I am an Ironman. And I am still in pain!
Thank you so much to everyone who supported me. It helped me stay focused to know so many people were cheering me on, both in the blogosphere and at the race site. Special thanks to my family who were there cheering me on and helping me at the finish line when I was completely drained. And to Ginger who came out to cheer me on and take pictures! Alot of folks shouted my name out on the run course and I didn’t even know who you were. I hope you had a great race! And to a blog reader named Neil – I hope you finished well!
I did not quite make my 12 hour goal, but I feel really great about my race. I made my desired pace on each leg of the race, but I wasted alot of time in Transitions. Plus I got a drafting penalty due to a moment of inattention not dropping back quickly enough.
The run was extremely painful. At mile 7 it felt like there was stone in my shoe. I took it off and there was no stone – just a hard lump on the ball of my foot. I saw Ginger at mile 8 and she said I probably got a bone bruise during the long run on cement in bare feet from the swim to T1. She said don’t worry about it, that Ironman was supposed to be painful. It took every ounce of mental toughness in me, and then some, to keep running through that pain. It was like 3 hours of ‘Suffer Section‘. I kept trying different things to get through it. When one thing stopped working, I’d try another. At some point, I wondered how @GoSonja would have handled it. Then I thought I will just imagine she is running and not me. So, that is how I got through the last 13 miles, by imagining she was doing the running. It worked. Thank you Sonja!
I think the pain during the run made me forget about hydration. I was drinking every mile when my Garmin beeped at me. But it must not have been enough. A few minutes after crossing the finish line, I felt dizzy. I tried drinking some Pepsi. That made it worse. I asked my husband to take me to the medical tent, where I spent 90 minutes being treated for dehydration.
I had planned on my final tweet of the day being my favorite quote, “When you like suffering. When you like the pain in your legs and all your body, it means you are good.” But when I finished the race, I did not like all the pain I had suffered from mile 8 onward. I hated it. But I was still good. 🙂
Official results are up at the Setup site (not the B2B site)…
Swim: 01:00:27
T1 + Bike: 06:16:30′
T2: 00:13:26 19
Run: 04:34:07
Drafting penalty: 00:06:00
Total Time: 12:10:28
I went to the awards cruise…and got 1st Age group 🙂 Two women my age were faster (including the one I wanted to beat), but they got in top masters. That’s fine by me! After the race, I wanted to congratulate the woman I was chasing down all day. I saw her both times in the changing tent. But I only just saw her as I was staggering to the medical tent, and was not coherent enough to stop and talk. I don’t think she reads my blog, but in case she does, CONGRATS – you were amazing out there!
Picture of me getting my award:
Amazing!!! Congratulations on your race & your award!! SO impressed.
Congrats, you are a rockstar!!!!!!
Way to go Carol!! So proud of you… you’re an inspiration to me.
Absolutely incredible Carol! All day Saturday I lived for the next tweet on your progress. Your accomplishment in your first Ironman was nothing less than spectacular–and very inspirational. What’s next on the agenda? I can’t wait to find out. Congratulations!!
You Rock! It’s been fun to follow your journey online – what an amazing accomplishment, congratulations!!!
Carol,
Nice job on taking home the teak! I was walking my bike up the bridge when you were running getting ready to turn onto 421 (around mile 12) and I told you, “I read your blog!”
I also saw you at mile 23 at the aid station and you look great and I knew that you would finish, I was happy for you.
Carol’s strength lies in not only is she physically stong, but mentally she never gave up and kept a postitve attitude throughtout the race even with the pain. Once you get to the run, Ironman is really more about your mental strength and not giving in to the pain. Thats why so many people collapse just past the finish line, their minds are holding them together not their bodies.
Carol…has the post ironman depression hit yet? It hit me hard each time. Set a goal race in the not too distant future so you have something to look forward to. Maybe a half marathon.
You did great girl, it was fun seeing you out there!! Congratulations!!
Great job. Congrats. I just started reading your blog about a month ago when I decided to do a tri in July 2010. Fun to hear about your journey!
Your times are just amazing! Congratulations!! How cool to win your age group in your first iron distance race! Great job!
Congrats!!…Great Job,Carol.
Congratulations! You worked so hard and planned so well and you did amazing out there!!
Your post got me all teary, you really thought I was running for you for like 13 miles. AND you ran a 4:34 in that much pain!!! Wow girl, whatever you were doing WORKED! I am insanely proud of you, and personally think that you were “built” for this distance. I know you are in pain now, but you will actually be sad when the pain goes away because it will be one less thing attaching your to your experience. Way to go Carole! Yip!