Every single detail of Michigan 70.3

Okay so every single detail is what I am aiming to capture. This post is for me to capture as much as I can. I am now one week past Michigan 70.3 and I am ready to sign up for another.

Friday morning we left (Pam, Shane and me) and headed to Frankfort. Pam is 6 months pregnant and we didn't even get to Lansing before she had to use the bathroom haha. It made me laugh so hard. We made the drive up with a few more stops, lots of laughs, and just all the best feelings. We got into Frankfort a bit before 2p and I went to sign in. Of course there was ALL THE MERCH for Ironman. I bought it all haha. In reality I grabbed a sweatshirt (it was a Finisher sweatshirt and of course it made me very nervous to buy this before the race. But I didn't know I they would have them after - and they didn't, so I am glad I got it when I did). I also got a long sleeve shirt, microfiber towel with all the participant names on it, a hat, and a coffee mug. The gear was Lululemon so it was not cheap but worth every single penny. After I got all the merchandise, I got my wristband and my bike check in time. I got my packet with my bike and helmet stickers, and my timing chip. And then we were done. We hung out for a bit to go to the athlete briefing. It didn't end up telling me much I didn't know so probably something I could skip in the future. 

After that we   went to the grocery store to get some final items. Then we went to the house we had through VRBO. It was about 20 min outside of Frankfort in Copemish. 

The house was perfect. If I do this race again I definitely want that house. It is on a good size piece of property, has great outdoor seating and a fire pit. Its got a good size kitchen, 3 bedrooms, 1.5 bathrooms, and ample space. Staying at the house was me and Shane, Pam, and Megan. It was up in the air at this point whether or not my dad would be there since he ended up with an unintended schedule conflict. We had nachos Friday night, and Maureen and Phil joined us. We just sat outside and enjoyed the evening. Went to bed not too late. I slept like garbage, which is to be expected. 

Saturday morning we made a big breakfast of pancakes, eggs, bacon, toast. And after that I had to go into town to do a final bike ride and swim, and drop off my bike. I couldn't swim in the bay for the race so we went over to Lake Michigan and I did a short swim there. Swimming in the big lake was enough to confirm for me that I don't want to do a race in an ocean or Lake Michigan. The current and flow of the water was very disorienting so I am going to stick to bays and smaller lakes. After the swim I did a quick bike ride and then left my sweet Ellie racked for the morning. It felt so weird to leave her there. It started to feel very real. 

We headed back to the house not long after. As we drove back I felt my nerves starting to build. In addition to the realness of leaving my bike, I was hungry and knew I needed to eat. Eating in the days leading up to a race is key and honestly I should have been eating so many carbs that I hardly knew what it felt like to be hungry, so the fact that I was hungry made me nervous too since I felt that it meant I was behind in my nutrition. This all piled up and within about 15 min of being back at the house I had what was a small panic attack. I went outside and did some deep breathing. Shane came out and sat next to me and I vented a few minutes and started to feel better. We got lunch together (baked potatoes with tortilla soup) and I ate a package of saltines (I could do a whole post on the food and carb loading). We spent the afternoon relaxing out front of the house, chatting, drinking water, and just being calm. It was lovely to sit with Pam, Megan, and Shane and just be. 

A bit later I went inside to start and get my stuff around for the next day. Sarah got there not long after and helped me get organized and packed up. Maureen and Phil came over for dinner. We had baked pasta with garlic bread and salad. And after a short time at the camp fire I went up to bed. 

Sometime later the night my Dad arrived. I didn't sleep a wink. It was a very very long night. Finally a bit after 4 I got up and went downstairs to get coffee going, make my usual breakfast of oatmeal. Pam braided my hair and then a bit after 5:30 we headed down to Frankfort. Shane came with me to transition and Pam and Megan went over to Phil and Maureen's camper for a bit.

Walking into transition on race morning was pretty surreal. I couldn't believe it was actually here. I took my time to get things set up. Rain had been in the forecast for the day and just the day before it finally cleared up but I was still nervous about it so I set up all my gear in plastic bags. 

We were able to do a swim warm up at 7:15 so not long before that I said good bye to Shane and then headed down to the swim. I thought I would see him again before the race but we didn't actually. I did two warm up laps and the water felt great. Not too cold but not so warm that a wetsuit was uncomfortable. The first lap I accidentally got in with my wetsuit not zipped so I def got a good sense of the water haha. After the warm up lap I went to find my spot  (40-43 min swim pace) and the waiting began. This part was hard. I didn't get in the water until almost 8:30, so I was standing waiting for a solid 45 min. 45 min with nothing but my head. I watched the fastest swimmers go in, and chatted for a few with a few folks. But soon enough things started to move and I was walking towards the start. There was a volunteer singing and dancing and it made me smile and got me in the right headspace to have fun. And then I was off. 

I was able to mostly have enough of my own space when swimming. I had space to not get kicked or swam over, but def there was chop from all the swimmers. The shape of the swim was like a coat hanger. It was a weird shape and coming back the siting was a bit hard. I had my watch set to buzz at 10 min and so I mostly knew I was on the pace I wanted to be. Getting out of the water I was just so happy to be on pace and smiled all the way into transition. Transition was good. I got in and out okay and knew that the bike was the part I was most nervous about because it was the place where things could go wrong. I was terrified I would get a flat. I had everything to fix it but honestly I was underprepared for something like that. 

But the bike FLEW by. I broke it up into 5 ten mile chapters and just one by one they passed. I had times where I felt like I couldn't hold the power I needed to and I wasn't sure why. And the headwind was TERRIBLE. Ugh. But just kept at it. I carried two water bottles with me and I stopped at the first and second aid station. At the first I just filled my bottle with water and then kept going. At the second I peed and a volunteer filled my bottle while I did that. The bike course felt pretty crowded until the last 15 miles or so, and when it is crowded it is a bit harder because it feels like you can't ride your own race. You are constantly either needing to pass or trying to hold the proper distance to not draft, and so it just doesn't feel smooth. I think that is some of what contributed to me not feeling like I could hold the power because I had to do some surges to pass people and it just took some out of my legs. But I was right on pace and so just kept going. Near the last five miles of the course there are some killer hills and I kept thinking I was past them when another could appear. The was hard because I was ready to be done. But I coasted into transition right on time. On the bike I saw my Dad for the first time, and I also got to see Maureen and Phil twice which as awesome. Coming into transition I got to see Mark and Connie for the first time. On the bike I took my fuel like a champ. Every 20 minutes I took in about 25g of carbs. I drank 4 bottles (2 water, 2 skratch) also. 

Coming into transition, a new level of joy set in because I knew that nothing would stop me from finishing. Even if I walked it in, I would finish. And so I changed my top (I chose to bike in a jersey, and change to a running top for the run, rather than wear a tri suit) and put on socks and shoes, and set off.

For some races I take off out of transition way too fast. But that wasn't a problem this time. I got moving and as I approached the first aid station, I decided I would walk the aid stations. My stomach was feeling a touch crampy but I was nervous to not take in my fuel, so I tried to eat my serving of Clif Bloks. I tried twice before I decided I would stop and rely on what I had in my system for a bit to see if I could get the cramping away. And that worked. By about mile six though my right foot was starting to hurt. I didn't know why. I wondered if I should not have worn these shoes. I kind of felt like my sock was on wonky but I didn't think it would be possible that my sock could be causing me this pain. I felt going and just fought through the pain. I was slowing from 12 min to 13 min miles. I had a goal of finishing in under 7 hours and I knew I could do that if I kept under 15 min miles. Around mile 9 or 10 I tried an orange slice at an aid station and that went down good and so I did that at the next. I kept taking in water at each station. The course was a loop that we did twice which really helped to break it up and honestly the run flew by (as much as it could with my foot feeling like it did). A bit after mile 10 I decided I would try to move a bit quicker and see how it felt, and I discovered it didn't hurt any more than it did when I was going slow, so I found a bit of energy and knew I wanted to get it done. 

As I approached the last aid station, I kept going past it because I knew the finish was around the corner. I made the turn onto the finish and I found a bit of energy and kicked it up. I now wish I had actually slowed down and taken that moment in even more. But luckily there is video. And before I knew it I was across the finish line, hearing my name. I got a finisher hat and my metal. I got my picture taken. And I stumbled over to my people. I sat for a few minutes. I drank some water. And soon enough I started to move to where I could be with my supporters who were there. Lots of sweaty hugs and we took a group photo. Mark and Connie headed to their car, Sarah back to the camp ground she stayed at, and Megan and my Dad to his car. We were all going to meet back at the house. 

This left me with Pam and Shane. I got to the food tent and pizza sounded absolutely disgusting. I didn't want to eat a thing. I had heard people talk about how drinking a coke at the end of a Half is the best thing in the world and I can now confirm - that was the best Coke I've ever had. It was a full fledged sugar filled pop and it hit the spot so hard. We continued on slowly and Pam went to get the car. Shane stayed with me while I got my things from transition. Pam was able to get the car pretty close which was nice. She parked at the grocery store in town which was nice because I went in to pee and also bought chocolate milk (tasty and the right card/protein convo for recovery). 

In the car on the ride home I messaged my coach. I read lots of comments on FB. And I just couldn't believe it was done. Back at the house I mostly went right to the shower. I knew it would be painful because I knew I had some chafing. It was first painful as the salt ran over the chafing, and it was painful a second time as the soap went over them. But that shower was amazing. I decompressed. I sat in the tub and just took it all in. Eventually I got out and put on my finisher sweatshirt and then the relaxing and eating started. I still wasn't hungry which is normal after something like that but I knew I needed to eat some. I ate some chips. Then I sat for a bit. Eventually I felt like I could eat and so had leftover from the night before and a big salad. We all just sat around the house, talked, and relived the day. It was so fun to hear about how the day went for my support team.

I could not imagine doing my first Half Ironman without all of them. Shane was the rock that he always is. Always calm. Always keeping me from over thinking. Always taking pictures haha. This time I was able to snag a high five from him right as the run started. Pam took care of everything I could need after the race. She gathered up my clothes to wash, and made me a plate of food when I was ready. Sarah had bought supplies to make signs and I learned that they made signs Saturday night after I went to bed and then made more while I was on the race. Sarah arrived on Saturday right as I was trying to get organized and she sat with me on the floor as I sorted all my piles and made sure I had everything. Her and Pam went back and forth to a variety of places on the run course, including being there right before I rounded to the finish. Megan is just always a comforting presence. On Saturday when we were in town in a shop (Pam and Megan had gone to find me a trash bag so I could cover my handlebars in case of rain) returning the tape they got for me, the shop owner called Megan my mom and I didn't correct because Megan is a piece of my mom. Maureen and Phil had spectated this race the year before for their daughter, so they brought a ton of experience and they kept just popping up all over the course. They stayed at one corner of the run and one of the times I went past them Maureen made me cry. I don't remember what she sad but I was in a bad headspace and seeing them just brought the tears. This was the first ever tri that Mark and Connie had been to and so seeing them take it all in, holding up signs, and showing their support meant the world. And then of course Dad giving the best hug at the end, the hug that no one else can give. 

And just like that, it was over. We left the next morning and Pam and I went for a walk when we got home. Tuesday morning was sad because Shane left for tour and Pam went home, so I was on my own. Recovery wise I am doing okay. Monday was a bit hard physically - things like going down stairs and walking took some effort haha. But by Tuesday I mostly felt normal but I knew that it was just the beginning of recovery. True recovery from something like that is a two to three week process. And so I am one week in.

At the end of the race I wasn't sure I wanted to do another. Now I know I do. For the next few months I want to focus on strength training. Next year I know I will do another 70.3 and I keep toying with the idea of a marathon. But 70.3 will be the priority. I am pretty proud of myself. I did my first 70.3. I finished right around the time that I knew I was capable of. I finished feeling strong.