I'm going to save you all the suspense, neither Jeremy nor I got one of the coveted Kona slots we were hoping for. Ok, that about sums up our race day.
The End.
Fine, I'll give you details. The morning was perfect. It didn't feel too hot. It didn't feel too windy. In fact we were both really excited. There were no hiccups getting to the race start or getting our stuff set up. We were really just ready to go. Jeremy's wave was close to the front and so I watched him swim off and wished him the best of luck. There was a small chance that I would even see him come out of the swim, but I was distracted by then getting ready for my own start. The swim venue couldn't be more beautiful. I mean we had white sands, blue skies, and crystal clear water. It was like swimming in a perfect aquarium, we could see the coral down below swarming with fish and the crabs burrowing into the sand. No turtles race morning, but that's a lot to ask. I lined up right in front with my competition. I had already scoped them out and knew exactly who they were. As I was talking with Meredith, I learned that she is Jocelyn's sister. Small world, but I guess not since it is an Ironman race. She pulled out ahead there at the beginning but then I lost her in the chaos of the swim. Being one of the last waves has some serious disadvantages, like swimming through a lot of slower swimmers. It's messy. Luckily I was never kicked so I can't complain too much. Coming out of the swim I had a feeling that I was probably about third.
Dashed up to transition to hop on my bike. It literally starts on an uphill so the volunteers gave us a nice push to get us going, that was great. Now it was time to worry and really pay attention to the weather. We had a little turn-around first before heading up to Hawi and I was feeling out the winds thinking it wasn't that bad. I crossed my fingers that I'd be able to finish the bike before the wind kicked up. Slowly the other ladies in my age group started passing me. I didn't stress too much because my goal was not to blow myself out on the first half. I was enjoying the ride, the scenery, and the fact that the wind was barely noticeable. Huge sigh of relief! I was a little torn though because my watts and HR weren't matching the way I had hoped. I kept slowing down to get my numbers down but it just meant that I was going slower. After Hawi I decided not to care about conserving too much, I was just going to push hard and enjoy the ride down to T2. I saw Jeremy after his turnaround and he looked amazing! I was really hoping he'd have an amazing run to go with his bike. The ride back from Hawi wasn't what I wanted. Sure, the wind was fine and the sun was manageable, but then I got a flat tire. Ugh. Everyone knows that one day it will be their turn to get a flat, you just hope it's not on your chase to the championship. Ok, fine. I changed it then hoped back on my bike. About 15 min. later I got another flat in the same tire. Something was obviously wrong. This time I checked for debris and found a thorn or a piece of radial tire shard stuck in my tire. Well, I didn't have another tube, and I had just one Co2. I flagged down a biker who gave me a tube then finished changing my tire. Nope, my Co2 canister released early and I didn't get anything. I had to flag down another bike for Co2. Well, by now there was almost no bikers behind me and I had very few athletes to choose from. Finally an athlete stopped to give me one of his. Would you believe it but it released early again! By now there were tears running down my face. I didn't even know if I'd be able to finish the race and I couldn't handle that. I turned around to see that the second athlete had stayed! He gave me another Co2 and his dispenser which worked. I wish I had paid attention to his number because he saved me. I spent the rest of the ride crying, and being careful not to get another flat. By the time I made it to transition my competitive drive was pretty shut down. It was so depressing seeing almost every bike rack full. I was one of the last ones there.
I put on my running shoes and pretended that I was on a Saturday morning run with JoDee and Heather. I needed to relax. I needed to settle in and just run. I did see Cambrie as I mosied through transition and I loved seeing her smiling face cheering me on. She didn't care that I was now nearly 45 min behind my goal time, she was just happy to see me. The run was through a golf course. This meant that there was grass, cart paths, and hills to navigate. The aid stations were amazing and had everything I needed. The one out and back section along Ho'ohana road was dismal, but at least I had seen that in training and knew it was there. When I circled around for my second lap I saw Jeremy. He was looking fresh and happy. All I caught was that he had a good race, but didn't place high enough to really have a chance at those Kona slots (11th). That made me sad, but at least someone knew now what had happened on my bike, and I only had one lap left. I really tried to enjoy the run, the spectators, and the view. And when that finish line came into view I was so excited. I sprinted through that gorgeous green arch then went to find my family.
I didn't feel too yucky, just sad. I do love seeing my cheering squad at the end. It's so nice having support.
I also loved seeing that all three children looked happy and accounted for. Ryan did his job well!
The finish line party was apparently just that, a great big party. The girls learned how to hula.
We watched other professional hula dancers. And there were a couple others walking around in native costume. I almost didn't want to leave the festivities.
Jeremy's splits: Swim 35:56, T1 3:20, Bike 2:32:51, T2 2:17, Run 1:44:11, Final Time 4:58:35.
Annette's splits: Swim 29:58, T1 3:44, Bike 3:29:26, T2 3:26, Run 1:52:40, Final Time 5:59:14.
This might be one of my favorite pictures of Jeremy and I at a race, a candid celebration there right after the finish line. Judging by our smiles you can't even tell that the day didn't go as planned.
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