The Recap!

I am an Ironman!  Woot!  I don't think I'll ever get tired of that!  What a ride...it was really great, except for the pain, but whatever, pain was expected.  And greatness was expected, and this race experience did not let me down!  Let me begin the recap by saying that I had a GOOD day, a really good day, and I will never take that for granted, because I know any race day can go bad, in numerous, unexpected ways.  But I was lucky, because along with my hard work and preparation and attention to detail, I was granted a GOOD day!  Hardly anything went wrong for me, and that is simply amazing.  So here are the details, whether you want them or not :-).

LEAVING DEBARY/ARRIVING IN LOUISVILLE

CAR IS LOADED

Brian left for the first leg of his driving trip, car loaded with all my gear and luggage, around 3:30 Thursday afternoon.  Other than I-75 being shut down in BOTH directions about a mile from his exit, things went well for him!  I guess the accident and shutdown only delayed him by 20 minutes, so all was well.  Mom and I had a flight leaving at 7:20 in the morning on Friday, her birthday, by the way! We had an uneventful stop in Atlanta and got into Louisville before noon with no problems at all.  I admit I started to get a few butterflies as we were taking off from Orlando--this is real!! It finally occurred to me that the final part of my journey was upon me.  Was I prepared enough? Did I forget something important? Will my family have a good time or be frustrated and exhausted? Has my taper gone well, or have I lost some fitness?  I was fairly successful in quieting the negative thoughts, but occasionally they would resurface.

Aunt Karen and Uncle Jeff had arrived in Louisville Thursday night, so they were at the hotel when we arrived.  Brian was only 30 minutes behind us, so our timing was perfect.  We stayed at the Hyatt downtown, a PERFECT location for this event, as it was only a few blocks from the host hotel where athlete check-in was, it was right next to the convention center where the dinner and meeting was, it was one block from the finish (which worked out well for me!), and less than a mile from transition.

MY AWESOME SUPPORT CREW WITH THEIR CUSTOM TEAM REBECCA TEES!  UNCLE JEFF, AUNT KAREN, MOM AND BRIAN

First stop after we unloaded the car: athlete check-in.  I was warned by Christina and Darrell who had arrived the day before that the line for check-in might be quite long...and it was!  But it only took about 35 minutes for me to get through.  After signing my life away on the insurance and waiver release forms, I went to the table to pick up my swim cap, got my athlete bracelet, stickers for my helmet, bike and bags, and final race instructions.  I then got my timing chip and a very cool backpack (for the bargain price of a $650 registration fee).  The whole process was well-run and easy to get through, though the volunteer giving me my swim cap wanted to chat--she was telling me all about how nervous the guy in front of me was about the hot weather, how her daughter was participating and had volunteered last year, how she was excited to be a spectator...I expect it gets monotonous giving the same instructions over and over and over and over...

LINE FOR ATHLETE CHECK-IN

ALL SET! GOT MY SWAG

I digress...After picking up my race packet, the race organizers conveniently place the exit directly into the Ironman Village, where opportunities to purchase Ironman brand paraphernalia abound (kind of like how Disney spits you out into the gift shop after every ride).  Amazingly enough, I bought NOTHING!  This is a big deal for me, because although I hate shopping, I am a sucker for race expos.  However, I had my sites set on the finisher gear that would be available Monday morning, so I didn't want to spend money too early.

That afternoon I had a 40 minute run on the training plan, so I set out from the hotel and ran down to the swim start, which was about a mile from the transition area.  Louisville has a really nice waterfront area, with a large park with playgrounds, green grass, lots of pathways for walking or running.  It was quite hot out, probably almost 90 and sunny, and my run was pretty slow.  I tried not to worry that I felt a little tired and had a few weird sore spots and pain popping up.

SWIM START IS AT THE DOCKS ON THE RIGHT

That evening was the athlete dinner and meeting--I bought a ticket for Brian to go to the dinner with me, but am glad I suggested to the rest of the Support Crew that they eat elsewhere--$30 for rubber chicken, canned green beans, ziti and a roll was not exactly a bargain.  But it was adequate for fueling, and Christina, Darrell, Andy and I found each other to sit together.  There were some presentations during the dinner portion of the meeting, and the one that stands out is Patrick Evoe, the winner of the 2012 race and runner-up this year.  He was a very positive speaker and clearly enthusiastic about the sport.  It was a pleasure to hear him speak.  Mom, Aunt Karen and Uncle Jeff joined us for the athlete meeting, which was somewhat informative--new things I learned: anyone caught pooping in the bushes at the swim start would be disqualified.  Apparently this was a problem last year, so more port-o-lets were added to the start with the DQ threat looming over anyone who decided to not wait in line.  (It always comes down to poop. Seriously.)

SATURDAY
Saturday was a busy day...I started the day with a 20 minute run along the waterfront.  The weather was perfect--somewhat cool and low humidity, even though I heard others complaining about the heat and humidity, it was NOTHING compared to Central Florida.  At 8:00, Darrell and I met at the swim exit for the practice swim--this was the only opportunity for participants to get in the water to see how it was.  I had heard somewhat sketchy things about the Ohio River, most notably that one should not wear white for fear it would never be white again...but I didn't find the water dirty or smelly at all.  And there was a current! Most things I read indicated no current, but there was DEFINITELY a current, so I figured that was a good thing because it would be in our favor for 3/4 of the race.

After the swim we went out to drive the bike course.  I had read a lot about this course, viewed some videos, looked at the profile, and everything pointed to a fairly hilly course, particularly when compared to the flat of Central Florida.  Well, the reports did not lie...and while driving the course, I reevaluated my anticipated finish time.  Compared to the "hills" in Clermont, this course was similar but longer...the rollers were longer, there was an out and back portion that was steep and about a mile long in each direction of the climb.  Basically, other than the first and last 12 miles, the hills never stopped.  So I won't say that I got nervous, I just got realistic.

When we got back to the hotel, I had to get my bags ready.  Now, being the OCD prep person that I am, I had already pre-prepared (yes, that's a word) my bags at home, separating the items into my own bags so that when I got the official ones I would just have to do a recheck and then transfer the items.  I had an extensive Excel spreadsheet, as well...that's not weird, right?

PREPARING MY BAGS

The bags are: morning bag, which included anything I needed on the way to the swim start and anything I might want to access after the finish (in actuality I just handed this bag to Brian, but theoretically I could have handed it to a volunteer at the swim start and accessed it at the finish); bike gear bag, which was everything I would need in T1 (transition 1) after the swim and before the bike (this included bike shoes, helmet, nutrition, race belt, etc.); bike special needs bag, which was available at about mile 68 of the bike if I needed it (this included extra CO2 cartridges and tubes in case I had a flat, socks, lube, nutrition); run gear bag, which was for T2 after getting off the bike and before starting the run (which included my running shoes, socks, more nutrition, my hat, and lube and bandaids if I needed it); and finally my run special needs bag, which was available at about halfway on the run if I needed it (extra socks, lube, bandaids, etc.).  Preparing these bags was probably the most stressful part of my entire experience!  Seriously, I was not all that nervous about the race itself, because I had done all I could up until that point for preparation.  Anything I hadn't done was too late to make-up for now, so I was able to keep my worry at a minimum.  But the preparation of all the stuff that could make or break my race was quite intense.  I wanted to make sure I had nothing extra to think about on race day, so the packing of the bags was supremely important.

I had Brian make a video of my bag prep which I posted on YouTube, because that's where I got a lot of ideas myself.  Hopefully it will help any first-timers that see my video. Link is here:
Ironman Bag Prep

Once I felt I had everything in place, it was time to head to transition to check in my bike and drop off my bags.  But first--a stop at a bike shop along the way for gear adjustment.  That took a while (apparently it is not easy to fine tune the gears on this bike!), and I didn't do a test ride afterwards, but it sounded good in the shop, so I put my trust in the mechanic and headed to transition.  Once there, an awesome volunteer walked me through the whole process (the volunteers were truly amazing--everyone had said so, and they were right, just superb).  He took me to the spot where I would leave my bike.  In an Ironman, you don't leave anything but your bike in the rack area, unlike other triathlons where you set up all of your supplies in the same place.  The rack had a sticker with my number on it so I knew where my bike went, and it was fairly easy to find given I had a low number: 3 racks from the front, 6 racks in from the side, no problem, right? Ha! (More on that later.)  I then dropped off my special needs bags, which was not required. I could have dropped them Sunday morning, which a lot of people do because they put special food in those bags.  But I had nothing special since I was using course nutrition, so I dropped them Saturday so I wouldn't need to worry about them anymore.  He then led me to the spot to drop the bike and run bags.  This was an area with the bags laid out in rows, with everyone's bike bag on one side and run bag on the other, right next to it.  Again, this was very well-organized, and the volunteer assured me that after the bags were all there, someone would go through and make sure they were really in order, making it easier to find the next day.  He showed me the changing tent and which way we would be coming in from the swim, where to run for the bike bag and then to the tent, where to exit the tent to get the bike and bike out, where we would come in off the bike and again to the bags and tent, and then how to run the other way for the run start.  Very thorough and helpful.

RACKING MY BIKE

BIKE AND RUN GEAR BAGS

At that point all I had to worry about was my dinner (which I wanted to eat before 5:00...you know, again because of the poop thing).  I had planned to just get chicken and rice from Chipotle which was next to the hotel, but Brian was really hungry so we stopped at the Bluegrass Brewing Company and I had a chicken sandwich and garlic mashed potatoes...which were so good that I ordered a second serving!  And then it was back to the hotel for rest.  I had been worried about whether or not I would be able to get to sleep Saturday night, but that proved to be no problem at all.  In fact, I was struggling to NOT fall asleep too early!  At 8:00 I turned off the light and was out...and then I woke up at probably 1:30 and couldn't get to sleep again.  I tried, but it just wasn't happening.  Luckily I wasn't too stressed about this, and when the wake up call came at 3:30, I got up and started my epic day.

I should stop here and make you wait for the good stuff...man, this is a lot of writing!  Sorry about that, but it was quite an experience, and one that I am happy to share, so it is what it is.

RACE DAY HAS ARRIVED! 
It is finally here.  After 7 months and 3,371 miles of training, the time had come.  I had a plan and I was going to follow it.  First, shower.  Check.  Next, food.  I made oatmeal using the water from the coffee maker, and added a spoonful of honey and a banana.  Check.  Water bottles with Perform and water for my bike. Check. Tri suit on, face sunscreen, and lube everywhere I could possible think about chafing.  Tri Tats, courtest of Darrell, check.  And let's not forget the all-important poop.  Check, check.  And once again in transition. Check. (All systems go!)  TMI? Sorry...but not really, you know how it is.  I told you before, it all comes down to poop.

Moving right along (no pun intended), I was pretty much ready to make the trek to transition.  I wasn't even that nervous!  I felt ready to go.  So Brian and I headed down to transition and I starting my final preparation.  Water bottles on the bike, tireS pumped, bike in the proper starting gear, GPS in the bike gear bag turned on (though it ended up not working properly, but I wouldn't know that until after the race).  Port-o-let stop #1, and before leaving, port-o-let stop #2, just for good measure.  No lines in transition potties! Awesome!

TRANSITION FINAL PREP--READY!

It was then time to make another trek to the swim start.  Though there were still many people in transition, a majority had already headed towards the start, so I knew the line would already be long.  When we got there and went under the Swim Start banner, there were a bunch of people sitting and laying on the sidewalk to the left, and others standing facing the other way on the right.  I was very confused, wondering if the line had been snaked back around and where the end actually was.  I asked someone on the right, and that turned out to be the toilet line!  So we walked. And walked.  And walked some more.  And every time I thought we were getting close to the end, it just kept going.  FINALLY we made it to the end.  I think Brian was more frustrated than I was, but I figured at that point it didn't really matter.  I wasn't worried about making the 17 hour cut-off, as arrogant as that sounds, so I wasn't about to worry about when I would get in the water.  So I sat an waited, sipping on my electrolyte water.  Christina and Darrell finally made it to the line, after stopping for the port-o-potty lines.  We were so far back that we had passed all of the toilets, and even with the DQ warning from the race director looming overhead, many people were heading to the woods to take care of business.  I had to pee again, too, but didn't want to risk a DQ, and was hoping that I could pee while swimming. (Peeing in the water is no big deal, but while trying to swim fast? I didn't know if I could do it.)  Mom, Aunt Karen and Uncle Jeff finally made it down the line, too.  At around 6:30 I started to feel a little hungry, so I ate the gel I brought with me, which turned out to be a good thing.  After that I stopped drinking my water.  At 6:50, we all heard the cannon go off in the distance signaling the start of the pro race.  Ten minutes later, the cannon for the age groupers went off, and the race was on!  Around that time our line started moving forward, little by little.  At the same time, since we were up river along part of the course, we saw the pros, and then the first of the age groupers swimming by.  As we got closer, the line started moving faster.  I handed over my flip flops to Brian, then my long sleeve shirt (it was a little "chilly" just standing there!), then I drank my Gatorade Pre drink pouch, and I was ready to go.  It got really exciting and more crowded as we neared the start, and then we made the turn to head down to the docks.  Goggles on, ready to go.  Christina and I jumped in off the near dock, Darrell went to the second one, and the race was on!

SWIM START LINE

CHRISTINA AND I READY TO GO!

THE SWIM
Now, as you know, swimming is my weakest area.  I've been working on it all year, but I still typically hate the swim in a triathlon.  I just want it to be over so my "real" race can start.  But this was different!  First, the ugly: I got dunked, I think on purpose, by some guy who I just couldn't get away from; I got kicked in the face (not on purpose), but that actually ended up sealing my goggles tighter, so no big deal; and I got punched in the back of the head, which actually hurt.  Next, the bad: I tried to swim near the buoys so I could stay as straight as possible, but that turned out to be a really crowded line. While the water didn't seem dirty, it was impossible to see anyone else until you were completely on top of them, so there was a lot more contact than I expected with a time trial start. There were quite a few times where I had to stop my stroke and wait for someone to swim by me at a diagonal, lest I be swimming on top of them.  Now the good: I actually enjoyed this swim! Even with the contact, I was enjoying myself.  I did have lower back pain and hamstring tightness that worried me, but I just kept swimming.  The first 500 yards are up river but fairly sheltered behind an island; the next 500 yards past the island are against the current, though it wasn't noticeable; and then after the turn buoy it is all downriver, with the current helping us along.  The buoys were so easy to see that I had no trouble sighting, and because it was a straight line, I didn't have to sight that much.  The only problem with that was all the people swimming diagonally in front of me, since I couldn't see them coming.  Throughout the swim, as I started to get a little too comfortable with my stroke, I would pick up the pace.  My breathing was good, and though I might have been able to work a little harder, I did feel as though I was giving it a good effort.  As I got towards the end, I was feeling pretty good.  (Although I did think the end was closer than it was--I could see people standing in the transition area and thought that was the finish--it wasn't! But the finish wasn't much farther.)  The day before at the practice swim, I was a little dizzy when I got out of the water, which sometimes happens to me in T1 after a triathlon swim.  When I got to the swim exit during the race, it was crowded on the steps, and the wonderful volunteers grab you from the water and pull you to the steps.  I climbed the steps and had no feelings of dizziness, and I didn't even really feel tired!

So I started my run to transition, up the little incline, over the foot bridge, down into the bag area.  A volunteer called my number out and another went to retrieve my bag, so as I ran down the line of bags she already had it ready to hand to me.  Now, I had read in someone's race report that a good strategy for T1 was to sit outside the tent (since I wasn't changing clothes I didn't need any privacy), and pee in the grass while putting on shoes, helmet, etc.  Oh--I forgot to mention--I peed during the swim! Twice!  Do I get a gold star? So anyway, I guess I didn't have to pee again because I couldn't go.  I dumped out my bike gear bag and began to assemble myself for the next 112 miles.  Shoes on. Check. Headband and helmet on. Check. Lube on the feet? Shit, I forgot about that.  Shoes off, lube on the feet, shoes back on.  Oops.  Nutrition in pockets (oh, I had opened all of my Bonk Breaker bars and Gu Chomps that morning so that I wouldn't have to struggle with opening them on the bike--minor but important detail for ease of nutrition). Race belt on with GPS tracker.  Ready!  I threw my swim cap and goggles in the bag, along with the extra stuff I didn't use, dumped it with a volunteer, and ran through the tent to the bike.  SO glad I didn't go into the tent to get ready because it was PACKED with women changing clothes, getting their gear on, volunteers helping, just too many people.  Now, even though I had looked the day before and that morning at the layout of where my bike was, I was in such an excited hurry, worrying that I had forgotten something, that I miscounted and started down a bike row one row too early.  Then when I went to the correct bike row, I ran right by my bike. Twice.  Duh!  Note to self: haste makes waste.  SLOW DOWN AND CONCENTRATE!  Not that it was that much of a delay, but it was a stupid one.  So I get my bike, run out of transition, and I'm off!

THE BIKE
The first hurdle on the bike course, literally, is a small curb upon exiting transition that you have to ride over.  What happened there? Bottle popped out of my rear cage! NEVER have I lost a bottle before, but POP! There it went.  So I had to turn around (carefully, since there were tons of people exiting transition), and go pick it up.  I did not panic or get upset, I just corrected the problem and moved on.  As I mentioned, the first 10-12 miles are fairly flat, so I got comfortable and started to pedal.  And pass.  I passed a lot.  For a long time.  I was mostly riding in the passing lane for the first 10 miles, because of the nature of the time trial swim start, there were all levels of cyclists already out on the course.  Some strong men were passing me, too, but not many :-).  I knew that after the turn onto route 42, the rollers would start.  I had my Garmin set to show my heart rate, % grade and average speed (thanks Judi for that suggestion!).  For the uphills, I was going to just ride my comfortable pace--not too slow, but not blowing out my legs, either.  For the downhills I planned to take advantage of any speed I could pick up.  And that's exactly what I did.  And it was fun.  And I crushed that bike course!  I cannot tell you how excited I was out there when I realized that it wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be! I could pick up a lot of speed on those downhills, and I didn't tire myself out too much on the uphills.  It was great.  That steep out and back portion that I dreaded so much? Loved it! (Sidebar: it was a little scary, and I had a close call when I came upon the medical cart pulling out into the road in front of me around a blind corner--I stopped without too much problem, but the cart was going to pick up a guy who had crashed bad on the opposing downhill. Scary stuff that I tried not to focus on.)  But seriously, it was a really great course.

After the out and back portion, which has the steepest and longest canyon of the course, we head out to a loop portion that eventually goes through a town called LeGrange where spectators gather, and I knew my family would be there.  There is a sign at one point that shows LeGrange 8 miles.  That was a boost (and also just before LeGrange there is a relatively flat portion of the course before the rollers start again--it's probably only 2 miles of flat, but it helps).  Going through town, with spectators lining both sides of the course, I was searching for my Support Crew, and finally saw them--Mom hanging over the barricade with her cowbell and a look on her face that said, "Is that her? I think that's her...it's her!" I waved and yelled "HEY!" as I passed.  Even though it's a short moment, that support from people you know is just a huge moral boost.  Just after passing them I heard Brian's voice from the left side of the road, and turned to see him just as I passed.  Okay, with that boost from the Support Crew behind me, time to focus on the next challenge, Ballard School Road, a portion of the course that was a narrow, twisting, undulating road.  It was tough, but really fun.  After that I thought we had made the turn back on to 42 to head back for the second loop, but I was wrong...one more turn...Oh, well, I was checking my average speed and at the high point through some of the hills it was at 19.6, but started falling as the rollers continued to 19.2.  I knew that I might be a little slower on the second loop, but I also knew that I had picked up good speed on the downhills.

There are mile markers on the road on the bike course every 10 miles--that means that on the loop, you also see the markers for the next loop, so as I passed the marker for mile 70 (when I was only at mile 40 or so), I thought to myself, "pretty soon I'll be back here and it WILL be mile 70." Now, my body was feeling good and bad at the same time during this portion of the race.  Unfortunately, my shoulders and neck started hurting really early on.  I think this is because during taper, I didn't have the long rides in the aero position that I had built up prior, and so my muscles just did not like being in that position.  My "seat" was also chafing a bit, but not as bad as it had the last few long rides, so that was bearable.  And my legs actually felt okay.  A few times I felt my hamstrings tighten a bit, and I made sure to take a Salt Stick tablet every hour, even though I wasn't sweating nearly as much as I do at home.  I started to feel the heat of the day on the second loop of the bike, but the heat never really got to me.  I also don't think my quads ever really felt fatigued or in pain, which is great.  I was able to mostly stick to my nutrition plan, though I delayed the start of my eating a little bit since I had a gel and Gatorade Pre before the swim.  I ate even when I didn't feel like eating, just to make sure I would have enough calories in me to start the run.  I think I had 2 1/2 Bonk Breaker bars, 1/2 pack of Gu Chomps, and a bunch of Perform.  I sipped Perform whenever I thought about it, and drank water when I would eat, and sometimes after taking a sip of Perform to get the sweet taste out of my mouth.  (By the way, even though I trained with Perform, it was the powdered kind. The stuff they have on the course is in bottles, which you cannot buy outside of the race, and it was so disgusting--it was not even close to the same as the powdered stuff.  Luckily my stomach did fine with it, even though I hated drinking it.)  I had to pee around mile 80, and I really tried on the downhills to relax and just go, but to no avail.  It wasn't an emergency, not a completely full bladder, and I just couldn't do it. I worried about this a little bit, wondering if I was drinking enough, but I had been hydrating well, so I figured maybe I would use the port-o-potty in transition.

The second loop came and I thought I knew what to expect.  I was surprised, however, to realize that I didn't remember climbing some of the hills the first time--how is that?  I know I was just there, but surprise! Here's another one!  Oh, well.  Once I saw that sign for LeGrange again I got excited, and this time Brian was on an uphill leading into town and got a great picture of me smiling.  And I meant that smile! I was having a ball!  The rest of the Support Crew was in the same spot as before, so I was ready and gave them a wave and a "WOOOOO" on the way by.  Smiling still, I continued on, knowing that I had already conquered this part of the course once, I could do it again.  I admit that on the rollers on the way back to town I was sitting up a lot more than the first time around, since my shoulders and neck were in so much pain.  But the legs still felt good.  I thought we might have a tailwind, but really I have no idea.  Sometimes it seemed like we did, at others it seemed like it was a headwind.

SMILING IN LAGRANGE

WOOOOO!

Getting closer to the flat part, I start to pick up the pace.  My average speed was still around 19.3, which is what I finished with, and I was thrilled with that!  On the way in there was a douche-bag who kept following a guy who was passing me and then soft pedaling, and he was drafting off this guy, so I'd have to pass them back in order to not slow down.  Soon after I heard the USAT official motorcycle coming up from behind and I was so hoping that this guy would get penalized, but he backed it off for the officials.  Once they were out of sight, he was on the guy's wheel again.  I passed him for a final time at that point and left him behind.

SEEING MY SUPPORT CREW HEADING BACK INTO TRANSITION

Getting back into transition was really exciting, the crowds were big, and as I was unclipping from my pedals I heard my mom, looked left, and saw my Support Crew there.  I handed my bike off to a volunteer, didn't bother with taking my bike shoes off, and ran down to get my run bag from another volunteer.  Again, stellar performance by the volunteers--they called my number, directed me down the right row, and had my bag ready to hand off to me as I ran by.  Since I had put bright yellow tape at the top of my bags with my number on it, it was easy to tell that they handed me the right bag.  This time I did go into the tent and let a volunteer help me.  The tent was not crowded, she handed me a cup of water, I dumped my entire bag on the ground and began the transition process.  She asked if I wanted her to take my nutrition out of the zip lock bag, and I did.  I took off my helmet and bike shoes, put on my socks and run shoes, emptied my pockets of bike nutrition trash, asked her to hand me the gels, grabbed my hat and was on my way.  She packed up everything into my bag for me so I didn't have to worry about it.  At this point I still had to pee and thought I might have something else going on, too, so as I exited the tent I took a look at the potties as I ran by, but there were 4 people waiting and I just didn't want to stop.

STARTING THE RUN

THE RUN
Brian was there on the other side of the fence as I headed out of transition, and I was still smiling!  I was SOOOO happy to be off that bike that I could have done a happy dance at that point!  I also saw the rest of the Support Crew and gave high-fives as I headed out onto the run course.  Now, I knew that I would start my run too fast.  My Garmin is set for an alert at every mile, and my first mile was 9:10, the second was 9:06...but they slowed down from there.  I was feeling okay at this point, and the "other" thing I thought might be happening was just gas (I was told to never trust a fart in an Ironman...I did, and luckily no harm done, it really was just gas).  But I still had to pee.  I don't remember at what mile it was, probably between 3 and 4, but I took a look around me to make sure no one was directly behind me, and I just went.  I was surprised at how easy it was to do, and how messy it was!  Gross, I know, really disgusting, but whatever, I had to go.  I got a little embarrassed at that point, wondering if the people coming the other way were looking at me and wondering why I seemed to be sweating profusely below the waist all of a sudden!  So I only went half...the other half came out a few miles later :-).  Luckily, there were sponges doused with ice water at every other aid station, and plenty of water to pour down my legs.  And there was a fire truck spraying water around mile 5, so no harm done, all the gross washed away.  And even though I wore my Saucony Kinvara 4s, which are not a triathlon shoe, they are so light-weight that they drained very well, and even with all the water I was dumping over myself, my shoes never got heavy.

I took a gel at mile 5 or 6, and started slowing down a little more.  The turnaround is just past mile 7, and I was really looking forward to that, because in my head I usually break a marathon up into 3 pieces: 10 miles, 10 miles, then 10K.  But this marathon had a turnaround at mile 7, another just about halfway, then the same turnaround on the course (at the original mile 7) before heading home for the last 10K.  As I reached the 10 mile mark, I knew that my stomach was going to start to revolt.  It was tightening up, and I think I may have been taking in too many fluids.  But I felt thirsty.  I guess it was hot out, around 91 degrees, but I didn't really notice.  I was putting ice cubes in my sports bra at every aid station (which were pretty much every mile), and when there were sponges, I would stick those in my shirt to hold the ice.  I told myself at mile 12 I would take another gel, which I did, but I had to force it down.  That's when I stopped having fun. Mile 12.  However, I knew I would make it at that point, no doubt about that.  It was just a matter of how fast could I do it?  As I got close to the turnaround, the crowds got thicker, and I looked for my Support Crew.  I knew that the turnaround was close to the finish, but I didn't realize that we had to actually run towards the finish line, with it right in front of us, before making the turn!  At this point I got a little nervous, because without my glasses I couldn't see the signs up ahead, and there were no volunteers around for reassurance that I was going the right way.  For a moment I thought I had missed my turn and was incorrectly headed towards the finish!  But then I spotted my Support Crew to my right, cheering me on, and I smiled big and kept going. Then I saw the sign for the second loop and made the turn.  I did not need anything from my special needs bag, which is offered at that point, so I kept going.  I was disappointed that I didn't see Brian at this point--I needed his reassurance that I would be okay--but he had misread the map and was in a different spot.  At this point, I knew what I had to do, I had already seen the road I had to cover, and I just had to keep running.

I kept thinking about Sunday morning runs with the Runaholix, kept picturing myself just running another training run with Fredo the Wonder Dog.  I passed the 2 mile mark and knew there were only 5 miles to the turnaround--no problem, I can do 5 miles.  At the aid stations I started to drink Coke with ice, grab orange slices, some Perform, but I hesitated to drink too much, as I didn't want to overhydrate.  Eating another gel was out of the question, though.  When I was thirsty but didn't want to drink, I would grab a cup of ice and put some ice cubes in my mouth to quench the thirst.  This seemed to work okay, but man did a cola with ice really taste good!  I probably should have tried some chicken broth, which they were offering at each station, at least to change it up from sweet to salty...but I doubt it would have helped me to run faster.

By mile 18, everything below my waist hurt.  The bottoms of my feet, my knees, my quads, my hips had burning pain in weird places.  Yet I had felt worse in other stand-alone marathons, so I knew I would be okay.  At mile 20, I finally looked at my watch to see what my overall time was, and I realized that not only was I going to beat my goal of 12 hours, I might even beat 11:30!  I started calculating in my head what it would take to come in under 11:30.  I tried to pick up the pace--that didn't happen, I actually slowed down. But I never walked! I wanted to...I wanted to stop and walk...but so much time is lost even on a short walk. I made a deal with myself at mile 23 that I would allow myself to walk for 1 minute through the next aid station.  But as I got closer I realized that if I kept running, I would be close to finishing in 11:15!  So I never walked.

SEEING MY SUPPORT CREW IN THE FINISH CHUTE

CELEBRATION CROSSING THE LINE

As I got to the last mile, I realized that I was almost there.  That my vision of crossing the finish line, which I had pictured time and again during training runs, was about to become a reality.  With less than a half mile to go, I started to get choked up a little bit.  And then I started to hyperventilate!  It was so strange, as that has never happened to me!  So I relaxed and tried to turn my happy cry into a smile.  When the crowds looked at me and saw me smiling, they cheered even louder.  I was grinning ear to ear! I entered the finishing chute, looking for my Support Crew, spotted them on my left and gave them high fives.  Then as I approached the finish line, I heard the announcer say, "Rebecca Quinn, you're an Ironman!" Both hands shot into the air in a cheer, clapped together, and then cheered again!  I let out a "WOOOOOOOHOOOOOO" and smiled big! I had done it!  And it was awesome.

A BIG HUG FROM BRIAN

My volunteer finish-line "catcher" was great--he put on my medal and helped me keep moving forward. Another volunteer removed my timing chip, and I had to hold on to my catcher to keep myself from falling over.  Then my mom, Aunt and Uncle were at the fence and I went over to hug them, sobbing with joy at my accomplishment. Brian wasn't there yet--he had positioned himself on a bridge above the finish line to get photos.  I turned back to my volunteer who had gotten me some water and my finisher shirt and hat.  He walked me over for my finish line photo, which I took with hands thrust in the air again. He made sure I didn't need medical assistance (though the tightness in my chest had come back, I didn't think I needed assistance), so I thanked him and he handed me off to my family.  Then Brian, my number 1 fan and IronSupporter was there, and he picked me up off the ground in a bear hug and told me how proud he was of me, and I sobbed again! Happy tears and happy sobs and...ooops, put me down, I can't breathe!  Yup, breathing problems again.  That would eventually subside, and I was all smiles.

11:17:08!!  I can't believe how well I did!  I exceeded even my highest expectations in every section (though I admit frustration that I couldn't run faster in the second half...but that's just me being me).

THE AFTER
I admit that my body was completely wrecked when I finished.  Everything below my waist was in pain, it was hard to move, I couldn't eat anything and though I felt thirsty, it was difficult to even drink water.  I told my Support Crew that I was having trouble walking, and they all said, "Well you're doing a lot better than many other people."  There were a lot of finishers being taken away to the medical tent in wheelchairs, and at least one being rushed away on a gurney with IVs in her arm.  I decided that I wanted to go sit in the hotel pool, so that's where we headed.  Luckily the hotel was only one block from the finish line.  The pool was heated, so it didn't provide the cooling effect that I wanted for my legs, but it felt nice to just let them float. However, I started to get the chills, even with the warm water, and as Brian helped me out of the pool he looked at me and said, "Your lips are blue." With chattering teeth, I replied, "I'm really cold." So we headed back to the room so I could take a hot shower, which felt amazing, and Brian made me some coffee, which is exactly what I needed.

CAREFULLY LOWERING MY ACHING BODY INTO THE POOL

I couldn't believe it, but I had barely chafed anywhere--this is why EXTRA BODY GLIDE is so important! Lube, lube, lube! Once I was cleaned up and warm, we headed back down to the finish line because I didn't want to miss Christina's finish.  I had seen her twice on the run course and she looked really strong, so we checked the tracker and saw she was getting close.  We got a good spot at the finishing chute and saw her coming.  We screamed her name and I think she saw us, and she crossed the finish looking fantastic. We found her and her friends at the end and she was doing great.  She said she needed to sit and to eat, so that's a good sign! I still could not even imagine eating at that point, so we parted and Brian and I drove to transition to pick up my bike.

Once again, the volunteers at transition were great and directed me to pick up my bike and run bags and then my bike.  As I got to the bike rack, Brian called my name from the fence and said my bike wasn't in its spot.  I headed over to spot #477, and sure enough, no bike.  I didn't panic, but all bikes end up looking the same at some point, so I started walking up and down the rack each way, and finally found it, in number 447--easy mistake, no harm done.  By that time Brian was really hungry, and I was starting to feel like I could eat something (though my legs were still having trouble moving), so we went in search of food.  We ended up back at the hotel and just ate at the hotel restaurant, which was great because we were sitting at the sidewalk where a lot of finishers were walking...err, hobbling by.  We kept checking on Andy's status, too, because we wanted to see him finish.  I saw him once on the run course and I knew he was going to make it, so that was great.  After eating we made our way back for Andy's finish, and he looked great coming across the line.  It's so exciting to watch others finish, the energy is just amazing!

ANDY AND I AT THE FINISH

Though poor Brian was really tired, he was a trooper and stayed with me at the finish line, because I didn't want to miss the final hour of finishers.  The male and female winners, along with the male runner-up (last year's winner) were handing out medals at the finish line, which was really awesome.  They seemed to really be enjoying themselves.  In what other sport can amateurs and pros compete on the same course, at the same time, and interact the way we do in triathlon?  Just awesome.

The final hour was spectacular.  The finish line at 4th Street Live is electric, and the noise was incredible.  My throat hurt from screaming and cheering at people finishing.  The anticipation of waiting for the next people to come out of the darkness and into the finishing chute as midnight neared was exhilarating.  With just a minute to go, a few more people came into view, and then there was one more guy, looking exhausted, slowing down, he had less than 15 seconds, and the crowd, seemingly in unison, shouted, "RUN!!!!!"  He did, and though he probably doesn't remember a thing about that last minute of the race, I will always remember the thrill of seeing him get across that line with 12 seconds to spare.  With no one else in view, we started to head back to the hotel.  Then we heard more cheers--looking at the large screen, we could see that one more woman was coming down the line.  Although she missed the midnight "deadline," the crowd cheered her on as if she was the winner.  She made it across the line at 12:03--and though she may not have been "official," she still finished, and the volunteer placed a finisher's medal around her neck.

At that point, it was time for bed.  I checked my text messages back at the hotel room, looked at a few of the Facebook postings, and then went to sleep.  It did take a bit for me to fall asleep, but I think I slept pretty well.

THE NEXT DAY

THE LINE AT 6:15AM TO BUY MORE STUFF!

Though I knew I needed more sleep, my alarm was set for 6:00am because I wanted to get down to the day-after expo where finisher gear was for sale.  It was set to open at 7:00am, but I had been told that people start lining up at 5:00 to get the most coveted items.  I stopped at Einstein's for some coffee and then made my way the few blocks to the Galt House where the expo was.  Sure enough, there was already a long line of folks waiting for the doors to open.  So I had a seat and began to recount the race with other finishers in line.  It was the usual shop talk of how the race went, what we saw, what other races we had done or if it was our first IM.  Then the line started moving and we made it in fairly quickly.  The most coveted item is a $140 finisher's jacket--just about everyone in line made a mad dash to that row as soon as they were let in and grabbed 2 or 3 jackets of various sizes to try on.  Though it is a really nice jacket, I knew I would rarely wear it, so instead I looked for other finisher gear.  Unfortunately, there was hardly anything else for women. I bought the one finisher shirt they had available, passed on the jacket and bike jacket, looked at the men's polo, but even the small was too big, and then moved on to look at other gear.  In the end, I somehow spent $250 on two shirts, a two-piece IM Louisville tri kit, a coffee mug and a shot glass.  Ridiculous.  But I earned it, right?

I BOUGHT THIS--SINCE I CAME IN 308TH PLACE OVERALL I FIGURED I EARNED IT!

Poor Brian had to work on Tuesday, so we had to get on the road fairly early.  We said our goodbyes to Aunt Karen and Uncle Jeff, and Mom, Brian and I got on the road at about 9:45.  It was a fairly uneventful 13 hour drive home.  Brian did surprise me by already putting my 140.6 sticker on the car!  And I thought I would cure my burger craving by trying a pretzel bun, double-bacon cheeseburger from Wendy's. Mistake. Big mistake.  Do not ever order this monstrosity of a sandwich.  Stick with the simple bacon cheeseburger and be happy.

I spent time on the ride catching up with all of the well wishes on Facebook.  I was totally amazed by the amount of support and interest from friends and family!  The fact that so many people were excited to take time out of their Sunday to tune in to Brian's updates and the Ironman web feed was truly heart-warming.  I am a tri geek and love to watch other people compete and succeed, but I didn't realize how many people I knew would be watching.  I felt the love!

So there you have it.  My journey.  It's weird that it's over, but I'm not sad.  I won't lie, it's nice to not feel the pressure of having to get a workout in, twice a day, 6 days a week.  I did enjoy the journey, I truly love the preparation and the training and the competition.  But I don't need to do another Ironman.  At least not next year.  But 2015?  Maybe, just maybe....

The Final Countdown!

This will be the first of a two-part post on what I have learned on my Ironman journey.  Part I--what I think I have learned on this journey...Part II will come after the race, and may negate everything I list here in my pre-race version.  But we'll see...

These are in no particular order of importance:

1.  Ironman training is ALL CONSUMING.  Those of you who are my Facebook friends (or who were before you hid my posts because all I ever post about is training) know this to be true.  When I have the chance to see any of you in person, which admittedly has most often occurred on a bike ride, getting into the pool or on a run, you have asked how I get anything else done.  The answer is, I don't!  I really should have hired a maid during this time.  I have no idea how people with children who work can do this.  Really.  It's insane.

2.  Preparation includes DETAILS about training and non-training related items.  Being a researcher and OCD about details, while annoying to some, is a fantastic quality to have when preparing for an Ironman. The training, if you follow a plan, will take care of itself.  (Okay, not really, you have to put in the work, but you don't have to worry about it.  Just do it.)  But there are so many other little things, which, if ignored, have the opportunity to ruin your race, regardless of how fit and trained you are.  For example, I signed up for this race at the end of November, 2012.  In December, I had already read the previous year's athlete guide, all of the FAQs about the race, signed up for the Louisville groups on iAmtri, Facebook and BeginnerTriathlete.com.  I also watched a whole bunch of YouTube videos about the race.  Since then I have revisited all of these information sources numerous times. Who needs extra things to worry about in this kind of event?  Getting through it is worry enough!

3.  A good SUPPORT structure is vital (see #1 above).  Brian has been super-supportive of me throughout this journey, and will likely be more relieved than I am when it's over.  I can't imagine the stress one would have to manage if you didn't have the support of your partner/kids/parents/friends, etc.  My friends and family have also been really supportive, though none of them have to deal with it as a burden like Brian does.

4.  When you've gotta GO, you've gotta go.  I won't get into too much detail here, but my training involved a few unexpected pitstops--on the side of Lake Mary Blvd., in Gemini Springs park (in an area without a bathroom), at the top of Sugarloaf Mountain...Oh, and what about in the race? Yeah, I asked the question early on what people do when they've gotta go on the course (yes, there are port-o-lets, but this is a RACE, who wants to stop? and maneuvering sweat-soaked clothing? no...).  I'll have more info on that, whether you want it or not, in Part II.  Moving on...

5.  STRENGTH.  I am stronger, and also not as strong, as I thought I was.  I should have been stronger with my eating habits.  I was doing really well for a while, then I started giving in to the desire to go out to eat more often than I should have.  But I am strong in regards to pushing through discomfort or negative thoughts while exercising.  That will definitely help during the race, which will certainly become uncomfortable at some point (the question is not IF, but WHEN).  I have plenty of training sessions and past races to go back to in my mind where I overcame the discomfort, pain or negative emotions.  I will just have to focus on the fact that I got through those, I can get through the next challenge.

6.  I AM NOT ALONE.  Others are experiencing the same victories and challenges that I am.  My experience is not unique, though it is special to me, and knowing that others are facing the same ups and downs (and ups again) that I am really helps (see #3 above).  Not only being able to draw strength and support from my local triathlon club, but connecting virtually to others preparing for this specific race (and to those who have done it in the past) has been immeasurably valuable in my mental and physical preparation.

7.  However, I need to MAKE MY OWN DECISIONS regarding my training and my race.  Yes, I can gather a huge amount of useful input, opinions and information from others, but in the end I have to do what is right for me.  I am using the nutrition provided on the course, which may not be the best available, but it works for me and relieves other stresses (like having to supply all of my own nutrition).  I am not changing clothes between disciplines, because what I've been wearing works, and I don't care about being "comfortable" for the first two miles of the marathon, it's going to get uncomfortable eventually.  I tried the arm cooling sleeves, based upon recommendations from others about riding in the heat, and they just aren't going to work for me.  I did four 100+ mile bike rides that ended with a heat index in the 90s, followed by a 4 - 7 mile run, without the sleeves, and I was fine.  Okay, not fine, but really, fine.  I wore the sleeves a few times in the last week on shorter rides and runs and they were annoying.  So no sleeves for me.

8. Have FUN!  Although I could do without 5 hour bike rides EVERY weekend, I have had a lot of fun training for this, and as soon as I feel like touching my bike again when I'm done (I have a feeling I won't want to see her for a little while, anyway), I will continue swimming, biking and running just for the fun of it. (But maybe not two-a-days, who needs those?)

9.  Don't WORRY about things I cannot control.  There are so many people posting in the online forums about whether or not the race might be wetsuit legal, and what the weather will be like, and the wind conditions, etc.  I will not wear a wetsuit, I cannot control the weather (and really, how can it be any worse than it has been in Central Florida?), and the wind will be what it is.  So I'm barely even paying attention to the weather reports.  My training is done (well, other than my continued training this week for maintenance), my plan is in place, the details are taken care of, and now all I have to do is pack.  (Remember that OCD thing I mentioned above? Yeah, you should see the spreadsheet I have for my packing list.  It's a bit ridiculous.)

In short (ha! me write something short? fuhgettaboutit...)...I'm ready!  I'm pumped! I can't wait for it to be here! I think I just threw up a little in my mouth!  Yes, a few nerves, but mostly excitement.

Thank you for taking this journey with me, I couldn't have done it without you.

And now for a little throwback to 1986:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9jK-NcRmVcw

The plan...

Less than two weeks!  Oh my...that is close...amazingly, I am not yet nervous!  Very excited, though...very, very excited.  This will be the culmination of 9 months of planning and training.  At this point, the training is pretty much done.  I am in taper mode, so most of my workouts are much shorter than usual, with some high intensity periods thrown in.  But the planning continues!

I have been planning since I signed up...luckily for me, there are so many resources available that I have been able to find answers to MOST of my questions...and now I'm going to share them with you.  Aren't you excited now, too?  (Really this will simply be an exercise in planning, mostly for me...however, if you have any suggestions, feel free to share!!)

• Mom and I are flying into Louisville on Friday, while Brian drives (he'll leave the night before and stop for the night at a hotel).  He'll have my bike so that I don't have to ship it and reassemble.  Isn't he the greatest husband ever?  Aunt Karen and Uncle Jeff will already be there when we arrive around midday.  After checking into the hotel we'll head over to athlete check-in and get all my goodies.  I'll spend a little time at the expo, but I want to make sure I don't walk around too much, so I won't be there for long.  Somehow I have to fit in a 40 minute run that afternoon.  Brian should get there mid-afternoon, and we'll head to the athlete dinner that evening.  After that is the athlete meeting. I actually look forward to the athlete meeting, because, well, I'm a bit of a nerd and I soak up that informational session stuff!
• Saturday will be a busy day in which I'll have to be really careful to not overdo it.  I'll be doing a practice swim in the Ohio River in the morning, going for a short run (probably before the swim), and a short bike ride to make sure the bike is in good working order.  There's the traditional Underpants Run late morning, but I think I'm going to skip that. As much as I want to experience EVERYTHING, I don't want to add any additional stress to an already stressful situation.  Mandatory bike check-in starts at noon, and after that we're going to drive the bike course--or 81 miles of it, anyway.  It's a shame that I couldn't get up to one of the group rides that were held in the past couple of months on the course, but I at least want to see the course to make myself feel more comfortable (or freak myself out completely!).  Then I need to find a place with some mild food--chicken and rice, probably, for an early dinner.  And then it will be an early night relaxing at the hotel.  Okay, who am I kidding...I won't be relaxed at all!  But I'll pretend.
• At some point over these two days I'll be preparing my bags for the race, which I'll detail below.  But this preparation will be extensive and amusing--just ask Brian.  It's bad enough when I do a local sprint triathlon...multiply that by 1,000 and we might get to the OCD-ness that will be my Ironman gear preparation.
• Sunday--race morning!  I'll get up at 3:45 and have my oatmeal with honey and banana...and then head to transition at 4:30.  Transition opens at 4:45, but all I'll need to do there is pump my bike tires and set up my water bottles.  Body marking starts at 5:00, then I begin the 1 mile trek to the swim start.  This is a unique swim start--it's time trial style, so basically everyone gets in line and jumps off the dock one at a time when the gun goes off at 7am.  They say it takes about 45 minutes to get everyone in the water.  This will be the most nervous part of my morning, I think...just waiting...and waiting...

• Once the race starts, it's game on!  My plan for the swim is to start fairly hard and then settle into my rhythm.  I'll try to keep my pace fairly high, and if I find myself slowing down, I'll try to pick it up again, repeat, ad infinitum (or for 2.4 miles, which will I'm sure seem endless). A stellar swim will be 1hr 15 minutes...I did it in 1hr 24 minutes in the pool...so anything in between those two times will make me happy.

• After coming out of the swim, I'll run to the area where a volunteer will get my T1 bag and I'll head into the tent.  I plan to get through transition fairly quickly--lube on the feet, bike shoes on...nutrition in the pockets, race belt with GPS tracker on...headband and aero helmet on, and off I go!  (I'll probably have the volunteers put sunscreen on me as I exit transition.)  Then I get my bike and head out on the course.  
• I have read a LOT of information about this bike course, because it's the part of the race that scares me the most.  I have a tendency to go too hard on the bike because I get freaked out about my speed when I think it's not fast enough.  So I plan to look at heart rate only for the first 80 miles or so, THEN I'll switch to looking at speed.  We'll see how this works!  I feel as though I have my nutrition down really well, so I'll be eating every 30 minutes on the bike, and drinking as often as I think of it.  I'll take a salt stick electrolyte pill every hour.  My only unknown at this point is that I bought some cooling sleeves per the suggestion of others who have done this race--however, I completely forgot to try them out on last weekend's ride, so I'm not sure at this point if I'll use them or not.

• I'm sure after 112 miles on a hilly bike course I will be ELATED to get off the bike!  A volunteer will grab my bike and another will give me my T2 bag, and again into the tent...bike gear off, running shoes and socks on, fresh nutrition in the pockets, hat on...and off I go again!  To run a marathon.  Yay!
• I am actually more confident in my run than the bike at this point.  My biggest problem will be taking it slow at the beginning so I don't burn out halfway through.  And here is where the biggest unknown will come into play, because I have no idea how my body will handle running that far after already swimming 2.4 miles and biking 112...so I'll just keep going and see what happens!  My goal is to NOT walk (except through the aid stations when needed).  Oh, speaking of aid stations on the run.  I will have some GU Chomps and gels with me, and will attempt to keep ingesting calories from those and Perform drink and water served on course for as long as I can.  At some point I know my stomach will say ENOUGH!  And then it will be whatever I can keep down.  If I've managed nutrition properly on the bike, then this shouldn't be a big deal, but again, completely unknown.

• Finally, SMILING!  I will try my hardest to SMILE whenever I think about it!  Typically in race photos I look like I am in extreme pain or just plain angry.  Often I think I'm smiling and it comes out as more of a grimace!  In 2012, when running the Shamrock Marathon, I saw my BFF Christy at mile 12.  I was having a terrible race already, but knew that she would be there and was looking forward to her cheers.  In my mind, I smiled and waved...later she told me I did no such thing. So for the Ironman I will really try hard to smile, not only for the photos but just to make myself feel better when things get rough, as I know they will.  

• The finish: I hope to enjoy that finishing chute, which I've heard is the best on the Ironman circuit.  Hopefully I will still have enough control of my body to raise my arms, smile, cry, laugh, shout, and enjoy every step towards that finish line!  

So that's the plan.  I will remain flexible and roll with the punches as they come, but I feel good about most everything at this point, so only time will tell! (Time, as of now, by the way, stands at 11 days, 17 hours, 32 minutes and 55 seconds.)

Fredo the Wonderdog!

Whenever I show up to a group run with Fredo the Wonderdog and there are runners there who have not yet met Fredo, they always ask, "How far will he run?" Or, "Will he run the whole way with you?"  When I respond that yes, he'll run the whole way, and we'll be running 14 miles today, they don't believe it.  And then others, who have run with Fredo, will chime in and say, "He's run a marathon!" "Watch out for Fredo, he'll make you run faster than you want to!"

Fredo is a running Wonderdog, and I'm so thankful I discovered that about him.

We didn't know he was a wonderdog when he first found us.  In fact, we tried to give him away.  See, the Quinns have an addiction, and though we often try to quit, we're never fully successful.  The addiction is to animals, mostly dogs.  So when Brian saw this black and white, beagle-sized blur of a feisty dog chasing a dump truck near his office in January of 2009, he tried to coax him in to safety.  But the little blur would have none of that, and took off.  All day Brian worried that Blur would become a lump on the side of the road, a victim of drivers in the area who appear to have no regard for the lives of animals.  Then on his way home, only a mile from the office, Blur ran across the road not far from Brian's truck, and started giving the business to an angry pit bull chained up in someone's front yard.  This time, Blur accepted the offer of safety and jumped into the truck.

I remember the phone call from Brian, saying he'd found a stray near work that wasn't in too bad of a shape, but was underweight, not neutered, covered in fleas, no collar...and he was going to call the Starks (some friends of ours who we are constantly trying to pawn found dogs onto).  In the meantime, I called my boss, who is a sucker for dogs in need (though he would never admit it), to see if he was interested.  I pulled into the driveway at home just after Brian had, and then I saw his face.  That cute little black and white face, looking happy, looking at me...I don't know why I expected to NOT have the reaction I did.  After 48 hours with us, we knew he was ours.

Now, it hasn't always been happy times with this wonderdog.  He is a roamer--he likes to be with his people, and when his people are gone, he tries to find us. We made numerous modifications to doors, locks, screens and our fence to prevent his Houdini-esque breakouts.  Crating him didn't work--with a metal crate he scratched his nails on the sides to the point of bleeding...and with a plastic crate he actually chewed his way out!

So at some point, I decided to try to take him running with me to burn off some of his anxiety.  I started him on my short runs of 3-4 miles, and he loved it.  I gradually took him on longer runs, up to 6 miles, then 7, then 8.  I found a harness that was perfect for running, and we found a rhythm together.  He runs at the end of the leash to my front left.  All I need to do for a turn is tug a little to the left or right, and he'll head in that direction.  Sometimes we'll be approaching a turn that we only sometimes take, and he slows a bit and glances over his shoulder as if to ask, "Are we turning here today?"  He can even poop on the run--very convenient (okay, I slow a little for him).  

In 2009, a friend and I decided to run the Jacksonville Marathon (which takes place in December).  For the first time in a while, I was NOT going to train with a group, I was training solo.  So Fredo became my training partner.  As my long runs increased in distance, he stayed with me, step by step.  When we got to 15 miles, I could sense that he would begin to tire (mostly because of the heat), so on runs longer than that, I would call Brian to come pick Fredo up at the 15 mile point.  After the December marathon, I jumped right back into training for a February marathon, and since the weather was getting cooler, Fredo actually made it through an 18 miler with me.  Amazing!

In 2011, I focused on triathlons, and trained for my first half ironman--my training runs went up to 14 miles, and Fredo joined me for pretty much every run.  He got an eye infection that year and I had to leave him at home for a few weeks while it healed--oh, that was horrible!  Not only for me, losing my training buddy, but for him, as well.  He knows when I get my running clothes and shoes on (vs. getting dressed for anything else), and he did not like being left behind!  I remember he had a cut on his foot once that kept him sidelined from running...and seeing that he is a dog and doesn't know any better, he would have been out the door with me and running if he had a choice!

After the HIM, I went right into training for a March marathon.  Perfect weather for marathon training, especially for Fredo!  We ran over the winter months, and yes, Fredo ended up running a marathon-distance training run with me.  I hadn't planned it, but for my final long run of 24 miles I ran with a friend who happened to be training for an ultra marathon.  As the last few miles of our run took us on a paved trail past the parking lot where our cars were, he suggested that we just keep going a little farther so that Fredo could run a marathon...although my legs were not in agreement, Fredo seemed game, so we did.  Fredo ran a marathon in 4 hours!  Now, that's running time and doesn't count stops for water or bathroom breaks, but still, that's just over a 9 minute pace  for 26.2 miles!  Do you see now why he is the Wonderdog?

He has been with me through my Ironman training, though unfortunately not as much as usual because of the heat and my changed running schedule.  But he has joined me for all of my long runs, including a 16 miler this past Saturday.  It was a horrible run for me, but Fredo had a great old time, as usual.  I've got an 18 miler next weekend and 20 the weekend after that.  I wasn't sure this year if he could manage those distances, because he is getting older, but based on the way he easily handled 16 this week, I'm thinking he'll make it!

I don't know how many more long runs he has in him, but I know that I will be devastated (as will he) when he can't run with me anymore.  We don't know his age, but we know he older than 8 and more likely 9 or 10.  He does lick his front paws (ankles) sometimes as if they are sore, maybe some arthritis?  But he doesn't limp or complain.  He also sleeps a lot more after a long run nowadays, and sleeps hard!  I will keep a watchful eye on him as he ages to make sure the running isn't hurting him, and I will enjoy every minute I have with him as my buddy.  The joy he clearly finds in running makes my bad runs better, and my good runs great!  He is Fredo the Wonderdog!

Oh, I almost forgot...33 days!