Ironman Lake Tahoe 2013 - run

"Rachel Wills, you are an Ironman!" 

Run report done. 

It is a bit silly how one sentence uttered at a certain line in our lives can be enough motvation to force one to run for 26.2 miles. I'm not sure how regular marathon'ers do it without all the hype, pomp and circumstance. {never say never, but} I Will Never Run a stand alone Marathon. Yuck. It's just so far. And so much time. Going so slow! {so suck it up and get fast!} Did you hear? A new marathon world record was set. The guy ran 2.5x faster than me. Every step. It's unfathomable.  

Okay. Ironman Lake Tahoe 2013 was my 2nd time running over 20 miles in my life. And I'm not quite sure I can call it a run as I walked some of it. Out of T2 with a smile on my face. 

see. smiling. the sun is still out.

The first 9 miles were good. Sun was out. Arm warmers were left on from my ride. Legs were quick and somewhat light. No walking. Then I hit the far turnaround and didn't feel like finishing. 

{insert low moment}

Pulled myself together but I was getting cold. I wore my Moment tri kit but wasn't able to stay warm while running. I was 4 miles from special needs and that's when the mini-goals started. 1) Get to SN bag. 

digging deep. not so much smiling.

Got there. Saw Kyle who picked up the volunteer job of yelling bib numbers so other volunteers could find the bags. He yelled mine and then ran up the ramp with me. I put on the long sleeve tech shirt and grabbed the clean socks. Kiss goodbye. 2) New goal - find aid station with Vaseline. Blisters were erupting on my left foot. Ran through one, no go, and stopped at the next. Plopped my butt on the ground and demanded the greasy stick. Shoes off. Socks off. Goop on, new socks, shoes and I was up and off. 

Found 2 things: a running buddy and an unopened pack of insta warmers on the ground! Things were looking up! Gave my buddy one and held the other in my hand for the rest of the evening. 3) new goal - get to the aid stations for walk breaks and 4) warm chicken broth. 

I was doing coke and water {chuckle} previously. I had maybe 2 gu's during the run. But I was getting colder. So I did something new on race day and tried the soup. The warmth helped, although I think it was mostly mental. My stomach did a couple of grumble turns late in the race and I think the soup wasn't so magical. But survived without a major blowout. 

My run buddy and I went a couple miles together and made it back to squaw for the turnaround. Which of course, loops you right past the finish line. Great energy through village. Saw coach Brian and hear him lie, "you look great!" Ran past the TCSD tent and heard "6 miles to go!" Lie number two. There were 8 left and I wasn't sure if I wanted to continue. 

Trotted along. Lost my buddy at that next aid station. Kept adding the time vs miles left and was getting angry at the amount of walking. I kept comparing my day to St George and was hating myself for giving into the walk. My hamstring was so angry now from the cramp on the bike. The attachment at the knee was barking louder. I saw Kyle and told him I felt like poo. 

feeling like poo. "fakest" smile ever.

Pity party needed to end. Only foreseeable finish to that party was the finish line. Goal 5.

So I made my way. Headlamp got turned on with 1.5 miles left. I really had high hopes of finishing at dusk before needing that beam to get me through. Such is life during a late season Ironman.

Dropped my hat and long sleeve at the Tri club tent just before the village. Yeah it was cold but I wanted those finisher pics with my kit and without my light. I turned the corner and ran. Probably too fast. Not sure what spurred the sudden rush to get there. I had already taken 13 hours and 15 min, what's another minute? 

And yes, I finally heard Mike Riley call my name and hear those infamous words, "you are an ironman." 

Instant relief. My finish line catcher was a super awesome chica from Bishop who came to my shop for a bike fit!! How random that we meet again, in Tahoe, at the finish of my crazy race. She was awesome at making sure I was okay and even checked back a couple more times throughout the night. I got a space blanket and immediately found Kevin who had finished under 13, and the Sherpas. Hugs. Photos. Relief. Story time. Goal 6) need clothes. So cold. 

MN buddy, Kevin! 

Waited in the massage tent next to the heater until someone could rub out the mess that was my left hammy. Kyle got the clothes and the bags and kermit. {so much crap is needed for a #freakingironman!} Tried the pizza {nasty} and we finally got out of there. 

my favorite photo of the day. :) love this guy.

It was a long, cold day. It was just another day. It was what I deserved after the amount of training I put in. I am not a freak of nature. {Although I did win one for winning the swim} I finished my second Ironman, and apparently that's something only 75% of the inaugural Tahoe entrants can say.

2013 Ironman Lake Tahoe
13:15:00
22nd AG
{Average finish time was the slowest in Ironman history at 14:05}

Many thanks to all of the volunteers who sacrificed their days to make ours that much better.