Going into 2023 if you had told me I would do not one, but two full Ironman triathlons this year I would have said absolutely not. I’ve done triathlons for years now, but never a full Ironman distance (2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike, and a 26.2 mile run). My plan had always been to do one Ironman in my life, maybe at the very end of my “career”, check the box, and move on. But I have friends (I blame you Alicia!) that love to do crazy things and I love to join them, so I signed up for Ironman Coeur d’Alene in June and qualified there for the World Championships in Kona, Hawaii so how could I say no?
Fast forward 3 months and I was questioning all my life choices and wondering why I didn’t say no! Work was a lot, the general back to school activities with 4 kids was a lot, and of course training was so much. The last few weeks of training consist of two workouts a day and very very long Saturday and Sunday training sessions. But I had lots of friends to do these sessions with and they say that when you’re just over it all, that means you’re ready. So I guess I was ready.
We brought the entire family with us because the timing of the race was perfect, over their fall break. They had never been to Hawaii so everyone was very excited. Everyone but me. I boarded that plane feeling like a loser. I felt like a loser at work, a loser with some personal things, and a loser because I had been injured since April and hadn’t been able to run until the end of August. Hip tendinitis and an Achilles issue. My training had been very slow run/walks so I really didn’t know what would happen.
But all of that worry left me as soon as I stepped off the plane in Hawaii. You could feel the excitement in the air. We were at the World Championships! For the first time ever Ironman had split the men’s and women’s championships into two separate races. The men had already competed a number of weeks ago in Nice, France, so Kona was an all women’s race. There were strong, impressive women everywhere; it was awesome just to be a part of it.
The day before a race I’m always super nervous, but on race day those nerves are gone and I’m ready to go. Kona was no different. I was ready! But then I had to wait…and wait. My age group was the last to go and time goes so slowly. I decided to use the bathroom one last time while I was waiting and while I was pulling down my kit it ripped all the way down the middle of the top Janet Jackson style (luckily I was wearing a sports bra so no slips!). But that meant I would now be doing the entire race with my top flapping in the wind. But there was nothing I could do about it so I put it out of my mind.
Finally it was time for my age group to start. It’s a deep water mass start at Kona so we’ll swam out and treaded water until they said we could go. And we were off in the typical craziness of a triathlon swim start. The course is a rectangle; so you just swim straight out for 1ish miles, turn right at the 2 boats marking the turn, and then swim back. I was so nervous about the swim. I am not a good swimmer and couldn’t imagine swimming 2.4 miles without a wetsuit. But I really, really enjoyed the swim. The salt water kept me very buoyant and the temperature was perfect. The loved looking down at the tropical fish swimming below me (so much better than nasty lake fish!). Earlier that week I had swam with a sea turtle for awhile; such a great experience. Before I knew it I was rounding the boats and starting the swim back. I was alone for a bit and when a group of girls began passing me I realized I had really slowed down being alone, so I hoped on the feet of one of them and stayed with the group until the end of the swim. I got out of the water smiling because I had just swam 2.4 miles and had a great time doing it!
I ran(ish) into transition, hosed the salt water off, put on my bike gear, hopped on my bike, and was on my way to face the longest part of the day. I took the first few miles easy, just adjusting to being on the bike and getting ready for the long ride. My tongue felt swollen from the salt water and it always takes a bit to get my leg moving. The first few miles were an out and back in town through streets lined with spectators cheering us on. It was so great to feel that support, but all too soon I turned onto the Queen K Highway with virtually no spectators and miles and miles of empty lava fields. It was here I would spend the majority of the ride and it was time to get to work.
I love the bike portion of the race. I pass people the entire time and just have fun with it. This course suited me too; long nonstop rolling hills. There wasn’t a flat section in the entire course. It was here that I realized just how hot it was and how important keeping on top of my hydration was going to be. I decided to alternate water and Gatorade at every aid station to make sure I was getting enough electrolytes. That decision seemed to work because, although I was thirsty the entire ride and felt like I couldn’t drink enough, I never cramped or had any other issues.
The bike course is an out and back with the turn around point being after a 7 mile climb up into the town of Havi. I made the climb up fine, turned around in town and started the descent back down the hill. This was the point everyone had warned me about because the cross winds can get really bad and shove your bike around as you’re descending. But I don’t think the winds were as bad as they normally are so it was nice just a nice, long downhill section before I started back on the rollers of the Queen K.
I hit mile 90 and was over the ride. There was a headwind and the climbing just felt slow. I still felt fine, but definitely ready to be done. The last few miles into town I was biking next to the run course and began to brace myself for that long hot run.
I dropped my bike off in transition, happy to be off of it, and began the run. I had no idea how my hip would hold up but just planned to keep moving forward.
As with the bike, the first few miles are an out and back in town on Ali’i Drive. The road was filled with spectators holding signs and cheering in many different languages (70 countries were represented) and views of turquoise waves crashing into the black lava rocks. So beautiful. People had written with chalk on the road words of encouragement to specific runners and people stood with hoses to spray us with cool water as we ran by. It was a nice way to ease into being in my feet. I ran past my family here and seeing them filed my soul. Then we turned and went up Paulani Rd and were back onto the Queen K.
The heat hit me here. It was hot! It was going to be hot for quite awhile. The mountain to my right had a nice dark cloud hanging over it just teasing me with shade that would never come. I walked through every aid station chugging water then pouring it down my back then grabbing ice and dumping it down my shirt. The volunteers were amazing- offering to pour water on us, asking how we were doing, and encouraging us while they had the never ending task of filling cups to hand out.
I saw some of my teammates out here which was a great encouragement. We would talk for a bit before one person would move on ahead of the other. Just keep going, we’re getting there.
The Queen K felt like it was all uphill as I ran on. So many miles running out away from town. Finally…finally, I reached the left hand turn down into the energy lab. I would spend a few miles here running down towards the ocean and back up. The wind was in my face as I ran down which felt great and the sun had begun to set. Everyone talks about how this is the worst part of the run, but I didn’t think so probably because of my timing. As I was running out of the area the sun went down into the ocean, creating another beautiful Hawaiian sunset. I turned numerous times to gaze at it, thinking about how blessed I was to be doing a triathlon in Hawaii! What an experience! The air finally grew cooler as I turned back onto the Queen K to head the last miles towards the finish line.
It quickly grew very dark with the sun gone and I pulled out and held a headlamp I had picked up in special needs to see the road. My stomach was starting to protest the nonstop sugar I had put into it all day but I was getting there so I just kept running; forward motion.
Soon I made the turn towards town and ran downhill. People along the course there were already shouting congratulations. There was a man with a mic at the bottom of the hill calling our names, shouting encouragement, and cheering us on. He said it was just one mile more. So close, yet it was the longest mile of the race.
I ran with a girl that last mile and we kept asking each other when the turn to the finish line would get there. Finally we made the turn and headed down the red carpet to the finish line. I started smiling and picked up my pace because I was about there. Then I saw my kids cheering for me. That made me smile even more as I ran over and high-fives them. I crossed the finish line with my hands in the air; I had done it.
All and all it was a good day. I had no pain on my run and having my family there was the best. It was also so fun to compete with only women. Hearing various stories of what these women had gone through just to get to Kona was inspiring. From people scared to death at the thought of taking on the course all the way to those trying to make the podium; the physical and mental toughness of every last woman was amazing. For the first time ever in a World Championship, every single person completed the swim within the required time and the race had one of the highest ever course completion percentages (97% completed the course). It was definitely an experience I won’t soon forget.
7feetnorth 