Posts Tagged ‘Kona’

More Kona Photos

Ironman World Champs

Another World Championship is in the books. It was a tough day for me. I tried to put all the negativity out of my mind and only focus on positive thoughts throughout the week. I was happy to be in Kona racing one of my favorite Ironmans, happy that my family was here to share the experience and excited to be racing against the best triathletes in the world. But the truth is that I was breaking down and my fitness was declining. I trained very hard for Ironman Lake Placid only to wake up with a nasy stomach bug which knocked me out of the race. I feel like I peaked for LP and needed a longer recovery from the race and the training cycle. I wanted to go to Kona, so I held onto my fitness long enough to have a solid race in IMLOU and get my Kona slot. After IMLOU, I struggled with my training. First it was a calf strain, then it was a quad bruise when my chain broke while climbing, then it was the final blow when Istrained my hip flexor 2 weeks before the race. It was a tough day and it always is. Considering my injury and the predicted weather conditions, my quote of the day was this:

“Let me pray not to be sheltered from dangers, but the be fearless in facing them. Let me not beg for the stilling of my pain, but for the heart to conquer it.”

My goals were not accomplished, but I soldiered on crossed the finish line and in the end, that’s what Ironman is all about.

Thanks to everyone for all the support. Now, it’s vacation time! I’m looking forward to spending a few weeks getting healthy(my husband Brian has his work cut out!) a college reunion in Beantown and some quality holiday time with my family!

Celebrating the Finish (I made it two sips!)

Kona Time

It’s almost here! We are having a great week in Kona. Once again, my support crew made the trip out to Kona. Yes, I really had to twist their arms!! Forecast for race day calls for 88 degrees, 70 percent humidity and high winds. Its going to be a tough day. But, that is why we call come out here year after year; to battle in fierce elements with the best athletes in the world!

Season Wrap Up

Once again, it’s been a while since I updated my site. I was so upset after my DNF in Kona, I just wanted to put the race behind me and move on. Kona was the typical Ironman Horror story. I had to take 3 weeks off from swimming before Kona becuase I had another flair up with my shoulder. I had a few decent swims race week but unfortunatley my layoff caused me to lose quite a bit of fitness and I came out of the water with another PW (personal worst!) seems to be the year for swim PWs, but I have some ideas for next year and I am believe it or not, very excited to start my swim focus. Anyway, back to the race. I felt great on the bike, and started moving up through the field. Unfortunately, at about the 2 hour mark, I went to take a salt tablet and they were gone! The wind blew them off my bike and I had to complete the bike without any salt tablets. I felt so good on the bike, so I wasn’t really that worried. I moved up through the field and entered T2 in 17th place and the 5th fastest bike split. This was the highest I have ever entered T2, so I was confident I could run about a 3:05-3:07 and finish in the top 10 . My legs felt great off the bike and I started running 6:50s. Unfortunately at mile 2, my stomach started to cramp badly and by mile 5, the porta potty stops started. I was so upset, because I was holding 7 min pace, but every time I stopped I would put in an 8:30 mile pace. I was having a hard time eating and drinking because of my stomach cramps and by mile 13, I was so dehydrated my right hamstring cramped badly. I chugged gatorade, stretched, tried to walk it off, but it just wouldn’t release. I hobbled to mile 15 where I eventually called it a day. It was a hard decision to make. I am a firm believer in, you finish what you start and you learn a great deal about yourself when you suffer badly in races. There are times to tough it out and there are times to throw in the towel. Last year I raced Kona with a stress fracture in my femur. I toughed it out, suffered a great deal and finished just to finish. I couldn’t do it this year. I didn’t want to risk tearing my hamstring and being out for an extended amount of time. I had to take 4 months off from training after Kona last year and I chose to put my health first.

After Kona, I decided I would do Ironman Arizona. I trained so hard for Kona. I felt so fit and I didn’t want to waist all that fitness. I didn’t want to end my season with a DNF. Unfortunately as soon as I got home from Hawaii, I came down with bronchitis and was forced to rest for 2 weeks. That left me with 2.5 weeks of training and a 10 day taper going into IMAZ. All I could do was have faith that the training I did all year, would still be in me. I ended up finishing 4th and top American in a very competitive international field. Considering the obstacles that I had to overcome with my shoulder and illness, I am happy with my race. I will post a race report this week. Below are a few photos of the day.

Week 1 in Kona

I can’t believe I’ve been in Kona for a week already. Where does the time go! The week totally flew by. I flew out last Wednesday with my mom and early this week Brian and his family, Kelly and Tanja all arrived. I have a great support crew this year!

I got in some good training sessions on the course. Last weekend, I drove up to Waikaloa and ride up to Hawi and back. I was surprised how windy it was out there! Being so light, the winds can really push me around, so ideal for me would be light winds on the bike and hot and sunny for the run. However this is Hawaii, so I’m sure we will get all that and more! The following day, I drove out to the energy lab with my water girl (mom!) for my weekly long run (1 hour ha!) I threw in some tempo efforts and felt great. Check out my new race shoes in the photo below. I call them my ABA’s (American Bad Ass shoes). They’re seriously the perfect race shoe. Anyone who saw my feet after Kona last year and then after LP this year would attest to that! What a difference!

It feels so good to be here healthy and relaxed and just ready to go out race and give it my all. I’m so relaxed this year. My theme is just to race for the love of the sport and be grateful that I am healthy and able to live this wonderful lifestyle. This was my attitude in 2005, when I finished 8th. Sure, I had the goal of breaking into the top 10 like everyone else, but I felt so fit and I was just so excited to race and test myself against the best athletes in the world. I came to Kona last year so angry and frustrated. I was angry that in 06, I had a stomach bug and had a horrible race, I was angry that I separated my shoulder and missed Lake Placid and 2 months of racing and I was angry that I arrived in Kona with a leg injury (later to find out it was a femoral stress fracture). This year, I am just trying to focus on all the positive experiences that I’ve had, not just this year but over the course of the past 7 years. Always remembering why I am here in Kona, what drew me here back in 2000 and why I come back every year. I’ll give it my all on Saturday and as long as I do that, I will be happy when I cross the finish line. I’m living my dream.