Part 1: Pre race + Swim

I woke up at 4:10am for breakfast and coffee. I have to admit that I was nervous. Not as nervous as on Sat, but nervous for the day.
On Saturday, I had a slight breakdown for the 112 mile bike ride because Karel told me it was challenging. Although he gave me great details about the race and specifics on the course, I was so scared for the descends.
After breakfast, I put on my speed suit and Karel and I headed to the transition area to check in my T1 and T2 gear bags, put in my water bottles and bento box and pump my tires.
My wonderful and amazing parents got up at 4am to go wait in line at the swim start. I have the best parents in the world!!
After doing my bike stuff, Karel and I made the .6 mile walk from transition area to the swim start. Once again, Karel had me laughing the whole walk. I kept telling him that my tummy hurt but he confirmed that it was just nerves. I tried to listen to him but of course it's hard to knock out all those negative thoughts in your head before an IM.
After getting body marked, we found my parents who had a great spot near the front of the line. The line went on for at least a mile behind me and I think there was around 200 people in front of me. I didn't mind the 2 person at a time start but I think it would have been hard if I didn't have my awesome parents waiting in line for me. Karel and I had to go to the bathroom and as we were walking back to my parents the line started moving.
I quickly stripped off my clothes, sprayed my sunscreen all over me, grabbed my goggles, gel and cap and gave my parents my shoes. All morning I felt like I was forgetting something. It didn't take me long to pack my transition bags but everything seemed to go by so fast on the day before the race.
We walked down a sidewalk that took us closer to the water. As I was waiting in line with the other athletes we listened to someone sing the national anthem, play my old Kentucky home on a trumpet and play the star spangled banner. Another great part about the swim start was that my mom and Karel could stand right by me on the concrete steps as I was in the gated area for the swim start. It was a nice change from being crammed in with 2000+ athletes, standing on the sand for 15+ min. or treading water for 20+ min.
After the pros went off at 6:50am we slowly walked closer to the dock. They split us into two lines so we entered on separate docks, right next to each other.
The line moved really quickly and I was in the water at 7:01. I jumped in the water and started swimming.
I still got hit a lot because we were in a channel, close to an island. I didn't mind the thought of swimming in the Ohio River but the current was really strong after we turned around the island.
The first part of the swim took a long time. We were going so far away from the transition area I wondered how long it would take me to get back to the swim finish. It just seemed to go on forever before we finally headed toward the direction to the swim finish.
My goal for the swim was 1:03-1:05. The main reason I set that goal was that my first IM swim was 1:07 (IMFL) and Kona was 1:06. I just wanted to go faster and the past month I have been swimming fast in the pool.
I passed a lot of people on the swim but I started to doubt myself when I looked at my watch at 55 minutes. I wanted to look at my watch the whole swim but I didn't want to psych myself out. I did a great job of spotting and staying close to the buoys but the current was strong and without salt water, I was losing confidence that I could meet my goal time. After I looked at my watch I looked up and there was a long line of buoys. I thought to myself "Am I ever going to reach the finish???" It just kept going and going and going.
Finally, I saw the two red buoys for the finish, checked my watch which read 1 hour and 1 min. and just swam as fast as I could.
After I climbed up the steps to exit the water I looked at my watch and smiled when I saw 1:04. Goal #1 - completed!
I made the run to transition area and I was alone in the changing tent. A downside of the single person start is that you don't have competition right next to you. Because I am super competitive, it was hard for me to stay focused on my other goal to race my own race. I wanted to know how I was doing in my age group and where my competition was at. However, I think not having girls around me was a good thing. I knew that the bike could be strong for me, so long as I stuck to my game plan.
I decided to go with cycling shorts (with padding) on the bike and I choose to use a Bento Box. Two things I have never done before in a cycling race but I am so happy with my choice to do both.
My volunteer in the changing tent was probably very new to the sport because she was a little taken back when I stripped down and changed into my cycling shorts. She was very helpful and I thanked her for helping me put all my gear on.
After the transition I ran to my bike and luckily, didn't pass it up on my row. There were so many bikes in such a large transition area but I can't miss my beautiful Black Hawk.
The transition was quick at around 4 min. which is much better than my 7 min transition in IMFL where I shivered in T1 to try to get warm.
I heard my mom cheering for me and it was off for the bike. As soon as I started riding, I was in my zone and feeling good.

IMKY

I AM an Ironman!!
I just love hearing that at the finish line... I was smiling ear to ear from mile 25 to the finish line.
RR (with pics) to come shortly. Probably in the middle of the night tonight when I can't sleep because my quads are burning. Karel, my parents and myself are heading to watch the last hour of finishers soon.
I had a lot of goals for the race today. Although I had a hip pain for the first half of the run, which turned into intense quad tightness for the second half, I can honestly say that today was a great day for me. I PR'd in the swim and bike and set a best time for an IM. I broke 11 hours!!! I didn't want to look at my watch but at mile 25 I knew that I would come in before 6pm which meant that I would break 11 hours. The pics I will post show my excitement.
Thanks to everyone for your support today. I thought about a lot of things on the course today. The day went by fast, the course was beautiful and I loved every minute of the swim, bike and run on this beautiful Sunday.
Swim: 1:04.20
Bike: 5:44.21
Run: 3:57.49
Total: 10:54.45
7th age group (25-29) out of 91 starters
24 amateur female
35 overall female

The last day

You can't wait for the day to come and then you want just one more day...or you need just one more day. If I only had one more day. Well, I have no more days and the time has come for me to put all that training to use. The bags are on the Great Lawn, the bike is sitting on the rack, my swim gear and timing chip are next to the door and I have nothing more to do than to sleep, eat and walk to the race venue with near perfect racing conditions.

It was great seeing Karel yesterday. He makes me laugh so much and with my parents here with me, I have lots of smiles going into this race.
Last night my family and I went to Bearno's Pizza and it was just what I needed. Good veggie pizza. Afterwards, I showed Karel the finish line at 4th street live and Karel joined me for the Athlete Meeting. The meeting was great and it was very informative and funny. There were so many athletes there, it was almost overwhelming. It was a great way to end the evening. After the meeting, Karel put together my bike (and his) and it was off to bed. It's tough to go to bed right now so I think all my nights of being in bed by 9:30pm are long gone and I'm lucky to be asleep at 10:30.
This morning was just what I needed. A good pre-race warm-up to get the blood flowing. Karel joined me for 8 miles of my bike ride. I turned around and Karel continued on. After my bike, which was beautiful, I did a 10 min. run around downtown Louisville. I am trying to stay confident so I can say that I have a good 16 miles of biking and 10 min of running in my system :)
After breakfast my parents and I drove part of the course. Thank goodness I did that! The course is very challenging and there are very few (if any, except the first and last 10 miles) flat parts on the course. You are either climbing or descending. I have prepared myself for a rolling course and I will be very smart on this course. Karel has given me many talks about riding and to not do anything beyond my training on this course. I have to "race" how I trained. Shawn has also told me to pay attention to my power since most of the athletes in past IMKY have had fast bike times and slow marathon times. Shawn told me that everyone slows down on the run, I will just slow down the least. I like it Shawn!
One of the best parts of having a super supportive and athletic husband is that I can send Karel out on the course while I relax. So, as a wonderful hubby, Karel rode the course (82 miles) without doing a second loop of the lollipop part of the course and told me all about it. One word....Challenging. He said it will be tough, to not think about a finishing time but to rather just focus on each part of the course (he had a map for me which he walked me through) and to be confident. Thank you Karel for riding the course for me......I know I didn't have to twist your arm to do it. :)

Later in the day my two close friends from my college swim team came to visit me. How awesome to see some familiar faces from Transy!!! Ash and Jenn came with me to check in my bike and gear bags and afterwards, we all went to my pre-race restaurant...OUTBACK!

After dinner it was back to the room for some more laughs and now, it is time to settle down. I am ready, I hope my leg is ready. My heart and muscles are strong, I hope I can mentally stay strong. I will do my best, I will pace myself and I will smile. Shawn told me that it is an accomplishment just to get to the starting line for an Ironman so my next goal is to get to the finish line.















When we had swim meets in college we would always decorate each others dorm rooms or hotel rooms. Thank you Jen for making me my signs!

Feeling lucky in Kentucky

Enjoying the IM experience. I grew up in Lexington, KY and moved to Florida when I was 22 years old. It is great to be back in my home state. My mom and I ate dinner at 4th street live last night and I had a super yummy salad at a sports bar. I can't wait until I reach the finish line at 4th street live on Sun, it is going to be a HUGE party!!!!
Since I picked up my packet yesterday all I had to do this morning was swim. I met up with Jen L. who I had done a nutrition consult for, about a year or so ago. I just love meeting athletes who I have helped in the past (and present). I have also met a TON of Beginner Triathlete athletes, who have been volunteering at the race. What would we do without all these fantastic volunteers???? THANK YOU!!!
The swim was great. No waves, no salt water...just the lovely taste of the Ohio River. It is strange being back here because my very first Olympic triathlete (2nd triathlon ever, just a few months before I moved to FL for grad school) was in Louisville! It was a Tri-America race and I had a hybrid bike and no riding experience. Now I am craving the 112 mile bike ride and can't wait to do (and finish) my third IM!
My dad comes in around 1:30 today and Karel gets in around 4pm. I can't wait to see them both!!! We are staying at the Hampton inn (a 10 min. walk from the Galt house-host hotel) and IM athletes are everywhere. There is a nice feeling in the air and everyone has been really nice and friendly. Just my type of atmosphere.
Well, my mom and I are about head to the race venue to scope things out. My mom always likes to tell me where she is going to stand so I can be sure to smile at them.
Enjoy the pics....many more to come.













My secret weapon during IM's....Twizzlers have never let me down!!

It takes a team

Karel is packing up my bike in the bike box, my mom is calling to remind me not to forget x,y and z and I am smiling from all the facebook comments and emails from friends I have met and those who I know by a blogger account.
When a triathlete signs up for an Ironman, it takes more than high volume training for 3-4 months. After signing up for a M-dot Ironman, you have a year to prepare yourself and others for the decision you made to train for a 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike and a 26.2 mile run. Then you prepare yourself and others for your mood/attitude after a hot and long brick workout or an intense interval workout. You come home glycogen depleted some days and on other days you want to tell everyone you know about your fantastic workout. Sure, you talk in "tri" lingo and you get deer-in-headlight stares from people when you talk about power, HR, zones, hypoxic sets or pace...but because this person cares about you, he/she listens and pretends he/she understands. On the week before the race, you prepare yourself and others for the big day. You first apologize for acting stressed because there aren't enough hours in the day on the days leading up to the Ironman race and then you feel horrible after complaining how tired, bloated and unmotivated you are to do an Ironman on the first week of taper, only to wait a few days later to have more energy in the world to know what to do with. Then, you arrive at the race site and all your fears, worries and negative thoughts disappear because your team is there to support you because they believe in you. And, while some of your team is with you at the race site, you have the rest of your team at their computers waiting for you to cross the finish line. Throughout the entire Ironman race, it is hard to not think about all the people that helped you get to the starting line. Sure, you did the hard workout and put in the long, grueling hours but you couldn't have done without a few special people.
I'd like to thank my team....

My family
My brother is a NCAA All-American for gymnastics and Big Ten high bar champion. Although he is now a business man at PPG in Pittsburgh, PA while studying to earn his masters at Carnegie Mellon, we have a lot in common when it comes to athletics. We both love being competitive. In order to be good athletes, we both applied our hard-working philosophy's to our education.
If it wasn't for our parents, who have been our #1 supporters and biggest fans, both my brother Aaron and myself would not be who we are today.
My parents aren't the type of parents to push us and tell us we "have to" do a sport. However, with the support of our parents, we were lucky enough to have a sport to do most of our life. I choose swimming and my brother choose gymnastics. My parents loved going to our meets and looking back, I know it wasn't easy on them to pay for hotel rooms, travel, gear, food, etc. I am so grateful for all that my parents have given me (without asking) and I strive to be the best I can be because I have two loving parents who believe in me.
My parents love going to my triathlons. You would think an Ironman would be way too long to spectate but my mom is quick to book hotel rooms and settle travel arrangements before I even sign up for the race. My mom is the best travel agent ever and she takes a lot of stress off my shoulders, especially since I tend to be super type-A when it comes to traveling. As for my dad, the first thing he tells me when I tell him about an Ironman is "oh, I will take great pictures!" I guess I got my love for pictures from my dad.
Mom and Dad (and Aaron), thank you for being part of my team.


My local friends
Libby, Laura and Katrine. You girls keep me sane, put up with me when I stressed with school (was stressed :) and always reminded me how much I love the sport of triathlons. Katrine, thank you for all the Tues and Thurs workouts, you made bike riding so much more enjoyable. Thank you for adding a little more estrogen to the Sunday morning group rides with all the boys and thank you for making a 14 mile run...after a sprint triathlon, go by so quickly. Laura, thank you for keeping me excited to continuing with my education to become a registered dietitian. You have given me such great advice and I have loved guiding you as you finish up your first ever season of triathlons. Besides the fact that our dogs are BFF's, you always make me smile and I love your care-free attitude. Libby, I wouldn't be here today (somewhat injury-free) if you did not give up your time after you finished work to give me some PT tough-love on my butt. Who gives away Free services??? You are amazing and what you do. As a phenomenal triathlete who loves suffering a bit more than I do (you are one tough chick!) you are going to go far no matter what you choose to do in life. Thank you girls for being a part of my team and thank you to your hubby's for letting me steal you for a few hours every week.






Coach Shawn
You qualified for Ironman Kona at Ironman Arizona. You raced the Ironman in Kona in 2008, you did IMFL less than a month later and re-qualified for Kona for 2009. I lucked out to have a coach who knows what he is talking about.
I hesitated putting aside the HR training and focusing on my power on the bike but I could not thank you enough for making me the best cyclist I could be coming into this Ironman. My bike times have improved drastically this year and most of all, I love riding my bike. You gave me workouts that made me confident with my bike skills and biking abilities. Alongside cycling, my running times improved and I PR'd in a number of races this year. Most of all, I loved having a schedule that allowed me to grow as an athlete (get stronger, faster and more powerful) but balanced me out in my normal life. There were no two-a-days and no crazy workouts which demanded a bulk of my time. Each workout focused on quality. Considering that you have coached Karel for the best few years, and he continues to improve as a cyclist, I think we are in great hands. Thank you for being part of my team.

My blogger/facebook friends
My passion is educating athletes on proper nutrition to improve health while improving success as an athlete/fitness enthusiast. Since we all need to exercise for cardio health to improve our quality of life, I could not have found a better career path than to devote my entire life to helping individuals understand a how to eat for fuel. I have received countless emails and blog comments from people who I have never met and emails from people who know me well. Among those who have read my articles/blogs, I get motivated and inspired by people who have applied my sports nutrition tips/recipes to their life and have noticed dramatic results. Thank you to everyone out there who has encouraged me to continue reaching my goals of becoming a well-known sports nutritionist and for reminding me why I have decided to go back to school (well, finished that part...time for the internship!) to become a registered dietitian. Thank you for being part of my team.

Karel
I saved the best for last. I don't know where to begin. At IMFL you were my boyfriend. During the last 10K of the IM run you ran next to me and told me I was going to Kona. I told you I loved you for the very first time. Not sure if it was the best time to tell you that I love you for the first time but I felt it and I knew we were meant to be.
We were recently engaged when I went to the Ironman World Championships with my mom and dad. Now, we are married and as my husband, I couldn't be more excited that you will be there with me to help me get to the finish line.
You have been with me during my best times and you have seen me at some of my worst times. You know my strengths and weakness's and you know my breaking points (things that I can't control = stress. However, you also know how to be a great husband. I have never let my triathlon training get in the way of our relationship and you have never let your love for cycling interfere with our time together. Perhaps we are so good together because we support each other's passions. Although we love different sports, we both live a similar lifestyle of healthy eating and lots of physical activity. Thank you for loving me and for making it so easy for me to love you and to love being your wife. Even with managing two Trek stores in Jacksonville and putting in 200+ miles a week of cycling, you always make sure my bike is in great condition and you always have a great appetite to try all of my dinner creations.
Karel, words can't describe how much you mean to me and how lucky I am to have my best friend by my side for the rest of my life. Can't wait til we are 80 years old together, riding our bikes over mountain passes and eating tofu and alfalfa sprout sandwiches for a picnic lunch. Love you Karel....we make a great team!!




Campy
Oh, how could I forget my little one. My little buddy. My little Campy, Camp. Campy, you made my life complete 10 months ago. After my last dog passed away from bladder cancer in 2006, I felt like there was an empty space in my heart. I have always loved animals but I never knew that a dog like you could make my days 100% better. I love seeing your little face in the window of our 3rd floor apartment and I love hearing your little bark as I walk up the stairs to our place. I love how you greet me when I walk in the door, regardless if I was gone for 15 minutes or 4 hours. You are never short of giving kisses and you are the best cuddler. It doesn't matter how good/bad my day may seem, you have a special puppy-dog way of making my life worth living to the fullest every day. Karel and I are so happy that we got you off the street and we know you are loving the life of luxury. You wouldn't care if we lived in a box or in a house, so long as we had a blanket for you to snuggle under. Campy, you make running warm-up and warm-down so much fun, even after running 18 miles. You never complain if we are running in the cold, rain or heat and you always put a huge smile on my face when we are together. Thank you Campy for being part of my team...and for making sure my camera gets lots of use!

Berry-licious and nutritious muffins

Just because it is Ironman week, I'm not gorging myself with Carbs. Sure, I'll increase my total percentage of carbohydrates by 5-10% on Thurs, Fri and Sat but in order to keep my blood sugar stable on race week (and keep repairing damaged tissues), I will continue to emphasize protein in the diet. My Ironman-week diet consist of lots of fruits and veggies to keep my immune system healthy and to provide my body with lots of vitamins and minerals and antioxidants) and good sources of carbs such as oatmeal, whole grain bread and wasa crackers (my fav with PB).
So, you might be wondering why I decided to make muffins if I am gradually increasing carbs yet also emphasizing protein?
Rather than using only wheat flour, I decided to bump up the protein of my typical muffin recipe by adding soy flour.
Here are some facts about soy flour that I gathered from SoyFoods.org (http://www.soyfoods.org/products/soy-fact-sheets/soy-flour-fact-sheet).
-Soy flour is derived from soybeans and is the main ingredient for soy milk and textured vegetable proteins (ex. veggie burgers).
-Soy flour is packed with protein and provides a nutty flavor to baked goods.
-Defatted and low-fat soy flour will stay fresh for up to one year in an airtight container.
-Replacing more than 40% of a recipe calling for flour, with soy flour, is not recommended. Soy flour works as a substitute for 10-30% of wheat or rye flour.
-Soy flour is gluten-free.
-Soy flour is a great source of quality protein, fiber and isoflavones and provides a good source of iron, b vitamins and potassium.

Here's the protein content of various flours:
-Full fat soy flour - 40% protein
-Low fat soy flour - 52% protein
-Defatted soy flour - 55% protein
-Whole wheat flour - 16% protein
-Enriched white flour - 12% protein

Here are some ways to incorporate soy flour into your recipes:
-Pizza dough - replace 1/4 flour with soy flour
-Cookies - replace 1/3 all purpose flour with soy flour
-Muffins or pancakes - 1/3 soy flour, 1/3 wheat and 1/3 all purpose or 1/3 soy flour and 2/3 wheat
-Bread - replace 1/3 all purpose with 1/3 soy flour
-Cakes - replace 1/3 all purpose with 1/3 soy flour


Here's the recipe I created yesterday.
Berry-licious and nutritious muffins

1/2 cup oats
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup soy flour
2 tsp cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup milk
1 whole egg + 1 egg white
3 ounces low fat vanilla yogurt (you can use plain)
1 tbsp vanilla extract
2 tsp. honey
1 cup fresh blueberries
1/4 cup dried cranberries
1/4 raisins
1/4 cup walnuts
1/3-1/2 cup water

1) Preheat oven to 350-degrees.
2) In a large mixing bowl, combine dry ingredients (first 5 ingredients) and mix together and set aside.
3) In another mixing bowl, whisk together milk, vanilla extract and eggs for 2 minutes with a fork or whisk.
4) Add vanilla yogurt to wet ingredients and mix well.
5) Add honey, followed by blueberries, cranberries, raisins and walnuts into wet mixture. Mix well.
6) Combine wet ingredients into dry ingredients and mix well with a large fork.
7) As you are mixing, slowly add water (1/8 cup at a time) until you get a consistency similar to pancake batter.
8) Scoop 1/4 cup batter into each tin of non-stick muffin tin (spray with non-stick spray, 1 squirt each tin).
9) Cook for 20-25 min. until sides of muffin turn slightly brown or muffin is slightly firm on top.
10) Optional: top with 4-5 chopped walnut pieces and switch your oven to broil for 5 minutes.

Enjoy!
*I recommend serving 1 muffin w/ 3-4 scrambled egg whites and 3-4 slices strawberries for a healthy and balanced breakfast or 1 muffin topped with 3 ounces low fat yogurt/greek yogurt for a healthy snack/desert.
*Place the muffins in a container or freezer bag and when you are ready for a warm and delicious muffin, microwave for 20-25 sec.