Finding a Way: My Ironman Hawaii Race Recap

I admit – I was nervous. As I watched Coach Diablo toss the black permanent marker in the shopping cart the only thing I could imagine was waking up Saturday morning with four letter words and phallic symbols scrawled across my face. How would I explain that in my race day pictures?

Luckily, Coach has matured slightly since his college days, and instead of a prank, my race-day surprise was an inspirational message:

Find a way. Those three little words became my mantra for the day – a constant reminder to ride the highs and fight through the lows – because that’s what Ironman is all about.

So first I schooled El Diablo on the swim.

Yes, I wanted revenge. For the past 365 days I’d been hearing about how, in 2010, I led the entire 2.4 mile swim, only to be passed by Coach Diablo on the steps leading out of the water. Between the tweets, the emails, and the constant prodding – I was SICK of it!

So when the cannon went off over Kailua Bay, I went HARD. When the pack surged, I surged. When the pack let up, I stayed strong. I wanted as much ocean as possible between Coach and I. And when I hit those steps I was so ridiculously focused, I don’t think I even took a breath until I was safely over the timing mat! VICTORY!!! By a full minute! Woo hoo!

An added plus was being the first amateur female out of the water. 53:33 was the EXACT same time I swam in 2009. Which means Coach Maria Thrash of Dynamo Masters is one helluva swim coach! Despite cutting back on pool time, I’ve still been able to post solid swim splits this year. This is a testament to Maria’s coaching, and the awesome ladies (and occasional gents) of Lane 8 who motivate, inspire, and make me laugh during practice. THANK YOU!

And then I decided to lay it down on the bike.

No wonder Chrissie Wellington is always smiling – leading the race is so much fun! I decided I wanted to make that feeling last and lead the female amateur race as far as I possibly could. Of course, I think this way every year, but I was feeling exceptionally good this year.

So how far did I get? 62 miles!!! I led the amateur race well past the halfway point of the 112 mile course. That’s some huge progress from the past two years:

Coach Diablo talks a lot about his high bike volume training philosophy, and I think my progress is proof that it works. I rode a 6:06 in 2009 and a 5:22 in 2011 – that’s a huge jump in just 24 months. The man may have terrible taste in movies, music, books, nicknames, and facial hair, but he knows what he’s talking about when it comes to getting faster. MUCHOS GRACIAS DIABLO!

And with a little help, I found a way through the run.

Oh Ironman marathon, I just can’t figure you out…yet! The run was a struggle for me. I started out strong and steady, I even ran all the way up the great Palani hill! But out on the Queen K, things started going downhill, fast.

My saving grace was Chance Regina. Chance swims with me at Dynamo, and he was in Hawaii repping the best bikes on the planet – Blue Competition Cycles. Chance caught me walking out of the Energy Lab and gave me some pretty awesome words of encouragement. More importantly, he told me no more walking. I was so terrified he’d catch me walking again, I actually ran the remaining seven miles to finish the marathon in 3:55. Thank you Chance, and thank you shame – both powerful motivators!

And in the end, it all worked out.

More than two years ago Coach Diablo helped me set a goal. That goal was to stand on the podium at the Ironman World Championships after finishing top five in my age group. And last Saturday, I achieved that goal. My 10:17.26 put me on the second step of the Women’s 25-29 Age Group Podium, with the traditional Hawaiian Umeke bowl trophy in my hands.

When my mom showed the podium pictures to her sixth period Chemistry class the kids commented “she did all that just for a bowl?!” HELL YES! And I hope to do it again!

A few more thank-yous.

Thank you to my parents for driving me to all those swim practices, sitting through all those swim meets, and supporting me completely in all of my decisions, as crazy as they may seem. Thanks in advance to my sister, Hannah, for letting me draft off her during the swim in a future triathlon. We can be like the Raelert brothers, but slightly less caffinated.

Thanks to everyone cheering on the course in Kona, especially Diablo’s wife, Elizabeth, who got me up that last hill and onto the finishing stretch. And to Morgan Clark for taking the awesome podium pics included above, and for introducing me to the absolute deliciousness of the Acai Bowl, which now has me more motivated than ever to get back to the Big Island.

Thanks to the good people at TYR, for making me feel like a rockstar and for creating the Torque swimskin, which was an integral piece in my swim victory over Coach Diablo.

Thanks to everyone cheering from home. Because of you I got super excited every time I ran or rode over a timing mat, knowing a split would show up on your computer, and that you would care. The tweets, the emails, the calls, and the kind words were overwhelming and I am so ridiculously thankful.

Wait, but what about the bet?!

Going into the race Diablo and I made a secret bet. To win the bet I had to go under 10 hours, he had to go sub-9:30. So in the end, neither of us made our time goals, so neither of us won. What would have happened if we had made the times? Well, that’s just going to have to stay secret. Just know I feared losing. And I’m fairly confident there will be a rematch.