The most terrifying part about racing in Kona again was that last year everything went perfectly. It's really hard to compete with a perfect experience! I didn't want anything to go wrong this year (obviously) but I mentally prepared myself in case something did happen so that it wouldn't derail my day. Unlike last year when I was so nervous about being around all of those amazing women, this time I felt like I belonged and I was excited. This was really the only race I cared about all year and it was finally here! The dream goal was to be top 10 in my age group and I knew I would have to execute everything perfectly to achieve that, but I knew it was actually in reach and I couldn't wait to try. 
Always such a gorgeous sunrise!
I like arriving to transition early so that I have plenty of time to take care of everything. I was the first age group wave this year which was a huge blessing and wanted to make sure I was ready to go. In fact, I had too much time and found myself sitting and waiting a long time for them to let us into the corrals. When we finally had access I lined up right up front. I was right next to the pro women and I couldn't help but fan girl over the big names: Dani Ryf, Lucy Charles-Barclay, Chelsea Sodaro, Taylor Knibb, Anne Haug. I also looked at the lower level pros thinking how cool would it be to race against them one day. I watched them go then tried to focus on my race. Last year I happened to be the first women down the stairs and had them to myself, I wanted to repeat that feeling. The morning was mine. The sunrise was for me. The water was just waiting for me. Never have I had a more magical swim start than the water in Kona. It is so special. I lined up in the front next to the buoy and waited for that gun. My plan is normally to go out really fast to set the pace until everyone else backs off. Unfortunately this year everyone had the same plan and everyone was faster. I was swimming in chaos, bumping, shoving, etc., and when I looked up I noticed that there were about 20 women who managed to clear the chaos better than I did. It was going to be a deep field today and I didn't know if I was ultimately going to be fast enough for that top 10 spot. I swam my race. My sighting was great. My pace stayed consistent. I didn't chafe. I was feeling pretty good until I felt someone on my feet and knew I was giving someone a free ride. Rats. There wasn't much I could do about it though so I kept going. With about 700 m left the girl pulled up next to me. I was not going to let her win this battle but I didn't want to burn too many matches trying to keep up with her. I barely beat her out of the water and was determined to beat her out of transition.
The morning, when anything feels possible.
Aerial shot of our wave. You can see me on the very far right in the pink. You can tell that I ended up starting farther back than I had planned on.
For the first time ever I was excited about the bike. I had ridden this course so many times in the last couple of weeks that I knew exactly what to expect and knew I could do really, really well. I took my time settling into my pace and began working through my strategy for the rest of the day. I had come out of the water 12th, farther back than last year but not a huge problem. Being the first age group I knew exactly who was ahead of me and who my competition was. It made it really easy to track all the women and know where I stood. It also meant that we had the road all to ourselves. It wasn't crowded or congested and I got a glimpse of what the pros get to enjoy each time they race. It's game changing not having a crowded course. I was feeling pretty good about everything when I heard that ominous, "Whoosh. Whoosh. Whoosh." coming from my tire. Okay. I have a flat tire. No big deal, I'll just fix it. I couldn't get the tire released from the rim. It took me ages. I started panicking a little as I watched all of these other athletes pass me and I lost count of how far back I was. I finally released by tire and replaced the tube. But guess what? I had a faulty CO2 dispenser. This time I swear I didn't break it! It was actually faulty. Luckily a motorcycle support guy had stopped to check in on me. He was able to radio the bike techs so they could come help. We had to wait awhile for them to arrive and I had plenty of time to think while we were waiting. At this point, there was no way I could make up so much lost time to place where I had wanted to. On the other hand that meant the pressure was off and it was time to see what I could do. The bike techs arrived and filled up my tire in record time. I took off but something was still rubbing. I stopped again, the bike techs were still there, and they aligned everything for me. I took off again determined to cut through the field. I felt like one of the crazy biker chicks who just passes everyone. I've always wanted to feel that way and knew it wasn't just the delay, but that I've actually really improved and am stronger now on the bike than I've ever been. I had time to think about how I handled the delay as I rode. I was actually really proud of myself for not letting that setback ruin my race. I've matured so much in my racing that I was able to roll with that and still enjoy my day. In a strange way that taught me more about myself than any other part of my race. The rest of the ride felt so good. Effort felt appropriate. Nutrition was sitting right. My mind was at peace. My body wasn't complaining. It was the most comfortable I've ever been on that long of a ride. My back didn't cramp, my shoulder didn't ache, my legs didn't seize... Really it was crazy how good I was feeling. Around mile 65 on the descent from Hawi there was a girl really struggling. I asked if she was ok and she just yelled, "This is so freaking hard!" I felt bad because I laughed and said, "Yes it is!" before flying by her, knowing that the day was just getting started. All of my landmarks were flew by and I couldn't believe how short the bike felt.
I came into T2 relieved that the bike was over and I didn't have any more issues out there. I was so smiley down Ali'i because it was another fabulous day. My instructions from Dan were to really race the first 10k and don't stop at any aid station just run through them and grab what I needed. It felt great!
After that first 10k I allowed myself to walk through an aid station to grab the ice and nutrition I needed. I thought maybe I would walk every other aid station and keep as much momentum as I could. But around mile 11 I could feel myself starting to slump. I was beginning to worry about my knee which I had been pampering the week leading up to the race and it was beginning to twinge. I knew I didn't have to save it for anything after this day so I could push it harder than I would normally, but it still needed to last the day. I took some ibuprofen hoping it would help but it didn't help me feel better like it normally does. My walks though the aid stations were taking longer. More ice, more water, more caffeine. Around mile 18 I started getting dizzy. I knew I had to play defense at this point but I didn't know exactly what that looked like. I was the most dizzy when I stopped running to walk. But it was still too early to stop grabbing nutrition and ice. Last year I was able to race that last 10k and really bring it home. I couldn't do that this year. I was surprised to see a chalk surprise from Jeremy as I neared the finish line. It's a good thing he made it nice and big so that I could see it!
It was so big the helicopters even spotted it as Lucy passed.
I was afraid that I actually might fall over from being so dizzy. I allowed myself to sprint the last mile but truly worried I might pass out as soon as I crossed that finish line. Jeremy wasn't there to catch me this year so I just accepted help from whoever came to grab me. As we walked towards athlete recovery I eventually looked over at my catcher, it was Ashley Wilkinson from home! I couldn't believe it! I stopped and gave her a huge hug. She was laughing wondering how long it was going to take me to recognize her. I thought it was so sweet of her to make sure she was the one to greet me across the finish line.
In the athlete recovery area I found a shower and just stood underneath it for about ten minutes. I think it was hotter this year than last year, because once I had cooled off I felt fine again. I wasn't dizzy or sick. Apparently I was just overheating out there. I went to find Jeremy and couldn't see him near the exit. I started calling his name when another family came over and let me use their phone. He was at a different exit and when he appeared the whole family cheered for him as I ran up and gave me a huge hug. We walked back to the condo together since it was still too early to retrieve my bike or bags. I felt a lot better than last year. I was walking. I could think! I mean, that in and of itself was huge. After showering I couldn't believe it was over. We went out on the course to cheer for the other athletes and I saw Carly run by. She was definitely hurting and it had been a long day for her. As I walked back to get my bike I realized I could be there to help her, so I watched her cross the finish line and walked her back to athlete recovery where we swapped stories from the day.
I started looking at my data as we sat there. I really wanted my swim time under 1:00. For some reason I just have never broken that barrier here even though it's so easy at other venues. On the bike, I know the results don't show a 5:25, but I feel like that's what I biked so that's what I'm claiming. (The flat tire ultimately cost me 28 minutes while I sat there on the side of the road). My run was a 3:39 which is my second fastest Ironman marathon just behind Texas. If I hadn't walked through as many aid stations on the return that would've been better. A 10:43 is still a PR, but it could've been a 10:15 which is so, so exciting. The field was much deeper this year. I basically had the same time as last year but finished 43rd, a far cry from where I wanted to be and where I've been. An adjusted 10:15 still would've only put me around 20th. I didn't have any regrets about how the day went down. It showed me a new level that I have and I think that was the biggest win of the day. Next year, I'm just really excited to be the spectator and Sherpa at this race for Jeremy. It's so hard!
Swim 1:01:14, T1 3:37, Bike 5:56:00, T2 3:12, Run 3:39:23, Overall 10:43:27
