Ironman Florida '08 - My Story

I wish I could make this report as entaining as Ronnie’s account but I am not the smart a$$ that he is. So here is my account of what happened.
I slept pretty good Friday night. I woke up a few time but always fell right back to sleep. That is until 3:30. That time there was no more sleeping. I did stay in bed for about an hour hoping for just a few more minutes of sleep but never got any.
So at about 4:30 I got up. I fixed myself a cinnamon raisin bagel with peanut butter by the light from the microwave. I got dressed and headed out, leaving my family sleeping. I got to the elevator and as soon as it opened and I saw the girl standing there with her special needs bags I realized mine were still in the condo. I went back to the room and quietly grabbed my bags. Back to the elevators this time with everything. We were on the 18th floor and I had to stop several times to let people on.
I dropped off special needs bags and easily found someone to body mark me. I got to be 39 again since there is no age up rule for Ironman. Does that mean I get another party in December when I turn 40 again???
Once body marked, I went into transition and loaded my bike down with pb&j, pretzels and Nuun. Then I just sat on the curb and relaxed. I couldn't believe I wasn't nervous. I was more nervous last year when I was just there as a volunteer.

I walked over to make sure I knew where my T1 bag was and on the way back I saw Lana and JT. A little later I saw Holly who had volunteered again this year to get a back stage pass. I talked with Lana and Holly for a bit then Ronnie called to let me know that he and the kids had come down. I found them and got lots of hugs and kisses from the kids. I was so glad I had decided to have them come along.
We hung out and I just tried to stay warm. Finally it was time to surrender my morning clothes and shoes to Ronnie and make my way to the beach.
The Swim
The music was blasting and Mike Reilly was asking who wanted to become an Ironman. The crowd cheered and the excitement was tangible
The pros went out at 6:50 and 10 minutes later the gun sounded for us age groupers.
I walked/jogged out into the water with the mass of people. I started in the middle more to the left. I started swimming but kept my head out of water. It was crazy. I knew it was going to be but until you actually do a mass start with that many people you can’t really understand just how crazy it is. The first loop was the worst. I took an elbow to the chin, got kicked in the chest, had my zipper pull pulled loose so it kept getting wrapped around my neck, got pulled under, swam over...At the first turn it was total chaos. I came to a complete stop just trying to get around the buoy. I must have looked bad because I had a girl tell me she couldn’t help me there was just too many people. I didn’t need or want help, just some space to swim. The rest of the first loop was more of the same. I made it to shallow water and stood up. Leg cramp. I walked it off and made it to the beach. I saw the clock and it said forty something. I smiled from ear to ear, I was right on track. Then I saw Holly and yelled to her. She got my picture. I grabbed some water to rinse my mouth and hit the water for lap two. It was then that I realized that the clock might have been still set for the pros. Could I have just done that first loop in thirty something??? No way. Second loop was a lot less of a full contact swim. I had more space and could relax and focus more on form. Up until this point I had been breathing every other stoke on my left. I tried to bilateral breath and discovered my wetsuit must have been rubbing because it really hurt to turn my head right. So I stuck to the left breathing and finished the swim. I exited the water and saw 1:15:xx on the clock. I made my way to the strippers with a huge smile on my face. I knew then that I had just had the best swim of my life. I had a great girl remove my wetsuit, tell me congratulations on a great swim and point me towards T1.
2.4 mile swim 1:15:26
T1
I had to pee. Actually I had to pee before the race even started but the lines were just too long and I figured I would go in the water. I never did so by the time I made it to transition I was about to explode. I had to find my own bag (something I wasn’t really expecting). It took me a minute to find it even though I thought I knew where it was pre race. I found it then I ran straight to the port-a-potty. Bladder empty, I started toward the tent but noticed it was crowded so just decided to change right there. I dumped my bag on the ground and grabbed what I wanted and stuffed the rest back in the bag. I saw Holly again while I was doing all this. I told her to tell Ronnie I made it out of the water early if she saw him. She said she would. congratulated me on a great swim, and sent me off for my bike. I ran down the rows as people were shouting my number trying to find my bike. I yelled row two and they got it just as I reached it. I took it from the volunteer and was out of T1.
T1 time 7:05:40.
The Bike
There was quite the crowd trying to get out on the bike course at the same time and we had to walk our bikes for a ways until it thinned out enough to mount and ride. I got on my bike right where the kids had written with chalk the night before. I wasn’t expecting to see Ronnie and the kids since I had told them it would be an hour and a half to two hours for my swim. But there they were, right there to cheer me on. The bike was off to a good start. But then about 5 miles into the ride, my Nuun tablets fell out of my pocket. The girl behind me yells, “Looks like you lost your Nuun.” It was too crowded to even think about stopping for it so I decided I would just have to go with Gatorade for the day.
It was a little cool and I was wondering if I should have grabbed my arm warmers but the sun was out it didn’t take long to warm up. After about 10 miles I had to pee. The port-a-potties at the next couple aid stations had lines so I skipped them. I saw a white truck somewhere around 20 miles and thought “That’s looks like the Flash”. traffic slowed due to the aid station. I grabbed a Gatorade and rode past the truck just as Holly spotted me and yelled. It was great to see them out there. I rode on past and then had them pass me a few more times. By mile 40 aid station I couldn’t hold it any longer so had to stop and wait in the port-a-potty line. I wasn’t on my bike 2 miles when I had to pee AGAIN. I stopped at the potties at special needs then again to pick up my bag to get my additional pb&j’s. 50 miles down and I was still feeling great. My bib number started flapping and I discovered that at the last potty stop I had lost a snap on my race belt. So I had to tuck my number into my shorts.
There was some rough road and I thought it was the part I had been warned about, but then I hit the out and back and discovered what real rough road feels like. I was still feeling great and excited with how my ride was going, I was doing much better then I thought I could. I had to make TWO MORE potty stops and then told myself I was holding it until T2.
The last 10 miles seemed like the longest of the whole ride. I caught up with Lana and told her she was having an awesome race. I rolled into T2 with the biggest smile and pumping my fists in the air. The crowd was cheering and that made me even more excited. I handed my bike off to a volunteer and ran into T2.
112 mile bike 5:57:29
T2
I helped the volunteer find my bag then I hit the port-a-potty. I ran to the tent asking for a safety pin for my race belt. I had the best two girls help me. They dumped my bag and held up each item asking me if I needed it. I got the stuff I needed, had someone apply some more sun screen, got the safety pin and jogged out of T2.
T2 time 3:55
The Run
I was way ahead of schedule so I didn’t expect to see Ronnie and the kids so I didn’t even look for them. Jill saw me and shouted. The crowd was great, they were loud and very motivating. After the first two miles I started to pay for the lost Nuun. The Gatorade was not sitting well in my stomach. I had to GO. I got to the mile 3 aid station potties, waited in line, then NOTHING. I figure I was OK then. But as soon as I started running it felt like I as going to poop my pants. So I walked. I stopped at several more port-a-potties and had the same results. Lana caught me after the turn around. I ran with her until the next aid station where I made yet another stop. Finally I gave up on the potty stops and just walked. I made it to half way turn around and got hugs from my kids. That made me feel better but I still couldn’t run for long. I was walking fast. I even had a guy tell me he wished he could walk that fast. I knew by this point I had a sub 15 in the bag so I was lacking motivation to run. Finally at mile 21 I made one last potty stop. I decided I wasn’t leaving that pot until I went. Finally!!! I felt so much better after that and actually jogged most of those last 5 miles, it was a slow jog but faster then walking.
I made it to the chute and got to stay to the right. I saw Ronnie, the kids and Jill all yelling like crazy. Then I heard Mike Reilly say “Michele Emerson from south Missouri....”I looked up at the booth confused. I am not from Missouri. But I crossed the line and became an Ironman anyway. Flash was there and got my picture. The catcher asked me how I was and told him “Fantastic!!!”.
I collected my medal, shirt, and hat, got my picture taken, and then left the finishers area.
Flash took me to Holly and Mrs. Flash. I talked with them for a few minutes then went looking for Ronnie and the kids.
I was so excited to see them.
We walked back to the condo so I could shower. Then we walked down to Hammer Head Fred’s because I wanted a cheeseburger. I was moving slow and had to keep yelling at Ronnie to wait up.
After my burger, fries, and beer, we went back to watch the rest of the racers come in. Bryce fell asleep with his head in my lap so Ronnie took him back to the room and Casey and I stayed with Lana and JT to watch the final finishers cross the line.
It was a perfect ending to a perfect day.
I am still on cloud nine. I can’t believe I did it. it is over. I not only got the sub 15 I wanted, I got a sub 13!!!
final time 12:40:55