Happy Birthday to me...oh, and a Half Ironman!

I had a great night's sleep, which is huge! I woke up once at 11:30ish, but was able to stop the mind from racing and fall asleep quickly. Then, I woke up just before the alarm would go off at 4-something.
So, today is the big day, am I ready? I made my coffee and ate first, then jumped in the shower (it's always nice to start the day clean, since you know you're going to be disgusting for hours on end!), and got all ready to go. I loaded up the car, and when I came back into the hotel, I could hear my teammates laughing across the hall. So, I knocked on their door, said good morning and chatted a moment. We all met up in the "lounge" area of the hotel, and chatted some more - all of us a little nervous about the events ahead.
I headed to Innsbrook Resort a little after 5. The temperature this morning was a balmy 43 degrees! Brrrrr! I parked the car, aired up my tires, got my body marked, dropped my bag in transition and racked my bike...it was pitch black, and just so chilly that there was NO WAY I was standing out there any longer. You couldn't see to set up your transition area anyway, so I happy climbed back in my car, turned on the heat and some tunes and settled in. I think I may have even dozed off for a few minutes.
Finally, the started to come up and I got out, set up transition, stood in the port-a-potty line, got my timing chip and a phone call from my parents - singing happy birthday! That was a nice touch. I was so nervous, that it was good to have a little distraction.
In the transition area, the DFT gals were all pretty close - I'm the old one of the bunch, so I was on the rack next to them. I actually think Leslie was on my rack too, but closer to the aisle. We all put on our wetsuits (which was a welcome addition at this race - warmth!), which provided for some laughter. We also met a gal from Los Locos (go Deb!) who lives here in KC and up north - do I smell a potential riding partner? With an exchange of phone numbers, a last swipe of body glide (thank you, Julie!), and some anti fog drops in the goggles (again, thank you Julie!), we headed down to the lake.
Swim: We were sure grateful to have some spectators with us that morning, and through the race. Julie's husband, Dan, was a great help and cheerleader to all of us; and Courntey's friend, Ashely, was there as well and a fabulous help. Teammate, Michele, was there too, so we had a mini fan club - thanks to all of you for all your support, photography, and cheering! Here are the four of us (Robyn, Courtney, Julie and me) as we get ready to start the race.
They called us in to the water, I did a quick check of the goggles and my swim stroke, and came back out to ankle deep, which is where we had to start. I was cold, thus ready to get moving. Once they sounded the big gun, I stood there for just a moment while everyone fought for their position. When the initial mayhem cleared, I began my swim. I kept telling myself that I wanted to stay relaxed and focused - just count the bouys as they pass - one at a time - that's all you need to do. Well, I felt great as I started to swim. And, thankfully, the goggles stayed securely gripped to my face, and didn't fog too badly! (if any of you recall my previous 1/2 Iron experience on the swim...foggy goggles are not fun!) Anyway, before I knew it, I was coming up on the triangular bouy that marked the turn - seriously? Ok, don't get too excited, stay calm and stay away from the corner of that turn! You can really get buried on those turns. I kept swimming, feeling stronger as I went. I was thinking about all kinds of things - yes, even some were race-related. I thought about how I would come out of the water and get my gear on for the bike. I would be happy to get on my bike! Well, before I knew it, I could see the huge arch that marked the swim exit - I was almost done. I felt so good, I wondered how long I had been in there. I wouldn't allow myself to check the time, 'cause I had told myself that this was a long training day - I was trying not to put any pressure on. Well, I exited the swim, and Dan yelled to me that I had done it in 35 minutes! What? Sure enough, I checked my watch and it said 37 (by that point). That's fabulous! I was expecting closer to 50 minutes, so I was thrilled. Of course, the 100-mile walk to transition is added to that time. Okay, it's not really 100 miles, but it's a long way, and I walked the whole thing.
T1:
I was pumped that I had done the swim in 35 minutes...Ironman wasn't looking so bad now. ha ha Michele and Ashley were taking pictures. I was saying something about it being my b'day and they weren't allowed to take any pictures below the waist!
I made my way into transition and started the process (which should be fast) of getting the wetsuit off, armwarmers on, helmet, glasses.....you get the picture. My hands were so cold, this task was tough. Alas, I got it together and was off on the bike. As I headed out of transition, I heard Julie yell, "Go Dawn". I thought - yeah Julie! You made great time out of the lake!!!
Bike:
I was delighted to be on my bike, except for the fact that I was cold (have I mentioned that before?). I wished so badly that I had a long-sleeved jersey on. The armwarmers helped, and I was really thankful I brought them! The bike course is fairly hilly, especially getting out of the resort area.
I just settled in and took my time, trying to keep the heart rate nice and controlled. I was feeling good. Since the course is two loops, it's kinda hard to tell where everyone is in the ride. So, I was just riding my own race. I started passing people, which is always a little fun. In fact, I think just one gal passed me on the course, and I could be mistaken, but I think by the end, I passed her again.
I can't recall where in the course, but I came up on Robyn. She was looking good (little did I know she had crashed on the bike!) I yelled some brief words of encouragement and off I went. I also saw Julie at one of the turnaround points, and was happy to be seeing these gals. It's really a beautiful ride, but I was getting more and more miserable by the moment because I was soaked, cold, and it was windy. I was good about hydration and fueling on this ride...like clockwork, actually, and I still felt good. Though I complain about the cold, it sure beats the heat when you're doing an event that's this long. It makes it SO much easier to stay hydrated!
About 2 hours in, I felt something on my back...oh yeah, it's my phone. I grabbed it and answered it - it was Terry! Why am I answering my phone in a race? Well, remember, this is a long training day, AND it's my birthday, so I told myself I was going to enjoy it. We chatted briefly (he was shocked that I answered). It was encouraging to talk to someone. With some encouraging words from him, I hung up and charged on.
It wasn't until the 2nd loop that I spotted Courtney ahead. I yelled (picture drill seargant voice with the inflection at the end of her name)...Court-KNEEE, move your tail! Well, it didn't take much, and that girl jumped on it. She stood up and started to hammer. I sat behind her (yes, well out of the draft zone) for a bit, which I think helped to keep her trucking. She looked great, and I was so pleased for her, 'cause she and Julie have their IM in about 6 weeks! Anyway, I finally came up around Courtney, and we chatted for a bit, trying not to break any rules or get penalties. We swapped a few stories, words of encouragement, etc. that is, until some chick came yelling behind us. She had plenty of room to get around, but apparently she didn't think so. That was it, I bid farewell, wished good luck and took off. There's one pretty brutal climb towards the end of the course, as you come back into the resort...I kinda dreaded it, and then said to myself - if you could climb those hills in Philly, you've got to be kidding that you're nervous about this one?!? With that, I was up the hill and into the final stretch of the ride. I was SO HAPPY to be finishing the bike leg.
I couldn't wait to put my DFT jacket back on!!! Again, I saw our fans as I came into transition, it was so nice to know people were waiting for me.

T2: well, this was even more of a struggle than the first one. My hands were numb - as you see in this picture, I struggled to get the armwarmers off! I took my time here, made sure I lubed up the feet, since I've had so much trouble with blisters, grabbed what I thought was all my fuel (which I'll realize later in the run), and I was off on the run. I really dreaded this run because it's horribly hilly, and I knew I wasn't properly trained for it at all. My strategy was to walk the uphills, run the flats/downhills. So, here we go....







Run:
I knew Courtney would be coming soon, and I was thinking maybe the company would help. We ran together for a very brief time, and then off she went. It was crazy seeing all these folks (who were on their 2nd loop of the run) going SOOOOO fast! I was definitely jealous. I had to just do what I could though, and that was to keep going. At this point, the legs were definitely tired, but I didn't feel too bad. I kept my promise to run the flats and down...for the most part. There are so many little out/backs on this course, that it kinda made it nice, 'cause you knew you'd be seeing someone in a matter of time. I saw all the girls a few times on the course, and that was fun. They all looked so happy. I'm afraid my words to Robyn were not all that happy...I believe I said, "this course blows!". Oh well, keep moving. Coming into the 2nd lap, I was STARVING. I thought they would have pretzels, cookies or something out there - all they had were orange slices and gels. Ugh! I saw Michele as I was heading back out for my 2nd loop and asked if she had any food. She did not. Bummer! I talked to my coach when there were 6 miles to go. He told me to have some gels, even though I didn't want them. That was good advice. No way could I go another hour (plus!) without some more fuel. I kept seeing Courtney at this point. There was about a mile stretch where something kicked in and I was working HARD to catch up to her (more for the motivation here folks...I don't want people thinking I was trying to beat my teammate!). I caught up pretty well, but that was it - I had nothing left - I stayed fairly close through the end, and was never so happy to grab that last uphill (which I do believe I actually RAN!) to the flat - out of the woods - and down the hill into the grassy finish chute.
Oh my word, I've just finished my 2nd Half Ironman!!!

I didn't hang around long, rather quickly made my way to the car and changed clothes. I'd been dying to get out of the wet (and stinky) attire! I hurried back to the finish line to watch Robyn and Julie finish the race! Not long after that, I coaxed the gals to the food tent, 'cause I was really hungry and ready to chow down! It was fun sitting around, (stuffing our faces) and talking about the race. We hung out and waited for the awards, which was a treat, since 3 of our gals placed!!!

Once the awards were done, we headed back to the hotel for showers, etc. We ordered pizza and sat in the lobby (where things got quite bizzarre, yet humorous). The girls were nice and sang Happy b'day to me and gave me a card. Julie brought her yummy 50 calorie cupcakes (which, who cares about the calories when you worked your hiney off for 6+ hours?!?). It was really nice just hanging out - we laughed and laughed at all the strange things that happened in that lobby. Finally, it was time to hit the hay. We were pooped!