Ironman 70.3 Chattanooga 2017
I didn't plan on coming back to #im703choo this year. It was my A race last year and was everything I thought it'd be but it never occurred to me that I would do this race again! Even when I got the notification that registration was open... but when I saw the Facebook post about there still being openings days/weeks later, I was shocked and started entertaining the idea. I brought it up to my fiance but then finally, I couldn't NOT sign up anymore.
The drive to Chattanooga, TN from central WI is approximately 12 hours, not taking into account gas stops and bathroom breaks. Fortunately, the ride was uneventful! This time, it was just Ben and me. We left Friday morning and by the time we reached our hotel, we were done.
Since bike check-in wouldn't start until 1:30pm on Saturday, we decided to take advantage of some free time and sight see. Last year, we arrived on Saturday and rushed around before getting to bed early.
When we left Wisconsin, it was in the 40s ... cold, windy and wet. The temps that Saturday in Chattanooga was HOT. I'd been obsessively checking the weather as soon as it was available on the weather apps (yes, apps. If you're only checking one source, you're not obsessing correctly). Needless to say, we were melting under the sun and as soon as the athlete briefing was over, we headed back to the hotel room to sit in our hotel room with the AC cranked up.
The night before....
I still hadn't 100% decided on what my race kit will be. It's what I do - obsess and change my mind up to the time I cross the start line. I finally went with my Skirt Sports Super Girl tank (built-in bra with 3 back pockets and 1 cleave alley pocket), Zoot tri shorts (yoga waistband and short length means less noticeable tan lines later on - yes!) and my Skirt Sports spanky skirt for the run (built in spankies and 2 additional pockets on the side). I woke up a few time during the night for one reason or another. Then I'd suddenly remember what I was going to be doing the next day and panic.
We got up around 4:25am, waited for the cold breakfast that was promised by the hotel but in the end, I just got impatient and grabbed some granola bars and coffee to eat on our walk to the transition. I had the oddest encounter as I started setting up my gear in transition. I originally plopped in front of the front tire, which was point down -- no room to place my gear under. It was early and I was half awake. The girl next to me gave me a look so I joked about my bad decision and said I'll be setting my stuff up on the other side of the bike, under the rear tire where I had more room. She said "You need to put your stuff under my bike."
Ummmm.... whaaaaat...?
The "rules" of bike and transition set up is that the even bib numbers (which this girl had) had to have the front of the bikes pointing towards the waterfront and the odd numbers position the bike the opposite so it's staggered. Makes for easier access to gear without everyone getting in the way. Also the rule is that our gear is to be under *our* bike - the length of the bike and the width of the handlebars.
So when she told me I had to put my stuff under her bike, I was first confused. But as she continued to repeat this, I started getting angry.
I know I don't have the fancy specialized bikes and I'm not wearing the $160 tri kit -- but that doesn't mean I'm stupid and this is my first race. I felt she was trying to take advantage of the situation to make it easy for her to get to her gear during transition. So I finally found my balls and said "No." To which, she just stared at me and opened mouth to start her rant again. I cut her off, "No. I am putting my stuff under my bike. Not under yours, under mine."
As I walked to the other side of my bike, I could hear her complaining to her teammate and as I got to my bike, the teammate looks at me and says to the girl "Good luck with that.".
In that moment, I looked around to see if anyone else was seeing this. What was going on?!
I set up my gear, ignoring the girl's attempt to get on my nerves some more by putting her butt near my face to set her gear up right next to mine. Then I made a point to take photos of my station and yes, one with her in it. Well, her butt anyway. The exchange was odd and frustrating but I was more worried that she'd mess with my gear while I was gone.
I found Ben and we headed off to take the bus that would drop us off at the swim start.
It was still dark with lots of quiet athletes making their way to the appropriate swim start. I decided to line up with the 40min swim start. My time last year was 41 min so this seemed safe.
Eventually caught up with my friend, Greg, who was also here last year. Ben soon took the bus back and Greg and I talked more about our training (or lack thereof, so he felt) and joked around with fellow athletes.
We watched the pros warm up before the start of the race. Greg said it perfectly, "That's the difference between the pros and us. We like to conserve our energy while they can use some to warm up." Soon enough, we heard the cannon go off. Or gun, but it sounded like a cannon --- scaring the bejesus out of us. I heard athletes mention how slow of a progress the pros were making on the upstream and I thought "Awesome. If they're 'slow', I'll surely be struggling."
Then we noticed that the turnaround buoy was being moved and many of us joked about how great that would be if they were shortening the swim. It was true - the swim got shortened to .8 mi due to the stormy clouds rolling in. It's not that I didn't think I could do the swim but I'd been waiting for over an hour for the start. Over an hour of all the anxiety, nervousness and doubts creep in and sink right in. And I had to go to the bathroom - and I have not been successfully able to pee in my wetsuit. Yet. Don't worry, I'll work on that. The bike is next. My swim time was 23 min for .8 mile. Judging by that, the full distance would've been a PR.
We started the procession down the ramp and my heart is in my throat. I hate the ows swim start. I jump in and the water is perfect - cool but not mind-numbing cold. And I immediately put my head in focus on my strokes to take my mind off the fact that there are peop --- and there it was, first hit to my face. The rest of the swim was fast. I was so worried about veering off to the far right like I did last year that I veered to the far left this time. Hit the sand a few times, chuckled and went back to swim with the chaos. I heard the crowd as I got close, got pulled up once we reached the dock and soon I was struggling to peel the wetsuit off. Thank God! My bladder was about to explode.
My first transition went a little longer than I anticipated - that's how much I had to pee. Everything else went smoothly and I hobbled out of the transition in my clips, praying I wouldn't slip and break something.
If you somehow missed my social media posts, I crashed my bike just a little over a week before race day. Hit the wall, bounced off and hit the ground. Badly cut and bruised my hand, right elbow, forearm and got a nice road rash on my right shoulder/back and hip/leg. While wounds were healing nicely, the memories were still fresh. I still had some issues: left hand that broke my fall was still bruised. I couldn't hold grip or put much pressure on it for for very long. My forearm was still hurting so aerobar wasn't the best choice. But it wouldn't stop me.
I decided to stay with same plan as last year. Take the first 15 miles as warm up and then stop at each aid station to stretch while using the porta potty. I did deviate in that I didn't hydrate or fuel as well. I could tell by the headache by 20 miles in that I needed to keep drinking water constantly.
I used my Hammer gels during the bike, which I normally don't do as my main fuel. It did the job but judging by this year's bike time, I could have done better in this department.
Twice, I had to stop to put my chains back on. Both times in the middle of a hill. Once, it was a pretty steep one and it took me a few times to actually get moving. It caused enough of a scene (as I almost fell over) to have a few athletes ask me if I was ok.
Yup, just trying to gain momentum going up while getting into the right gear... and remembering to unclip when I was unsuccessful. But I was fine since according to my watch, I was still headed towards a PR. It turned out that my watch was off my 40 min. !?!?!?!? I believe the official time was 4:10:xx. I still feel angry about this but learn and move on...
Otherwise, the weather was amazing. Cloudy for 90% of the course, with light breeze. A few times, I wondered why I was killing myself to keep the pace up when I could just coast and enjoy the view and my time out there. Definitely the ultrarunner in me to want to relish the time out there.
The last 15 miles were pretty tough. My legs are fine but my back really slowed me down. Don't worry, I've already made mental notes to get a professional bike fitting! I stood on my pedals with each downhill which, again, slowed me down. With 10 miles to go, it was time to dig deep. A HUGE thank you to the police officers who gave out encouragement while directing traffic. "Looking strong! You've got this!" "Dig deep! Almost there!"
Yes, time to dig deep. With each back spasm, I'd do that ugly grimace-smile while repeating "Dig deep. Dig deep. Dig deep..." Last 5 miles "Time to dig deeper. DIGGGG".
As I was rounding the corner for the downhill to bike dismount/transition, I saw an athlete on the ground, looking to be in a lot of pain. I couldn't see his bike and then I realize he must have fallen right at the end here. OMG. It was about 100 ft away from bike dismount. Volunteers swarmed and an Ironman employee flagged me as I approached the line to ask if someone was helping that athlete.
I dismounted, relieved to stretch out my back. I still couldn't shake off seeing that athlete writhing on the ground so I turned my focus elsewhere. Last year, a spectator had yelled out "Just one more sport!!" Recalling that redirected my focus to the run.
Transition to run wasn't as long as the first. The athlete to the right of me had thrown her wetsuit and cap over my bike position. I tried to move it over in a gentle but hurried manner so... it ended up in mess by my bike. I tried to clean up a bit but c'mon... she did cause this! I just threw my marathon skirt over my shorts, grabbed water bottle, visor, additional gels and I was off. To the porta potty. And then I really was off.
It felt so good to run. I had been dealing with plantar fasciitis for a few weeks so I had been laying off on the running. The sun was out in full force by now. Again, the plan was to stick with last year's strategy. Run the entire first lap, no bathroom breaks and then take it easier on the 2nd lap. But I wanted to push myself a little more on the 2nd lap than I did last year. I knew I could've been faster,
The hills were a little tougher than I remembered but manageable. With each pain in my quads, I thanked the Lord for my love of trail running, which includes a lot of hill repeats!
I saw and passed a lot of the athletes that left me in their dust on the bike portion. The aid stations were just as welcoming as last year. At every mile, they were my lifesaver. Grab a cup of ice to throw on my head, take my BASE salt and wash it down with their Gatorade before grabbing another water bottle to rinse the taste out. Take a cup of ice and throw it down my shirt, causing a lot of looks and laughs from bystanders and the younger volunteers (and people in cars along the road). Replace the 2 cold sponges to keep my shoulders and back cool and I would continue on.
Let me tell you how spectacular my tri kit was. First of all, Nicole DeBoom (who won 2004 IMWI -- and now founder of Skirt Sports), had given me THE BEST advice ever before I did my first 70.3 last year: put ice down your sports bra and shorts.
The tank I was wearing, called Super Girl has built-in bras and a cleavage alley pocket right in the center. So when I threw the cup of ice down my shirt, it stayed in the bra and in the alley pocket. It would then melt down my torso and go into the built-in spankies of my skirt. My entire core was kept cool. Doing this every mile was a great boost.
Sure, your boobs will look very lumpy and you'll get some nervous chuckles from people who are unfamiliar with this practice, but you'll be very happy.
Ok, back to the run. The first loop was done. Now I could "relax" and walk some of the hills. I did nothing of the sort. I didn't even stop for the porta potty once *GASP*. As I continued to run up the hills, I would have fellow female athletes cheering me on "You go, girl!" "You got this!" "Looking strong!". I LOVE when females uplift each other. And I do love passing up the male athletes in my skirt :)
The only time I slowed down was to walk through the aid stations. I did also stop to help another runner who was cramping pretty bad - offered some salt to him. Always carry extra!
As I went to throw my cup away at the end of an aid station, I noticed that the sign said "Mile 11". WHAT?! Wow, I just lost some miles in there somewhere. I was so distracted by the sights and thanking as many volunteers, spectators and police officers that I completely lost track of the miles. I pushed a little more and next thing I knew, I was on the 2nd bridge that would take me to the finish shortly. I tried to take it all in during this last mile. I like to read the numbers on the calves that indicate the athlete's age - I saw many in the 50s', 60's, a few in the 70's (WOW) and one 87 year old. 87! Can you imagine?? I was in awe.
There is one more corner before you run downhill to the finish. At this time, I imagined seeing all the people who participated in making my life a living hell - from the ones who abused me, wronged me as a child and those that made me feel worthless even as an adult -- and I mentally gave them all a finger as I flew by that corner. "Screw all of you. You tried but failed. Look at me now. You can't touch me anymore. F you." Sounds negative, I'm sure. But ask any survivors of abuse. This is empowering. They failed, I won. They may not know it, but I do.
I saw a group ahead of me and you bet I wondered how I was going to get that finish line photo by myself. I knew I could pass 2 of them so I picked up my speed a bit. Then were was a team of 4-5 and I wasn't so sure about them. Luckily, they ran to the side to high-five other members who'd finished -- that was my opening. I picked up my pace even more and then I started sprinting, giving every bit of energy I had. I heard my name, I pumped up my arm and then I crossed that line.
Holy shit, another half ironman. I did it. The volunteer put the medal over my head and congratulated me. As she handed me water, she asked the usual "Are you ok?" followed by "Because you definitely look ok."
I saw my friend Greg over to the side -- he who barely trained had beat me! That son of a gun! I had to give him shit and pretty sure I yelled out "You still beat me?!" After congratulating each other, taking photos and making plans to all meet up later on, I went off to find my sherpa. Who was nowhere to be seen. No worries, I'll just start packing up my gear.
The athlete to the right of me was also packing her stuff up. I explained what happened when I tried to move her wetsuit over and apologized for the mess it caused. I couldn't tell if she was actually fine with it as she said so I just replied "I know there are athletes who are just mean and don't care. That wasn't my intention." I mentioned my story of the morning argument with another athlete. She softened and agreed that there was no need for anyone to have that bad attitude at races.
As I was packing, the girl on the other side of my bike who had given me grief that morning walked up and congratulated me. Thank you, God. I hate confrontation and bad energy - this was the perfect ending. I congratulated her back and she took off.
We ended that night with a celebratory pizza and drinks at Community Pie, ice cream cupcakes down the street and then drinks with Greg and company with the view of the 2nd bridge from the run. What an amazing day. Even 2 days later, I can't believe it's all over. It went by so fast (and yet not fast enough during the bike portion).
Today, my daughter couldn't get over the fact that I'd done a 70.3 and was feeling great. Not perfect but we did drive 12+ hours back just yesterday! I turned to Ben and said, "That's how I know I'm ready for a full. The half ironman is a nice challenge but it doesn't scare me anymore."
I'm ready for a new, heart-stopping challenge.
Ironman 2018. Just the thought of it scares the crap out of me. So it must be done.
Onto the next adventure...
Dye
*** I am a brand ambassador for Skirt Sports. I was not paid to mention them in my blog or to wear their merchandise. I love the brand and the message "Real Women, Real bodies". Founded by former pro, Nicole DeBoom. You can check out her story and the merchandise on www.skirtsports.com (no, I wasn't paid to mention that either) ***
The drive to Chattanooga, TN from central WI is approximately 12 hours, not taking into account gas stops and bathroom breaks. Fortunately, the ride was uneventful! This time, it was just Ben and me. We left Friday morning and by the time we reached our hotel, we were done.
 |
| Top of tower at Ruby Falls |
 |
| View from tower at Ruby Falls |
 |
| Perfect |
The night before....
I still hadn't 100% decided on what my race kit will be. It's what I do - obsess and change my mind up to the time I cross the start line. I finally went with my Skirt Sports Super Girl tank (built-in bra with 3 back pockets and 1 cleave alley pocket), Zoot tri shorts (yoga waistband and short length means less noticeable tan lines later on - yes!) and my Skirt Sports spanky skirt for the run (built in spankies and 2 additional pockets on the side). I woke up a few time during the night for one reason or another. Then I'd suddenly remember what I was going to be doing the next day and panic.
 |
| Bike check in |
We got up around 4:25am, waited for the cold breakfast that was promised by the hotel but in the end, I just got impatient and grabbed some granola bars and coffee to eat on our walk to the transition. I had the oddest encounter as I started setting up my gear in transition. I originally plopped in front of the front tire, which was point down -- no room to place my gear under. It was early and I was half awake. The girl next to me gave me a look so I joked about my bad decision and said I'll be setting my stuff up on the other side of the bike, under the rear tire where I had more room. She said "You need to put your stuff under my bike."
Ummmm.... whaaaaat...?
 |
| Bike check in |
So when she told me I had to put my stuff under her bike, I was first confused. But as she continued to repeat this, I started getting angry.
 |
| My gear on red towel under MY bike |
As I walked to the other side of my bike, I could hear her complaining to her teammate and as I got to my bike, the teammate looks at me and says to the girl "Good luck with that.".
In that moment, I looked around to see if anyone else was seeing this. What was going on?!
 |
| Goal in mind. |
I found Ben and we headed off to take the bus that would drop us off at the swim start.
 |
| Swim start with Greg |
Eventually caught up with my friend, Greg, who was also here last year. Ben soon took the bus back and Greg and I talked more about our training (or lack thereof, so he felt) and joked around with fellow athletes.
We watched the pros warm up before the start of the race. Greg said it perfectly, "That's the difference between the pros and us. We like to conserve our energy while they can use some to warm up." Soon enough, we heard the cannon go off. Or gun, but it sounded like a cannon --- scaring the bejesus out of us. I heard athletes mention how slow of a progress the pros were making on the upstream and I thought "Awesome. If they're 'slow', I'll surely be struggling."
 |
| My sherpa |
We started the procession down the ramp and my heart is in my throat. I hate the ows swim start. I jump in and the water is perfect - cool but not mind-numbing cold. And I immediately put my head in focus on my strokes to take my mind off the fact that there are peop --- and there it was, first hit to my face. The rest of the swim was fast. I was so worried about veering off to the far right like I did last year that I veered to the far left this time. Hit the sand a few times, chuckled and went back to swim with the chaos. I heard the crowd as I got close, got pulled up once we reached the dock and soon I was struggling to peel the wetsuit off. Thank God! My bladder was about to explode.
 |
| Me in front, getting started on peeling off the suit |
My first transition went a little longer than I anticipated - that's how much I had to pee. Everything else went smoothly and I hobbled out of the transition in my clips, praying I wouldn't slip and break something.
 |
| Day of accident |
 |
| Week later |
I decided to stay with same plan as last year. Take the first 15 miles as warm up and then stop at each aid station to stretch while using the porta potty. I did deviate in that I didn't hydrate or fuel as well. I could tell by the headache by 20 miles in that I needed to keep drinking water constantly.
I used my Hammer gels during the bike, which I normally don't do as my main fuel. It did the job but judging by this year's bike time, I could have done better in this department.
Twice, I had to stop to put my chains back on. Both times in the middle of a hill. Once, it was a pretty steep one and it took me a few times to actually get moving. It caused enough of a scene (as I almost fell over) to have a few athletes ask me if I was ok.
Yup, just trying to gain momentum going up while getting into the right gear... and remembering to unclip when I was unsuccessful. But I was fine since according to my watch, I was still headed towards a PR. It turned out that my watch was off my 40 min. !?!?!?!? I believe the official time was 4:10:xx. I still feel angry about this but learn and move on...Otherwise, the weather was amazing. Cloudy for 90% of the course, with light breeze. A few times, I wondered why I was killing myself to keep the pace up when I could just coast and enjoy the view and my time out there. Definitely the ultrarunner in me to want to relish the time out there.
The last 15 miles were pretty tough. My legs are fine but my back really slowed me down. Don't worry, I've already made mental notes to get a professional bike fitting! I stood on my pedals with each downhill which, again, slowed me down. With 10 miles to go, it was time to dig deep. A HUGE thank you to the police officers who gave out encouragement while directing traffic. "Looking strong! You've got this!" "Dig deep! Almost there!"
Yes, time to dig deep. With each back spasm, I'd do that ugly grimace-smile while repeating "Dig deep. Dig deep. Dig deep..." Last 5 miles "Time to dig deeper. DIGGGG".
 |
| Thumbs up or hitchhiking? |
Transition to run wasn't as long as the first. The athlete to the right of me had thrown her wetsuit and cap over my bike position. I tried to move it over in a gentle but hurried manner so... it ended up in mess by my bike. I tried to clean up a bit but c'mon... she did cause this! I just threw my marathon skirt over my shorts, grabbed water bottle, visor, additional gels and I was off. To the porta potty. And then I really was off.
 |
| I felt more fierce than I looked apparently |
It felt so good to run. I had been dealing with plantar fasciitis for a few weeks so I had been laying off on the running. The sun was out in full force by now. Again, the plan was to stick with last year's strategy. Run the entire first lap, no bathroom breaks and then take it easier on the 2nd lap. But I wanted to push myself a little more on the 2nd lap than I did last year. I knew I could've been faster,
The hills were a little tougher than I remembered but manageable. With each pain in my quads, I thanked the Lord for my love of trail running, which includes a lot of hill repeats!
I saw and passed a lot of the athletes that left me in their dust on the bike portion. The aid stations were just as welcoming as last year. At every mile, they were my lifesaver. Grab a cup of ice to throw on my head, take my BASE salt and wash it down with their Gatorade before grabbing another water bottle to rinse the taste out. Take a cup of ice and throw it down my shirt, causing a lot of looks and laughs from bystanders and the younger volunteers (and people in cars along the road). Replace the 2 cold sponges to keep my shoulders and back cool and I would continue on.Let me tell you how spectacular my tri kit was. First of all, Nicole DeBoom (who won 2004 IMWI -- and now founder of Skirt Sports), had given me THE BEST advice ever before I did my first 70.3 last year: put ice down your sports bra and shorts.
The tank I was wearing, called Super Girl has built-in bras and a cleavage alley pocket right in the center. So when I threw the cup of ice down my shirt, it stayed in the bra and in the alley pocket. It would then melt down my torso and go into the built-in spankies of my skirt. My entire core was kept cool. Doing this every mile was a great boost.
Sure, your boobs will look very lumpy and you'll get some nervous chuckles from people who are unfamiliar with this practice, but you'll be very happy.
Ok, back to the run. The first loop was done. Now I could "relax" and walk some of the hills. I did nothing of the sort. I didn't even stop for the porta potty once *GASP*. As I continued to run up the hills, I would have fellow female athletes cheering me on "You go, girl!" "You got this!" "Looking strong!". I LOVE when females uplift each other. And I do love passing up the male athletes in my skirt :)
The only time I slowed down was to walk through the aid stations. I did also stop to help another runner who was cramping pretty bad - offered some salt to him. Always carry extra!
There is one more corner before you run downhill to the finish. At this time, I imagined seeing all the people who participated in making my life a living hell - from the ones who abused me, wronged me as a child and those that made me feel worthless even as an adult -- and I mentally gave them all a finger as I flew by that corner. "Screw all of you. You tried but failed. Look at me now. You can't touch me anymore. F you." Sounds negative, I'm sure. But ask any survivors of abuse. This is empowering. They failed, I won. They may not know it, but I do.
I saw a group ahead of me and you bet I wondered how I was going to get that finish line photo by myself. I knew I could pass 2 of them so I picked up my speed a bit. Then were was a team of 4-5 and I wasn't so sure about them. Luckily, they ran to the side to high-five other members who'd finished -- that was my opening. I picked up my pace even more and then I started sprinting, giving every bit of energy I had. I heard my name, I pumped up my arm and then I crossed that line.
Holy shit, another half ironman. I did it. The volunteer put the medal over my head and congratulated me. As she handed me water, she asked the usual "Are you ok?" followed by "Because you definitely look ok."
 |
| Finish line with Greg |
I saw my friend Greg over to the side -- he who barely trained had beat me! That son of a gun! I had to give him shit and pretty sure I yelled out "You still beat me?!" After congratulating each other, taking photos and making plans to all meet up later on, I went off to find my sherpa. Who was nowhere to be seen. No worries, I'll just start packing up my gear. |
| Got laughed at for taking this selfie. |
Today, my daughter couldn't get over the fact that I'd done a 70.3 and was feeling great. Not perfect but we did drive 12+ hours back just yesterday! I turned to Ben and said, "That's how I know I'm ready for a full. The half ironman is a nice challenge but it doesn't scare me anymore."
 |
| Goodbye, Chattanooga |
I'm ready for a new, heart-stopping challenge.
Ironman 2018. Just the thought of it scares the crap out of me. So it must be done.
Onto the next adventure...
Dye
*** I am a brand ambassador for Skirt Sports. I was not paid to mention them in my blog or to wear their merchandise. I love the brand and the message "Real Women, Real bodies". Founded by former pro, Nicole DeBoom. You can check out her story and the merchandise on www.skirtsports.com (no, I wasn't paid to mention that either) ***
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