So, it is over. 7 months (9 if you count when I registered for the race), 2 bike helmets, 2 pairs of shoes, 7 race swim caps, one bike crash and mild concussion and I finally finished my first half-ironman yesterday. How do I feel? In all honesty---relief, mixed with mild disappointment. I liken finishing the race to graduating high school. There was all of this preparation, anticipation, buying of special outfits but when it is all over, I just think two things:
“I could have done it better.”
And:
“What next?”
Except, the day after graduating high school I didn’t feel like I got hit by a bus.
Three weeks ago I signed up for Big Kahuna triathlon in
I came to the race in a totally uncharacteristic fashion. Usually racing is the one time I get a little type A---specifically triathlons. The multi-sports mean you have to have everything packed and ready to go for swimming, running and cycling. My biggest fear is that I am getting my transition ready and I pull out two left running shoes. If you know me well, you know this is a big possibility.
At the Kahuna, the only time I got mildly OCD was when I couldn’t find my helmet number. Other than that, I was pretty calm and collected. I only had two goals: not to bite it on the bike and to finish before they closed the race.
So, here are some key points to my race, from start to finish.
1) Jumping in the ocean at sunrise in
2) Clawing through slimy seaweed, however, is not.
3) ¾ of the way through the swim I smacked a fellow swimmer on accident. Except when I looked up, I realized it was a seal.
4) Whoever designed the transition from swim to bike at this race is a cruel person. Running barefoot ½ mile on
5) When you take time off from cycling---the crotch is the first to go. The bike ride was torturous and I felt so out of shape.
6) It felt like I was the last cyclist at the end of the bike portion. When I got to the transition zone, it seemed like all the bikes were there already.
7) The run was the first time in my 8 year racing history where I felt like I might puke.
8) Whoever decided to make the last ½ mile of the race end on the sand is super duper cruel.
9) Having to zig-zag through children playing on the beach may have even been tougher than the bike portion.
10) The best part of the race? Having Mermaid Coach Heidi as the announcer at the finish line. As I ran through the crowd she said on the loudspeaker: “There she is ---Jill! She trained since February and is finishing her first half-ironman!” Heidi, aside from my husband, as been a major supporter of me since February and it felt very fitting to have her close the journey she helped me begin.
11) 7 hours and 54 minutes or so (I can’t remember the exact time) is a heck of a long time to move my body.
So, it is over. I keep waiting for the sense of accomplishment to hit me, but I just think about bits and pieces of these past 7 months and try to put them together to make something whole. Yesterday was very humbling…I was in the very bottom portion of finishers. But, I was also relieved when I got off my bike in one piece and no flat tires. Yeah, it sucks to run a half marathon in 2 hours and 45 minutes when I did one in March in 2:02, but I also didn’t swim 1.2 or bike 56 miles before that race.
I remember going to a swim clinic in
“No,” one of them said. “We are training for Big Kahuna”
I was in awe. I knew that was something I could never do.
And you know what? Sometimes if feels pretty awesome to prove yourself wrong.
2 comments:
Ha, I felt the same way when I finished my first marathon. I finished it, but kept waiting for the "Oh my, I can't believe I just did that, woohoo" feeling. Granted I didn't train, but I never did and still don't feel that way.
But I am sure you can relate to the feeling of a task completed, and that is certainly worth it.
Got your sights on another half ironman, or, mayhap, a full ironman? Good recap, I enjoyed it. Man that seal must have frightened the bejeezers out of you.
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