Ironman Chattanooga ’14

Before I get into the meat of this race report of Ironman Chattanooga (IM #7), I want to take a moment to thank some peeps.  My hubby is #1 on that list, without his support this wouldn’t be possible, especially with my job responsibilities and my little man.  #2 on that list would be my friends and family who might not always get it, but accept it and realize that sometimes I just don’t have as much free time as I’d like.  #3 Team Fowler, you know who you are and why I will always be that girl with the confused look on my face and tears in my eyes as I go to toe the line.  #4 would be the gigantic support crew of sponsors who enable this chic with no athletic background or overall victories to continue to do this AWESOME sport called Triathlon:  Atlanta Bread Co. (Cherrydale location, best food ever!), Supercuts (www.supercuts.com all Upstate area locations, and I love their conditioning treatment),www.Trisports.com  (if you need a 20% off coupon email menrluvs2dogs@yahoo.com ), www.Powerbar.com (any product you want to try, let me know), www.nuun.com (want to try a new flavor, email me!), and Barracuda Goggles (www.skylinenw.com my FAV goggles in the WORLD!).

September was a doozy of a month, I moved, managed our Light The Night Walk (3 nights before IM), and completed the month with an Ironman that was 4 miles longer than it should’ve been.  Ironman #7 was a true test of wills just getting to the start line.  I had a week worth of meltdowns in all of the 48 hours I had to process the fact that I was doing an Ironman.  I’d continuously told myself that giving up, not doing the race, was not an option.  I had a friend tha t would’ve given almost anything to be healthy enough to race, and I kept that thought the whole day.  I’m not going to get into Susan’s story, she shares it quite well on her blog ( http://gottatri-atriathletesjourney.blogspot.com/).

Pre swim was full of the silly antics of Team Fowler, and yet different as well since Susan and Scottie were on the sidelines. Susan played Lose Yourself by Eminem, I lost myself.  The song will forever bring back memories.  The gun went off, and the frantic shuffle to dive into the Tennessee River began.  I noticed immediately that the swim was going to be easier than usual with a nice current.  The swim was pretty uneventful, I didn’t drown, run into the dead body they found, or suffer the normal full body contact typical of an Ironman swim.  The nerves were gone, I remember suddenly thinking to myself, I’m meant to do this.  A pretty powerful thing to come up during an Ironman, AND something I forget at times.

The bike course may have been 4 miles longer, making it 116 miles, but I had an advantage of riding it before.  I’d ridden the course in July, one loop the 1^st day, and two loops the 2^nd day.  I knew where I had to be careful and where tired legs would impact the run.  I purposely took the 1^st loop slow for a couple reasons, my training had taken a backseat to work, vertigo, allergies, and moving in addition to just not being able to properly rest the week before.  I was thankful to see friendly faces, and not encounter the tacks or oil out on the course. I had some nice buns on my bike to create some fun, one of THE BEST decision of the day to sacrifice aero for fun.  I did have a mechanical issue from mile 30-50 which forced me to ride even slower, but it was a quick fix when I saw the bike support at mile 52.  I’d stayed spot on nutrition  and was ready to work a little harder on the 2^nd loop.  My average mph was only .2 difference on both loops, score for consistency!  I did however start to feel dizzy at mile 90 until the finish of the bike.  I managed by eating, drinking, and geling but honestly couldn’t even keep track of timing at this point.  I kept telling myself to make it to transition and I’d be one step closer.  I finished 116 miles of nice rolling hills in 6:22, if you don’t include my mechanical I was at an 18.3 mph avg.

I entered transition thankful to be off the bike, quickly brushed my teeth and went potty hoping that’d help how I was feeling.  It didn’t.  I got ally busted by one of the photographers, you can really tell that I was having to focus and there was no smile.

I wasn’t sure if it was the vertigo, nutrition, or what, but I knew from experience just make it aid station to aid station.  As I’m mustering the willpower to continue jogging while everyone is walking up our 1^st hill I see Susan.  I literally cried  tears of joy.  Instantly, I had what was needed, a reminder that I’m out there because I can, and I LOVE THIS distance and I need to be thankful for it.  Embrace the pain.  Take it one step at a time.  Never give up.  The goal, run aid to aid station.  I don’t know if it was necessarily an advantage, but I knew the run course as well, which meant I knew where the hills were and knew how LONG they were.  Luckily, the long runs I’d done pushing my 4yr old in the stroller always seem to give me the strength on hills when things get tough.  I finished the first half and knew that since it was raining I wouldn’t see my family, but the friends on this course helped make up for it.  Many friends were working aid stations and supported me like I was their family, simply priceless.  The spectators, volunteers, music, and support on the hills were great and somehow carried me to the finish line in 11 hours 58 minutes.  The best part was seeing my husband and son at the finish chute.  The lights were so bright I missed high fiving Addison, but I heard Heath yelling at me so I turned around and went back and got to high five and kiss the little man.  He was so cute.   The run portion was completed in 4:25, and not too bad.  It’s not an IM marathon PR (personal record), and the IM finish time wasn’t a PR, but I was honestly shooting for 13 hours so I definitely wasn’t disappointed.

I can say without a hesitation, this was THE MOST controlled consistent Ironman I’ve ever had.  No IV’s, I raced within myself (don’t typically do this), and couldn’t be more pleased with how I handled the day.  I’ve always known the mind can be very powerful, but on the days that the mind and the body work together it’s pretty cool.  I am most proud of Jeff Walthew who for once raced his heart out at the IM distance.  I can’t help but laugh hearing afterwards that he ran scared the last couple miles asking everyone if a girl in red white an blue was behind him.  Whatever motivates you Jeff, whatever motivates you!   I think he now holds the family PR, but I need to do some researchJ. Some people that made this day easier are Frank Roth (Roth Massage), Dan Becker (ART guru), Saskatoons (prepackaged meals were a savior for me and the crazy schedule), and Malone Coaching.  These companies don’t sponsor me, but made my life EASIER and somehow manageable in b/w the chaos.  I heart each and every person who helped make this day possible whether by a text message, FB message, prayer, good thoughts, or supporting me out there race day.

 Dad, you’ve made it to each and every one of my Ironman, you’ve watched me cry, you’ve watched me work hard, and I hope I can continue to make you proud.  Love you!