tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-39129239489661230332024-03-13T06:04:00.070-04:00The Hungry TwentiesThe food diaries of a 20-something with a big appetite for life.Katelynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04758210180939830431noreply@blogger.comBlogger645125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3912923948966123033.post-76533745891960677502023-06-16T14:27:00.002-04:002023-06-16T14:39:38.211-04:00Boston Marathon 2023 Race Recap (and some life stuff too!)<p><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Well, it only took me two months but here it is. My official return to the blog for a very special reason, my Boston Marathon 2023 race recap. And I guess a little bit extra as well. </span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge77Fe6oAR140fydXy6pRm__0tW4VzAxCY745eBhMfHA4PatXPHTwL0TB446sNxuwO3Ti4nOAqTOjKGunxFXt9ZgXRdHqGLKSPPkfuuOI49yufrem5r2KaSgEbDnusiMeNhlV3ZZ_AiEeguU_5W4cgH3z8JH6MYKT1ssClF7sIrZRrPoTdoY1MzATh/s4032/IMG_7329.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge77Fe6oAR140fydXy6pRm__0tW4VzAxCY745eBhMfHA4PatXPHTwL0TB446sNxuwO3Ti4nOAqTOjKGunxFXt9ZgXRdHqGLKSPPkfuuOI49yufrem5r2KaSgEbDnusiMeNhlV3ZZ_AiEeguU_5W4cgH3z8JH6MYKT1ssClF7sIrZRrPoTdoY1MzATh/s320/IMG_7329.HEIC" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">My story with the Boston Marathon started a long time ago. Of which, I've documented <a href="https://hungrytwenties.blogspot.com/2019/11/veterans-day-and-next-part-in-this-story.html?_sm_au_=i0sLbK5nPHZpjWkrML8tvK34L00HF">here</a> and <a href="https://hungrytwenties.blogspot.com/2020/03/september-marathon-monday.html">here</a> and <a href="https://hungrytwenties.blogspot.com/2018/03/time-to-run.html">here</a> and <a href="https://hungrytwenties.blogspot.com/2018/03/snickers-albany-marathon-race-recap.html">here</a> and it is something you can revisit if you'd like. Heck, this blog is old enough that you can go back to April 2013 when I was training for my first half marathon and the bombing occurred and <a href="https://hungrytwenties.blogspot.com/2013/04/all-my-love-to-boston.html">read my raw reactions</a>. Since that's all documented and this post is going to be long enough, I want to focus on the present and what this race, on this day, meant to me. But to start... how did I get an entry?</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">And for that, I’ll flashback to October 2022 and the London Marathon. At the race… which… how have I not written a recap of that!? I’ve really dropped off, huh? Anyways, in London, which I did through Marathon Tours with my friend Lindsay, we met and became friends with a woman who was also working on her 6 star journey to complete all the World Major Marathons. At some point she mentioned that she may have a few extra invitational entries to the 2023 Boston Marathon and if she did, would we be interested? Our answer was OF COURSE. And there really wasn’t much beyond that. Our focus was London and London we did!</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">We ran the race, which was AMAZING. And in the post-marathon happiness and adrenaline rush (as well as a few pints at a pub), hours after finishing, I signed up for another marathon - the Houston Marathon on January 15. Having Houston on my calendar kept me running through our wedding, honeymoon, through the winter, and kept me somewhat in shape - all of which comes into play later. I also roped a whole bunch of friends into going to Houston and we ended up having an awesome weekend racing and celebrating in Houston!</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">On an opposite end of the spectrum, Jonathan and I were also starting the second part of our plan to start a family and our IVF journey. We had been trying to get pregnant for a couple years and in June 2022 right after I did Ironman 70.3 Blue Ridge (also - no race recap, sorry!), we spent the month of June injecting a ton of medications into my body, which, we are so thankful to say, resulted in a successful egg retrieval and creation of healthy embryos. We put our embryos on ice, with the plan of immediately implanting post wedding.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ_fFy7oHQdSXwKVswC8d9FiAjvvRN7uLmftxggweFo4TsJAhgbQ35LNp6H9fkaMrIMsXShxg19GUtwpi3dWvMeGSXFvuPfCmXLafk6ALIuV-674Hc2yZ6oWvXpUymXYPPJswVE7xTUXeeTqQft7btOA7bLT2y9xvKxiNKo0GcQcLiQztDjxuPlT75/s1216/Screen%20Shot%202023-06-08%20at%208.35.32%20PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1216" data-original-width="1046" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ_fFy7oHQdSXwKVswC8d9FiAjvvRN7uLmftxggweFo4TsJAhgbQ35LNp6H9fkaMrIMsXShxg19GUtwpi3dWvMeGSXFvuPfCmXLafk6ALIuV-674Hc2yZ6oWvXpUymXYPPJswVE7xTUXeeTqQft7btOA7bLT2y9xvKxiNKo0GcQcLiQztDjxuPlT75/s320/Screen%20Shot%202023-06-08%20at%208.35.32%20PM.png" width="275" /></a></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">That process kicked off in December, and at the beginning of January I started on a lot of hormone medications prepping to implant at the end of the month. I completed Houston while jacked up on progesterone and we head home the day after the race to start an even more intensive medication regime. Houston was my "final race" of just me and my body (or so I hoped.) Dealing with infertility is hard in a lot of ways. For me, there was a mental challenge of feeling like my body was incapable, or broken in some way, so running and triathlon through the past couple of years has had a bit of a different meaning. It's helped remind me that I am strong, capable, and can do difficult things and Houston was an emotional culmination for me of a lot of the past couple years right before we implanted.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv2ZfwOBC8eV8goyp5qVTwgNwGCHXIQK3-BN9qGmXUYaZq7wXxuBaX9vAd8uKlbboAqQJH2MxMFUT8SbIAR39uBrmeVJSQAWP-I929NtGq7DlU6BgH0RsI3W5fvf0S5M8xFV1cWSIX_NyQHFX12JgYplFRh0afmd0ngj5FWRqcMEDEbKNt2nR4PWup/s1170/Screen%20Shot%202023-06-08%20at%208.47.42%20PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1170" data-original-width="908" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv2ZfwOBC8eV8goyp5qVTwgNwGCHXIQK3-BN9qGmXUYaZq7wXxuBaX9vAd8uKlbboAqQJH2MxMFUT8SbIAR39uBrmeVJSQAWP-I929NtGq7DlU6BgH0RsI3W5fvf0S5M8xFV1cWSIX_NyQHFX12JgYplFRh0afmd0ngj5FWRqcMEDEbKNt2nR4PWup/s320/Screen%20Shot%202023-06-08%20at%208.47.42%20PM.png" width="248" /></a></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">I joked with my friends after the race, which had been difficult to train for with so much going on, “Ok never again will I sign up for another marathon the night I complete one!!” However, life has a way of making a liar out of you because literally, the morning after Houston, as we were on our flight back to Atlanta, Lindsay received a text message from the woman we’d met in London asking if her and I would be interested in bibs for Boston this April!!! We were ecstatic.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">But wait. Jonathan and I’s family plans already well in the works, progesterone-in-oil medications waiting for us at home and an implantation date scheduled in the near future… I wasn’t sure what to do.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Doing the math, I figured I would be somewhere near the end of my first trimester when marathon Monday rolled around. And that would only be <b>IF</b> the implantation we had scheduled worked. I knew that for many women, the first implant isn't always successful. I had no idea if my body was capable of carrying a pregnancy and no guarantee that the implantation would work.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Jonathan and I's philosophy throughout our infertility struggles and attempts to get pregnant was always to just live our life, continue to make plans, and if we happened to get pregnant - figure things out then. I always wanted to avoid putting life on hold, because that would make the let down of not getting pregnant would feel even worse.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">So after discussing with Jonathan, my coach, and friends who have trained/raced through pregnancy, I decided to sign up for the 2023 Boston Marathon with Lindsay! This would be our 4th world marathon major together, my 5th overall, and her 6th and final star after she did Tokyo a few weeks prior. It felt surreal to sign up and get the confirmation. It was exciting, but I also didn't know what to expect. Plus, I'd been signed up once before but didn't get to run so didn't want to get my hopes up.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9LSufQCZWic3Bqtim-2ta5FGFUREYh-EJS_6edp8hGxx9eYd2Hi2JhUs2k-IP2ZSucIzc6gzdxYfNXsku0NxGGUTv8U8B3NGMBGMdjm3Xve2lItLId8rQoUsdLr31C957jgRUVtC4rWmRuuU_uwf-8yEpIZFEu36MPdwl4joVg8un8dVP_6kPBRVL/s652/Screen%20Shot%202023-06-08%20at%208.51.50%20PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="536" data-original-width="652" height="263" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9LSufQCZWic3Bqtim-2ta5FGFUREYh-EJS_6edp8hGxx9eYd2Hi2JhUs2k-IP2ZSucIzc6gzdxYfNXsku0NxGGUTv8U8B3NGMBGMdjm3Xve2lItLId8rQoUsdLr31C957jgRUVtC4rWmRuuU_uwf-8yEpIZFEu36MPdwl4joVg8un8dVP_6kPBRVL/s320/Screen%20Shot%202023-06-08%20at%208.51.50%20PM.png" width="320" /></a></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">We moved forward with implantation and a few weeks later, Jonathan and I got the news that I was officially pregnant! We were thrilled and overwhelmed and also, I was shocked, if I’m being honest. I think, as a form of protection for myself, I had truly convinced myself it would never happen. I was overcome with so many emotions about this next big adventure for us and everything that came with it.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">But back to running. I hadn't run since Houston, which was purposeful since I wanted time to recover and because I was instructed to take it easy and not do more than light walking in the weeks after embryo implantation. With this process you find out VERY early in the pregnancy, around 4 weeks, so earlier than when most women even know they are pregnant (and clearly don't have restrictions against exercise.) So I thought that this guidance was until we got the confirmed pregnant news and just to ensure that the embryo really stuck in and didn't fall out or something. So when the doctor called to share the news about our confirmed pregnancy, I then asked the question “Ok, so I can start running now, right?” to which I was promptly told a big fat NO. </div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Additionally, the other thing we learned when getting the news that we were pregnant was the fact that we needed to continue with the medications I was on until about 10 weeks into the pregnancy. This was a shocker for us and just shows how pretty clueless we were. At this point I was taking estrogen pills 3x a day, a suppository 2x a day, and a shot in the butt every evening that felt like lead traveling through my body and left me bruised and sore. I had been anxious to stop all of this and wasn't excited about the news of 6 more weeks of meds. As for running and exercise, the doctor suggested I stick to walking until we came in for the first ultrasound. Let me just say that throughout all of this, baby growing was the most important thing to us and top priority, but I also had Boston in the back of my mind. I would love to say as soon as I heard the news I was pregnant this race didn't matter to me any more, and some people may judge me for that, but I still wanted to try and do this. I was thrilled with everything, but stressed at the same time, and counted down the days to the first ultrasound.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkuriVj8_IlXGWd2Vm1FUMbbK0EIqycFj9lDjz_4Wuhwd-xCPwFKk70i5drDjos0J55DOT6Kt6Mq_Ck4UV8fLX91hWIJyylW0Yo4GW-KPJzgB5i29EVH7huOMcjo5jVQE_nUakzoedj4yvN_rlOX2Sg2qnm3MpvtL9e2fSn0mq_UQr6ZR8soCCavHx/s1394/Screen%20Shot%202023-06-08%20at%208.54.39%20PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1394" data-original-width="1036" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkuriVj8_IlXGWd2Vm1FUMbbK0EIqycFj9lDjz_4Wuhwd-xCPwFKk70i5drDjos0J55DOT6Kt6Mq_Ck4UV8fLX91hWIJyylW0Yo4GW-KPJzgB5i29EVH7huOMcjo5jVQE_nUakzoedj4yvN_rlOX2Sg2qnm3MpvtL9e2fSn0mq_UQr6ZR8soCCavHx/s320/Screen%20Shot%202023-06-08%20at%208.54.39%20PM.png" width="238" /></a></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">When that day came, which is much earlier with IVF than traditional pregnancies, around we were thrilled that everything was looking good with the baby, but the ultrasound also identified a sub-chorionic hematoma - or little blood clot thingy. These are typically harmless and more often than not resolve on their own and aren't harmful - but it also meant that for the time being, I was told still no running.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwso2ZFcV9FmJ8c8ef-7p2cVKumeW1JNNPEQRN4B_44k33HuLvJnltmVcsXgwnVz1Q3yIHSx3A-Z-VeoN9VjA5lXcx469OB9ugS7GBYljV9RCHRcFwY0_hioTImTciCgkVrts-TvOhSnL3JdGvSD4ML4kS_GXng1tjDYdN950-H2zxlgdHzw_y0YAW/s1384/Screen%20Shot%202023-06-08%20at%208.43.29%20PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1384" data-original-width="1038" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwso2ZFcV9FmJ8c8ef-7p2cVKumeW1JNNPEQRN4B_44k33HuLvJnltmVcsXgwnVz1Q3yIHSx3A-Z-VeoN9VjA5lXcx469OB9ugS7GBYljV9RCHRcFwY0_hioTImTciCgkVrts-TvOhSnL3JdGvSD4ML4kS_GXng1tjDYdN950-H2zxlgdHzw_y0YAW/s320/Screen%20Shot%202023-06-08%20at%208.43.29%20PM.png" width="240" /></a></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">It was mid-February at this point and I’d like to say that these weeks were filled with newly pregnant bliss, but to be honest, this time was extremely hard with the change, restrictions, and hormones I was going through. I felt selfish for feeling this way and also ungrateful after wanting this for so many years. And I hesitate to write this because I know many people reading this could be going through their own infertility challenges and wanting the news we had received with all their hearts. And trust me, I've been there and felt that too! I didn't expect to be feeling this way and it didn't just have to do with Boston. It was a lot of change and while I knew that if I were to pregnant my body wouldn’t be totally “mine” for a long time, however, I didn't realize how soon that would happen. I know now that I was completely naive to what pregnancy meant for me emotionally and physically. In my head, the first trimester things would pretty much be normal. I had heard about nausea and morning sickness, but not everything else that came along with it. I didn't expect the change in my life to start happening SO soon. I knew of so many people who ran and trained through pregnancy and that was the vision I had for myself. I wanted to be this bouncy little athletic pregnant mom and I hated being told not to exercise. The vision I'd had pregnancy wasn't what I thought and I felt crushed. It scared me. I was frustrated and upset and felt guilty and selfish for having those feelings. Especially after the years of infertility. There were a LOT of emotions swirling around.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">At this point, I wasn’t sure when I’d be cleared to run and if I would even be able to do Boston, which I was starting to come to terms with. The good news that I had in the back of my pocket was that the BAA did announce for the first time ever, a race deferral policy for pregnant women. I emailed them to inquire about how it worked, but held out hope that I could somehow do this race. I knew I had fitness from back to back training for London and Houston. And I wasn't trying to get a personal best or anything close, my goal all along was literally just to finish. </div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The mental challenge was the worst of it. We weren’t really sharing our news broadly yet, so I felt just sidelined and alone. I had been signed up for the Publix Half Marathon on Feb. 26th and I had to give away my bib as I wasn’t cleared to run. This is my favorite race in Atlanta and I have had a streak of running this race every year I’ve lived there. I hated going and just watching. Pregnancy symptoms aside, I felt fine and wanted to be moving!</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">On March 1, we went in for our 2nd ultrasound with the fertility clinic. We received good news all around in that the baby looked great AND the hematoma had cleared on it's own. This was our final appointment with the fertility clinic which was bittersweet and involved lots of tears. However, “graduating” from the fertility clinic was a good thing and we felt so excited that we'd made it this far. Plus, I was cleared to run. It was a great day!</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMVCTPr2mN-VO_RwzMnzCvyrGEjM6dKi8bN8YsqOu6sgz-j8dNLqXZ-fkHNuEMokA_3xCkNgWwX-htpuHW3a97R5XoBc2cXnXYHZbdrqcjaXO6JL_94ZmBddMCezvW7RFM5SWd0yW_9uNDDG8LL2kWSG5_xTANutE19bVIy9giUioY7rmoPWLxOSpo/s1040/Screen%20Shot%202023-06-08%20at%208.55.48%20PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="872" data-original-width="1040" height="268" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMVCTPr2mN-VO_RwzMnzCvyrGEjM6dKi8bN8YsqOu6sgz-j8dNLqXZ-fkHNuEMokA_3xCkNgWwX-htpuHW3a97R5XoBc2cXnXYHZbdrqcjaXO6JL_94ZmBddMCezvW7RFM5SWd0yW_9uNDDG8LL2kWSG5_xTANutE19bVIy9giUioY7rmoPWLxOSpo/s320/Screen%20Shot%202023-06-08%20at%208.55.48%20PM.png" width="320" /></a></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The night of that appointment, I did 3 miles, with a walk/run ratio of .1 walk/.4 run. I felt GREAT. It was a beautiful evening. And at the end of the run, I anxiously checked my pace at the end and saw it was about a 12-12:45 minute/mile. I knew that was a pace that would get me in under the Boston cutoff of 6 hours if I could maintain it. I felt excited and for the first time since I signed up - I actually felt like I could do the race in April, which was only a short 6 weeks away at this point. </div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">I jumped right into training with the help of my long time coach and Jonathan's support. Unfortunately, the rest of training did not continue as smoothly as that very first run. The next 6 weeks were spotty to say the least - but I stayed consistent. Some days I felt great. Some days I felt horrible. And the hardest part about that was that it was completely out of my control. Normally, the formula is pretty simple... eat well, drink water, avoid alcohol, get lots of sleep... you feel good! Not now. It didn't matter what I did, some days I just felt like shit. I wasn't positive if it was pregnancy, or perhaps the side effects of the medications I was on, but I struggled to feel like myself in my body. I had many runs where I thought “There’s no way I can do a marathon.” And one long run where I called Jonathan crying 2 miles in unsure if I could finish. And while I did my best to stay consistent, there were days that I just skipped my run or adjusted if my body told me that’s what I needed. My coach, and Jonathan, were so amazing during this time. They both knew how much I wanted this race to happen and that I don't give up easily - but this was a new challenge for me.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja5_fIePyhNOYPYwz-2VJ4WD6Z4ve4OAO67bwHBhejjpyQxWh98U6q0IOIXzwPRMZkdYzqBsIHQDgyVFXfLSlp1E8LPXjfegyZ6GDWQ1glHSqDcQydH-KJkKL531arhDQGwppHYyqEdK5tJ4c57ZPW4MfPK9Xymhe24YogeoDipB0V68Gpc4lTLaer/s1448/Screen%20Shot%202023-06-08%20at%208.56.55%20PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1240" data-original-width="1448" height="274" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja5_fIePyhNOYPYwz-2VJ4WD6Z4ve4OAO67bwHBhejjpyQxWh98U6q0IOIXzwPRMZkdYzqBsIHQDgyVFXfLSlp1E8LPXjfegyZ6GDWQ1glHSqDcQydH-KJkKL531arhDQGwppHYyqEdK5tJ4c57ZPW4MfPK9Xymhe24YogeoDipB0V68Gpc4lTLaer/s320/Screen%20Shot%202023-06-08%20at%208.56.55%20PM.png" width="320" /></a></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Jonathan was positive and encouraging the whole time. I was amazed at how much he trusted me. To not only care for myself but to care for this growing being inside of me. I felt so much pressure that keeping this growing embryo baby healthy and it was ALL on ME. I had to protect it and keep it healthy. Jonathan’s faith and trust in my ability to do that gave me strength. He took on so much at home to allow me time to the time to rest, train, and just deal with being pregnant. And things were busy on the home front as we also decided in this time frame to move across the country (but that's a story for another day.)</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The second weekend in March - or 10 days after getting cleared to run - we went to Charleston, SC for Peyton's Wild and Wacky 50K. The race consists of ten 5K loops (every hour on the hour) that you can do as an individual or a team with up to 5 people. Jonathan and I did it as a relay team so we each did 5 loops of the 5K. I was thrilled to get in 15 miles of run/walking throughout the day, even though it was broken up with lots of rest in between. It was such a fun time with our friends and I was really happy with how I did. But the next day I was SO SO sore. You'd have thought I did a marathon or an Ironman. I did not think that was a good sign, but my coach reminded me that I had just tripled my mileage in a week so being sore was normal. Fair enough.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVNa48tvR9CNJ0kXmfLZrhxqrqLki6lWItCzHBzc6tLpKYH5BqSXpLQoDr-Kc9a4bExUnGHnBwYksqSNQdDHTyagQpf6bN8Arm3BA7uf_ylKSwc_tx9zSI8AsBI1cHmj9__0xHdICxthGteGztcD23dPy-1G_FFHzwTi2qh8xsIl_nyUhW-VDTQPVS/s1860/Screen%20Shot%202023-06-08%20at%209.01.13%20PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1382" data-original-width="1860" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVNa48tvR9CNJ0kXmfLZrhxqrqLki6lWItCzHBzc6tLpKYH5BqSXpLQoDr-Kc9a4bExUnGHnBwYksqSNQdDHTyagQpf6bN8Arm3BA7uf_ylKSwc_tx9zSI8AsBI1cHmj9__0xHdICxthGteGztcD23dPy-1G_FFHzwTi2qh8xsIl_nyUhW-VDTQPVS/s320/Screen%20Shot%202023-06-08%20at%209.01.13%20PM.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX890utncFsTCEEeClC9bi5frxegRnnmGy3x-R_1zp2CjYz0PkSIDzqtmQwThePuT6ITGzKZQBqM_vxqKxv-9stIMiQyiWB2uw0XaEp__Ek5YwZZHr09jCStoK_Dp6HyQVxzrlm8jiVNK43wKWvcqgIWXgkFNQZH9qkZITr9TE85AGxv7nzGoo3VaO/s1116/Screen%20Shot%202023-06-08%20at%209.01.29%20PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1116" data-original-width="1040" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX890utncFsTCEEeClC9bi5frxegRnnmGy3x-R_1zp2CjYz0PkSIDzqtmQwThePuT6ITGzKZQBqM_vxqKxv-9stIMiQyiWB2uw0XaEp__Ek5YwZZHr09jCStoK_Dp6HyQVxzrlm8jiVNK43wKWvcqgIWXgkFNQZH9qkZITr9TE85AGxv7nzGoo3VaO/s320/Screen%20Shot%202023-06-08%20at%209.01.29%20PM.png" width="298" /></a></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">I decided after that weekend that I was 100% going to be at the start line of the race. I would do the best I could, no matter what. The rules say that the cutoff for Boston is 6 hours from the time that the last person crossed the start line. This is slightly vague and can cause a lot of confusion but I just set sub-6 hours as the time goal from the very beginning to keep it easy. I didn’t care if it was 5:30 or 5:40 or 5:50. It didn’t matter. I just wanted to finish in under 6. That was all.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">My strategy was to run/walk intervals for as long as I could during the race. The .1/.4 was working well for me in training. Some days, I was able to stretch that out and sometimes run 1-2 miles with out stopping or running and then returning to intervals. However, I did struggle a lot with hills and Boston is a hilly course. My HR would get high really easily with any incline and I'd get extremely short of breathe. I would say I'm not great at hills even at my best, but pregnancy seemed to really make that worse. The Boston course starts out downhill and then has a lot of rolling hills in the later half of the race. The biggest advice I heard about Boston is to "not go out too fast" on the downhill section of the course and burn out your quads. However, as the race got closer, that was exactly my plan. I wanted to run or run/walk as much as I could in the first half to try and bank time, to then allow myself to walk a lot at the end. </div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">In early April, Jonathan and I head up north from Georgia for the race, traveling by car a couple weeks ahead of Marathon Monday. We stopped in DC on the way and ran the Cherry Blossom 10-miler on April 2. I did that in an 11:56 min/mile pace and felt great and as if I could have kept going. That was a confidence boost.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7IZk6VBp5fhFdaMnn7iOpYreW3GTewln8Ed1Lz_LA4bSZk_Y3mzYNuVjHlTBMFs9tZOILKfcpCXDrLlJHBAfvEM6qOzjrP542dWoRuTqy8pQLe2V0zsFFlpdPb-VyD1PIMLuvRjzJQsFyQfjGN2mLsh_7HqVAYnK9JSpcmXAxAX6cZQ5xM0FuOfqo/s1394/Screen%20Shot%202023-06-11%20at%208.27.46%20PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1394" data-original-width="1054" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7IZk6VBp5fhFdaMnn7iOpYreW3GTewln8Ed1Lz_LA4bSZk_Y3mzYNuVjHlTBMFs9tZOILKfcpCXDrLlJHBAfvEM6qOzjrP542dWoRuTqy8pQLe2V0zsFFlpdPb-VyD1PIMLuvRjzJQsFyQfjGN2mLsh_7HqVAYnK9JSpcmXAxAX6cZQ5xM0FuOfqo/s320/Screen%20Shot%202023-06-11%20at%208.27.46%20PM.png" width="242" /></a></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">We stayed in Provincetown, MA up until the weekend of Boston. I did my final long run of 14 miles the Saturday before the race. I was really nervous about it and pleaded with my coach, "Are you SURE I have to do this?" It was taking me longer than usual to recover from my long runs and I thought it would be too much the week before the race. Jonathan did the 14 miles with me and kept be going because I 100% would have quit on my own. It was a day I just felt terrible and we ran a very hilly route along the Provincetown bike path and... it just did not go great. I cried. I walked a lot. And it was a major struggle that really doubted my confidence in the goal ahead.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKNtEKkruiZDBWOowAENNf6mli20cNejYt878032qamPd2O7Y7ikm4X0tdjHnn4B1m5ahyz63yuH_yB1beoqN6OHF6kU-fzA0aq-hf9x2HlDEXl-yYVDco49L_JC_Ve5OUyTCrcsCi18VafERisYj15JWvUoQLBGjywXjiX4qE81bBJyIWpQORIy0H/s868/Screen%20Shot%202023-06-11%20at%208.32.12%20PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="868" data-original-width="732" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKNtEKkruiZDBWOowAENNf6mli20cNejYt878032qamPd2O7Y7ikm4X0tdjHnn4B1m5ahyz63yuH_yB1beoqN6OHF6kU-fzA0aq-hf9x2HlDEXl-yYVDco49L_JC_Ve5OUyTCrcsCi18VafERisYj15JWvUoQLBGjywXjiX4qE81bBJyIWpQORIy0H/s320/Screen%20Shot%202023-06-11%20at%208.32.12%20PM.png" width="270" /></a></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy2tCM3V6hAjlYLS-xvoIvlQq4k2GGB89k9Y6yFsIal4Yk1YyDVy5WgrBaqG2Pq3irLLtcBsN2zuU-dv4obm-7pnZf_6mM5HyTvx8BFOgveVaZtdOnTjZ83F-up8p5u16GlX-7HCFbNURvBBoLeNAoZyZ-UbK-P9nX08F_ne1uM6SoYLNcaDAKU_0S/s1144/Screen%20Shot%202023-06-11%20at%208.32.29%20PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1144" data-original-width="984" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy2tCM3V6hAjlYLS-xvoIvlQq4k2GGB89k9Y6yFsIal4Yk1YyDVy5WgrBaqG2Pq3irLLtcBsN2zuU-dv4obm-7pnZf_6mM5HyTvx8BFOgveVaZtdOnTjZ83F-up8p5u16GlX-7HCFbNURvBBoLeNAoZyZ-UbK-P9nX08F_ne1uM6SoYLNcaDAKU_0S/s320/Screen%20Shot%202023-06-11%20at%208.32.29%20PM.png" width="275" /></a></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtyWe574crqCm5so3eRc8bY_1w_QgXYqEgLVtbLYy06lGZTNmZRtjS9CUP5Jdi0NMigFOW0GLYVRkkuObH5qzalqHhxPQmZyheuDxxSL6BkKnxpIzVZtiPpgvZcWekJkr4Hb_xmXg02ZVYkuAt8zCeXFJnB8iX-CNjujO-xiiwKqwmJfRH8XWxbiVx/s1306/Screen%20Shot%202023-06-11%20at%208.29.31%20PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1306" data-original-width="1040" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtyWe574crqCm5so3eRc8bY_1w_QgXYqEgLVtbLYy06lGZTNmZRtjS9CUP5Jdi0NMigFOW0GLYVRkkuObH5qzalqHhxPQmZyheuDxxSL6BkKnxpIzVZtiPpgvZcWekJkr4Hb_xmXg02ZVYkuAt8zCeXFJnB8iX-CNjujO-xiiwKqwmJfRH8XWxbiVx/s320/Screen%20Shot%202023-06-11%20at%208.29.31%20PM.png" width="255" /></a></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">However, race day was arriving! On Friday morning, April 15th we drove in to Boston from Provincetown to pick up Lindsay from the airport and head to the expo. Boston weekend was here!</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">We parked off of Newbury, in a lot right by the Nike store. It was a great location and close to the start line and expo. We walked over, arriving at the expo moments before it opened. There was a line outside running up and down the street, and growing every minute. Once doors opened the line moved quickly and we made our way inside, grabbed our bibs, and head the expo. As with most world major marathons, the official apparel shop was a MAD HOUSE. I grabbed a jacket, half zip, hat, stuffed unicorn for baby, and made my way to the checkout line - which already was getting very long. Lindsay spent more time browsing and trying things on and by the time she reached the checkout line, it was out of control and barely recognizable as a line. And things were starting to sell out already!</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8NtO97eNMpKJUO2hhOwFu8s42_0cqJ91CVyIgmlhBDiPbBVfWKtRK06L6JLGuY7FGXVWesUZOJBwN7sRrWdnUeSZ3GxUF0d-1KtrP2JibLWskjqI-TXgnMHzACkIheuZ2FWlRl0AboLrssNWtcSgHKRag5z8Mh8JaAwffXouWrKjHKzRo19fZGgf5/s1868/Screen%20Shot%202023-06-11%20at%208.33.43%20PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1228" data-original-width="1868" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8NtO97eNMpKJUO2hhOwFu8s42_0cqJ91CVyIgmlhBDiPbBVfWKtRK06L6JLGuY7FGXVWesUZOJBwN7sRrWdnUeSZ3GxUF0d-1KtrP2JibLWskjqI-TXgnMHzACkIheuZ2FWlRl0AboLrssNWtcSgHKRag5z8Mh8JaAwffXouWrKjHKzRo19fZGgf5/s320/Screen%20Shot%202023-06-11%20at%208.33.43%20PM.png" width="320" /></a></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2gXdh4aD0WTHHcW0eub8MDAENv4EKH2Q9m8rXggGRAR027nQVFEl1ubnqWhC95z9yPi9Y-wI-Tg6qGFVFi0Zk8In7cJe-iSV1fdCqNTur36r0AUFTie_XF_2H2yqVtaP9pFLDLcsqxoY9Vj41Or6uh2n4ZK9cPYfm4DAII2be-pStPB66FiONVg36/s1330/Screen%20Shot%202023-06-11%20at%208.34.14%20PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1330" data-original-width="1004" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2gXdh4aD0WTHHcW0eub8MDAENv4EKH2Q9m8rXggGRAR027nQVFEl1ubnqWhC95z9yPi9Y-wI-Tg6qGFVFi0Zk8In7cJe-iSV1fdCqNTur36r0AUFTie_XF_2H2yqVtaP9pFLDLcsqxoY9Vj41Or6uh2n4ZK9cPYfm4DAII2be-pStPB66FiONVg36/s320/Screen%20Shot%202023-06-11%20at%208.34.14%20PM.png" width="242" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijhRzqE9b-TJH_44wijEb6wUO1q1gzZQGpLYKhnfhMEcXRGHTjOcIiTG6IZRT3k7Q3GFMBjV7zVIon3aetAM3wVORmi5SRRpxUJxcv8efmsUtWKPds5Vchc_sf3MaT1qhhNrDPJQceSmjiSPKF3-PHCLhxVTcNuTLD27E5izad6yy1c01VcK6wt8wA/s1056/Screen%20Shot%202023-06-11%20at%208.35.29%20PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="910" data-original-width="1056" height="276" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijhRzqE9b-TJH_44wijEb6wUO1q1gzZQGpLYKhnfhMEcXRGHTjOcIiTG6IZRT3k7Q3GFMBjV7zVIon3aetAM3wVORmi5SRRpxUJxcv8efmsUtWKPds5Vchc_sf3MaT1qhhNrDPJQceSmjiSPKF3-PHCLhxVTcNuTLD27E5izad6yy1c01VcK6wt8wA/s320/Screen%20Shot%202023-06-11%20at%208.35.29%20PM.png" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Jonathan and I browsed the expo while we waited… which honestly was quite underwhelming if I am being honest. There was nothing else there I was even tempted to buy. When Lindsay was out we were all hungry so we got lunch at Eataly right next door and browsed a number of the pop up shops that different running companies had around the finish line area. Apparently Adidas, the official Boston Marathon apparel sponsor, doesn’t allow other brands at the expo, so they set up their own little pop up stores around the finish line area on Boylston. Unlike other world marathon majors, it really feels like the entire city of Boston is only focused on the marathon that weekend. It completely takes over Boylston and Newbury and is quite unlike anything else I have experienced in the running world. </div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">We added a few additional things to our merch collection, took pictures at the finish, and when we felt we’d seen what we needed to we left the Back Bay Area. We wanted to make our way to the Sam Adam’s brewery to get cans of their commemorative 26.2 brews and the free pint glass they were giving away for runners. We chose to go to their Jamaica Plains location to avoid traffic and crowds and were SO glad we did. It was a beautiful day and that location was quiet, but still busy, peaceful, and we had the best afternoon enjoying the atmosphere, talking with other runners, snacking, and enjoying the live music. We stayed longer than planned and made our way back to my dads where we were staying for the weekend. He lives in Westborough, which is west outside of Boston and right next to Hopkinton where the race actually starts. We made light salads for dinner before having an early bedtime.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Saturday morning started slow, by design. Being pregnant brought a bunch of changes obviously - one of them for me being the need for more sleep and slower mornings. I have had a harder time waking up and being active first thing (something I previously loved and felt easy for me) so easing into the day is the way to go. Once we had all done our morning things, we head out to check out the drive to Hopkinton and preview the course by car.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Signing up for the race late, having my Dad’s to stay at was clutch. While nowhere near downtown Boston, having a car made it super easy to get around and we were actually only 6 miles from the start of the race. Boston Marathon is a point to point race, with really only the last mile or so being in Boston. You start in the suburb of Hopkinton and then run through Ashland, Framingham, Natick, Wellesley, Newton, Brookline, and then into Boston.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The race shuttles people from the finish line in downtown Boston out to the start on race morning, but for us, staying near the start, it didn’t make sense to drive 1ish hours into Boston to get on a bus to drive 1ish hour back to where we started. The only downfall to going right to the start was that we wouldn’t be able to drop finish line bags but we figured that was something we could live with for the extra hours we’d get race morning.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">We drove over to see exactly how long it would take and to check out the drop off area. They have so many roads closed that they don’t allow runners to be dropped right at the start and instead have a designated drop off location in Hopkinton and then a shuttle to the start area. After checking that out, we went to the actual start to take pictures with the start sign and check out the area. There were a lot of others there too and even vendors and t-shirt sales people (yes, we bought even more stuff!)</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhirWTp06g4gTh8RSNiJr243qIqcOkY6d7b5BXej5rqCUUVxUjBadS1cga5axMX-EYSiFENUwtOypTzR5hFqrUmbE5_xLdYxb4q7z4j9PSDIVfjdFucelObYPgeQCFsLzHNqOuwPtBYp0cP7MiuPHro6GbZlwYIMybzScabzZXe80-bzq3LK_JZf7RJ/s1098/Screen%20Shot%202023-06-11%20at%208.39.24%20PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1098" data-original-width="936" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhirWTp06g4gTh8RSNiJr243qIqcOkY6d7b5BXej5rqCUUVxUjBadS1cga5axMX-EYSiFENUwtOypTzR5hFqrUmbE5_xLdYxb4q7z4j9PSDIVfjdFucelObYPgeQCFsLzHNqOuwPtBYp0cP7MiuPHro6GbZlwYIMybzScabzZXe80-bzq3LK_JZf7RJ/s320/Screen%20Shot%202023-06-11%20at%208.39.24%20PM.png" width="273" /></a></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">We drove the course and got a preview and sense of what the elevation would be like. We were glad we did because the downhill at the beginning was actually rolling hills and we got a good feel of different milestones and markers along the course. In Natick, we stopped on their square for lunch at an Italian deli before continuing on. The course preview stopped for us at about mile 21 in Newton at the top of Heartbreak Hill. We felt ready and prepared and it was fun to have the opportunity to see a lot of the iconic route by car!</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">From there we went over to our friends house who lives in Newton to jump on the train and head into Boston for a Red Sox game. We had an amazing time, Jonathan bought his first Red Sox gear, and the home team won! It was an awesome addition to marathon weekend celebrations.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinKn_Tc_JtLXztTadkeRqBuQPnKny6FHDxYeTLaYM-SBixwxzkckwZf11ZhFV3cw91vlotsGl1sipZNjIso5r3K9DJ35Gdgk-0Ag4tVohJGF3YNYDSC6ZWiWz-oeErjCTNp70I31aKx4cTGLkw8FQM7cArM_DQHc285oUJIh5bSZ4JCnQgyPOSfxn6/s1312/Screen%20Shot%202023-06-11%20at%208.43.52%20PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1312" data-original-width="1046" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinKn_Tc_JtLXztTadkeRqBuQPnKny6FHDxYeTLaYM-SBixwxzkckwZf11ZhFV3cw91vlotsGl1sipZNjIso5r3K9DJ35Gdgk-0Ag4tVohJGF3YNYDSC6ZWiWz-oeErjCTNp70I31aKx4cTGLkw8FQM7cArM_DQHc285oUJIh5bSZ4JCnQgyPOSfxn6/s320/Screen%20Shot%202023-06-11%20at%208.43.52%20PM.png" width="255" /></a></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">We got home late and were wiped so it was right to bed before another lazy morning and all around lazy Sunday! We planned to do NOTHING on Sunday and that’s exactly what we did. I think Lindsay and I both took naps on the couch while watching movie after movie of whatever was on TV (Titanic and Forrest Gump, FTW!) For dinner, we made pasta with pesto, chicken, and some Italian bread and went to bed very early despite having a later than morning race morning wake up call.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">And then, finally, MARATHON MONDAY WAS HERE!</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">I woke up at 7am on race day. Many races start at 7am so that alone was a bit weird! Lindsay and I were in Wave 4 which meant the start time was 11:15am. We were scheduled to have our buses from Boston (if we were taking them) load at 9:40am and then leave athletes village at 10:40am. We planned to head over to the start at around 9:45am so getting up at 7 even gave me tons of time to spare!</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">I showered, put cozy clothes on, and started on my first breakfast of the morning while watching race coverage on TV. It's a bit odd to be in sweats with no bra on watching runners on TV load buses and at the start line of a race you are doing. We actually even got to watch the start of the hand crank division on TV which is a bit odd to watch the race you are doing from the comfort of your house!</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">As it got closer to time to leave, I got dressed, gathered all my things and we head out to Hopkinton! The drive over was a breeze and just as easy as our trial run. Jonathan dropped us off at the designated area and we hopped right on to a school bus to be shuttled to the start. It was already drizzling out and we had our ponchos on and shower caps covering our shoes in an attempt to stay dry. It was warmer than expected though and so far everything was going smoothly. We were happy we still got to ride in school buses to have the true Boston experience.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcXRKd6iLFk6XKlBio-pFMZlLRaVqsKVhPyuzPpzO4nNRKF_7fpCUhioRNG6euXvkP-0LGU3AWIUPwAB_32-MaLKsoIHW1ewlQNKVE1L4aP_YPgtcRLNxGPJK5r8odynbozgZdzZa6QKrNQ0GVtFhJRwLLGSIIs_aB-EA1Ozcv5DQkD0wOm0eBQX2a/s1866/Screen%20Shot%202023-06-11%20at%208.51.45%20PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1390" data-original-width="1866" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcXRKd6iLFk6XKlBio-pFMZlLRaVqsKVhPyuzPpzO4nNRKF_7fpCUhioRNG6euXvkP-0LGU3AWIUPwAB_32-MaLKsoIHW1ewlQNKVE1L4aP_YPgtcRLNxGPJK5r8odynbozgZdzZa6QKrNQ0GVtFhJRwLLGSIIs_aB-EA1Ozcv5DQkD0wOm0eBQX2a/s320/Screen%20Shot%202023-06-11%20at%208.51.45%20PM.png" width="320" /></a></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The drive to the athletes village was a bit longer than I expected but we had plenty of time and arrived at athletes village to large tents filled with runners, porta potty’s, and lots of energy! We walked through and past the first tents and bathrooms we saw to the back area where there was a near empty tent with lots of space and porta potty’s with zero lines. We used the rest rooms and camped out under the tents for a bit while we finished additional breakfasts, did last minute prep, and made sure we were race ready.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">At 10:40 they announced that Wave 4 could make their way to the start line and we decided to head over early. It was a bit of a walk from athlete’s village to the start and it was all through neighborhoods where locals were out in their yards cheering us on as we WALKED TO THE START. When people are out supporting and cheering as you line up to begin, you know it’s going to be a good day. It was funny to be in this parade of people heading out to do this challenging thing and it gave sort of an overall aura to the specialness and uniqueness of this race and day.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuQPiExIOqTnysXnua5YO5OIA-0TKnAxJcK7B1-ngK0NjXzpafzie0_fMwkTArZ1mYJXvsOmhKtldxDs5LLtIz2Iq15P8Auahiq072Jgke61_Y76NvskvbY2NPqEv0pXVKPtYvwbIByq6JaMeyTVfDJVVqHwZl1244gFgl6sbffROtCBxltuLLWPxX/s1870/Screen%20Shot%202023-06-11%20at%208.52.56%20PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1394" data-original-width="1870" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuQPiExIOqTnysXnua5YO5OIA-0TKnAxJcK7B1-ngK0NjXzpafzie0_fMwkTArZ1mYJXvsOmhKtldxDs5LLtIz2Iq15P8Auahiq072Jgke61_Y76NvskvbY2NPqEv0pXVKPtYvwbIByq6JaMeyTVfDJVVqHwZl1244gFgl6sbffROtCBxltuLLWPxX/s320/Screen%20Shot%202023-06-11%20at%208.52.56%20PM.png" width="320" /></a></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">We used the porta pottys once more by the start line, dropped some layers and then got ready to start. Lindsay and I lined up in a start corral, waited until the last minute to ditch our ponchos (it was drizzling all morning long) and finally it was time! Our plan was to each run our own race so we wished each other luck as the race took off.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2FfuqCWbim2bNVirSnMF5DPH0SrAT3cUw-YsMsYxKlmEKUo0O8ikE9r52sRnXMBwCub1q8epE3QvzR3gpnirUAQlZ_wcoXbeSOG-d5UUPjFfJYIVBjj9UQwqApSixdQsj5VL7bSXUVpu4rOmfhCawxkOV_Fmo23NI9v_lhJ_qVYRJ1dM3mIEIzJEl/s1882/Screen%20Shot%202023-06-11%20at%208.53.49%20PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1096" data-original-width="1882" height="186" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2FfuqCWbim2bNVirSnMF5DPH0SrAT3cUw-YsMsYxKlmEKUo0O8ikE9r52sRnXMBwCub1q8epE3QvzR3gpnirUAQlZ_wcoXbeSOG-d5UUPjFfJYIVBjj9UQwqApSixdQsj5VL7bSXUVpu4rOmfhCawxkOV_Fmo23NI9v_lhJ_qVYRJ1dM3mIEIzJEl/s320/Screen%20Shot%202023-06-11%20at%208.53.49%20PM.png" width="320" /></a></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Our friend Anthony works for the timing company for Boston Marathon and was at the start line managing the equipment. I texted him to ask where he was and as we started forward we saw Anthony on the right side and got to get a selfie as I crossed the start line! It was a funny moment and had me smiling as we finally set off on our trek from Hopkinton to Boston.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDzy2H7JqGpbuc5Zp-JeJFe0A5GcdyE6xizYElLxzha3cVJW_ljWCoIPg4QcW-jBWVDqaQL57kO7RLrNf5ORfy7Sz2xDpRMUkxc9Yxxfzxb5Vt8VQNvjuMfOiP7pbgz0f-P4VfenysLv9M_czC9nA-UQ9zHk_ucBuBgEtnboIsbrsXIqJnF51QLoqS/s1300/Screen%20Shot%202023-06-11%20at%208.54.45%20PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1300" data-original-width="1056" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDzy2H7JqGpbuc5Zp-JeJFe0A5GcdyE6xizYElLxzha3cVJW_ljWCoIPg4QcW-jBWVDqaQL57kO7RLrNf5ORfy7Sz2xDpRMUkxc9Yxxfzxb5Vt8VQNvjuMfOiP7pbgz0f-P4VfenysLv9M_czC9nA-UQ9zHk_ucBuBgEtnboIsbrsXIqJnF51QLoqS/s320/Screen%20Shot%202023-06-11%20at%208.54.45%20PM.png" width="260" /></a></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The beginning of the race was very crowded. We were in a big herd and it was difficult to run a pace that was any different than what the group was doing. For this reason Lindsay and I stayed within eye sight for the first few miles. I was planning to do a run/walk ratio the entire race but honestly there wasn’t really space to walk at all the first few miles. I hung to the right hand side and tried to just stay comfortable. I knew from training that I could run a few miles consistently but sometimes it would wear me out a ton and do more damage than good. As I mentioned, my plan was to try and bank time early, but not exhaust myself, and luckily I was feeling good this day and the miles felt comfortable and easy. When we hit mile 2 there was the first aid station and I was able to see a window to walk and I took it. From there out I walk/ran the race. I walked at least a little bit during every incline.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmMOkSSGvwkLBjyfsODONHJsj_m1FnnD-kth7rSt3jKhumv7uPYPSIVXFjfmtpMJ1tKDiy32TMPFX3CT_DpyKdvyQNHGhnsnmhOvTgjznYZCtWFHby8cMF8-6e7eq90SdKZolNZ8yJj1EKq9vBVvzoAl4eEmJPAypVS32vMxa-DXLr-mOwJfTEaGKe/s1392/Screen%20Shot%202023-06-11%20at%209.05.56%20PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1392" data-original-width="940" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmMOkSSGvwkLBjyfsODONHJsj_m1FnnD-kth7rSt3jKhumv7uPYPSIVXFjfmtpMJ1tKDiy32TMPFX3CT_DpyKdvyQNHGhnsnmhOvTgjznYZCtWFHby8cMF8-6e7eq90SdKZolNZ8yJj1EKq9vBVvzoAl4eEmJPAypVS32vMxa-DXLr-mOwJfTEaGKe/s320/Screen%20Shot%202023-06-11%20at%209.05.56%20PM.png" width="216" /></a></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">What was amazing about this race was that there were so many spectators and people cheering, it was incredible. They also really make it an event when you cross from city to city. In addition to the mile markers there was also big flags announcing your arrival into Ashland, into Framingham, etc. which made it really fun. I saw this one aerial picture from the start line (not taken this year) that really shows the scale of running from the suburbs to the city. The crowds along the course brought so much energy - even on a chilly, drizzly day! It was a party and lots of people tailgating, even early on, so I knew it was only going to get more fun from there.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">I took nutrition every 45 minutes and drank at every aid station, even early on. I knew staying on top of nutrition would be extremely important to me (and baby), especially as I expected to be out there a long time. </div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">I always love to chat with other runners during races. It helps the time go by. For the 2023 marathon, Eliud Kipchoge was running and attempting to win and set a race course record. I was really curious to know how he was doing, and apparently others were as well. One girl had her phone out tracking and she said to those around her “Kipchoge is 7 minutes behind the world record right now!” Trying to friendly, I asked what place he was in, being cheerful saying, “even if he doesn’t get the record I know he’s said in interviews that winning was important for him!” </div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">I don’t know if she didn’t like me interjecting but this girl responded sort of pointedly “ACTUALLY... he said what’s most important is getting the world record. I don’t know what place he is in.” It was not a great start to trying to make friends along the course, and I just figured uhhh ok I will get my updates from someone else.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">A few miles in to the race, I started to feel that I needed to use the bathroom (#1) but every porta potty along the course had long lines with it. And since I was trying to bank as much time as I could in the first half, there was no way I was waiting in a line on the side of the course. I kept going. Around mile 8 the drizzly weather started to pick up and turn in to full on rain and for a bit I got really cold. I had chosen to run in a pair of spandex maternity shorts that had a full belly panel and a loose fitting T-shirt. Did I have a big belly at this point in pregnancy and need a full belly panel? No. But I had gained enough weight that my regular running shorts were not comfortable and dug into my stomach so I purchased these shorts to wear throughout pregnancy and they felt great for the race. Up until this point I had been really happy with the layers and clothing choice of shorts/T-shirt but I started to really get chilly and lost feeling in my fingers. It was really hard to unzip/re-zip my waist belt that had my nutrition in it and I was tempted more than once to stop and ask a spectator for help. </div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">At mile 9, I spotted a porta potty without a line and bee-lined over for it. While it felt good to use the bathroom, I was soaking wet from the rain at this point with numb fingers and I could BARELY pull my spandex shorts back up they were so stuck and rolled and just... a mess. I spent more time in there than I should have trying to get my shorts up and I vowed that if I had to go to the bathroom again on the course, I might have to just pee my pants because I didn't think I could do that again.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Mentally, I had first focused on the first 6 miles of the course on the "downhill" stretch as my first big chunk of the race to get through. Once it started to flatten out, my next "goal" was to get to the Natick town common around mile 10, which I figured would be a fun, crowded spot after driving through it the day before (it was!) I was really glad I had driven the course the day before because it had given me different landmarks and checkpoints to mentally cross off.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">From there, my next mental point was the halfway point and shortly after, Wellesley and the cheer tunnel. Breaking the course into little chunks of things to look forward to was really helpful to me. Another big motivator for me is also food. One of the "changes" I learned I had to make with training while pregnant was to eat and drink more often than I normally would. I carried water with me on every single training run, no matter how short. For the marathon, I used the Stinger chews that I like and also brought a "real food" treat I usually reserve for long bike rides or trail runs: an oatmeal creme pie (something I picked up from Jonathan's trail running habits.) I planned to eat half of it at the halfway point and that was an excited milestone as well.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Wellesley was as fun as everyone said it was - the energy was electric. I will say it's probably a bit more fun if you are further up in the race and it's not a rainy cool day and probably more fun if you're a guy, BUT it was awesome nonetheless. Girls were literally hanging over the barriers into the course, sitting on top of the railings or with one leg over, leaning into the streets. It was really loud and made me curious what it was like during the real thick of the race vs. the back of the pack and on a non-rainy day.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">After Wellesley, I focused on getting to mile 16 where I knew the hills would start. At the halfway point, I was definitely starting to slow down and struggle a bit more - feeling tired and needing to rely on my regular walk/run intervals. Up until that point I had been trying to stretch out my running intervals and bank time as much as possible but at this point I had to start to focus on keeping up my .4 mile runs and motivating myself to keep going again after .1 walking.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiFgaChPAEfpS0qogJMouEDDj2D_Q_cgpcSekhLvNSjz14MdNI7NJDsBnaypcQBNzrAbOrr4wDV9OwggSJBlswWxwqMVFwnORgOIQ_H6XjyFx3zYiJkTxltXKJsQPvnVsnMqkcoioUrUkN0YIrjt3aRTglrHBTOB7wrHq0YVhaXXNlP11M9_BFbROZ/s1396/Screen%20Shot%202023-06-11%20at%209.03.50%20PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1396" data-original-width="936" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiFgaChPAEfpS0qogJMouEDDj2D_Q_cgpcSekhLvNSjz14MdNI7NJDsBnaypcQBNzrAbOrr4wDV9OwggSJBlswWxwqMVFwnORgOIQ_H6XjyFx3zYiJkTxltXKJsQPvnVsnMqkcoioUrUkN0YIrjt3aRTglrHBTOB7wrHq0YVhaXXNlP11M9_BFbROZ/s320/Screen%20Shot%202023-06-11%20at%209.03.50%20PM.png" width="215" /></a></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">At 15.5 we started going downhill, which I knew following that, the hills would set in. However, I was somewhat looking forward to that because I knew that somewhere amidst the Newton hills, around 17.5-18, I would see my family. Words can't express how much I was looking forward to that and how motivating it was to keep me going and think about. It was getting close enough to taste and I needed that boost bad. The race was getting hard, as expected.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">At the same time, I also was REALLY happy with how I had done in the first half. My half marathon split was 2:35 and I knew that I had 3 hours and 25 minutes to complete the second half of the race. And as I'd mentioned, I honestly did not care if I used every minute of that. I know this might sound stupid but I didn't want to have to push too hard in the second half and strain myself too much. I had room to walk the hills, which I knew would get me out of breathe on their own, and I didn't want to ever feel like I was putting my body in too much distress since it also was doing a very important job of growing a human.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">I expected to see my family shortly after the turn onto Commonwealth at the Newton Fire Station. I knew that area well and was picturing it in my head, crying, even as I just imagined them on the course waiting for me. I cried a lot during the race, to be honest. I cried thinking about my baby in my belly, along with me for this ride. I cried thinking about the charities people were supporting, and the charity I had raised money and run in honor of in 2020. I cried thinking about my grandparents. I got so emotional all throughout the race. I could not believe I was finally here, finally running this race, finally seeing all these sights and running through the fabled cities on the course that I have heard about for years and years. </div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">When I turned right onto Commonwealth, my eyes started looking for my family everywhere. I am not entirely sure what I expected because they were in the spot where I had watched the race from in 2021 so knew exactly where it was. However, I think I was so anxious to see them I was just looking everywhere and at one point got so panicky thinking that I might have missed them that I was already in tears -- when I finally spotted them!!</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">I get choked up even as I write this, thinking about how much it meant to me to have family and friends along the course. My mom was a runner all her life and first introduced me to the Boston Marathon. My brother has always been so proud of my running accomplishments and I still remember his proud texts after my first ever marathon. My childhood best friends that know me better than anyone and who know me from when I started the "slow poke's club" in elementary school because I refused to run during gym class. And finally my husband/father of my growing little baby bud that who had never given up faith in me that I could do this, even on my worst days.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">I cried running up to them, hugging them, and was just so appreciative of them being there. I let Jonathan know that from this point forward I was going to be walking a lot more, so not to be alarmed at my splits. </div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs7-h4Zs3gCJSF7G1JHAW2Y9SLMpCJ--htmv2zPV5nxnBpkeOvUSkTeKdPgzYliAnMz4XTzNN2cxFBpLLt-MKvhVwi13AS9v_UGZnGEUTcXkal9xn6l4s5I5dpIFKL8eMmX_7gCg0JekuYAZJOcddoEqSrvdJK85kBW3PflN5Ql6jcTukSUv-GZGpJ/s1362/Screen%20Shot%202023-06-11%20at%209.07.01%20PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1362" data-original-width="1032" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs7-h4Zs3gCJSF7G1JHAW2Y9SLMpCJ--htmv2zPV5nxnBpkeOvUSkTeKdPgzYliAnMz4XTzNN2cxFBpLLt-MKvhVwi13AS9v_UGZnGEUTcXkal9xn6l4s5I5dpIFKL8eMmX_7gCg0JekuYAZJOcddoEqSrvdJK85kBW3PflN5Ql6jcTukSUv-GZGpJ/s320/Screen%20Shot%202023-06-11%20at%209.07.01%20PM.png" width="242" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixciTe367-9jDII6VTPfF4VbT0IJ-g0Mm8fj7itYcrhjvN18JTWGt0QoAwDA1m2Ij7_Xunwm8QyirCE7if3sPs0_0pBs8SijIuXovMpA8PJDUiJ0LLgYtqbf47At5ph3_tt83ddUpLvzks55utuPjhunn25lTD5Mn_h5Jgj9hxG-dMdLbYVmtVDfu7/s1386/Screen%20Shot%202023-06-11%20at%209.07.48%20PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1386" data-original-width="1038" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixciTe367-9jDII6VTPfF4VbT0IJ-g0Mm8fj7itYcrhjvN18JTWGt0QoAwDA1m2Ij7_Xunwm8QyirCE7if3sPs0_0pBs8SijIuXovMpA8PJDUiJ0LLgYtqbf47At5ph3_tt83ddUpLvzks55utuPjhunn25lTD5Mn_h5Jgj9hxG-dMdLbYVmtVDfu7/s320/Screen%20Shot%202023-06-11%20at%209.07.48%20PM.png" width="240" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjMBrGp-azejbmHpEqirNVnAP81JYeQ0m-NoTcbgBvY4GhcFNbZ7bKHcKII8pzIa61Z5awOb4_QBpAvP5mG6yNnAzg5JJNsYh7FyPrKg0h1ZhbQ-upCizSNCnQgHg6Pi3ToLHXcp4yreqfzfmgzGkxAwg0TynHKg6jwpSBQpnRtPdE_9Y6v-YabcTF/s1384/Screen%20Shot%202023-06-11%20at%209.08.22%20PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1384" data-original-width="1052" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjMBrGp-azejbmHpEqirNVnAP81JYeQ0m-NoTcbgBvY4GhcFNbZ7bKHcKII8pzIa61Z5awOb4_QBpAvP5mG6yNnAzg5JJNsYh7FyPrKg0h1ZhbQ-upCizSNCnQgHg6Pi3ToLHXcp4yreqfzfmgzGkxAwg0TynHKg6jwpSBQpnRtPdE_9Y6v-YabcTF/s320/Screen%20Shot%202023-06-11%20at%209.08.22%20PM.png" width="243" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFIatXZTHH1l-Jo35bWg9A7C0KewOqhUeEBgnLBRcSp8ZxfTk_HBVPi2x2yZyt_-fEmauE-Utm1Jm00pcrDzFoSo6a02hN7eM4Eg7l6uh-Q5PNhfrZsloCEKJJ6YQVI7udzy_-p_H_7fx3A51Hy-m1uh0wol3bkzJu0rxh5dM_hq-veR_Lmj5wxJIH/s1862/Screen%20Shot%202023-06-11%20at%209.09.00%20PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1392" data-original-width="1862" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFIatXZTHH1l-Jo35bWg9A7C0KewOqhUeEBgnLBRcSp8ZxfTk_HBVPi2x2yZyt_-fEmauE-Utm1Jm00pcrDzFoSo6a02hN7eM4Eg7l6uh-Q5PNhfrZsloCEKJJ6YQVI7udzy_-p_H_7fx3A51Hy-m1uh0wol3bkzJu0rxh5dM_hq-veR_Lmj5wxJIH/s320/Screen%20Shot%202023-06-11%20at%209.09.00%20PM.png" width="320" /></a></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Throughout the race I tried to talk to as many people as possible. Being in the back of the pack at the Boston Marathon meant a lot of people, if not most, of the people around me were charity runners. Having raised money for a charity myself in 2020, I know the hard work and effort that goes into it and how much motivation you drive from your organization and the people who inspired you to run for that race. Anyone who had written on their shirt or pinned to their back "Running for [insert name]" I asked them, "Who is Aunt Kate?" "Who is Christopher?" "What charity is that?" and I hoped it inspired them as much as it inspired me.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">As we were going up the Newton hills I was walking beside someone with "Running for Rebekah" on their arm. I asked the man, "Who is Rebekah?" and he said it was his wife, who had been in the bombing ten years earlier and lost a leg that day. He was running his first marathon in her honor. **CUE TEARS** I nearly lost my breathe it choked me up so much. He was struggling and said that he'd run 20 miles during training and felt fine then but was cramping and hurting. I offered him salt and encouragement and let him know I would be thinking of his wife the rest of the race - which I really did. This interaction put so much in perspective for me and will stick with me for a long time to come.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The last 6 miles of a marathon are hard in any condition. Totally fit and perfect weather? It's gonna hurt. Hot day or rainy day? It's gonna hurt. Pregnant or best shape of your life? It doesn't matter. Miles 20-26 are tough. It's meant to be tough. I pulled on with everything I could at this point.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Throughout the race, my pregnancy was my own little secret. My family and friends knew, but I didn't write it anywhere on me and I wasn't visibly pregnant. At times, I was tempted to tell people I was pregnant but I liked that it was just me and my little buddy doing this together and I had this tiny secret that I was literally carrying around, bandit-ing the race with me. However, at near the end of Heartbreak Hill as I was walking up, a little old woman in a lawn chair on the side of the road picked me out and cheered me on so encouragingly in a way that reminded me of my grandmother. She said to me directly, "You look GREAT!" with I couldn't help myself, I responded with "Thank you! And I'm PREGNANT!" She got SO excited and cheered me on even more, which made me smile and got me to the top of the hills.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9THoNbmqa9hLVDIHufTs9-BSkDp5MP7PL1jE1_6lULF8v8wLCgQ2ugPrgw11XMNXml5HAizFm5D5A-9gmdc2RX6aQiM3TdjUnnOG_jWQq0iIjV2zuEnf4xwp4UX13XU612qdHfSvDDIzvXz43P64t9W9Cl3gwwiI-7VWjnhZ22Z8ygVbkGXxRhvpl/s1340/Screen%20Shot%202023-06-11%20at%208.56.36%20PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1340" data-original-width="938" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9THoNbmqa9hLVDIHufTs9-BSkDp5MP7PL1jE1_6lULF8v8wLCgQ2ugPrgw11XMNXml5HAizFm5D5A-9gmdc2RX6aQiM3TdjUnnOG_jWQq0iIjV2zuEnf4xwp4UX13XU612qdHfSvDDIzvXz43P64t9W9Cl3gwwiI-7VWjnhZ22Z8ygVbkGXxRhvpl/s320/Screen%20Shot%202023-06-11%20at%208.56.36%20PM.png" width="224" /></a></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">I thought so much of my family along the course, and my little baby. I sometimes had to distract myself and clear my mind of that because it would just choke me up and make me cry. As I walked more at the end, it was easier to let the tears come when they wanted.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Mile by mile I ticked off at the end. I was hurting and running in even smaller intervals at times, but I knew I was going to finish and I knew I had enough time to walk entirely the rest of the way if I wanted. </div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">In the last few miles I started to really struggle with some chafing. I bought new shorts for the race but not a new sports bra and let's just say that my chest was... not fitting into them in the same way. Between that and the wetness from the sweat and the rain, I was having a lot of pain under my bra line from chafing. I also was feeling a lot of irritation on my left leg. The shorts I wore had a side pocket that I had put my phone in. I don't usually run with a phone during a marathon, but again, being pregnant, I just wanted it with me IN CASE something happened and I needed to get ahold of Jonathan. I had run with it in that pocket during training... but never being soaking wet... and never for this long. The shuffling and slight bouncing in my pocket was causing chafing on my leg.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8NpC2sjYyqF93BaX2khqaidbqpK_dPhDOxHJDb79C0KdQuucQtAMncDUBUSay_jbhtUqmvxfcq5xeWIKct1kh72KrhMU82h-zCnlTpFD3X-IX8l-3NwaS5BERD0LW_0oMoz0ixEQbqVntnq_bU6RZ8ubyyIwkHdBpYnEaamtGo4lj66Yfr3klmo21/s1384/Screen%20Shot%202023-06-11%20at%208.57.20%20PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1384" data-original-width="922" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8NpC2sjYyqF93BaX2khqaidbqpK_dPhDOxHJDb79C0KdQuucQtAMncDUBUSay_jbhtUqmvxfcq5xeWIKct1kh72KrhMU82h-zCnlTpFD3X-IX8l-3NwaS5BERD0LW_0oMoz0ixEQbqVntnq_bU6RZ8ubyyIwkHdBpYnEaamtGo4lj66Yfr3klmo21/s320/Screen%20Shot%202023-06-11%20at%208.57.20%20PM.png" width="213" /></a></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">I stopped at a medical tent around mile 23 and asked for vaseline and was given a giant glob on my hands. I shoved it up my shirt and rubbed it along my bra line but I was so wet I don't know if any stuck on or even did anything. So now my hand was covered in vaseline and I had nothing to wipe it off with. I stopped at an empty space along the barricades (crowds were clearing at this point) and tried to wipe it off my hand and on to the barricade. That didn't work super well so I used a paper cup from an aid station to try and scrape it off. I was a mess.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">There were a few miles at the end where the roads were a bit dark and dreary and people were packing up from where they'd been cheering all day. I knew there was still amazing crowds and support to come as I got closer to Boston and I couldn't wait. </div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Before I get to that, there's one other thing I wanted to call out from the race. Around mile 21, I ran by a cheer squad that at the time, I didn't know the names of, but was supported by the Pioneers Run Crew and TrailblazHers Run Co - two run clubs in Boston that are made up of primarily BIPOC runners. The music was blasting, the energy was loud, and honestly, they didn't seem different than any other large cheer group along the course - EXCEPT - that they had a line of police officers standing along the edge of the road, as a barricade between them and the course. It was startling and disturbing to see and I honestly almost stopped to find out what was going on but I kept going and wondered to myself, "What could have happened here...?" Well, all that happened is that these supporters were black and had showed up to support their friends and other runners as their authentic selves and that was not okay with some people. It really was bothersome to me the more I learned after the race. All along the course, white spectators were rowdy, impeding on the course, drinking, had loud music, etc. but I saw NOTHING anywhere else, except for the group of black spectators. I was and am disappointed that this happened.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">This aside, I will move back into my race recap.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">I was in the depths of the race and finally, I saw the Citgo sign! The first time you see it it's already so big in front of you which I didn't expect! It was cloudy and foggy and loomed ahead of you in an exciting and taunting way. I took in all these iconic moment as I got closer to the finish and to the places where I have cheered at for Boston Marathons past. </div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The crowds got big again and the energy was amazing. I let myself walk when I wanted to, talking everything in. Making eye contact with spectators, who could see the emotion on my face and were reacting to that themselves.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimHYZKbgj_rENggMtE63K5haV6XHpVC5z9lrp68LkeKfCniHfVMRJcgxTYEpxKvyc471lzKUwsfXU7drsmZBbj4WEEkSM3ATc4TK26uM53xV5cqrhPf7O7hKhhaclgw3aA0KL1HaDBry9w_OGDL_46rNTCbmWQlNkuNMRQDKXlBOUdhwknWjTfEMgi/s1664/Screen%20Shot%202023-06-11%20at%208.59.59%20PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1388" data-original-width="1664" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimHYZKbgj_rENggMtE63K5haV6XHpVC5z9lrp68LkeKfCniHfVMRJcgxTYEpxKvyc471lzKUwsfXU7drsmZBbj4WEEkSM3ATc4TK26uM53xV5cqrhPf7O7hKhhaclgw3aA0KL1HaDBry9w_OGDL_46rNTCbmWQlNkuNMRQDKXlBOUdhwknWjTfEMgi/s320/Screen%20Shot%202023-06-11%20at%208.59.59%20PM.png" width="320" /></a></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">We went under the overpass and shortly after it was a Right on Hereford, Left on Boylston and the finish was in front of me. I ran some of the way on Boylston but I also allowed myself to walk. And cry. And just enjoy the moment. I said a silent prayer as I passed the locations of the bombings from 10 years prior. I reflected on the resilience of runners, of spectators, of the city, of myself for still being here. I absorbed everything I could. Rarely am I ever doing a race where my finish time is something I TRULY do NOT care about whatsoever. This was about starting, and then about finishing. I don't think I've ever walked this much so close to a finish ever before but it didn't matter to me if I finished in 5:35 or 5:40 or 5:45 or anything... as long as it was under 6.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3yoRWzoBl3o2hoUUEgmgXje1rLXTjud3GB4JiBgnF5SCY-0uNW20uyYDZ-yoDUCmh5VGfPEaaEvtO-3EWUQh1aWPRMHeU9Z3O7rrOGwPxPSX0CbpyCS8qJJT1GL_2ZBuj7_JaXnaFUtZ3-AlXhCAHY0SUyWnsYM9yGWnoDQT0EAFmNwkDW_3HGBZ1/s1218/Screen%20Shot%202023-06-11%20at%209.00.59%20PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1218" data-original-width="1056" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3yoRWzoBl3o2hoUUEgmgXje1rLXTjud3GB4JiBgnF5SCY-0uNW20uyYDZ-yoDUCmh5VGfPEaaEvtO-3EWUQh1aWPRMHeU9Z3O7rrOGwPxPSX0CbpyCS8qJJT1GL_2ZBuj7_JaXnaFUtZ3-AlXhCAHY0SUyWnsYM9yGWnoDQT0EAFmNwkDW_3HGBZ1/s320/Screen%20Shot%202023-06-11%20at%209.00.59%20PM.png" width="277" /></a></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">I crossed the finish line at 4:56 PM in 5:40:35 and it was AMAZING!</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-RMmwx5_VNnfOpsl_cK8H0essij0onsF3_TC8QlEthy0jX_S_PbgUrnsY6YUSjFufKqhIKo7vHmIqesOFsBDfC10C-i724n3ZR5Afm_zu_VjPX1PxwmlEDHQdVGpb6X95BtyUvLfNAWNKWqJeDBssBgkjSLbrmxZ8QfPZQDcNtQIaJJ46odlp1cVZ/s1394/Screen%20Shot%202023-06-11%20at%209.01.47%20PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1394" data-original-width="1044" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-RMmwx5_VNnfOpsl_cK8H0essij0onsF3_TC8QlEthy0jX_S_PbgUrnsY6YUSjFufKqhIKo7vHmIqesOFsBDfC10C-i724n3ZR5Afm_zu_VjPX1PxwmlEDHQdVGpb6X95BtyUvLfNAWNKWqJeDBssBgkjSLbrmxZ8QfPZQDcNtQIaJJ46odlp1cVZ/s320/Screen%20Shot%202023-06-11%20at%209.01.47%20PM.png" width="240" /></a></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">As soon as I finished I pulled out my phone from my pocket and immediately pulled up the app to see where Lindsay was. Next to me finishing, the thing I cared about most was her finishing. I was shocked and thrilled to see that she was only a mile from the finish and moving forward at a great pace. She would be there within 15 minutes! I decided to stick around right by the finish and wait for her so I could see her cross and then we could go forward and get medals/walk through the shoot together. I called Jonathan to let him know I was okay, feeling good, and waiting for Lindsay. He and our friend Jon had driven in to Boston from Newton to pick us up from the finish.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIzihuVlmm8whEVwrSFOU-S54nJ-xkgFV5gmIrpIGgYl8Yjpe9y6qKOWoN-vaxWOnynk5ga7IM2S0lxEyHqmAKYoly0ShU2yap4cctaBFjkgSIcS6dUpQznkUEguWsbizuiCzfLJcaIBEImq38R68YigNuRmyTwG_kS7Kkdmr2ZnTVclMQ4s1ulrMg/s1876/Screen%20Shot%202023-06-11%20at%209.02.27%20PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1388" data-original-width="1876" height="237" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIzihuVlmm8whEVwrSFOU-S54nJ-xkgFV5gmIrpIGgYl8Yjpe9y6qKOWoN-vaxWOnynk5ga7IM2S0lxEyHqmAKYoly0ShU2yap4cctaBFjkgSIcS6dUpQznkUEguWsbizuiCzfLJcaIBEImq38R68YigNuRmyTwG_kS7Kkdmr2ZnTVclMQ4s1ulrMg/s320/Screen%20Shot%202023-06-11%20at%209.02.27%20PM.png" width="320" /></a></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">I took some pictures, cheered on others, took pictures for others, and stretched/waited for Lindsay to come through. I was a bit surprised because some finish lines have officials that try to keep people moving forward and don't want anyone hanging around right by the finish but nobody said anything to me. Even as I walked backwards right back towards the finish when I saw Lindsay coming, nobody said a thing. I was able to cheer and wait for right as she crossed the finish line - sub-6 as well! There were tears and hugs and cries of how proud of each other we were back and forth.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA820EeVVtf7ZDokNOqIafi0AzBEv5LsheKqZtr5d0ygh8HtEDW9SYiEm-M-gNhK0jQvmhflWP7teeXTesNl9BrGlHXBIpjtEQsHNXAtLYriRdSPLlg54EKiHg_l-wcUiiKf4Qjiy6U3mAxFmXLHtmOwg3pOEC-YikVGj2Bv48Lq-iNB9LQ8QBZ0Vy/s1398/Screen%20Shot%202023-06-11%20at%209.11.03%20PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1398" data-original-width="1050" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA820EeVVtf7ZDokNOqIafi0AzBEv5LsheKqZtr5d0ygh8HtEDW9SYiEm-M-gNhK0jQvmhflWP7teeXTesNl9BrGlHXBIpjtEQsHNXAtLYriRdSPLlg54EKiHg_l-wcUiiKf4Qjiy6U3mAxFmXLHtmOwg3pOEC-YikVGj2Bv48Lq-iNB9LQ8QBZ0Vy/s320/Screen%20Shot%202023-06-11%20at%209.11.03%20PM.png" width="240" /></a></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">After a few more pictures, we hobbled forward to collect our race medals and to get Lindsay's 6 Star Finisher medal! As we stopped at the first line of volunteers we were told, "We ran out of medals." and we stood there. SHOCKED. I don't think i actually believed them. I thought it was a joke. But they apologized and said, no, we are serious, we have no medals. We both cried and unsure what else to do stumbled forward in a daze. No medals? It just didn't make sense to have just finished that race and not have anything around our necks as we kept moving through the shoot.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Luckily, the Abbott World Majors tent did not have the same fate and Lindsay was able to collect her medal for running all 6 of the majors!! It was amazing and I was so glad she had that to celebrate the accomplishment. After we got that, we returned back to the race medals... just to double check... because I still felt like it had to be a mistake... but were told again. No medals.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">We collected our tinfoil blankets, bags of food, and walked towards the exit when all of a sudden we saw Jonathan and Jon! We walked right out of the athlete area to them, and followed them clumsily and slowly back to the car. I had felt fine when I was waiting for Lindsay... not cold or anything. But all of a sudden it hit me and I was freezing and shivering in my wet clothes. After what felt like forever, but really was not, we got to the car and hopped in to drive to Meaghan and Jon's in Newton where we had dry clothes and food waiting for us.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWqwL2JwY5l-rjJG-j-HPFux_vihfTuj8MR5kUEPFtiqrEq6wEQEM0HGkXHZMNncEwYvF2swVarv88s71_MNXRXM1Ehg62k3sGgScShqRp7s5jdA1hu3PKBPmEl0Ot6yGAi2N53Ry_fWBspPuv0TXhslW8_O1KfV90dFzmVcIlSfIcfRLFlNRzUb1r/s1296/Screen%20Shot%202023-06-11%20at%209.12.29%20PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1296" data-original-width="1052" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWqwL2JwY5l-rjJG-j-HPFux_vihfTuj8MR5kUEPFtiqrEq6wEQEM0HGkXHZMNncEwYvF2swVarv88s71_MNXRXM1Ehg62k3sGgScShqRp7s5jdA1hu3PKBPmEl0Ot6yGAi2N53Ry_fWBspPuv0TXhslW8_O1KfV90dFzmVcIlSfIcfRLFlNRzUb1r/s320/Screen%20Shot%202023-06-11%20at%209.12.29%20PM.png" width="260" /></a></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">I was so thankful they'd opened their home up to us to cheer, to be a destination for my family to meet at, and to host us after the race. We were able to change into dry clothes, eat some pizza and chocolate milk, get some hugs and additional cheers, before we drove back to my Dad's in Westborough. I was starting to feel MISERABLE with my under-boob and left leg chafing. Even after changing into dry clothes I was still shivering and cold and knew I needed a hot shower but also was DREADING what would feel like (spoiler alert: it SUCKED.)</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">I'm going to wrap up this Boston blog here because it's gone on long enough. it was a day and a memory I will never forget. I can't wait to someday tell my child about this adventure we went on together. I hope it someday feels as special to them as it does to me. But even beyond that, this race was more than just "the race I did pregnant" (although that's of course a highlight.) It was my first Boston Marathon. A cumulation of many years of dreaming. And quite honestly, a fateful thing that I couldn't have predicted happening in this way. It was something I wanted to do for my family, those here and no longer with us. It was something I wanted for myself. It was more than anything, a dream come true. Thanks for being a part of the journey to the start, and the finish line.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpk7Yz47rfPmWwcqqTKru8fCCMEr4nWXKgwMAoylJBFEnHHxMxyW-9sMNS4QdC1e7zmLlxPEhYwkIy_rA3rTgRV-Lda4PTo2zA1_Qulf8HpEZbUqwV9idPyhaVLTRJNd195onVEsuXTZIvsUcZsNDiScsPmyAoxQXkEJ2jUseuYgrDugSsikUZ2znV/s1194/Screen%20Shot%202023-06-11%20at%209.14.58%20PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1194" data-original-width="1050" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpk7Yz47rfPmWwcqqTKru8fCCMEr4nWXKgwMAoylJBFEnHHxMxyW-9sMNS4QdC1e7zmLlxPEhYwkIy_rA3rTgRV-Lda4PTo2zA1_Qulf8HpEZbUqwV9idPyhaVLTRJNd195onVEsuXTZIvsUcZsNDiScsPmyAoxQXkEJ2jUseuYgrDugSsikUZ2znV/s320/Screen%20Shot%202023-06-11%20at%209.14.58%20PM.png" width="281" /></a></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">P.S. I did eventually get a medal :)</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEkT2ExQ6fYNRV1Wb4bhjsaETq3E1OCmnftcHrFFUQJRj-1EekjzrB154tqNvZ8yOzpaajh3INmvwyjkF7c73wcfVCC8p_VlkZ6c7MatNwFrpUyYhBg-03GixxG2qWb4L20zkRC66hkl_33YyQt_kgCzfYZCBeRs27P4K1r2Y4ZT_GVTtrTizySD_N/s1158/Screen%20Shot%202023-06-11%20at%209.14.04%20PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1158" data-original-width="1040" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEkT2ExQ6fYNRV1Wb4bhjsaETq3E1OCmnftcHrFFUQJRj-1EekjzrB154tqNvZ8yOzpaajh3INmvwyjkF7c73wcfVCC8p_VlkZ6c7MatNwFrpUyYhBg-03GixxG2qWb4L20zkRC66hkl_33YyQt_kgCzfYZCBeRs27P4K1r2Y4ZT_GVTtrTizySD_N/s320/Screen%20Shot%202023-06-11%20at%209.14.04%20PM.png" width="287" /></a></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></div>Katelynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04758210180939830431noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3912923948966123033.post-38493480109575001152020-03-23T19:21:00.003-04:002020-03-23T19:21:47.973-04:00September Marathon Monday<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
It feels like a million years since I last posted but I wanted to come back and share some of what's happened in the past few months, weeks, days, heck - hours! For the past couple of weeks, every day feels like a week as the news cycle is moving so fast and we are living in a really weird, scary, unsettling time as the entire globe fights off a global pandemic. While I don't intend for this ever to be a news site or a historic timeline of what's happened in this crisis - I do want to document for my own memory. I feel like we are living in unprecedented times and I will be looking back on this period for years to come. I don't have anything really eloquent to say, so if you want to stop ready - that's fine with me!<br />
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Since I last posted, my target marathon, the Boston Marathon, which was supposed to be on April 20, 2020 - was postponed until September 15. And to be honest, I have slight reservations on whether or not that will happen. This race, as well as countless other events have been cancelled throughout the spring into the summer. Almost every major marathon and race has been cancelled. Major sports leagues have all been cancelled or pushed off their seasons. Colleges and schools have been cancelled. Concerts, movies, plays, etc. have all shut down across the country as states and cities work to stop people from gathering in groups and stop the spread of this infectious disease.<br />
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I have so many thoughts about what has been happening... some of them deep fears and concerns... some of them just observations. It would take me much more time and many more words to put together exactly what all those thoughts are, but for now and for this space, I will document how I feel as far as athletics and training goes. Even just writing out that one sentence though, I have to say it feels so trivial to even be writing about this because there is so many bigger concerns going on.<br />
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Needless to say, I am okay with the race being postponed. I had seen it coming for a few weeks prior and it ended up seeming to be inevitable. I am proud of the City of Boston and the B.A.A. for cancelling the race and excited that they are putting on the monumental task of working to reschedule it for a whole new Marathon Monday holiday in September.<br />
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I hope that we get to race this year but if I can't, I'll race it someday soon. I have already raised over $8000 for the Home Base Program and I will work to raise more money if that's what is needed. I am proud that I have been supporting such a wonderful organization and I always said getting to do the race would just be a cherry on top. What matters most to me will be having my grandfather there cheering me on, whenever that may be, and I am hoping we all make it through this period of time healthy and able to have that happen.<br />
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Katelynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04758210180939830431noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3912923948966123033.post-30805693022824017682019-12-01T22:07:00.004-05:002019-12-02T09:18:07.987-05:00Ironman Arizona 2019 Race Recap<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Last Sunday, November 24th, I completed Ironman Arizona in Tempe, Arizona. It was my 2nd official “You are an Ironman” finish line moment, but my first time getting to complete a full Ironman as a “triathlon” since last year in Chattanooga, the race had the swim portion cancelled due to flooding in the river.<br />
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The race was an amazing day and I am so happy with how I did. It was more of a victory than I had thought it would be and am really proud of myself for how I finished.<br />
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<i>But first, how did I get here?</i><br />
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My journey to this start line was different for me than other big “goal” races. This year, life came first for me, and I wasn't willing to make my schedule completely around training as I have in the past. I had signed up in November 2018 when I was unsure what races I wanted to do on my 2020 calendar, thinking I could transfer my entry if needed.<br />
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Flash forward to July 2019 when I decided that a full Ironman wasn’t in my priority list for the year. However, when I tried to transfer, I realized I’d misread the fine print and wasn’t able to transfer as I thought I could. So, after talking to my coach and some encouragement from the “Cacti Crew” of athletes already registered for Arizona, I decided to go for it. My coach was okay with my approach to training and the availability I told him I would have. He said he could make me ready for the race and with that, official training was underway in late July!<br />
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<b>---- Race Weekend ----</b><br />
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I flew out to Arizona on Thursday, November 21st with a bunch of the ITL Coaching & Performance crew. We had 10 people doing the race and a number of others coming to do their own adventure at the Grand Canyon and to spectate.
When we arrived in Tempe, my friend Karen and I went right to the Ironman store to register, buy Ironman goodies, and then ate some delicious Mexican lunch, and checked in to our AirBnB. I was staying with 3 other girl friends doing the race plus my boyfriend, who was acting as our de facto Sherpa for the weekend. Thursday and Friday were about getting together all our last minute things for the race. Saturday we did a practice swim in the lake, checked in our bikes to the race, and dropped off our gear bags.<br />
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As race day approached, I started to get a bit nervous about the lower amount of training I had done for this race compared to last year's training for Ironman Chattanooga. In 2018, I did TEN training rides of 100 miles or more, whereas in 2019, I did ONE. It made me nervous, and I had a few moments of pure panic in the 2 weeks before race day, but my coach constantly reminded me that I had been working hard and that I was going to be fine.<br />
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One thing I felt really good and happy about was that I did not at all feel burnt out. I was excited for race day and I was also excited to keep training for other things afterwards! Usually as a target race approaches, I am ready for it to be over so I can take a break. However, for this, I thought of race day as another long training day and was excited to recover from that and then continue with running, boot camp, etc.<br />
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I also went into Arizona feeling incredibly grateful. <a href="http://hungrytwenties.blogspot.com/2018/11/ironman-chattanooga-recap.html">Last year’s race</a> had been a huge disappointment and shock to me when the swim was cancelled. I had a lot of emotions around whether or not I was earning the “Ironman” title and felt like I had something to redeem. Weather was looking great for Arizona's race day and there was a threat in any portion of the race getting cancelled, so I was excited to get the full experience and truly call myself an “Ironman” without feeling the need for the tiny fine print around it that I hadn't swam.<br />
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Ironman Arizona is known for a cold swim and windy bike, but being an all around "friendlier" Ironman course. The talk of how cold the water would be made me a bit nervous, but I wouldn't even allow any thoughts or concerns about that enter my head. Any time it was brought up, I just thought, "I don't care as long as I GET to swim!" I turned my mantra for the end of training into “I get to swim. I get to swim. I get to swim.” I told myself that over and over in my final swim workouts and anytime I felt nervous about the water temperature or the river being gross or how I would feel after swimming 2.4 miles. I just kept reminding myself how it felt last year to have that element taken away, feeling grateful for this race, and that “I get to swim. I get to swim!”<br />
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The Saturday night before the race, I spent a little bit of time writing out my thoughts, mantras, things to remember and race strategy. It was very different prep than I have had before other races. My goals were simple – to finish – and to feel strong/good during and after. Because I wasn’t feeling burnt out and was excited to keep with training after the race, I wasn’t looking to necessarily burn every match I had. I didn’t want to push myself to the point of hurting/damaging myself. If I needed to take breaks on the bike to stretch a bit, or slow down/walk the run, that was something I was prepared to do. I cared about finishing, but not necessarily about the small margins of difference between if it were 14 hours or 15 hours.<br />
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My race thoughts, exactly as I had written them down were below:<br />
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I went to bed early and although had some struggles falling asleep, got in a good few hours of sleep the night before the race. We left the house at 5:00 a.m. to drive the 15 minutes over to transition. There was huge amounts of traffic gridlocked as we got close to transition, so the 4 racers hopped out of the car with our bags while Jonathan waited to park the car.<br />
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Transition area was open from 5-6:30 a.m. and that is your opportunity to revisit your bike, add your water bottles and nutrition, drop off your special needs bags, and recheck your gear bags. “Special needs” is essentially an aid station about half-way through each the bike and the run, where you pack your own aid/items that volunteers will have available for you.<br />
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I wanted to check the pressure in my tires in the morning but since I flew to the race, I didn't bring my own bike tire pump. A girl next to me was pumping her tires, so I asked to borrow hers, then quickly realized I had no idea how to use it. I had let a bunch of air out in the process, so now really needed a pump, borrowed a second one that I didn't know how to use, but this time, instead of just letting air out of the tires - I bent the stem in half on the bike tube.<br />
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I freaked out a bit and called one of the ITL coaches, Adam, who calmly told me to bring my bike over to the mechanic in transition. They changed the tube for me and pumped up my tires to the air pressure that I wanted while I nervously waited and watched, feeling like a moron. The whole thing rattled me. After that was over, I obsessed over my bags a bit more, added in some warmer clothing to my gear bags, then dropped off special needs before returning to the area where my friends, teammates and coaches were huddled up. Jonathan was just arriving at this point and when I saw him, I broke down and started sobbing as a last minute release of the nerves before pulling myself together to get ready to get in the water.<br />
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I put on my wet suit and booties, grabbed my cap and goggles, gave last minute hugs and head over to get into line to start the swim. The last thing I said to Jonathan and my coach, Jerome, before I went to start was, “Alright guys, I’m going to take my time out there!”<br />
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<b>THE SWIM </b><br />
<b>1:18:34 official time</b><br />
<b>19th in AG</b><br />
<b>166th Female</b><br />
<b>730th Overall</b><br />
<b>2:02 min/100m</b><br />
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The race has a self seeded start and I got into line between the 1:10 and 1:20 times. At the encouragement of Adam, I stayed with one of the other ITL athletes, Jim, and that's where he wanted to be. I had no real frame of reference beyond that I had swam a 1:20 in the pool the year before.<br />
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The water temperature was about 62 or 63 degrees on race morning and looked calm and smooth. That was a welcome change from the day before when the swim start had been really choppy. They lined us up 5 at a time to enter the water and start swimming.<br />
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Once I started, my triathlon instinct kicked in. My body seemed to fall in line that I've done this plenty of times before and I know how to do this. I had been reminding myself in the days before to not overthink things and that I know how to do a triathlon, this one was just a little bit longer. I think one of the things that had caused me to be more anxious at Ironman Chattanooga the year before was because of the last minute switch to just a “Bike-Run.” It had a different format and different start line feel that I wasn’t used to. With Arizona, I felt like I knew what to do.<br />
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And that, was just swim.<br />
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We swam out to the left, took a right turn around a buoy and swam straight down the lake. There was a bridge in the far distance I knew I would swim under before turning around, so I just focused on swimming from one buoy to the next, then from that buoy to the next, keeping my focus short and my stroke long.<br />
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After going under the bridge, we turned left, then left again, and started swimming all the way back, past where we started, under 4 more bridges, before exiting. I just kept focused on one buoy then the other, knowing that I just needed to keep my head down and focus until those bridges were past me. The race started as the sun was rising and it was beautiful to see every time I took a breathe.<br />
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A few times I paused to do a stroke of breast stroke and once I de-fogged my goggles but otherwise stayed pretty head down. I tried to draft, but mostly swam off to the side a bit keeping to myself. It was a very aggressive swim and any time I tried to get into the main pack I was getting kicked, punched, and pushed around much more than I have in any other triathlon I have done. Many others commented the same when we debriefed after the race. The water in Arizona was extremely murky and you could barely see your own hand 2 inches in front of your race, so one thought was that it was so aggressive truly because people just couldn't see the other swimmers around.<br />
<br />
Whatever the reason, I made the choice that I would rather lose some draft advantage rather than start the day by getting beat up. According to my Garmin, I swam 700 extra yards, but I don't even really believe the Garmin distance is accurate so who knows.<br />
<br />
The water felt calm for the first half but started to feel choppy about half way through. I imagined it as a force pushing me forward vs. being a challenge. In the second half I also needed to pee and figured it would be best to do it before I got out of the water. I am not someone who can go to the bathroom while my body is in motion, so I almost came to a dead stop floating face down to get my body to relax and go. Once I was, I started pulling, but laughed a little to myself, half expecting a kayak to come and check on me because my transition from swimming to doing a dead man’s float was so drastic.<br />
<br />
The swim route was a bit confusing to me because it was different from what was published in the athlete guide. I heard from others who have done this race multiple times that the exit setup was changed quite a bit. We exited the water in a different location than usual which was speculated to be because where the normal exit was, there was a lot of dead fish that were collecting on shore. With the change, we had a .4 mile run from the water exit to transition that I started to prepare myself for as I neared the shore.<br />
<br />
The last stretch seemed to take forever, but before long I was out of the water and onto the next part of the day!<br />
<br />
<b>TRANSITION 1 </b><br />
<b>11:38 minutes</b><br />
<br />
As I exited the water, I chose to have the wet suit strippers help me take my wet suit off which was a huge help. I wore a long sleeved wet suit for the first time in a race, borrowed from a friend since I only have a sleeveless (thank you Karen, sorry about the pee!) The suit made me feel like a damn super hero and I absolutely loved it. The strippers were much needed though, especially in getting the sleeves off and over my watch, something I’ve never had to worry about before.<br />
<br />
I wore neoprene booties for the swim (borrowed again, thank you Kat!) and left them on for the run into transition tent to protect my feet during the .5 mile run.<br />
<br />
When I got out of the water, saw 1:18 on my watch and was really happy with that. I didn't have a real frame of reference but I have only been swimming 1x a week, if that, and knew I didn't have a lot of my normal swim speed and endurance going into this race. Although it isn't anything amazing, I felt good about that time.<br />
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As I started running to the tent to get ready for the bike, my HR felt super low. I didn’t feel winded or tired at all from the swim, but happy and ready to go. The entire .4 miles was a tight tunnel of people and I loved the energy and my excitement of finishing my first Ironman swim!! I almost cried after I passed Jerome and Jonathan because it just felt so special.<br />
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As I was running I felt super comfortable, like I was flying, and I thought to myself, “I wish I could swap the order of the bike and get the run over with now! I feel like I’m floating!”<br />
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I had a feeling wash over me that said, "Today is going to be a good day."<br />
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As I grabbed my gear bag and went into the tent, I didn’t have a ton to do since I was planning to wear my one-piece triathlon kit all day. I grabbed a chair and a volunteer came to help me. I had rolled my socks up so they’d be easy to put on, but as the volunteer dumped all my gear out of the bag, she then immediately unrolled them (which annoyed me a little.) I gave her some instruction at that point and asked her to help take the sleeves off my jacket as I had decided I just wanted to wear the vest. While she did that, I put on my socks and shoes, stuffed some nutrition in my pocket, put on Chamois crème, ate a mini Snickers bar, and put on a buff and some throw away gloves. The volunteer helped me get my vest on and zipped up and I was off!<br />
<br />
<b>BIKE (17.53 mph)</b><br />
<b>6:23:43</b><br />
<b>19th in AG</b><br />
<b>208th Female</b><br />
<b>1180th Overall</b><br />
<br />
We had driven the bike course two days before so I knew what to expect with the course, which was great. But it is always different seeing it from the perspective of being on a bike vs. in a car. The course consisted of 3 loops of an out-and-back route on mostly highway roads. Each section of the out-and-back was about 18 miles. There were a few zig-zag roads before making your way to the Beeline highway, with beautiful desert scenes on both sides.<br />
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The first section taking us out of town was lined with crowds, I saw Jonathan again who must have run over after seeing me get out of the water, and all the ITL spectators screaming their heads off, which was awesome. Once I got out of the in-town section, which was a bit bumpy and full of construction (which proved to be very unfortunate for the sake of pictures), I started to tell myself to just get into the aero position, put my head down and ride.<br />
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I had heard from people who had done this race in the past that the outbound portion of the route was net uphill, despite seeming to be flat, but that the inbound section, being net downhill, was fun because you can ride fast. I had also heard about it being windy on the Beeline Highway, but wasn’t sure what direction the wind would be in on race day.<br />
<br />
Despite hearing the rumors and reports of what to expect, that outbound route was worse than I had anticipated! I felt like I was CRAWLING moving forward in the last 8 miles of the first outbound loop. The choppiness I’d felt in the water was pretty significant wind that was hitting us head on as we tried to push through the false flat uphill. I looked at my watch once and saw 10 mph and slightly panicked that I might not even make the cutoffs if I kept this up. All of my training had been plagued by really slow bike rides and I had in my mind that I was going to be on my bike an excruciatingly long time... but 10 mph??<br />
<br />
Before, that though, at the 2nd aid station on the course (there were 2 aid stations going out, 2 coming back, so this was maybe 10 miles in?) I stopped to use the bathroom. It was early to stop, but part of my approach with this race was what I'd last said to Jerome and Jonathan, and that was to take my time. Use the bathroom if I need to use the bathroom. To pause and stretch/take breathers if I needed them. Not rush through special needs, etc. I was willing to spend those 2 extra minutes on the course to have an overall more comfortable and happy day.<br />
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The challenging outbound portion was challenging for everyone, and luckily, others seemed to be in the same position I was. I started to see some of my teammates making their way BACK and they looked to be much happier on the bike.<br />
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After a last little climb, I saw and made the U-turn, and started SCREAMING back into town. And I cannot stress this part enough... It was AWESOME and so much fun!<br />
<br />
I am a pretty strong flat/downhill rider. I really enjoy it. While on training rides, I often end up getting dropped from my teammates because I am so much weaker on the climbs than them and then I’m so far back I can’t catch up / lose the motivation to catch up. This course was suited really well for me because the climb out was truly not that significant but then on the way back in, you can just fly.<br />
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I started to look for my teammates as well, wanting to see where everyone was stacked up after the swim. I saw Jim, who I’d started the swim with, and Todd, another in our group, shortly after the U-turned when they passed me. I smiled and screamed as I saw Lindsay, Laura and Karen out on the course. I also saw another Atlanta athlete who had joined us for a late season ride, Meg, and passed her on my way out. I’d end up seeing Meg quite a bit on the course and afterwards.<br />
<br />
I kept my water bottle filled and ate when I felt I needed to, as I did in training. Last year part of my plan was “eat early and often” and force fed myself a bit, and ended up feeling sick. This year I wanted to pay attention to what my body was telling me vs. a calculated number of calories to take in. I tried the orange Gatorade Endurance at one of the aid stations and it just didn’t interest me at all, so I knew the only calories I would drink were the ones I had with me, which was Tailwind and Lemon Lime Gatorade.<br />
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It felt quick getting back into town and heading out on my second loop. The ITL crowd was just as enthusiastic when I passed them and I loved them for fueling me up in a different way for the next loop.<br />
<br />
At this point in the day, it was starting to get warm. I had thought about taking off my vest and arm sleeves even earlier, but did not want to give up the momentum I had on the inbound section so stopped at the first aid station going outbound for a wardrobe change. I took off my arm sleeves, vest, and buff and shoved them into my back pockets and the gloves I tossed on the ground. I started to feel like a mule with so much crap stuffed into my kit.<br />
<br />
As I started riding again, not long after leaving the aid station, I hit a bump in the rode and my back bottle fell out. I looked back and it was in the middle of the road. It took me a couple seconds to decide what to do and I did what instinct told me, which was to turn around for it. I rode to the side, turned back and rode to where my bottle was, waiting until there was a break in riders, and trotted out to grab it and then until it was clear to push off and keep moving again. As I was on the side, Meg passed me and shouted if I was okay, to which I said yes. Once I was moving I caught her pretty quick and explained about my bottle and how I hadn’t known what to do so opted to stop.<br />
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You can get a penalty or disqualified if you drop bottles (accidentally or not) outside of the designated areas and I didn't want to risk that. It is one of those rules that I don’t think many people follow, but I hate the idea of getting in trouble. Plus, my dropped bottle was a risk to other athletes as it sat in the middle of the road, and worse than getting in trouble, I didn't want to impact someone else's day in a negative way, so I stopped.<br />
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The second loop I knew exactly what to expect so it felt easier to manage through. I told myself once I got to the turn-around, the race would be half way over and 2/3 remaining sections would be easy. Breaking it down like that made it feel so simple. I never thought about mileage during the first few loops of the course, I just thought of completing each of the 6 sections of the course.<br />
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I didn’t make the mistake again of looking at my watch again on the outbound section. I knew I wasn’t going fast, so I instead focused on riding smart. I kept my head down a lot, made sure I was in the right gear (although I never left the big ring all day), sat upright when I felt I needed to, and just pedaled on. I focused on the yellow/white lines on the road, staying focused and trying to zone out and find a meditative state that I could just let the time pass.<br />
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Part of the course on the Beeline Highway goes right by a landfill. Until you are on the bike riding slowly past it, do you realize that it smells terrible. I planned a snack break before passing the landfill and as I was digging around for a snack, all of a sudden I heard my name being called and saw our friend Sondra cheering! It was such a fun boost to see someone out at this point on the course and was totally unexpected. I was able to give her a wave before digging back into my snack bag.<br />
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On the way out I started talking to as many people as possible. Everyone who passed me I told them that they were doing a great job, and I said something encouraging to everyone I passed.<br />
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In the days before Ironman Arizona I read Christopher McDouggall’s book “Running with Sherman” (which is a really cool story that I would highly recommend!) and in one of the tangents he talked about ultra runner, Krissy Moehl, who was incredibly dominant but only when she followed her 3 rules of racing.<br />
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1. Smile from gun to tape<br />
2. Make someone else smile<br />
3. Race like a demon<br />
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The first two really stuck with me and were on my mind a lot throughout my 13 hours on the course. Whenever I felt down or in a darker spot I thought of 1 and 2. Smile and make others smile. I made it a point to cheer on everyone, even the people that were passing me, which helped me pass the time and have some good smiles myself while complimenting and commiserating with others.<br />
<br />
I was a little caught off guard when I was passed right before the turn-around by someone seemingly moving with barely any effort and when I looked up I saw the “P1” on her calf. It was Heather Jackson, one of my favorite pro athletes who was competing that day. She was gone faster than I had the chance to say anything to her, but since we were right at the U-turn as she came back towards me I shouted to her “Keep it up Heather!” and thought I saw a smile on her face, which made me pretty happy. Mission accomplished!<br />
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Before long I was at special needs, which was a little bit after mile 60. I really appreciated thinking about the race in the 6 little sections because I can’t say enough how much that helped me. Had I thought “Oh my gosh I am only at mile 60 and have 52 left!” that probably would have freaked me out. However, I knew I only had 3 sections left and 2 of them were going to be fast. That felt like nothing.<br />
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As I got to special needs, I was still fully sticking to my plan of "taking my time" so when the young volunteer starting quickly shouting to me “WHAT DO YOU NEED?” I told her that I needed a little time and asked her to just hold my bag for me. She said of course, and we laughed for a bit as I dug through my bag and made decisions of what snacks I wanted. I refilled my nutrition bags, taking more Clif bars and Oatmeal Crème Pies. I ate some Pringles and some peanut butter M&Ms, threw some Stinger Waffles into my back pocket, put on chap stick, and took the mini Chamois crème packets I’d gotten and shoved them in my back pocket.<br />
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My nutrition plan for this race was like a kid let loose in a gas station convenience food. It was basically all junk food! Part of my goal with training was to try and use up the food in my pantry and after Ironman Chattanooga last year, I went home with about 4 boxes of Little Debbie Oatmeal Creme Pies, so that became this years bike nutrition! Along with leftover Halloween candy and other stuff we had in the cabinets.<br />
<br />
In all seriousness, I started the day with 2 or 3 Oatmeal Creme Pies, 1 Clif Bar broken into tiny pieces, and Salt Stick chews in my bag with 1 bottle of Tailwind and 1 bottle of Gatorade and water in my aero bottle. I added 2 more Oatmeal Creme Pies at special needs and 1 other Clif Bar and a Stinger Waffle. I ate some M&Ms and Chips and that was about my nutrition plan for the day. The year before I focused so much on eating real foods and tested out all sorts of different things and ended up sick and unable to eat on the bike during the race. Although it is somewhat embarrassing to admit, this junk food approach seemed to work pretty well for me (my stomach has many more years of training eating junk food than it does doing Ironmans, that's for sure.)<br />
<br />
I needed to use the restroom again but they didn’t have one at special needs, and knew it would be pointless to put more chammy crème on until after I used the bathroom so just brought it with me. I had put an extra CO2 cartridge and tube in my special needs bag and hated the idea of the tube just getting tossed (you don’t get your special needs bags back at the end of the race, so you just have to be prepared that whatever you put in there you won’t get back) but I already had a buff, vest, etc. in my back pockets and didn’t want to feel even more like a mule!<br />
<br />
Before I left, I gave my volunteer bracelet to the girl at special needs and rolled out feeling refueled and ready for the next part of the ride.<br />
<br />
I made it back into town, saw Adam and Doug at the turnaround, but missed seeing Jonathan or Jerome and felt slightly annoyed at that. I later learned that they were all out to lunch at that point, which I will forever tease Jonathan for. He also missed seeing me at one point on the run because he was in the bathroom, but I’ll get to that later. Ultimately it made me so happy to know that Jonathan and Jerome (my coach) spent so much time together during the race and love that my boyfriend and my coach, arguably my 2 biggest supporters, were running around all day cheering for me and having fun themselves. I am thankful that Adam and Doug were there, cheering me on! With such a long race like this, it is hard to put into words what those few moments of encouragement, excitement, and energy do to keep you going. You only see that person for a few seconds but that boost of adrenaline stays with you for a long time and I am so appreciative of everyone who came all the way to Arizona to help keep me and the other athletes energized throughout the day. It is truly amazing that we had such a large group of coaches and athletes there to support.<br />
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Finally, I was out on my 3rd loop. It felt like it had gone by quick! I stopped at the first aid station to use the bathroom again and reapply chammy crème. I saw my teammate Zach at the bike tech tent and checked on him but he said he was okay and ended up rolling out at the same time as me after I used the bathroom. We chatted for a minute and saw Lindsay coming in the other way on the course, and then Zach zipped off.<br />
<br />
I made the plan to just stay focused for the last loop out, pause at the turnaround, eat something, and then readjust for the last 18 mile push in. I hadn’t eaten at all since special needs but didn’t feel like I needed to and didn’t want to force it. I figured if I hadn’t eaten by the turnaround, I’d pause to take in some calories and keep going. That plan worked out well and the last loop went by quickly.<br />
<br />
The last section I did count down the miles, ticking away at 95, 100, 105, and then the last 7 miles in. I thought it would be fun to see how much I could push my speed on the 5 mile increments on the fast return. Looking at my watch data later I did those sections in 26.3 mph (miles 95-100) and 22.5 mph (miles 100-105). Those were my 2nd and 3rd fastest 5 mile stretches on the course! Only beat by miles 20-25 on my first loop which clocked 26.5 mph. Those slower sections did suck, but man, I had SO much fun pushing it and going fast on that bike course. All in all, I really loved the bike course at this race. I felt strong and comfortable the whole bike course which was so different from how I had been feeling in training rides. I'd worn a triathlon kit on this race instead of cycling shorts and was nervous my "seat" would be hurting at the end since I usually do long rides in cycling shorts because of the extra padding - however, I felt great and happy the whole ride!<br />
<br />
One last thing to note was that throughout the course, I saw so many people with flat tires. Apparently it is common on this course because of all the cacti and the wind, the quills will blow off and into the road. I was so thankful that I, and my teammates, made it through without any issues with tires (for the most part!!) but I felt I saw far more people with flats than at any other race I have done.<br />
<br />
Finishing up, coming into town, you had a fun “shoot” you rode through to get to the dismount which I really enjoyed. I passed off my bike to the catcher and made my way into T2.<br />
<br />
<b>TRANSITION 2</b><br />
<b>7:02</b><br />
<br />
Coming into T2 and hopping off my bike, I just said a silent wish to myself, “I hope my legs feel good when I get off the bike!” I was thinking back to last year in Chattanooga where I felt terrible getting off the bike and seriously questioned if I could finish in first 3 miles of the run.<br />
<br />
When I first got off the bike in Arizona, my ability to run was hindered a bit by my bike shoes and so I grabbed my bag and made my way into the tent to change into sneakers, anxious to test out my legs.<br />
<br />
I went to the bathroom in T2, this time pulling down my onesie completely (when I had gone to the bathroom on the bike, I just sort of pulled the leg to the side.) Thankfully, it was easy to put back on and unlike the experience I had in Augusta where it was so hot and sticky that it took me an extra couple minutes just to pull it up. The weather in Arizona was absolutely perfect - cool, dry, and a high of 70 - so I wasn't as sweaty wet and sticky and easy to get the onesie back up.<br />
<br />
I changed my socks, put on a visor, my bib, threw my salt and chews into my pockets, grabbed some chap stick again, shoved a headband in my pocket, and went out on the run!<br />
<br />
<b>RUN</b><br />
<br />
Shortly after coming out of transition, I saw my friends, Jonathan and Jerome cheering along the course. I’d wondered where they were as I came in off the bike and was happy to see them. In that first mile, my salt and chews kept falling out of my pockets, which was frustrating to have to stop and turn back for it. That hadn’t happened to me in Augusta when I wore the onesie and carried things in the pocket. I quickly realized it was due to how the bib was positioned that my waist belt was pushing things out. Once I got that adjusted, I was good for the rest of the race.<br />
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I was able to run well immediately and my legs felt good, which I was thankful for! However, it was warm and my HR was getting higher than I felt it should be in those first miles. I distracted myself by finding someone to talk to and spent the first 3 miles with a woman I’d seen in transition who was getting bandaged up because she’d had a spill on the bike course. The first part of the run course is 2-mile out on a path that turns around onto crushed dirt along the water. I could see all the dead fish lined up along the shore and put the thought out of my mind that this is where I had swam earlier! I walked the aid stations and a little bit more in that 3rd mile, but ran through seeing my friends and the high energy cheering sections through miles 4-5.<br />
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After the out and back, you passed transition again, more cheering sections, then head into an isolated portion of the course still on the path by the water, before making a right turn and crossing a bridge. There was a slight downhill coming off the bridge and I was started to get some cramps. It felt like a long stretch of not having an aid station, but that was probably just in my mind. </div>
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I took some Base Salt from that tent as I passed, feeling cramps and knowing I needed salt to correct it. I had salt tabs with me, that I'd been taking, but wanted to see if having the salty taste in my mouth would have any different impact. I started to take quite a bit of salt to help with the cramps I was starting to feel.<br />
<br />
I passed by my cheer section again, who had crossed a footpath bridge right by the transition area. Jerome told me to keep up with the salt and water at every aid station when I told him I was cramping. I was slightly concerned at the amount of salt I was taking but what I was doing seemed to be working and the cramps started to go away.<br />
<br />
The run course on the other side of the river continued on the river path, U-turning, looping around a park, then returning to the river path to head back over the same bridge you'd originally run on.This time you kept going straight off of the bridge and down an abandoned side street with one aid station on it, before returning to the transition area to start your second loop.<br />
<br />
It still felt warm outside, although the sun was starting to set. It was a beautiful sunset coming in but the sun was still so bright and high in the sky I was ready for it to go away. I had asked a volunteer what time it was when I left transition and they'd said 2:52. I used that as a calculation that the sun would set 2.5-3 hours into my run and figured once my watch died, if needed, I could use that knowledge of when I started the run to calculate how long I'd been out there.<br />
<br />
I enjoyed spotting other athletes I knew on the course. I saw Meg and Meg’s family (I assumed it was her family by the fact that it was a guy in a Dynamo shirt who said “Go ITL – yeah Atlanta!”) and I passed my teammate Jim on the first loop. It was his first Ironman and he was walking a bit saying that he had knee pain he had never experienced before. Jerome has helped me with some mid-run stretches just the week before when I had knee pain so I encouraged Jim to ask Jerome for help when he saw him in a couple miles before running on. I wished him luck and continued on. He later told me that the advice had helped him so much and he was able to meet his goal time for the race, which made me so happy to hear. You never know when something you do is going to have an impact on their day!<br />
<br />
I tried to tell myself that I just had 26 different 10-minute runs to do, with catering stops in between. I really tried to push myself to only walk the aid stations but at times I did walk when there was a slight incline or on the one true hill on the course, around the park.<br />
<br />
As I came back in to transition to start my second loop, I really tried to take in how beautiful it was around me and the fact I was racing in a new place. Doing Chattanooga as my first Ironman was the right choice for me and helped me feel confident to race in a location I was familiar. But, this was incredibly cool to be on a course running in a new place. The sun was setting in the desert and the light was reflecting along the mountains in the distance. Meanwhile the city of Tempe started to light up against the night sky. I commented on it to a few other runners and tried to keep others smiling, as part of my race plan.<br />
<br />
I jokingly asked people who had the best snacks in their Special Needs bag on the run (knowing I had a candy bar in mind!) but everyone else just said they felt too sick to eat. I still felt like I was going really strong and was so happy with how my day was turning out. Especially my stomach. I did remind myself that there was still a lot of race left, but my stomach was feeling good and I had no urges to use the bathroom at all. I ended up not using the bathroom once on the run course.<br />
<br />
Every time I passed a mile marker on my first loop of the run that was for the 2nd loop mileage, I thought to myself, “Not yet – but soon that will be for me!” and I thought the same thing as I went passed the split to go one way for the finish, but another direction to start your second loop.<br />
<br />
I got to special needs and felt a bit of indecision about what I should take. I knew I still had 2.5 hours on the course and the sun was setting quick. It gets cold fast in the desert when the sun goes down so I’d put a throw away shirt and gloves into my bag and I wasn’t sure if I would need them. I continued my day as a pack mule, shoving my candy bar, gloves, and buff into my pocket and carrying my long sleeve, still trying to make a decision about what to do.<br />
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When I passed the girls cheering I asked them and Krystle said “Some people are getting cold, why don’t you tie it around your waist?” so I did, and kept running.
When I hit the half marathon split, my watch was still going (I expected it to die at some point), and I knew that my time was similar to what I’d run in Muncie and Augusta this year. In Augusta, I had felt strong and like I could keep going, so I thought to myself, “Can you do the 2nd loop faster? Can you negative split?” and used that as motivation to try and run more and walk less on the 2nd loop.<br />
<br />
Every time I passed over a timing mat anywhere on the course, I thought of my friends and family getting alerts on their phone and thought of them cheering for me from afar. I used that mental image to keep me going.<br />
<br />
To me, some of the hardest points are at 10 miles in and 16 miles in, when you still have so much left in an incredibly long day, it feels like you are going to be out there forever. I start pulling deep for inspiration. I thought of my grandmother, my family. I thought of my friend Meaghan and our military service members. I wore a bracelet with me during the race for Home Base foundation, the group I am raising money for the Boston Marathon for. I thought of this run as a training run getting ready for Boston and thought about the greater cause that I am supporting with that charity.<br />
<br />
When I saw my friends after the 2-mile out and back after special needs I asked Jonathan to walk with me a second. At this point the sky was getting really dark so I also took off my visor and replaced it with a headband that covered my ears. I also cared about my pictures (#priorities) and wanted to ask Jonathan if I looked okay but when I saw him, that thought wasn’t anywhere in my mind. I told him how much I was hurting and he told me I was doing great and to keep going.<br />
<br />
At mile 16, I was tired and things were hurting, and I still had 10 miles left. I started to focus on one mile at a time, “Just get to mile 17, then you’ll only have single digits left to run.”<br />
<br />
I kept moving crossed over the bridge to go to the other side of the river a 2nd time, and this time paused to walk it. Despite trying to negative split, I wanted to gather myself for the last section and prepare myself mentally as well as have a physical break. I knew I still had more running in me, but the lights were coming down and I started to get sentimental.<br />
<br />
I thought about how this race was so much for ME. Yes, I did it with a group and had 9 other athletes on the course, but I didn’t train with them as a group as much as I had the year before. I did so much training alone, I had found myself caught between moving to Carrollton in the spring and away from my regular training buddies, which was hard for me. I had needed to personally motivate myself through so much of training and now this race day. I took a moment just to recognize that and allow myself to feel proud of myself for getting to this point.<br />
<br />
This year, additionally, I have not been happy with my weight for the whole year. I have spent so much time feeling unhappy with myself and with my body. All year I have been frustrated that I wasn’t skinny enough. Wasn’t fast enough. Wasn’t where I wanted to be. Yet here I was with 6 miles left in an Ironman, doing great, and still feeling healthy and with gas in the tank, all things considered. I was so happy at this point.<br />
<br />
Also, while I was having this little self-reflective moment, I ate a candy bar! I had grabbed a Reese’s Outrageous bar at the Dollar Store that I’d thrown into my special needs last minute. I ate it as I walked the bridge, and in true Katelyn sweets fashion, told myself, “I’ll only eat half and then save it for later…” but ended up eating the whole thing and it was delicious and a great sugar boost.<br />
<br />
As I prepared for the last stretch, I also did some math in my head about where my finish time would be. I honestly did not think at ALL about a finish time goal for ANY of the three disciplines for the race ahead of time. I was scared I was going to be out there all day on the bike and run so my goal was really to just finish. My watch had died at this point but I started thinking, “If I did a 1.5 hour swim, 6.5 hour bike, 5 hour run… I could be right at 13 hours…” I knew I was a little under those 2 times on the swim and bike but had no idea what my transition times were. I started my last 6 miles, hoping to run as much as I possibly could, even on the hills.<br />
<br />
Coming down the river path on the other side of the course, I passed through my cheer section again who had also crossed over to see me. Jerome ran next to me a second and he told me that I was doing amazing and I told him I was still feeling great. I felt confident that I was not going to need the long sleeve so I tossed that and my visor onto the ground near the aid station, hoping they’d pick it up (they did.)<br />
<br />
Continuing my approach from the bike, I tried to talk to as many people as possible, even if it was just a few encouraging words, chatting more when it was someone going about my pace. When I was alone, I worked to focus and zone out and pass the time.<br />
<br />
At this point I wasn’t feeling cramps any more but a bit hungry and I had eaten all the Stinger fruit chews I had brought with me. I started eating pretzels at every aid station, swashing them with water so I could chew and swallow faster. I took some broth at a few aid stations as well. Gatorade I am learning doesn’t sit well with me during long races (I had tried some during the bike and at one aid station and both times wanted nothing to do with it.)<br />
<br />
It was dark, and I had shoved a mini dollar store head lamp from my special needs bag into my pocket. However, I didn't want to pull it out knowing I was in the last stretch. I didn't feel like I needed it.<br />
<br />
I passed mile 23 and my cheer squad again. Jonathan was nowhere to be seen (… maybe he is getting my backpack from the car, I thought?...) but Jerome was there and told me I had 2 miles to go! In my head I knew he was wrong but didn’t say anything about it.<br />
<br />
Later I learned that Jonathan had been waiting there with Jerome for me, but was in the porta-potty for the literal 10 seconds I came through. I had run right by while he was in there peeing, having no idea. Apparently, Jonathan and Jerome legitimately thought that the point where they were cheering on the course was mile 24, not mile 23. Jonathan had thought he had another 10 minutes before I came through so used it as a bathroom break. The two of them had such funny stories and such a good time together throughout the day, running around supporting and cheering me on, that after the race any annoyance I had about Jonathan missing me at these points was wiped away. These two were the best cheer squad I could have asked for and I loved hearing their stories from the day.<br />
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Jerome gave me a hug and told me I was an Ironman and that he’d see me at the finish. For the last three miles my mantra became “Be proud of your legs. Your legs are strong. Be proud of your legs. Your legs are strong.”<br />
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My legs still were moving so well and I was so proud of them, sending positive thoughts as a way for making up for all the negative self talk I usually have about my body. I was so proud of my legs and my body for holding me up and powering me through the day. I honestly had no idea I had such a strong day in me. I spent this time truly appreciating and recognizing the strength and power I had within me.<br />
<br />
I had seen Lindsay on the bridge right after I ate my candy bar. I had purposely eaten it away from spectator eyesight but proudly shouted to her, “I just ate a candy bar!” when we passed (side note – I also laughed to myself thinking about me accidentally getting chocolate all over my face and kit and what it would be like to round the corner to see my cheer squad that way if it had happened.) I saw Zach ahead of me when I was running along the river. And at my mile 25ish I saw my friend Dane. I could tell he was hurting and struggling to stay positive so I did my best to encourage him before continuing on. I sent positive vibes and thoughts to all of my friends who I knew were still out on the course.<br />
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I ran the last 2 miles without stopping. I skipped the last aid station just wanting to get to the finish, which somehow felt longer away than the first loop. My watch was dead so I don’t know my mile splits but according to the app I went 10:00 min/miles the last two miles. I still felt so good.<br />
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I kept trying to smile and make others smile, knowing around me were a lot of people who still had their 2nd lap left (Dane included.) There were tons of people all throughout the course on motorized scooters and skateboards and in my last mile someone zipped by shouting “You’re almost there!” to which I yelled back laughingly “Easy for you to say!” He seemed more annoyed than anything and yelled back, “OH I’ve done plenty of these!”<br />
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I hoped that maybe I made some of the runners smile by saying what they were thinking. The people scooting by my slow run had been annoying me all day to the point that I was tempted to push them off, haha.<br />
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As I rounded the corner to the finish I looked behind me a number of times to give myself a solo finish. Everyone I’d been running around turned for their 2nd loop and I was alone as I ran into the finishers shoot.<br />
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I saw Jerome and Jonathan, the two amigos together all day, and thought about how lucky I was and how much I loved and appreciated them both (in different ways, obviously.) I saw the ITL ladies cheering and yelling with the same enthusiasm they’d had all day. I gave high fives (at least I think I did) and soaked in every moment, running into the finish triumphant, emotional, and so happy.<br />
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The finish line catacher asked me how I was doing and if I needed anything but honestly I felt great. I told him I was good. I felt so happy, my HR didn’t feel high. My legs were still moving great. I returned my chip, got a picture, and spotted Doug taking pictures.<br />
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Doug is my teammate Jodi’s husband and a professional photographer. He always documents the most amazing Ironman moments and it made me so happy to see he’d been at the finish! I ran over to him for my official Doug finisher photo.<br />
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Then I walked over to see Jonathan and Jerome where they gave me hugs and we chatted for a bit. Jerome asked me if I knew my times and I said I did not since my watch died. He told me my finish was 12:51 and I had cut 8 minutes from my run from the year before.<br />
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I was so, so happy. I felt calm and collected and on top of the world. My goal had been to finish feeling good and I felt so good.<br />
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Even a week later, I still struggle to shortly summarize this race and what the feeling was like to finish my first FULL full Ironman. I was grateful. I was surprised at myself. Proud. Happy. Confident. Thankful to my coach for all the time he has told me "You can" and all the times he has talked me off of a ledge. Appreciative of my boyfriend who supports me (and my friends), cares for me, and is patient and kind with me. Inspired by the ITL ladies who did one of the hardest things in their lives, but then brought energy full force to the course all day long. The ITL crew is truly like no other and I was so proud and thankful to have our coaches, teammates, and other athletes all over the course throughout the day. I felt lucky. Indebted. To Jerome and his wife who came all the way out to Arizona to cheer for me and support me. It is something that is so above and beyond but meant the world to me. Having a dedicated coach and a loving boyfriend chase me around all day, I felt like the luckiest girl in the world (even though they missed me on that 2nd loop of the bike ;) ...)<br />
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I surprised myself, and I think some of my teammates too. It was a lesson for me to trust more, be more appreciative of my body, and that when you keep the focus on having fun - everything else that happens is just icing on the cake. November 24th was a good day!<br />
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More to come :) </div>
Katelynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04758210180939830431noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3912923948966123033.post-40702717265389467112019-11-17T20:49:00.002-05:002019-11-17T21:09:19.696-05:00October challenge<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
At the end of September, a few people who I have met through
a boot camp class I started in the summer in Carrollton, posted into the
training GroupMe a “challenge” for the month of October.<br />
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No chips. No candy. No chocolate (!!). No cookies, cakes,
pastries. No white potatoes. No fried food. No white bread. No soda.<o:p></o:p><br />
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At first I breezed right past those messages thinking that something like that would be impossible for me. I love my chocolate. And my Diet Soda. And I'm training for an Ironman, I DESERVE all this stuff, right?! I knew that the month of October included a lot of travel as well - a week at a hotel for a work conference, a trip to Aruba for my friend's birthday, the birthday party itself, and of course, Halloween. I will be honest, I was terrified to try and commit to this.<br />
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But at the same time, I knew that it was something I needed - SPECIFICALLY for all those reasons why I felt like I shouldn't do it. I had been
tracking what I was eating for a few months and trying to commit to eating better, but my progress was very slow. Most likely because I kept stopping and restarting every time there was a special occasion or travel. So I'd eat healthy for a couple weeks - then go to New Hampshire to see my family. Come back, eat healthy again - then go on vacation to Finland. Eat healthy again - then go to Toronto... you get the picture, right?<br />
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I was making some progress in the form of about a pound a month / 3 pounds overall. starting to make some very slow
progress, in the form of losing about 1 lb a month. Which, I will take any progress over no progress, but with my Ironman in November, I knew that I was running out of time to keep delaying and stopping the good habits every time a special occasion came up.<br />
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Aside from letting travel and events interrupt any consistent diet, I also had some seemingly small tendencies that started as “once in a while treats” had suddenly turned into a daily habit. Such as adding some mini
chocolate chips to my protein smoothie. And having a 2<sup>nd</sup> piece of
chocolate to my daily allotted dark chocolate break. And Diet Sodas had become
a daily thing – often with me sometimes driving out of the house to a gas
station JUST to buy a soda, and purchasing cans to keep in the house, which is
something I never did before (Hellloooo suburban living and being able to
unload groceries right from the garage!!)</div>
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So, the day after Half Ironman Augusta, on Monday, September 30th I kicked off my "October Challenge" and what started off incredibly challenging, started to get easier and easier as the month went on.<br />
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I will admit, I did break the rules with a few small exceptions I allowed myself. One of which was Ironman training. For example, sometimes sweets are a part of the nutrition that I use to break up a long bike ride. Another example was Diet Soda, I did allow myself to have diet soda at times but not the daily go-out-of-my-way-to-get-it times. But now and then I did have Diet Soda, mostly as a replacement for alcohol when I would be socializing.<br />
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But otherwise, I honestly did so so good with it and was really proud of myself for sticking through!<br />
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I ended up having a second work trip at the end of October and so I survived 2 weeks of catered meals 3x a day, avoiding all of the pastries and breakfast sweets they'd have out.<br />
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Avoided the desserts and rolls that appeared at every lunch and dinner. I passed on the amazing baked goods of one of my friends on multiple occasions. Skipped the warm bread at the steak houses we went to in Aruba. And passed out on CHIPS when out to eat at a couple of Mexican restaurants - something I don't think I have EVER done in my life.<br />
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By the end of the month, I have to say, it got so much easier. The first week I was staring at dessert every day and pining about how I wanted to try it. But by the work trip I had the last week of October - I just didn't even look at the desserts! It got much easier to say no than I remembered was possible.<br />
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The scale started to make more progress and I was feeling really good - and really proud! - of myself.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">October 29 in Puerto Rico</td></tr>
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And then November came...<br />
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I am learning more about myself, but sometimes am not sure what to then do about that.<br />
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At the end of October, I was feeling so good and really wanted to keep going the eating habits that I had - but hoped to try and just be a little more relaxed with them. I wanted to be able to have chocolate here and there and indulge for special things, but, I have found myself slowly creeping back into some of the habits I had pre-October challenge!<br />
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I am learning that I do really well with having a strict set of limits of what I can/can't eat and I do really well with accountability to others. For years, I was most successful at losing weight when I did Weight Watchers. That program provides limits, in the form of the number of points you can eat in a day AND the accountability of a weekly weigh in by another person to have progress logged. This "October Challenge" provided those same things for me in the form of strict rules about what I could/couldn't eat. Whereas Weight Watchers doesn't rule out any food as an option, for the month of October I set limits BY eliminating certain foods. As well, it provided a group of people who were all encouraging each other and committed to this together.<br />
<br />
I don't do well with moderation. I remember reading a long time ago on <a href="https://swimbikemom.com/">Swim Bike Mom's</a> blog that "everything in moderation" is not a motto that works well or should be pushed upon everyone. Some people cannot moderate themselves well so "everything in moderation" does not work. You would never say "alcohol in moderation" to an alcoholic, of course not. But yet for people that struggle with sugar addiction and food, people don't always apply the same logic. I am very much a person who struggles with moderating myself around food. I cannot just have one cookie and be satisfied. No, I will eat ALL THE COOKIES until they are gone. I cannot eat just a few corn chips. I will eat 2 baskets full of chips at a Mexican restaurant before my meal arrives. I am not good with moderation so sometimes what's better for me is to strictly eliminate things as options. No chocolate. No chips. No cookies. No fried foods.<br />
<br />
Set limits and accountability to others seem to be a good fit for me, yet I can't figure out how to make that happen when it is just me. October is over and so is the challenge, both the elements that work well for me are gone.<br />
<br />
Right now I am continuing to try and set my own little "rules" for myself. For example, I weigh myself every day that I am home. No more skipping the morning weigh in if I have had a bad couple of days - I need to see it every day.<br />
<br />
I am still limiting my chocolate intake and not bringing chocolate back into any of my snacks, and avoiding pastries and baked goods as much as possible. However, I will now have a bite of Jonathan's cookie or donut whereas I would have skipped it completely in October. Fried foods have creeped back in when going out to eat and white potatoes and bites of Jonathan's sandwiches have come back as well. As well as some chips. Although these things are small, when trying to diet, they add up. In essence, as I type this, I realize am back to trying to do "everything in moderation" even though I KNOW that doesn't work for me!<br />
<br />
With the holidays coming up, as well as a big race, I want to keep with the progress I have been making. I don't want to back track through December. I hope that with writing and being open about what I am trying to do, that will help with some of that "accountability to others" that works for me and I will keep working on trying to enforce strict limits on my own. At 33 years old I'm finally figuring out are the elements that make up a program that work for me, but just need to figure out how to apply that knowledge as a next step. Always something to strive for! :) </div>
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Katelynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04758210180939830431noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3912923948966123033.post-88453715086257675232019-11-13T20:22:00.000-05:002019-11-13T20:22:18.951-05:00Veterans Day and the next part in this "story"<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Part of the reason that I wanted to come back and continue writing here again was because the next part of my "story" is one that I really want to be able to document and remember. And one of the things that is so meaningful to me about this next story line is that I am expanding "my" story to be not really about me.<br />
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I am excited to share that in April 2020 I will be running the Boston Marathon in support of <a href="http://homebase.org/">Home Base program</a>, a nonprofit dedicated to providing support and treatment to Service men and women and their families with non-visible injuries. Home Base is a Mass General Hospital and Red Sox organization based in Boston that supports veterans nationwide. They do incredible work, that without sharing too much detail, has become an organization that I will forever be grateful for.<br />
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Yes, running Boston Marathon will be incredibly meaningful for me personally, but that is just a cherry on top of being able to support an organization dedicated to a group of people in our American community that has become incredibly personal to me, out Service men and women.<br />
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This opportunity came about at a time that I was looking at ways that I could support Home Base, NOT at a time when I was looking at ways to run Boston. That feels like just a bonus.<br />
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For those who have been around a minute, you know that Boston Marathon is something that feels deeply personal to me, as to many people from the Boston area. It is our home town race. "Boston Strong" feels like something that beats inside of us. I've watched the Boston Marathon on TV as a kid, pretending to be a runner in my driveway and mimicking the athletes (never actually thinking I could be one myself, I just "pretended.) I've rooted for Boston sports teams for as long as I've known. Attended baseball games at Fenway Park. Spent countless weekends roaming the streets of Boston visiting my friends who moved there after college. I ran my first Half Marathon 2 weeks after the bombing at the Boston Marathon, when our city and the sport I was growing in to was attacked. I <a href="https://hungrytwenties.blogspot.com/2014/04/easter-marathon-ing.html">went to Boston to cheer at the race in 2014</a>, the year after the bombing and 2 weeks after my first marathon, to return, show resilience, and cheer and celebrate a marathon for the first time as a "marathoner" myself.<br />
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And in 2018, I <a href="https://hungrytwenties.blogspot.com/2018/03/time-to-run.html?">made an attempt</a> to try and get into the Boston Marathon by qualifying. Which <a href="https://hungrytwenties.blogspot.com/2018/03/snickers-albany-marathon-race-recap.html">did not go my way</a> in the end, and was one of the most mentally and physically challenging experiences of my life.<br />
<br />
I was training for my qualifying attempt during the months when my grandmother had her stroke and passed away. During the months where it was bitterly brutally cold in New England. When I felt like my family and I needed SOMETHING to lift our spirits... so I put the weight of the world on my shoulders trying to run faster than I ever dreamed possible. I wanted to be able to give my grandfather - a lifelong Boston native, Boston College graduate and all around Boston die-hard enthusiast - the chance to see me run the race. He has followed and supported and cheered at the race his whole life with my grandmother and her father, and told my mom he "hoped he lived to see the day I ran the Boston Marathon."<br />
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So yeah, you could say that running Boston will be meaningful to me personally. But it also means so much more because of this organization.<br />
<br />
Which brings me back to Home Base. And the reason I am writing this post today, two days after Veterans Day. This organization has changed the lives - and saved lives - of many Veterans. And I am so proud to be supporting them.<br />
<br />
Let me tell you a little bit about how I got here.<br />
<br />
Back in August I was researching the Home Base website and looking for ways that I could support. I knew they were based in Boston but wasn't sure if they had other chapters or physical locations where I could volunteer or donate or something. While on their site, I saw pictures of their Boston Marathon team, which struck my interest.<br />
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I reached out to the organization's volunteer contact via the website and asked if there was anything I could do remote (which their wasn't) and asked - out of curiosity - about the marathon charity team. I learned that the charity team was very new, 2018 had been their first year, and that it was very small compared to other organizations and they only had about 20 spots. And that registration would open up in September.<br />
<br />
I thought about this more, and what it would mean to apply for the team, and if now was the time I wanted to try again at running a marathon and if I wanted to get into Boston via a charity or keep trying to qualify. And ultimately decided that if I had the opportunity to support THIS organization, that would be so incredibly special and meaningful to me that I wouldn't be able to pass it up. Just applying to charity teams is not a guarantee because these spots can be really competitive and having so few spots, I didn't know what to expect with Home Base.<br />
<br />
When registration opened, I decided to complete an application. I explained why I was passionate about the organization, which was due to its impact on people in my life. Since Home Base is a part of Mass General Hospital, one of the questions they asked was if I couldn't get in to the Home Base team, would I be interested in some of the other Mass General charities.<br />
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I told them no. That if I couldn't run for Home Base, I wasn't interested in running Boston this year. This organization was meaningful for me to support at this time, otherwise, I would pass.<br />
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Within an hour of hitting "Submit" on the online application, I received a phone call welcoming me to the team! I was shocked to say the least. The application period didn't even close for another 2 months but as the organizer told me on the phone, "I could have waited but I knew as soon as I read your application that we wanted you on the team so why delay? We want people who care about this cause and that came across."<br />
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This is an opportunity I don't take lightly and my fundraising to reach my $10,000 goal is something I will be just as dedicated to as my training over the next 5 months.<br />
<br />
Although I still have Ironman Arizona creeping up on me (a week and a half away!) I did want to share my plans for Boston this week on the blog as this past Monday was Veterans Day.<br />
<br />
Throughout my life, I can honestly say I have always been thankful for the military Veterans out there, but it hasn't been personal. As with many, my gratitude deepened after 9/11 to service men and women. However, I have never really had a close connection to anyone in the military or anyone with Veteran status. I would thank people for their service when I came across members of the military, and truly felt that way, but it was not a personal thing for and thinking about how to support this group in our community was not a prominent thought in my mind.<br />
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Later in life as I have had more friends with military affiliations, watched friends prepare for and go out on deployment, heard and seen the impact on families, and adjustments back into civilian life, the space that this etched in my heart became so deep. And the desire to do something to support Veterans given all that they have given for our country - became so strong. I am so thankful that this opportunity has come for me to raise money for Home Base and to give back to our Veteran community.<br />
<br />
This Veterans Day, I chose not to post my fundraising page on social media the day of the holiday. I didn't post anything. I thought about it a while but ultimately felt like I would be "exploiting" the holiday with a call for donations to my charity page. It just didn't feel right to me.<br />
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Instead, I watched and I read and I cried at the stories and messages and videos I saw some across my social channels instead. I read about and saw pictures posted from friends about their Veteran husbands and fathers, wives and aunts, grandparents, siblings, and loved ones for whom they are grateful. I used it as a day to give me more motivation towards planning events, organizing fundraisers, and giving me more reason why this cause is something so important for me to stand behind.<br />
<br />
That being said, if you are like me, and you have always felt an appreciation for the military men and women who serve our country, but haven't had a close connection or known how to support but would like to - <a href="https://charity.gofundme.com/o/en/campaign/mass-general-home-base/katelynburess">please consider donating to Home Base</a>.<br />
<br />
Home Base develops a treatment plan for each individual who seeks out help, working to overcome post traumatic stress and traumatic brain injuries, in order to successfully return to family life, job, school and community. With Home Base, they work to remove all barriers from patients looking for treatment - no long wait times, access to care regardless of discharge status, and where my fundraising comes into play, payment will absolutely not be a barrier. Home Base covers the cost for treatment for Service men and women.<br />
<br />
<b><a href="https://charity.gofundme.com/o/en/campaign/mass-general-home-base/katelynburess">Please click here to view my fundraising page.</a></b><br />
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I would love your help in supporting this cause, if you are so inclined, and will continue to share about my fundraising and training efforts in the months to come. Thank you!<br />
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Katelynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04758210180939830431noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3912923948966123033.post-34976407247517902402019-11-05T20:49:00.000-05:002019-11-05T20:49:52.338-05:00I'm Back!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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I am back! Not sure for how long, because life seems to be
getting the best of me lately and time has become somewhat of a precious
commodity. However, to be honest, I miss writing. I miss interacting with my
little online community, carved out space in the world, and I miss having a
channel to process emotions and document my life – for better or worse. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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So, I’d like to make an effort to try and write more,
especially because there are some pretty exciting things happening in both the
very near and further out future.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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But first, let’s recap a few things that have happened in
the 12 months since I last posted. <o:p></o:p></div>
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</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">I moved!</b>
Jonathan and I bought a house and I moved from the big city out to the way,
way, way out ‘Burbs of Carrollton, GA. It is a really cute and fun little city
and we are both really involved in and enjoy the local community here.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> I have a great group of friends here and have honestly been really happy with the move. A lot of times I just look around our house and think to myself, "I can't believe I get to live here." which makes me feel so at peace.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">I began
working primarily from home.</b> My job has become more flexible, which is a
blessing given the announcement above. I go into the office 1x a week,
sometimes 2, and now have a wonderful home office where I spend the majority of
my Monday through Fridays. The team I work with is mostly remote, so even when I was in the office, I spent most of my time on the phone, so there hasn't been a huge adjustment on that side!<o:p></o:p></div>
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</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">I started
traveling again!</b> After 2018, a year where I still traveled, but it was
primarily within the U.S. or Canada, I was itching for some real global
exploration in 2019. I was very fortunate that at the same time I was able to
get some personal travel on the books, there was also a pickup in my work
travel. This year I was able to travel to British Virgin Islands, South Africa,
Finland, Estonia, and Aruba, in addition to two trips to Canada (Toronto area
and Calgary) and Puerto Rico. Beyond that, I had weddings in Key West and Lake
Placid, 2 weekend trips to Boston early in the year, 2 weekend trips to
Florida, a work trip to Las Vegas, AND my annual family summer vacation to New
Hampshire. It has been a fun but BUSY year.<o:p></o:p></div>
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</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">I’ve
continued training.</b> This is probably not a shocker, since exercise and
endurance sports have become a big part of my life over the years. After
<a href="http://hungrytwenties.blogspot.com/2018/11/ironman-chattanooga-recap.html">Chattanooga Ironman</a>, I took a month or so off, and then went into training for
my first official “Ultra” which was a 50K trail race in North Georgia in
February 2019. After the race, and additional time off, I got back into
triathlon mindset and raced Ironman 70.3 Muncie in Indiana. I had such a fun time
racing I decided to keep going with triathlon for the year and added to my
calendar Augusta 70.3 at the end of September, which was part of a build into
my 2<sup>nd</sup> full Ironman, Arizona, which is less than a month
away now on November 24<sup>th</sup><o:p></o:p></div>
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Although I think at this point the majority of people that
read this blog are friends in real life or people who follow me on social
media, so would likely know all of the above… I wanted to list it out because
all 4 of these factors contribute heavily to where I am now. Mentally, and
well, physically. <o:p></o:p></div>
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On the topic of training, with all of the changes going on
in my life, to say that the majority of this year I have been out of a “routine” is an understatement. I don’t
think I have had a “normal” week all year. For a long time, it felt like my weeks
and my training, were very consistent and expected. I have been working with a
coach for almost 3 years now and how we work together is that every Sunday
evening, he will upload my schedule for what training and workouts he’d defined
for me in the coming week. For a very steady period of time, my schedule was so
routine that I honestly didn’t really need to check my schedule on a Sunday
night. I had a consistent series of workouts I did Monday through Sunday, week
after week. Monday swim, Tuesday track, Wednesday swim and trainer, Thursday
group run, Friday swim, Saturday long ride, Sunday trail run. Or if I was
marathon training, it was something similar – very standard and routine.<o:p></o:p></div>
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This year, I have no idea what each week is going to look like. Between what travel is happening, when I am going into the office
each week, what my weekend availability is, when the pool is open, and a
million other factors that have seemingly had my life be anything but
predictable on a week by week basis. Adjusting to a normal training schedule while settling in to a new city, has been more challenging than I thought it would be.<o:p></o:p></div>
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For some, the unpredictability might be fun and break up the monotony of a
regular work week. But my mind doesn’t always work that way. I like knowing
what to expect. And I think my body likes knowing what to expect as well!<o:p></o:p></div>
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Although I am fit and although I am strong (hello! Ironman
training is not easy!) I haven’t felt as good about myself and my body as I
have at other times in my life. I have gotten a lot slower in all 3 elements of
triathlon, which is hard to see happen. I had fought so hard to build up my
running speed over the years, and then last year I clawed tooth and nail to
just get a bit faster on the bike. Now, both running and biking, I feel like
I’ve gone back years in Katelyn-time and reverse progressed. Even my swimming,
which was something that I could always rely on, is slower and a struggle to
get myself to do.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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But that’s some of what happens when you don’t do track
workouts consistently (i.e. ever) anymore, don’t ride 10 centuries in a summer,
and stop swimming 3x a week with a Masters group and instead swim 1x a week
alone and with no one to race in the lane next to you. Plus, the 15-20 pounds
you’ve gained in the last 2 years. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></div>
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While these things shouldn’t be a surprise, it can sometimes
feel like they are when you are busy enjoying life! Because don’t get me wrong,
I absolutely have been! The past 2 years have been wonderful and fun and filled
with adventure and love and delicious food. But I have been craving a need to
make some changes in my life too. And I’m starting to take some steps in the
right direction and see some of the pieces that I think could fit into place in
the coming months. <o:p></o:p></div>
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I’d really like to make blogging and writing here a part of
that experience and hope to spend more time writing in the future. I’ve missed
you guys!</div>
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Katelynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04758210180939830431noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3912923948966123033.post-68457996191333225112018-11-12T12:18:00.001-05:002018-11-13T16:47:45.108-05:00Ironman Chattanooga Recap<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Well, over a month later, I guess it is time to put a wrap to Ironman Chattanooga experience by posting my race recap. You've all been waiting on pins and needles for this one, haven't you?! It is a long one, but that's okay. As much as I love you all, I wrote this out... every detail... for me. I love looking back on these posts and race recaps in future years and I am always thankful to have these details documented. Ironman Chattanooga, you're the longest race I've ever done, so therefore the longest post ever. Thank you all for reading and all of your support!<br />
<br />
Where <a href="http://hungrytwenties.blogspot.com/2018/09/expectations.html">I last left off</a>, I had learned about the swim being cancelled and worked to refocus my mind on how to stay positive and get the job done. I had learned about the swim cancellation at the very first athlete briefing that the race held, at 11:00 a.m. on Thursday. I'd drive up to Chattanooga that morning with my friend Karen, who had offered to accompany me for the day trip, where my goal was just to get done all the race things that I knew would be anal and time consuming.<br />
<br />
We arrived in Chattanooga just after Ironman Village and the expo opened, at 9:30 a.m. It was a bit rainy and dreary out, but we had so much energy and were happy and taking pictures obsessively. I bought out the store, checked in, and then went over to the very first athlete briefing. The mood of the day changed drastically after finding out about the swim. We head home in a rather somber mood after grabbing lunch (and cake balls - I needed sweets as comfort food!) On the ride back, our mood picked up as we made jokes, lightened the mood, and made phone calls to others racing and to my coach on the way home.<br />
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We arrived back into town just in time to have another twist in race weekend, where my car started malfunctioning. I was so thankful to have Karen with me as we dropped my car off at the mechanic, got the diagnosis that I wouldn't have it for the weekend, and with only a few rounds of heavy tears on my part, I packed up everything I needed from my car, including my bike rack and bike pump, piled it into Karen's car, who took me back to my apartment. Blessings times a million to Karen for keeping me together on what was supposed to be a super fun and exciting day which turned into breakdown after breakdown on my part (literally and figuratively.)<br />
<br />
After I was home and settled, I reminded myself I still had a race to compete in and started the process of moving everything from the the large pile I had been building on my dining room table to actual bags - including my gear bags for race day. I lay everything out and packed up what I needed and putting my wet suit back in the closet until next year.<br />
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Friday morning, instead of driving to the airport to pick up my mom and cousin, I took an Uber, bike rack in tow, to make a pit stop at the rental lot. I grabbed my mom and cousin upon their arrival from New Hampshire (yay!!!) and head back to my apartment in Atlanta.<br />
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Part of the reason that I had wanted to do the day trip on Thursday was because I didn't want to feel rushed or stressed on Friday and be able to actually enjoy my day with my family who had flown in to see me race. We hung out a bit at my apartment, then walked down the street to Krog Street Market where we had an early lunch, before returning back to pack up and head out for Chattanooga a little after noon.<br />
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When we got there, we went right to Ironman Village where we walked around a bit, made a few more purchases, and took a few more pictures.<br />
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I was glad that we stopped first at Ironman village because I was able to run into some others that were racing and it made it all the more exciting as the big day approached. From there we went to check in to our AirBnB.<br />
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I loved the location that we were in and the house worked out great. It had two huge bedrooms, a very nice kitchen and sitting area, lots of parking, Netflix, and an electric tea kettle - which was nice since I was drinking tea nonstop at this point to help keep my nerves at bay.<br />
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I had a short bike ride to do on Friday so I went outside and rode around in loops in the little neighborhood for about 25 minutes. As wonderful of a town Chatt is, it doesn't have the best locations to be able to ride without traffic or with smooth rides in the city. Although it was not super exciting to ride in small loops around the neighborhood, it got the job done. As well, the weather had picked up really nicely from the rain the day before and the sunshine was great. Although, it didn't change the way that the river looked unfortunately. It was crazy, the entire exit to where you would normally get out of the water was flooded.<br />
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After cleaning up, we went back into town to get dinner at Big River Grille where I had my standard Italian pizza and a single beer. We walked around a bit exploring downtown Chatt and then head back to the AirBnB for an early night. I started to get really anxious and nervous that night and needed a little alone time and time to talk to Jonathan to calm down a bit. As much as I had been in positive spirits throughout the day, something at dinner triggered me and I started to feel really sad and really down about the fact that I was not going to be able to swim in my first Ironman. I tried to put the thoughts away in the back of my head, and went to bed early.<br />
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I woke up on Saturday minute, lay in bed for about a minute, then got up, threw on my bathing suit, and snuck out of the house while everyone was still in bed to head to the Chattanooga Downtown YMCA.<br />
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About 30 minutes after I had found out the swim was cancelled, after the initial shock wore off, I swiftly and decisively made a decision. I would complete a 2.4 mile swim SOMEWHERE that weekend in Chattanooga. From the athlete briefing, I texted Jonathan, who I knew was at a computer, and asked him to start researching pools for me. He went above and beyond and was even messaging random Chattanooga triathletes he was finding on social media to ask for tips about local pools.<br />
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I went to the Chattanooga Downtown YMCA, which I realized, I had been to before a few years ago when I took an RRCA Running Coach certification course in Chatt. I cannot say enough positive things about this YMCA or their members. They did not charge anything for people coming to swim for the day, had signs up welcoming Ironman participants, and were so incredibly helpful and friendly.<br />
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Without much ado, I jumped into the pool, where a number of other people with blue wristbands were already swimming (doing a shake out or doing a 2.4 mile swim, I don't know) and just started at it. I wanted to swim 4250 yards and I wanted to do it straight through. I planned for the fact that I might get interrupted since it is a pool with shared lanes and maybe someone would ask me a question or something - and told myself to just tread water if that happens. My feet were not touching the bottom until I hit 4250!<br />
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I finished up after 1:20:13. I was tired, but was really proud of myself for finishing and for getting it in. And not because I felt like doing the swim on Saturday would make me any more or less an Ironman the next day. But because I did what I could to make the best out of a situation that had really disappointed me. I was feeling SO down about the swim getting cancelled, but, it was out of my control. Rather than let that down-ness ruin the weekend I had been looking forward and working towards for so long, I took advantage of what I had at my disposal and controlled what I could control. I was not happy that I didn't get to swim, but I was happy with how I handled it.<br />
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When I finished up at the Chatt YMCA, I met up with my mom, cousin, Brick and her husband G at one of our favorites, the Frothy Monkey. It was nice to sit and catch up with them. I had a bacon, egg and cheese sandwich on a bagel, as well as some of a muffin (and coffee) and from there we returned to the AirBnb. I wanted a pretty relaxing day on Saturday so we just lounged a bit, I fiddled with my bike some, and I prepped my "Run Bag." At the last minute, I taped a picture of my grandmother right below my handlebars and I put my guardian angle pin on the bag that I carry my nutrition in. In my run gear bag, I put my running sneakers, race belt with nutrition (salt, Gu), hat, change of clothing, socks, and Glide.<br />
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Once I had everything together, we head back to Ironman Village where I met up with my coach to go over everything and to then drop off my bike and bag. He rolled up my socks so they were easy to roll onto my feet in case they were wet, but otherwise all was good. My family went for a walk and Jerome and I talked through last minute changes in mindset and plan given that the race would not have a swim portion. Despite the disappointment I was feeling, I also felt a bit thrown off by the time trial start and how starting right on the bike would affect my day.<br />
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Leading up to the race I had told myself over and over, "You know how to do this. You've done a ton of triathlons before. You just swim, bike, run." But just a bike-run felt different.<br />
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Jonathan met us downtown in Ironman Village after arriving in Chattanooga, where we walked around a bit before heading back to the AirBnB. I relaxed a bit more, used my recovery boots, and then piled everyone up again for an early dinner with ITL at Whole Foods! My dinner was a bit random but included some rice, chicken, mac and cheese, and a few brussels sprouts. I got small portions of things from the hot bar and just sort of picked around. Nothing was really appealing to me, which is unlike me. Throughout the day I had been burping a lot and feeling gas-y, but I thought that it was just nerves. It didn't alarm me really at all.<br />
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After returning from Whole Foods, we returned home with the intent to watch TV but my anxiety quickly turned on and I went to my room for some quiet time. I prepped my special needs bags, organized everything for the morning, and made checklists for myself of everything I wanted to do before leaving the AirBnB and everything I wanted to do before getting on my bike. I made them super specific and detailed down to "put hair in a ponytail" but that level of detail helped me feel relaxed. I knew in the morning I would just have to get up and execute.<br />
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I hadn't been sleeping well that week at all. Friday night I took something to help me sleep. Saturday night I just got into bed early, wanting to give myself the best opportunity I could to wake up feeling rested. As I got into bed, I started to feel butterflies of excitement that I hadn't felt since the swim was cancelled. As I lay in bed, I said to Jonathan, "You know... I FEEL like I am doing an Ironman tomorrow." To which he replied, "GOOD. Because you are!"<br />
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One of the things that I was worried about was how the lack of swim would make me feel come race day. Would it change the excitement? Would I feel less accomplished, as I ran across that red carpet? I wasn't sure. Even weeks later, I still have mixed feelings about it. But at the time, that feeling the night before of butterflies was a good sign to me.<br />
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I wasn't nervous about my performance the next day. I felt confident I could finish the race. I just wanted everything to go smoothly. No mechanical issues on the bike. Remember everything I needed. Feel strong, etc. I did not need to spend as much time sitting with headphones on, mapping out a strategy on my computer. I had a few things to keep in mind, but nothing that required extreme focus. The main goal of the day was to have fun and smile a lot. And cross that finish line.<br />
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I woke up around 6:00 a.m. and started checking things off my To-Do list... apply race tattoos, apply sunscreen, brush teeth, put in contacts, get dressed in bike clothes, eat breakfast, etc. My breakfast was my same meal I have before every big race and every big training day - Special K Chocolatey Delight with almond milk and strawberries. Everything was going according to plan and Jonathan and I head over to Ironman Village.<br />
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I put my nutrition on my bike, put air in my tires, snacked on a banana, and then mostly just chatted and hung around with friends who were coming into town that morning and arriving at the race. I felt so appreciative that there was so much support all around for this little old bike-run thing we were about to do.<br />
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I started to get very anxious at the last minute as I head over to my bike. Jonathan was by my side the entire time. He is incredibly calm and nothing seems to phase him, so he is a great balance to my anxious, nervousness in these times. I had left my socks and bike shoes at my bike, was wearing flip flops, which I handed to him before going into transition barefoot to get to my bile. As I said bye, I told him, "Tell my mom I love her!" ... to which he told me that I sounded like I was about to go down on the Titanic and to just go have fun. It made me smile as I head in to start the race.<br />
<br />
They called athlete up by bib number, 100 at a time, to line up 2x2. One of the silver linings of the day was that I would get to start right by my friend Kevin. We had both registered for the race with an affiliation to the Atlanta Triathlon Club, so we were racked together and he was 629 while I was 621. We were able to line up right next to one another as we head to the start and walked by our friends cheering us on. As we got closer, they told us that we had to have one leg over our bike frame. Getting closer. One leg should be clipped in. Almost there.<br />
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As we got to the very start, the woman in charge tried to usher me forward in front of Kevin. I tried to protest and she yelled at me, so I moved up. I rolled forward, hit my watch, crossed the start line, and was off. Kevin was 5 seconds behind me and our friends and families were cheering for us as we started our 142.2 mile journey.<br />
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<u><br /></u>
<b><u>THE BIKE</u></b><br />
Distance: 116 miles<br />
Time: 6:17:57<br />
Speed: 18.5 mph<br />
Div Rank: 22<br />
Gender rank: 194<br />
Overall rank: 916<br />
<br />
The bike course starts off on the same route as the 70.3 race I have done in Chattanooga twice. You make your way out of town on a few bumpy roads, covering some rail road tracks, through some turns, and heading out onto the highway. Although I knew the route, I told myself once I got to the highway I would feel more settled since I had JUST biked this route a month before.<br />
<br />
I felt good as I started, but I kept looking over my shoulder for Kevin. He started literally 5 seconds behind me and we are about the same pace, with him being a faster starter than me even. He should have been catching up and passing me. It made no sense to me and I was so confused. At one point when I looked back, he was no longer in my sight. I felt concerned, but at the same time, we had discussed that we would love to ride together (as much as possible legally without drafting) but it was still a race and neither of us should ever slow down or ride faster than they wanted to for the other.<br />
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I thought maybe he dropped a bottle going over the tracks and stopped for it, or something along those lines, and I kept moving forward. I passed by our friend Phil while still in town, then once we were on the highway, rode by my friends Anthony, Jenn, Sarah and Brett, in the first straight away section. I already felt like such a rockstar with so much support on the course in these early miles.<br />
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I settled in and started to just get comfortable on the bike. I had fiddled with my watch the night before, shutting off as many settings as possible to hopefully preserve battery power and keep my watch going for the duration of the race. Inadvertently, I must have shut off the alert that beeps every 5 miles on my watch. I almost never look at my watch while I'm on the bike and just ride by feel, so that was fine, but it actually really surprised when we passed the first sign that said 10 miles. 10 miles already?! I thought.<br />
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"Eat early and often" was a part of my plan, so I tried to start taking in nutrition once I was on the bike and in a groove. Immediately upon eating my first bites and taking in my first sips of Gatorade - I knew something was off. My stomach was having a hard time letting anything settle. I burped up banana and thought to myself, "Ugh. I shouldn't have eaten that!"<br />
<br />
But then I kept burping but it wasn't just gasy burps. I felt like I was going to throw up and could feel it rising and would have to swallow it back down. It felt and tasted disgusting (as I am sure it is disgusting to read about as well.) I was drinking a lot of water to clear the taste when that would happen, but I was having a really hard time getting down the food I needed. I tried to take smaller bites and just do what I could, but from the beginning, I really struggled. I usually never have a problem eating on the bike and this was totally new to me.<br />
<br />
I focused on riding and on the course. I watched for milestones on the course, feeling so lucky that I knew what was coming. I just kept going and was enjoying myself. There were a lot of women riding around me, and that felt pretty neat and was empowering. The weather was cloudy and perfect conditions for riding. It was too early for my lack of ability to eat to have any impact, so at the time, it was a great day.<br />
<br />
I tried to be helpful to others around me when I could, and encouraged a few people up the toughest climb on the route, right before Hog Jowl. Going into it, I expected to be passed a lot more than I was on the bike and I was happy with how I did getting up that climb. Thinking back, I am laughing to myself about sharing unsolicited course insights to the riders around me. It just made me feel so special that I knew what was coming on the course!<br />
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The back half of the loop is so much fun. I saw a few other ITL people as they flew by me, but still no sign of Gerke. My body fought taking in nutrition and I started counting down until I would get to ride through Chickamauga, where I knew my friends and family would be.<br />
<br />
Around mile 36 I grabbed a bottle of Gatorade from an aid station for the first time. I missed a few people trying to pass it to me, so I had to completely stop and have someone hand one over. I kept riding and as I was building momentum again, I took a couple big gulps of the Gatorade. It immediately came back up and this time I did not do such a good job of swallowing the vomit back down. I coughed a bit, drank some water, and from that point on, I knew I was done with Gatorade on this bike ride.<br />
<br />
I did my best to modify, and at the times when I was able to eat, shoved in calories. I started doubling up on my salt chews, hoping to make up for what I was missing from the Gatorade. I still felt okay actually riding, I just couldn't eat.<br />
<br />
As we got closer to Chickamauga, the energy picked up. People lined the street and I started getting really excited, scanning the crowd for signs of people I knew. Just before entering through the main strip, I suddenly saw huge signs and people yelling "SPECIAL NEEDS!"<br />
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It was a bit sooner than I expected, at about mile 50 of a 116 mile course. When I got there, nobody had my bag ready and people were just staring at me so I started shouting my number, "621! 621!" The volunteers up front realized that nobody was ready for me and started yelling as well to the people sorting through bags. It felt like forever until someone came up to me with my meticulously packed bag open for me to stare in to. I had put a TON of snacks in my bag, trying to anticipate different options for if I was craving salty or sweet, and picking favorite things that had been comforting or helpful to me on long rides throughout the summer of training. I stared into my bag packed with rice crispies, peanut butter pretzels, potato chips, cherry gummy candies, and refills of my regular race nutrition. And absolutely nothing looked appealing.<br />
<br />
My hands were shaking and so scatterbrained, I didn't know what to do. I swapped out my regular nutrition, realizing just how little I had eaten on the first half of the ride - both my bag of oat pistachio bars and salted potatoes were barely half gone (where I expected to finish the whole thing on the first loop.) I knew I should take something else, so I shoved the peanut butter pretzels in my back pocket and grabbed a fistful of cherry sours and shoved them directly in my mouth. I spotted my ITL teammate Whitney almost right beside me, going through her bag with her volunteer and shouted hi before pushing off and starting to ride again.<br />
<br />
Right. through. the. most. amazing. cheering. section. ever.<br />
<br />
The first lap through Chickamauga was FILLED with people screaming and cheering on both sides of the course and it was SO SO cool. I realized quickly that shoving this chewing food in my mouth right before the biggest photo op of the course was probably not the smartest move. I chewed that mouthful of gummy candies FURIOUSLY, swallowing it as fast as I could. It was one of the most comical moments of the race for me.<br />
<br />
The stretch through Chickamauga was truly awesome. Seeing my family and friends all out there, covered in blue, cheering, was so incredible. They were at the end of the cheering section, right before starting to head out of town. I had a HUGE grin on my face, trying to make eye contact with everyone in a split second and taking it all in. It was overwhelming and so special.<br />
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As soon as I passed everyone, I started to choke up and cry. It had just filled me with so much emotion to literally SEE the support of so many people, yelling, screaming, and losing their voices just to give me energy and adrenaline to get through this day. The crying made it hard to breathe, so I pushed the sappy feelings away and focused on getting down to business.<br />
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Coming out of Chickamauga there is a climb up, then a nice descent. I felt so confident about it from the training ride. I told myself that I was more prepared than anyone for this portion and focused - pushing through that section.<br />
<br />
I started the second loop and knew I could do this. For a while, I just focused. My friend Whitney rode up behind me at one point and smacked my butt saying hi. We were able to stay together for a bit, chatting as we passed each other back and forth. Knowing she had started behind me, I asked if she had seen Kevin. My heart sunk and my stomach dropped as she let me know that he had a broken cleat on his shoe - that had happened at about mile 3. I had no idea how bad it was but I hated to hear he was struggling and tried to send him good vibes. That damn bike of his!<br />
<br />
The second half of the bike I just tried to keep my head down. The effects of not having eaten much were starting to weigh on me. I would lift my head up and feel dizzy. I tried to eat as much as possible and felt so frustrated with my stomach. My Gatorade was never touched again (which you can see in pictures from both loops through Chickamauga - it is in the exact same spot/level each time.) I focused on salt, potatoes and a Clif bar. Riding started to feel harder the second loop around and I had my coach's words in my ear telling me to go slower when I felt like I needed to go slower, and try to not burn too much. I started to feel a bit worried that I was going too hard but just tried to stay steady.<br />
<br />
I had to use the bathroom once, at around mile 65 (right before Whitney caught up to me.) I tried hard to pee on my bike (for those of you unfamiliar with triathlon... it's a thing) and I just couldn't do it. I had been holding it for a while, so finally stopped at a porta potty, using it really quick then continuing to ride. I ticked away the miles 10 at a time, knowing that I was counting down at this point.<br />
<br />
Whitney got ahead of me after a number of miles riding together, and I ended up in a pattern of leap frogging a few women back and forth that I started to recognize and have names for my head.<br />
<br />
I wanted to try and talk to them, but I didn't really have the energy for it. And everything I thought of to say to say somehow seemed inappropriate. So I just had conversations with them alone in my head "You've got great legs!" I wanted to say to the one girl in short shorts. "You know, they make pink bike shoes too!" to the girl in the all pink kit with blue shoes. "Daniela Ryf wardrobe malfunction, huh?" to the girl with her tri top zipped halfway open and flapping around. But none of these things seemed like a normal or appropriate thing to say at the time.<br />
<br />
So I just kept my mouth shut.<br />
<br />
The sun came out and I started to feel it. At this point, I had Chickamauga in my sights again and I knew it would be a good pick me up. Right before getting there, I caught back up to Whitney and asked if it was okay if I went through first as I passed her. It was just as big of a high riding through the second time and I loved every moment of it.<br />
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<br />
On my way out, my friend Nathan passed me and said to me, "Bring it in!" knowing we were in the home stretch. I tried to push out of Chickamauga hard again, but my legs were tired. I started looking at my watch for the first time of the ride, seeing how far I had to go.<br />
<br />
I hit 100 miles at around 5:25 on the bike - a 20 minute PR for a century ride. I wanted to be above 18 mph on the bike, which I knew meant finishing the 116 in 6:24. Never being quite good at math, I thought that I was on the verge of making it, so tried to keep up the hustle on the last miles back into town. The last few miles I counted down one by one until I saw the finish up ahead and the dismount line. The bike was done!<br />
<br />
<b><u>TRANSITION</u></b><br />
Time: 6:42<br />
<br />
I feel like I should say "It felt so good to be off the bike!" but in reality when I hopped off the bike, my legs buckled and I felt terrible. I have no recollection of handing my bike off to a bike catcher, but I assume someone took it. I just remember feeling like my legs weren't working, feeling dizzy, and trying to keep moving forward. I stopped before running through transition and took off my bike shoes. I was struggling with balance and didn't need wobbly bike shoes throwing me off, in addition to my head/stomach.<br />
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<br />
I heard my name called and saw my coach's wife, Jess, who was volunteering as a bike catcher, waved, and then ran through the transition area, grabbing my run gear bag and heading into the transition tent, feeling so disoriented. I just stopped and stood there when I walked in, not knowing what to do, until a volunteer came over and asked me if I needed help. I said yes and she directed me to a chair. I just sat there for a minute while she dumped out my bag asking what I needed. I said I needed a minute and she grabbed me some water, while I tried to just get focused. I grabbed the peanut butter pretzels still in my back pocket and had a few of those. As well as a few bites of Stinger Waffle. It was really hitting me that I had NOT eaten enough on the bike and I did not feel well at all.<br />
<br />
The volunteer helped me change my clothes, put my socks on for me, commenting that rolling them that way was a good idea (thanks Jerome!) and I started to put on my shoes. She wrapped my sunglasses I'd worn on the bike in my bike jersey so they wouldn't break, and tucked it into my bag (tip for future Katelyn - put your sunglasses case in your run gear bag!) I put on my hat and race belt, and tried to attempt Body Glide on all my chafing locations, but was so sweaty it didn't go on. I tried to dry off with paper towels but that didn't work, so I just threw the Glide back in my bag.<br />
<br />
As I was leaving, I noticed my friend that I swim with, Wendy, in the tent volunteering. Had she been there the whole time? I never saw her! And I noticed Whitney as well. I said hi to them both, and with nothing left to do and no other excuses to stick around, I made my way out.<br />
<br />
<b><u>RUN</u></b><br />
Distance: 26.2<br />
Time: 5:04:41<br />
Pace: 11:37 min/mile<br />
Div rank: 26<br />
Gender rank: 168<br />
Overall rank: 668<br />
<br />
Right outside the tent I saw my mom, cousin, Brick, etc. and stopped to give them a hug. I love them and all, but was also really trying to procrastinate this whole running thing. I saw my friend Kathi and said hi to her as well and thanked her for being there, then shouted she should go say hi to my mom.<br />
<br />
The run started by heading out on these gray carpets covering the grass. It was a makeshift start given that part of the run course was under water. It felt wobbly and I worried about stepping wrong and twisting an ankle. Finally we made it onto the pavement and I heard people screaming my name and cheering for me and started to pass through a few sections with friends and people cheering.<br />
<br />
I saw Anthony, Jenn, Brett and Sarah right by transition, then as I head up the hill I saw a number of my friends all with SO much energy - which was exactly the opposite of how I felt. I gave Jonathan a hug (procrastinating more) and waved to the people who yelled my name from up above (had no clue who it was at the time.) I ran through the ATC section and out onto the highway for my first loop of the run.<br />
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<br />
Heading out, on the unshaded highway, I was away from the crowds finally and on my own. And then I stopped running for the first time.<br />
<br />
Holy shmoley. I felt dead.<br />
<br />
I adjusted my watch to show me my HR, thinking it would be super high. But it wasn't. My legs just felt awful, my body disoriented, and my head dizzy and lightheaded. It was HOT and I was barely a mile in and already walking. I had been wanting to since I left the tent but there were so many crowds. I walked a little bit and then ran a little bit. Walked a little bit and then ran a little bit.<br />
<br />
I have never had to walk this early in any race before and it was freaking me out. I felt terrible. I didn't know if I could do this for 26 miles. I started to freak out a bit and doubt if I could finish this. I struggled to get focused. I wasn't used to running in the heat of day like this, it was hot, and there was no shade on the highway.<br />
<br />
The first few miles, I run-walked, walking the aid stations and drinking water and taking small sips of Gatorade. My lightheadedness seemed like a bigger risk factor than my nausea so I forced down Gatorade, knowing I needed the electrolytes. I thought to myself, "I could puke and keep going. But I can't keep going if I pass out." so decided to take on the Gatorade.<br />
<br />
I knew that the course went out about 4 miles on the highway then turned on to the river walk path. I left my watch screen on HR and measured how far I was going based on course markers, never concerning myself with pace. I would run and then walk a little if my HR got around 160.<br />
<br />
At around mile 3, I saw my coach, Jerome, up ahead on the course. It felt like a mirage because I was so thankful to see him. I needed him in that moment more than I can explain. As much as I loved all the energy and people coming off the bike, he was who I felt like I had needed to see.<br />
<br />
I started to cry as I came up to him, telling him how terrible I felt and how I didn't think I could do this. He walked with me for a bit and told me that it was supposed to feel terrible and that I could do this. I didn't have the words to get into how bad I had felt on the bike and the nausea, so I just told him that I hadn't eaten enough on the bike and wasn't feeling well now. He told me to make up the nutrition on the run, walk the aid stations, take in what was needed and correct what was wrong. This clicked and gave me purpose moving forward, trying to fix and correct myself, rather than think the whole thing was doomed.<br />
<br />
I had been feeling lightheaded. So, salt. I needed more salt.<br />
<br />
I kept trying to drink water and Gatorade, but pulled out my salt tabs, which I had forgotten were in my <span style="background-color: yellow;">race belt.</span> I took a couple salt tabs at the aid station, grabbing some pretzels and chips as well. I made the turn onto the bike path, where there was some help from the shade, and at every aid station, focused on trying to correct my nutrition. Once I got in some salt, I knew I needed calories - more than a small handful of pretzels was going to provide. So I started choking down Gu gels. I hate those gels, but I knew it was the fastest way to calories. And besides, chewing wasn't really working out for me well. I alternated as best I could with salt and calorie focuses, and maintained my run/walk. I had no real interval or ratio for it, just would run as much as I could, trying to push myself to specific landmarks or points, then walking for a short bit, and running again. I walked every aid station.<br />
<br />
I saw Jerome again as I came back through around mile 6 and asked him if I would finish if I just kept going at this pace the whole time. He laughed at me and told me of course. Part of me was scared because I thought... if I was walking at Mile 1.. what was I going to be like at Mile 20?? I think that realistically, I assumed I would walk at some point, but I thought that I could AT LEAST run the first 6 miles or something. So it really freaked me out to be walking so early. Jerome told me that I had all day, that I would be fine and to focus on moving forward. If this was my pace, this was my pace, and there was no shame in that he said. He also let me know that everyone was starting to struggle since it was so hot. I said back, "It's not THAT hot." Although it felt hot to me, but I didn't want to complain or exaggerate, and I knew Chattanooga has had some hot years. He said "Katelyn - it is 90!"<br />
<br />
The course goes out 4 miles on the highway, back a couple miles on the bike path, then back onto the highway a bit before making your way to cross the first bridge, Veteran's Bridge. My friend Lauren was waiting for me there, cheering and jogging along, telling me how strong I was and how amazing I was doing running up the hills. I told her, "I think I am going to be out here all day!"<br />
<br />
I still felt pretty bad and when I saw my friends and Jonathan cheering me on at the bridge, I stopped and gave Jonathan a hug. I said in his ear, "Jonathan, I am hurting." and he told me "I know."<br />
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I'm not sure why, but somehow that made me feel good. I love him and it made me feel special to know that he knew me well enough, the paces that I was capable of, and everything about me to know how much I was hurting. Seeing him and friends gave me a boost to keep moving, and we have since laughed about his lack of encouragement in the quick response of "I know."<br />
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I walked a bit of the incline of the bridge, then enjoyed the downhill until I hit the point of incline on Barton that brought me to a walk. Chattanooga Ironman's run course has a couple of big climbs, in the neighborhoods on the other side of the bridge from downtown. The major hill is Barton, which I walked the entirety of going up. It was the right thing to do. I started chatting with a woman next to me from Savannah, but just focused on a fast paced walk up the damn thing. As soon as I was at the top, I started running again. I felt so lucky that I knew the route and knew what to expect of where the hills would be. It kept me running at points when I wanted to walk because I told myself, "You're going to want to walk that big hill around the corner, so keep moving now!" I went through the golf course loop and started to go back up Barton, walking it the opposite direction as well but running a small portion in the middle where it leveled off.<br />
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At this point, I started to feel better, gain some confidence, and get a bit of an adrenaline boost knowing that I was almost to halfway through. I realized that I could maintain this run/walk that I was doing and that even though I was walking more then I expected, my run still felt good and was moving at a decent rate. My head was starting to feel better and I started to get a second wind.<br />
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When I started to cross the foot bridge, my second bridge, to return back to town, I thought of the training run I had done here back in August. I had purposely run two loops of the bridges that weekend, the first time, I had tried to visualize myself during the race and how I would feel on that first loop. And in the blink of an eye, here I was doing it. I felt happy and I felt confident.<br />
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Halfway across the bridge, I saw Lauren again, who started jogging with me and telling me for the second time how amazing I was doing and how incredibly consistent I was being. She gave me updates on the rest of our crew out on the course, as I breathed a sigh of relief hearing Kevin was off the bike. It made me feel good to hear that I was being really consistent and Lauren was so confident and reassuring telling me that I was doing great, because I had not once looked at my pace or how long I had been out there. I said out loud "I can do this." then came off the bridge through the ITL cheering section.<br />
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This portion of coming off the bridge and through the crowds before starting my second loop was overall one of the highlights of the race as well. It was such a whirlwind and went by so quickly but I loved every moment of it. I high fived all my smiling friends and family members, lining either side of the road in a wave of blue T-shirts, and then rounded the corner through the Atlanta Triathlon Club section where I saw Jerome and gave my coach a high five, silently thanking him for being in the right place at the right time when I needed him earlier.<br />
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Special needs was right here, and the volunteers were ready for me. Without ever stopping running, I grabbed my bag (which only had in it some Tylenol and an extra Gu), grabbed the Tylenol, tossed the bag, and kept moving forward. As I was doing this, there were more of my ITL friends along the street and my friend Lindsay shouted to me, so excited "Katelyn - Gerke is right ahead!" This was one of the happiest moments of my day and I practically sprinted over when I saw him ahead, jumping in the air behind him and giving him a hug.<br />
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I was SO happy to see him off the bike and still moving. I walked with him for a bit and caught up with him about his bike ride. He had done the whole dang thing with only one foot clipped in on his bike. His hips were bothering him on the run due to the imbalance of cycling. I offered him Tylenol and he said to me "I am fine. I just want to finish." We chatted as we climbed a hill and I told him I was going to run at the top. He encouraged me to, telling me I was killing it. And after another hug, I kept moving.<br />
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Running through all my friends, getting to talk to Gerke, plus the Tylenol and the bit of knowledge that I was half way done the run... it was exactly what I needed and I continued the second loop having FUN on the run course.<br />
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I talked to more people. I smiled. I maintained my run/walk and encouraged/commiserated with those around me. At around mile 15 I used a portapotty on the run. I had needed to use the bathroom for a while, but they all just seemed like too far of a walk off the course. Eventually I talked myself into using the bathroom and walked the few feet off the run course to use it. It was immensely painful due to some chafing I discovered and I returned back out, knowing that my shower was going to be rather unpleasant that night. I was also chafing on my chest so I grabbed some Vaseline from an aid station and slathered it on (bless them!)<br />
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The Tylenol that I had taken at special needs was due to the fact that the bottoms of my feet were aching. They were throbbing and had actually been bothering me since when I was on the bike. Towards the end of the ride, they started flaring up as I pushed down on the pedals. It had happened to be a couple times before and I believe are referred to as "hot spots."<br />
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I saw another coach out on the highway stretch, Adam, who was so encouraging and told me I was doing a great job, which was exactly what I needed to hear. It was so amazing to see people on that stretch out on the highway and was so much appreciated.<br />
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I felt better on my second loop. The sun was starting to set and it was starting to feel cooler out. It was an odd feeling because I had no idea what time it actually was out, which I didn't even think about until the sun started to go down. I know I could have looked at it on my watch but I never moved it from the HR screen. I had no clue how long I had been out there.<br />
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In Ironman, you typically have until midnight to finish the race. Throughout training, not meeting the cutoff was never something I worried about. I don't mean to be arrogant I think I always felt confident I could finish the race within the allotted time. But throughout the day, so many doubts and questions and uncertainties ran through my mind. On the course, I questioned if I would make it and felt like my run was taking forever.<br />
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Around mile 16-17, I looked at my watch for the first time. I knew I had 9ish miles to go and I remember thinking, "It could be between 1:30-2:00 hours to finish!" and my watch was a bit past 3 hours at the time. I felt okay about that thinking that I would finish between 5-5:30. It wasn't what I had originally wanted in the day, but my plans had changed. I put my watch back to HR screen and kept going.<br />
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During the second loop, I was just focused on finishing. I felt better mentally and I literally just did exactly what I had done the first time. I walked at the points I had walked before and started running at the points I had run before. There was one girl who was running by me for a while, at a very consistent, but slow pace. I would catch her, then drop behind when I would walk, catch her, then drop behind. Doing my run-walk, I was staying right with her, and I eventually did pass her completely. I told myself I would overall do better if I kept up the walking. However, looking back, I feel like I could have pushed myself more in the second loop. I settled. I thought to myself, "If I finish in 4:50 or 5:10... does it really matter?" I didn't care about my time any more and I had the drive to keep moving but I gave up on trying to run beyond what I had done on the first loop. I am a bit regretful of that now. When I ran, I was running well.<br />
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I saw more people that I knew from ATC and ITL, as well as someone I knew just from Instagram. I talked as much as possible on the second loop, trying to pass the time. Lauren and some ATC-ers were waiting right before crossing Veteran's Bridge the second time, and I had much bigger smiles this second time through. I skipped hugs and just smiled and waved at Jonathan and our amazing friends from the West Georgia Track Club cheering for me.<br />
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The sun was starting to set and it was getting so beautiful. I knew I just had the 5ish mile loop on the other side of the bridge to tackle, and knew it would be pretty void of spectators that I knew, so I started to just take everything in and really cherish every moment. I still walked all the hills but tried to take in everything around me with every step I took. The setting sun, the darkness coming around me, the aid stations starting to get lit up. Racing from the morning, through the day, and now into the night, was so unique for me. I thought to myself how cool it was and reflected back on all the mornings running in the dark before the sun was up, and then here I was now, running while the sun had set.<br />
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I was still run/walking super consistently and even got a "Damn, girl - you're moving!" from a guy that I passed while on one of my run portions. As I head up the hills by the golf course, coach Adam was there on the bike. He again told me how great I was doing, and this time reading off my run splits from the tracker, reiterating how consistent I had been and telling me I was on track for a finish a little over 5 hours for the run.<br />
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I kept talking to people where I could, and stayed on top of my nutrition, even through the end, choking down gels when I could and not wanting to risk anything. As I started to walk back up Barton, the mega-hill on the run course, I saw my coach, Jerome, on a bike, who yelled to me, "There is my favorite person!" which made me so happy. He kept showing up at the most perfect moments.<br />
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He walked nearby me up the hill, telling me how proud he was of me, how amazing I was doing, and giving me more details on the day. He updated me on Kevin, which was just breaking my heart to hear about. As we chatted, I warned Jerome not to get me in trouble as he walked his bike alongside me. I ran down Barton, and he met me under the bridge. As I ran down, I saw Kevin and our friend Phil, giving them a wave as I passed on my way in to the finish. I was being carried on adrenaline at this point.<br />
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As we got closer to the second bridge, that would take me in to the finish, Jerome told me everyone was waiting for me on the other side. He reminded me to take it all in. Even now, as I type this, I get choked up just thinking about it. He said my family was at the finish and there was a crowd waiting on the other side of the bridge. He said Jonathan was there and that he was giddy with excitement waiting for me. "Jonathan? Giddy?" I thought to myself. I told Jerome I didn't believe him and that Jonathan doesn't get giddy.<br />
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Before getting yelled at by a marshal and riding away, Jerome told me how proud he was of me, and it was a great feeling.<br />
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I was running at this point, but when I got to the start of the foot bridge, I started walking. This time it wasn't to catch my breathe, but to take a little bit of time where I knew it would be quiet to take a few moments for myself. I walked and looked around me. It was dark out now and lights lined the bridge and downtown Chattanooga lay out in front of me along the river. It was quiet on the bridge, peaceful. With a slight echo of sound in the distance of music blasting and the faint words from the announcer shouting "You. Are. An. Ironman!"<br />
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I thought about the months of training, the years of triathlon, learning to run, growing confidence on the bike, the days and moments I doubted myself, the long bike rides, the back-to-back weekends, the friendships and bonds I made throughout this journey, my friends and family and amazing boyfriend who supported me. I breathed it all in and looked around me, thought of all these things, and got goosebumps as I took it. all. in. Every drop of it.<br />
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As I walked across the bridge someone else in the race came up beside me and with one look at my face he said to me, "First one?" I said "Yup." "Going to the finish?" he asked. Double yup. He wished me congratulations and told me take it all in, then kept moving.<br />
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As I got to the halfway point on the bridge, I started running. I saw Lauren. I started to smile. This was it. I ran off the bridge and through all the ITL people cheering and screaming. I saw Jonathan and stopped and gave him a hug, and saw Jerome smiling in the background, knowing he had told me to stop and give hugs. He looked so proud of me and happy for me.<br />
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I asked where my mom was and someone said at the finish. I shouted "Okay!" and kept running, as Jonathan told me he'd meet me at the finisher shoot. But then all of a sudden I got confused. I literally could not remember where I was supposed to go. I stopped and said "Where do I run now???" and someone pointed me "Uhh -- right in the direction you have been doing!" and I thought "Oh yeah!" and kept moving forward.<br />
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I rounded the corner where the ATC cheer tent was. It was dark at this point and I didn't see anyone's faces but smiled to the crowd as I started to run downhill to the finisher shoot. A stretch of road I had run and walked on many times before. A moment I had visualized countless times. An experience I will never forget.<br />
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My friends and Jonathan had run down the shortcut set of stairs after seeing me cross the bridge and were running alongside to the finish, screaming my name and shouting "Go Katelyn! Go Ironman Katelyn!" Jonathan ran alongside the longest, yelling out, "Katelyn, I love you!" and telling me he was proud of me. It makes me choke up even as I type, just thinking about it.<br />
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This finish was unlike any race finish I had ever done. It was cooler. I was smiling, looking all around me, spotting familiar faces in the crowds on either side of the finisher shoot. I checked behind me to ensure there was nobody right on my heels and slowed down to take it all in. I filled with emotion thinking about all of the months, years, fun, long, hard days that were going into this moment.<br />
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I saw my family and ran over and gave them a hug. My coach was on the other side of the finisher shoot and captured a moment I must have watched 100 times over.<br />
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<br />
I kept moving, and started to cry, running through the finish line as I heard those coveted words, "Katelyn Buress, from Atlanta, GA, You. Are. An. Ironman!!"<br />
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<br />
<b><u>Overall</u></b><br />
Time: 11:29:20<br />
Distance: 142.2<br />
Div rank: 26<br />
Gender rank: 168<br />
Overall: 668<br />
<br />
My crossing of the finish line was "boring" according to my sister and brother who were watching on the live feed, but it was full of tons of emotion for me. I got my medal and then immediately started to look for my family. I saw Jonathan on the left and went over to him and gave him a big hug and had a moment with him before walking towards the exit where all my family and friends were waiting for me. These were some of the best hugs ever.<br />
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The rest of the day was spent watching and cheering for others as they finished, trying to eat some normal food, and eventually packing up and heading back to the AirBnB. I was tempted to try and stay at the finish line until midnight, but I really wanted to shower and lay down. I had changed into shorts and some of the chafing going on was making me really uncomfortable.<br />
<br />
Chattanooga Ironman was one of the most amazing days ever and it was made so amazing not by my speed or pace or time I crossed the finish line, but by the amazing showing of love and support I had from friends and family alike. Every single person who came out and cheering for me, who positioned themselves on a strategic part of the course, who said something encouraging, and who came out that day helped make this such a special event for me. Even more than a month later, I still have mixed feelings about not being able to do the swim. And about feeling sick on the bike and not being able to run as much on the run. But when I think of the day, I just feel overwhelmed with emotion at everyone who helped get me across the finish line. I am so appreciative.<br />
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<br />
The week following the race, I had a really difficult time recovering. My legs started to feel better after a day or two, but my stomach was a complete disaster. I honestly could not eat from Monday through to about midday Friday. I was really sick and think I may have caught some sort of a bug. I didn't leave my apartment the whole time and spent most of the days going back and forth to the bathroom (even waking up every few hours all through the night) and curled up in the fetal position. It freaked me out quite a bit and frustrated me endlessly to be so sick. Eventually I got my stomach back to me and began some celebratory eating the following week. Workouts have been coming back slowly and I am enjoying swimming and running, and have just started to get on the trainer a bit more. I have yet to sign up for another Ironman for 2019, but I am thinking it will likely be in the works.<br />
<br />
My focus throughout October was supporting Jonathan through his race the first weekend in November, and now I'm getting back on track. Ironman Chattanooga was such an epic journey and I loved the training and the friendships that came out of this race. I will forever have a deeper special place carved in my heart for Chatt and the great races I have had there. Thank you for reading so far!<br />
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Katelynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04758210180939830431noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3912923948966123033.post-51258262898420356312018-09-27T21:38:00.001-04:002018-09-27T21:56:41.309-04:00Expectations<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Today was not the day I had expected it to be. And the race on Sunday isn't going to be the race I had hoped it would be since it will be missing one big, wet, 2.4 mile section of it - which is the swim portion of the Ironman. Due to heavy rain, flooding, and unsafe waters, the decision was announced today that the swim portion of Ironman Chattanooga will be cancelled this year.<br />
<br />
It has been a tough one to swallow. And not just because my sore throat came raging back today after spending portions of the day crying. It sucks. I am disappointed. I am really, really disappointed if I am being honest. I love to swim and I had been looking forward to just getting into the water, zoning out, and doing my thing for the past few weeks. It was part of my race plan to use the swim to warm up, focus my mind, and get myself ready for the day ahead.<br />
<br />
And more than that, I wanted to have this experience of racing an Ironman. An Ironman made up of swimming, biking, and running. I want to be a part of the group of people - not who have the label of Ironman - but who have experienced the mental and physical challenges it takes to go from one element to the other in these distances.<br />
<br />
But that's not what my race day has given me. And that's part of how this works.<br />
<br />
When I started training, I did so with the fact in mind that you don't know what will happen on race day. Race day is one day. But training is months and months of sacrifice, hard work, and pushing yourself beyond what you thought your limits were. One friend gave me the advice to try not to get burnt out in training and to focus on what I needed to do in order to get to the start line healthy and in one piece.<br />
<br />
While I agree that getting to the start line healthy is the main goal - I had a different mindset. Race day is one day. One day where anything can happen - much of which can be out of your control.<br />
<br />
I wanted to do hard, challenging, BIG things during training and wanted to toe the line already feeling accomplished and proud and like a rock star. I knew back in July that doing two 100 mile bike rides back to back on a Saturday and Sunday was not an essential part of training to be able to complete an Ironman.<br />
<br />
I knew back in August that doing a Half Ironman distance triathlon on one day followed by an Olympic distance race the next day was not a key component of standard Ironman training.<br />
<br />
I knew in the beginning of September that I didn't NEED to have a +8 hour / 140 mile bike day, or complete a total of NINE bike rides of 100 miles or over this summer in order to feel like I could complete the race.<br />
<br />
I did those things because I knew that they would make me feel like a complete and total badass before race day even occurred. I did those things because I wanted this entire journey to be about doing things I had never done before, beyond just on race day itself. I did them to challenge myself. To push hard. To go beyond my limits in training, as well as in racing. To take things on with friends, support one another, grow, and become stronger. I did those things because I knew that there would be so much that I might not be able to control on September 30th so I wanted my first Ironman experience to be about more than just that day. I did those things during training because in reality, the journey can be more than the destination.<br />
<br />
I'm disappointed. For sure. But I am so proud of myself too. And I am so thankful for the days that have led up to this point. I am so amazed at what my body has accomplished this summer and what my mind has been brave enough to attempt. I am tremendously thankful for the bonds and relationships that this journey has formed.<br />
<br />
Will I feel like an Ironman when I cross the finish line on Sunday? I honestly am not sure. I am nervous about that and if this change in the race will change that finish line feeling that I have been craving and visualizing for so long. I am scared about the forever asterisk I will need to put on my first Ironman race experience. But I'll deal with that when I get there.<br />
<br />
Tomorrow morning my mom and cousin fly in to come see me. Saturday my boyfriend and many, many friends head to Chattanooga to support me. Sunday I will see the smiling faces of so many people who inspire me and make my life fun and happy throughout the course. These things mean so much more to me than a finish line ever could.<br />
<br />
And there are silver linings where ever you look. (1) I am so thankful that I was up in Chattanooga and at the athlete's briefing where the swim cancellation was first announced. It was an incredible shock, but I was able to hear all of the details first hand and be the first to know. I would have been spastic digging around for information if I had heard via Facebook or some other way. (2) With the new time trial type bike start, I'll get to start the ride within minutes of my training buddy, Gerke. We are going to have a blast. (3) Chattanooga Ironman is already unique in that the course is 4 miles longer than the traditional 140.6. - at a total of 144.6 miles. So, even with the swim getting cut - we are still racing MORE than official Ironman distance! (4) We will be a part of something unique. I think this is likely the first 142.2 distance Ironman EVER - and that is something that is sticker/t-shirt worthy in my opinion! (5) It could be much, much worse. The race was cancelled due to safety. This is small in the grand scheme of things.<br />
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And finally, despite the fact that I said "<a href="https://hungrytwenties.blogspot.com/2018/09/its-only-your-first-once.html">it's only your first once</a>!" ... for (6) in a way, I feel like next year, I will get to have this experience again. My next race will still kind of be my first! I am reminding myself that there is no rush to claim the 140.6 swim-bike-run distance. Ironman is not going anywhere. I can be patient and extend the joys and the rush experience of participating in this sport and reaching new accomplishments for a long time.<br />
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So, in recap... not what I thought the day was going to be like when I woke up this morning. But what ever is? Some of the best experiences in life are not what we first expected them to be.<br />
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On to Chatt!</div>
Katelynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04758210180939830431noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3912923948966123033.post-43726640787593606132018-09-19T20:34:00.001-04:002018-09-19T20:34:36.398-04:00It's only your first once<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Well, I am officially in taper and the big part of training is over. My next week and a half is very light, as it should be, and my race is just days away at this point. I can hardly believe it and I get very emotional and sappy when I sit down and really think about it.<br />
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The last month or so of training was truly incredible. August and the beginning of September were truly emotional highs and days and weeks I will never forget. As I entered into the last months of training, the last final builds and heavy weeks, the race started to feel real and I started for the first time to truly feel like "I am doing this!"<br />
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As the workouts got longer, and the weeks got heavier, I started to hit points that were new territory for me. Coming into this year I had very purposely hit milestones in the years before to get myself to feel ready. I had ridden a century, I had swam 3.1 miles, I had done half Ironmans and I have run marathons before. A lot of what I was doing was not super unfamiliar to me (with the exception of weekends like the double century weekend.)<br />
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Then came August. And the weekend after my birthday I hit the milestone of riding my bike "Ironman distance" for the first time of 116 miles (the distance of the Chattanooga bike course.) Labor Day weekend, I did my first 8 hour bike ride on ITL "Big Bike Day" where I rode my bike ONE HUNDRED FORTY MILES in one day. 140 miles! I had to spell that out there because there is no way to capitalize numbers.<br />
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I suddenly became so stunningly aware that I would only be hitting these firsts ONE time. Never again will I ride "Ironman distance" for the first time. Never again will I go 8 hours, what feels like an ITL Ironman right of passage, for the first time. I became SO aware and so conscious of this that it made me feel all of the emotions and feel happy and sad and nostalgic and excited and I felt like I was truly living in the moment and enjoying every step and every pedal stroke in this process.<br />
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At this point I have run 6 marathons. In a week or so I will have to start saying "I have run 6 standalone marathons" to distinguish my marathon-marathons from Ironman which includes a marathon at the end of the race. (Yes, I am aware how ridiculous this all is. Who does any of this stuff?! Don't people know you can sleep in on weekends?!) But anyways, I have done 6 marathons and each of them are special and wonderful for different reasons. Hitting milestones like going sub-4, getting a huge PR, and even just finishing, are all special and wonderful feelings... but nothing compares to running your first. You can only do your first one time.<br />
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It has been years since I ran my first 5K. Yet I can still picture that day so vividly. The training for it, what it felt like, what I did afterwards, who I celebrated with. I can tell you those exact things for each of my "first" races. I'm not a stranger to "firsts" so to say.<br />
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So I know! I know how special it was to bike those first 116 miles. I know how special it is going to be on race day and that however many Ironmans I do in the future, this one will stand out.<br />
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The long days. The people I trained with and pushed through those long days. The friends and loved ones who have supported me and talked me through all of the ups and downs. These are people that will forever be engrained in the fabric and story of my life. You don't go through an experience like these without that carving a spot for the people along with you into your being forever.<br />
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I have been feeling overly sappy and I am okay with that. I would rather feel sappy than anxious and I'm ready for what's to come and the experience of race day. Logistically, still of tons of junk to do (Ironman requires STUFF)! But mentally, I am eager for the day to be here. Taper has been tough and I have started to feel overwhelmed, anxious, tired, and just all the emotions one can possibly feel, but trying to focus on the positives and the feelings of happiness and excitement.<br />
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Just before writing this, I reread <a href="https://hungrytwenties.blogspot.com/2014/04/paris-marathon-race-recap-2014-my-first.html">my blog entry from my first marathon</a>. I wrote that I wore a bracelet during the race that I had bought in Nice, France on my travels before the marathon. It said "Que du bonheur" which means "Only happiness" in French. Only happiness.<br />
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That may be my new mantra for the next week. Despite whatever happens, you can only do your first once. Only happiness.<br />
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Katelynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04758210180939830431noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3912923948966123033.post-15011849921983547012018-08-31T17:09:00.002-04:002018-08-31T17:09:49.525-04:00Chattanooga Preview Weekend<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
This past weekend, in addition to, or maybe as part of, celebrating my birthday, I went up to Chattanooga to preview the bike course of the Ironman. This was something that I wanted to do from the very beginning and is one of the benefits of training for and racing a local Ironman. I talked about it with my coach early on when I signed up and he suggested about 5 weeks out from the race would be good timing to ride the course. I actually liked the idea of it coinciding with my birthday weekend and was happy when it became an official ITL group ride and weekend in Chatt.<br />
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I celebrated my actual birthday last Friday with a long morning swim, getting together all of my gear, and a little after 5:00 p.m. heading up to Chattanooga with Jonathan and his pup, Brooks. We stopped in Rome for a birthday dinner at a dog-friendly rooftop restaurant (<a href="https://myharvestmooncafe.com/">Harvest Moon Cafe</a>) and I knew it was going to be a good weekend right from them. It was an awesome night, beautiful weather for a rooftop dinner, yummy food, and I felt super special.<br />
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Cupcakes didn't hurt either (<a href="http://honeymoonbakery.com/">Honeymoon Bakery</a>.)<br />
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I was nervous to ride the bike course on Saturday. Not because of the distance but because of the anticipation of knowing what it would be like. I can't tell you how many times people have told me positive things about the bike course in Chattanooga. That I would love it and that it would be so much easier than anything I had been riding. It seemed like after every long ride I did where it felt hard or I struggled, someone would tell me, "Well that was way tougher than what you will be doing race day!"<br />
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Whenever I have doubted myself or struggled, I had that positive thought in my head. And as much as I love being prepared for things, I felt some anxiety around knowing FOR SURE what the course would be like. I was afraid of doing it and thinking it was hard, feeling weak, or having a bad experience on the preview day. I was scared of how that would affect me mentally in the last weeks leading up to the race if the day went poorly.<br />
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Well, spoiler alert: I loved the course. It was a great day and now I am nervous for the OPPOSITE reason... how could race day go BETTER than how I felt/did on the preview day?! It's always something, right? :)<br />
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We started bright and early Saturday morning at the St. Elmo Food City, rather than start down at Ross's Landing where the bike course would actually begin. Doing it this way misses out on a few miles of the course coming in and out of the city, but allows us to have more parking space and not have to deal with the heavy traffic later in the day.<br />
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It rained a bit as we head from the hotel to the start of the ride, which caused some panic in me, but it cleared up by the time we were loading up and getting ready. Weather was cool and crisp and perfect for a long bike ride. There was a small group of people, all of whom are doing Chattanooga Full, who were riding that day and it was fun to have together for the first time just our little IM Chatt 2018 ITL group. I wish I had taken a picture!<br />
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My friend Kevin and I decided to stick together, as we often do on the bike, and we head out feeling pretty strong from the very beginning. We took off easy, and I tried to scan everything around me, remembering everything and take it all in to bank in my memory for race day.<br />
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We rode out of town a few miles, then on to the highway. I was expecting things to look familiar from having done the Chattanooga 70.3 twice, but it wasn't exactly registering for me. It felt a little windy on the highway and it did come back to me from the 70.3 that this happened there as well, and got better after getting onto the back roads. I didn't love the road condition on the highway, it felt a bit bumpy to me, but I knew that would get better as well. Pretty soon, we turned to the right and head out on the loop portion of the course. The roads immediately become smoother and you have a great view to your right.<br />
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Kevin and I stuck together, with a few others nearby us, chatting and riding and the miles went by quickly. There are very little turns on the Chatt bike course but there is one that came at about 2 hours in. Since we didn't start at the very beginning of the course, I don't know what mile it was for actual race day, but I will use that time as a gauge. It is really the only tough climb on the course. The hill starts pretty gradual and you don't really notice you are climbing, but then gets steeper quickly and you're like, "Huh? Why do I have no momentum to push right now?" and you have to grind a little. We said to one another to make a mental note of where this climb was. All in all, it wasn't terrible though.<br />
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At the top, right as you start to gain momentum going downhill, there is a SHARP left turn on to Hog Jowl road. Following the left hand turn, you get onto the back part of the loop and I just loved it. The roads are pretty, there are lots of rollers, and it was a very enjoyable ride. I said to Gerke that it was just as pretty as Lake Logan, but minus feeling like I wanted to die. I felt strong and it was a fun part of the course.<br />
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Riding this weekend, we had wonderful SAG support with us and we stopped for the first time around 2.5 hours in. I went to the bathroom in the woods (still not sure what I am going to do on race day!) refilled on bottles, grabbed some snacks, and then was anxious to get moving again. There was a few people in our ride who are much faster than me and we all took out together after regrouping at the SAG stop. To my surprise, Kevin and I were both hanging with the fast crowd pretty well. We weren't immediately behind their wheel, but I was shocked that I felt strong and enjoyed trying to stay on their tail as we made our way in to Chickamauga.<br />
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On race day, I know that ITL will have a tent in Chickamauga and it will be a good place to ride through for a boost of energy, so I started to mentally try to visualize the support and the mindset that I would be in on race day. The 70.3 rides through this town as well, so I also knew a bit what to expect as we got closer. One thing I didn't anticipate was Kevin telling me that my back tire looked low, which I confirmed that it was REALLY low when we had to stop at a red light. <br />
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Fortunately, as I mentioned, we had awesome SAG support so it was only a few minutes ahead where I saw Coach Adam's truck parked and I stopped to put air in my tire. It didn't seem like the tube had burst, so we thought maybe we could just manage it throughout the day without the need to fully change the tube mid-ride. With pumped up tires tires, I jumped back on my bike and started to HUSTLE to try and catch back up with my friends.<br />
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Coming out of Chickamauga there is a climb, followed by a decent descent. I figured that the fast people would get away on the climb, but I was hoping that I would be able to catch up with Kevin. The fact that I was trying to push hard to catch back up, coinciding with the climb out of Chickamauga, left me pretty out of breathe, but I was determined not to be alone for the rest of the day so probably had my best segment of climbing I ever have in my life. I want to try and channel that on race day to remind myself that I CAN push hard through climbs and still have strength for the rest of the day. I will recover from it. Especially at this section, because the uphill is then rewarded with a nice downhill. I caught up to Gerke as we came out of the downhill from Chickamauga.<br />
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From the gas station that you pass while climbing up Chickamauga hills, to the end of the road where you turn left to start your second loop (or right to go back in to Chattanooga) it is about 3.5 miles. I know that pretty well now, but more on that fact later.<br />
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I was so glad to have caught back up with Gerke. It took a little bit to register that we were back on the highway and that the left turn we had taken was the official start of our second loop. When I did realize that, it was a bit of an exciting moment. That was it! We had seen all there was to see on the course - and it was all really, really nice! We were at about 56 miles and it felt good to know that we had seen what there was to see.<br />
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The thrill was short lived when I suddenly realized that riding had gotten extra bumpy, and it wasn't because of the not super smooth roads of the highway. I shouted that I was stopping and pulled into a ditch where I confirmed that my back tire was completely flat and needed to be changed. I called Adam in the SAG truck and he said he was on his way over to help me change it, and I started the process of taking off my tire.<br />
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I feel pretty confident that I can change the tire on my front wheel on my own, although I have never had to do that. But I was nervous about the back tire. I struggle with the gears and chains and was reluctant to do much until Adam got there. When he did, he shoo-ed Gerke away to keep riding, and helped me change my tire and put the wheel back on. Once we got it situated Adam asked me if it would be okay if he "rode me up" so that I was not riding alone on the highway. Honestly not knowing what that meant, I said "Sure!" and thought he would maybe drive right behind me for a few miles until we turned onto the back roads. Then he started loading my bike onto his rack and told me get into the back of his truck.<br />
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Wait, what?<br />
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My heart sunk a little as I realized what he meant and reluctantly climbed into the truck. I was really disappointed that I was going to miss riding part of the course, but I didn't feel like there was a better option because I didn't want to just be alone the rest of the day. The next few minutes were TERRIFYING as Adam flew down the road until we caught up to Gerke. The whole time in the truck I just kept thinking to myself, "I should be riding this. I should be riding this." but I tried to stay calm by also appreciating the humor of the fact that I was riding in the back of a pickup truck for the first time in my life, with a helmet and bike shoes on, and wind whipping around me like crazy. Gerke's reaction when we rode by and he saw me in the back of the truck was pretty priceless as well.<br />
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I felt like I had my own personal pit crew as we pulled over, grabbed my bike off the truck, and I hopped on, catching back up to my friend and starting to ride again. I am pretty sure the first words out of my mouth as I was back riding and next to Gerke were, "What does your watch say for distance???" I wanted to know how many miles I had missed. The answer was about 5.<br />
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I tried to get back in a groove, but not long after I was back to riding did did things get bumpy AGAIN. I stopped, checked again, and confirmed. Another flat.<br />
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This time Gerke just kept riding because he knew the drill at this point and I called Adam again and let him know. His reaction was the same as mine, which included a few expletives. He said he'd be right over to me but that we needed to get another tube. We quickly had a whole pit crew working for me and within minutes, Adam and other SAG, David, were with me and working to change my tire again. Jonathan and my friend Karen, were also moments away from finding me on the course, and showed up just as we finished changing the tire. I felt very special for all the support, but also bad that I was taking up so much time of all the SAG vehicles. And of course, frustrated that I was again, not riding my bike when I should be.<br />
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While changing it this time, Adam found what was causing the issue, and he felt confident that from that point on I would be good. I hopped in the car with Jonathan and Karen, while Adam took my bike and "rode me up" again to find Kevin on the route. I was in a MOOD at this point. I was so frustrated at all the time I was spending in cars, when I should be out riding my bike. I felt like I was missing out on what was supposed to be my preview of the course and I started thinking in my mind if I should change my plans for Sunday, to be able to ride the course again, since I was missing so much.<br />
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We did another pit stop when we reached Kevin, and this time before I even asked, he let me know what his watch said for distance. And I was about 10 miles behind.<br />
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I got back to riding right before the big climb before you turn to the back part of the loop. In reality, the parts on the course that I missed was best case scenario. I had ridden that part of the course before on the 70.3 and I didn't miss any of the more challenging or complex parts of the course. I was relieved by that and happy that I got to do the climb again. One of the few times in my life I was happy to be able to ride up a hill I think! Adam had let us know before we drove off that he would be stopping with everyone for a SAG stop right after the left turn onto Hog Jowl, but that we should keep riding through it.<br />
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I followed his instructions, even though everyone was there stopped and I really wanted to socialize, but also really wanted to catch up on the distance I had missed. I turned my frustration into energy and tried to push through the rollers on the back half as best I could. I knew up ahead there was one of the other few turns on the course, a sharp right, that I had noted to be careful of on the first time around because there were some pot holes and gravel right by it. I figured if I rode fast enough to that turn, then I could loop back and try to make up some additional mileage.<br />
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So I pushed through, feeling strong, getting to the turn, and looping back. I rode until I saw everyone coming, and turned back around after Gerke passed me. Apparently he had missed the memo and stopped at the SAG, so when I finally caught up to him and I shouted "Yay! We are reunited!"<br />
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The momentum of the day and adrenaline was still with me and I felt comfortable riding harder than I usually do, at a pace a little bit out of my comfort zone, but still not killing myself. Gerke knows me well enough that he saw that in me and before I even said anything else he commented, "Don't worry about me. I am good. If you want to keep hauling ass, go for it." Part of me wanted to stick to the plan to stay together, but I had a small fire lit in me and I wanted to see what I could do. I also did really want to get ahead, so that I could loop back and make up some of the distance. I had in the back of my head as a goal for the day to try to get to 116 miles and I knew that I needed to keep doing what I was doing if that was going to be at all possible.<br />
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I was riding by myself now and felt strong all the way through back to Chickamauga. I was eating my potatoes, pistachio bars, water, Gatorade, and salt. I also ate a Chocolate Chip Clif Bar and a Stinger Honey Waffle as well. Everything was just ticking and feeling good the way it was supposed to at this point. I hit a red light in Chickamauga, the same one where we had noticed the flat at the first loop, and turned back. I quickly realized that Chickamauga was not a good place to loop back because of the traffic and got stuck trying to cross the road. Then, when Gerke and a few others in our group did come through, they stopped at a SAG vehicle, so I just decided to keep going.<br />
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My second time out of Chickamauga without the adrenaline of trying to chase someone and more miles on my legs, the hills felt a bit tougher. I tried to make a mental note of how long it was and what point I needed to focus on as being the top. I pushed to the top, then down the decent, trying to remember where I could maintain speed and where there were a few bumps to watch out for. Then came back out to the end of the road, where this time, we were all planning to turn right to head back in.<br />
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Adam was parked there and I let him know that I wasn't ready to go back in yet and wanted to loop back to make up the distance. He said "Might as well, we are going to be out here until the last rider comes in and there are some people a ways back." I was right around 90 miles and on track to ride my fastest century ride yet and wanted to see how fast I could do it in. Adam had signaled me to head back up towards Chickamauga when he responded... Whereas, I was hoping to go out onto the highway, where it was flatter. Although logically it didn't make any sense since there was more traffic at this time of day and no SAG vehicles out there. So I head back the way I had come.<br />
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Up. The. Hills.<br />
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As I climbed back up the descent I had just come down, Gerke passed me going down. I felt kind of badass climbing up this route. And was also anxious about my watch. I wanted to keep going fast so that I could set a good record for my fastest century, but I was just crawling up this hill! I knew that I would have the descent back down to make up for it though.<br />
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I rode back towards Chickamauga, until I hit the gas station on the way in to town, where a police blockade had been set up since I rode through there last. I didn't feel like dealing with that, so I turned back, which made for about 7 miles round trip. When I returned to the end of the road, Adam was gone, but Jonathan and Karen there. I told them I wanted to keep riding, and not just to try to get to 100, but to get to 116. I still had that in my mind, despite having had to catch up some miles. They let me know it was 6 miles back to the Food City from the turn, filled up my Gatorade bottle, and I head back towards Chickamauga, letting them know I wanted to do the 7-mile section two more times.<br />
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I hit 100 miles at 5:44:33 - my fastest century yet, and a big jump from the week before when I had gone sub-6:00 for the first time, riding in 5:57:12. I was excited and with that feeling of having accomplished something for the day, I decided to scrap the idea of climbing these hills 2 more times and decided to turn back in after this section.<br />
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I was proud of myself for doing that repeat in and out of Chickamauga, adding a tough 14 miles to my day. It is always good to have good practice climbing, and I was excited to have had the extra practice on the descent as well. In total, I did it 4 times on Saturday, so I got pretty good at understanding where I needed to slow down and where I could build speed, all of which will help me during the race. You can see my elevation profile below, with the one major climb on the course being the highest peak you see twice. Then the one climb coming out of Chickamauga in the very middle and again 3 times at the end.<br />
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At 102.7 miles I turned right onto the highway and head back in to Food City. Eventually the highway turns into a road into the city and leads you right to where we had parked the cars. When I got to the stop light where I would have turned into the parking lot my watch read 109 miles.<br />
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I paused for a minute thinking through what I wanted to do. I knew that my friends were all waiting at the parking lot. I knew that I had ridden a significant amount for the day. I knew I hit some big milestones with my fast century, and that I had already made up the distance that I had missed from getting "ridden up." It had gotten hot out and I was feeling tired, but I also knew I was way too close to 116 to stop now.<br />
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I pulled out my phone and texted Jonathan that I was going back out. I turned off the highway onto a side road. I wanted to go out 3.5 miles then turn back and it felt like it took FOREVER. Those were the longest 3.5 miles of the day. The road was super bumpy and I started to get worried that I would get another flat, but I just kept going. I was so close. I turned back as soon as I hit 112.5 on my watch and made my way back to Food City, finally stopping my watch for the day at 116.52 miles, 6:39:03 hours of riding, and an average speed of 17.5 MPH!!!!<br />
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Honestly, I could barely believe that I had ridden that fast. That was the best ride I have done this year by a long shot. I had one four hour ride back in July that I averaged 17.8 mph but every other training ride is usually in the mid-16s. With this being so much longer and faster than my usual, I was thrilled. I don't usually like to post my speeds and times, since it is all different and relative for everyone and speed is not usually what it is about for me. But this was just exciting to me. If I did that on race day, I would have been thrilled! And now, frankly, I'm a little nervous to see if I can even repeat that!<br />
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When I finished, every other rider had already stopped and I was the last one to pull in to the parking lot. I didn't really realize it but I had ended up going further than anyone else, despite my flat tires. I was so so happy with my day and mostly so proud of myself for pushing through. I turned the momentum from what could have been a frustrating day into a positive one and it was such a fun training day all around.<br />
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Early in the season, my friends and I all did the Up the Creek bike ride and it was another day similar to this one. It was fun, I felt good, I got stronger as the day went on, it was a beautiful course. Everything just came together. I've been riding my bike enough to know that not every day is like that, so you have to appreciate the ones that are. I thought of that early season ride that was such a high, and now this late in the season ride giving me the same feeling and I was really happy to still be able to have that this far into training.<br />
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I am so thankful that my preview ride of Chattanooga was a good day. It made me excited and eager for the race and I am really looking forward to seeing what that day brings.<br />
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The rest of the weekend in Chatt was great. I was certainly tired after the ride, but I didn't feel destroyed. We went back to the hotel, where I showered and rested, and gave some cuddles to my other SAG support, Brooks, who had gotten to come hang out with us on the bike course while Jonathan was supporting. I looked through the pictures from the day, and just stared at my metrics, feeling so proud and happy.<br />
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After a little rest, we head out to meet friends for dinner at Urban Stack, a burger place I love, and then went over to go see the bicycle crit that was going on. I had never been to a crit before, and frankly didn't even know what it was, but we got to watch the end of the Pro Women's race. It consisted of doing loops along the 1 kilometer course blocked off in Downtown Chatt, over and over and over again for an hour. There was strategy to the ride as it is a team sport, and also winners given for best time on specific loops throughout the ride. It was so cool to watch and something I had never seen before!<br />
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In between the pro men and women crit racing, there was a one mile road race on the crit course titled the "Magnum Mile." That morning, there had been a 5K in Chattanooga that Jonathan and a few others from ITL participated in. It was a 5K in memory of Cameron Bean, a professional runner who had been hit and killed by a car three years earlier in Chattanooga. Cam was the college roommate of one of our ITL coaches, so it was meaningful to him and to our group to have runners at the morning 5K. That evening, the top 25 men and top 25 women from the 5K competed in a mile race under the lights during the crit. It was super cool to watch Coach Patrick compete and to see the speed on these men and women. Given that Cam was a professional runner and had many friends in that crowd... the 5K and mile bring out some fast runners!<br />
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On Sunday morning, I got up and did a 2 hour run in downtown Chatt. The run course for the Ironman is a 2 loop course and I was tempted to run a single loop of it, but instead, I just explored specific parts of the course, most importantly checking out the areas that I had had never been on. The run course for the full Ironman is very similar to the run course for the half. You run out of transition, up onto the highway for a bit, then turn on to the bike path that runs parallel but along the river. For the full, you just run further out on the highway and the bike path. I have done all of this before in other runs or races in Chatt.<br />
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The part I explored was when you cross over Veteran's bridge, for the 70.3 you do an almost immediate U-Turn and then cross over another bridge. Whereas for the full, you stay on the other side of the river for a few more miles, running through a few neighborhoods and along a golf course. I had never seen this part of the course and it is where the majority of the hills are on the route.<br />
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Some of the hills are challenging, but all doable, and it is so so pretty.<br />
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I am really glad that I ran the course and explored the parts I didn't know. I know that come race day it will be so helpful to be able to talk myself through those portions of the route.<br />
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During the run, I worked on my race day mental prep for myself a bit. First, when I was on that back section of the course, a few times while running the hills the little voice in the back of my head started saying to me, "You should just walk this. Come race day, you will probably walk this hill, so might as well do it now."<br />
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This is a voice I have been hearing quite a bit on my runs lately, which is new to me. Somehow the little evil voice in my head has become convinced that I am going to walk during the race and that this fact is inevitable. And maybe it is, who knows! But, I don't want to go into the Ironman with that idea in my mind. I want to go in with confidence and with the mindset that I am treating it like a RUN and not a run/walk. If I have to adjust due to circumstances on the day, so be it, but I am going into it that I am getting off the bike and RUNNING a marathon!<br />
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On my run I told that little voice to shut up and that I was not going to be walking on race day. That I was strong. And steady. And that I was going to be running then and I would be running now.<br />
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I also purposely did two loops of the two bridges. The first time I ran over the foot bridge heading back to Downtown Chatt, I mentally imagined myself on race day, coming over that bridge for the first time and heading out on my second loop of the run. What will be going through my head? How will I be feeling? What will I need to be telling myself? Will I see friends? Will I stop at special needs around the corner? I imagined myself going through this scenario on my first loop back over the bridge.<br />
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On the second loop back over the bridge, I imagined that it was race day and I was coming back over for the second time. This time turning to the left as I rounded the corner off the bridge, down the hill and to the finish. What will be going through my head? How will I be feeling? What will I need to be telling myself? Will I see friends? I pictured this scenario that I have pictured so many times. What the sounds, the lights, the feeling will be like. I ran down the hill towards what will be the red carpet, but this morning was just an empty street.<br />
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I imagined what it will be like the next time I was running here, just a few weeks away. It gives me chills to just think about. Tomorrow is officially September and officially race month. I can't believe it!<br />
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30 days!</div>
Katelynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04758210180939830431noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3912923948966123033.post-46191607567682980022018-08-24T17:24:00.001-04:002018-08-24T17:24:18.313-04:0031 Things That Happened in my 31st Year<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Well, today is my birthday and I turn the ripe old age of 32! As far as birthdays go, 32 isn't too exciting. It is not any sort of milestone, I am not aging up, I'm just marking another year forward. My thoughts about my birthday seem to change every year, just as I do as a person. This year, my birthday brought with it some feelings of sadness, but also overall happiness and sense of peace with my life. Life is good. I have wonderful people in my life, hobbies and passions that excite me, a job that challenges me, and opportunities to learn every single day.<br />
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To celebrate my birthday today, I decided to put together a little list of 31 things that happened in my 31st year. They were things that marked this year as special and unique for me and I had fun putting this together!<br />
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#1 - I traveled to 1 new country this year, checking <a href="http://hungrytwenties.blogspot.com/2017/09/travels-to-berlin-marathon-warsaw-poland.html">Poland </a>off my list. I explored a bit on my own, learned more about the history, and got to drink some Polish vodka and try local food with some coworkers who were kind enough to show me the town.<br />
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#2 - I traveled outside of the U.S. to a number of that weren't necessarily brand new countries, but still amazing experiences. I went back to Mexico, to <a href="http://hungrytwenties.blogspot.com/2017/10/eurotrip-final-recap-five-cities-six.html">Germany, Czech Republic, Austria</a>, and most recently, to Canada and an entirely new part of Canada in B.C.<br />
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#3 - I cooked my first whole bird - a turkey for Thanksgiving dinner!! Roasting a whole chicken was something that was on my "30 things to do before turning 30" list that I never got to. And this year, being my 3rd year hosting Thanksgiving dinner for my friends, I decided to take on the challenge and roast the turkey myself (in other years I bought turkey from Honey Baked.) I was SO nervous about it, made my friend Janet come over extra early to help, followed the NY Times instructions word for word, and I have to say - it was a really fun experience and I was so glad with how it came out!<br />
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#4 - I marched in the Atlanta Pride Parade! This was something that I always wanted to do. Although I have attended Pride festivals and attended parades in the past, I never actually participated in it. This year, GE had a group marching in the parade and I was happy to be able to represent as an ally and show up for support. It was a really fun (and sweaty) day with a lot of emotions for me to be a part of it.<br />
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#5 - I exceeded my expectations and ran faster than I thought possible at the <a href="http://hungrytwenties.blogspot.com/2017/10/berlin-marathon-2017-race-recap.html">Berlin Marathon</a>. That race may just have been the race of my life. It was so well executed on my part. So fun. And I will never forget the feeling of crossing that line and seeing my time. Everything about that race was a dream for me. From the actually getting in to Berlin itself, to how well training went, to the day of... it was a perfect marathon experience and I learned so much about what I am capable of.<br />
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#6 - I started dating Jonathan. I don't like to talk about my dating life too much on the blog, but I will just say that I started dating someone that for the first time I WANT to talk about here. It has definitely been a memorable part of my 31st year!<br />
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#7 - I lost two grandparents. Growing up can be really, really hard sometimes. And this fact of life that people age and eventually leave us on this earth is one that I am still trying to figure out how to deal with. I wrote about the <a href="http://hungrytwenties.blogspot.com/2018/01/i-love-you-gram.html">loss of my grandmother</a>, but what I never mentioned was that also in March my father's father passed away as well. I have been so lucky to have grandparents in my life for so long and I appreciate that, but it is also so hard for me to accept that I only have one grandparent left.<br />
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#8 - I chased a big goal. At the age of 31, I allowed myself to <a href="http://hungrytwenties.blogspot.com/2018/03/time-to-run.html">dream big</a>. I set a huge, scary, hard to vocalize goal for myself and I went after it. Hard. I gave training for a BQ everything I had and I am really proud of myself for pushing through what was definitely the hardest mental and emotional training cycle I have ever gone through.<br />
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#9 - I failed. And I don't mean that to be negative and down on myself. But <a href="http://hungrytwenties.blogspot.com/2018/03/snickers-albany-marathon-race-recap.html">I didn't reach that big goal</a>. And that's okay and that was a learning experience for me. Year after year I had been crushing goals I set for myself and it is a part of life to miss sometimes. I was due for it and I have grown from it. You only have the opportunity to fail if you are reaching for something that is hard. Which is what this was for me.<br />
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#10 - I added something new to my race/endurance bucket list as I have started to become introduced to, learn more about, become interested in ultramarathons. I definitely think it is something I have on a "someday" list for myself. It is not a coincidence that learning about ultras came at the same time as number 6 on my list :)<br />
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#11 - I paid off my student loans! Praise be. I have been working years to pay these down and just before my birthday I made my last payment. While I am fortunate (and thankful) that my loans have not been so much of a burden as many others I know, I am still so happy to have this done with.<br />
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#12 - For the first times, I ate at The Varsity in Atlanta, I ate at Chic-Fil-A, AND tried Waffle House! These all may have a bit to do with number 6 as well, or me just becoming more of a Southerner, but I somehow had managed to avoid all of them in my first 3 years in Atlanta. Waffle House was fun for the idea of it, The Varsity's onion rings are unreal, and Chic Fil A I still have mixed feelings on. The food is good for sure, but I try to avoid fast food and this still falls under the fast food category for me. And I really feel conflicted with some of the things that their CEO supports. I made a personal pledge to donate money to GLBTA groups every time I ate there ($20/visit) and so far I have made $100 in donations!<br />
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#13 - I fell in love with and saw Hamilton!!! It was soooo good!!!<br />
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#14 - I signed up for and started training for my first Ironman. You didn't think I was going to leave this off my list, did you?!?<br />
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#15 - I was able to build my relationship more with my niece and nephews as they have gotten older, more interactive, and easier to do things like FaceTime. Jack and Bridgie are coming up on 4 and Tommy is coming up on 2 (but he is also a baby genius and the most smartest 2 year old on the planet.) I love that I can talk to them on FaceTime and have a full conversation, they remember things we did together and are learning me more, even from afar - which makes being an aunt so much fun. I just love them so much!<br />
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#16 - I went to the REAL Oktoberfest in Germany!! Ever since I first traveled to Munich (or maybe it was the first time I had beer...) I have had it on my bucket list to attend Oktoberfest in Germany. This year following the Berlin Marathon, I did, wearing lederhosen and all. It was uhhh-mazing and such a fun, cool experience. Bucket list item checked!<br />
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#17 - Made <a href="http://hungrytwenties.blogspot.com/2017/11/whatever-is-on-my-mind-wednesday.html">pasta from scratch</a>! Another item missed on my 30 before 30 list, but Brick and I got it done this year. I need to find more time and energy to do this regularly (okay, for list, special occasions maybe) because it was such a sense of accomplishment and so yummy!<br />
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#18 - Experienced some of the joys of owning a dog. Okay, so this one DEFINITELY correlates with number 6. Because with spending time with Jonathan, has come spending time with his dog, Brooks. I have never been a dog owner and never really a dog person. It has been an adjustment for me at first, but Brooks is the happiest sweetest dog. I swear she is always smiling, always wants cuddles, and gets us out of the house walking around and exploring. I see how much loyalty dogs have, how much joy they bring, and how stinking smart they are as well. It has been fun to have a pup in my life a little bit.<br />
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#19 - I was featured in my first podcast! This is just a little silly one, as my friend Troy asked me to participate in his podcast he was just starting... but it was fun to have someone ask me questions about my life, be recorded, and be a part of this process. I liked it!<br />
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#20 - I did not worry about my psoriasis. For the entire age of 31, I didn't have to stress or worry or think about psoriasis. I was on my medication regularly. I have gotten better at giving myself the shots. And the whole issue was just a total non-issue for the first time in so long. It has been a blessing!<br />
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#21 - I hit 10 years with my company. Milestones are fun and this was a big one! Starting at GE at the age of 21, reaching this at 31 is a no brainer. But 10 years - wow! I got to order a gift off a random website and I ordered a Polaroid camera that came without film and I haven't been able to find the film I need yet. So, so far it's been a great 10 year work-versary gift I selected!<br />
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#22 - I learned how to knit! During the 10 days that I spent sitting at the hospital with my grandmother, my Aunt Polly taught me how to knit. I quickly became OBSESSED and bought a bunch of yarn and looms, and began knitting hats like crazy. I found a hospice center that I could donate them to, and then set my sights on blankets. I made quite a few, but have since lagged a bit. The blankets take longer to make and longer to see progress so it is a little less satisfying than just whipping out a hat in a few sittings. But, I have the skill now!! Knitting became a thing at age 31.<br />
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#23 - I attended my <a href="http://hungrytwenties.blogspot.com/2017/11/whatever-is-on-my-mind-wednesday.html">first real college football game</a> at the University of Alabama!! This was on my "living in the South" bucket list and loved going out to Alabama to see a game. It felt like a cultural experience. ROLL TIDE!<br />
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#24 - I started racing my marathons in shorts. Okay, okay, I may be stretching a little here but this was a big thing for me! I did both my marathons this year in shorts, whereas before, I was way too self conscious. This is a sign of me becoming more confident with myself as a person and as a runner.<br />
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#25 - I joined the West Georgia Track Club! (Hey number 6!) I have loved expanding my network of running communities in Georgia and have met so many wonderful people through this group. They are one of the most supportive running organizations I have seen and LOVE what they bring and do for their small community in Carrollton. I may be biased, but I think this organization is pretty incredible and I am proud to be a member and wear the gear.<br />
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#26 - I went through a donut phase. Yeah, this happened. I don't know where it came from but I suddenly became OBSESSED with donuts! I had to stop myself from getting a donut near daily from Revolution Donuts down the road from me. I started following on Instagram and obsessing over every donut place in Atlanta. When I traveled, I researched all the best donut places and made us go to them. I just was HOOKED on donuts this year! Lately, I feel like I have been growing out of my donut phase. Or maybe I have just eaten so many of them that I am less enticed? I don't know, but I am glad I can go into Revolution Donuts or stop at Dunkin without an urge/need to get a donut any more!<br />
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#27 - I saw more of Georgia. Throughout 31, I was able to get out explore more of Georgia outside of Atlanta. Part of that was from spending more time in Carrollton, but also running a marathons and half marathons in different parts of Georga, running and riding in the mountains of North Georgia, and doing organized century rides that took me over miles and miles (and miles and miles) of different parts of the state. I definitely saw SO much more of Georgia than I had in other years!<br />
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#28 - I became a manager and started growing a team at work. Although I had the title of "manager<br /> for a few years, this was the first year I truly was managing someone and am in the process of expanding my team now. As I grow my career and get older, I love having the opportunity to work directly with people young in career. They are hungry, eager, driven, smarter than me in so many ways, and it has been a fun experience at work to become a manager.<br />
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#29 - I started re-watching all of the past seasons of Friends. Friends has always been my favorite TV show. I was obsessed with it in high school and I used to watch the DVDs over and over with my roommate in college. However, I really haven't watched a lot of the episodes as a real live adult. It is so fun to relive all the episodes and also totally see them in a different light as a person with a job, apartment, dating, relationships, etc. Friends as a 31 year old has been a totally different experience than Friends as a 14 year old! (And now a 32 year old, since I still have a couple seasons left!)<br />
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#30 - The age of 31 was the year I wore my Yak Trax while running IN ATLANTA. Who knows if we will have more years of snowstorms in Atlanta or if I will live in the South long enough to see it if it does happen, so if not - this was the year of Yak Trax in Atlanta! I can't say I lived here during the ice storm that caused people to sleep in their offices. But I will put this on my claim to fame from here out in Atlanta weather horror stories!<br />
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#31 - This year I really started to think about purchasing a home. And let me emphasize I literally JUST mean to THINK about it. But it is something that comes across my mind and that I am considering for the future. I put this on the list because it is a distinct change for me. I always thought I would live in apartments, not "settle down" and not have to add "house stuff" to the list of things that I have to do on the weekends. Not gonna lie, I do love that I just call someone when there is a leak or the AC is broken or something needs to be fixed, and they come and do it, and there is no cost to me. But I have been thinking about a house. I have been thinking the future. This year of life was the first time that I've seen the appeal in these things and to me - that is noteworthy!<br />
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So, that's my quick summary for the day of things that happened and marked year 31 as year 31 for me. Things that I can look back and wonder "How old was I when I ran the Berlin Marathon? How old was I when I first wanted to buy a house? How old was I when I cooked for real, for real, my first Thanksgiving turkey? Oh yeah! I was 31!"<br />
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I'm excited to see what 32 has in store and am thankful for the days, health, and opportunity I have to make it the best it can be. Cheers and happy birthday to me!<br />
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Katelynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04758210180939830431noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3912923948966123033.post-729105398040071832018-08-21T21:10:00.001-04:002018-08-21T21:10:13.346-04:00Ironman dreams... and nightmares<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Well, I officially had my first Ironman nightmare two nights ago. I dreamt I was in Chattanooga, trying to prepare my transition bags and special needs bags, yet nothing I needed was anywhere in sight. I couldn’t find any of my gear or the things that I was supposed to have for the race and was in a sheer panic. I woke up sweating, jolting awake.<br />
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I think that this is some sort of milestone in Ironman training.<br />
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I hit another last week too. I'd been warned of this by some friends. But I woke up in the middle of the night HUNGRY and couldn’t fall back asleep without getting up to have a snack. Middle of the night snack time has become a thing for this level of hunger I have been on!<br />
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I'm at the point of training where everything is new. The volume is new. The tiredness is new. I'm starting to be in the real thick of it as far as training goes and the next few weeks are going to be a doozy.<br />
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On the list of new things, this past weekend I did my first brick (run immediately after a bike) after a 100 mile bike ride. I have never run after a ride this long before. On Saturday I had a 6 hour ride, which got me almost exactly to 100 miles. Running did not feel great!<br />
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Although this was my 6th century this year, of the first five, all but one were special organized rides with built in stops and the other was ITL Big Bike Day… which came with snacks, a SAG, and random chip breaks throughout the day. This was my first normal day 6 hour ride, eating only the nutrition I had brought with me for the day, and with very few stop breaks. It was my first time breaking 6 hours in a century ride this year, hitting 100 miles at 5:57:12.<br />
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It was exhausting.<br />
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Following the ride, I threw my bike onto the back of my car (and “threw” is a pretty good word… I was so happy to be off that thing!), put on my sneakers and hit the road.<br />
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I had a 30 minute run, which is not long as far as running goes, but felt like a long brick... especially when nobody else who had ridden that day was running afterwards! I was solo for my run. Those 30 minutes were a struggle and it took everything I had to get it done without walking, finishing feeling so drained. I sat in my car for a while, the last one in the Sosobee Cycling Park lot, and cried. Not a big sobbing cry, but I suddenly found myself so emotional and tears were streaming. This thing I am working towards, requires so much of my physical, mental and emotional strength on a day to day basis it is unreal.<br />
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Doing this is hard. Training is hard. It is fun! But man, is it hard. I woke up at 5:10 that morning to be out of the house at 5:40, drive an hour up to Cartersville for wheels down at 7, pushed and pulled through 6 hours of riding time... much of which was spent by myself at the back of the pack trying so hard to stay positive and just to maintain my own pace when everyone was so much faster and further ahead than me, followed by a post ride run, and another hour and half drive back to Carrollton.<br />
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Oh, and my workout that was so hard and draining? Barely a fraction of what I need to do on race day. How is possible that I need to ride my bike about an hour more, and then not just run for 30 minutes, but run a FULL marathon? It feels so overwhelming and so daunting to think about.<br />
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But back to where I started this post and my first Ironman nightmare. Well great I thought, now this race is infiltrating my sleep time! I mean, it’s always been greatly reducing my AMOUNT of sleep time given the early mornings and all the crazy things we do with time to fit in training. But now WHILE I am sleeping, Ironman is taking over there too?? Man!<br />
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Impacting my nighttime sleep with nightmares is a new thing. But I can’t tell you how many times a week I think I dream, well, daydream, about race day. It's an almost constant lately. I think about how I’ll feel. What that experience will be like. What emotions and thoughts will go through my head. It's almost always where my thought fall back to in quiet moments lately.<br />
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While I’m swimming I picture myself hopping into the river in Chattanooga, navigating around others and drafting where I can, I imagine swimming past the buoys and all my friends and family’s phones buzzing telling them that I have exited the swim and am headed to T1. As I change my clothes in the locker room at the gym after practice, I try to figure out for the millionth time if I want to do a full change or wear a tri kit for the entire day.<br />
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I picture myself on the bike. How I’ll feel. If it’ll be a good day or one of those days where I just don’t feel well on the bike and my legs don't want to move. I hope for a good day. As I drive to work I mentally walk myself through the scenario of what I will do if I get a flat tire. I remind myself of all the things that could go wrong but the various ways that I'll get through them. I think of my favorite days of biking throughout training. The moments I should channel. And I rethink my plan of snacks to have (more commonly known as "nutrition") and what special treats I want to put in special needs.<br />
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And as I am walking around... the office, into my apartment building, around the grocery store, etc. with my legs tired from whatever workout I did that morning, I think about my run. How will I feel? How much will I be able to run? How much will I be able to walk? Will I eat that chicken broth that they have along the course? Will I get to see my friends who are coming to cheer? I imagine myself running past my family, my friend, my coach, Jonathan. I think about all the times in past races I have seen my people. I smile to myself thinking how I will probably put on a good face as I run past family as I have in the past, but complain when I see Jerome. I think about everyone I just spectated in Canada and the people who looked to be having the happiest times on the run course and the people who were struggling. Which one will I be?<br />
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But more than anything else, I picture myself running through that finishers shoot. That red carpet. With cheering fans on either side, music blasting, and an announcer calling my name. Will it be light outside still? Will it be dark out? Will I cry? Will I be so focused that I run straight through or stop to hug my family and friends? More than anything, I picture that moment in my mind over and over.<br />
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In the tough moments. In the middle of the challenging workouts. When I am tired. When I am hungry. When I am scared of what race day will be like. I think of that moment. Because I will get there. No matter what, I will get there.<br />
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40 days away!<br />
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Katelynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04758210180939830431noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3912923948966123033.post-42348523113632992542018-08-13T20:50:00.000-04:002018-08-15T10:48:41.887-04:00Vacation and double race weekend<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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The first weekend of August was another big weekend in the journey towards Ironman and in my build up towards Chattanooga. In the categories of tough training, fun times with friends, and new experiences... Lake Logan weekend was all of the above.</div>
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Lake Logan Multisport Festival is a "local" non-Ironman branded series of triathlons and multi-sport events that take place over a Saturday and Sunday in Canton, North Carolina. Over the past couple of years I have heard people talk about Lake Logan but have never done any of them. This year, early on when planning out my summer and training schedule for Chattanooga, I signed up for the Lake Logan Half Ironman. It would be my first non-Ironman branded race of this distance and my only 70.3 before Chattanooga. With the encouragement from my coach, I ALSO signed up for the Olympic or International distance race. The Half Ironman on Saturday and the International distance race on Sunday. Which is over the course of the weekend about 2.1 miles of swimming, 78 miles of biking, and 19.3 miles of running.</div>
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I signed up for them early on in my training, and then didn't think that much else about them. It is actually quite bizarre to me that I didn't think about these races all that much, considering how big each one of my three previous Half Ironmans have been in my life.</div>
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I guess as my mileage on the bike increased, the double race weekend didn't seem that much. It was "only" 78 miles of biking over two days, which is something that became quite common, if not a shorter ride, in a normal weekend. Swimming has never been a thing to cause me much concern or drain me energy wise, and given the volume I have run in previous training cycles, this all seemed doable.</div>
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In addition, I had two weeks of vacation right before Lake Logan weekend to keep my mind occupied with planning, logistics, and mental energy. In my mind, my vacation weeks would probably be lighter and I would be nice and tapered going into race weekend.</div>
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Oh vacation! Leading up to Lake Logan I had a whirlwind of a few weeks. I left on Thursday, July 19th and flew up to New Hampshire, for my annual family vacation. It was a really fun and relaxing few days, as always, and although I got in a couple good runs and short open water swims - BUT training was not my focus at this time. I skipped a workout or two and traded that time with sitting around and chatting, having a couple beers, and filling up on all normal Ballerini family vacation treats... pasta, pizza, candy, fudge, ice cream, and verrrrry little fruits and vegetables or even water for that matter. If you're a longtime reader and curious about the family music video... I think this year's was a good one!<br />
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I flew back to Atlanta on Wednesday, July 25, in the morning and went into the office to work for a bit, went on a 2.5 hour bike ride out and back on the Silver Comet, unpacked, did laundry, repacked, and then flew out again on Thursday morning, July 26.</div>
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The next leg of my vacation was to Whistler, Canada to watch my friends compete in Ironman Canada, then on to Vancouver and Seattle. I had planned this to be my major vacation of the year, so despite the fact that I was traveling for a fitness-related activity (hello, Ironman!) and with all my regular training partners and some of the coaches... I still was in vacation mode. I again, ended up missing a couple workouts, and the ones that I got in, just felt terrible. At this point I felt like the travel, unhealthy eating, poor sleep, time zone change, and lack of hydration was catching up to me. Every run I went on felt like a major struggle, I was moving slowly, and I just lacked energy. Sharing beds and rooms with other people did not help much, the small (3 hour) time zone change still had impact, and it was also just hot hot hot. My training was not stellar while in Canada and Seattle. [You can check out a video from that trip <a href="https://youtu.be/LEzXo3Utvs8">here though</a>!]</div>
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I flew home on Thursday, August 2nd and arrived in Atlanta in the evening, went to the grocery store, unpacked, did laundry, Friday morning went to my Masters swim workout, went into the office for a bit, then repacked and head out on the 3ish hour drive to North Carolina with my friend Joni at around 1:00 p.m. Another extremely busy and extremely tight turnaround.<br />
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One of the fun things about the weekend was that I was going up with friends. It was another trip away, as well as races. A bunch of us rented a house and there was a small group planning to race on both Saturday and Sunday.</div>
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We went out to dinner on Friday night once we arrived. We had less time than expected to get settled, and then struggled to get seated at the restaurant where we'd made a reservation. As I was catching up with people, I already started to feel a little anxious because I learned that over the past couple of weeks, people's plans had changed due to various reasons. Of the 5 us going up to race that I thought were doing both days, 3 of them were returning home on Saturday. And of the 5 of us in the house, I was the only one that was doing the run of the Half Ironman on Saturday.</div>
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You see, Lake Logan has the option to do an aquabike, which is just the swim and bike portion of the triathlon. So on Friday evening, as we ate dinner and got ready for the next day, I had a really difficult time getting my mindset right that I was going to be doing a Half Ironman the next day since everyone around me was only planning out one transition and didn't have 2ish hours of running involved in their day. Plus, I just hadn't done much mentally to get myself there either.</div>
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I started realizing that although I had been training for one, I hadn't actually done a triathlon in over a year. I hadn't put on my wet suit since Chattanooga Half the May before. The swim had been shortened that day, so I hadn't even done a full 70.3 in two years! How do I set up transition again? What parts of my body do I need to put Glide on so I don't chafe? How much nutrition and fluids do I need for 56 miles on bike then 13 miles on foot?</div>
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I didn't sleep super well the Friday night and my alarm went off way too early for my liking, but alas, we all head over to the race start from our house.</div>
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Now, it's important to mention that I wasn't technically planning to "race" these two races. At least not in the sense that I had raced Chattanooga the year before or any of my half Ironmans in the past. In talking with my coach on Friday afternoon on the drive to Lake Logan, he told me to take each day at "Ironman effort." Given that I've never actually done an Ironman, I wasn't entirely sure how to handle that, but I figured the gist of it. Steady, hard, but not all out. Something I could maintain for longer than a Half Ironman or Olympic distance. Not to finish each day completely all out.</div>
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Setting up transition was surprisingly like riding a bike (ha!) and it all came back to me pretty simply. I set up my area and squeezed into my wet suit, then head over to the start. This race warns you that the swim, which finishes by swimming through an underpass/bridge thing, gets very cold towards the finish. "Very cold" water to people in the South is different than what I consider to be very cold, so it did not concern me that much as people talked about it. Plus, the temperature change was supposedly just at the very end, so I didn't think too much of it. Using a wet suit in a lake, in the South, in August, seemed funny to me on its own.</div>
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After having to make a small correction with my swim cap color to get me into the right wave of swimmers, when they called our wave over and said we could hop into the water if we wanted to, I happily jumped right in with no concerns.</div>
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But OH MY GOSH. That water was the coldest water I have EVER been in, in my life. I immediately regretted jumping into the freezing water early and was SO wishing that I had a wet suit with sleeves. I tried to paddle around and warm up and get used to the water, but it just was not happening. There were 3 minutes until they told our wave to go and I was so terrified to put my face in the water.<br />
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When they told us to, and I put my face in and started to go... it hurt. The water hurt my face and gave me an instant brain freeze. I forced myself to just keep going and said it would get better as I got moving but it was hard to breathe and tightened your chest it was so cold, even with the wet suit.</div>
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I struggled with sighting a bit and had to stop and tread water a couple of times to re-orient myself. I tried to draft off of people but could never get caught behind others. I started catching the men who had been in the wave before me, tried to follow swimmers who seemed to look strong, and just focused on keeping my face down and swimming steady. The water did warm up a bit the further out you got, but after turning the furthest buoys and heading back in, the water got colder and colder again.</div>
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As I neared the bridge I was scared for how much colder it could possibly get and swam my frozen self to the dock as best I could. I hauled myself out on my own, and head into transition, stripping my wet suit as I did. I took my time in transition, thinking "Ironman effort, right??" and got my bike, heading out on the course, which I knew was a big hill to start.</div>
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56 miles didn't seem super intimidating given the long rides I had been doing before I went away. But I underestimated. I felt like junk the entire bike ride and I really struggled on the ride. The first 20 miles I had to go to the bathroom so badly and I thought that was what was causing me to feel uncomfortable, but even after stopping and using the porta potty, I still could barely move my legs and I felt SO uncomfortable on the saddle.</div>
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There's no need to rehash every mile. But I did not feel good. I struggled to stay positive and wanted to cry. I looked around and took in the beautiful mountains around me, tried to stay in the moment, and focus on things going well and the beauty around me... but I just wanted to be done. There were some terrible hills from miles 40-45 and they just completely zonked me. I was crawling up them. The last hill to return to the finish, I thought I might fall off my bike and was tempted to walk. I didn't understand how this possibly felt so terrible, when I had felt so strong a few weeks before. I tried to remind myself of all the tough things I had done on my bike in the past, like riding the 3 Sisters in Roswell at mile 180ish of a 200 mile weekend. But it didn't help. How was it at all possible I could do THAT but not this? </div>
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I struggled into T2, wanting to quit, and feeling so down that I had lost all my bike fitness during my 2 weeks off from riding. My coach was there, telling me to just forget the numbers, I was doing great, and to just have fun. Him being there was such a huge help to me. I don't know if I could have done it if he weren't there. I knew all my friends were now all done and just hanging out (they all passed me on the bike, after starting in a later swim wave for the aqua-bike.) I knew I probably didn't NEED to do the full run, since at one point my coach and I discussed me just doing the aqua-bike as well. I considered asking him if I could stop or just doing one loop. But I knew that on the official results that would be a DNF and that's not something I wanted. Especially coming right back from Ironman Canada, where a number of my friends ended the day with a DNF after months of training their hearts out. Weather conditions and a tough day just shut down some of their bodies and I felt for them so badly. When I thought of that, there was no way I was taking a DNF on the official record books when my body was still moving but it was just my mind that wasn't in it.</div>
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So, I did what I could and I ran-walked the half marathon. "Ironman effort, right?" I figured that meant I could walk some, since I imagine I likely will on race day. So I walked some of the aid stops, I used the bathroom, and I took small 1-1:30 minute walk breaks at some points. It was a two loop course with 3ish miles uphill, 3ish miles downhill, two times through.</div>
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As I came in towards the finish I saw my coach, my friends, my boyfriend, all around cheering for me, and although I was not happy with how the day was going and felt disappointed in myself, that put the biggest smile on my face.<br />
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I was so happy to be done and happy to have a medal to take away with me for the day. Medals don't always mean a ton to me for races that are not goal races. But this one was important because it represented that I didn't take the DNF or drop down to aqua-bike or anything like that, even though I wanted to.</div>
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We hung around the finish a bit, took some pictures, drank some water, walked, etc. But then like the weekend of my double centuries, I knew that what I did immediately after one day would impact the next day, so I opted out of the post race beer, post race snacks, and ate my rice cakes and peanut butter and then went back to get out of the sun.<br />
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At the house, we showered and hung around a bit, which was really nice to just be off my feet. Tightness started to settle in from the day and my coach had advised me to be sure I stretched a lot and drank a lot of water (which, Jonathan was very good at helping to enforce.) I also was dealing with some major chafing issues. Turns out I did NOT remember all the places to put on body glide when wearing my wet suit and I ended up with some really bad chafing on my underarms right below my armpit. I had realized it was rubbing while I was swimming, but what could I do? As soon as I got on my bike it was hugely painful and continued to be throughout both the bike and the run. I asked every aid station on the run for vaseline but none of them had it so I just suffered through, rubbing more and more as my arms swung. The shower I took back at the house was pretty terrible and I tried my best afterwards to lube up with any form of anti-chafe anyone in the house had.</div>
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We went out for an early dinner, then the remaining people around, which was just myself, Jonathan and our friend Michelle, went back to the house for a quick hot tub dip. I was totally dreading the next day. It was such a mental trick thinking that I had to set my alarm for 4:30 AGAIN, drive to the same place AGAIN, I had to set up transition and squeeze into the wet suit AGAIN, get back in that darn cold water and deal with how uncomfortable I was on the bike yet AGAIN. It was painful to think about.<br />
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I texted my coach from the hot tub asking him to please, please tell me again all of the benefits and things I would gain by doing another triathlon the next day would be. I felt so tight, so tired, and just overall drained. I told him I didn't think I could do it.</div>
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He wrote back telling me that we both knew I could do the race the next day (aka, stop being such a brat) and that yes, it would suck and I would be tight and tired during the race. But that was the point. The point was that it was going to suck and to find a good pace when that suck happens. It wasn't to go fast but to find that zone amidst the hurt. AND that I would be surprised at how much my body could handle.<br />
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I went to bed with another 4:30 a.m. alarm set for the next day, and got up to do the same routine over again - putting more body glide on this time than the day before! My friend Michelle, along with Jonathan and I, head over to the start together - me doing my best to try and feign ignorance and pretend I didn't know how cold the water was going to be. It was the first time in my life I was dreading the swim portion of a triathlon! We got to the start, got transition set up, squeezed back into my wet suit, and went over to the race start.<br />
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I actually got into the water even earlier than the day before, hoping to acclimate myself a little. I waded around a bit before the wave start, and then once we were officially underway just went out and tried to keep my head down and swim. With International distance triathlons, the swim is barely any shorter than a Half Ironman it feels - .9 mile swim this day vs. 1.2 miles the day before. I did a slightly better job of sighting than the day before, but still feel like I didn't stick too close to the markers and probably got in some extra yardage. I was worried that my chafing under my arms would hurt but luckily, it didn't seem too noticeable once I was swimming. I felt tired and sore though, my whole body and arms felt tired and achey - a feeling I have never really had while swimming in a triathlon before.<br />
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I got myself back towards the bridge, up and out of the water, and jogged into transition. Again, taking my time - maybe even more so this time - knowing how uncomfortable I had been on the bike the day before and not wanting to get that suffering started. Now that I was out of the cold water, the bike was what I had to get through next.<br />
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I was reminded by my coach to have fun as I head out on the bike, but I immediately felt like junk again. I worked to stay positive and just get myself through it. Right away I started being passed on the bike (story of my life in triathlon.) Part of me felt a little proud when guys would pass me - which made me feel like - Ha! I at least swam faster than you! But when females my wave start passing me at my crawling pace, I felt like yelling after them "I did the half yesterday too! Just so you know!"<br />
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The course was much less climbing than the day before, thank goodness, and they didn't have the terrible section, just the big hill to get back into transition. I kept myself going through that, and felt much better on it than I did the day before (I guess 20ish less miles and a lot less elevation makes it feel a bit better on the legs!) I still came in to T2 feeling pretty down though and immediately whined to my coach as I got off my bike, "I feel like I lost ALL my bike fitness!"<br />
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It was fun getting to see Jonathan at the transition of one of my triathlons for the first time, he was taking pictures and that forced smiles on my face each time. I changed into my sneakers and head out on the run, anxious to just get the weekend over with. I was tired and my body was achey, but I started running. Just one loop of the 3 mile up, 3 mile down course to get through today. I could do this! I ran the first mile and walked an aid station during the 2nd mile, grabbing some water. I also walked from mile 2.0 to 2.1 and then told myself to screw this walking and just get the day over with. I ran the remaining 4 miles with negative splits (it was downhill the last 3 miles, so don't be too impressed) and was so thankful for the high fives and cheers from my friends as I finished. As I rounded the corner into the finisher shoot I got two words from my coach of, "Great weekend." I wasn't just finishing an International Distance triathlon, I was finishing a big training weekend.<br />
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Finishing the race, I felt really happy to be done. I felt proud of myself for completing this weekend when I doubted myself so many times and I was happy that I had run those last 4 miles of the run. It was a good feeling to get those two days under my belt and it was much harder than I anticipated. I wanted to stop so many times, and I am sure there is a lot of people that probably wouldn't have blamed me for it, but I kept going more than once thinking about my friends in Canada and their toughness that kept me going.<br />
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I had no desire to hang around this day so I immediately went and gathered together my things out of transition, packed up, and we all started to head to the car. Lake Logan weekend was a wrap.<br />
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As the adrenaline and immediate proudness from finishing wore off, I started to reflect more about the weekend and how it had gone. I had very different feelings and mixed emotions finishing this "double weekend" of racing than I did finishing my other "double weekend" of two century rides. I had been ecstatic after that weekend in early July. It had been something I was really scared of and a massive accomplishment. In comparison, after this big "double" weekend, I just felt really down.<br />
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Looking at my times, I felt disappointed. My race times were slower than when I first started doing triathlons at all. Comparing Lake Logan Half to Chattanooga Half the year before, was laughable. Even comparing the times to pre-coaching and pre-ITL, when I was riding a road bike with no aero bars, my times were slower.<br />
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After a year and half of busting my butt to get faster on the bike and the run, I was looking at my results wondering, "What happened? How can I tell myself this is progress? How can I not be disappointed with slower times? How should I be happy with this?" I went from building speed and power into my run for over a year with grueling training plans... to being <i>excited</i> to have run 4 miles in a row without stopping. And have just one of those miles be under 9:00 min/mile. It felt silly to me when I stopped to think about the times to be happy about what I had just done.<br />
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In addition, looking through pictures, I felt unfit. I did not like how I looked (or had felt) in my tri kit that weekend. I didn't feel confident and I cringed at most of the pictures of me. It feels a little shameful to admit that since I want to be proud of my body for being strong and having endurance, but when I looked at pics all I saw were the rolls and that made me upset.<br />
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Logically, I know all the things to tell myself and all the things that my coach, a friend, a boyfriend, anyone would and did tell me following the weekend. First, that it was a difficult and impressive thing that I had done. It was a lot of stress on the body and many people would have likely opted to do less. I didn't, and I should be proud. And as far as comparing times to last year... it's not comparable. To start, I wasn't even "racing" these races. I wasn't peaking for them or prepping for them like I did any of the Half Ironmans I had done in the past. The course was much harder. I haven't been focused on speed this training cycle either. And I had JUST come back from 2 weeks of travel, poor eating, hydration, sleep, and time zone changes. These and so many other reasons make it just silly to compare my performance that weekend to anything in my past, but I couldn't help myself. I wished that I felt better about it, but I couldn't get there.<br />
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I also felt so tired and achey, worse than I had felt after the back-to-back century rides. I struggled to understand why I was feeling so sore when the total mileage was less and my intensity wasn't even that high for these triathlons. My mind was in a bad place and it was a lot of work to dig myself out of it.<br />
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I learned a lot from this weekend. First, I under estimated what it would be like. I got a bit cocky from having done some tough things earlier in the month and didn't think I needed to prep or prepare in the ways that I usually do for races. I didn't eat, sleep, or hydrate at all properly. I went into it, expecting it to not be as challenging as it was and I got my butt kicked.<br />
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That being said, I had a week or so of being mopey about the races and am moving on, knowing what I need to focus on and learning a lot from how I felt going into a race unprepared. I am ready to conquer the next 7ish weeks of training for Chattanooga. I have no time in my schedule to feel down on myself, just opportunity to get ready.<br />
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Coming out of that weekend, I know that I don't want to go into a race day ever again feeling like I have any regrets or thoughts of things I could have, would have, or should have done to be prepared. I want to have NO REGRETS on September 30th of how I spent these last two months of training. Not just in terms of completing the actual training and workouts, but in getting enough rest, in eating well, and being the best version of myself. Over the past couple of years I haven't just been busting my ass to become faster, but I have busted my ass to train like an athlete and to consider myself an athlete. It is what I forgot about going into Lake Logan and what I am focused on now. No more coulda, woulda, shouldas. No regrets in these last weeks of training. It is go time.<br />
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All in all, I had a great weekend in Lake Logan with my friends and my boyfriend. I loved that both Jonathan and I could get in a great weekend of training while going away together with friends. I love how supportive he is of me and that he isn't afraid to give me a hug at the end of a race when I am the grossest, sweatiest version of Katelyn there is. It was great that he was able to be at a triathlon with me for the first time, meet and spend more time with the broader triathlon community, and have more practice being my race day "sherpa" prior to Chattanooga.<br />
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I loved that I was able to spend this weekend with some of the people I have been putting in a lot of training hours with and who I will be racing with on September 30th. At the beginning of the summer we joked that we'd all be doing a lot of bonding this summer, and this weekend was one of those. Michelle, who did the aqua-bike AND the Olympic distance race, which is incredibly badass - not only did both races, but PODIUMed both days (very humbly I might add!) She was so supportive and positive about my weekend and her encouragement was so incredible. I am so thankful she was racing both days as well and I couldn't have done it without her.<br />
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I was also beyond appreciative and grateful for my coach and his support throughout the weekend. I had no idea that he was planning to be at both races but seeing him before, during, and after each one of the races made me feel so much more comfortable. At least if he was signing me up for this craziness, he was there to see me through it, right?? He really is such a supportive part of this journey for me and deals with a lot of my craziness, anxieties and near constant questions always with a smile (old pic below, because apparently we didn't take one!)<br />
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The course was absolutely beautiful. I loved the scenery of the Smoky Mountains and multiple times when just driving around, I couldn't stop myself from just commenting on how pretty it all was. It was really fun to race in a new place, with new scenery, and my first non-Ironman branded race. In addition to the medal from the Half, I came away with TWO new pairs of red triathlon themed PJ pants, TWO t-shirts, a pair of too big socks, and lots of fun memories from the weekend.<br />
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I knew at the beginning of the season that not every weekend or every training day would be the best. It's only natural. It is the tough weekends we learn and grow from and that make the end result worth it. It's the ones we don't feel good, but have to keep going, that make us stronger. Lake Logan weekend was hard mentally and physically, but I am thankful to have had that kick in the butt going into my final stretch of training. Thank you to everyone who said something positive to me about this weekend - you have no idea how much it meant. Can't wait to crush the last 7 weeks of training.<br />
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Also, and an FYI for my future self who will probably be curious what my times were and for anyone who was interested themselves. Here are the results for the <a href="https://www.setupevents.com/files/_WebFRes_LLH18.html">2018 Lake Logan Half Ironman</a> and the <a href="https://www.setupevents.com/files/_WebFRes_LLI18.html">2018 Lake Logan International</a> distance triathlon. I finished in 6:31:34 and was 5/9 in my AG in the Half Ironman with a 35:49 swim, 3:34:29 bike, and 2:14:29 run. For the International, I finished in 3:00:48 and 8/11 in my AG. My swim was 28:18 (2nd in my AG!), bike was 1:25:55, and run was 1:00:38.</div>
Katelynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04758210180939830431noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3912923948966123033.post-10563729086116163142018-07-13T19:51:00.000-04:002018-07-13T19:51:27.631-04:00Double century weekend<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Last weekend as part of my training for the Ironman and overall quest to do big things that scare me but make me stronger, I rode double century rides. 100 miles on Saturday and 100 miles on Sunday. About 13 hours on my bike overall between the two days and a huge sense of accomplishment to have completed it! It's a milestone I am pretty proud of.<br />
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So how did this come about?<br />
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Well, a few weeks ago, I met with my coach Jerome to talk about the next couple months of training. July is a bit of a crazy month for me and I was nervous how I was going to fit everything in. He let me know that we would have a big bike build at the beginning of the month and my goal would be to get in as much biking as I could in the first couple of weeks of July.<br />
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I had a good streak going and rode 109 miles on June 23, 103 miles on June 30th, and each day did short easy rides the day after. Then in discussing the weekend of July 7-8, Jerome had mentioned to me that there were organized supported century bike rides on both Saturday and Sunday. The year before he and a few others rode the centuries both days - something that I was very familiar with because I remember hearing about it and thinking that it was such an insane, crazy thing to do. At the time last year, I hadn't even ridden 100 miles before, so the idea of doing it two days in the row seemed next to impossible. Even this year, with a few centuries under my belt, when Jerome tossed the idea around, it seemed crazy!<br />
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I committed to riding long both days but I wasn't sure if doing full century rides each day was something I could do. It just didn't seem possible.<br />
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Because I wasn't sure if I would actually go for it, I didn't tell many people I had this idea in my head. However, I couldn't stop thinking about it. I became mentally obsessed with it. I knew I wanted to do it and go for the 100 both days. I felt excited about it. Excited and scared and nervous and eager to try it out. I didn't know many people that had done this before so the idea of doing something not many people had thrilled me a little.<br />
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So, I started to do what I always do when something scares me, I started to plan for it. I registered for both organized rides and reached out to the people I knew had done it before to get advice. I mentally planned the logistics of what I would need to do for this to be possible. I thought about sleep, nutrition (before, after and during the rides), recovery from day to day, clothing, how to protect and preserve my "undercarriage," and which of my bikes I should use for the two rides.<br />
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I did everything I thought I could to be prepared and as the weekend got closer I was excited to attempt this. So, how did it?<br />
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<b><u>Friday</u></b><br />
<b><u><br /></u></b>I am able to work from home on Fridays so I was able to spend some of the day helping to get ready. I prepped my food. I lay out my clothes. I charged my lights. I charged my bike. I put out my water bottles. I made snacks for after the ride. I wrote out a timeline for the morning. And similar to when I rode the Gaps in June, I set out a number of goals for myself for the weekend.<br />
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1. Have fun<br />
2. Stay positive and confident<br />
3. Be friendly<br />
4. Take my time<br />
5. Ride 100 miles each day<br />
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I ate pasta for dinner on Friday night, even if I didn't truly need it, I liked the idea of carbing up before the big weekend and went to bed early, ready to go for the next day.<br />
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<b><u>Saturday</u></b><br />
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Saturday I was planning to ride with a group from ITL, who all were doing an organized ride in Senoia, GA called the Southside Century ride. I treated the day like any normal long bike day, getting up and having breakfast, and driving to the start with plenty of time to get ready. It was the last long ride for the group that is doing Ironman Canada and my friend Michelle's birthday. There was lots of blue at the start and it was a good crew!<br />
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As often happens with these rides, we started rolling a few minutes before the official organized ride started. We started out together, chatting and riding easy, but it wasn't long before the group started to thin out and I was in the back per usual, but not by much. I was still right with the group.<br />
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UNTIL we went over some railroad tracks right before mile 5 and when I did, EVERYTHING toppled off my bike. My aero bottle, water bottles, flat tire kit, EVERYTHING, went flying. With no other choice, I stopped to collect my things and by the time I did, the group was out of sight. Since we started ahead of the official start, there was nobody behind me either. I was just by myself.<br />
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I started to ride again and tried my best to gather my thoughts mentally. Being alone freaked me out. You can do this, I told myself. You can do this century ride today on your own. In fact, I tried to convince myself, it might be better this way because now you can completely go your own pace!<br />
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Although I had expected to be separated from ITL for a portion of the day, as everyone going to the ride was much faster than me and not people I expected to wait for me at the aid stops. I didn't think I would be alone so quickly. And I thought there would be plenty of other non-ITL riders around (which is why one of my goals for the weekend was to "be friendly.") Without anyone in front or behind me, I felt so alone and I felt myself getting a bit emotional.<br />
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I kept giving myself pep talks, remembering to stay positive, to take my time, and that I could do this.<br />
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I kept riding.<br />
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At around 10 miles, I saw another cyclist for the first time since I had lost the group. It was someone coming towards me though! I saw pink shoes pedaling in my direction and realized that it was my friend Lauren. I was so happy to see her that I got tears to my eyes as she rode up to me and then stopped and turned around. As we connected and started to ride together I asked her "What's going on? Is everything okay?" I don't know what I was thinking. But she just kept riding next to me and said, "We're doing this together today." and I started to cry a little.<br />
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From that mile on, Lauren and I rode the next 90 miles as a team. Just like so many rides we did last year, I chased her up the hills, and she pushed to keep up as I caught her on the downhills. When I was struggling, she encouraged me. And when she needed a boost, I offered it back. We chatted about training and life and relationships and I had the best time riding with her. It seems like such a little thing, but I am not sure how much I can express how much it meant for me to have her turn back and find me and to ride the day together. It was Lauren's last long ride before Ironman Canada and a big training weekend for me, and it was so nice to ride together.<br />
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Part of my plan for the weekend was to utilize the rest stops as much as possible. I had brought some of my own food, but I also wanted to use what they had and had written the miles on my arm of where the stops would be. For this ride it was 19, 33, 55, 73, 81, and 95. We stopped at the first aid station so I could refill my bottles, which had emptied when they flew off my bike. We stopped at miles 33 and 55 again, grabbing some snacks of Chex Mix, rice crispies, peanut butter pretzels and using the bathroom. I know at some point I will have to stop relying on these stops during rides, but right now I am enjoying them.<br />
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I felt good most of the day, just trying to take it easy. I fueled and rode, remembering that I had the next day to think about as well. There was a section from miles 55-75 of the ride that was climb after climb. I worked to try and take them easy and Lauren would get ahead of me a bit as she is stronger on climbs even when I am pushing hard. I told her she could keep going if she needed to, but she insisted on staying with me. She is a good friend.<br />
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The roads were bumpy, which was unsettling to ride on, and there was NOBODY else out there. It was an organized ride so I would have thought there would be more people on the road, but I feel like we only came across a handful of them. It was a quiet day and we made a comment that it felt suiting that this was the area of Georgia where they filmed the Walking Dead. It felt like it was just Lauren and I out on this thing the two of us. Despite getting rained on for a small portion, the weather was nice, there was pretty scenery, the volunteers were fantastic and so friendly and nice, but overall, it was not my favorite course. It felt very isolated and I wasn't a fan of the bumpy roads.<br />
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At one point towards the end, we had to wait quite a while to cross a main road, and then shortly after we went through a section of unpaved road. Having unpaved road on an organized bike ride seemed totally odd to us both, so we stopped to review a map and the cue sheets to confirm that we were on the right path, which we were. I also dropped my chain once, which was a small pause for me to fix it (I was proud of myself because for the first time I put it back on all by myself!) Otherwise, we kept moving during the second half of the ride, skipping the aid stops at both miles 73 and 95.<br />
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We came into the finish at 102 miles, ready to be done. Coming in to the finish, I didn't do what I normally do and leisurely hang about. I had a plan of what I wanted to do after the first day's ride. I wanted to get out of the sun as soon as possible, eat the food I brought for myself, and change out of sweaty clothes. I only said hi to the people who were still around briefly before beginning what I considered part of my recovery for the next day. However, I did pause for a few pictures. I wanted to document this weekend.<br />
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Also, they had a nice little photo op set up available so I made use of that for sure!</div>
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At this ride, there was a building we could go into in the finish, so although I didn't leave right away, I did get out of the sun and into the AC. I hung around after changing to chat with some friends and get a massage from the post-ride masseuse they had! I lay down for about 10 minutes and had her work on my neck and shoulders. It was really awesome that they offered that, because I had earlier been thinking about potentially getting a massage in between the two bike rides.<br />
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This weekend I didn't make any plans to try and see friends, my boyfriend was out of town, and the whole thing was just about me and what I needed to do to accomplish this goal.<br />
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After going home and cleaning up, I took myself out for dinner to get a burger and some french fries and tried to work on my mental approach for the next day. At some point in the evening I started to get freaked out a bit and negative thoughts and doubts crept into my mind. Could I really ride 100 miles again the next day? Only really strong, fast, more advanced people do something like this right? There's a reason why more riders that are my speed and level don't do this, right? Who do I think I am?<br />
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Even though I was feeling good about how the day first day had gone and everything was going according to plan, I started to feel scared. I got some reassuring words from friends, boyfriend and coach and then was in bed by 9:30 p.m. to get ready to get up and do the same thing the next day.<br />
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<b><u>Sunday</u></b><br />
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Sunday morning, I woke up and did my normal Saturday routine to get ready for biking. Sunscreen, cereal, fill my bottles, etc. I told myself mentally, "It's Saturday. You're just going out for your normal Saturday ride."<br />
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I head out to Roswell and parked with ease, feeling thankful that I had done the ride once before and knew where to go. I also was a bit taken aback because what had slipped my mind was just how many people come out for this ride! There were cyclists everywhere you looked. Even before I got there, as soon as I was on the highway, there were tons of cars with bikes on the back of their vehicles heading in the same direction I was.<br />
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After checking in and getting set up on my bike, I met up with my friends Phil, Alyssa and Peter, who were all doing the ride as well. I waited as long as possible before actually hoisting myself onto the seat of my bike - one of my bigger fears about finishing these two days of riding was how my uh "seat" would hold up. I have been having some issues feeling comfortable the days after my long rides and wasn't sure how this back-to-back long rides would go.<br />
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We got together and lined up for the start of the route at about 7:00 a.m. There are TONS of people that do this ride and we were about as far back in the line of thousands of people as you could be. Probably not the best place to start, but all of us were going into the bike ride with just one goal - to finish it - so we weren't necessarily concerned at the time about our placement in the group start.<br />
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The first 10 miles of the GA 400 ride are slooooow. They are PACKED with people were you are literally just crawling along trying to balance on your bike so that you don't topple over. There are a lot of inexperienced riders who don't know cycling etiquette or how to control their own bike that well. I saw many people topple over, stop in the middle of a long line of cyclists causing people behind them to swerve, or even someone with a helmet on backwards. It's a bit of a zoo, so the first 10 miles the main goal is really just to stay safe and moving forward, navigating through and around the traffic of cyclists. (Where's Waldo points to those that can see me tucked into that pack of cyclists right in the middle!)<br />
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What makes this ride so popular is that for a section of about 2 miles you get to ride on the GA 400, a major highway throughout Georgia. It is a pretty cool thing to ride your bike on a highway and that gimmicky aspect of it brings out a lot of people to just do one of the shorter ride options (such as the 10 mile route!) in order to have that experience. I think anything that prompts people to be active is a cool thing, but it does make it challenging in those early miles.<br />
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Our group of Phil, Alyssa, Peter and I had previously agreed that we would stop at every rest stop along the route. There were aid stops at miles 9, 26, 34, 49, 64, 79 and 92. When we got to mile 9 it was total chaos and we had all been pretty much just coasting for the first 9 miles navigating around people, so we just said let's keep going and rode past.<br />
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Unlike the Senoia ride or some of the other organized rides I have been doing lately, this route takes you through a lot of main roads and city roads that aren't completely shut down. This means that you are at the mercy of stopping for car traffic, red lights, etc. The route is very well marked and in these earlier miles through the city streets there are still lots and lots of riders out, so you do tend to feel pretty safe though. It is still just hard to get into a groove because there are a number of turns, clipping in and clipping out to stop and wait at traffic lights, and navigating all the other groups of riders out there. We were moving pretty slowly through the miles but the good thing was that my "seat" was getting a good break when I would have to stop now and then.<br />
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We kept moving and riding until we got to Mile 22 aid stop. I had needed to use the bathroom since before the start but everywhere the lines for the bathroom were so long. This stop was no different, but I needed to use it here! I chatted while in line, was feeling strong and confident, thinking "Almost a quart of the way through. I got this." I texted Jonathan, which is not something I usually do in the middle of the ride, but wanted the encouragement this day. Also the rest stop had a buffet of all his favorite foods with brown sugar cinnamon Pop-tarts and Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwiches.<br />
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The next stop was relatively close and we kept moving forward, nothing super eventful happening. I got to mile 34, where I knew my friend Kristin was going to be there volunteering. I felt happy to have someone to see and chat with, I still felt really good and was confident with how the day was going. One of my friends upon giving me advice told me that I would be surprised at how good I felt - and I was feeling good!<br />
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We rolled out of Mile 34 aid station and not too long after that there was the moment of truth split off, where the 62 mile route went one way and the 100 mile went another. Not that there was any question at this point - but we passed the split off and were committed for 100.<br />
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I swear, as soon as we passed that point, I felt like I hit a wall. I went from feeling strong to feeling miserable. We were hitting what felt like hill after hill after hill and I felt like I had nothing in me. The wind started to pick up a bit and I felt like it was blowing me backwards. I started to really struggle mentally and physically, feeling exhausted.<br />
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It happened so suddenly that I was all of a sudden in a bad place. Everything hurt. I felt like there was no relief from the hills and the wind. All I was doing was counting down the miles until I got to 49, but at the same time I just kept thinking... even when I get there we won't even be halfway done?! My friends all got ahead of me and I felt like I was just dragging. I didn't think I was going to be able to finish the whole ride feeling this way. I started to get scared and doubt myself quite a bit. I wanted to cry.<br />
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During one of the climbs, I caught up to a guy who had been in my sight for a bit and I had been slowly gaining on. As I rode past, I was too out of breath and too much in a negative space to even say anything to the rider but then I heard, "Is that Katie?"<br />
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I answered a bit abruptly saying "It's Katelyn." ... because a) was in bad place b) was climbing c) I didn't actually think I knew anyone out here! But as I turned out it was a running friend of mine, Jerome (not my coach), who I had last seen when I was in Berlin for the marathon! I've seen via Facebook and Instagram that he has been getting more into cycling but was still new to it and thought he was such a badass for being out there on this tough course riding the century as a new rider!<br />
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It seemed like the miles CRAWLED by as I got myself to Mile 49 aid stop and I immediately got off my bike, used the bathroom, and went over to grab some food. This was a lot point for me in the course and I was in a mood and needed to get some sugar or calories in me or something. I nearly had a face off with the man who was running the aid station because he was standing IN FRONT of the table, blocking my view of what they had to offer, and then insisting that he pick up the food off the table for me and hand it to me. I am all for sanitary precautions, but I am not going to touch every one of the mini PB and J squares before selecting my own! I can pick up the individual sandwich off the table myself, thank you very much.<br />
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I snapped at him a bit and was fumbling to figure out what I wanted to eat and he asked if I needed medical. I told him, "No! I just need calories." and had him give me a few of the sandwiches and snacks. I also ate some of my own snacks that I had brought, pulling out a reserve of sour cherry gummy candies that seemed to do the trick and perked me up a bit.<br />
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I was hoping that I would get a mental boost after we left the aid station and I was past the 50 mile half way point - knowing that I just had to get myself home from that point forward. The fact that we weren't even halfway there was so demoralizing to me.<br />
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Right before we rolled out from the aid station though, the friend I had passed on the climb, Jerome came in and we chatted a minute. I don't know much about his story, but I do know that over the past couple of years he has been recovering from cancer and working to regain his running and fitness capabilities one mile at a time. This also reminded me of my friend, mentor and role model, Nancy, who is currently undergoing surgeries and treatments to regain her health. I thought of my friend Kelly P who passed away a few years ago, who last told me to "run for her" before a quick and tragic fight for cancer.<br />
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As we rolled out from mile marker 49, and I struggled with the thought of completing 51 more miles, I reminded myself that I GET to do these things. I am healthy and able enough to be out here pushing my limits and testing myself, riding my bike on a sunny summer day. I get to do this. Nobody is forcing me. I have the privilege to have the means and health and I reminded myself that no matter how much I am hurting there are people out there sick, injured, (and at this I smiled a little when the thought hit me) or tapering that would love to be doing what I am doing right now.<br />
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This perked me up again and I kept pushing, before I knew it, arriving at Mile 63 aid station. Everyone at this stop felt a bit social and people were chatting. There was one girl, Isabelle, who I had now been seeing at a few of these different rides. Just the day before, in Senoia, she had been volunteering at an aid station and introduced herself, having recognized me from the Velo City Century bike ride we'd done earlier that year, where she had been volunteering as well. She said that she loved seeing female cyclists out and commented, how many have you done this year?! Three? Four?<br />
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When I saw her the day before, I hadn't mentioned I was doing another century the next day, so she was so surprised to see me out, this time she was riding herself. Her comments to me that I was badass and how impressed she was that I was doing double centuries gave me a bit of a boost and from there out I was NOT humble in conversation with the other riders at the stops!!<br />
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I started chatting with a group of men, who were complaining about being sore and wanting to be finished and get a massage. I casually mentioned, "Yeah - the bike ride that I did yesterday had a masseuse at the end, it was great!" To which I gladly answered their inquiry of how far I had ridden the day before, letting them know this was my second century for the weekend. Everyone seemed so impressed and I am not going to lie, I loved that attention and recognition and used it to carry me forward.<br />
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Leaving station at mile 63, I told myself that pretty soon I would be in the home stretch. I was almost to the point where I was almost there! I always get such a boost from the "almost there" adrenaline, whether it is running or cycling, so this little trick of being "almost there" to "almost there" is something I do quite often. Right out of the aid station though, there was a TERRIBLE super steep incline that knocks you out since your legs are still tight from having stopped and you don't have much momentum built up. I nearly had to walk up it and was so thankful I made it over with toppling off my bike.<br />
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The next few miles were sort of crappy roads with narrow, winding, bumpy roads, with trees casting shadows that made it really hard to see if the dark spot in the road was a shadow or a pot hole. It was a tough section, ride-ability wise (is that a word?) and was thankful when the roads opened up and cleared out a bit more. I almost ran off the road at one point trying to navigate traffic, other riders, hills, and a giant pot hole. I felt like my comprehension was sort of dipping a bit as I got fatigued and popped some salt tabs and drank some water to keep myself going. Taking in more salt when I felt my head start to get a little loopy.<br />
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At mile 79 I used the bathroom again, grabbed some salty Chex Mix like snacks, and at this point, just wanted to get home. There were lots of cyclists sitting in the shade, taking long breaks, etc. but I just wanted to get to the finish. My friend Phil, who was the only other person doing the double century this weekend, was right on the same page with me. Our other friends were starting to drop off a bit, dealing with fatigue issues of their own, needing to stop more frequently. We all decided to split up at this point and just to get in to the finish. There was one more rest stop at Mile 92 but we made the decision at 79 to skip it and just get home.<br />
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The GA 400 century ride, which starts off slow and friendly to amateur or newbie cyclists, is a really challenging ride when you get into the longer distances. You aren't out in back country roads for a lot of the route, having to navigate small shoulders, traffic on the roads, and some pretty steep climbs. Up until that point in addition to the climb coming out of the rest stop, there had been a few other pretty steep inclines that are just pure grinders where you're huffing and puffing and wishing you had more gears on your bike. For the first time ever, I had to stand up on my bike to get myself up some of the hills because I just didn't have enough power or momentum to get through them sitting down.<br />
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We knew that in the last 20 minutes of the ride, there were still quite a few hills to navigate as well. Particularly, the three climbs affectionately called "the three sisters." Now, I had done the metric century of this organized ride two years prior, and on that day, had done the three sisters. I remember that I was able to get up them fine two years prior when I was a FAR more inexperienced cyclists so I actually did not feel too nervous about them. I figured I would handle them as I had been handling everything else this day... just take them slowly, take my time, and never stop freaking pedaling!<br />
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As we rolled out of the aid station at around mile 80, all of a sudden Phil and I saw a blue ITL shirt going the opposite direction and riding a bike towards us. As he got closer, we realized that it was our friend Clayton, who lives in the area, and had decided to come out riding the course to see if he would come across anyone he knew! He stumbled upon Phil and I, and turned back around, helping pace and ride us through the next 10 mile section. Having done this route the year before and also living in these neighborhoods, Clayton knew the area really well and he was such a huge help as we rode our way through the "three sisters" - shouting out to me in advance to let me know when they were coming and giving me feedback on the ride. It was SO nice to have some fresh energy and Clayton was such a boost for miles 80-90 as we rode through the last neighborhoods.<br />
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(See me way behind Clayton climbing up that hill in the picture above?? Getting a little further up the hill in the picture below!)<br />
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The sisters were tough, and the miles surrounding the sisters are no easier. You get a break from finishing a big climb by having a bunch of other mini climbs all around it. There are a number of hills that very well could be "sisters" themselves in my opinion, but it would be one heck of a family I guess, so it's just left as "three" big climbs through the end of this ride. I was proud of myself for continuing to ride strong through these climbs and as expected, the adrenaline of being "almost there" was pushing me forward as well. I did have to wind back and forth a couple times to get myself up the hills, but I made it and was still smiling.<br />
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After you making it through the three sisters, Phil and I rode through the aid station at mile 92 as planned. The final miles take you through downtown Roswell, along a really cute road called Canton Street that I have eaten at and hung out at a few times before.<br />
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At this point, the ride is mentally challenging because you feel SO close and that the end is near, but you are riding through very populated city roads and you have to take it slow and easy. There is foot and car traffic, heavily populated roads with street lights, and narrow roads with little to no shoulder. It is a slow finish, as it was a slow start, but for different reasons.<br />
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The majority of the day we had really ideal weather for riding bikes as well, with cooler temps in the morning and cloud coverage. However, at this point in early afternoon the sun was hot and high in the sky and these last miles went by slowly. We missed a turn at one point and had to stop and backtrack a bit. We'd gotten into the zone a little too much and were unable to recognize and navigate the turn fast enough.<br />
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There were a few more climbs at the very finish, because of course, and the "Finish" shoot that they had set up and the parking lot with our cars was eventually in sight!<br />
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However, there was one small snag. And that was that my watch only read 98.5 miles. We were slightly short.<br />
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I had warned Phil of this earlier as we'd gotten close to the finish. I wanted my darn watch to say 100 before I could feel complete about this accomplishment for the weekend. I had let him know - if we're short - I am going to keep riding! And I was true to that, riding PAST the finish, continuing down some of the access roads, trying to get that additional 1.5 miles. Phil followed, eventually making a U-turn and returning to the finish line with my watch ticking to 100 just before. We crossed the finish with my watch at 100.12 miles.<br />
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I could not have been happier to get off my bike that day and to be through this challenging weekend! We had done it!<br />
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Phil and I took some celebratory photos, checked out the finishers area, and sort of stood around wondering "What now?" Our friends were still out riding and the food that they had didn't look quite that appetizing (pasta - that had been sitting out all day.) There was music playing and lots of people sitting under the canopy tents at tables they'd set up, but although my legs were aching, I just did not want to be sitting down right away. My "seat" was aching more. Managing that was one of the more challenging parts of the ride that day, with the bumpy roads, getting on and off my bike at stop lights, etc. reminding me over and over how uncomfortable I was. I did NOT want to sit down.<br />
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After seeing some of the other people come in that I had been riding with, including many of the people who I had been "casually" letting know I had ridden back-to-back centuries, I got out of the sun and head home. I ate my snack of rice cakes and peanut butter, had drank a Diet Coke at the finish, and decided it was time to get cleaned up.<br />
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I spent the rest of the evening relaxing, eating food, and not worrying about any of the dishes around my apartment or mess of things laying around. Usually I hate to have clutter and dishes and I unpack my biking things right away, putting them where they need to go and doing laundry, etc. But I just let it all be for this day. I relaxed on the couch, looked through pictures, and was just overall so happy and so proud of what I had accomplished.<br />
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I pushed myself to do something that weeks before I didn't think I was capable of. I had an awesome time, creating memories and bonding with my training partners and friends. I tested my limits and faced fears, working to build confidence and strength. I am so thankful to the people that rode with me both days, to my coach and my boyfriend. I'll never forget this weekend and how it felt.<br />
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This is what Ironman training is all about.<br />
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Katelynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04758210180939830431noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3912923948966123033.post-42937460248435453212018-06-20T22:05:00.002-04:002018-06-20T22:10:04.690-04:00A weekend trip home and Ironman training<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
This past weekend I was home for a few days in New Hampshire and Massachusetts, as my family did a delayed burial for my grandmother who had passed in December. The winter was cold and dreary and we wanted to wait for a beautiful spring/summer day, which we had this past weekend. We all miss her so much and she would have loved that everyone was together, laughing, swimming, eating, and playing with kittens. It was the perfect day to honor her and it felt like she was there with us in some way. We love you Gram.<br />
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As I get further along in Ironman training, traveling poses some challenges - especially on the weekends - as I am away from my bike and can't get in long rides when I am away. This past weekend was one of those weekends. It was a trip that I wasn't going to miss, and that I also wasn't going to compromise to try and borrow/rent a bike and go out on my own. The weekend was about family and getting to spend as much time with my family as possible.</div>
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So how does that work with training?</div>
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Well, it starts for me with strong communication with my coach. Weeks in advance I let him know my dates of travel and had that built into my schedule and marked on my TrainingPeaks as soon as I knew the dates and had flights book. He then builds my schedule around that. The weekends leading up to my trip had long, challenging bike rides built into them. I <a href="https://hungrytwenties.blogspot.com/2018/06/return-to-gaps.html">rode the Gaps</a> two weeks before, and followed that up with a 5:00 hour bike ride on Saturday the 9th. Everyone else that was riding that Saturday had 3-4 hours on their schedule and a number of people asked me why I had that extra hour!</div>
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It was a long, hot day for me and I ended up riding the furthest I have ever gone on an unsupported ride. The long rides I have done have had built in rest stops every 10-15 miles (that I have taken advantage of!) or even ITL-supported SAG vehicles. On this day, there wasn't even an official ITL group ride, I just went out with my friends to ride bikes for 83 long miles. Knowing I had about an hour longer than everyone else, I started early and got in 30 minutes before we planned to meet, tried to keep moving as much as possible even when we stopped to regroup, and then kept going at the end of the ride when everyone else stopped for the day.</div>
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I followed that 5:00 hour ride with a 20 minute run, leaving me as the last person from our group in the parking lot for the day. Hot, sweaty, tired, but feeling really proud of myself.</div>
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And that bike ride wasn't even the only challenging portion of that week! Leading up to the 5:00 hour ride, I had actually ridden my bike 1:30 hours the day before and had a number of challenging swims and runs built in. Enough so, that I had my first mini-breakdown of Ironman training, where I got into bed at 8:30 feeling overwhelmed and completely exhausted from training, work and life commitments that left me needing to disengage from communication and conversation for a bit (despite the fact that I had driven an hour to go see my boyfriend, and then immediately after running and ice cream decided I needed alone time and shut down.)</div>
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The day after my long ride, I had a 2:00 hour run scheduled. I took it nice and easy, getting in 12 miles. I started at 6:30 a.m. to do an hour on my own and Jonathan joined me for the second hour of my run. Going at what must have been a turtle's pace for him, he stuck with me and helped keep me distracted.</div>
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The week stayed full after that, going right into long swims, track and an insane amount of lunges, and long trainer rides throughout the week before hopping on a plane Thursday night to head home. When I tell you that literally sitting down to go to the bathroom was ridiculously painful, I am not even joking. My legs were so sore from lunges on Tuesday, that when I saw my trainer ride on Wednesday evening included getting off the bike and doing squats in between intervals, I thought my legs were going to buckle just reading that.</div>
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My priority for going home was seeing family.</div>
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When I go to New Hampshire, I always stay at my mom's house. And every time I am there, I have the same challenge. I arrive around midnight, and then my mom leaves for work at 6:30 a.m. the next morning. Unless I am renting a car, I have to coordinate if I am going to get up SUPER early and have little sleep but get a workout in before my mom leaves so she can bring me to my sister's. OR I can wait until my sister has the chance throughout her day of managing her flock of babies to come get me. Or I can just hang around at my mom's house all day by myself.</div>
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This trip was so short that none of these things were going to be an option for me, so instead, I planned ahead and brought my hiking backpack. Why? So that on Friday morning I could incorporate seeing family into my workout, and threw some clothes and flip-flops and snacks (duh... I didn't know what my sister would have at her house!) into my bag and head out on foot from my Mom's to my sisters. In reality, it was just a bit over 8 miles, which is a normal run for me, but it felt so fun and funny to run the distance from one place to another and make my training functional. Thinking of seeing my little niece and nephews was honestly really amazing motivation and I had a very strong run for myself on Friday. Despite wearing a backpack for the first time ever while running and tackling a hilly back half of the route.</div>
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Saturday I planned to have off from training in order to totally devote to family and the reason I had flown up, as it was the day of my grandmother's burial. But then back on Sunday, I had another run on the schedule for 1:30 hours.</div>
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As we got off the highway at my mom's exit in New Hampshire around 10:00 p.m. driving back from Massachusetts, we saw a sign tacked to a poll advertising road closures for the "Ribfest 5 Miler" road race. I looked up the run online, and did a little research to learn that it was a little over 4 miles from my mom's house and right around 11:00 p.m. (an hour before online registration closed) I signed up for the run the next morning!</div>
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One of the things I am trying to focus on with this training is fun. And although I wasn't going to race the race, incorporating an organized 5 mile route into my run sounded like a top more fun than spending 1:30 hours on the same roads that I have been running every time I go home for the past few years. Roads that I got really tired of running back in December when I was home for 2 weeks in the heart of marathon training.</div>
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I left my mom's around 7:30 a.m. and ran the 4.2 miles to the start of the race, checked in, then continued to run around until my watch hit 5 miles. I ran into some people that I knew at the race, got an awesome race T-shirt, and was impressed with the size and number of people that were out at this Ribfest 5 mile race!</div>
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We started at 9:00 a.m. and I loved the energy and atmosphere of this race! The route was an out-and-back on some of the roads I had just run on to get there, it was unshaded and hot, but there was music, aid stations, lots of energy, and some beautiful neighborhoods. Out-and-back routes can be fun as well because you get to look at and cheer for other runners. I felt comfortable and happy and pushed the pace a bit, but also stayed in control as I knew this was supposed to be an "easy" run day and not a day to race.</div>
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The best part was that my mom came out to cheer and meet me at the finish line, which, absolutely made for a much better running day than what I would have otherwise done! I felt strong, I actually had a great run for me (I guess this is what it is like to run on legs not tired from biking!?) and did I mention I really liked the shirt I got?? It was an all around successful run that is now super memorable for me.</div>
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I flew back to Atlanta on Monday morning and was back to training regularly on Tuesday. Sometimes I stress over feeling like I need to be tied to my bike and have to sacrifice life things for training. And it is true, many times you do. But I am really thankful to have a coach who encourages me to book the trips I want to book telling me "we'll figure it out." I am thankful to have a super supportive boyfriend who helps me through my freak-outs and encourages me to take the time I need to do things, even if it means less time together. I am thankful for my family and mom who help me build my hobbies into our schedule, come out to cheer for and take pictures of me on the side of a hot highway in the summer heat. And I am thankful for all my community in this sport who help make it so much fun, even when I am tired and exhausted.<br />
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Ironman Chattanooga is 14 weeks away!</div>
Katelynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04758210180939830431noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3912923948966123033.post-27863482231558817222018-06-08T21:08:00.002-04:002018-06-08T21:08:28.811-04:00Return to the Gaps<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Last year one of the more challenging days of training throughout the summer and a day that had an entire blog post dedicated to it was <a href="https://hungrytwenties.blogspot.com/2017/06/my-first-gaps-ride-lesson-in-anxiety.html">my first ride at the Gaps</a>. As a quick recap, the Gaps are a series of climbs in the North Georgia mountains that are frequented by cyclists and triathletes in Atlanta. Biking in the Gaps means a lot of beautiful scenery, gorgeous views, curvy roads, and long climbs UP mountains with fast, sometimes scary descents down afterwards.<br />
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Last year when I went, it was a challenging day for me physically, but also mentally, as I struggled with anxiety throughout the day, cried multiple days, and left the Gaps feeling a bit defeated. The Gaps had gotten the better of me on that day.<br />
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I knew that returning to the Gaps was something that I needed to do. I wanted that revenge on the mountains and wanted to prove myself there. But I had also been putting it off a bit as well.<br />
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I wanted to feel strong when I went back and wanted it to be a positive experience. I went last year in mid-June after having been biking regularly since the beginning of the year. This year, it wasn't until the end of April that I really started spending time on my bike. And although I did ramp up quickly and have had some strong rides, I haven't really felt that I have been in great biking shape. When going to the Gaps has come up in conversation this year, I've put it off as something to do later in the summer when I was feeling stronger on the bike.<br />
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Last week, in a group chat with other ITL athletes that I am a part of, it came up that the group ride was going to be taking place in the Gaps that weekend. I immediately started to panic a little and told myself, maybe we aren't actually going this weekend and I can put it off for longer. It came from pretty reliable sources... but I still went to my coach to confirm that I'd be going. So I started shooting text messages to him.<br />
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"Are we going to the Gaps this weekend??"<br />
"Am I ready for that??"<br />
"Do you want me to be biking in the mountains??"<br />
"Do you think I can do it??"<br />
"Really though, do you think I can do it??"<br />
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Yeah, I am a fun athlete to coach.<br />
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In addition to all of the questions for confirmation and reassurance, I also let him know that if we were going, I wanted to have an actual discussion about the overall approach to the day. When he confirmed we were going, I first went back and re-read my blog post from last year. I recalled a few things that I didn't remember before and I knew the questions to ask. I prepared a list and talked with Jerome about what the day would be like. One of the things that was important that I remembered from reading my blog from last year was that although the climbs were hard - I could do them - that my challenges from the day were a lot mental. I knew the things that I needed to do to prepare myself mentally and after talking through all my questions with my coach, I felt ready to return to the Gaps.<br />
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He helped give me an understanding of what I could expect in the route. We talked through the names of the various Gaps, the distances, and the times it might take me to climb them. Talking to him made me feel much better and turn my nerves into a bit of excitement. Before going to bed on Friday night, I put together a last minute list of my goals for the next day, which simply consisted of:<br />
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<li>Ride mindfully and be in the moment</li>
<li>Practice good nutrition</li>
<li>Don't pay attention to the numbers</li>
<li>Have fun</li>
<li>Smile a lot (a last minute add by my coach!)</li>
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I went to bed feeling ready but a bit excited.</div>
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The plan was to be wheels down at 7:15 a.m. and it was an hour and a half -ish drive. I arrived around 6:45 and was surprised that we just sort of basically parked on the side of the road. I recognized portions of the drive there, so things were looking familiar, but parking on the side of the road was new. I got my bike ready and chatted with friends, greased up my bike chain, and waited to get started.<br />
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One of the things that I had discussed with my coach the night before was which of my bikes I should bring to the Gaps - my road bike or my triathlon bike. I was a little nervous to bring my tri bike because I can feel a distinct difference in climbing on my road bike vs. my triathlon bike. And I definitely feel more comfortable and stronger on the road bike. My coach advised me to bring that one then and said it was far enough away from my race that we could go back to the Gaps with my tri bike sometime and for today, he was okay with me choosing comfort. I also am not racing such a hilly route, so I don't need to be doing that much climbing on my tri bike.<br />
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At 7:15 we were rolling - with the plan to do the loop that Jerome and I discussed the night before, which consisted of 3 Gaps - Neels, Wolf Pen, then Woody's Gap. As we head out someone told me that from where we were starting to the top of Neels was exactly 13 miles. Having that target in mind made me feel really good.<br />
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I stuck with my friend Kevin, who is also training for his first Ironman in Chattanooga with me. We agreed on a plan of "slow and steady" for the day and went into Neels Gap feeling positive, with our friend Joni riding at a much easier pace than she needed to, in order to stick with us on the climbs. I was so thankful to have Joni there with us as she chatted away on the entire climb up Neels, which helped take my mind off of how long we were going and helped keep me at a comfortable and conversational pace. Slow and steady.<br />
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I recognized points along the route from last year, and at this point in the day traffic passing by wasn't too bad. When we did this climb the year before it was later in the day and lots of cars and motorcycles were zipping by us which had frightened me. Aside from a few idiots who honked at us and drove by obnoxiously, the roads were pretty clear.<br />
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I felt comfortable climbing. There were a few points where I got out of breathe, but then settled back in. I used my gears whenever I could, but otherwise just kept pedaling in my lowest one. Slow and steady. As we got closer to the top, or I guess after we had been riding a while (since I didn't know where the top was), I started looking at my watch, trying to see how far away we were from reaching 13 miles. I also knew we were getting somewhat close as people started to loop back for us multiple times and pass our little group pedaling away. I CHOSE not to allow the people looping back or the fact that we were the last ones in the group let me feel bad. Just kept going my pace and having fun talking to my friends. Thank goodness Joni was there. Slow and steady as we climbed.<br />
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Eventually we made it to the top of Neels! I felt relieved. I had done it. And it wasn't too terrible. Neels was the climb last year that had broken me a bit and what I was most nervous about going into today. It was our 4th climb out of 5 last year and I was exhausted and started crying when I got to the top. My coach had made me take a picture with the view in the background amidst my tears because he knew it would mean something to me later, so I went back and took a picture while people had snacks and went to the rest room, regrouping at the top of Neels.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNxdKTvyQSEH12lIgjq3CN8wSNp0L57mtzWW0ljEoEt62gZBFeXT5B3_GKCkaAMyc89_O2qEzzyiAfAt2FLUwYl_o0uOHRnjve10BSEqMsUZsvXedCTCKH8NNoBHagbGR3s1-qIRtlP4M/s1600/IMG_4419.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNxdKTvyQSEH12lIgjq3CN8wSNp0L57mtzWW0ljEoEt62gZBFeXT5B3_GKCkaAMyc89_O2qEzzyiAfAt2FLUwYl_o0uOHRnjve10BSEqMsUZsvXedCTCKH8NNoBHagbGR3s1-qIRtlP4M/s320/IMG_4419.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">June 2018</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgXRR1eKmEw0NbZQnFb_e07Eqb0WdNmKVNEMXPvNyparRkT6djwKmW01x4m029kLUdp7xuoiZWzV-jprMunxvB7Uhne70KVx89jiLw-W5VZMas1b9dcr3KLx_MIGl84iY0pYee14VsmfU/s1600/IMG_7567.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgXRR1eKmEw0NbZQnFb_e07Eqb0WdNmKVNEMXPvNyparRkT6djwKmW01x4m029kLUdp7xuoiZWzV-jprMunxvB7Uhne70KVx89jiLw-W5VZMas1b9dcr3KLx_MIGl84iY0pYee14VsmfU/s320/IMG_7567.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">June 2017</td></tr>
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<br />At the top of Neels I started to eat some of my snacks, possibly overeating a bit since it was still early in the ride. But I had brought yummy snacks for the occasion, and the year before I had gotten hungry early in the ride, so did not want that to happen again. We had a SAG vehicle, but it was mostly just holding extra things for the group that was riding 6 hours (I had 4) so everything I had brought was stuffed into my baggie on my bike.<br />
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The descent down Neels was fun - I don't mind the descents that much, whereas I know a number of people are terrified of them. I just hold onto my brakes and take it easy but also enjoying the reward of not having to pedal after a long climb. We rode passed Vogel State Park - which is where I had been back in March when we supported/crewed Jonathan's friend at the Georgia Death Race ultra-marathon. It made me feel even more comfortable with the day to be able to remind myself that I wasn't in totally unfamiliar territory - I was becoming more familiar with and accustomed to the mountains of North Georgia. I was an old pro at this area of the state! ... Although in reality I do not know my way around whatsoever, it was something I told myself to help feel more comfortable, which it did.<br />
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The next Gap started at the bottom of the descent of Neels. Wolf Pen is a 3 mile climb, which feels short after doing Neels right beforehand, which is 7 or 8. But it is a bit steeper. I had been feeling good tackling the one that seemed most scary to me going into the day, but came back to reality a bit because Wolf Pen is still challenging. Joni stuck with me again, back of the pack, and I just kept my own pace and focused on what I was doing. Slow and steady.<br />
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We chatted more and I tried to stay in the moment, observing the beautiful views, waterfalls, trees, and skyline that poked through. It was a really gorgeous day out and aside from getting a bit chilly on some of the downhills, I felt very comfortable temperature wise.<br />
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I checked my watch throughout the climb up Wolf Pen, knowing to expect about 3 miles. It helped me to have that to plan for and definitely relied on that quite a bit. We made it to the top and found the group up there waiting, a few people having turned to loop back. We regrouped there, filling up our water bottles from our amazingly helpful SAG vehicle, took some pictures, and then continued on.<br />
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The next Gap was Woody Gap. I knew it was really short, but it was also the only one on this route that I had not done before and was not sure what to expect. We rode over, regrouping at a gas station before getting into the climb, and then regrouping again at the top of Woody. The climb there really wasn't bad at all! It was the first one that I did on my own, and I thought back to my goals for the day of "not paying attention to the numbers" and set the mini-goal for myself to not look at my watch and check how far I had gone up the climb at all. I just wanted to ride until I got to the top - which I did! Slow and steady.<br />
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The top of Woody has one of the prettiest views. I recognized that we had actually stopped there when driving through the year before and I had taken pictures at the top of Woody. I took some more with friends and was honestly just feeling really happy and really good about the day. I had just ridden the 3 Gap route and was still feeling strong. My goals and my approach to the day all seemed to be working for me... except maybe trying to focus on nutrition. At this point I was shoving Cape Cod potato chips into my mouth with no shame. I wasn't getting hungry though and was going through water, so I felt happy with that.<br />
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When we finished the 3-Gap route, we were at about 2.5 hours into the ride. Our coach, Adam, suggested that we stay together as a group for a bit longer before splitting up (people were trying to ride a range of 4-6 hours.) He suggested we turn around and descend down Woody the way we had just climbed and turn down a road that we don't usually ride down but, he said, "is really nice, shaded, and a pretty ride!" He told us to descend, then keep going straight until we got to a big country store that we wouldn't miss, and then turn around and go back. He thought it would add about an hour to the ride.<br />
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It sounded good to all of us so we turned and rode down Woody the way that we came up, and continued down the road that Adam mentioned... and when I say continued "down" the road... I literally mean DOWN. After the descent down Woody, we kept going a bit and then continued to go downhill for mile after mile. It was a pretty road and it was a shaded road, as Adam has mentioned, but he had NOT mentioned that it was straight downhill! Which meant this out-and-back add on to our ride, was also going to be taking us UP this road.<br />
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There were some pretty steep seeming sections and I was cursing Adam in my head the whole ride down, wondering when it would level out or when this big country store would appear.<br />
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Eventually I started seeing people come back up, so I knew the end was in sight. I reached the store and with a few of my friends said to one another, "What in the world did we just ride down!?" and complained a minute... but then did what we had no other choice to do, but ride back up.<br />
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As we started up, at first I was grumpy. Why did he have to make the last hour and a half so hard?! He hadn't even given us any warning! I felt frustrated and annoyed, but then all of a sudden the voice of one of my friends who I had asked for advice the day before came into my mind. She had told me to go into the day knowing it would be hard, BUT that this was just one step on my way to becoming an Ironman.<br />
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All of a sudden I felt like I had a bit of clarity and remembering that advice started to give me perspective. I told myself, don't be mad because this is hard - you KNEW this was going to be hard. You are here because of that. The reason that you are doing this is BECAUSE it is hard. To get stronger. You signed up for an Ironman to do something challenging. And not just on the day of the race, but in the months of training beforehand. I stopped being mad at the fact that we'd gone a way that was "hard", turned my mindset around, and just rode my bike up that hill. Slow and steady.<br />
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Adam passed me on the way up and I said to him, "How is this not a named Gap!?" and he said, "It is! It is Skeenah Gap!" ... I have never heard of this Gap and it is not one of the 6 that people talk about, but I felt a little validated that I wasn't making up that it was a big climb! When I looked at my elevation profile at the end, it confirmed that I wasn't making it up either.<br />
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I hadn't tracked on my watch how long we had been going downhill so I wasn't sure how long I had to climb up it, but I just kept going. I stayed focused and kept in the moment and just pedaled away. When I got to what I thought might be the top, I even did something I never thought I would do -- I turned back around. Turning back around was scary because I wasn't sure how much climbing it would add. But it was also scary because it meant that when I got to my friend who I was turning back for, I would have to stop riding, turn around, and then start riding on an uphill. That made me nervous, but I did it.<br />
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I turned back down Skeenah Gap until I got to my friend and helped encourage him up the last of the climb, and we made our way to where the rest of the ITL group was waiting at a gas station by the bottom of Woody. At this point, I was still feeling SO happy and was really proud of myself. Not for how fast I climbed or anything - but because I was still having fun and still happy. I had gone through a huge mental challenge with the unexpected part of the route throwing me for a loop, but I was able to find a mental place where I was strong and get through it with a positive attitude.<br />
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Even though we still had one more Gap to ride up, Woody again, I felt victorious. There was music playing at the gas station and I was smiling and dancing (and eating more chips.)<br />
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The group split up at this point and the 4 hour crew head back up Woody and towards the cars, while the people with longer rides head off on a different route. Woody Gap seemed longer this second time climbing up it, but I continued with not looking at my watch at all and just staying in the moment, riding until I could see the top.<br />
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Once we all go there and regrouped, we started downhill. I knew it was a long descent, very twisty, on a smooth newly paved road that would literally dump us right back at our cars. It was a 5 mile downhill that although was a bit scary, was also extremely pretty (I had to keep reminding myself to keep my eyes on the road.) I was back at my car with my watch at exactly 4:05 on a 4:00 hour ride planned. Pretty darn perfect.<br />
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My elevation for the day was 5104 feet of climbing, over 4:05 hours riding and 50.3 miles. For perspective, Ironman Chattanooga, what I am training for, has 4808 feet of climbing over 116 miles.<br />
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I never tried to push the pace. I told myself over and over "slow and steady." I laughed and had fun with my friends. I encouraged other people and accepted support when I needed it as well. I reversed bad self talk in the moment. When the ride went unscripted, I faced my fears. I was mindful and focused on the present. I had fun. And I smiled a lot.<br />
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It was a good day and I really feel like on this day, I conquered the Gaps. Not because I was faster or rode further or stronger than last year but because I embraced the toughness and I used it to make me stronger. Understanding what the day at the Gaps was going to be like was really key for me. I felt so much more comfortable having a sense of what it would be like. But even when it came to a part of the day where I did not know what was happening, I turned my attitude around and found the right mental self talk to get me through it. One more step on my journey to becoming an Ironman.<br />
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Looking forward to more tough things to come.</div>
Katelynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04758210180939830431noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3912923948966123033.post-67057401201735799432018-05-17T17:59:00.002-04:002018-05-17T17:59:40.648-04:00Cooper River Bridge Run Race Recap<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Back in early April, I traveled to Charleston, South Carolina with my friend Brick and her husband G to take part in a race in a new state and a bucket list race for Brick and I - the Cooper River Bridge Run 10K. This race is the 3rd largest 10K in the world (with the Peachtree Road Race in Atlanta being #1... we Googled it.) There are about 44,000 people that run every year and we have heard lots of good things about the experience.<br />
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We had made plans to run this race and signed up back in the fall, but then life happened and we put together our trip somewhat last minute. Things have a way of working out though and despite not a ton of research going into our planning, it ended up working out perfectly. The race took on a lot of different meanings and motivations throughout the months from when we signed up to when we actually went to go run. It was something I am so proud of Brick for accomplishing and a fun weekend all around so I wanted to be sure to recap it all on the blog.<br />
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We left Atlanta midday on Friday, April 6 and drove across Atlanta into South Carolina, about 6 hours in total for the drive I'd say. We planned to go right to the expo since we were arriving with about 30 minutes to spare before the end of the event. </div>
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Arriving at the expo was pretty easy, since I think most people had made it through already. The location was only a bit busy (and more colorful!) due to a Jimmy Buffet concert taking place right next door. We walked the Expo with high expectations of free samples and vendors to explore (we are both NOT the in-and-out type of expo attendees.) However, the race expo was already shutting down and a number of the booths had already packed up or were in the process of packing up. A little bit of a let down, but it was okay. We were tired from the drive and knew we had a long day ahead of us. Plus, we hadn't had dinner yet. We snapped some pics and figured out where we needed to be in the morning and then head over to our hotel.<br />
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By some stroke of luck, our hotel was actually right in the same complex as the race expo... literally just 2 minutes down the road. What made this really lucky was that the expo spot was one of the locations for bus pickups the next morning. Since it is a point-to-point race, you need to take a shuttle to the race start, very similar to the New York City Marathon. By total coincidence, we ended up having an incredibly logistically easy morning ahead of us, which took a lot of weight off our shoulders.</div>
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After having some pizza at a delicious spot right by the hotel and expo, we head to bed just to get up in the morning and walk over to the shuttle bus pickup. Our hotel was awesome and had breakfast bags with fruit, muffins, granola bars and water for runners and the pickup was extremely organized and very smooth. There were a few ITL ladies who were also in town from Atlanta to run the race and I had made plans to meet up with them in the morning at the race start. Again, by pure coincidence, even with 44,000 people at the start, we were able to find them really easily.</div>
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Brick and G were going to be walking the race, so we all hung out together at the start and made our way to the corrals but then I moved forward with some of the girls who we all planned to run the race together. None of us had any goal paces and all were planning to run for fun and take it easy, enjoying the experience of this large race!<br />
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The run itself actually starts in Mount Pleasant, and at about 2 miles in, you start to head over the bridge. The portion on the bridge itself is about 2 miles, before you enter in to Charleston and finish right in the historic and beautiful downtown area of King Street. The race start was pretty uneventful. I had no hype up dancing and no nerves, it was not a goal race for me so I was just planning on running it like I would a regular weekend run.<br />
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The first thing that I noticed when the race started was that there weren't a lot of spectators. Given that a large portion of the race is on a bridge, there of course are not spectators along that portion, but overall I was a little surprised at the fact that there weren't more people out spectating. As we got into Charleston, there were more crowds. However, races with similar numbers of runners (NYC Marathon, Chicago Marathon, Peachtree Road Race, etc.) have people lined all along either sides of the street rows and rows deep. This was less crowded but still lots to look at with the beachy towns, music along the route, and lots of runners in costume along the course. Plus, I was running with my friends, which is not something I have done in a race environment in a long time. We stopped to take some pictures along the route and were continually checking around for one another.<br />
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I personally felt like I was having a hard time maintaining what should have been a comfortable pace. I have been having a hard time running in general since my marathon and even though this was only a 10K and it wasn't at any record setting speeds, it felt hard for me. I was happy to see the miles ticking by but at the same time tried to enjoy the experience since I knew it was a bucket list race.</div>
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As we head into Charleston and King Street I tried to take in all of the different restaurants and shops. I hadn't been to the Charleston downtown area yet so it was my first time scoping out everything around us and take in the cuteness of the area. I hadn't been to the coast in a while or a coastal town in the south, so I was enjoying seeing the palm looking trees and the cute beach-y feel of the town.</div>
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We made two left turns into the finish line and just like that the race was done! Unlike any of the races I've ever done there was no rushing to stop my watch and see what my time was. There was no gasping for air and feeling of excitement or disappointment at how I did. It was just done and I stopped running and laughed and took some pictures with my friends.<br />
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There was a great finish line and as we made our way through we got medals, water, and then were dumped into the finish line festival area. There was BBQ, watermelon, muffins, fruit, Gatorade, water, etc. and we tried to stock up on snacks and also hopped into a Panera to use the restroom and get coffee before heading back out to the race course to see our friends who had walked make their way in to the finish.</div>
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When Brick and G came through, I jumped back into the race and walked the last .25 miles with them, hopping out of the race before they went through the finish and took pictures as they crossed. I was really proud of Brick for starting and finishing this race, despite seemingly the odds being stacked against her. This race was a goal of hers and the reason I signed up and it wasn't about time for either of us but the experience. She always impresses me!<br />
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The one thing I will say about the race is that the finish line party was not well prepared for the people who finished at the end of the race. By the time that Brick came through there was no BBQ, watermelon, or good snacks left. I don't like when races only cater to the people who come in first and don't have enough supplies for everyone. Everyone paid and participated so they should plan to have watermelon for all 44,000 runners in my opinion!<br />
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We didn't stay long in the finish party not surprisingly... there wasn't a ton left to do and Brick was ready to be off her feet. With everything sort of crazy and busy in the finish area, we stopped at a cookie shop and grabbed some cookies before making our way back to the hotel to shower and figure out a plan for the day.</div>
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The weather had held out for the time that we were at the race, but unfortunately the rest of our Saturday was filled with on and off TORRENTIAL downpour thunderstorms.<br />
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We proudly wore our medals around the city and explored the food and sights of Charleston, SC for the rest of Saturday. We tried food and sweets from numerous restaurants and enjoyed some drinks as well before falling asleep early and getting up to make our way back to Atlanta. It was a fun weekend exploring and running in a new city and state and with some of my favorite people. I have no idea what my time was at the Cooper River Bridge Run and I am A-OK with that. I highly recommend it for a fun race experience!<br />
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Katelynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04758210180939830431noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3912923948966123033.post-57030756398938312082018-05-08T20:44:00.001-04:002018-05-08T20:44:00.904-04:00Proud moments<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Despite my last post about some of the challenges I am working to overcome as far as eating is concerned, I wanted to share a bit about some of the fun stuff from the past few weeks as I have gotten back into the swing of things with training. It's been a really busy time of year and despite lots of weekend trips, a little bit of work travel, and various work and social commitments, I have been maintaining a full schedule of training and starting to remember what it's like to balance three different sports! I really have not trained for a triathlon in about a year since the only major triathlon that was on my schedule last year was Chattanooga 70.3 in May. After that I did some more biking and swimming, and raced an Olympic distance race in June. But it was all running focused training from June 2017 until about a month ago in March/April 2018 after Berlin and Albany Marathons.<br />
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<b>I have been proud of myself for getting back on the trainer.</b> And in a big way! Now, I still cannot (and have not had to) force myself to do multiple hours on the bike trainer, but I have lately been spending more time working myself into a full on sweaty mess and my legs into Jello with tough workouts on the trainer. Right before I went to Chicago in mid-April (more on that later!) I did three days in a row of really tough trainer rides, plus swims, plus some strength work all mixed in. After the Wednesday-Thursday-Friday trainer combination, my legs were TOAST. But it felt, and continues to feel, really good to push through a challenging workout on the trainer. I have been dreading these workouts less and enjoying the sweat sessions. I told my coach that I can feel the muscles growing in my legs after these workouts!<br />
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<b>I have been proud of myself for getting back to swim practice. </b>Now, this is another little "gimme" of something I am proud of, but it has been a change in habit to return to going to swim practice not for it to be a recovery set from running, but for it to be a workout. All winter long I (and my coach) was giving myself permission not to push too hard at swim practice, leave early if I wanted, and use it primarily as a means of recovery instead of fitness. It was a change in habit to get in the pool at 6:00 a.m. and not get out until 7:30 when I started back going to the full sessions. I have really been loving it though and am proud of myself for getting back into it. The first few weeks when I first was recovering from Albany and couldn't really bike or run hard, I did a few swims of 3600-4000M, just because. I actually stayed longer at swim practice, adding to the workout, instead of dropping out early. I am looking forward to open water swims starting as well!<br />
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<b>I have been proud of myself for recognizing that it is okay to skip some workouts. </b>So, this might sound crazy but it has been an important thing for me. As many people might be able to tell, I can be pretty type A and nutty about not wanting to skip things. I have written about this before and it is a point of pride for me - I do not skip workouts. Since training for my first marathon where I did every single mile on the Hal Higdon plan, except for TWO that still eat away at me, until now. It's just something that doesn't sit well with me and so I just don't do it. Sometimes that can be to my detriment though when travel, injury, fatigue, and life come up. I will drive myself crazy and anxious to get in workouts, lose sleep and stress to get it all in - sometimes hurting myself in the process.<br />
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As I ramp up for Ironman, I have already come to the conclusion that I need to be better about sometimes letting something go by and go red in TrainingPeaks. I spoke with my coach about this and he agreed and encouraged me to listen to my body at times. He said he had no problem telling me this because he knows my work ethic is not one to allow myself to skip all the time. But if I am feeling exhausted and stressed, he said he'd much rather me get more sleep and feel better and skip a swim than drive myself nuts over it. In reality, my Ironman race isn't going to be made or broken by one single workout. It's a long term training of consistency and building week over week, so remembering to be good to myself and listen to my body throughout the journey will be important.<br />
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<b>I have been proud of myself for remembering I can say no.</b> In my first week or so since having my wake up call and refocusing meeting with the nutritionist, it's been a lot of "first's" for me in terms of resisting the food and indulgences that I had gotten into the habit of just saying yes to. Just like with staying the full set at swim practice... it's not that I didn't think I could do it... but sometimes you have to reset your habits, and those first few times can be hard.<br />
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I was in a habit of every time I went to the grocery store, going to the bulk food section first and making myself a bag of "snacks" to eat while I shopped. Chocolate and yogurt covered pretzels, nuts, cranberries and blueberries. Gummy candies, jelly beans, and sour watermelons. It became my habit and it is hard to snap yourself out of that. But once you do it once, it becomes easier the next time. I have been working to reset other habits and remind myself - I can say no to getting a drink, even though I am attending a happy hour. I can eat my own salad that I brought in for lunch, even though the office ordered pizza. I can pass on the cookies, cupcakes and donuts that are at the work conference. I can choose the egg white omelet with veggies and dry toast over the bacon and buttered biscuits while going out for breakfast. I have been proud of myself on more than one occasion lately as I "say no" and move on to a number of temptations.<br />
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<b>I was proud of myself for how I rode at the Up the Creek bike ride. </b>On April 28 I did my first long bike ride of the year at the Up the Creek 71 Mile Ride. It was in Rome, GA and I went out with a number of friends as I had heard great things about the route. This ride is the same day as the John Tanner sprint triathlon that I did last year. However, not having any triathlons until later in the year, I didn't feel the need to do a sprint this year and knew a long supported ride would be better for me.<br />
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I was a bit nervous going into this because the longest I had ridden this year up to that point was 36 miles. I was about doubling my distance and that made me nervous! Plus, I'd had some issues with my bike the last time I had ridden it that didn't have me feeling too confident.<br />
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Well, I ended up having an awesome day at Up the Creek. I felt like I got stronger as the day went on and I loved every minute of the ride. It was a gorgeous route, great friends, lots of laughs, and I couldn't believe how strong I felt all the way in through the finish. Now, I know these numbers aren't setting any records for speed, but I averaged 16.8 mph for the 71 miles, which is a really strong training ride for me. Even at the peak of my strength last year, I would be really happy with that, so to average that speed just getting back into my first long ride, I was thrilled and really proud.<br />
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And the day was just so fun!<br />
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<b>I was proud of myself for how I rode at the VeloCity 100 Mile Century bike ride.</b> The week after the Up the Creek ride, I decided to go out and add to what had already been double the furthest distance I'd ridden this year by another 30 miles and do my first century (100 mile) of the year. Last year, one of my goals for the entire year was to ride a century bike ride and after months and months of training, I built up to it and rode 100 miles at the end of July. It is so weird to me that this year in the first weekend of May, after doing much less cycling leading up to this, I just rode 100 miles for the second time ever - this time with it not being "the" goal, but just a stepping stone on the way to Ironman. Saturday was just the first of many 100+ mile rides I will get in this year. Oh and because it was a city ride, it started a little less than 2.5 miles from my house. I actually rode TO and FROM the ride, for a total of the day of around 106 miles.<br />
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The ride was different from the week before as I could feel the fatigue in my legs early on and unlike the feeling of getting stronger all day long, after about 25 miles, I felt like I was just getting slower. Miles seemed to be crawling by and I was afraid I was just going to crash and bonk. I dropped my chain 2x around mile 50 and after a long stop at mile 54, when starting back up again my legs just felt dead. However somewhere around mile 60 I came back to life and started to feel strong again. I focused on 5 miles at a time and pushed through to the next rest stop at mile 80. The last 20 miles in were really challenging with lots of terrible hills. We were going through neighborhoods where it felt like every time we had a downhill it was met with a stop sign or a red light that caused us to start the next steep incline from a dead stop or slowed pace. It was tough, but I still felt strong through to the end. I ended the day with an average speed of 16.7 mph, which I was really happy with. I had been thrilled with 16.8 mph the weekend before, so for my speed to be about the same on a route with double the elevation (+5000 ft) and 30 more miles of riding - it was a really nice surprise after not feeling so strong for parts of it.<br />
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And again, it was an all around really fun day with friends.<br />
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<b>I have been proud of myself for staying positive. </b>I wanted to share the things I am proud of as part of this effort to continue to stay positive. Because to be honest, not every aspect of the beginning weeks of training has felt perfect (shocking, right?!) Most notably, my running has been really struggling. I think I really burnt out my mind and my body with the running that I had done throughout the winter. Plus a little weight gain. Plus using and tiring out a bunch of muscles in my legs that I haven't used in a year. And yah, running probably will suck a little. But it's been hard because I have been getting slower and slower (after a year of focusing on just getting faster and faster), feeling terrible, and just something I have been struggling to get the motivation to do. However, I try to find positives in all my runs. Whether it be running in a fun different city like on my recent trip to San Francisco, the beautiful weather we've been having, ability to wear tank tops, being consistent in pace (whatever it may be) or running with friends. I am working to stay positive.<br />
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And not just on my runs, but on my bikes as well. I spent a lot of the century ride biking along and even during the tough portions where I felt like I was going to bonk, I tried to focus on the positives and enjoy the day. During the challenging hilly portion of the last 15 miles of the ride, I told myself all the starting and stopping was just going to make me stronger. I am working to stay true to the first part of the goal I had set for myself when I signed up for Ironman Chattanooga, which is just to have fun with the training. Staying positive is not always easy, but it is a choice. And I am proud of myself for the times that I have chosen to be positive in the past few weeks.<br />
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It is something I will continue to work on and choose every day. Hope you are having a great start to your week!<br />
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Katelynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04758210180939830431noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3912923948966123033.post-68249913596015704202018-05-04T21:31:00.002-04:002018-05-04T21:31:39.699-04:00New goals - an honest post<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Lately I have been really feeling the itch to write and have been missing having this space as an outlet. I am going to make an effort to spend more time here and write more. I have continued to come back to the blog after 9 years now because I have come to find that writing is good for me mentally. It helps me process things and sort through my thoughts. I have missed the routine and ritual that I have often had of sitting down with my laptop at the end of the day; digesting and analyzing the things I felt and did as they related to training, eating, and life.<br />
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As I get ready for Ironman Chattanooga, I know finding free time in the day is going to become even harder than it is now, but I am hoping to continue to carve space in my life to dedicate towards writing and reflecting and sharing my journey on this blog.<br />
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Over the past few weeks my training has begun to ramp up. I doubled the furthest mileage I had gone on a bike last weekend, ramping up to 71 miles, and tomorrow I am jumping yet again. I am riding 100 miles with some friends - my first century of the year, and second ever bike ride of that distance!<br />
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I am going to write another post soon about both some of the things that I have been struggling with right now with training and some of the things I have been most proud of. However, today I wanted to open up a little about another important aspect of healthy living overall and the topic that this entire blog was originally founded on, before the days of me ever even running a 5K, and that is food and eating.<br />
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As winter dragged on, I found myself so much looking forward to the warmer weather and outdoor bike rides with my friends. However, one aspect of that I had been beginning to dread, was pulling out my triathlon and cycling kits from last season and squeezing back into to tight shorts, lycra (or whatever this stuff is made of), and no ability to hide stomach rolls and excess body fat. Now, I had become very comfortable with this all last season, but throughout the winter my body has changed a bit and I have put on some weight. As happens with a lot of people when you pull out your spring/summer clothing, everything fits a bit snugger and tighter than when you had packed those boxes away.<br />
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And while endurance sports has taught me to love and feel comfortable in my body for how strong it is, no matter what the scale says, I have been stressed out about the weight due to the habits that have come along with it. The tighter clothing meant I could no longer deny the weight, which means I could no longer deny the habits, which, for me, could best be described as binge eating. And was something I have felt really out of control with as of late.<br />
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I was hesitant about whether or not to really open up on the blog about this, but I thought that by sharing openly, it would help to hold me accountable to the changes I want to make. And in essence, stop the process in its track, because for me, binging also comes along with hiding these habits, the shame around it when it does happen, and discarding evidence to those around me. In addition, I was reminded that - Katelyn, you actually have written about this exact topic on the blog before! <a href="https://hungrytwenties.blogspot.com/2013/05/i-havent-been-completely-honest-with.html">This post from May 2013</a>, I literally could have written last week. Almost every word of it. Except now I know to label my habits as falling under "disordered eating" (which is different from having an eating disorder, I should add) and not just eating in secret.<br />
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So what exactly does that mean?<br />
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For me, binge eating is eating without thinking. It is letting the lizard brain win and giving in whenever I think to myself "I want that" despite another part of my brain telling me no. It is also the shame that goes along with it when I do indulge. Almost always alone, without telling anyone, and hide the evidence before anyone can see the candy bar wrappers in my trash can, the empty box where the donuts once were on my counter, or the empty frozen yogurt container in the backseat of my car. Sometimes I might be with someone when I buy the cookie or the candy or the food - but you won't see me eat it until I am alone (because then I can still leave that doubt in your mind.) It is eating without really enjoying it, feeling satisfied, and often is hidden afterwards, or referenced in a joking way, where in fact, I feel horrible and embarrassed about it.<br />
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Now logically, over the past months as I have been feeling out of control, I have *known* the things that I needed to do. And mentally I *wanted* to be doing them. But I haven't been able to get myself to do them. And I didn't know why.<br />
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I can pinpoint when these habits started to become an issue, and that was following the holidays and the passing of my grandmother. It continued as I returned to Atlanta and even in the months leading up to my marathon in Albany. Usually when I have a really important to me training goal that I am working on, I am more focused than ever with my diet. I recognized in the moment that the behavior wasn't smart or healthy, but at the same time, I was running 50-60 miles a week and training harder than I ever had in my life. It wasn't showing up on my waistline the binging didn't seem that detrimental to me. It felt like I could get away with going out just to buy the special Groundhog Day donutS (multiple) from the place down the street after seeing them across my Instagram feed. I mean, it was <i>Groundhog Day</i> exclusive donuts... I couldn't pass those up, right?!<br />
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I make a joke out of it, but in reality, I ate them alone, at my apartment, not telling anyone it happened, and feeling ashamed about it later.<br />
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Healthy eating has always been a balance for me where I have never been so restrictive as to say, "You can never eat a donut!" or completely cutting out pizza, ice cream, candy, and other things that - in reality - I love! I have been incredibly successful in the past with plans like Weight Watchers that don't restrict any foods, or eating the way that I was taught by <a href="https://hungrytwenties.blogspot.com/2016/08/my-experience-seeing-nutritionist.html">my nutritionist</a> a couple of years ago. So don't get me wrong in that sense, I think a donut can be okay every now and then as part of a balanced, healthy lifestyle. Especially when exercising to extreme amounts, I think treating now and then is perfectly normal and warranted. But, when they are incorporated into a healthy way, they don't come with that shame and embarrassment and feeling of being out of control.<br />
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Lately I have felt out of control and I haven't known what to do. And in the months that have followed Albany Marathon and my training dropped way down and I wasn't burning as many calories... it became really apparent really quickly that I couldn't hide this, and other bad eating habits I have picked up over the past months.<br />
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So, last week I met with that same nutritionist. I have joked sometimes I am not sure if I need a nutritionist or a psychiatrist, but I feel lucky that I have found one who I feel I have a little bit of both. Meeting with her, we didn't talk about food. Like, at all. I did show her a log I had started with the food I have been eating, binges included. But I think that was just because I had to admit and come clean to someone what I had been doing.<br />
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Instead of talking about food - because I honestly knew the things I *should* have been doing and what works for me, we talked about what might be causing the disordered eating behaviors I had been engaging in. It had been confusing to me and hadn't made sense because I felt like I was happy. I felt like things were going well. But we uncovered and talked through some things that I hadn't necessarily realized I was working through mentally. We discussed things I could do to help manage what I was feeling, stop the binging, change other bad habits I have formed, and ultimately, get myself back to a weight where I felt strongest and most confident.<br />
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This was a week ago and it was a scary step for me to make that appointment but I am really glad I did. I set some clear goals for myself in the last week and in the next few weeks and am working away at them. I had some challenging situations to manage through off the get go, with a work trip to San Francisco, which, travel is always challenging for me.<br />
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I didn't eat perfectly over the past week by any means - I think I have had a piece of chocolate every single day - but I don't feel guilty about it. I feel in control and determined, and balanced. I feel excited to continue the streak of feeling in control with my eating and I feel a weight off of me a bit that I have opened up about some of these things to people in my life (figuratively, but hopefully literally too.)<br />
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Given the fact that I wrote a post extremely similar to this almost exactly five years ago... I'd say that this is something that is going to challenge me for a long time to come. But I feel good knowing that I am strong, I have supportive people in my corner, resources available to me, and a super strong will and determination to keep working at it.</div>
Katelynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04758210180939830431noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3912923948966123033.post-22041130626968517852018-04-17T20:46:00.002-04:002018-04-18T08:38:45.046-04:00I guess we are Ironman training now!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
After my marathon in March, I needed a break. Heck, if we're being honest, BEFORE my marathon in March, I needed a break. Which may be partially to blame for why the race <a href="http://hungrytwenties.blogspot.com/2018/03/snickers-albany-marathon-race-recap.html">went the way it did</a>. But I needed some time off and I wasn't ready to think about what next. But at the same time, I know myself well and determining "What next?" is one of the ways to get myself passed what just was. The rebound race, if you will.<br />
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I do better with a plan, so I met with my coach and we set the plan to not have a plan for a couple months. The goal was to return my training to just having fun. I wanted to stay active, I wanted to recover, and I wanted to do what I felt like doing and what felt like fun. During training for Albany Marathon, running stopped being fun and my workouts were things I "had to" do for the goal I had set. I needed a break from that mentality so wanted to spend some time mainly avoiding that feeling of anything was something I "needed" to do.<br />
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So that's what I did. And have been doing. For March and April the "goal" has been to go the direction my body told me to. I wanted to get out on my bike and go on bike rides with friends. I wanted to do a full swim set in the pool, actually pushing myself instead of just swimming for recovery. I wanted to maybe try some new classes in the gym. Do yoga. Strength work. Run easy without a plan with friends. I just wanted to have fun. And it's been great.<br />
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I have had some really nice days biking with friends, I have gotten to know people better or connected with new friends while running easy. I have pushed myself to go further in the pool when I was feeling it. I ran a 10K with friends, stopping to take pictures along the way. I also DIDN'T run some races, volunteering or supporting others towards their goals. And I tried new to me workouts like climbing stadium steps with November Project's Atlanta tribe!<br />
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But at the end of March, my mind was telling me I had to plan ahead. I figured in my "down" time, that my body and my mind would start to tell me what it was that I wanted to do. I assumed that I'd figure it out as it went along. And figure it out I did. My mind kept coming to one thing I wanted to do. It kept thinking of the same race over and over. When I was driving in my car, when I was swimming, when I had a few moments to think. I kept thinking of one thing.<br />
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Ironman Chattanooga.<br />
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Now, wait, what?! I said I would wait! I said I was going to take a break! That I needed a break! I said I was going to go a bit without a plan! The plan was to have no plan! Right?! Well, my body and mind figured it out for me and I did what felt right.<br />
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At the end of March after saying back and forth over and over to Jonathan, my coach, and others: "Do you think I should do it?!" I finally got the push I needed from Jonathan saying, "Yes. So you can stop asking me if I think you should every day!" And just like that, I signed up for my first Ironman! I knew right away after clicking that button that I had made the right choice. I had some moments of doubt and fear in the hours afterwards. Qualifying for Boston is still a major goal of mine, something I want in the near future and didn't want to compromise too much. I got scared that maybe the marathon I was thinking of doing was too close after Chattanooga. But I knew that signing up for this race was the right thing to do. I felt happy with the decision and excited for the challenge.<br />
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Now, if you're friends with me on Facebook or follow me on Instagram, you've seen my posts about this. And many of you may have seen this coming, long before I saw it in my own future. For years, I insisted I could never do a full marathon. And for years I insisted I could never do a full Ironman. It's not like I had contemplated it before though - I just literally so firmly believed that these things were not in my wheelhouse or my realm of capabilities. It wasn't that I was being playful pushing it off, I literally just didn't think I could do it. However, here I am, signed up for my first full distance Ironman, Ironman Chattanooga, on September 30th of this year. The race that decided that the 140.6 distance is a bit tooooooo short, so it tacked on an extra 4 miles for a total distance of 144.6.<br />
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I love the city of Chattanooga. I have done two Half Ironmans there, a number of bike rides, and an Olympic distance race. I have been to spectate and volunteer at the full in 2016 and I was there for the Half Ironman World Championships in 2017. I love racing in Chattanooga, being in Chattanooga, and I love the crowds in Chattanooga. When I first started thinking about doing a full, this wasn't one that I was contemplating, but I am honestly and truly really excited for this location to be the home to another new athletic experience for me.<br />
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With signing up for this race, I feel like this is how you SHOULD feel when you sign up for a new thing. I am excited. I am a bit scared. I am intimidated in a good way and I just all around can't wait to experience the new challenges with training and the feeling on race day. It is going to be a fun summer ahead.<br />
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So how is training going?<br />
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Well, this is where that "break" still does come into play. I have got a great relationship with my coach and right now we still have been spending March and April to be "fun" months. And even parts of May. He is helping me stay focused and build a base, but I am also pointing out things I have on my schedule that I want to do, workouts that interest me, and days that I need rest. Heading into June, July and August we will really be building. I am working to keep my schedule as free as I can make it and starting to carve out when my big training weekends will be so I can have them on my calendar.<br />
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I am working to spend more time swimming and biking right now, and my runs have been really easy beyond track - because that's what has felt right. My running has not been great lately. My HR gets high, I feel crummy, and since spring really hasn't hit us yet... I still just have no desire to be out running in the cold. I feel slow and sluggish and I feel heavy, overweight and unfit right now. However, I am enjoying going out on my bike with friends. I am enjoying getting super sweaty on my trainer biking indoors. I am enjoying swimming in the mornings and a few times have gone Ironman distance on the swims just because I can. I'm trying to focus on my diet a bit more and get back to my clothing fitting a bit more comfortably as well.<br />
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I can't wait for open water swims. I am looking forward to fun organized bike rides. I am excited to push myself to new limits and work to squeeze in workouts (and recovery) whenever I can. It's going to be a fun summer.<br />
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Back in November, I mentioned I <a href="http://hungrytwenties.blogspot.com/2017/11/whatever-is-on-my-mind-wednesday.html">bought a new triathlon bike</a> - the Cervelo P3 with Di2 shifting. And that was all a part of this long term plan so I have also been working to get comfortable and finish fixing up my new bike. I had bought it, rode it 2-3 times, then promptly let it sit collecting dust as I ran and ran only all winter long.<br />
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The switch from my road bike to my triathlon bike has not been an easy one for me. I thought it would be seamless and a love affair with the tri bike from the start - feeling speedy and professional and unstoppable. But instead I have felt sluggish, slow, and lacking almost every time I get on it. Some days I love it and some days I am mad at myself for thinking I was so cool and buying this fancy bike that I barely know how to work. It's a work in progress and we are growing together. I share these mixed feelings on my bike because I like to keep this a place of openness and honestly. And honestly, I was so excited to buy the tri bike and make what felt like a big step forward - but a lot of times as I have been out riding I have wished I just was on my road bike. For example, this past weekend when it was the first gorgeous, beautiful, sunny, warm day we had and all my friends and I went out on a big organized group ITL bike ride - and my battery went dead (seemingly) on my Di2 battery so I couldn't shift gears and had to turn around and go back 45 minutes in to the ride. That was a frustrating day.<br />
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I am sure the journey to Ironman will include lots more ups and downs from this point out and I hope to share many of those here. Hopefully no more of them include dead batteries, but I promise to be open and honest as I make my way through training for my first full Ironman on September 30th! Thank you to everyone who has always believed in me long before I have believed in myself. Thank you to everyone who has responded with such excitement and support. And thank you to all the people who make training and all this stuff so much fun and something I want to do. Looking forward to it!<br />
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Chattanooga, I'm coming back!</div>
Katelynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04758210180939830431noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3912923948966123033.post-41760466016803681512018-03-12T22:43:00.003-04:002018-03-13T09:08:18.172-04:00Snickers Albany Marathon Race Recap<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
On Saturday, March 3rd I ran the Snickers Albany Marathon in Albany, GA. A city, I learned, that was named after my old home of Albany, NY, due to both cities being based near a river head (there's your fun fact for the day!) It was a race I chose based on the fact that it is supposed to be a great race to try and qualify for the Boston Marathon. It is BQ-friendly in that it is flat, typically has good weather, pacing groups, is uncrowded, and for Atlanta athletes, it is local at only 3 hours by car. I know numerous people who have BQed in Albany and decided to take my shot at it.<br />
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Going into the week, it felt a bit odd. The race is on a Saturday, which I feel like most major races are on Sundays and you have a free weekend day beforehand to prep. The fact that I could work a full day on Friday when I had a marathon to run the next day felt so odd to me. I felt really anxious and nervous the entire two weeks prior to the race. I am used to traveling for races and without that aspect of this trip, I had nothing to think about or plan for really. All my energy was going into stressing about the race itself, but I felt like I had no adrenaline or excitement around it. Not having to travel was originally supposed to be a pro but in the weeks before, it began to feel like a con. Everything in my life felt too normal and THAT made me nervous.<br />
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I tried to do everything I could to "take advantage" of doing a local race. I saw MY chiropractor, I got a massage from MY massage therapist, I met with my coach, I drank lots of water, made sure to sleep soundly in my familiar bed, and spent time with friends and people who make me happy and feel calm. I ate home cooked meals and prepped my food to eat the day before the race exactly as I wanted it. I took the Friday before the marathon off from work and that morning, went meticulously through my packing list, bringing everything I could think of I might possibly need because, hey, it's a local race!<br />
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I drove from Atlanta to Carrollton, where I met up with Jonathan, ate some of my "Marathon Lasagna" that I had cooked from Shalane Flanagan's cookbook for lunch, and then we head out to Albany. We made the trip in good time and it was a gorgeous day out. We stopped once to use a restroom in the middle of Georgia's pecan county. In addition to using the restroom, we browsed and picked out some sweets and snacks for POST race before continuing on.<br />
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We went right to the race expo, which was a pretty uneventful and small expo at the civic center that gave us the opportunity to also know where we would be going in the morning for the start. Jonathan was coming to be my support and I was so thankful for all he did to help me stay stress free and basically just be there for whatever I needed. He also took lots of pictures of me. There wasn't too much to look at or buy at the expo, but there was a copious amount of fun size candy bars for the taking, which I did help myself to!<br />
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From the expo we went to the hotel, where we unloaded the car and then rested for a bit. I was starting to feel a bit nauseous and overwhelmed so laying down and doing some meditations seemed to help before we walked across the street for dinner at Mellow Mushroom. I got a salad with chicken and we split some "pretzel bites" which were really just hunks of pizza crust. I also sipped some of his beer and tried some of his pizza.<br />
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Back at the hotel, I took part in my normal night-before-race prep of listening to some music, rereading old blogs and training notes, things that inspire me, and putting together a race plan. I talked on the phone with my mom and grandfather, laughed a lot at my mom's reaction to this photo we sent her, and head to bed early.<br />
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We were up at 5:00 a.m. to get ready for the race and head over to the start at 6:00 for a 7:00 a.m. race start. When we arrived over, I was bundled up in a pair of sweatpants, and 3 layers on top. It was chilly and I wanted to stay warm! We sat in the car a bit before heading over to the race start, where I got in line for the porta potty at the exact right time. After using the bathoom, we started to coordinate meeting up with other people. I am incredibly fortunate to have such supportive people in my life and of course, my number one fan, Brick, and her husband G, had come down for the race. As well, my coach, who has been such a big part of this journey, had all left at 3:30 in the morning to make the 3 hour drive and arrive in time to see me before the start.<br />
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These people are beyond a blessing in my life and the fact that Brick has been at every one of my major races that has been stateside in the past three years is such an important thing for me. I don't know what I'd do without her!<br />
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I was able to see Staci and Jessie, who other ITL athletes running the race, before we all head off to the corrals and I met up with the 3:30 pace group.<br />
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As far as how the race actually went - it was tough. From the very beginning, it was tough.<br />
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There wasn't really music or anything to hype us up at the start. There was no countdown, just a large cannon blast and all of a sudden we started running. I don't know that race day EVER really and truly felt like race day. I don't think I ever had the excitement and the adrenaline I have at other races with the hype leading up to it. Of course, I had prepped everything as if it were race day but when I started running, it felt like another training run.<br />
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The course started with a 4 mile loop that then took you back past where you had started. I tried to get settled in and chat with the pace group and the pace leader, Jackie Merritt, a well known and really successful trail runner in the region. After just 4 miles, I already knew I wasn't running as comfortably in that pace group as everyone else was. I figured it must have been visible on my face as when I ran past my cheering crew for the first time, handing my long sleeve shirt to Jonathan, my coach Jerome shouted at me to smile.<br />
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As we kept going, I told myself not to talk myself out of this and that I was hanging with the pace group just fine. I told myself over and over I was doing fine and that me not feeling good was just in my head. I was still with the pace group. I didn't need to be at the front of it, just needed to be right with them and I was doing great. I knew it didn't feel the same as I did in the beginning of Berlin Marathon, where I was telling myself to slow down the entire time, but I just kept repeating that I was fine. I told myself I would discover a new level of how much I could push myself and how I could perform today. I just focused on keeping on going. I never once looked at my splits on my watch and just focused on staying with the group.<br />
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Starting at around mile 7, I could feel it starting to slip and I wasn't quite with the group anymore. The road started to get very boring and there were no people cheering. At this point I didn't know when I would see any of my support crew and I started to feel like I really needed them. I was dropping back a few strides and I needed a boost and nothing I was telling myself was working. I was desperate to spot my coach along the course for a pep talk or adrenaline boost. There was NOTHING interesting to look at. We were running on a stupid highway, there was nobody cheering, and I felt like I needed SOMETHING to keep me going. I started to have thoughts of "Oh my god, it's ONLY mile 7 and I already can't do this." But then would quickly beat myself up for having a negative thought and told myself to stay positive.<br />
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I started to feel angry and embarrassed but I told that voice to shut up and to just keep moving. I told myself I was capable of more than I knew, to be positive, and keep moving forward at this pace until my legs physically stopped moving. I had no idea what mile I was at at this point, I felt like it should be 18 or something and was discouraged when I would pass a mile marker and it was just 9.<br />
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I felt frustrated at everyone that I was just out running on this dumb straight highway and started feeling really negative. I finally saw my support crew after what felt like forever and passed Jonathan, then Jerome, around mile 10. When I passed Jerome he told me I was only a few seconds behind the group and was doing fine, but by mile 10.5 I was dropping back more. I looked down at my watch for the first time at mile 11 and saw that my mile split was 8:44 and just thought "Shit." I was trying to focus on one mile at a time so I told myself to keep going for mile 12 and then saw 8:48. I already felt like crap, was 1:30 behind, wasn't running at pace and didn't feel like I could make that up. It just was downhill from there.<br />
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I wanted to quit completely. I wanted to stop and just give up. I didn't want to be out there any more. I was disappointed that the race was over so early for me and now I had all these stupid miles to figure out how to get through. Going into the race, I had known that I just needed to go for the goal from the very beginning. It was 8:00 minute miles, hanging with the 3:30 pace group, and that was that. BQ or bust. It made me a bit nervous because usually I head into a race with an A goal, B goal, C goal, etc. Whereas on this day, on purpose, there was only one goal. We figured if I busted, I would bust, but I had to go into the race with my goal in mind from the very start. Even though I knew that busting was a strong possibility (which may have been a problem altogether) I was hoping I would be able to hang on at least halfway! I was questioning myself while trying to keep going, why did I die SO early on in the race???<br />
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As much as I wanted to and the thoughts were flying through my head, not finishing the marathon was never actually an option for me. I know some people who attempt to BQ take the approach of dropping out of a race when they know they aren't going to make their BQ time to save their legs and some of the damage. That way they can recover and try again or pursue other goals quicker. The thought flashed through my mind but it was never a question. Leaving Albany, GA without a finisher medal around my neck was not going to happen. To drop out is not the type of athlete I am. I knew I was making it to that finish line and I needed to mentally figure out how to get there.<br />
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I seriously felt like crap though. Even after my pace dropped and I accepted it, I felt terrible. My knees hurt, my legs felt dead. It didn't make any sense to me. Two weeks earlier I had run 17 miles the day AFTER running 15 miles with some fast pickups! I was doing 10 mile tempo runs on fatigued legs after days and days of hard work. And now here I was at 14 or 15 miles in, tapered, in peak condition, but trudging along at not much different of a pace than my easy training runs and I felt SO much worse. It made me mad and frustrated. I reminded myself to keep my race strategy the same, even though my goal shifted to just finishing, and take the race one mile at a time.<br />
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I enjoyed looking out for Jonathan, Brick and Jerome throughout the course. Those were really exciting bright points for me. I wanted to walk really badly but told myself not to do that until I got to mile 20. Knowing I had people throughout the course that I could be seeing at unexpected times kept me from walking as well. I didn't want to disappoint the people that had come all the way down to Albany to see me go after this goal. However, at mile 19 I stopped to use a bathroom at a Porta-Potty after an aid station. I didn't have to go SO bad that I couldn't have held it (if I were racing, I would have been fine) but I figured why not be comfortable.<br />
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Going to the bathroom was difficult because my hands were so cold. The circulation in my hands can tend to be a problem for me because my hands get so cold that I can't feel or move them and I have a hard time taking in nutrition. Although I was running in shorts and a tank top and it was ideal running weather, I wore gloves for most of the race and my hands were still frozen. I was struggling to zip open and shut my Spibelt that had my nutrition in it and it was hard to pull down my shorts and pull them back up when I went to use the bathroom so it took me longer than planned to get in and out.<br />
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After the bathroom break around Mile 19, I dropped off my nutrition a lot. It was getting really hard to move my fingers and get out my nutrition so I just stopped. Especially since the goal was out the window, I sort of figured what's the point? "Might as well save the calories for post-race snacks instead of these Gu Chews" is actually a thought that went through my head. I decided to just take what was offered along the course and drink water and Gatorade and whatever else they gave us instead of fighting with my nutrition any more. There really were very few spectators along the course, but if there were people with beers or snacks like at some big races, I 100% would have taken anything offered at this point (I've always wanted to be one of those people that takes a beer handed to them on a race course, but I am usually way too goal oriented to do that!)<br />
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When I hit mile 20, I started walking on/off. I walked for 2.5 minutes, then ran for 10 minutes, walked for 2 minutes, ran for 20 minutes, walked for 3 minutes, stuff like that. The most I walked was 5 minutes in a row at the beginning of mile 25. I knew I would then have about 15 minutes to run into the finish and there is no way it is acceptable for me to be walking with less than 1.5 miles to go in the race. When I saw my coach the last time, he told me I was still looking strong, but I knew I was just trying to pull myself to the finish line. The race was not an enjoyable one for me, although I tried my best to focus on the positives.<br />
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But basically, nothing in this course ever excited me. At one point there was a main road that we crossed where myself and the one person running next to me literally couldn't even tell where we were supposed to keep running once we crossed. There were so few people that the crossing guard had been waving cars through as we came up and we had to ask the police officer which direction to go. We ran through some pretty neighborhoods but it was so boring to me. The very last couple miles we were back to running on big main roads with cars flying by and it just felt so not special.<br />
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At one point when I saw Jonathan I shouted to him, "This sucks." I knew I could get away with saying that to him, whereas my coach Jerome would never have heard it. He responded back, "It's supposed to," which was actually exactly right. It's a marathon. It is not supposed to feel good.<br />
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During the race I carried with me in the back pocket of my shorts two special momentos. One was a picture of my grandmother who passed away this past December. The other was a pin of a guardian angel. It had been my mom's and she wore it during the marathon she ran when I was a senior in high school. She had given it to me when I ran my first marathon in 2014 and I had worn it during that race. It has new meaning to me now and during challenging moments during the race, I thought of these things with me and touched my back pocket to remind myself of their presence.<br />
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I thought about my grandmother a lot during the tough moments as well. During a few of the pretty neighborhoods, I knew my grandmother would have loved them and I imagined myself out walking with her. I pictured us from this past summer, walking from the cottages down to the beach at Lake Waukewan. With my arm locked around hers, to help hold her steady, as her balance and stability had been beginning to go in recent years. This time, I imagined her helping me hold steady and keep going. These thoughts are what carried me through.<br />
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At around mile 22-ish, as we ran down another uninteresting road with cars driving down it and nobody out cheering, I saw a sign outside a building for the Albany, GA Amputee Center. It seemed like a place to have prosthetic limbs made and fit... and that did give me some perspective. I wasn't feeling well but reminded myself that whatever the outcome I am lucky to be healthy. I am fortunate to be able to do these things, to be able bodied, to be fit and strong, to be able to move myself 26 miles. I did not let that fact be taken for granted and focused on gratitude for everything I am able to do and all that I have in my life.<br />
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The finish was a bit weird, we ran through a building basically and onto a little path, you literally had nobody around you and couldn't see the finish until it was directly in front of you. I loved seeing my cheer crew as I ran through the finish line and was so thankful and happy to be done at this point. It was so special to me to have my coach, my best friend and my boyfriend all at the race. I crossed the finish line like I have every other marathon finish line I have crossed - exhausted, happy to be done, so thankful to see that finish line in front of me.<br />
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They came over and met me after the finish area, I gave them hugs, and I think everyone was holding back waiting to hear what I had to say and how I was feeling. Was I going to be happy or sad?<br />
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The day had not been what we had all hoped for, what I had trained for, or what I had wanted. I told them as I stood there after crossing the finish line that disappointment might come, but at that moment, I was just happy to be done the race and happy to have them all there. I grabbed my post-race beer, left the finishers area, and we all sat down in the grass enjoying the sunshine and watching the other finishers come through. It felt quiet. I feel like nobody really knew what to say. I congratulated the others I knew that where there who had hit their goals, and just sat there totally drained.<br />
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As we sat there, the emotions started to come. I watched others ringing the "BQ bell" and as my HR started to settle, I started to feel the tears coming. Tears at a marathon finish line are not unexpected. Completing 26.2 miles on foot is an amazing accomplishment, regardless of how many minutes and seconds it took you to get there. It requires strength, determination, hard work, and it is an emotional thing every single time.<br />
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(This picture was taken moments before Jerome distracted me from getting too sad and teary by accidentally knocking my beer out of my hand.)<br />
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It was hard to explain exactly what I was feeling. I was crying for all of the months of hard work. I was crying for all the heartache and pain I pushed through in training with losing my grandmother. I was crying because I missed my grandmother. I was crying because I had put so much into the training and I felt like my race day didn't reflect that. I was embarrassed. I was jealous. I was tired. I was feeling so many things and I am a crier so tears aren't an abnormality for me.<br />
<br />
In the 24 hours after the race, the tears came on and off. We left the finish line, stopped to grab EVEN MORE free Snickers bars, returned back to the hotel where we quickly showered, packed up and head back to Atlanta. That three hour card ride was filled with some laughs, some Celine Dion, lots of snacks, the fanciest Dunkin Donuts I have ever seen in my life, and a few spells of tears.<br />
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Sunday morning after the race, I woke up and felt lost. I didn't have a run to prepare for. I realized that I didn't have absolutely anything in my schedule to start to think about next. Since the beginning of 2015, I have had one goal lined up after the next and I knew what was coming in the future after I recovered from one thing. However, this time around I have nothing else planned. I had changed my initial thoughts for 2018 to give a BQ attempt a go. Qualifying for Boston was a dream big enough for me that I was okay making the sacrifices that go along with training as well as bike and swim fitness, but with an empty TrainingPeaks, no goals lined up and not sure what to do next, and my friends all out running... I felt empty.<br />
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There is always a low/down for me at the end of a training cycle and after a race that I have been training for and working towards for months and weeks on end. Regardless of outcome, the thing that has been your focus and what you have been consuming hours upon hours of your week in dedication towards - is over. When you have realized that goal, there is a blissful feeling unlike anything else. While your schedule may feel empty and your mind space unsure what to be directed towards, you have that satisfaction and buzz of a high that keeps you going and tells you that it was all worth it.
<br />
<br />
But when you don't hit that goal, that low of the race being over, combined with the disappointment, is tough. Especially that this race was so emotional and personal for me for many reasons.<br />
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Overall though, I feel okay with not meeting my goal. I am proud of myself and I have learned and grown and I wouldn't change anything. This is all a part of my journey.<br />
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I mean, obviously, it would have been amazing to feel great and crush things on Saturday. But I have done better than I expected in race after race for a couple of years now, and I can't expect that to happen every time - even though I worked hard during training. I was trying for a 9 minute PR on top of a 19 minute PR I had made less than 6 months prior. I don't know many people who have BQed on their first attempt. In running and triathlon, I haven't had a disappointing race or a missed goal in a while and I feel like that is something that is just unavoidable in sports. So yes, of course I am upset, but I also at peace with it.<br />
<br />
Looking back, I think that a part of me never really believed I could run a 3:30 at all. I had so many people saying to me, "You can do this!" and I wanted it to be true. I felt like I had a chance, and that chance was worth it enough for me to try. But I don't know that I fully believed I ever could. I thought of that as the one-in-a-million, if the stars align, type of a thing versus something seriously attainable. Like when the Megabucks gets really high... you want to at least buy a ticket and not rule yourself out completely from winning the lottery, right?<br />
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Just as I started to build confidence in my ability to reach the goal, December happened. In debriefing with my coach, I don't think I ever recovered mentally from that month. It makes sense, I personally have absolutely not gotten over the fact that I can never talk to my grandmother again or that she is no longer with us. I had a hard time being positive. I knew I needed to be and I tried, I wasn't going to quit, so I had to. But I struggled with the pressure. And the goal shifted for me from the RACE to just GET THROUGH TRAINING. By the time the race came, I had nothing left to fight with.<br />
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And I was PROUD of myself ALREADY for finishing training! So proud! Because it was hard! I needed to train hard because I was going after a big stretch goal. We couldn't slack off with the work load to adjust for life, because I had a lot of ground to improve on. And I did it. I hit some really tough workouts and things I didn't think I would be capable of doing or struggled with in the past. I am still proud of those big builds and tough weeks and pushing through so much. This training cycle proved how strong I am, how much I can push myself physically, and I was healthy and strong throughout everything we threw at my body. I was already feeling accomplished and satisfied before the race even got here.<br />
<br />
An interesting thing I noticed is that I have a pattern now of flip-flopping a marathon where I feel good with a marathon where I feel bad, and my times bounce up and down. Particularly they go down when I do a race with quick turnaround from another major goal. Marathon finish times are listed first, then the race details.<br />
<br />
4:37... April 2014 - Paris Marathon; GOOD race, felt great<br />
4:58... October 2014 - Kansas City, MO; BAD race, felt terrible<br />
3:58... October 2015 - Chicago Marathon; GOOD race, felt great<br />
4:34... November 2016 - NYC; BAD race, felt terrible (Raced a major 70.3 two months prior)<br />
3:39....September 2017 - Berlin Marathon; GOOD race, felt great<br />
4:01... March 2018 - Albany Marathon; BAD race, felt terrible<br />
<br />
I have learned a lot and know some things to change and focus on that I think will help me when I try again. Because I will try again. I feel confident that my story is just not yet finished being written. I have learned from this. I have and will continue to grow from this. I am PROUD of all of this. And I am so happy that I set out to try and qualify now. I wouldn't change how I went about this and I wouldn't change that I tried.<br />
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I realized that this is the first time that I personally set a big goal for myself. Because of my lack of confidence, I tend to take baby step goals. I doubt myself and have a hard time setting a goal until it is something I feel confident I can reach. The fact that I personally set this big, scary, hard-to-reach, aggressive goal for MYSELF is huge for me. That shows huge person growth for me in this sport and in life in general.<br />
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There are so many defining moments that I will think back on when I think about this training cycle and this race. The pain, the heartache, the days and weeks I thought there was no way I could get through everything on my schedule, the long runs early in training with Jonathan, the really long runs where he'd jump on a bike when he was done his runs and ride beside me as I finished, the miles after miles on the treadmill that were both physical and mental battles, the cold and the snow, the solo miles on the Beltline and through my neighborhood, the track workouts, early morning tempo runs, getting pushed by my training partners to not slow down during my pickups, and the long lazy weekend runs in the rain and on the trails with friends.<br />
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I'm proud of myself. Everyone's journey is different and I believe this race and this training cycle was an integral part of mine. My story is not yet finished being written and I am not done going after big, scary, hard to reach goals. To be continued.<br />
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Katelynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04758210180939830431noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3912923948966123033.post-82875860838576579362018-03-01T21:47:00.001-05:002018-03-01T21:47:17.848-05:00Time to run<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
So, there’s something I have been doing these past few months and I haven’t been writing about it. Which is weird, because it is exactly what I always write about. I have been training for a marathon. Marathon #6 and my first attempt at running a marathon where the goal going into it was to try and qualify for the Boston Marathon.<br />
<br />
Yup, I said it. I want to qualify for the Boston Marathon.<br />
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For many, the next sentence might be something like, “Qualifying for the Boston Marathon has been a dream of mine for X amount of years.” but not me. Because that’s not true. For me, qualifying for the Boston Marathon is something that I NEVER even thought imaginable for myself and never even had the frame of mine to even consider having as a goal.<br />
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It is the holy grail of marathon running. It is the Super Bowl. The Olympics. The World Series of running marathons. Imagine playing outfield in a weekend softball league – would you ever set a goal to be in the World Series? Absolutely not. That'd be crazy. That’s how I always felt about the Boston Marathon.<br />
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I have always wanted to RUN the Boston Marathon and assumed it would happen someday, as part of a charity team. However, to actually qualify? No, not at all. Not even in my world of thought.<br />
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But in just a couple of days I will run my first marathon where the goal going into training and the goal going into the race is to try and do just that. That statement alone brings tears to my eyes and feels a bit unbelievable to me. It feels a bit unbelievable to me because I never thought it would be possible for me and because this journey has not been easy. I feel grateful to be at this point and proud of myself for being brave enough to identify that this was something I wanted, was willing to work for, and work for it, I did. Through some tough and unexpected things.<br />
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I started thinking about the Boston Marathon a few years ago. I have the goal to run all of the World Marathon Majors - Chicago, New York, Berlin, Tokyo, London, and Boston. I sort of had Boston in the back of my mind as one to do at the end, after I had done the global races. I knew I would have to do it as a charity run and I ran Chicago as part of a charity and hit up friends and family for money in 2015, so didn't have that in my sights for the next couple of years. Especially because the Boston charities I have heard you had to raise a lot more money for. Boston is a special race, and I thought it would be cool to complete all the world majors in this way.<br />
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Then, a year or so ago, my grandfather, who has been one of my biggest fans since I got into running and probably the biggest fan of my writing that there is, said to my mom my mom that he would love to be able to see the day that I ran the Boston Marathon. Well, dang. Really? I never knew he cared that much and that really impacted me when I heard that. Now what do I do? It shuffled my plans around a little in my head.<br />
<br />
So pause time to go back to the beginning of 2017.<br />
<br />
My coach set the goal for me to run Berlin Marathon in 3:45 - something that seemed unrealistic at the time. It felt like a dream goal for the majority of the year but I just kept putting in the work and doing the workouts that were given to me. As the year progressed, I started improving, and it felt like after nearly every run I had the comment of "I can't believe I ran that fast!" Slowly, tentatively, I started to believe that maybe I could run 3:45. And although I wasn't entirely confident about it, I knew I was improving, and that it was happening quickly.<br />
<br />
I started playing with the "If / then" game in my mind. "IF I can make an improve of 13 minutes off my PR and run a 3:45, then how much could I keep improving?" "IF I can run 3:45 in Berlin, then I wonder if I can 3:35 sometime in the future?" It all still seemed so far off and so hypothetical but for the first time I starting playing with the numbers and the idea of actually QUALIFYING for Boston started to tinker around in my mind.<br />
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However, even vocalizing that was all contingent for me on Berlin. I was scared to even say Boston out loud. I saw improvements in my training but had no idea how much and had no idea how it would play out on race day. I told myself to just see how Berlin goes, and use that as an indicator of improvement and use that to set the next goal. I hadn't run a fast marathon in 2 years since Chicago in 2015 so I just wanted to know where I was currently before thinking about goals for the NEXT marathon. I felt confident going into Berlin that I would do well, but the question was really around how much I could push myself.<br />
<br />
Well, then Berlin came and I ran 3:40 (3:39:57 if we're being technical...) Five minutes under the goal pace that I was training for. I was ecstatic. I cried. I couldn't believe it. My coach could. He said he knew I had it in me. We spoke at length the afternoon of the race and I thanked him and told him that he had the next couple of weeks off while I traveled in Europe and we'd regroup when I was back.
<br />
<br />
But even hours after that, I couldn't quiet my mind. I ran 5 minutes UNDER my goal time... which was also 5 minutes OVER the Boston Qualifying time for my age group. I texted him the night of the race. "So... I know I said you had the week off... but I can't stop thinking about this... do you think I could qualify for Boston?"<br />
<br />
The seed was planted.<br />
<br />
And then that week, the BAA announced who had made it in for the Boston Marathon in 2018. And there was a record year of fast runners and this year you needed to be 3:30 minutes FASTER than the qualifying time to actually get into the marathon. In comparison, the year before, it had been 2:00 minutes faster. So that's quite a jump.<br />
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Your mind can play tricks on you. When you think, "Man, I ran a 3:39 and qualifying time is a 3:35!" it feels so close - it's like it is right there! However, in reality, I ran 3:40 and for even this most recent year, you needed to run a 3:31:30 to get into the marathon... that's a much bigger jump that I needed to make.<br />
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I knew that I didn't want to just qualify for the Boston Marathon - I wanted to actually run it. My driving force of doing this now, rather than waiting, was my grandfather's comments. He wanted to see me run. As I thought more about this goal and when to go after it, my coach and others told me that there was time - that the improvements I was making with running weren't going to go anywhere. I could keep going with the other triathlon related goals I had and come back to Boston for a later marathon.<br />
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But that didn't feel right. It felt too risky. Not that I expected my grandparents to be going anywhere - they were in as good health as anyone in their 80s could be. But it didn't feel like something that I wanted to put off. I wanted to keep going. I wanted to chase this goal for my grandfather. I knew it was a risk and still a pipe dream and would require a LOT of work... but I wanted to keep going.<br />
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So after a month off following Berlin Marathon, in about November I started training again. I went right into it aggressively and fought through some tough weeks where my fitness wasn't where I wanted it to be. My heart rate would be high on every run and I felt like I was digging myself out from a trench to get to where I was at the time of my last race. Whereas in my mind, I had imagined myself just continuing to build off of where I had been right at the time of Berlin. Not fighting to put the pieces back together again.<br />
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I kept pushing.<br />
<br />
I raced the Thanksgiving Day Half Marathon - the first half marathon (or race in general) in recent years that I have run and not recapped here on the blog. But in summary, I went out aggressive and I blew up around mile 7 and finished in 1:50:20. It was technically a standalone half marathon PR, and on a TOUGH course. But all I could think was, "I ran faster splits in Berlin."<br />
<br />
I kept pushing.<br />
<br />
On Thursday, December 14th, I had what has become my normal Thursday workout - a tempo run in Brookhaven. On this morning I ran with my friend Lauren and had a day where I felt good. Lauren had been looking at our splits every mile and when we finished she said to me, "I think you're going to be happy with this run." We did 5 miles under 8:00 minute pace. It was a small victory but I was so happy. I texted a screenshot of my splits to my coach right away and later that morning messages to Lauren gushing over our run. I told her over text that morning, "Today was the first run I feel like maybe it's a possibility." Later in the afternoon, at 1:21 p.m. I texted again, just to say, "I keep pulling up Garmin to look at the splits because they make me happy!"<br />
<br />
Less than an hour later, I got a phone call from my mom and my whole world crashed. She told me that my grandmother had suffered a stroke and she was on the way to the hospital. Everything felt surreal and that morning run was the last thing on my mind.<br />
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Being far away and not really knowing much of what was going on, I wasn't sure how to react to the news of my grandmother. Nobody really knew how bad it would be or what recovery would look like. I was anxious and upset but I met with friends for dinner that Thursday night and started Friday morning with the meeting I had previously scheduled with my coach, Jerome. As I usually do when I go into a meeting with him, I had a list of things to discuss. But when we first sat down, I prefaced everything with saying, "So I have a list - but none of this feels important or like it matters anymore." I explained what was going on with my family and the giant unknown around my grandmother's health in the air. Jerome encouraged me to do whatever I needed for my family and at the same time, we also discussed the items on my list.<br />
<br />
At this point, I still didn't know what race I would actually be training for. I had researched races that are good for BQ attempts and the Snickers Albany Marathon was an option, as it is a local, flat race that many people I know have run - but it was also very early season in the beginning of March. I was also thinking of a race in Maine, the Sugarloaf Marathon, which would give me a little more time and was in late May. That Friday morning, on December 15th, given my own confidence boosting run from the day before and Jerome's support and encouragement - we settled on the early March race as my target, Snickers Albany Marathon.<br />
<br />
After that morning meeting, my day became one of the most emotional and scary I have ever had with the news of my grandparents' health (my grandfather had a scare that day as well!) coming from my family in Boston. I ended up changing flights twice and getting on a plane that Friday evening and flying home last minute to be with my family as soon as possible.<br />
<br />
The next 15 days I spent staying at my mom's in New Hampshire, driving back and forth between there and Boston, and going through one of the most agonizing times of my life. While the outcome of everything with my grandmother and her passing continues to be something that I, and my family, work through grieving and living with, I will talk about those two-ish weeks in the lens of my training.<br />
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To say the least, it was challenging. I arrived into a freezing cold spell of record low temperatures in New England. I flew into Boston late on a Friday night, went immediately to the hospital, then arrived back to my mom's (an hour drive from Boston) past midnight. Not wanting to get off schedule, I woke up early on Saturday morning for my scheduled run of a 30 minute warmup and a 5K - as I had been planning to run the ITL Lakeside 5K in Atlanta that morning. It was single digit temperatures, but I ran a 30 minute warmup and my own mock 5K, despite being alone on the salty, dirty streets of Merrimack, NH. It was my fastest 5K ever.<br />
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I continued to fit in every. single. one. of my runs. Despite a tough schedule of long days spent driving back and forth to Boston at early and late hours, I fit it in. I ran outside as much as possible in "feels like" temperatures below zero. I would return back inside after my long runs unable to bend my fingers, feel my face, or move my lips. I scared my mom as I would enter in the house and yell for her help to try and warm up my hands and return blood flow.<br />
<br />
Some days running outside just wasn't safe. We continued to get more snow and there are no sidewalks where my mom lives, so I am running on the shoulder of the main roads. When it snows and the plows push the snow to the side, you cannot run without being in traffic. Between that, ice, and my mom sometimes flat out telling me she didn't want me running outside - I ended up running many miles and many hours on the treadmill in her basement. Now, I'm very appreciative of the fact that she has a treadmill at home that I had access to, but I started to dread that thing with all my might. It took so much will power to just get myself out the door or down to the basement to get on the treadmill that by the time I did it, I had a hard time pushing myself through whatever it was that I had to do that day.<br />
<br />
The weather struggles were just one thing though. This was on top of getting very little, very poor sleep, the emotional stress of everything going on, later planning my grandmother's services, poor nutrition from days on end at the hospital trying every soup Au Bon Pan had to offer, comforting myself with cookies, brownies, and junk - and oh yeah, it was also Christmas and the holidays.<br />
<br />
But at the same time, I had literally JUST decided on the goal of Albany - I wasn't going to quit or give up. Plus, to be honest, I was having some good runs while I was at home. And the one thing I could get my grandfather to talk to me and smile about in the midst of all this was my running. He told me multiple times in those weeks about how my grandmother's father was the "biggest Boston Marathon nut you'd ever known!" And stories of how they'd all go together to watch the race year after year and how much it was his - and my grandmother's - dream to see me run the Boston Marathon.<br />
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I couldn't quit or give. I started to put this pressure on myself. The runs did not feel like something I could skip or I could miss. I needed to do this. I lost enjoyment in my runs while at home, but I felt like I had to do them. I was crying before, after, and sometimes during my workouts. But I needed to train for this race. I missed the lightness and the social-ness of what running usually is to me, the better weather conditions in Atlanta, and longed for a break from the weight of being a support to my family, as well as dealing with my own grief. I felt guilty feeling that way but I couldn't wait to get back to Atlanta and a normal running routine.<br />
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I hyped it up in my head of "When you get back to Atlanta it will be better" but then when I did get back to Atlanta - it was still cold. It was still (shockingly) snowing and icy at times. I was still grieving. I was still doing what I could to support my family. And to be honest, it was January and there weren't very many people training intensely. It was tough.<br />
<br />
I ran the Red Nose Half Marathon on January 6th and ran 1:47:33 - a new PR. But I wasn't excited, I felt it wasn't good enough.<br />
<br />
Once we hit 2018, the race felt so close and everything from this point out mentally became a test of "Is it or is it not good enough?" I had this looming goal and looming deadline that felt more and more important and more and more pressure filled as every week passed. I was analyzing and evaluating every run, comparing myself to others around me, and it was consuming me to the point that I was not being the athlete, friend, daughter and girlfriend I wanted to be. It didn't feel like the joyful thing running usually is in my life.<br />
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Every time I spoke to my grandfather he asked about my running and told me about how much Boston Marathon meant to my grandmother. Now, I know, logically, my grandfather is proud of me no matter what and he loves me no matter what, but the emotional side of me wanted to do this for him so badly. Now, more than ever, I wanted to give him something to be excited about, to look forward to, to smile about. I started to just load on the pressure on myself. On top of everything that had happened, the race itself felt so serendipitous. It is on March 3, the day before my grandmother's birthday. And in Albany, GA - a city with the same name of Albany, NY, where my whole running journey began.<br />
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I share all of this not in an attempt for empathy or to be all "woe is me" - people go through hard things all the time. But this blog is where I share the ups and downs of my mental and physical journey with training. And all of this has been a part of my mentality the past few months. It has been some of the hardest times in my life, nonetheless my running. It has for sure, been the toughest mental training cycle I have ever gone through. And likely physically as well. I have run longer, harder, and more intensely than I have in the past. But the mental hurdles have been harder.<br />
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A few weeks ago I talked on the phone with Adam, one of the coaches at ITL, and I expressed my struggle with the pressure I was putting on myself. I ended up in tears and he expressed to me that sometimes the pressure is too much. And that I have had an amazing year and a half of racing, with not much down time. He said if I decided not to run Albany, nobody would think poorly of me and would support me either way. Now, I don't know if it was his intent to light a fire under me with the suggestion of not running. But I got off the phone feeling determined. Katelyn Buress does not crack under pressure. I thrive under pressure. Not running was never an option for me. It never crossed my mind. I knew I was running this race and I was going to give it my best shot. But I also realized that I was the only one that was adding all of this extra weight on top of the race. Sure it was a tough stretch goal, but all of that other stuff was just mental that I was creating. And that was a bit of a wakeup call for me.<br />
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In the last month and a half, I worked to pull myself back from that pressure and that negative place I alone had put myself in. It has been really hard work (on top of the actual running!) but I am proud of myself for recognizing and working to reverse the space I was in. And I am really thankful to the people I have in my life who have supported me.
I have worked to stop trying to overanalyze my runs. In the mindfulness class I take, we had to make a list one day of things that we do on a day-to-day basis that "nourish" us and things that "deplete" us. I had "running" on my list as nourishing and "analyzing my runs" as depleting. That was a big wakeup call for me.<br />
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I have actually tried to stop thinking about the race entirely. I focused on each week of training and each day of each week within that, and each mile within each workout. Just trying to execute every day. My coach doesn't even upload my schedule for the next week until after I have completed my workout on Sunday. Despite me always asking for it, I am pretty sure he did that strategically so that I wasn't caught up in what was to come.<br />
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I also stopped weighing myself and scrutinizing my weight and if it is "race weight" appropriate. I focused on eating healthy, whole foods, and treating myself when I felt like I needed a treat. It's only been about a bit over a month, but this is now the longest I have gone without weighing myself in about 2 years.<br />
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I prioritized running with friends for some runs. I let myself skip some swims. I stopped beating myself up if I had a bad day or a bad run. I focused on the mental training as much as the physical and really had to work to change around how I approached each week.<br />
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Over the past few weeks, I spent a lot of time watching the winter Olympics. I love the Olympics and I have always taken a lot of inspiration from the athletes. As I think about the race that I have coming up, I imagine I feel similar to many of the athlete at the Olympics. In reality, probably very few of the athletes there have a super realistic shot of getting a medal - or a gold medal at that. However, they've all worked really hard, accomplished a lot, and sacrificed in order to be there. They are already winners just for being at this point. Just to compete in the Olympics is an incredible achievement and worthy of celebration, whether or not they end up with a medal.<br />
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And I am honored and proud of myself for just getting to this point to be able to race, to be able to compete. My coach Jerome said to be via text a couple weeks back, "You are trying to accomplish a stretch goal that you didn't believe you could get to just a couple months back." And that's exactly right. That's what's been sticking with me.<br />
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On March 3rd, I am trying for something I never thought was possible for myself. I've made it to a point that many runners never get to. I've made it to a point that for the majority of my life, I never thought I'd get to. I have pushed through a training cycle that many others maybe would have abandoned or put off until a later time. I am trying for something that I never even had the idea to dream of until recently.<br />
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I have no idea what will happen on Saturday. And I'm not a shoe-in for a medal by any means, but I have made it to the Olympics. And for that, I am proud.
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Now, let's go give it all I've got.</div>
Katelynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04758210180939830431noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3912923948966123033.post-68917249933292335152018-01-28T16:22:00.002-05:002018-01-28T16:22:34.993-05:00Goals and resolutions<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Okay, okay, so I already did a <a href="http://hungrytwenties.blogspot.com/2018/01/2017-summary.html">recap of 2017</a>, and I couldn't possibly write about the year in review, right? Well, wrong. I have another post thinking back to 2017 that I wanted to post and this is really an evaluation of myself as to how I stacked up against the resolutions that I set for myself in the past year.<br />
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You see, I spend a good amount of time at the end of each year and beginning of the new year thinking about what I want to work on in each calendar year. My resolutions, as many people call them.<br />
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2017 was the first year that I really used my resolutions as a way to guide and shape my year from start to finish. I wrote down on a piece of a paper a list of 14 things and I carried this with me every day throughout the year, often looking back to it and rereading it to help get myself back on track when I felt a little off track (and the few friends I shared them with often reminded me of them a number of times as well when I wasn't as good about self reflection!) These really did help guide and shape my year and I have put together another list for 2018, which I have similarly written down and have already started repeating to myself even in these first few weeks of the year. While I won't be sharing my 2018 list, I wanted to write about my 2017 guiding principles and resolutions. So here is my list.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9BYdCzlIC9PCi8S_6UfmJWUJ-kqUqG33HdFHsRM5A5AQt66-2zytMdButs0uX-7F5iqGGRZdQyxB2hYsDz5FFwYagePjGVyotUZVBUk1yJmUNcbnQ4vLF0NoGsWiVGgs3V-FwmIuwj5w/s1600/IMG_2288.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9BYdCzlIC9PCi8S_6UfmJWUJ-kqUqG33HdFHsRM5A5AQt66-2zytMdButs0uX-7F5iqGGRZdQyxB2hYsDz5FFwYagePjGVyotUZVBUk1yJmUNcbnQ4vLF0NoGsWiVGgs3V-FwmIuwj5w/s400/IMG_2288.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>
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In case you can't read my handwriting it says:<br />
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1. Eat foods that make me feel good<br />
2. Love myself<br />
3. Eat real food<br />
4. Go out on dates<br />
5. Spend energy on the people who matter<br />
6. Do the things I don't like to do<br />
7. Do core work<br />
8. Squats and lunges<br />
9. Work hard towards my goals<br />
10. Meditate and work on mindfulness<br />
11. Be vulnerable<br />
12. Dress for success<br />
13. Take pride in my appearance<br />
14. Save money<br />
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This little piece of paper traveled with me throughout the year and came to mean so much to me. So in the next list, I will walk through each one and explain a little more of what it means to me and how I did following this list.<br />
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<b>1. Eat foods that make me feel good.</b><br />
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It was the first year that I felt I had a handle on nutrition and felt knowledgeable about how to eat to fuel my body. Much of that came from the lessons I learned in 2016 when I started seeing a sports nutritionist. I learned that if I ate the way she advised, i really felt better physically and also how I felt about myself. I spent much of this year trying to listen to my body and notice how I felt after I ate certain things. Although delicious, things like pizza, fried foods (especially chicken wings), diet soda and candy all don't make me feel that great. So I try to avoid them. I skipped out on a lot of free food at work (mostly pizza), opting for the meals I made myself because I knew I would feel better on my workouts and just in general.<br />
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This will always be a challenge for me, to manage my diet. But focusing on how foods made me feel was a good indicator for me and something I did well at in 2017.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij801AN3HbtJoufQRvMg75XJug3SYDpynBxjR7ciYKts8n8GeFJD8yBNoRw9ZZ3vusJYLQYR7gV3btDP2NXK8UvXeuGcpYZzIq7ailaLybq06ZQPzCAWjkuS6sawYkdGZ3KXt22s8aXEI/s1600/Screen+Shot+2018-01-17+at+6.18.08+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1164" data-original-width="1172" height="317" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij801AN3HbtJoufQRvMg75XJug3SYDpynBxjR7ciYKts8n8GeFJD8yBNoRw9ZZ3vusJYLQYR7gV3btDP2NXK8UvXeuGcpYZzIq7ailaLybq06ZQPzCAWjkuS6sawYkdGZ3KXt22s8aXEI/s320/Screen+Shot+2018-01-17+at+6.18.08+PM.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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<b>Tip that worked for me: </b>Set a challenge around an upcoming holiday. This year I declared it the "Year of No Halloween Candy" and I made it a goal to get myself through the Halloween season without a single Reese's pumpkin egg, fun size candy bar or piece of candy corn (yes, I actually like it.)<br />
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<b>2. Love myself.</b><br />
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Self explanatory. This goal was all about reversing the negative self talk. To stop comparing, criticizing or judging myself. To simply love myself in the state I was in at that given moment, whether at a strong or a weaker moment, whereever I was in my journey on that day.<br />
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Additionally, to love yourself is to take care of yourself, and this year, I finally took the steps to do something scary and go through the process to <a href="http://hungrytwenties.blogspot.com/2017/02/doing-the-scary-thing.html">start an injectable drug</a> to control <a href="http://hungrytwenties.blogspot.com/2015/07/living-with-psoriasis-my-story.html">my psoriasis</a>. It might seem silly but this was a big step towards self love. I remember back in April, after <a href="http://hungrytwenties.blogspot.com/2017/04/my-first-masters-swim-meet-recap.html">my first Masters swim meet,</a> I posted a picture of myself in a bathing suit, it was a little over a month after I first started the medication. Brick messaged me saying how happy she was for me. Not because my skin looked great, although it did, but because she was so happy that I felt comfortable enough with myself to post a picture of me in a bathing suit to social media. For me, that really was huge.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUZ0aFtRNUv0_EdW0rsTaFBPjMuPeKMQ5EdbsHRaJ4cwVK8aRHma-fomLXhu9utm6UI28WbnNFNd-PLYoz2D7BpW4KcB78d7g6n_GWYsrgh7rhAKU6rO9QW2_3rnzWV6iJpe3vOHblnOk/s1600/Screen+Shot+2018-01-16+at+9.20.57+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="966" data-original-width="772" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUZ0aFtRNUv0_EdW0rsTaFBPjMuPeKMQ5EdbsHRaJ4cwVK8aRHma-fomLXhu9utm6UI28WbnNFNd-PLYoz2D7BpW4KcB78d7g6n_GWYsrgh7rhAKU6rO9QW2_3rnzWV6iJpe3vOHblnOk/s320/Screen+Shot+2018-01-16+at+9.20.57+PM.png" width="255" /></a></div>
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<b>Tip that worked for me: </b>One thing that I did that honestly sounds silly but has really helped me a lot is that I created a second TOTALLY PRIVATE Instagram account. It is locked and the only person who ever has (and ever will) lay eyes on it is ME. On that post I put pictures where I feel like I look pretty, photos where I feel strong after tough workouts, and I repost motivational quotes and phrases. Whenever I feel down or need a pick-me-up, I scroll through it. It is my place of self love and strength and has nothing to do with likes, comments, or validation from anyone else.<br />
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<b>3. Eat real food.</b><br />
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Prioritize on real foods vs. processed. I go to processed foods out of convenience (or taste) pretty regularly, but did my best to remember to prioritize and consume as much real food as possible and break away from processed carbs, sugars, and "fake" foods as much as I could. Eggs, chicken, salads, sweet potatoes, spinach, broccoli, Ezekial bread, carrots, and dark chocolate were huge parts of my diet this year.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzQIwhcKUUUCGwsqEyzhmgrjI2OnxKslbfm23_0qBYlIm-AviTigQiNsh4L1ZfJUxmsK9SIs0bUYXaxGuTUgiNW2sN2o9T7O9r9RuBPviqIwrloTt16Zbp2oLVKvPX0oxI125G6MoeuJs/s1600/Screen+Shot+2018-01-17+at+6.18.18+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1086" data-original-width="1166" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzQIwhcKUUUCGwsqEyzhmgrjI2OnxKslbfm23_0qBYlIm-AviTigQiNsh4L1ZfJUxmsK9SIs0bUYXaxGuTUgiNW2sN2o9T7O9r9RuBPviqIwrloTt16Zbp2oLVKvPX0oxI125G6MoeuJs/s320/Screen+Shot+2018-01-17+at+6.18.18+PM.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhth0OyquXjMX3p2NkMD5KwiqY8cgCiKtHwJvFdBDG62Ck6D6d_34PufxVsRlKWYRYReEd_7vR6CX7khvTxkMW-4I6Zlj0kpffHkHAah1V4B2eFo37ksVjvodnMvTjLnOtlDLSM9TC3khA/s1600/Screen+Shot+2018-01-17+at+6.18.30+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1110" data-original-width="1162" height="305" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhth0OyquXjMX3p2NkMD5KwiqY8cgCiKtHwJvFdBDG62Ck6D6d_34PufxVsRlKWYRYReEd_7vR6CX7khvTxkMW-4I6Zlj0kpffHkHAah1V4B2eFo37ksVjvodnMvTjLnOtlDLSM9TC3khA/s320/Screen+Shot+2018-01-17+at+6.18.30+PM.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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<b>Tip that works for me:</b> Meal prep, meal prep, meal prep! When I spend Sundays making my food for the week, I know that I am going into the week with a head start. I prepare a cooked meal that I bring for lunches, cut up veggies and fruit for snacks, and that way when the week gets hectic, my food is ready to go and not something that I have to think about.<br />
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<b>4. Go out on dates.</b><br />
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Working full time, training full time, keeping up with friends, and taking care of yourself, often doesn't leave much time for dating. I had to force myself to do this sometimes throughout the year when I would have rather have maybe spent a free couple of hours on my couch watching TV. And while this is a part of my life that I have always kept private from the blog. I will say that I feel really really happy with where I am right now as far as this goes.<br />
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<b>Tip that works for me: </b>Just keep at it. If it is something that is important to you, just keep making time for it when you feel you are in a happy and healthy state to be able to do so. It is ok to take breaks from time to time when you are feeling not up for it, but just keep with it. And don't rule out dating apps - there are good people out there.<br />
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<b>5. Spend energy on people who matter.</b><br />
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I did well with this this year but it is always hard to figure out who those people are. I think that this year with the addition of ITL and spending so much time with training, I did have to be careful with how I was prioritizing my time. I think I saw fewer people on a regular basis but worked to make time for the people who have always made time for me and invested my energy in more focused places. Sometimes this was a challenge and wasn't always easy on me, as I am a person who has always maintained a wide and broad friend group. It's something that I think will continue to evolve as I grow and mature but is important to remind myself that this is okay to spend energy on people who matter.<br />
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<b>Tip that works for me:</b> Don't forget about yourself. This year I reminded myself that I am one of those "people who matter." I spent time on myself this year and was selfish with my time, my needs, and my energy. And I was a-ok with that.<br />
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<b>6. Do the things I don't like to do.</b><br />
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Paying bills. Making doctors appointments. Giving myself shots. Booking flights in a timely manner. Making returns to the store. Foam rolling. I hate ALL of these things very, very much and are often the things that I procrastinate most and that ends up getting me in trouble. This resolution was about making a concerted effort to just get them done vs. procrastinating for ages and causing problems for myself.<br />
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<b>Tip that works for me: </b>I heard something somewhere that resonated with me. It was that you could either spend a few minutes doing that one thing you don't like OR spend hours or days (or weeks!) with the stress and anxiety of knowing you have to do this thing hanging over your head. And it's usually much better to do just do it right away! I reminded myself of this and in most cases it was true.<br />
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<b>7. Do core work.</b><br />
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I had to remind myself of this many times, even after I was recommended daily core work to do by the chiropractor to overcome injury. I was really good about it when I knew it was helping me get back to running back in January/February, but found myself dropping off once I felt better. I know it's good for me but have such a hard time getting it done. As once said, "There is no such thing as a core high!" Having this written down to reread over and over helped keep a priority.<br />
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<b>Tip that works for me: </b>Build it into your schedule. Start at 5 minutes and set a timer on your phone. I did this many times in the evenings when I would be watching TV.<br />
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<b>8. Squats and lunges.</b><br />
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Ugh, yes. Mostly on Tuesdays after track workouts, but yes, I did these. I put this on my list because it was something that I had been told many times would help to strengthen my legs and help with injury prevention and overall strength but I actively avoided doing these for a long time in my life so I put it on my list as a reminder. I knew it would be good for me. My coach would have me lunging all the way around the darn track every Tuesday (he still does) and my legs would be feeling from Tuesday all the way through Saturday.<br />
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<b>Tip that works for me: </b>You just have to do them. They suck every time. That is all.<br />
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<b>9. Work hard towards my goals.</b><br />
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By goals, I meant by athletic goals. Which were Chattanooga Half Ironman in under 6 hours, Berlin Marathon in under 3:45, and to ride 100 miles on the bike. I was so focused this year and never quit, skipped, or missed a workout without coach's sign off.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga_SQqWbwcxd6_8aLW41HPgZ8PU9wzEpCTK0zbUd-DitfHbnOguOHSsJy3Fu4ytL-pMJHZ0NtLDL4EzW-qzBnI1bO-tKLlbOJZBOqgMs4sKiL6ewKVB-WX0lVBL6LIbjqMakveV57jriU/s1600/Screen+Shot+2017-08-30+at+9.26.39+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1207" data-original-width="1600" height="241" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga_SQqWbwcxd6_8aLW41HPgZ8PU9wzEpCTK0zbUd-DitfHbnOguOHSsJy3Fu4ytL-pMJHZ0NtLDL4EzW-qzBnI1bO-tKLlbOJZBOqgMs4sKiL6ewKVB-WX0lVBL6LIbjqMakveV57jriU/s320/Screen+Shot+2017-08-30+at+9.26.39+PM.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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<b>Tip that works for me: </b>A coach and a group to train with! Find your people. I now know that I love having a coach and I working out with others makes it fun for me. I think my obsessiveness to do whatever is written and prescribed to me in my workout plan may be something I was just born with. However, it took me a long time to figure that out. So keep working to figure out exactly what works.<br />
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<b>10. Meditate and work on mindfulness.</b><br />
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Meditation was something that was first introduced to me at work through a class that I had the opportunity to take. Learning about concepts of mindfulness and practicing meditation has really helped me to work on my anxiety and to be more focused. Like any skill, it is something that you need to practice. The more you do it, the easier it becomes. And if you fall out of doing it regularly, it becomes harder. I worked at this throughout the year and continued to come back to the practice during difficult times. It helped me so much through fitness, my grandmother's death, and so much more. People close to me have come to hear me reference mindfulness a lot and that's because it really has helped me so much.<br />
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<b>Tips that work for me: </b>Put apps or links on your phone. Don't start when you are feeling stressed. Start when you are feeling good. On a day to day, just work on being in the moment.<br />
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<b>11. Be vulnerable.</b><br />
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Dating can be hard. Setting difficult goals for yourself can be hard. Training with people that are better than you can be hard. Making new friends can be hard. They also require you to be vulnerable. To put yourself out there over and over and potentially get rejected, you have to be vulnerable. To send that text to a new person asking to meet for a run or for dinner, you have to be vulnerable. To say "I don't know if I can do this but I am going to try anyways despite potential failure" - you have to be vulnerable. I loved having this on my list this year and what I love about when you allow yourself to be vulnerable is the potential that you have to grow and bring new, good things into your life.<br />
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<b>Tips that worked for me:</b> Read Brene Brown's book "<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Daring-Greatly-Courage-Vulnerable-Transforms/dp/1592408419/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8">Daring Greatly</a>" -- this says things more eloquently than I ever could.<br />
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<b>12. Dress for success.</b><br />
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I have never been big on being really into clothing. But I sort of got to a point where I realized that I was not always looking my best as far as my clothing and shoes. I was wearing the same things over and over and had been for years. Although I didn't go out and get an entirely new wardrobe, I worked to try to improve my clothing choices and try out new outfits and looks throughout the year. I tried to get rid of a lot of clothes that I didn't like anymore or had stains, small holes, etc.<br />
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I also tried to put on real clothing whenever I left the house. Working out and being in fitness clothes all the time, you get used to that. On dinners out with friends or dates, I would sometimes get really lazy in my clothing choices with the mentality, "I was tired - this is what you get!" or something like that. But I tried to put myself together more whether it was for the grocery store, a birthday dinner, or work. It made me happier to do so, which was the ultimate goal behind this one.<br />
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<b>Tips that worked for me:</b> I worked to go through my wardrobe and if there was something I hadn't worn for a long time, I put it in a while for donations. If after a few months, I wasn't missing it at all, that could get donated. If there were pieces I still wanted to keep, I forced myself to wear them right away. If I couldn't find an outfit that I wanted to wear with that piece in a week, it went to the donation pile.<br />
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<b>13. Take pride in my appearance.</b><br />
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The office I work in is really small. And I don't see many people. I work out sometimes twice a day. Although sometimes it felt pointless to spend a few extra minutes to put on makeup or do my hair, I realized that it made ME feel a lot better to do that. I felt more confident and assure of myself if I was proud of how I was presenting myself in public. This was on my resolution list to do for ME rather than anyone else.<br />
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<b>Tips that work for me: </b>Nobody should take tips from me on hair and makeup! I have no idea what I am doing on that front, but just be sure to do what makes you feel good.<br />
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<b>14. Save money.</b><br />
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Now this is one that I don't think I did a very good job at this year. I set aside money into my 401K and into my savings account for a bit of time but then that got away from me a bit in the 2nd half of the year. This is always on my list of things "to do" but I don't know that this was focused enough for me as an actionable resolution and goal, so I am modifying that for next year.<br />
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So that was it for me and how I stacked up towards the goals and resolutions that I had set for myself in 2017. I know we are already towards the end of January, but if anyone is still looking at resolutions for the year, I thought that sharing this list might be helpful. I also love hearing other peoples goals and resolutions and hope my process and list gives you something to think about yourself.<br />
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And for 2018? I have a list and I thought a long time about it. It's changed and morphed from what I thought it might have included at the beginning of December 2017, but I think it is what I need it to be. I hope that you are working well towards your goals and that the first month of the new year has brought you happiness and peace!</div>
Katelynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04758210180939830431noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3912923948966123033.post-8686135862029079762018-01-15T21:53:00.002-05:002018-01-15T21:59:28.080-05:002017 - A summary<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I'm sitting down to write a recap of 2017 - all that happened, all that I did, all that I accomplished, what the year meant to me, etc. There was running, triathlon, new friendships, travel, setting and reaching goals, setting new goals and thinking bigger than I have before. It was a full year with lots to be said.<br />
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However, it's hard to sit down and write a recap because as of a few weeks ago, all of those things seem in the shadow of the fact that 2017 was and always will be, the year that my grandmother passed away. It's something I'm still very much grieving and learning to live with.<br />
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That being said, I want to recap the first 11.5 months of the year and what that meant for me. I have <a href="http://hungrytwenties.blogspot.com/2017/09/the-highs-and-lows-of-training.html">written about this before</a> but it was a year of distinct change for me. With more guidance, with more investment, and with more structure from start to finish, it was a year where I feel like I sort of went "all in" with my fitness goals.<br />
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2017 was the first full year I spent working towards my athletic goals with a coach. I dipped my toes into having a coach in 2016 when I worked with a remote triathlon coach as I trained for the <a href="http://hungrytwenties.blogspot.com/2016/09/ironman-703-world-championships.html">Half Ironman in Australia</a>, and then to some degree when I was training for the <a href="http://hungrytwenties.blogspot.com/2016/11/new-york-city-marathon-2016-race-recap.html">NYC Marathon</a>. However, I made the decision in December 2016 that I enjoyed the process of having a coach and upgraded to a local coach and training group based in Atlanta - ITL.<br />
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Training with ITL was the first time that I was surrounded by and training with other "serious" athletes. And I put serious in quotation marks because it's not like we're all trying to compete in the Olympics or anything - but it is a group of athletes that all challenge themselves and push themselves outside of their comfort zones athletically. Everyone's personal goals are different and range the broadest spectrum, but to everyone, those goals are important and a serious part of their life. Being surrounded by this was a bit of finding "my people" and that changed the way that I approached training and my goals.<br />
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It surrounded me with many people who were (and are) faster and more experienced than me at swimming, biking and running. It gave me people to look up to. To ask questions of. To CHASE. I saw people I wanted to be like. I saw people working their butts off and hitting their goals. I saw people working their butts off and not reaching their goals, but not letting that stop them or get them down. This was inspiring to me. It made me want to work harder. It gave me the confidence to set even harder goals for myself. To dream bigger. And not set my sights low for fear of failure. This was big for me.<br />
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With all of this, I had a really strong year of racing, setting PRs in basically every distance I raced. My target race for the spring was the Chattanooga Half Ironman - my second time doing this race. I had it as a focus in my mind to see how much I could improve in one year from May 2016 to May 2017. I worked throughout the spring improving my bike and my run and ended up having an amazing race day, beyond my wildest expectations. I set a goal to break 6:00 hours and ended up finishing in 5:20 after the swim was slightly shortened. It was a dream come true race in Chattanooga in May.<br />
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I hit milestones throughout the spring and summer in triathlon, swimming and biking. I placed 3rd in my AG in the <a href="http://hungrytwenties.blogspot.com/2017/05/tri-parks-2017-john-tanner-sprint.html">John Tanner sprint triathlon</a>, and broke 50 minutes for the first time in a 10K and hit 20mph on the bike split of the <a href="http://hungrytwenties.blogspot.com/2017/07/chattanooga-waterfront-olympic.html">Chattanooga Waterfront Olympic</a> triathlon. I swim in my first two <a href="http://hungrytwenties.blogspot.com/2017/04/my-first-masters-swim-meet-recap.html">Master's swim meets</a> in March and December, swam a lake 5K, biked over mountains, <a href="http://hungrytwenties.blogspot.com/2017/06/my-first-gaps-ride-lesson-in-anxiety.html">rode the Gaps</a> for the first time, and biked 100 miles for <a href="http://hungrytwenties.blogspot.com/2017/08/my-first-century-ride.html">my first century ride</a>. I felt like I proved a lot to myself in swimming and biking, all while improving my run fitness to run stronger and faster than I ever have in my life.<br />
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My running peak for the year was at the <a href="http://hungrytwenties.blogspot.com/2017/10/berlin-marathon-2017-race-recap.html">Berlin Marathon</a>, where I beat my goal time by 5 minutes and finished in 3:39:57 - a time that brought me to tears when I saw it. In 2017 I started track workouts, trail runs, tempo runs, and was more dedicated and focused than I have ever been. All of that hard work paid off and Berlin was everything I imagined it would be and more.<br />
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2017 was the first year in the past few years that I was not traveling regularly for work. I had one trip to <a href="http://hungrytwenties.blogspot.com/2017/02/switzerland-visit-and-proud-moments.html">Switzerland</a> at the beginning of the year, and then that was it for work travel.<br />
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I was living in Atlanta and really LIVING in Atlanta for the FULL year. That was big for me and helped build upon my love for this city and the relationships I have established for myself here. As well as create new incredible friendships. Since I moved late in 2016 to a new neighborhood in Atlanta that I love, not traveling came at the perfect time. I loved exploring new parts of my neighborhood, new festivals, and being in one place also really impacted my ability to work towards my fitness goals. I was training in one place and with the same people consistently the entire year, which was really big for my physical improvements and making friends. It was the first year where I truly loved and felt happy with where I was living.<br />
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Hopefully that came across as I hosted many guests in Atlanta this year with visits from Jenna and Dave from Albany, Kristen from NYC, my mom from New Hampshire, and KO from NYC, as well as various others who came into town for work or events that I was able to connect with over meals.<br />
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Although I did not travel much for work, I did have my own personal travel this year. After Switzerland, there was of course Berlin, which included a vacation I built around it, and once more for Brick and G's wedding in Mexico. On my Europe vacation, in addition to returning to Germany, I also returned to Austria and the Czech Republic, as well hitting one new country - <a href="http://hungrytwenties.blogspot.com/2017/09/travels-to-berlin-marathon-warsaw-poland.html">Poland</a>. Much of that trip was with friends that I didn't even know at the beginning of the year, or frankly, know well at the beginning of the trip! My <a href="http://hungrytwenties.blogspot.com/2017/10/eurotrip-final-recap-five-cities-six.html">European adventures</a> were exciting and fun, as well as the new bonds that were formed there. I returned to some of my favorite cities in the world, experiencing them in a new light, and hit a bucket list item of attending Oktoberfest.<br />
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Brick's wedding was an amazing experience in Cancun, Mexico, who I was honored to be a bridesmaid for. I attended two other weddings, one right here in Atlanta and one in my old hometown of Albany, NY. I traveled to Chicago to celebrate and and welcome the first baby into my lifelong group of friends.<br />
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And although not anything I had to get on an airplane for, I visited the state of Alabama for the first few times this year - once for the <a href="http://hungrytwenties.blogspot.com/2017/02/mercedes-marathon-relay-recap.html">Mercedes Benz Marathon relay</a> in Birmingham and once to attend my first ever big college football game seeing National Champs the Crimson Tide play at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa. It was part of my year of really living in Atlanta that I explored new parts of the south and really expanding on this place being my home.<br />
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Strengthening and deepening some of my core friendships here in Atlanta, has been such a blessing. ITL introduced great new people, but I also have the same core support and strong friendships in Atlanta through an incredible network of ladies that have been so fundamental to my life here. I continued to build upon many of my long distance friendships with friends-become-family as well.<br />
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It was also a year of growing relationships with my family family. I went home for a weekend in February to babysit my niece and nephews, as well as seeing them on my trips home in July and December (as well as my sister and brother-in-law of course!) They are growing into little people with distinct personalities and preferences. It amazes me that I can talk to them on the phone now, really engage them in play and conversation, and I love seeing their little minds and cuteness grow.<br />
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My mom came to Atlanta for my race in May, which was the first time she was at one of my major races. Having her there meant so much, as well as introducing her more to my life and friends in Atlanta as I am so much more settled than the first time she came. My brother came to Atlanta at the end of April this year as well and we did our third Tough Mudder together. I love having these events that we do together and continue to strengthen our relationship.<br />
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I got to spend time with my dad and half brothers while home in July, going for a short run with one of my brothers and getting my butt whooped in Monopoly. I am looking forward to seeing their interest in sports, running and other activities grow and it is on my bucket list to complete a race together with them.<br />
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The events with my grandmother in December shaped how the year ended and of course, how I will remember the year, but all in all, 2017 was a year that was complete. It was full of the highest of highs and the lowest of lows. It was filled with meaningful new friends and growing lifelong childhood friendships. It was full of smiles, tears, heartache, new relationships, familiar places, and new adventures. It was the best of times, it was the worst of times (if you will.) If nothing else, I really feel that the weeks in the hospital waiting room and crying tears or laughing over happy memories with my family at the end of the year brought us closer together. I feel closer with my family through it. It gave me much to reflect on, to think about, and to work on for the years to come.<br />
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2018 started with a bang, quite literally, as fireworks went off outside my window just after midnight. I am looking forward to what this year has in store and I have renewed perspective on life, what's important, what to focus on, and what kind of person I want to be. I hope to keep making my Grammy proud in the new year and I am proud and thankful for my family more than ever, and the personal growth I had in 2017. Happy New Year.<br />
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Katelynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04758210180939830431noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3912923948966123033.post-85304792058418762562018-01-04T22:12:00.005-05:002018-01-04T23:52:18.448-05:00I love you Gram.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
This past Christmas Eve, December 24, 2017, my grandmother, Paula Ballerini, Grammy to me, passed away after suffering from a stroke 10 days earlier. The stroke occurred on Thursday, December 14th and on the 15th, I jumped on a plane to head home. It was a difficult 10 days for my family but I hope more than anything that my grandmother was at peace and not in pain during that time. She was surrounded by love, positivity, family, music, and support throughout the time in the hospital. And we as a family, were able to comfort, cry, laugh, and be together in those uncertain and difficult moments. She had loved ones surrounding her around the clock in her last days and she passed away peacefully in the early evening. We all loved her so much and she was the very heart of our family.<br />
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It's hard to accept that this is a thing that really happened. It is hard to believe she is really gone, despite everything that has happened since that confirms it to be true. It feels like there is a large hole inside of me that is missing. It feels like there is a large hole in the world where she used to be. And it doesn't make sense that we're all supposed to just go on living with those holes just out there, as if things are normal. We miss you Gram.<br />
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I knew from an early age that my grandmother was special. That she was different from my other friends grandmothers. In a good way. She was fun and funny, warm, loving, patient, nurturing, and adored her family. Grammy was the most accepting and loving person I had ever known and I always felt so lucky to have grown up in a family that welcomes everyone - without prejudice or judgment. This part of her personality was passed down to her children, my mother, and aunts and uncles, and those very traits have made me who I am all today. That curiosity, openness, and acceptance of what is different from your preference - that all came from Grammy.<br />
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She was as kooky as they come and passed on her warm sense of humor to the rest of the family as well. She was known to wrap gag Christmas gifts, like a funny pair of thong underwear, and leave them under the tree for an unsuspecting relative from "Santa." She was the instigator of many a marshmallow fights where she'd randomly walk into a room with a bag of Jet Puffed marshmallows and start throwing them. Paula Ballerini pro tip: bite them in half before throwing them so they'd stick. She was never afraid to be silly, crack a joke, or throw some side eye from across room the room. She kept us laughing and on our toes.<br />
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Working until the age of 73, Grammy was an RN, and was loved by patients and colleagues alike. Nurturing and caring for others was a calling for her. I remember my grandmother as working as a nurse in at an OBGYN. All through when I was in high school, she would collect and save for me these little plastic zippered cases and bags that the birth control samples came in. She would call them purses and give them to me and I would give them to my friends. I used them for years and years to put makeup and change in, always just having to shield the logo of the birth control brand when I was around other people. I also used to love her stories of being a nurse to Steven Tyler's wife through her pregnancies of their children (he was a local in area she worked in outside of Boston!) She said that they got along great and he was a great guy, and although his ripped jeans and clothing choices weren't exactly her style - to each their own!<br />
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Known to the gang of 13 grandkids "officially" as Grammy, but was also a lover of giving nicknames to others and earned quite a few herself over the years. Grammy, Grambo, Grambolina, Gramsterdam, G-Ma, and "the other Grammy." The latter was earned when she one day introduced herself to a friend of one of my cousins as "the other Grammy" when she was in fact, the only Grammy around. And if you asked any of us, we'd have let you know that she, to all of us, would always be THE Grammy. I will never forget the way she'd respond back on the phone with "Katie!" or was the only person to write out my name as "Katy" and how when I was younger she would sing to me the old World War I era song that went "K-k-k-Katy, beautiful Katy, you're the only g-g-g-girl that I adore!"<br />
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Grammy was well known to her grandchildren for her back scratches, for never forgetting or missing a birthday card, and always letting us know when we looked particularly nice with her most notorious and highly regarded compliment, complete with Boston accent, "You look shahp!!" She had her own unique style, of course, and I could learn a thing or two from her in how put together she always was, in the softest fabrics and the warmest colors. I remember talking to her on the phone after one of my marathons where in addition to commenting on how I did in the race, she told me how much she loved the bright pink top I had chosen to wear - remarking that so many young people nowadays wore so much black. Not Gram. I will always remember her in light purples, soft blues, and cream. Warm, welcoming colors that matched her personality.<br />
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She never sad a bad word about anyone. You could tell her anything without fear of judgment. I got my first tattoo when I was in college. It was small, conservative, and in a location on my body that was not clearly visible - yet I was nervous to tell my mom, unsure of how she would react. I actually told Grammy about my tattoo before I told my mom, knowing that if I had her on my side (which, of course, I would) - then my mom couldn't say anything. Grammy was always so excited to hear from you and talk about whatever was going on in your life. And you had better believe that she was beaming proud and impressed with any accomplishment that you shared with her, which made her so amazing to share good news with. I loved telling her (and my grandfather!) about my races and training and what travels I had been up to. They've been my biggest fans for as long as I have been writing, which was one of the reasons I wanted to even write this. It seems only fitting.<br />
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Grammy was a dear wife to my grandfather, mother of five, grandmother to thirteen, and great grandmother to three. Words can't really express how much she meant to all of us and how much she will be missed. I love you, Gram.<br />
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** To my cousins: thank you for inspiring me with your stories, memories and words, to combine much of what we all shared at the services into this post. **</div>
Katelynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04758210180939830431noreply@blogger.com1