Pre-Race:

Overall, I felt good.  I was really happy the day was here and we were doing this.  We put on our wetsuits while we waited in line for the port-o-potties.  Last bathroom break before getting in the water.  We said goodbye to our cheering squad and made our way down to the corral.  We crossed the mats, registering our timing chips and walked up to the water’s edge.  We heard the announcer say that we had five minutes to get 200m to the start.  John took the plunge first.  It was a little hard for me to make the leap.  But I did it and was surprised that the water was warmer than I thought it would be.  Together, we swam up to the start and had a couple minutes to tread before we heard the cannon.  Boom!  And off we went. 

SWIM

I did not like and did not expect it to be so crowded.  I thought it would thin out, and it never really did.  I knew I was swimming pretty well because I was going at the same pace, if not faster, than everyone around me.  I tried to not take too much time sighting the bouys.  I would look up for a split second and then bury my head back in the water, trudging forward.  I really felt very uncomfortable with people’s arms grabbing at me.  I had a couple flashes of people sinking me.  But I just kept moving.  About 50 yards from the final bouy, someone hit me in the head, knocking my cap half off and my goggles came loose, allowing water to get in.  I was not happy!  But that only motivated me to stroke harder, determined not to let that hold me back.  I was so close!  I pictured Michael Phelps with those goggles full of water – knowing he had way more at stake than I did – and just kept going.  Got to the stairs at the bank and felt so happy to be done one leg.  And then even happier to see 1:15 on the clock!  Woa.  To think I only learned how to freestyle in May.  The wetsuit stripdown totally took me by surprise.  I told the woman I only needed the top off, but she told me to get on my bottom and the next thing I knew – I was holding my full wetsuit in my arms, trying to cover my underwear.

T1

Feet were freezing!!  I looked down and saw that not only couldn’t I feel my toes, but they were very blue.  Yikes.  I sat down in the tent and slowly put on my bike gear – shirt, shorts, baby powder on the feet, then socks & shoes.  Put my Cliff bars (cut in half) in my jersey pockets and was off.  They brought me my bike.  Loved that!  I was so excited to start the bike and really test my knees.

BIKE

Got on the bike in the corral and started pedaling slowly.  I knew this would be a big test.  I was passed by every single rider behind me.  Nearly.  I was going so slow that I almost felt as though I wasn’t even in the same race.  But I knew that this approach was going to get me over the line, IF I made it over that line.  I felt a little nagging pain in my right knee within the first 15 minutes.  Shit!  I just kept telling myself to take it easy and everything would be okay.  That and focus on my nutrition plan: drink every 10 minutes, eat every 20.  So when the bike clock said 20, 40, and 0, I was eating half a Cliff bar or a Gu and drinking water with it.  Then, every 10 minutes, I was drinking Gatorade.  This plan worked like a charm and not once did I feel low on energy or sick or bloated.  I did have to pee a LOT.  Which I welcomed since it gave my knees a little break.  But if I were trying to go hard, I think I’d have to reassess or back off the water or something.  The first loop was easy & great.  The second was tougher.  I was nervous about the pain getting worse.  And early in the second loop when I started to feel it more, I fiddled with my foot/ankle position and was able to find a position where my knee was less bothered.  I pointed my toes more than flexed them – and that really helped.  Going into the third loop, I was pretty much alone – and knew it was going to be tight getting back to the bike finish in time to keep in the race.  It was a serious struggle getting up those inclines just befor the turnaround point.  I kept chanting, “I think I can, I think I can, I think I can…” the whole way until I finally turned the corner and was on my way home.  I felt like a million bucks with the wind at my back – like I had wings – like I was going to do this!  Felt pretty good until the last 12 or 15 miles.  Those dragged and made me curse signing up for Lake Placid IM.  This was SO much harder than I thought.  Came through the final stretch, saw everyone cheering for me – feeling so good that this part was nearly over and I was in one piece.  Dismounted the bike, made a joke to the guy about how I never wanted to see the bike again, and hobbled into T2. 

T2

My right knee was a whole lot more sore than I thought and I was really nervous about my running abilities.  I took it easy in T2 and even had a therapist work on my legs a bit before leaving.  I just needed a little time out and a little R&R for my poor poor legs after an epic 8:15 bike.  (Nearly double my longest ride – scary! – and not recommended.) 

RUN

Started a light jog and knew I had to be patient to get my running legs under me.  Sure enough a few minutes in, my legs were feeling better.  It still hurt quite a bit behind my right knee, but it was tolerable.  And since I had done two marathons before and have always been more of a runner, I knew what running with pain felt like – so it wasn’t out of the ordinary and I knew I wasn’t doing anything damaging.  Or at least I hoped.  It was easier for me to push through pain on the run than the bike.  My confidence & experience was in the run – and I was just thrilled to have the bike behind me.  Saw John a few times on the run.  He had to walk after the first four miles b/c of ankle pain.  I felt so badly for him and just wanted to scoop him up & carry him with me.  I knew he’d get through though.  I finally caught up with him on the last lap with three miles to go, walked with him for a few minutes and then continued on.  I knew I was not far and needed to keep running.  I was so happy to be on the bank of the lake, making my final stretch towards the finish line. With a few hundred yards to go, I turned on the jets and sprinted in.  I was on a high and nothing could bring me down.  I sped through the finish line, slapping hands with everyone in the stands.  If done again, I would have take this a bit slower, to soak up the moment.  I was the happiest girl in the world crossing that line – and so proud of myself for making it there.  It wasn’t all pretty, but we made it.  John finished about 20 minutes after me.  I was so incredibly proud of him – I don’t know many people who could have done what he did. 

Immediately after, I didn’t want to even think of doing LP.  But now, three days later, I’m warming up to it.  No guarantees.  But I wouldn’t rule it out like I did on lap three of the bike.