Kristi's Diary Entries Diary Navigation: Choose A Diary Entry -------------------- Latest Entry: 5/10/04 -------------------- 3/2/04 2/3/04 1/7/04 11/6/03 10/2/03 9/10/03 8/18/03 8/8/03 -------------------- Kristi's Introduction

October 2, 2003

Well - this is a bit off-topic, yet not really, because this is who I am, as a mom, woman and athlete. Juggling being a mom, a 40 hour work week and training for triathlon is my life, so it seems appropriate to share this event in my diary. This entry doesn't go into a lot of detail about Jake, but as he gets older, I want him to be able to read about it because he is my inspiration. When Jake brings me my running shoes and climbs in his jogging stroller saying 'lets go for a run mommy' - it really makes me smile and also makes me feel like we're showing Jake a healthy way of life. Mac and I have a tradition of writing a 'race report' after each event that we participate in so that we have a written record of all of them 'for posterity'. Since I spent so much time writing this race report, I decided that I would post it here to share with all of you. I also hope that maybe it will pique some interest in this crazy sport that I participate in. I hope to hear from you guys on my TTM board about it! Well..here it is - it is VERY long - so grab a coffee and get comfy!

Ironman Wisconsin 2003:

Where to begin?

I suppose that a good place to start would be following last year’s race. Approximately 4 days after IMW 2002, they opened online registration for the 2003 race. After much prodding, Mac decided that he did not want to race in 2003. Having had such a wonderful time at the race, just days prior, I decided that if Mac wasn’t going to do an Ironman race in 2003, that I would do another.

Fast forward to the spring of 2003. I kept a decent (relatively speaking) base through the winter and thought that I was ready to start my training in earnest. It was at this time that we decided to undertake renovating our townhome in order to put in on the market. As interest rates were so low, we thought it was a wise time to take the proverbial plunge and buy a house – with a yard and everything!

So, amidst tearing out and replacing carpet, having tile laid in our kitchen and then constantly keeping the house clean while we tried to sell it, I lost some training time. Then (thankfully) we sold our townhome in just under 2 weeks. Great, but, uh, where were we going to live? Thus we embarked on the scramble to find a house. Several failed offers later, we found THE house. We would close and move at the end of June. Now though, more training time had been lost. I was also in the midst of a job change – from a fairly flexible environment to a fairly rigid one.

At this point I really began to panic and wonder if I will even make it to the starting line at IMW, much less the finish line. All of my aspirations of having a PR over my 2002 time were slowly creeping away.

July & August 2003 -

Critical decision time…After much soul-searching, I made the decision that no matter what, I was going to do this race. I had signed up for It, trained (albeit not as much as I should have) and I was going to get there.

In comes my training partner Jenn. I honestly don’t know what I would have done without her. We began doing our long rides and runs together. Since we lived mere minutes from each other, we were kicking ourselves for not realizing this sooner – but hey, we still had a good couple of months to get in some training together. Jenn had been training very hard all summer and she was in great form for the race. It really made a difference for me to have someone to train with, someone to make me get out there.

On top of everything else ‘going against me’…the race was a week earlier this year – doesn’t sound bad on paper – but in the end, that week made all the difference in the world as far as the temperature on race day.

Race Week:

Wednesday, September 3, 2003 -
I worked through Wednesday, September 3, and then headed home to pack. After literally packing everything but the kitchen sink (thankfully I have a patient husband), we were on our way to Madison around 11:00pm that night. We arrived in Madison around 1:00am and checked into the Best Western Inn on the Park. We were given a GREAT room overlooking the capitol…I took this to be a good omen.

Thursday, September 4, 2003 –
Slept in a little then had a big breakfast with Mac at the hotel. After a quick stop at Starbucks, we were on our way to Ironman Village at Monona Terrace. Even though I did the race last year – seeing the village for the first time still made me say ‘wow’. Now the race was becoming more and more real by the minute.

I looked around the expo a bit, and then met up with Jenn to go through registration. What an amazingly quick process. I land number 1777 – all those 7s should be lucky, right? Then we hit the IM logo store to START stocking up. I grabbed the fleece vest I wanted and then a fleece, sweatshirt and T-shirt for Jake…the IronKid. We decided to head back to the hotel to try to catch a quick nap – but I was just too keyed up. The temperature was really starting to warm up – I realized later that this was a very bad sign.

Thursday night, Mac, Jenn and I Walked up State Street and grabbed a quick dinner at great little deli. After some ice cream it was back to the hotel to try to get some rest.

Friday, September 5, 2003 –
Up early for the Gatorade swim. Did one loop of the course in about 45 minutes – this included stopping to chat with Mac a few times and just generally relaxing and taking it all in. Swimming a loop of the course gave me some confidence going into the swim. Since my swim training through the summer had been sporadic at best, I was mainly hoping to come out of the water in one piece.

Had a quick lunch with Jenn at Noodles and then did a little shopping on State Street – trying to calm our nerves a bit. Then we headed back to the expo as Jenn’s family was arriving sometime during the afternoon.

Dinner on Friday night was a great little steak place across the street from the hotel with Mac and Eric. We sat outside and enjoyed the gorgeous night. I even indulged in a glass of wine with dinner.

Jake and my parents arrived late Friday night. I was very glad to see them. We had decided previously that my parents would bring Jake with them, giving me a chance to settle in and get some rest, since Mac had to work at the expo for most of the week. This was a good plan, but I was REALLY happy when he got there! Having all of them around, especially Jake, really helped to settle my nerves. Jake decided he would stay in our room on Friday and that he would stay with Grandma and Grandpa on Saturday night so that ‘mommy can get a good night sleep before her race’ – what a great kid we have!

Saturday, September 6, 2003
My first thought on waking up this morning is ‘I can’t believe that Ironman is tomorrow’. But tomorrow it is – no more hanging out and having fun – its almost ‘go time’.

We headed to the Terrace first thing to sign Jake up for the IronKids race around the capitol. Mac and Eric decided to do the 5k. I ended up doing the kids race with Jake – as he didn’t want to do it by himself. What a great bunch of kids triathletes have! It was a ton of fun and really special to see him get his finisher’s medal.

After the IronKids race, I went to the expo with Jake, Mom and Dad while Mac and Eric got in a longer run. We all met up for lunch, during which I began to feel a little ill. I went back to the hotel to lie down, hoping that this wasn’t a really bad sign. Felt much better after a short nap and finished getting my transition bags and bike ready to take to check-in before the athlete meeting.

Met up with Jenn, her family, Bryan, Christina, and Mac to walk to the Terrace to check in our bikes and transition bags. Then Jenn and I went to the athlete meeting. In spite of my nerves, I thought the meeting was actually somewhat entertaining. It was a long meeting – about an hour and a half by the time all was said and done.

Went to Madison’s restaurant for our pre-race dinner. There is something about dinner with a big group the night before a race that really helps me. I had my usual pre-race meal: plain grilled chicken breast sandwich and french fries. After dinner, Mac went all over downtown Madison to find me a Subway turkey and swiss sandwich to keep in the fridge for race morning. What a great husband.

Sunday, September 7, 2003
RACE DAY!

The alarm went off at 4:00am – yikes…this is it. Ate what I could of my turkey/swiss sandwich, got dressed, made one last check of my special needs bags and then it was time to go. I didn’t leave my wetsuit in the hotel room like last year – so I guess I was on the right track. We met up with Jenn in the lobby of the hotel and started for the Terrace. It was very convenient that the drop-off for special needs bags was right outside of our hotel. When we arrived at transition – the magnitude fully hit me. I got body marked, pumped up my tires, added 1 bottle of Gatorade to my bike, taped on my salt tabs and put my Power Bar Bites and Gu into my Bento Box. Then it was time to hand the tire pump back to Mac and say goodbye to him. He needed to get back to the hotel to get my family and I needed some time before the race to mentally prepare myself. I think that I can honestly say that telling Mac goodbye on race morning was the hardest thing at Ironman both years. Each time I’ve started my ‘if something happens to me…’ speech and Mac, my greatest supporter in the world, has stopped me both years – with an ‘I Love You’ and ‘You WILL have a great day…Now GO!’ This is what I need – and he knows that. So off I went…

Jenn and I found a great quiet place inside the terrace, we could hear the calming music being played, yet it was eerily quiet. We just lay on the floor, each thinking of the day ahead. Finally, as the sun was beginning to rise, we began to make our way outside and down the helix. At the bottom, we had no choice but to get into our wetsuits and drop off our dry goods bags. I was truly amazed at how calm I was feeling at this point.

After a short wait, which seemed like an eternity, it was our turn to get into the water. Following Mac’s advice, we lined up to the far right of the boat ramp so that we could swim a straight line at an angle to the course and meet the course at the first corner(which was the PERFECT plan, by the way). Jenn and I gave each other a good luck hug and before we knew it, they were done with the national anthem and the cannon was going off…

The Swim –
Thankfully, the swim this year was very uneventful for me. Amazingly, Jenn and I stayed next to each other for probably the first 300-400 yards. There were times that We would breathe and see each other…we’d give a quick thumbs up and keep moving. Before I knew it I was done with my first loop. Right on schedule – just about 42 minutes. The second loop went by fairly quickly and then I was headed back to shore. I came out of the water at exactly 1:30:00 – 2 minutes faster than last year – which is VERY surprising given that I was MAYBE in the pool for swim workouts a total of 15 times through the summer. I wonder if I’m onto something here? Less swim training is better?

T1 –
I took my time in T1 – out of the swimsuit and into the comfy Assos bike shorts and top. It was worth every minute to be in dry clothes. Then I put on my helmet/gloves/glasses, grabbed my shoes and I was out the door. After a quick stop at the sunscreen station and the port-a-johns I was off to get my bike. One thing about being a slower swimmer, I had NO problem finding my bike an there was a free volunteer to help me get it!

The Bike –
The bike started off pretty well. I was feeling good, but I was also a bit weary of the heat. I must have had a premonition! The first loop of the bike wasn’t easy, yet it wasn’t terrible. I wasn’t going as fast as I wanted to, but I was moving. The hills were hard, but bearable. Arriving in Verona was just as much of a rush as I had remembered it to be. I knew that Jake, Mac and my Mom would be there and I was really hoping to see them. As luck would have it, about the time I would have/could have seen them, I was focusing on grabbing Gatorade from the aid station volunteers.

A short while later, outside of Verona I stopped at Special Needs. This was the first time I really felt the heat that day. I realized that I needed to up my fluid intake or I would be in trouble. I started taking more in, but I was already behind. By the time I reached the aid station in Mt. Horeb, I had to stop and get off my bike. I was sitting in the shade with no fewer than 50 other athletes – we were all just trying to cool off and replace some fluids. The volunteers were AMAZING. They were covering us with ice bags, pouring water on us and bringing us drinks. I think I was off my bike for approximately 45 minutes – a long time, but I also think that this time allowed me to finish the race. Getting back on my bike was one of the hardest things I did that day. Somehow I was able to get through the rest of the bike. Although well over my goal time, my race plan had long been thrown out the window – I was already in survival mode.

Needless to say, I was very happy to ride back up the helix. This is the bittersweet time when you have to get off your bike – you want to get rid of it, possibly never see it again, yet you know that now you’re on your own, literally, on your own two feet for 26.2 more miles.

T2 –
Another ‘leisurely’ transition – I wanted to give myself every little bit of comfort that I could. Fresh clothes, comfy socks and running shoes helped.

The Run –
Out the door and onto the run course. I was dreading this – but hey, wait a minute, I felt pretty good – and I was actually RUNNING! Yes, I know that is what you’re supposed to do, but I really thought that I would be walking a good portion of this marathon. I went by the capitol, past my family and friends (what a great lift to see them) and then I was on my own – just me, my thoughts and the pavement. The first 5-6 miles were really good. I got to see Mac, Jake, Mom and Dad at the turnaround on State Street. I stopped to talk to them for a minute – a little time to talk to the family wasn’t going to hurt me at this point, in fact, it could only help me. The run course was different this year – and I didn’t mind that difference on the first loop – it was shady along the lake path and running around the field was fun with all of the signs to read. I ended up running most of the first loop and sticking to my plan of only walking the aid stations.

Going back to the capitol for the start of the second loop of the run was one of the hardest parts of the day. You’re so close to the finish line that you can almost taste it – then – boom – you have to turn around and go back out for 13.1 more miles. Ouch! My second loop was definitely harder than my first. The section along the lake that I had enjoyed the first time was pitch black – you almost had to walk due to the fact that you couldn’t’ see a thing! The same goes for the section through the field – the signs that were so fun to read earlier just looked eerie in the shadows. That section of the run was just plain creepy to me. I was very glad to get back into civilization again. FINALLY I was headed home. I wanted so badly to just run and be done, but my body had other plans, I was starting to just shut down. I could manage to run for about 3-4 minutes at a time – then I would walk for 1-2 minutes. I did this for probably the last 5 miles of the run. It wasn’t how I wanted to finish, but it worked and at that point, that was all that I could hope for. I did learn during this time that there really was something magical in the chicken broth!

Then suddenly, I was on State Street, heading to the capitol square, then I was in front of the Best Western yelling to my parents that I was going to make it. I heard our friend Matt tell me I looked good (thanks Matt, but I think your sight was a little off that night!). Around the corner and into the finish chute – what a feeling. The only things in my life that I think top this feeling were my wedding day and the day Jake was born. After a very long day, it was finally my turn to hear Mike Reilly say that ‘I am Ironman’. I was happy to stop moving, yet a part of me didn’t want it to end (crazy, huh?). Two volunteers grabbed me, put a medal around my neck, handed me my finisher’s t-shirt, asked me if I was OK then placed me in front of the photographer for my finisher’s shot. They only let go long enough for him to snap the picture then they grabbed me again to walk me out of the finish area to my family.

The Aftermath –
I found Mac, Jake and Colleen right away. Bryan, Christina, Mom and Dad weren’t far behind. Mom and Dad made sure that I was OK – then they headed back to the run course to cheer in the last finishers – they are amazing! My mom stood out there for another hour just yelling at people that they really could do this.

Our friend Chuck was in the med tent receiving some IV’s – so we were all concerned about him. Mac talked me into going to the Terrace to have a massage (in order to increase my chances of walking the next day!). As we waited for my turn on the massage table, Jake lay down on the floor beside me and within 30 seconds he was sound asleep. He was such a trooper all day long. At four, he is already the ultimate IronFan! After my massage, we headed back to check on Chuck – he was doing better and it looked like they would release him shortly. Eric and Colleen would get him back to his hotel, but would call us if they needed us. We headed back to the hotel and ordered a BIG pizza. Waiting for the pizza, I headed to the shower. I think that I can quite possibly say that a shower has NEVER felt that good (well, at least not since last year after the race!). I barely stayed awake to eat some pizza and then I slept.

Monday, September 8, 2003 –
Believe it or not, I was up early on Monday. They were releasing the ‘Finisher’ gear at 7:00am and I wanted to be there. I felt like this year I really fought to get to the finish line and therefore, I WOULD get something that said ‘Finisher’ on it! I ended up with a great fleece vest. Then we attended the awards banquet – something we didn’t do last year. I was very glad that we attended – it was a lot of fun. It was also (kind of) amusing to see everyone in the same boat – sore and not able to walk very well.

Once again, it was time to pack and leave Madison and once again it was very bittersweet. In many ways, this race almost meant more to me than last year’s, I think because this year I learned what it was like to truly suffer through a race and to really fight to finish.

I can’t even begin to thank all of the people who deserve thanks for helping me get to the Ironman Wisconsin finish line this year. First and foremost are Mac and Jake. They’re the ones who gave up the most in order to support me. Then I need to thank the rest of my family, Jenn, my training partner and great friend and all of our many other friends who took the time to ride or run with me this summer. Even though Ironman is an individual event, it takes nothing short of an army of family and friends to get every finisher to the line.

The Final Question…Will I do it again?
I WILL do another Ironman race. I’m looking ahead to Ironman USA in 2005. However, 2004 is Mac’s year. He has patiently supported me through my Iron-dream to two finishes and now it is my turn to support him. He signed up for IMW 2004 on Monday morning following the race. He has the focus and the drive to have an amazing race next year. I can’t wait to be a part of it with him.

Thanks for reading.

Take Care,

Kristi - Mom to Jake