RACE REPORT

MY IRONMAN EXPERIENCE

Race Day:

I slept fairly well the night before the race and woke up at 4am to my alarm. Headed downstairs for some coffee and my pre-race oatmeal. Everyone around me was speaking German. Ultraskinny athletes everywhere with their own pre-race rituals. I then headed back to my room to gather all my special needs bags and my morning gear. In the dark I walked by the glowing capital building and dropped of my bags. I ran into a few Well Fit people and we waited for race time. I met my family down by the start. They had on bright yellow visors with big “V”s on them and huge “V” signs. Now it’s time for the start.

I entered the water with Eric, Seth, Mike and slowly swam out to the buoys. Eric and I set ourselves up near the front but out to the right to try to avoid the chaos. Eric had a huge smile on his face and would slap the water in excitement. We didn’t say much to each other, but we were both filled with anticipation and taking in every image around us. The national anthem was sung. The announcer had us thank our family and supporters. All the athletes cheered loudly. Next thing I know, the cannon goes off!! There was no time to think. I looked over to Eric and said “Oh my God! It’s time” and off we swam.

The swim is one large rectangle, which you swim twice. On the way out to the first turn things went pretty smoothly. Sure, people get in your way, kick you, bump you, pull on your feet, but more or less I was able to swim regularly. 4 strokes breath left, 4 strokes breath left, 3 strokes breath right, 3 strokes, Sight. Repeat. OVER AND OVER. I saw myself swim past The Terrace. Then things started to get crazy. Everyone merged to make the first turn. It was like swimming in a washing machine. I couldn’t move. I tried to get around people with good old water polo moves. It worked a little, I would swift people by their hips to get them out of my way but not interfere with their swim. As I approached the buoy I saw Jen Green. This made me happy. I know Jen is a fantastic swimmer and was proud that I was keeping up with her. At the turn I was literally upright. We all were. Everyone was laughing. I said hi to Jen. Upright we were all pushed and shoved forward until we were able to swim again. RIGHT INTO THE SUN. I couldn’t see a thing so just followed the feet in front of me. The rest of the swim was not so smooth. The crowd never really thinned out again, but I was able to swim. I looked at my watch at the first loop and saw 38 minutes which was frustrating because I really wanted to finish in less than an hour- but I just kept going. Getting out of the water a volunteer grabbed my hand and pulled me out. I saw 1:08 on the clock. I couldn’t was thrilled. I ran up with a HUGE smile on my face. I flopped on the ground like a whale and let the volunteers rip my outfit off. It was so fast! I stood up and heard my family and friends yell my name. I saw Dave Hamm and knew others were with him, but it was all blurry. I shuffled my way up the helix. Liz, Dan and Keith were on the helix. They screamed and jumped for me. By the tone in their encouragement I could tell they were very impressed by my swim and that made me happy.

I grabbed my bag and sat in a chair and started to change. Next thing I know Jen Green comes running in with a volunteer to help her change. I was so happy to see her again and also to know I had kept up with the fast kids ☺ I downed some Gatorade and ran out of the conference room towards my bike. I saw Jason above the crowd in his Cubs hat. I hadn’t seen him yet that day and seeing him brought an even bigger smile to the one that was already on my face. Volunteeers slapped on sunscreen, I made a quick bathroom stop and ran towards my bike. I saw more friends with “V” visors cheering me on. I was pretty sure it was the Staples on one end and Carrie on the other, but it was hard to tell. I volunteer handed me my bike and off I went. Slow and careful down the Helix.

On the bike I had told myself a few things. First, start out no faster than 14 mph even if I feel great and build once I get through one loop. Second, eat a gel every 30 minutes and stay hydrated. I felt great. It was hard to hold back on the bike, but I tried. Shortly into the bike Joe House wizzed by and said hello. Next Jen passed by and cheered me on. On the way to Verona Erik rode by and slapped my butt, followed immediately by another butt slap from Keach. A random dude right behind them yelled “Hey Veronica, does everyone do that, or only guys you know.” The first loop was spectacular. The crowd was amazing. Costumes, cheers, music, signs. I was way ahead of pace. I saw Sharone on the first big hill, then Dan on the second. The male cheerleader on the third made me laugh. I flew into Verona so far ahead of time my family almost missed me. The second loop was harder. I dropped my chain twice, but was happy to fix it on my own. I slowed a ton and was hot/weak but kept going. Bruce caught up to me at about mile 70 which was a needed smile. We rode together just a bit and he went on. The crowd had thinned but still enough people on the big hills. I cried a bit up the first hill- I was shaky and emotional but knew I would be fine. Ed and Joanne cheered me on the second. That cheerleader was still there on the last hill. Kathleen passed on my way into town, she asked how I was doing and my answer was “I’m struggling but I’m going to make it” She smiled and kept on cruising. I saw my family again in Verona with their visors and cheers. The energy I had after seeing them almost doubled my MPH on my bike for a few miles. On the way back to town the muscle cramps began. First my left thigh then right calf. I tried to just gear down and spin my legs which helped, but I knew that I might be in trouble. From that point to the finish line I was constantly doing math in my head. If something happens to my bike, how long will it take for me to carry it 4 miles and still get the 5:30 cut off time? If I need to walk, what pace do I have to keep to cross 13.1 miles by 9:30 and so on. Lori S passed on by somewhere in there- I was hurting a lot and don’t really remember our exchange much.

When I got into transition Dad was at the entrance. I told the volunteers I was going to cramp when I stood. Left leg on the ground and an unrelenting cramp in my left calf. I quickly shifted weight to my right and that calf cramped too. It was crippling. Three volunteers where holding me up and asking me to lay down- but I told them I needed to walk. They helped me walk it off and I was fine. That was the point Melissa caught me. I was elated to see her. We hugged all the way into transition. Barbara, one of Lore A’s friends, was my transition buddy. She was so full of energy and encouragement. I just love her. I loved all the volunteers that day and told each of them that. The organization, preparation, efficiency and energy they had was spectacular. But that is for another story.
I shuffled my way out of transition. Huge smile. I was so happy I had made my biggest challenge-the bike cut off- by an hour. My family and Jason ran along side me. Jason told me I looked cute, which made me laugh- I was a disgusting mess. I headed up hill to the capital. There was some of the Well Fit crew cheering. Around the bend was all the EGR crew. I was thrilled. The energy. I thought they would have gone home by then but there were there!! I continued on, walking the aid stations and up the hills. I started to doubt if I would be able to finish by midnight. More math. Over and over I recalculated. I tried to stay positive. I had tons of time. I could walk the whole thing and still probably finish in time. But I was scared. Then I’d feel great. Huge smiles to the specatators and volunteers. Chatting with them all. Back on state street I saw Liz. She was jumping! Literally. What energy. She said I looked great. I told her I was walking a lot. She told me “It’s okay. Take your time. You can do this.” And off I went. Mile 11-15 were the worst of my entire race. Vision got blurry, I was nauseated. Couldn’t imagine keeping any more stupid gel or Gatorade down. I dumped ice and sponges on myself. I was going down the ramp about to head back up to the capital when I saw three images jumping up and down screaming for me. I had no idea who they were. I smiled. They were saying my name but I just couldn’t see clearly. Then I saw them. Anu, Christina and Karin had driven up after Anu did the Chicago Half Marathon to catch the end of my race. I wanted to hug them. I turned and started to walk up the hill. Excruciating left knee pain. I’d never felt anything like it. I was a mess. If I ran, if hurt even more. But if I ran long enough it would stop hurting. I got back to the capital. Saw my EGR friends. I doubt I smiled this time. Their energy helped. This was my lowest point of the race, looking back this was what they call “bonking” I guess. I saw Dan, Sharone, Keith at the turn around. I think I shot them a “help me” look too. I stopped to get my special needs bag. I knew if I sat down the race would be over for me. So the volunteer helped change my shoes. I saw Jen Green there. She said she’d catch up to me soon. I ate a few bites of my PayDay bar and tried to keep going. My family cheered. Jason ran down state street with me asking what he could do to help. I told him to meet me on the other end of state street. Jen Green caught up. We ran/walked together for a bit. I had a system. Walk the aid stations. Walk the uphills. If there were none in that mile then I could walk for three minutes and then had to run again. Jen had a headlight. We had glow in the dark necklaces on. Struggling through with Jen by my side seemed to get me out of my bad point. I knew I could run. I knew if I didn’t take advantage of that, I might not be able to later. So I went on without Jen. Jason met me on state street and ran it with me. He told me I looked a lot better, and I felt it. I saw a guy in a body bag by the lake. He wasn’t dead, just puking. EMS must have put him in a body bag to warm him up. It was weird. The trail was pitch black. I couldn’t see, but I kept trying to run. People all around me were walking. Many were complaining and negative. I tried to encourage them. I tried to stay positive. I stuck to my run/walk plan. I was disappointed that I couldn’t run like I did in my half-iron, but I knew I would get to the finish line well before midnight. I met a very nice older man named Mike. He and I ran walked and encouraged each other. This was his 8th Ironman Wisconsin. He was fantastic. I wish I remembered his race number so I could thank him. Maybe I’ll look him up by finish time and age group. Anyways, I started to thank all the spectators and volunteers for staying out late. The Bears game was on everywhere. I asked everyone how I looked for my finish photo- just to get a laugh. I ran up state street to the square. My friends had staggered all along the square to run with me. Karin yelled SO LOUD. And I did it. I crossed. With an hour and half to spare. Lore A’s friend Mike was my volunteer who greeted me, gave me a medal, walked with me to the photo. The girls had brought me lei’s. Hugs and kisses to all my family and Jason. I was elated. I was exhausted. Saw Erik and Cathy on the way to the hotel. He was the only team member I saw after my finish. I was so happy to hear everyone had done well. I was heartbroken to hear about Lore A’s bike issues. Lore A has been my bike buddy and strength all along.

I didn’t sleep a wink that night. I was shivering. I was a mess. Jason got me extra blankets, handed me Gatorade, ordered me Jimmy Johns at 1 am. If I started to fall asleep, I’d move an inch and wake up immediately in pain. All day yesterday I continued to feel like I had been run over by the world. Today, I finally feel like a human again. I am thrilled. I feel like the luckiest and most loved person on earth.