Rev 3 Tri was a brutal test of mental toughness. I passed!
You might also want to read my Full Race Report.
Race Day photos:
Here are just a few bullet points about my race. I am completely exhausted, both mentally and physically.
* I put the Trakkers device in my back pocket for the swim. I was really worried that the tightness of my wetsuit pushed the button and turned it off. Obssessed over that for 10 minutes. Then decided that I would check it at T1. Once I made that decision, I didn’t think about it again.
* swim course was beautiful. Very clean and clear water. Not much chop. 65 degrees water temp. It felt great. I think I actually was a little warm. I swam way wide each leg of the swim. No success drafting because I was so far out away from everybody. I exited the water and my split was 36 minutes. I was floored. Maybe they measured the course short or something.
* I spent at least a minute in T1 checking to my sure my Trakkers device was operating. Double green blinking told me it was. I wanted to be a Team player. 🙂 Thank you very much to any bloggy peeps who tried to track me today…it worked for about 2 hours, until about 9:30 am. My husband tracked me until the bottom of a valley near Bear State park..cell phone coverage in all those hills was spotty. It did track a couple folks the whole race, and is a very cool device!
* All those hills on the bike were harder than I thought. I expected the course to be like Duke 1/2, with a couple longer climbs. It was harder than Duke half. The long climbs weren’t so bad, because I trained well for them. Yay for Uphill Grind! But the rest of the course just seemed like all ups, and not much downs. I flew down one really fun descent. The other descent was windy with switchbacks, so I couldn’t really fly there. wah. I think I pushed the bike course just right. Hard, but not too hard. Kind of hammered the last 4 miles because I had to pee really bad!
* T2 went pretty smoothly. Porta potties were too far away from the T area, so I decided to hold my pee a little longer. At mile 1 there was still no porta potty, so I ducked into the woods. Poison ivey everywhere, but I didn’t care. I did the roll up the leg, yank and squat method. Washed really good with Dawn dish soap. Hope that works this time!
* The first 3 miles of the run, I was doing sub 10 pace. The middle 7 miles of the run course were just brutally hill. Like Bandits. I didn’t expect that. When I realized how hard the run course was, I adjusted my goal, thinking I would just stay mentally focused with good form, try to let loose on the downs, and stay strong on the ups. I did really well, but still, my pace was not great. The last 3 miles were not too hilly, and I did a sub 10 pace there too. I did mile 12 at 9:30, so I really kept it together till the end. It was so mentally difficult to stay focused. The last 1/2 mile I sprinted and finished really strong. When I was all done, I sort of had an emotional breakdown and started crying. Tears of relief that I didn’t have to stay strong any more. I felt like a blubbering idiot!
* A couple minutes after crossing the finish line, I walked past Natasha Badmann. I asked how she did and if I could shake her hand, and then I broke down crying again. She placed 3rd. I felt like a total fool crying…she was very sweet and gave me a hug. Then I was able get my self together enough to tell her that she was my hero. I also wanted to say that watching her in Ironman races is an inspiration for being mentally tough. My Trakkers teammate, Kelly, happened to be there with her husband, and he got a picture of me and Kelly with Natasha. It was truly a great moment! Read post about it and see the picture!
My total time 6:23:54.
Swim time was 36
Bike was 17 mph
Run was about pace of 11. Not super great, but it was brutal and I stayed strong
Age group place was 8. I don’t know how many in my age group, so don’t know top x%
Carol,
Awesome job, way to stay strong to the end!!! Glad to see I’m not the only one that gets emotional at the end of these crazy events.
Did I read your blog right – was that a 15 hour drive to the race?? Wow – that’s impressive all by itself!!!
Enjoy your recovery, you earned it…
Dennis
I hope you didn’t give Natasha Poison Ivy…Its the gift that keeps on giving!
Great jog Carol, this was really a tough course. I missed Natasha Badmann, I would’ve liked a picture with her too!
Carol, you did a fantastic job!! I will get that picture to you soon!!
Great Job Carol!!
When I saw you at the 9th mile I couldn’t tell you were having any trouble! You looked strong. I wanted to watch you finish but I had to go. Great job out there, it was hilly and hot as hell, you did it!
That must have been so awesome to race with so many pros too! It sounds like it was hard but you were tough! Good job!
Sounds like it was a tough course and you really powered through! Great job!!
Carol,
I think you did really well. A very tough course and you hung in there. Nicely done, my friend.
Ginger
It is so cool that you met so many pros at this event! Sounds like you had an amazing performance and stayed focused and super tough the entire time. Congrats on having all of your hard work pay off and executing a super race.
You totally rock Carol. You constantly amaze me with your strength and determination. Rock on!
Great job! I’m thrashed and devastated after that course. I came in about an hour after you (was my first half and I think I picked the wrong one!). The bike was certainly a killer and although the run wasn’t as bad as the bike, by that time I was just hanging on to dear life.
As much as I hated it, the event staff, citizens, and volunteers were great. I might go back next year just to try and beat my time. Was cool seeing all the pros up close and personal.