Hopes and dreams - Ironman Chattanooga Pt 1
The day before we were to leave, I was working another full day that included an early morning shift (4:30am) with only a few hours in-between before my late afternoon/evening classes. Everyone was out sick and finding subs was nearly impossible. I was starting to lose my shit. I hadn't packed yet and we had a 13hr drive ahead of us --> after I worked another 4:30am shift on Thurs. My boss was amazing and found people to cover that morning shift and when I got to my 2nd location that evening, I walked into this
Needless to say, between my friends and family (IRL and online) and the awesome people I work with, I had a phenomenal support system.
My husband, 2 kids and I set off for TN on Thursday morning and with an overnight stop in Murfreesboro, we finally made it to Chattanooga Fri am. I'd had more than enough nightmares about not making it to Athlete check-in so I was pretty anxious to get that over with. No check-in by 5pm on Friday, no race.
I also found out on our drive to TN that the swim was canceled. The Chattanooga 144.6 Facebook page was lit up. People were losing their minds over this. And I get it. Ironman races are crazy expensive and they don't give you a partial refund nor a discount towards another race if anything is canceled. But there was a good reason for it and I'm glad that canceled it. Due to rain and flooding, the river was unsafe. Speed, debris and high levels of E. coli.
I knew I would've made the swim cut off and felt like it was more of a punishment to not swim in the river than being rewarded with an "easy" race. I had been looking forward to that swim!! There were a handful of people who were trying to find pools and alternative swim plans and I was onboard. I also figured I could beg the hotel to let me swim that morning before the race - no matter the size of the pool, I was going to get swim time in. There were also many athletes who were so angry that they packed up and left (or never came down to TN). I had made the decision to make this one hell of a weekend despite the change in race plans.
During the athlete briefing, the race director reminded us of how lucky we are. To be able to do an event like this- with our freedom and strength in our own abilities. And that's stuck with me.
After dinner, my little one and I decided to go swim. I also wanted to see if laps were even possible. It was - 5 strokes and flip. Not ideal but doable! As I swam with my daughter, I saw 2 guys walk in and noticed one was wearing an IM shirt as the other counted while walking the length of the pool. "I bet they're thinking what I'm thinking!" So being me, I walked over to them and confirmed that yes, they were thinking about a possible swim in the hotel pool as an alternative. I mentioned my plans and said, "I'm a lifeguard if that will help us get the ok!" when one said he would talk to the overnight staff. Though it took a few days to really introduce ourselves, they were Billy and Gerry. Gerry was also doing the race.
On Friday, we met up with my girl Danyell and her husband, Steve for breakfast. They drove all the way down from Chicago solely to support and celebrate with me for this race. To say they're amazing is an understatement. The 3 of us went to bike and gear drop off as my family took a break at the hotel (not everyone gets excited about going to Ironman Village every day and they're called weirdos)
We saw, took photos and gasped at the expensive bikes. And then we ate. As I was walking out of Cupcake Kitchen (yes, you must go when you're in Chattanooga), I saw Gerry and Billy and called out to them. (Sidenote, get used to that if I ever meet you and see you out). Gerry said we got the ok to swim as long as we're not being loud and doing cannonballs at 4am. Sweet! Said I'll probably see them there.
I got back to the hotel and did some last minute obsessing. Noting everything I need to do the next morning so it would be smooth sailing. I didn't want to open the fridge and try to remember what bottle was for what - they were all labeled and notes were stuck to mirrors. I tried to get to bed early but I was terrified. I wanted a good night's rest but once I woke up, it would be race day and I kind of wanted to prolong the wait.
My alarm went off at 4am and after 5 min of deliberating how bad I wanted that swim, I snuck out of the room for my morning swim...
Needless to say, between my friends and family (IRL and online) and the awesome people I work with, I had a phenomenal support system.
My husband, 2 kids and I set off for TN on Thursday morning and with an overnight stop in Murfreesboro, we finally made it to Chattanooga Fri am. I'd had more than enough nightmares about not making it to Athlete check-in so I was pretty anxious to get that over with. No check-in by 5pm on Friday, no race.
 |
| Walkway was submerged in the flood |
I knew I would've made the swim cut off and felt like it was more of a punishment to not swim in the river than being rewarded with an "easy" race. I had been looking forward to that swim!! There were a handful of people who were trying to find pools and alternative swim plans and I was onboard. I also figured I could beg the hotel to let me swim that morning before the race - no matter the size of the pool, I was going to get swim time in. There were also many athletes who were so angry that they packed up and left (or never came down to TN). I had made the decision to make this one hell of a weekend despite the change in race plans.
 |
| Athlete briefing |
During the athlete briefing, the race director reminded us of how lucky we are. To be able to do an event like this- with our freedom and strength in our own abilities. And that's stuck with me.
After dinner, my little one and I decided to go swim. I also wanted to see if laps were even possible. It was - 5 strokes and flip. Not ideal but doable! As I swam with my daughter, I saw 2 guys walk in and noticed one was wearing an IM shirt as the other counted while walking the length of the pool. "I bet they're thinking what I'm thinking!" So being me, I walked over to them and confirmed that yes, they were thinking about a possible swim in the hotel pool as an alternative. I mentioned my plans and said, "I'm a lifeguard if that will help us get the ok!" when one said he would talk to the overnight staff. Though it took a few days to really introduce ourselves, they were Billy and Gerry. Gerry was also doing the race.
On Friday, we met up with my girl Danyell and her husband, Steve for breakfast. They drove all the way down from Chicago solely to support and celebrate with me for this race. To say they're amazing is an understatement. The 3 of us went to bike and gear drop off as my family took a break at the hotel (not everyone gets excited about going to Ironman Village every day and they're called weirdos)
 |
| Walking around Chatt in her boot! Photo credit Steve A |
We saw, took photos and gasped at the expensive bikes. And then we ate. As I was walking out of Cupcake Kitchen (yes, you must go when you're in Chattanooga), I saw Gerry and Billy and called out to them. (Sidenote, get used to that if I ever meet you and see you out). Gerry said we got the ok to swim as long as we're not being loud and doing cannonballs at 4am. Sweet! Said I'll probably see them there.
I got back to the hotel and did some last minute obsessing. Noting everything I need to do the next morning so it would be smooth sailing. I didn't want to open the fridge and try to remember what bottle was for what - they were all labeled and notes were stuck to mirrors. I tried to get to bed early but I was terrified. I wanted a good night's rest but once I woke up, it would be race day and I kind of wanted to prolong the wait.
My alarm went off at 4am and after 5 min of deliberating how bad I wanted that swim, I snuck out of the room for my morning swim...
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