MY FIRST IRON-DISTANCE TRIATHLON (PART 2)

THE BIKE

After the swim, I was feeling great. The hardest part was done. Or so I thought!

The first 20 miles on the bike were a perfect ride. I had a nice groove going. I was comfortable at 16-19 mph. Which was great but only meant one thing- I had a tailwind. I remember the first aid station was around 25 miles and I was looking forward to a pit stop. It finally showed up at around mile 30. Same break and off I go. Still feeling good. Noticing a cross wind.

Somewhere along here came the "Big Chicken Crossing" . I know-What the hell? Is it alot of chickens that run across or 1 big one? It was a gigantic chicken statue by the side of the rode in a driveway. I am so glad that it did not run out in front of me! Whew.

I divided the course into 10 mile segments. It helped my mind to digest it better. Around mile 50, I knew that in 6 miles I would pass the halfway point and I was still positive. Things would change soon.

After passing mile 60, my stomach was growling. I was ready for that sanwich that was in my special needs bag. I got to the area and a volunteer looked at my number and grabbed my bag for me. I was suprised that there was around 7-8 others still there. I had warmed up alot and threw my arm warms in the bag.Feeling a few minutes of recovery, it was time to get back on the bike and finish this thing.

Now after passing mile 70, there was a right hand turn. Just ahead I saw a sign that read Wilmington 38 miles. Not bad. The other thing that I quickly noticed besides the sign was the cold head wind and gradual incline of the road. This would continue the next 40 mile back to the battleship.

At mile 80, I began having back spasms. There was no way to find a comfortable position. I stopped and leaned against a tree to stretch. My cell phone went of with my hubby's ringtone. I answered and he asked why I had stopped. I was confused. How did he know that I stopped because my tracker quit working. He replied that he was on google earth on real time and saw me pull over. Talk about Big Brother watching. I felt better and rode off again.

The next 32 miles is when every demon came out. I thought that I would be facing these on the run but low and behold here they were. My mind wanted me to quit and dbegan to think of excuses that would sound good. Spin Coach Nick popped into my head telling me to switch the channel in my brain. As much as I tried, I was in a very low spot. I told myself that if I could get off the bike maybe I could just forget the marathon. It went on and on for miles with the lowest spot being at mile 100. I was just so tired and my back hurt.

I saw the bridges ahead that cross the Cape Fear River and knew that the Battleship was nearing. At the top of the second bridge, I could see it and knew that final I would be off this damn bike. What I thought would be the best part of my day became the lowest points.

I saw Bino and Snips as I entered transition. Big hugs and into the changing tent I went. Amazingly there were still people in there. I wasn't last. Again, I took a huge amount of time but made sure I had everything before I headed out.

Bike time including T1= 8:02:43

IronWaddling into the run...

MY FIRST IRON-DISTANCE TRIATHLON (PART 1)

I decided to write this race in 3 parts just as there was 3 distinct parts of my day and I did not want to miss anything.

I had a great nights sleep and my alarm went off at 330am. Wow, the night went fast. Snips was already downstairs and dressed ready to take me to the buses at the Hilton that would take the athletes to T1. We did one more double check of all my bags. It was 4:45am and we went and picked up Tri-Sharkie then to the Hilton. We were the last 2 people to catch the bus. Everyone was very chatty on the bus an it was a quick ride.

First body marking, dropping off special needs bags for the bike & run, then setting up T1. Everything was going smooth until I looked in my Swim-to-bike bag and did not see my Army Bike Jersey. Major panic. No shirt for the ride. I ran back to where I dropped off my other bags and went through everything. No Jersey. As I was trying to think of options, I called Snips back at the house. She calmed me down and sent me back to my Swim-to-bike bag because she saw me put it in there. I took a deep breath. Emptied the entire bag out on to the wet ground. I looked up to see a TV camera coming around the end of the rack. NBC was there filming a ex-Biggest Loser Contestant for a TV special. Great and there I am panicking with my crap all around me. But the good news-there was my Jersey ! First crisis is over.

I went back to setting up my T1. ShirleyPerly stopped by with a tidbit she heard on the bus. When doing the swim the best current was near the right of the channel. When you got near the WigglyMan that marked a left turn you need to get over to the left side otherwise if you were not a strong swimmer you would not make the turn. Great advice as several people last year had to DNF because of this. Mental note made and I went to drop my new beige slippers with flowers off at the swim exit.

Now it was 6:05am. Time to get my wetsuit on and catch the bus to the start. No spectators were allowed at the start. The photo above is of the beach where it starts.

THE SWIM

The sunrise was awesome over the channel. The announcements were made followed by the national anthem. I was unusually calm. It almost made me nervous that I was not nervous. Does that make any sense? The water temperature was 67 and the air temperature was 40. The gun went off.

I left everyone run off the beach before me. The water felt great although it tasted very bad since it was salt water. I was bumping in to a few people but most were already way ahead of me. I did not actually feel the current but did notice that I swam from buoy to buoy quickly. I heard people cheering and looked to see the half Iron athletes to my right waiting for their start. A quick glance at my watch showed 00:37. Wow. I made the turn OK at the WigglyMan on the boat but found it had to sight in the channel.

I finally could spot the dock at the swim exit. I got out and was a little dizzy. Sat down and took off my wetsuits and put my slippers on. I tell you everyone was jealous of those shoes for sure. I ran toward the street and turned to T1 and there was my family and Snips cheering!!! I was so happy. Emotion overwhelmed me. I completed a 2.4 mile swim !! I was on my way to be an Ironman ! Tears ran down my face and I gave House a big hug. My swim time was 1:23:56.

I grabbed my bag and went into the changing tent. I took forever but wanted to make sure that I did not forget anything. I ran out and grabbed Sugar. I waved at my supporters and headed out for my 112 mile ride.

IronWaddling to the Bike............

MY FIRST IRON-DISTANCE TRIATHLON (PRE-RACE)

PRE-RACE

We arrived on Wednesday to the most beautiful, sunny and 70 degree weather. After the October weather in Chicagoland, it felt awesome. We rented a house downtown historic Wilmington. It was the perfect place for our family for the weekend. Although this weekend was about my race, I wanted them to enjoy also.

On Thursday night, it was the athlete's dinner. The food was great and the company even better. It was a blogger meet up as you can see in the photo.

From left to right, Shirley-Perly, Vickie,21st Century Mom, Waddler, SW Trigal, and TriSharkie. The main point of discussion was the attire for race day. It was great to get alot of different perscpectives on who was

wearing what gear.

After a good night's sleep, I picked up Sharkie, Shirley and Vickie for an early swim at the beach.We got there close to 7am to see what it was like at that time of the day. As we drive there we saw many others with the same idea going into swim at different points. We chose to swim at the start of the course. Standing at the beach looking out, I was very nervous. Once I got into the water, I felt good.

At noon, it was time for the athlete's meeting. It was over an hour long but full of alot of information. As I sat there looking around the room, it was one of those moments when you wondered if you belonged there. I knew that I had put my time in and earned a chair in that room. I couldn't stay after for a blogger meet up because Sharkie and I had to pick up Snips at the airport. She flew in to watch us and volunteer at the finish line.

The afternoon was filled with mixing nutrition and filling the 5 race day bags with the necessary stuff and trying not to miss anything. I think I went over everything a million times. The sun was getting ready to set and Sharkie and I headed to transition 1 with our bikes before it got dark.

Pizza was waiting for us when we got back to the house. As we were sitting there, I remember that I did not have any sandals to where from the finish dock for the swim to transition. It was about 400 yards on a crappy road surface. Snips and I jumped in the car at 7pm and went to look for shoes. Sounds easy? Ha. Tried several places with no luck. We finally ended up at the Family Dollar Store. No sandal. But I found an awesome pair of beige bath slippers with flowers in my size. When all else fails-improvise. Snips and I laughed all the way back to the house. What a picture this will make on race day.

Before I knew it, the time was 9pm. My family began reminding me it was time for bed. For some reason, I was reluctant to go to bed. Maybe the was some fear of what was to come in the morning ahead. I finally hit the sack around 10 wondering if I had done enough to prepare for 140.6 miles. I soon would find out.

Waddling into writing my race report..........

NEW NAME..

I now have a new name----

IRON WADDLER !

Race report to come later. It was a spectacular day full of memories for a lifetime. My time was 16:56 with 4 minutes to spare.

IronWaddling with a huge smile............

Congratulations Waddler!

This is Hooch reporting from Wilmington, NC
Waddler is officially an Ironman (woman)!

Congratulations Waddler! From your whole family!
You did great! We knew you could do it!
We love you and are so proud of you!
YOU DID IT!

TRACK ME...

Here is how you can track me on race day (Saturday Nov 7):

Web Browser and iPhones:www.TrackMyAthlete.com/vemap.aspx?name=034574

Handheld PDA/Blackberry/Palm:www.TrackMyAthlete.com/pda.aspx?name=034574

*Certain versions of the blackberry browser do not work.Just so you all know, I am not allowed to wear this GPS System in the water so you can start tracking me once I get into transition and onto the bike course.

The race starts at 7 am (Eastern Time). You can do the math on what my swim time turns out to be.

Race Start: 7:00 am

Swim Cut Off: 2 hours 20 minutes (9:20 am)

Bike Cut Off: 10 hours 15 min (5:15pm)

Run/Race Cut Off: 17 hours 00 minutes (12:00 am) (From the start of the race)

Bib# 62

Predicted Weather:High 64 Low 45, Sunny, 0% of Precipitation, E at 5 mph wind.

Last swim is tomorrow in the morning then rest until Saturday.

Waddling in North Carolina......

THANK YOU.......

This journey to Beach2Battleship has not a solo effort. Every person that I have been around since last November, when I decided to do this race, has played a part. Before I race, I feel it very important to thank everyone.

To House,my Hubby: You have endure the most including the weekends when I spent hours training and being exhausted rather than spending time with you. I love you and a special thanks for watching all the IM Kona replays 100 times to try to become a part of my world.

To Bino, My son : This race you will be with me because I will be wearing the Army shirt the entire time. Next year when you leave for the military in June, I want you to know that you can do anything and perserve.

To Hooch, my daughter : Thanks for giving me so much love. Your hug after a long ride always healed my body.

To my training partner, TriSharkie: You have been the strength and friend in my training that was always there on those long rides. I can't even express my feeling but was glad that you were there to share them with me.

To Iron Snoopy: Thanks for being the one who I watched at IM Louisville to make me believe that I could do this. Your wrist band "Never give up" has been with me every minute.

To Snips: Thank you for being my rock. You are the most positive person and a great friend. I am thrilled that you will be there on race day.

To Coach Steve: If it were not for you, I would have never learned how to swim. You took a 50 year old that could not swim and now I will be doing a 2.4 mile swim on Saturday.

To all my friends: I am so blessed to have all of you around me. I can't even name all of you and what you have done but many times I ask myself how I got so lucky.

To those who doubt me: Thanks for the constant motivation.

I know that I have not thanked everyone but Thank you if you are reading this for being there.

I will finish because of all of you and as John Blaze said, " I will get there even if they have to roll me across the finish line" . I will roll across the finish line.

Waddling to become IronWaddler..............