Hola! So sorry for my delay, AGAIN. The world just started spinning around me, faster and faster and faster... uh, well you know what I mean. Well I am proud to type the words "mission accomplished". I did it. I completed an Ironman Triathlon, something very few people ever even attempt to do. I had fun doing it, wasn't in pain, didn't really have any moments where I thought I couldn't go on and I recovered very quickly. It was a great experience. I thought I would type a recap of the days leading up to the race and the race itself...

Thursday, June 23rd - Went to CDA to do a swim in the lake and do athlete check in. Swam about a mile, the water was a bit choppy due to the winds that day. Lots of athletes from much warmer parts of the country were there taking their first dip in lake CDA. Always amusing to see someone from CA claim they may have hypothermia from swimming in such cold temps. Ha! The water was almost 10 degrees warmer than when Pam and I first got in during May! Athlete check in went well, people from all over were roaming about in the athlete village looking at demo stuff and some were struting around acting like they were tough stuff. Most of the people helping with check in kept assuming I had already done this before. No people! I need all the directions... I am a newbie!

Later on in the evening I picked up Kylie from the airport!!! So excited for her to come visit!

Friday, June 24th - Today was supposed to be the "low key" day. Ya right. After waking Kylie and I decided to take a drive to CDA. I wanted her to see the bike course by car so she would know what type of insanity I was subjecting myself to while she hung around CDA during race day waiting for me to come back from the bike loops. After seeing the course she decided I was fully insane, to the point I may require medication. Of course, she doesn't understand my motivation to do something like this. I remind her it's because its the "undoable" in so many peoples minds... that's why I want to do it. Once we arrived back to the house we had only a short period of time to get ready for one of TJs cousins Bar Mitzvahs (not they're not Jewish but it's a long story). This was going to be my last night of good sleep before the "night before the big race" (typically athletes do not sleep well the night before a race). We headed to bed pretty early. :)

Saturday, June 25th - Since yesterday got away from me I had to make sure all of my transition bags were packed and get my bike prepped for drop off. Bikes are dropped off and left the night before an Ironman race because of how much coordination the race requires. I also had 5 bags I could use for the race 1.)Morning clothes bag 2.)Swim to bike transition bag 3.)Bike special needs bag 4.)Bike to run transition bag 5.)Run special needs bag. Ironman triathlons are different than other triathlons. Generally, you keep all of your "supplies" where you rack your bike but with an Ironman you had to keep your stuff in bags. I organized and then quadruple checked my bags, loaded up my bike and we were off to CDA AGAIN. I dropped all my items off and of course I started freaking out and second guessing myself. Did I put the bike stuff in the run bag and vice a versa?!?!?!? A mistake like that would result in a major issue and I most likely would not have been able to even complete the race.

After dropping everything off we headed over to grab a bite to eat. I noticed many athletes sipping on water and eating healthy bland meals. TJ, Kylie and I decided on a bit different food choice. Hot dogs. NO other Ironman athletes were eating at the hot dog place, but I did. After that they just had to go get a cupcake, I took a nibble of one. Don't get me wrong, these foods are within my usual diet. However, the day before a race you have to be careful what is in your body in order to avoid GI distress the day of the event. I decided there was no need to take it all that seriously. After consuming a glutinous array of crap we headed back home to meet up with my sister and mother who were driving from Medford, OR for the event. They arrived close to 4pm. We all ate dinner together, I took a sleeping pill (brave, I know) and we went to bed fairly early around 9pm.

Sunday, June 26th RACE DAY - Up at 4am to take a quick shower, eat and gather my last minute items. Surprisingly I slept really good, the usually never happens before an event for me - I especially didn't expect it to happen with IRONMAN! We left the house by 5:10am and headed to CDA. I had to get my body marked, check my tires, drop off a last minute special needs bag and place the last extra pieces of fuel on my bike. The whole morning was a blur and all of the sudden I heard them doing last calls for the transition area... which means... get out! I wasn't in my wetsuit yet and hadn't had my body marked yet. Time to put it in high gear! I rushed around and got into my wetsuit up to the waist and started the "green mile" (this is what they call the walk from the transition area down to the beach for the start of the swim). As we shuffled toward the beach like penguins I put the rest of my wetsuit on and got my swim cap and goggles situated. The place was PACKED! People everywhere... the walk to the beach was so packed and was moving so slow. Eventually I got to the beach. I scanned from left to right... I was standing there in the cluster of nearly 2800 athletes waiting for the cannon to go off. The U2 song "Beautiful Day" came on... this is always the sign that the start is nearing. This also happens to be one of my favorite songs because we played it at our wedding as we walked back down the aisle after saying our vows. There was a tremendous amount of peace over me all morning. Then... "BAM"! The start. Everyone rushing into the water at once. I was somewhere in the middle. I held my own through the failing limbs. I made "my space" be known to anyone who tried to encroach upon it. I settled into my rhythm. The swim went great! I swam a 1hr 26min swim... not bad.

As I came out of the water and went to the wetsuit stripping place I had one of the gals as me if my name was Nicole... I looked up and noticed it was a past student I had in a class I taught at WSU - random, but very cool. I took my time at the transition to get my swim bottoms changed out to my tri shorts, get arm warmers on, bike helmet, shoes, etc. I came out to the transition area and many of my fans were right there outside of the fence near my bike cheering me on! I took off... here we go! Bike course went smooth. I stopped briefly for my special needs bag (which had some extra fuel in it). I was passing boys left and right - my favorite thing to do :). I came to the end of my bike and didn't feel tired at all. Weird.

I again took my time at the transition and began my run. It was in the low 70s but it started to feel very hot. My legs felt very fresh, my muscles weren't tired at all. Again, weird. My stomach was not feeling great the first 14 miles, I just couldn't get it to settle. Looking back on it I probably would have done even better on the run if my stomach hadn't acted up. Oh well, I eventually got it to settle around mile 15 and cruised through the rest of the run. The weirdest thing was I really wasn't tired at the finish. I came down the finish line and just before crossing jumped up and did a 'heel click' for all my fans and then headed through the finishing trough. After the race I was feeling really good. I grabbed a piece of pizza and drove myself home. Other than a blister on my foot and some chaffing on the neck from my wetsuit I was pretty much fine.

I woke up Monday a little stiff but my Monday evening and Tuesday I was pretty much back to normal. Again, very weird. Of course all of this makes me wonder what my time would have been like had I pushed myself harder. I mean nearly 30 mins of my total time was spent lounging around the transitions! Regardless, I had a very respectable time but more importantly, I had fun. Not sure if I will do another Ironman - who knows what the future holds. I do know that I will do more triathlons and am already plotting my next race and this time I will RACE.

I will leave you with one last little interesting tidbit... only 27% of the athletes were female. That makes me feel pretty hardcore. :)