The M-Dot

I have always said that should I earn the M-Dot, I would get it - so, I did! 

Ironman 70.3 Raleigh

I'm only almost 4 weeks late on this post, partially because I just don't want our May/June race excitement to end.  I was so glad to have Ironman 70.3 Raleigh to look forward to after Ironman Texas because I knew it would help with my almost inevitable post-race blues.  Going from the extreme excitement of the Ironman finish line to wondering what's next is truly not easy.  Even with IMRal on the radar, I still felt lost after Ironman.  It has turned into so much more than a sport or hobby for me; it truly is a lifestyle and admittedly, I'm obsessed.  This is definitely what I am supposed to be doing and who I am supposed to be.  I swam in high school but it wasn't until 2009 that I started doing half-marathons and 2010 that I did my first triathlon.  I certainly enjoyed my first few tris (sprints, obviously) but I wouldn't say that I was head over heels.  After completing my first 70.3, I figured I had found my thing, but, after completing my first Ironman, my love was confirmed.

So, here we are, almost a month after the final official event on the race calendar.  I've got a super sprint on the radar and plan to do another 70.3 before 2013 is up, but no specific one is set in stone yet.

I participated in my first relay for this race because of not knowing how my body would feel 2 weeks post Ironman.  So, I took this opportunity to do something that I've always wanted to do.  I swam the swim leg (in some of the choppiest water I've experienced) and then made my way downtown to volunteer at the finish line!

My swim went fairly well - about 3-6 minutes slower than I was hoping.  The chop was an interesting addition, as were the rolling waves (apparently wake from boats) that I could feel my entire body moving up and down with the water.  At least I happen to float, huh?!  Also, thank goodness I did not see the snake that was at the start line.  I only heard about it a few days after the fact.

After giving my timing chip to our team biker, I was off to the finish to get my hands on ALL THE MEDALS!

It was really neat being at the finish line as both Greg and Laura Bennett won.  Greg even took one of the medals to give to Laura himself as she came across the line.  I got to watch proudly as so many of our friends finished (including my runner teammate!) and hang a medal around many of their necks, most importantly of which was this guy :)

I'm so thankful to be involved in this sport and to love it so much.  And to be able to enjoy it side by side with my one & only makes it all that much more perfect.

Post-Race Ironman Texas

First stop after the race was to sit down and drink two bottles of chocolate milk - yum!  We then had to go claim our bikes and gear bags and walk back to the hotel.  Brutal!  After showering, taking care of several horrendously chaffed spots, and assessing the sunburn, we grabbed a quick night's sleep before taking a cab at 6am to go buy the finisher jackets to match the swag we earned the previous day.

Aside from breaking down Jonathan's bike and packing, absolutely nothing was accomplished all day and we even stayed within the hotel for dinner, as the rest and lack of sun was much needed.

It was tough for our trip to end, but it was so good to have our sweet Hurley boy greet us when we walked in the door at home.  The following morning as Jonathan was leaving for work, we also got a wonderful surprise at our front door from some awesome friends:

 *****

It's now 5 days post-race, I've picked up my bike from TriBike Transport, and I'm ready to choose my next Ironman.  I am so glad to have accomplished my goal of finishing, but I want more.  I want to run more of the marathon and get faster on the bike.  I talked about being "1 and done" from Ironman, but I'm now eating my words.  It's like the little kid in the commercial says - "We want more, we want more; like you really like it, you want more".

What will I do differently next time?  Instead of Gu chomps and combos, I'd go for pretzel sticks, Bonk Breakers, and a banana here and there.  I'll keep up the Infinit in my bottles and the water in the aero bottle, and maybe take a few more salt tabs, depending on the temperature.

If you're a numbers person, these stats from the race are pretty interesting: http://www.runtri.com/2013/05/ironman-texas-2013-results-analysis.html

I'm so thankful that Jonathan and I were able to do this race together.  We are very lucky to have both been able to finish and not end up in the med tent on what I read was a day with a 106 degree heat index.  Even with that, I'd absolutely do it again :)

Ironman Texas

The harp alarm on my phone sounded promptly at 4:15.  We laid in bed for a few minutes going through our Facebook well-wishes, which was an awesome way to start the day.  Lots of great energy being sent our way helped so much!  My nerves were not nearly what I thought they might be that morning.  Eating was still somewhat of a challenge, but I never enjoy eating before a big race.  I had a whole wheat english muffin with some chocolate hazelnut butter and a couple of mini white donuts, followed by a banana just before the swim start.

We left the hotel at 5:30 to walk to transition for tire pumping, bento box filling, water bottle drop, etc., and followed that with the pilgrimage to the swim start.  After dropping our special needs bags, getting body marked, and dropping our morning clothes bags, we attempted to get in line for the bathrooms, but quickly gave up as the line wasn't moving.  With about 15 minutes before the swim start, I found a random lady to take our picture and text it to me - bless her heart!

The swim was wetsuit optional as the water was 77.6 degrees, so I opted out.  I didn't want to start 10 minutes back, as that would basically equate to me having 10 minutes less time on my bike.  The water felt great.  We swam to the far side of the start and treaded water there for a few.  Jonathan told me to look behind me at the shore line, and it was amazing.  You could see spectators, volunteers, and athletes every where.  Though I don't have a physical picture of it, it's an image I'll never forget.  The national anthem was sung and before long, I heard the countdown and the cannon.  It was go time.  My game face was on.  I expected the first 100m of the swim to be a bit physical, but it was more like 800m.  I got drilled in the back of the head once and punched in the side of the knee once.  Still have the welt to prove that one.

I stayed with Jonathan for the entire swim.  He says I was drafting off of him, but I was really just using his yellow jersey to help sight!  It was really neat to be able to stay together for a portion of the race though.  Once we got into the channel, I thought he was getting a little tired so I pulled ahead to help out, though he claims it was just for the glory.  =)

Note: I'm not including time splits in my race report because I haven't even looked at them yet.  Jonathan made me promise to ride the high of the finish for one full week because he knows I become critical of myself as soon as I catch a glimpse of splits.

So, though I don't know my swim time yet, I felt like it was a little slower than I would have liked simply because I was having to participate in a wrestling/MMA match while advancing in a 2.4 mile swim.  I was pleased, however, that the actual swim part (not the fighting for space part) felt mostly effortless, natural, and not energy zapping.

T1 was hard!  Putting sun sleeves and a sports bra on a wet body is not easy.  I did the best I could and had a volunteer help me with both tasks.  What a sweetheart.

Knowing that there was a time cut off at mile 60 of the bike I wanted to get my ass in gear quickly.  The first 30 miles went by in seemingly the blink of an eye.  Thanks, tailwind!  As did the next 30 miles.  Wow, mile 60 already?!  And with an hour to spare?  The course got hillier, windier, and hotter around mile 65, but I kept my head.  I only started to get really hot around mile 85, what I thought was half way between aid stations.  Turns out that the mile 90 aid station was more like mile 95.  I stopped here to properly cool off, as did many others.  I also proactively hit the 'oh shit' button and took 2 salt tabs.  There were lots of folks laid out in the grass or hanging out in the misting tent.  I knew I couldn't waste any time as there was a final bike cut off, so I went on.  It wasn't until mile 97ish that I began to get uncomfortable saddle wise and start to get frustrated.  I knew I was so close at this point though, that I was able to keep it together and finish the final few miles in a solid mental state.  The thing I was most worried about - making the bike cutoff - was now in my rear view mirror.

I love T2 because switching bike shorts out for run shorts is one of my favorite things ever.

I started off on the run pretty well, but I didn't get the second wind that I thought was coming.  I honestly don't remember a lot about the run itself; I just tried to move on to the next mile.  It was hot.  I feel like that is a good portion of my description of the race, but trust me, it was hot enough to keep harping on it.  I dumped cups of ice into my sports bra at every aid station while the sun was still up.  My Infinit wasn't sitting well after several miles, so I started taking in cold water with some pretzels, one more salt tab, and a couple of pieces of banana.  When dusk came, I tried a taste Coke, but it wasn't flat enough, so I knew it wouldn't sit well.  Instead, I immediately tried chicken broth instead and that was exactly what my body wanted.  I probably had a total of 6 cups of broth over the course of the final half of the run.  I was much closer to the 17 mile cut off than I would have liked, but met that mile marker with some time to spare.  I hardly even remember the mile markers ticking by.  Forward motion was the goal.  I tried running for as many different sections as I could, off and on.  And when I wasn't running I was power walking as if my life depended on it.  I stopped at a couple of aid stations just to do a forward fold to give my back a different position, if only for a few seconds.  It felt good but I don't know that I'd waste time doing it again.

The spectator and volunteer support over the entire course was phenomenal, but most especially on the run course.  Running along the waterway people are literally right beside you, cheering you on by name.  Little kids want high fives, and if you're lucky enough to have gotten some sweet tan lines from your bike shorts, you may even be complimented on your tan lines that you worked so hard to get.

I finally got to the final short out and back before the finish line was coming.  I jogged a bit, walked a bit, and finally got to the tape in the road pointing me to the finish line, with a volunteer saying that there was just 400m left to go!  Shortly thereafter, the finish chute came where the barriers separate the crowd from the athletes.  The spectator support was still strong during the 11:00 hour and everyone was reaching out for high fives and commenting on my incessantly giddy smile.  I thought my cheeks were going to just burst open because this is the 30 seconds of the race that I've dreamed about for months.  I passed a couple walking in the finish chute and started to approach a woman in front of me.  We were too close to the finish line, so I slowed up a bit, then she slowed up.  I tried my best for us to finish separately, but it seems we highjacked each others' pictures.  I knew to listen to Mike Reilly while approaching the finish line (instead of while crossing it) as he announced the four words I've been waiting to hear since sign up day of July 11th, 2012.  It ended up that he said the woman's name in front of me and then my name together, and then saying You are an Ironman!  But I got to hear my name by Mike Reilly, who had come down into the chute from the announcer stand, and that I. AM. AN. IRONMAN!  I even got to see him dancing and waving a towel around helicopter style as I approached him.  But the icing on the cake?  A high five from the Ironman Voice himself just before crossing under the big blue Ironman Texas arch!

I'm so glad I had the foresight to switch my water bottle to the other hand so I was ready for the sweetest high five in history!  Wish I had just ditched the bottle, but details :)

After getting my medal, finisher shirt and hat, and taking a quick finisher picture, Jonathan was able to come back into the finish area to greet me.  I had seen him just as the finish chute began and he tracked me the whole way and was able to see me finish.  But the best moment came when we got our celebratory moment in the finisher area.  I saw him coming towards me, and when we met in the most meaningful embrace, he picked me up off my feet and I promptly burst into the most relived sob and let out an, "I did it!". 

Pre-Race Ironman Texas

The logistics and gear up for this event was no joke!!  Flying adds in a whole other component of not being able to just throw a bike pump or whatever else into the back seat and rolling out.  The planning and packing, especially packing a bike, is tedious.  Tuesday night before we left, our *amazing* friends Jen & Scottie came over to lend support in packing Jonathan's bike as well as moral support!  It took several hours, but we got that damn 63cm bike packed into the box (which the airline would later open up and search...).  Y'all, thank you, we owe you a beer or ten...

Wednesday morning, we got up early to make sure everything would squeeze into the allotted number of luggage bags.  Success!  We were off to the airport by 8am and on our way!  So thankful we had a direct flight as it provided much less chance of any luggage or bikes getting lost on the way.  The flight was uneventful; just how I like them.  A friend of Jonathan's picked us up at Houston Hobby and toted us and our luggage all the way to The Woodlands.  Thank you, Devin!  We also owe you a beer or ten...

Once we got checked in to the hotel, we made our way to athlete check in.  I fully enjoyed signing my life away to participate in this spectacular event!!  We got our event bracelets, bib numbers, and Ironman backpacks.  I really like the shoulder straps :)

After lunch/dinner at Grimaldi's and gelato at Hubble&Hudson, I think we had dozed off in bed by 7pm.

Thursday we were able to relax for a while in the morning, get gear bags ready, and build Jonathan's bike back up.  It went a lot smoother than either of us expected - success again!  We had an awesome lunch at Freebirds (tacos, salsa, chips, burritos) then decided that going to see Iron Man 3 was a perfectly appropriate way to spend the afternoon.  Dinner was provided by Ironman at the Welcome Banquet and mandatory athlete meeting.  They showed several neat videos during the meeting and then finally Mike Reilly came out to greet and pump up the crowd.  He said there were 810 first timers and invited us all to stand and proceeded to tell us that "You WILL be an IRONMAN!", which was pretty awesome.

Friday morning was mandatory bike and run gear drop, so we did that, followed by making the practice swim with just a few minutes to spare.  I was determined to do this to work out any murky water anxiety that may have been bubbling just underneath my game face exterior.  I'm glad I did, as I was a little short of breath at first, but quickly worked out any and all kinks.  The water was right at 76 degrees, so we figured it would go the way of wetsuit optional for the race.  After swim practice, we walked all over creation for a multitude of things, most important of which was to check in our bikes.  In transition, volunteers were advising us to let a little air out of the tires since it was going to be so hot.  Nobody needs to find a tire blowout on race morning.

Another place we stopped was Lululemon; they were SO into the event!  They decorated the store exterior with the athlete names, 140.6, and the state of Texas.  They also had a really neat surprise where you could get any new article of clothing stamped, like so!

We surprisingly got a reservation at Macaroni Grill for our 'last supper' and were in bed by 9 to rest up for the big day...

White Lake Half 2013

Well, this half ironman turned into a duathlon for the Miller family!  After receiving an email on Thursday evening that the water temps were expected to be 54-56, I got a little concerned.  I mean, I start whining when the pool is 74!  We got to WL during the pre-race meeting on Friday, picked up our packets, and while walking back to the car, my ears perked up when I heard 'duathlon'.  I spoke to a USAT official after the meeting and he explained that the swim was going to be optional and that if the duathlon option was selected by the athlete, it would begin with a 2.4 mile run then go into the rest of the race.  SOLD!

I was the only one of our group that stayed together that night that decided beforehand to not swim.  A. I hate cold water. B. I'm not trying to get sick before IMTX.  I have to say I was extremely pleased with my decision and still am!

As Jonathan and I got body marked on Saturday morning, we watched the wind whip up some serious chop in the water. It was then that Jonathan decided to join me in the duathlon endeavor.  Happy to have him join me :)  We certainly don't need him sick either!  Soon after, our buddy Brad made up his mind and joined us at the finish line to begin the duathlon.

The 2.4 mile run went well; I played it as a warm up since I wasn't sure what my foot was going to do for the day.  (Back story: a couple bones in my ankle got out of place a week or two ago causing a good bit of pain. Chiropractor popped them back in and it seems to feel better each day.)

In T2 I had to take a layer off as I over dressed.  Oops. My transition times always seem to be fabulously horrendous. 

The bike...well, I've come to the conclusion that I am just not meant or built to be a biker.  I will work my ass off until IMTX so that I can do my absolute best there, but I'll be done with long course biking for a very long while.  This course provided an unbelievable combination of headwinds and tar strips that made me loose my mind around the 42+/- mile mark.  I cried out of sheer frustration; it was ugly.  I got through it and that was the best that I could do on this day.

The run: I did it!  I had talked to my husband, my coach, and my chiropractor and we had all decided that if I had too much foot pain that I'd just drop out of the race so as to not jeopardize IMTX.  I did have some pain during the race, but it came in waves - maybe once or twice a mile there would be a pain.  I eased off for a few, then started back running and that seemed to work well.  The waves of pain made it very hard to decided whether or not to call it a day.  Each time I would start to consider it, the pains would have eased up and I'd be running comfortably again. I made it through and am glad that I did.  The foot hurt after the race was done and on the car ride home, but once I got home and was able to put some ice on it, elevate it, and take some meds, it was a lot happier.  I don't know that I'm quite ready to run on it yet, but I think it would be good in a couple of days :)  The silver lining though?  Even with a half-bum foot, this was my best 13.1 time in a HIM by about 15 minutes!

Next stop?  IMTX.  Less than 6 weeks now...

Tobacco Road Half Marathon 2013

8th stand alone half marathon & 10th overall - PR by 12 minutes 56 seconds! #happygirl

I have my next time goal in mind (read: I've been checking out early fall races), but I have to be pleased with such a strong PR.  I love seeing all of my current training pay off.  I felt strong the whole time and even felt good after the race.  There have been so many races where I've felt nauseated after I'm done, but now that I have my nutrition on lock, it is so much more enjoyable to race and then feel good afterward, too!

I am now officially excited for my half Iron in 2 weeks.  White Lake is going to see a whole new athlete this go 'round!

Because I am a nerd and like to document random stuff so I can know what works/doesn't work:
Saturday morning snack: beach bum smoothie from Tropical Smoothie Cafe
Lunch: salad & mac'n'cheese from Whole Foods hot bar, peanut butter chocolate chip cookie
Dinner: brown rice, broccoli, Worcestershire chicken
Breakfast: toasted cinnamon raisin english muffin w/ smart balance, Oh's cereal in the parking lot before race
During race: 1 bottle of Infinit (single scoop) from start until mile 11, refilled and drank about half of the 2nd bottle

Amazing Quote

Source: Uploaded by user via Erin on Pinterest