Couch to Ironman Race #2 has officially been checked off the list crossing the finish line at Ironman Augusta 70.3 in just under 7 hours. And now we are just a month away from the full Ironman California! I was so excited coming down that finishing chute and hearing my name.
I was so happy to be racing with my new teammates Tiffany and Mark from G3. It was great getting to spend time with them over the week and having friends to cheer on, too!
There were several ups and downs of the race and overall. I'd have to say, I think Augusta is a one and done experience. The very first evening during my run, I got catcalled. Nothing says "welcome" like some sexual harassment and fear. I had nightmares that night and slept horribly. I know all women are especially on edge right now, given recent current events. And it's not the first time I've experienced something like this (I've even had someone do a U-turn and follow me back around after catcalling me before!). Everyone who is training should be using some kind of tracker and sending their locations to a loved one when they are out and about, especially you're on a trail, or in the dark. You can use Garmin or Strava, or other options. The one thing that I think these trackers all really need to improve is the tracking ability while you don't have your phone with you (Please take note, because this is a serious issue for us! These need to be live at all times!). It's better than nothing, but I think a lot of us don't run with phones. I've started running with my dogs, but they can't go as far as the long distance training runs! I guess we could get more dogs...
Had some great food at Boll Weevil and some delicious cake. All of the important stops. If you do go to Augusta, make sure you stop there.
Anyway, I met some amazing new race friends from Puerto Rico, Manny and Cynthia, in my motel Lobby getting breakfast. We were going to try to do a practice swim, but race rules prohibited it. Oh, well. We did a little bike and Cynthia did a run. Manny taught me the secrets of how to properly put on a wetsuit with a trash bag! It turns out that you don't actually have to struggle for 15 minutes trying to put it on and risk fingernail pokes. You just put the bag on each extremity and then through the suit and it glides right through!!
I later caught up with Mark for bike check in and then to spend some time checking out Augusta with him and his peeps. We stumbled upon the History Museum and it was a great find! Highly recommend.
Race prep time!! I ended up having to go to South Carolina to the closest grocery store (where do Augustans eat???) To grab some pre-race breakfast since obviously nothing is open at 4:30 AM on race day. Food desert much? Not even CVS had milk or bagels or anything.
And now it's time! Early up and at 'em. I almost forgot to pack my race fuel, but luckily remembered before I left the room. Got the transition set-up smoothly. Excited to see Tiffany in the area just a few racks away. And time to get in line for the shuttle back to swim start! I saw a woman wearing a "Boone" shirt and then thought, "oh, shit, I can't believe my soccer team from Appalachian State is here???" How random is that??? She recognized me too, and asked if we used to play together and actually genuinely seemed excited and wanted to take a group photo with us. They were doing the relay together. I was completely traumatized. Not by them, mind you (although I do have a scar on my face from her, but I don't blame her at all), but the memories that this brought up. See, we were abused physically and emotionally by our coach, Ben Popoola. For example, he forced me to act like a piece of equipment during a drill while another goalkeeper had to dive over me, resulting in me being repeatedly kicked in the ribs. She had begged him to stop because she knew she was hurting me, but he said, "don't worry about her." It took over a month for the bruised ribs to heal. Chancellor Peacock knew what was happening. Charlie Cobb, the athletic director, knew what was happening. His wife, Lindsay Cobb, the goalkeeper coach, knew what was happening. They all encouraged it and allowed it to continue until Ben Popoola finally did the unthinkable to one of my teammates, at which time he was finally removed while the quietly swept it under the rug. We all knew he was dangerous. We tried to get help. And they all allowed him to continue to groom and destroy us. Like I said, it was not and never was my teammates' fault. I don't blame them and I don't even know the full extent of each of their own experiences while on the team. I just never in a million years expected to see any of them again, let alone a group of us doing triathlon and the same random race together??? Emotional damage. I almost transferred over this, even ready to go at a new school's orientation. That was when I realized that I had a great support system at App with a great department, Pre-med program, and friends, and ended up staying... I had such a hard time refocusing after this. It completely shook me to my core like you could not even believe. I could not get it out of my head the entire swim and bike, not matter how much I tried to just focus on the race at hand. I just wanted even more to prove that I had won. I'm not being beaten down by a monster anymore. And I knew that my same great support system was still cheering me on remotely. Every time I crossed a timing matt, I yelled, "Beep" out loud, just as a reminder that everyone at home could see those check-in times and was still supporting me. I know I still have support at home, and those timing matts are always a reminder. And yes, sound effects are always necessary.
Anyway, race time was here and it was now or never. This race is 1.2 miles down the Savannah River. It's a rolling start based on projected swim time, so you seed yourself into your group and they start 3 swimmers at a time every 5 seconds. I started at 30-35 minute group. I was almost right on with my guess with a swim time just barely under 30 minutes! The water was a good temperature, but I wanted to practice with my wetsuit to get prepared for IMCA since that will be 🥶. It was a good swim with decent sighting, but my goggles are definitely ready to be retired. They were foggy and I could not see anything looking into the sun!
And out of the water to the wetsuit strippers, through transition to the bike! 56 miles is a long way. 😆 Augusta has some rolling hills and a few of them were long climbs. There aren't many to practice on in Gainesville, but I did practice simulations with my trainer, so it wasn't too bad. The one tricky part during races is being conscientious of drafting rules on hills. If you get into someone's "draft" zone, you have to pass them. And if there is a line of people and you pass one, that likely puts you into the draft zone of the next person. So if you're planning on passing, you have to plan to essentially book it past a bunch of people or risk the penalty tent. I was trying to really focus on my breathing on hills as my gauge. For some reason, if I start breathing too heavily or go to hard, I'll start getting abdominal pain again, so I was not planning on booking it on any hills. Just steady. No standing. Low gear to the top, and then catch everyone back down haha. It got me through and with a decent pace considering the hills. The roads were not in great condition, honestly, which was kind of scary in some spots. By the time I made I braked coming into transition, Screeeeaaaaach. My brakes were gone. Bye-bye. At least that was the end. I found out later it was a combination of Gu/Gatorade from the road conditions and that I actually ended up losing a screw from my water bottle cage! So, it's just a sticky wheel, after all and a close call with almost being down a water bottle and cage. That last downhill where the spray painted all of the messed up spots in the road and basically the entire road was orange marking a the cracks. Loose water bottles from previous cyclists also littered that downhill from the bad road. That was dangerous. Back in safe and sound in about 3 hours and 30 minutes!
And now for the run! To be honest, even a half-marathon is a lot by itself. But now we're doing it after swimming and biking. That's what makes this fun. 😅 I've lost the most of my speed so far with running, so we were just going to be cruising at a steady pace to knock out the miles one-by-one. I just locked in to my roughly 12-minute-per-mile pace and went. The course was spectator-friendly. And then 🚂🚃🚃🚃 about mile 8. That's right. We got stopped by a train. Trains don't stop for races (or anything). But that was a drag, for sure. There was a race official who took down our numbers and we did our best to keep stretching and not get tight. We all just started chatting and stuff. Then the train stopped aahhhh. Can't it see we're racing!? Move! After about 10 minutes, it finally was clear and we were on our way again, like a big cross country meet running into that next aid station, and it was honestly really hard to get moving again. Everything was
tight after that. My miles dropped to like 13.5 minute pace after that. Just keep on moving. Counting down those miles. When I got to mile 12, there was a 10- mile marker sign. I kind of panicked, but my watch very clearly said 12 and I knew the finish was close. That was cruel. Just keep moving. The finish is getting closer. Smiling, smiling 🥲 😁. There's the chute and the finish line! I did it!
After resting a bit and finally going to get my morning gear bag, I started to make my way over to the shuttle area. That is when I met fellow Team Challenge athlete, Kelli, who is racing for Crohn's and Colitis Foundation, too! Her race is the New York Marathon! Yay teammates! Kelli is such an amazing and inspirational athlete. Let's get those cures!
And now that leaves us with the Ironman California in just a few short weeks. We're coming away from this weekend stronger and more confident. It was a tough mental weekend. But we can do this. Anything is Possible. Find your Finish Line.
