I came, I swam, I conquered the toughest part of my Ironman.. I refused to let the water win... I started strong and stayed steady. I didn't have to stop to rest at all and only stopped a few times because other swimmers cut in front of me.. I overcame the cold and kept moving forward.. At the turnaround my hands were cold and I was concerned that my wedding ring might slip off my finger.. It was getting a bit choppy on the return and had to use my legs much more than I wanted to.. I did it... I got thru the swim.. The wetsuit strippers and volunteers were wonderful..

nothing...

I was cold and my feet were frozen.. The volunteers in T1 were great. I didn't care that I had to get partially naked to get ready for the ride. I got dressed as quickly as I could and downed a chocolate Myoplex at the same time..

nothing... I was so cold.. My goal was under 2 hrs and and I DID IT!

The mount and initial start were really exciting, riding past all the people yelling and cheering. I started out slow and was worried on the first lap as my legs didn't fire. I was slow and hoped I hadn't pushed too hard on the final leg of the swim. The second lap felt much better and my pace picked up. By hour 2, I was on it for my 15 mph pace.. The headwinds sucked and stayed in aero position as long as my body would take it. Butt started to hurt by the end of the 2nd lap and never let up. The Bertha Butt cycling shorts didn't help.. I had another Myoplex at the special needs stop and stuffed everything else into my sports bra and took off. Back outbound for the third loop I was a bit tired but knew I had to keep pushing; keep moving forward.. I had to clear mile 93 before 4:15.. I had no problem with that.. Came off McDowell and turned and burned for home. I lost the Garmin 301 at about 7 hrs as the battery ran out but I knew I was close. I was stoked when I hit the dismount line and gave up my bike and headed for T2..

nothing.. my goal was 7:30 and I beat that.. my nutrition and fueling worked just fine..

again, volunteers were great and I was handed my bike bag in less than a minute..

nothing.. (2) legs down and one to go.

This was actually the hardest part of my Ironman.. The run course had a few dark spots which were OK but the concrete just sucked.. The support was great and the aid stations were well placed.. I tried to get into a steady pace but after the first few miles I began having trouble breathing. Whatever hubby had, I now had and the cold air from the bike ride and now the run, were creating problems with my throat.. It was raw and sore but the chicken broth went down fine. I had to walk more than I wanted to but kept moving forward.. It was lonely and quiet out there but I had to deal with it.. As the night wore on I was cold and hurting but that's the way it had to be. I figured that to be an Ironman, I had to experience the pain like a "right of passage"..

nothing. My goal was to just finish the run and be legal... Again, fueling and nutrition worked to a tee..

get back to the hotel and into the jacuzzi as fast as I could. The shot of tequila helped too..


ABSOLUTELY nothing


I cannot believe it's over. Next for me is the emotional letdown after such a high for the last 9 months. I felt it some after my Vineman 70.3 races, but this will have a much bigger impact. I still feel a bit numb as the impact of what I did hasn't hit me yet. It will probably come full circle when I am getting my new tatt! I still go over parts of it in my head like a rerun on a TV screen. These are my feelings and thoughts during this race and what it meant to me:

The swim start and the final turn for home, fighting about five other swimmers to the ladders.. how cold I was in T1.. the pain of freezing feet as I was running up to the bike mount area.. Trying to clip in and get my Garmin to work.. my friend Danna talking to me and trying to keep me focused.. getting into my first lap of the bike and worried that I had used too much leg during the final part of the swim, because my legs were not responding.. my feet still hurting until the feeling in them came back about mile 16... hauling ass to get the first lap done and how my legs got a second wind into the second lap and my pace picked up.. the wind out on Beeline... waving to my husband at McDowell and Beeline as I started my second lap.. being pleased and surprised to see my friend Jeff at the 93 mile turnaround and him offering a few words of encouragement.. pushing for the 100 mile mark and hitting it at about 6:37.. The elation I felt getting off the bike to start the run.. Danna's support and words of encouragement in T2... the excitement when I knew that the last leg of this journey was about to unfold and my race stratagy of walking the first mile went right out the window, as I started running right away.. I had to walk before completing the first mile after I came back down to earth after I got past the transition area and all the people.. The times my friend Jeff would call out LOU, (my work nicname) so I knew he was out there, somewhere.. the pain and loneliness of running by myself in the dark.. the cold as the evening wore on.. the enjoyment of seeing Jeff and Danna and hearing their words of encouragement at various places along the run course.. how tired I was getting and trying to stay focused by eating and sipping chicken broth and water and Gatorade.. how good that Milky Way Bite tasted at about mile 13, along with the red vines.. how I would grab the necklace I made after my grandmother passed away and ask "Gladys" to help me get thru this.. how I pushed myself after leaving the transition area loop to finish my last lap.. the shock and total surprise of seeing Jeff and Danna at mile 20 and how much those guys meant to me to be there at that moment .. how beautiful the water looked with the reflection of the buildings on it during the last trip over the Rural Road bridge as I approached mile 25... how I was NOT going to stop running until I crossed the finish line after coming off that bridge, even if it was a deadman shuffle... just soaking it all in that last mile and flipping off the lake like 3 times because I didn't let it beat me.. feeling numb and dead tired but very happy to see Danna at the turn for the finish... the burst of energy I had seeing that narrow path to the bright lights and the finish line and trying to slap as many hands that were sticking out as I could.. the high five to Mike Reilly... how I paused for just a second to thank "Gladys", reflect on what it meant to step over that finish line, and the "rush" of knowing it was done...

I was surprised I wasn't crying when I came down the finish chute. I did start crying when I saw the medal and how I held it after it was placed around my neck. My Mom and I were both crying when I hugged her. For a 16+ hour day, it really was over in a flash.

This was my IM Kona and my journey started on February 1st. I made it to my ultimate destination with the help and support of so many people, that I could never list them all. They know who they are.. To all my BT friends, thank you for the words of encouragement over these past 9 months.. This was a life changing event for me.. I was so happy my parents were able to make it to see it happen, being 80 and 85 respectfully..

Finally, a special thanks to Danna and Jeff, who came to IMAZ to support me thru the whole race.. You guys ROCK!.. Oh yeah, I'm never gonna do this again...