. Again, I was amazed by her athleticism. Like I mentioned in a previous post, she’s a runner and she seriously kicked my butt. Loved to have that time with her. We finished that run (miraculously for me) and grabbed lunch before I had to leave her again to get downtown to volunteer at the IMKY finish line. As you cross the finish line in any Ironman race, you are greeted by a “catcher” who makes sure you’re OK before you leave the finish line chute. It’s a really nice touch, especially after such a long day. I was scheduled to be a “finish line catcher” from about 2:30pm-7:30pm and I was excited! This meant I would be able to “catch” my friends who would finish in under 12 hours and that included my coach!

The finish line at IMKY is amazing and (thankfully) shaded. The temps were reaching in the upper 90’s by this time and the humidity was unreal. It was getting rough. The male and female lead winners were due in around 8-9 hours which was getting close. The lead male who won the race last year finished first and immediately collapsed. He was rushed away to the medical tent ASAP. Second place went to a guy who had been chasing first place for the last few miles of the marathon and almost caught him. I got to catch this guy, a pro athlete from Chicago named Thomas Gerlach. Really nice guy. First  place female went to an amazing 46 year old pro athlete named Nina Sharp. Just goes to show you that age is just a number!

Me and 2nd Place Male Thomas Gerlach, photo from Louisville Courier Journal

Catching the first couple of people who I knew, my buddies Bryan and Andy, was amazing! Super fun to receive them in the line and help them navigate the finish. They both had amazing races despite the heat! Next scheduled to finish was my coach Carrie and she was holding on tight to a second place finish in her age group which would mean a spot to Kona! As she neared the finish line I was right up there to grab her….she slowed down and did the infamous Blazeman roll across the finish line and I ran up to grab her off the ground. “You’re going to KONA!” I screamed at her….her reaction was priceless! “WHAT?!?” she screamed. And the rest was pure celebration. She hadn’t known where she was at in the finish line ranking for her age group and being able to share that moment with her was best part of my day. She worked hard for that slot and in some challenging conditions….it was H-O-T.

Carrie immediately told me she needed to get an IV in the med tent and so we made our way there from the finish line. As a volunteer I was able to get into the tent with her and get her set up for some much needed care and hydration. We got her IV in and some good chicken broth and protein into her and after about 10-15 minutes Carrie started to feel better. It’s crazy to say, but in those moments with her it was kind of nice to have her need ME. Does that make sense? I so often NEED Carrie, for a multitude of reasons. To have her need me with her in those moments, to talk to her while the IV was running, to get her into dry clothes, to text her family and advocate for her needs with the medical staff…...it was an honor and I was grateful for the chance to give back.

In the med tent :)

Feelin' better!!!

After getting Carrie all set and meeting up for some celebrations with the team, I made my way back to meet up with my friend Andy to bring his bike back to Columbus for him. I went down to transition and got his things, made it back to my car and began the long trip home. It was a crazy long day, but I was glad I went….glad I got to see such amazing victories at the finish line and grateful for a renewed sense of energy for my own upcoming IMAZ journey.  I think I’ll always feel a fondness for IMKY, being my first Ironman…..and who knows…..maybe one day I”ll be back. After all, it is in October in 2015. Should be MUCH cooler!

Be Catchin’. Be Brave.