Race Day...

Im never a big fan of race morning. The anticipation for an Ironman is always quite nerve-racking and I am always anxious to just get going. The morning of Austria was no different, but I must say that it didn't feel quite as "daunting" as races have sometimes felt in the past. Erin and I headed to the race start which was awesome. Crowds of people packed on the 3 docks that jutted out into the lake, a huge balloon on the beach and almost 2400 people waiting to start. I was escorted to the "Profidis Start" which was located 30 meters ahead of the age groupers. We all jumped in, swam around a bit and next thing I knew, the gun went off! The start always scares me, but this one wasnt too bad. I hung onto the group for as long as I could and then found myself swimming with another Pro, who I thought was a guy, but Im not positive. Soon the fast age groupers would catch me and I would hang onto their draft for as long as I could. Once that group would drop me, I would wait for the next group to come along! Heading into the canal was AWESOME! People lined the side of the canal and it was the coolest feeling swimming along in such a narrow canal hearing the screams of the crowds!

Finally I was out of the water in 59 minutes! I giggled to myself because I definitely wanted to break an hour, but I knew that many of the other pro women were far ahead of me at this point. If anyone wants to help me with open water swimming, be my guest, because it is definitely a weakness of mine! On a positive note: Eli from Zoot shipped me a new Zenith wetsuit that I received a few hours before I took off for the trip to Austria and it was AWESOME! Super comfortable and the new size (small/tall) fit me PERFECTLY!!

I was so relieved to be through with the swim and onto the bike. My legs felt good right away and the watts came pretty easily, which is a great sign! I've done races where the legs do not feel good and it definitely ends up being a LONG DAY! The bike course is STUNNING! The section that lines the lake is FAST! Once you turn off of that road, the course becomes hillier. There a 3 major climbs and it feels as if you are riding in the Tour de France when you climb them. Crowds of people line the entire climb cheering and running next to you! The roads are covered with peoples names and the music is blaring! It's awesome!! I came in on the first loop in exactly 2:30 and I was PSYCHED!!!! I figured that even if I went 10 min slower on the second loop I would STILL do a 5:10!

My new Orbea was so fast and comfortable and I even made friends out there with another Orbea. Antonio from Spain was riding the same bike and ended up being near me the whole race! He would pass me, later I would see him and pass him, etc, etc...I even saw him on the run and was finally passed by him towards the end of the race! He was wearing and SBR Jersey (from NYC) and I thought it was strange to see a jersey from a store in New York when most of the course was filled with Germans and Austrians! Later at the awards I met Antonio and his family. Although he lives in Spain he is sponsored by SBR...he was 3rd in his age group 19-24. Congrats Antonio! The second loop on the bike went by fast! I still felt good, but of course I felt a bit more uncomfortable and the effort felt a bit more difficult. by the end, I was anxious to get off my bike and run! I was expecting a fast run! I got off the bike in 5:04, a personal best...Woo Hoo!

I didnt feel "great" off the bike, but I am aware that sometimes it takes a few miles to feel "great". The sun was really intense and the first section of the run is hot without a lot of air movement. I felt like I was having trouble breathing, but after some time, I settled in. As I headed back towards the race site I was excited for the anticipation of seeing Erin! There she was standing on the side as I headed out for the next section of the run! I felt uplifted as I ran past her! This section of the run goes into the Neur Platz and around the Lindwurm. As I headed into the center of the city, I didnt know exactly what place I was in, but I calculated around 7th. A camera crew followed me into the city square and around the Lindwurm. Of course, I was "forced" to run well on this section! ...I can't look too bad in front of the camera! I headed back into the race site to start loop 2. I saw Erin again, which was great, and headed back out to Krumpendorf. This is when things started to fall apart. "No!" I thought..."just keep it together"! I started to feel nauseous and the heat was getting to me. I was "running"but it felt more like a shuffle. "Just keep moving forward" I would tell myself. Soon I knew that I was entering a delirious state. "This is not good". I stopped. I poured water over my head and forced a gel down. I also took some endurolytes. "You have to keep running", I said to myself. "You will not stop again. You will run even if you feel nauseous. You can't walk". Off I went. It was a terrible feeling, but I just kept repeating "keep moving forward" over and over again in my head. I took gels every 30 minutes or so and said to myself that I was "taking my medicine". I think I gagged with every gel, but they really did help to keep me moving!

Once I made it to the Lindwurm again, I knew I was only 4+ K to go and I would finish. Also, I knew I would reach my goal of sub 9:50! I saw a woman who was close behind at the turn around and I hoped that I would run fast enough to make it to the finish without being passed. I still fell sick, but I was able to "run". Finally, I passed the 41 K mark!!! With less than 1 Kilometer to go and with the roar of the crowds at the finish line just ahead, I got passed. "Oh well...she caught me." I said to myself...then, "No! I cant let her pass me with less than 1 K to go! How can I let that happen?! I have to at least put up a fight!" SO, I sprinted as fast as I could. I passed her and ran for my life towards the finish! I gave it everything I had. The finish line was a blur of screaming spectators. The finish line was just ahead and the other woman was right behind me. I crossed the line just 5 seconds ahead of her!!! 9:38:51! 6th Female overall! I reached my goal of sub 9:50! After such a grueling run I couldn't believe it was finally all over! I was so excited, relieved, in shock, exhausted, excited!

...also I was sick, so I tried my best to avoid the medical tent. I tried some chicken broth first and while couldnt get a lot down, I had enough of it to make me feel a bit better. Then I was able to eat some pretzels and drink some coke. I was able to avoid medical! I called George first, then my mom and dad and then Mike, who helped coach me for the past couple of months after I he learned that I was coaching myself. They were all tracking me non-stop throughout the day and they were all just as excited as me! Erin was UNBELIEVABLE throughout the race as well as pre AND post race! As I have said before, I am indebted to her. I wish I could bring her to all of my races!

THANK YOU to everyone back at home on the Runners Team, thanks Bob Cook, thanks to all of my friends back home and to all of my triathlete friends around the country who sent me such great messages race week, thank you to my "family" from Klagenfurt, thank you to Zoot and the Zoot Ultra Team, Orbea for the awesome Ordu, Profile Design for all of the best products to go on my Orbea, Matt Long and the I Will Foundation, Mike Monastero for the guidance and coaching since 2004 (with a small hiatus), thank you Erin, and of course thanks to my most amazing support, who I would have GREAT difficulty doing this without any one of them and the support they provide: thank you to my mom and dad and George.