With that, I wanted to give you an update - BOTH my brother and I Finished Ironman Boulder on August 2, 2015... and we did so with smiles on our faces!
The race was a tough one for both of us. The water temperature was 78.1 which made the race “Not Wetsuit Legal.” So what that means, is if you want to qualify for Kona (the finals) you cannot wear a wetsuit. So for the 500 or so or badasses (Marc included) you entered the water in waves with no wetsuit. For the rest of us, in wetsuits, around 2500, we had a mass start, only about 8 minutes behind the first wave of non-wetsuit swimmers.
So what this means, is mass chaos and craziness in the water. For the wetsuit people, it was bodies and bodies everywhere, clambering and pushing and almost drowning each other to get out of the herd. For the non wetsuit people, it meant “you’re screwed and Look out!” – we will swim right over your and we don’t care if you drown, just get out of our way. So needless to say, it was a bit bananas for the first mile or so, then it thinned out and I think everyone was able to get in their groove, I know I was. Overall I swam 1:19 and Marc swam 1:38 – with no wetsuit. We were both really excited about our swim, Marc especially, since it was fresh water, so it took a lot to get through it. He should be psyched.
The bike was a great course. Rolling hills with some false flats where you think you are cruising but you are really climbing subtly for 4 miles at a time. That was annoying. But overall a great course. The “tough” part of this course is it was SUPER HOT with no shade and out there in the middle of fields just baking away. Plus, starting at 5000 elevation and another 5K gained throughout the course, you are that much closer to the sun with less atmosphere as a buffer. Knowing our times, Marc knew he would catch up to me on the bike around mile 35 or so, so we positioned Christy and Dad at mile 38 / 80 for cheering. Our timing was spot on and Marc popped up next to me on the bike course around mile 36. We were able to chat for a few miles and then he took off for the second loop and he dominated the 112 with a 6:12 time! Very impressive. I was lagging behind but still managed to beat my “A Goal” by 4min with a time of 7:26.
The run was a different story for both of us. Coming off that bike, it was super hot. Marc had the right idea to put his “good sneakers” in his special needs bag (a bag you can access once on the run course – you also have one on the bike course – you can put anything you want in these bags – sneakers, extra socks, food, coca cola, advil, etc) – and started the run in his bad shoes so he could jump in the Boulder creek to cool off and then have an awesome fresh pair of sneakers to change into to continue the run. Despite having slight tummy issues and the heat, Marc finished his marathon in 6:01. It wasn’t his ideal time, but given that he just swam 2.4 and biked 112 for the first time together and dealt with elevation and heat, I think he was happy. I only the other hand was completely sick the entire run. I was nauseous at the start but knew I had no time to rest because given my crappy knee, on a good day I am running the marathon at 6:30, so with that and not feeling too hot, I had to maximize the 7:30 I had left of the race. How crazy is that to even think… oh, you have 7:30hrs left to do exercise! That is a full work day, LOL. Anyway, at the start of the run I was not in a good place and then at mile 4.3 I swear I was possessed by the exorcist threw up more than I care to share and it was not what you would vision or wish on your worst enemy. That being said for the next 2 miles I felt great! I was actually able to run and then it hit me again and I was pretty much done. For the next 10 miles anything that I put in my mouth came right back out, a pretzel, a gummy bear, an ice chip, you name it. It was awful to the point that when I saw Christy and Dad at mile 11, it had taken me 3 hours already. I was defeated. I was trying to do the math and I was calculating that I would not finish (of course I was doing math wrong, which is why I am in PR and not finance, LOL) but regardless, I was broken mentally and it was tough. But seeing IRONDAD and Christy helped. Knowing that they had been out there just as long as Marc and I, I had to keep going. And thankfully Christy reminded me to keep going that I could feel better in a hour or so, so I pushed on. At Mile 15-ish, they brought out the chicken broth and that was a savor. I was able to keep that down and pick up my pace walking thanks to two random athletes, Jim and Jaiver. And before I knew it, I was moving! I still didn’t feel too hot, but I was getting there. I ran into Marc and Christy around mile 24/25. Marc had already finished and was sporting his medal and was all smiles cheering the rest of us on. Christy took to speed walking me and checking in on me. It was great to have her there because at mile 25, I grabbed an orange and squeezed the juice into my mouth to get some nutrients and low and behold, the exorcist returned and I was throwing up again and again. It was not pretty. Christy thankfully reminded me that I had 1hr to do a mile, so I had nothing to worry about. But just like the first time, I got a burst of energy, because there was nothing left in my system, and I was able to run. So we caught up to Marc and they headed off to meet me at the finish. I picked up the pace and went for it. I think my pace was actually like 9min LOL at the end. I ran through that shoot high fiving everyone and embraced the finish line with a massive grin. I did it. 2x Ironman… then I had them take me to the med tent. :-) Finished the marathon in 6:58.
TOTAL TIMES:
Marc: 14:20
Rachel: 16:11 (and I miraculously managed to beat my Cozumel Ironman time by 5min!)
It was a great race. Super fun. Doing the race with Marc was awesome and seeing IRONDAD and Christy on the course was priceless and I know for fact seeing them kept Marc and I going. … not to mention their cheering kept thousands of others going, too!
Pics courtesy of Christy: share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8AZuGbdizZtFGGk
Marc and I will be capping off our 2015 year of athleticism with the NYC Marathon on Nov 1st if you care to cheer! And IronCheerer Christy will be running as well!!
Until next time… J
No comments:
Post a Comment