A week in Paradise!

What a journey! When you do an ironman, there’s such a build-up, it makes you sad when it’s over with. Let me first start by thanking many people who has been there for me in training, rehab, financially, and emotionally. Snapple Triathlon Team has been a huge support to me, giving me all the cool gear to help me go fast. Spira shoes is so giving to their athletes and was why I felt so darn good during my marathon. Coach Dan helped me have yet another fantastic ironman. I love Lifesports! My parents, brother, and sister-in-law helped me feel not so guilty about the long training days, but doing fun stuff with my wonderful children. Not only that, they were there to cheer me on during the race. John and Karen McBroom, I couldn’t of gotten to Kona and stay in Kona without your financial support. I am eternally grateful. Robin Gibson, you are one of the most selfless people I know. Willing to help anyone that is injured. All my wonderful friends that did some of my long training days, even though you weren’t doing an ironman. I love you guys! My awesome kids for putting up with me training morning, noon, and night. I feel so lucky to have such great kids! My wonderful new husband, did all the training with me. I couldn’t of married a better guy. Thank you to all my friends that supported me, encouraged me, gave me great advice, and congratulated me. You all inspired me!!!!

Ok, so now the race report. A week in Kona was paradise and a lot of fun! I started my trip by doing the Kona Lifesport Camp. We got to train on parts of the course, which was great. Got many helpful tips that I used during the race.

Got married! Yep, at our hotel, King K, Mike and I got married right on the water with my family, my awesome coach, and all the new wonderful camp friends watching. We had a traditional Hawaiian wedding. It couldn’t of been more perfect.

Woo Hoo! The Underpants Run! My kids, Mike, and I wore our Splish “Just Married” bathing suits. Too much fun!

Expo, Slowtwitch Party, cool Yurbuds photo shoot, snorkeling boat trip were some of the neat things I did before my Ironman.

Race Morning:

The swim was great! Felt like I was swimming in a tropical fish tank. It was hard to take the swim seriously. My swim time was what I expected. S-L-O-W. Oh well, at least I enjoyed it.

The bike was challenging, due to the gusts of crosswinds. My race strategy was go by heart rate and nothing else. I never knew how fast I was going and it was hard at times letting people pass me, knowing how much faster I could go, but I wanted to feel good during the marathon.

The run was awesome! I felt great the whole time! My plan worked and I would do it no other way. I got faster as I ran, again by heart rate. Never knew my pace. I was always comfortable in my snazzy Champion Systems gear and my Spira running flats. I finished with a much better time than expected and most importantly, feeling wonderful! It was worth holding back on the bike to have a fantastic run and feeling so good.

What a great experience! I was sad that my ironman experience had ended and so sad about not getting my Lava Java Kona Coffee every morning. This race has made me want to do more, because it was so great. Maybe in 2 years I will be back on the Ironman circuit. In the meantime, I will be focusing on the half Ironman and shorter distances.

Thank you again everyone for supporting me on this wonderful journey!