This post is going to be long and picture loaded. There, you’ve been warned.
And while I should be writing my paper... I just found out
that the deadline has been moved back a couple days, so I have a couple more
days to procrastinate!
I wanted to make sure my thoughts were recorded before I forget the details, and it
won’t offend me if you skip most (or all) of this!
My Ironman journey started two years ago when I volunteered
at Ironman. That was in 2010, and
I was in awe of those athletes working non-stop in the cold, rainy, weather. I was too scared to sign up for the
next year, but I volunteered again.
This time with the Ironmoms, and we were all signing up! And again, I was in awe to the point of
tears at the ferocity and determination of the athletes. So, for the last year, I knew this day
was coming.
I trained casually until this summer. That was when I really started hitting
the bike hard. I also swam a lot
over the summer. I’m embarrassed
to admit, but that was something that happened only a couple of times once
school started. But my schedule generally was a 4-4:30 wake up call most days, either biking or running.
The days leading up to Ironman were full of fear and
excitement. The athlete dinner
Friday night was supposed to pump you up, and it did, but it also scared the
heck out of me! It was exciting
getting to hear Mike Reilly say “You will DO THIS!” And I have to admit, I thought would I really? We also had VIP passes (thank you so much Salt River!) so we were able to go to a reception where I got to meet Linsey Corbin (who won it for the girls this year!). She was darling, and wearing heels!
I found myself hanging out at Ironman Village a lot over the
next couple of days. All the
things that I could have done in one trip, I spread out to three, on three
different days. I loved just being
there in anticipation of it all
So Saturday night, I didn’t have a whole lot to do. Usually I’m frantically trying to find
all my stuff and putting all my things together for the race the next day, but
this time, all my things were packed already in my bags and dropped off. That was so nice to have that taken
care of! For dinner I had my carbs
of choice… teriyaki chicken and rice.
(I’d been making a conscious effort to eat more meat to keep my iron up,
and felt strong the two weeks prior.
Yea!)
Just when I was about to go to bed at 9:30, Gwen came to me
crying that her ear was hurting.
Uh oh. I told her I’d just
give her some Tylenol and put some alcohol in her ear and she would be
fine. She cried and said she
wanted to go to the doctor.
Really!? Everyone was in bed, except Ryan who was off at T-Mobile getting
his new phone. So off to Urgent
Care we went. After the second one
we went to was closed, and I was anxious about the sleep I was losing, I told her we’d go to the pharmacy and get ear drops and
Motrin. That appeased her, the
Motrin helped with the pain and we were in bed by 10:45. I took 2 Tylenol PMs and slept like a
champ!
I set my alarm for 5
am. I wanted to get as much sleep
as I could. I had a protein
shake for breakfast with a banana, Emergen-C, and chia seeds and I drank it on
the way to the race. I made one
trip to the port-a-pottys, went to put my water bottle on my bike and suited
up.
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| I found a short line, YES! |
While there a girl next to me mentioned she forgot her ear
plugs and asked if I had extras. I
did, so I gave her them. Once I
was suited, I realized I should give my back pack to Ryan, so I called him and
found him just as the athletes were being herded into the lake. That was when I realized that my
earplugs had fallen from the neck on my wetsuit, down inside my wetsuit. So I unsuited my top half as I’m
watching the lake start to fill with athletes. After a frantic search, I only found one. Luckily I had extra! Oh wait, I gave those away. L So with a quick kiss to my fans, I went
and stood on the dock, and wondered what would happen if I just didn’t jump in
the freezing cold water. “You’d
have wasted a lot of time and money,” I told myself and jumped in!
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| Heading over for a good bye kiss. |
The Swim:
The water was so cold!
My feet and face were numb in an instant. So I swam out to the font/middle of the pack. I wanted to take advantage of any
draft. I also wore my pink arm
sleeve over my wetsuit so Ryan would be able to seem me the whole time I was
swimming. It’s worked really well
in the past, but with the hot pink caps on all the girls, it didn’t show
up. Once the canon blew, it was
face in the water and swim time!
It was crazy. A constant
contact swim. People would just
pop up underneath you or on top of you.
I caught a hard elbow to the goggles, and my right brow bone is still
sore from that. Also, at probably
2 miles, I noticed my head felt cooler (which was nice at this point, even
though my feet were still numb).
Then I also felt like my hair was moving. I reached up to find that my cap had been pulled from my
head and was just being dragged behind me, attached from my goggle straps. Also, at about a mile and a half in, I
had warmed up for sure. Some water
got in my mouth, and I thought “that is SO refreshing!” Then without even thinking, I swallowed
it! It was so good. Seriously, Tempe Town Lake water,
good. Eww. I know. I may have continued to drink the water the rest of the
swim.
I was surprised when I reached the last buoy. I had anticipated the dread feeling
when you’re just dying to be out of the water, but it never came. And as I climbed the stairs thinking 1
down, 2 to go, I was feeling ready!
2.4 mile swim - 1:18:48
T1:
The chute to the bike bags was forever long. And while I wanted to hurry, I also was
doing my best to scan the crowd, looking for Ryan and the kids. I never saw them, and my vision was so
blurry, like my eyes were coated in lotion. (They’ve never been before, so I don’t know how I came up
with that analogy) But I had
blinked them clear after about thirty seconds, in time to see Jack and Janeen
cheering for me. That was so
exciting and gave me such a boost of energy to see their excitement for
me.
I grabbed my gear bag without a problem and headed for the changing
tent. There a sweet lady had me
sit down and dumped my gear bag and started helping me dress. I only was throwing on bike shorts over
my tri shorts, arm warmers on, compression sleeves, socks, and gloves, but it
took forever! I toweled off with my
chamois, but still, the wetness you can’t rub off was preventing my tight
sleeves from going on both my arms and legs. I wish I had baby powder!
From there I ran out and a volunteer put sunblock on me, I
ran to my bike area where another volunteer grabbed my bike while I put on my
helmet and glasses. Then I was
off. Riding down the chute through
the crowds, again was so exciting!
8:34
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| World's Greatest Support Crew! |
Bike:
The bike I was very concerned about. The day before I had a bad kink in my
back that I thought would go away once I laid down and slept. It didn’t. I felt it pull every time I bent over. It hurt pretty bad, so I loaded up on
Ibuprofen that morning. Well it
really helped, and I pedaled at what felt like was an easy pace, but I was
going fast! I figured if I wasn’t
hurting, why not maintain it?
My mom was at aid station 1, and as I passed I yelled “hi mom!” and I could
hear her start cheering me with so much excitement that it made me so happy and
proud to be working my tush off!
I fueled with Bonk Breakers, bananas, and lots of Swedish
Fish and Redvines. I also stuck
some Honey Stingers on my top tube, but after drinking all that lake water, I
through up all over those, so they didn’t get eaten. :[
The first lap, I felt strong despite some stomach cramping. Throwing up and taking salt pills
helped that. Coming in from the
first lap, I saw Ryan and the kids!
Again, seeing their excitement was just like the Bonk Breakers as far as
fuel goes. I was charged up.
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| How the kids kept busy |
The second lap, I got to see mom again at aid station
1. By then I was definitely warm,
so I through her my arm warmers.
During the second lap though, my Ibuprofen was wearing off, and I could
feel the pain in my back. Second
lap was slower. I saw Annette
cheering from the side of the road on lap 2, and I was concerned. I wondered what happened, but was
pumped from seeing her smile. I was looking forward to seeing Ryan and the kids
on my way back from 2, and their cheers gave me what I needed to start lap
3.
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| Babies getting tired. It's exhausting watching an Ironman! |
The third lap, was a little better than the second. I made it a point to talk to the other
athletes to get my mind off my back.
Also, I saw a girl wipe out, and so I had a burst of speed as I hurried
up to the Penalty tent to let them know a biker was down. That was the third biker I saw
down. The other two the ambulances
were already there by the time I saw them. My third lap was hard, and I dedicate that one to Swedish
Fish. You saved me. I had serious discomfort from the lack
of powder on the under carriage. I
didn’t think it would do any good going on a wet chamois, but I wish I would
have tried it.
112 miles – 6:01:44
T2:
Anytime you’re going through the crowd, it just charges
you. Add to it the anticipation of
finally getting off your bike, and I was ecstatic! At dismount a volunteer met me and told me he had my bike
and I could get off. Could
I?? I had to use my arm to help
lift my leg over my bike. My feet
were dead, but somehow, those dead feet started moving and carried me into the
changing tent where again, another sweet volunteer helped me change shoes and
hat. Thank you for not being
disgusted by my sweaty bike shorts.
(or at least for not showing it!)
I had packed a full change of clothes, but I decided I’d be fine in my
tri suit. (A decision I later
regretted)
2:42
Run:
I felt good, and as long as I didn’t think about having to
run a marathon, I felt like I could keep going no problem. I looked for Ryan and the kids on my
way out, but didn’t see them. When
I made it to the first aid station, I was more than happy to partake of their
pretzels and a cookie. The aid
stations were fantastic. Well
stocked, and full of energy. They
all cheered you on by name, and I thanked them each time. Also, I heard lots of comments about me
smiling. I gathered that maybe not
many athletes were smiling by that point, but I was telling myself over and
over, “your doing a freaking IRONMAN!” and then I couldn’t help but smile.
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| cup of ice in hand |
I only used the bathroom once the whole day, and that was at
mile three. Another no so shining moment
of the day, I sat on the toilet seat of the port-a-potty without a cover, and
didn’t even care!
The run course is a funny figure 8 with the crossing point
over by transition, so there are tons of crowds that you pass through twice on
each loop. Each time, I was
scanning the crowds looking for my family, and I didn’t see them. That was hard.
The first half of the run I was so hot. I kept a cup of ice that I chomped on
until the next aid station where I’d refill my ice, stick a cold sponge down my
back and ice down my jersey. But
as soon as the sun went down, it was nice.
But also with the sun going down was darkness. The majority of the run was well lit,
but there were a few spots that were dark. The first time I fell, was as I was finishing up my second
loop, I was scanning the crowds looking for Ryan and the kids when I hit a pot
hole and went down. Luckily that
one was in the grass and didn’t hurt too bad. (Although the bruise on my hip still manages to get hit on
everything) I saw Althea’s family
and Patty (I assume Kate was with her?) on the run, but never Ryan and the
kids. I was hoping to see them in
every crowd, but each time I’d pass through the crowd, I’d be disappointed they
weren’t there. As I got closer to
the finish, I was worried they wouldn’t even be there.
 |
| Poor Gwenny with double ear infections. |
Apparently Gwen’s ear got worse, and the other ear was
hurting too by that point.
She was
crying and Ryan had to take her to the ER.
They got some antibiotics and Motrin, and he took her home
to sleep.
Poor girl!
So anyway, I was mentally down a little. Even though I kept doing my
affirmations, my mind was wondering where they were. So when I came down a fast, poorly lit hill and hit gravel
at the bottom, I was mentally defeated.
I cried. Loud. For a while. I was hurt for sure, but I also thought that was the
end. I swam 2.4 miles, biked 112,
and ran 22 for it all to end now, and I wasn’t going to be an Ironman. I laid there for probably 30 seconds
until a runner came up and asked if I needed help up. YES!! She
helped me up where I assessed the damage.
I could stand, so I could walk.
I told myself you can walk and cry until you reach the next light pole,
and then you are running your butt into the finish! I didn’t want to look at my knees because I didn’t want to
know if it looked bad. So I
did. I walked, and sobbed, for
maybe 100 yards, then I forced the run.
(Run is a loose term at this point. I just mean a jog.)
After a half mile, I had the pain and crying under control
and my mood was starting to improve .
I was thinking even if my family isn’t here to see me do this, I’m
overcoming a lot. I’ve worked so
hard for this. I’ve gotten up so
early for months and juggled the kids, school and training, and this is the pay
off. I’m accomplishing a life
goal! I started up my affirmations
again, and I couldn’t wait to get to the finish!
Just as I was coming back into the transition area, I saw my
girlfriends, Catherine, Kassidi, and Megan holding signs they made. I wanted to stop and hug them, but I
didn’t want them to see the tears in my eyes, and I was worried that I wouldn’t
be able to start running again. I
told them I was going in the finish and kept going.
As I started
entering the finishers chute, I saw Janeen and Jack, and my emotions boiled
over, and I stated bawling! Just
then I heard Mike Reilly say “Kristin McPhie of Mesa, Arizona, YOU ARE AN
IRONMAN!” “This is the moment!!” I told myself, don’t cry! I heard my family cheering for me (even
over all the crowd!) and I danced my way into the finish.
Run 26.2 miles –
4:43:05
Total – 12:14:53
Finish:
Once I crossed the finish, a volunteer wrapped me in a mylar
blanket, gave me my finishers shirt, hat, and medal, and had me pose for a
picture. From there I went to the
medic tent where they “cleaned” my knee up and watched me for a bit to make
sure I didn’t get loopy on them.
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| Never been so proud to post a picture of me looking haggard! |
When I came out, my family was all there waiting for me, and
it felt amazing. It really meant
so much to me that my brothers had come out and cheered me on. And mom, I could tell you were so proud
of me, and that made me feel incredible!
Thank you!
Also my friends!
I can’t tell you “thank you” enough.
It meant the world to me that you brought me Diet Dr. Pepper
and skittles!
You know how I roll!
Thank you to you other Ironmoms for examples and
encouragement.
Kate, you planted
the seed, thank you!
And most of all, I owe the
biggest THANK YOU to my sweet family.
Gwen and Drake, thanks for putting up with a sometimes absent mom. And Ryan, thank you for picking up any
slack! You win for best
cheerleader, and this dream couldn’t have been realized without you. Thank you!
So now that it’s over, I’m diving back into my studies.
Two papers and two finals in the next
couple weeks.
As far as future Ironman races? I’m hoping to be there in 2014!
