So many emotions have gone into Worlds this year. I didn't know if I had a spot or not. I didn't know if I wanted to go or not. I didn't know if they were going to have it or not. Then Jeremy earned his spot and the excitement all came back. He was so excited to have the chance to race at worlds that all of that excitement rubbed off onto the rest of us. We weren't sure how the travel plans were going to work out because the men and women typically race different days. However this year they combined us into one huge race and we all raced on Saturday. This simplified some things for us. The girls chose to stay home so that they didn't have to miss school or their sports. I understand that. I can't believe how excited they were to stay. Cambrie got to stay home all alone, and she cherished that quiet time. McKenzie got to spend four days with Evelyn and that was a dream come true for her. The boys were excited to come with us and have an adventure. I was really glad that my mom was able to come down for this race. It's been a couple of years since she's seen us race and she wanted to be part of the action.
Checking in at Ironman village is always so exciting. Ironman normally goes all out with big decorations everywhere.
How lucky were we that we were both on this huge poster?!
Signing our names on the event poster. Even the boys signed their names.
While Jeremy was eyeing a new Ventum bike, the boys were checking out the sunglasses. They look pretty awesome!
Bag drop
The day of the race was going to be long. Because there were 4000 athletes it was just going to take a really long time to get us all in the water. The sent the pros first, then the men, then the women. I wasn't starting until two hours after the pros, and an hour and a half after Jeremy. I was really worried about the St. George heat. I was also really worried what it was going to do to my mental state to be only halfway through the bike knowing that plenty of athletes had already crossed that finish line. I rode up on the shuttle with Jeremy super early in the morning. We both got our bikes ready to ride then sat down to wait, and wait, and wait.
We watched the pros start.
Jeremy got ready and I was able to get some pictures of him. His smile was plastered across his face.
I was even able to see him get out of the water. I was worried because his swim was so much slower than usual, but it seemed like it was long for everyone. He was still smiling so that was a great sign.
Finally it was my turn to get in the water. I lined up in the front of my age group and talked to Meredith (Jocelyn's sister), and met a new Smash sister (Meghan Grant). No matter how the rest of the race went, I really wanted to have a good swim. I knew that these ladies were going to push me to be my best. At one point I had this serendipitous moment where I was leading the pack and had fresh water in front of me. It was beautiful. We eventually ran into the other age groups and that moment was gone, but I was still feeling good. I was tracking my women and thinking this might be one of my best swims. I came out of the water thinking that I was definitely one of the first ones out of the water. Transition was a little different with gear bags, and I nearly forgot to pull off my swim skin, but it went well.
Meghan found me on the bike and we decided that we were going to get each other through the race. Around mile 11 a huge thunderstorm rolled in. I had a serious headwind and cross winds. I couldn't sit in aero because I was getting thrown around so badly. At one point a plastic bag got caught on my foot and I had to unclip to shake it loose. It was exhausting trying not to be blown over and I considered stopping. But not wanting to give up time I kept going and used it as practice. The wind lasted for almost 10 miles. Once it was gone I was celebrating the fact that I was racing and having fun in an amazing race. I started worrying about Meghan because I lost her in the storm. She came back up from behind me and it was my turn to follow. Unfortunately I lost her and couldn't find her again. I started looking for my cheering squad. I absolutely love seeing my kids' smiling faces on the sidelines. They were there with signs in hand that they had each made. Thanks mom for getting them there!
Another Jeremy sighting by my mom.
I was also really lucky and passed by Jeremy as he was starting on his run. We didn't think that we'd get to see each other the whole race, so that was pretty great. The storm was doing wonders for him.
The climb up Snow Canyon was hard as always. My hamstring started giving me grief and I was getting worried. Part of me was just settling in as we climbed simply enjoying where we were. I was passed by Amanda who reminded me that I should probably still be in race mode and push myself up this hill. Ultimately I was very grateful when it was time to get off the bike.
I knew the run was going to be hard with the new course they designed. I decided not to do anything crazy and just settle and run (and pretend that Jeremy wasn't already resting at the finish line). Around mile four we got hit with the second thunderstorm. The rain came pouring down. Luckily I don't mind when I'm on a run. I don't have to worry about slick pavement or being blown off my bike. I just enjoyed that part. I saw my boys twice more on the run and couldn't believe my luck. I didn't know how my mom was getting to all of those locations!
Finally I was able to think about the finish line. There were only a few miles left and I was getting excited. The descent to the finish line was a really steep downhill. I didn't feel like going crazy to fly down the descent so I kept it controlled all the way to the finish.
Hallelujah, both Jeremy and I finished!
The sun had come out again and now we were hot. It's probably one of the best finish lines for kids and I jumped right in there with the boys.
The sheer size of the race was outstanding. In T2 they had bike catchers to rack our bikes so that we didn't have to run the three city blocks down to the end to rack them ourselves. Look how many bikes there were!
Bruce volunteered there and said he ran ten miles that day just in T2.
I'm so grateful that Jeremy and I had the chance to race. I was grateful for the weather, because I'd rather take a thunderstorm than another 100 degree race. I'm grateful for my boys for being so cheerful and happy each time they saw us pass. I'm grateful for my mom for getting them around the course. I was grateful to make new friends who are just as crazy as we are. And I was thankful for St. George for prepping this race so we could do what we love to do.
Jeremy: Swim 42:59, T1 5:03, Bike 2:41:47, T2 1:58, Run 1:54:46, Final 5:26:34
Annette: Swim 30:39, T1 4:38, Bike 3:02:54, T2 2:01, Run 1:55:59, Final 5:36:11
Thanks to my little troopers.
