Do you ever have one of those weeks where everything just falls into place and your ducks line up like you want them and the chips fall exactly where you need them to fall? That was IMCDA; it was like it was meant to be *the* weekend from the minute we got to Idaho... welcome to the IMCDA race recap. Hopefully you have a glass of wine and 30 minutes to kill.
The evening before was a little rough. Bri and I are not experienced bike travelers and getting the bikes into the bags adequately packed and protected was a challenge but by midnight, we were in bed and ready for that 3 am wake-up call.
The flights were not noteworthy which I think is good when it comes to air travel. I prefer the boring, not exciting flights that result in smooth landings.
We touched down in Spokane and were greeted with a minimal line for Avis car rentals while Budget had an hour long line that Courtney and Ron were currently stuck in. We ended up with a car upgrade to a 4-Runner which was a blessing since it would have been tricky to get both bike bags and the luggage into a smaller SUV. By the time we had keys in hand, Court and Ron were just about done and we decided to get lunch in Spokane at a cute little brewery with delicious food and even hard Kombucha on tap which would be the last drink of the week until Monday.
After lunch, we headed over to our first AirBNB - the Mill house - an adorable little suite in the backyard of a larger home. It was perfect for us for one night. We set down all our stuff, got dressed and headed out for a shake-out run. Since Bri only had 25 minutes and I had a 45 minute run on tap, he turned around just before the start of the asphalt trail that would later be part of the run course during the race. I continued alone at an easy pace, enjoying the lake view. It was quiet with no people around until a man with a familiar loping stride came running toward me. In the split second before he passed me, I noticed the Canyon shirt and realized it was Lionel Sanders. I took a few more steps and turned around, attempting to get a video like the fan girl I am. Of course, I epically failed and ended up with a single picture from 50 yards away.
I ran home and Bri and I walked to the main drag to get pizzas to bring back as we worked on unpacking the bikes. A short while later, it was time for an episode of SVU and time for bed.
Thursday morning involved a practice swim with Cindy and Jason and we checked-in at our designated time in the Ironman village. Having the check-in entirely digitized was much faster and easier - I hope they continue this in the future! We celebrated Cindy’s first-timer status and the fact the we all got to be racked together. We got all our “stuff” and headed to the merch tent where I only purchased a hat and a mug. Not my best, but not my worst either. I think IMMT I bought a pair of goggles and that was it, but I couldn’t resist the race theme colors - deep teal and sky blue. Take my money Ironman.
We finished assembling the bikes and noticed that Raptorex’s disk brake was rubbing again and my rear wheel was loose. GREAT. Thankfully, the PlayTri bike mechanics had RR going in 45 minutes while we grabbed lunch and she was good as new. We then headed to Cindy’s house to meet up for our 1:30 bike ride. The three of us rode the first 14 miles of the bike course and Bri and I did another out and back to get some more time on the bike. It was pretty flat and fast with one uphill that thankfully had been cut-out of this years’ run course!
It was time to check-in to the big house airBNB and Dayle and Kevin met us at the house shortly after. It was SO GOOD to see them and I was pumped - and thankful - that they were going to be a part of race weekend. My parents arrived that night which nearly completed the sherpa crew, as LL would be arriving the next day.
We spent a bit of time Thursday evening watching YouTube vids and, as always, tuned into Lionel’s race week recaps. As he was preparing for his own shake out run on screen, I realized he was wearing the same outfit I’d seen him in the day before. Cut to a shot of him running on the trail… and me running past him! I’m famous now. *does the queen’s wave to no one in particular.*
Friday morning was another swim (and bike and run) and Dayle got to check out the water as well. Holli and Andrew and Holli’s mom Judith and Gary were there and I had my first big emotional breakdown of the trip. Hugging Holli and her Momma brought flooding memories of our time in Ireland and finally - FINALLY - this felt like a true racing weekend. I didn’t think I had missed racing that much in the past year (too busy being stressed at work and trying to train through it) but when we were all reunited, I couldn’t hold back the tears and I hugged them
Heather Jackson was at the swim as well and we all had a fan girl moment which was fun. Racing with the pros is one very cool perk of this sport. How many football fans get to just casually run into their favorite athletes and talk to them? How many baseball fans get to share the field and play with their favorite teams during the season? We respect and admire the professional triathletes and get to see into their lives via IG and youtube and even though they are amazingly talented, they are also just like us and they need to get their practice swims and bikes and runs in too.
I headed out for a 45 min easy spin and hit the trail again to the bike turn around and back to the car. This time, I had two Lionel sightings and a bonus Cody Beals sighting. In my fragile little brain, I equated this to good race juju for Sunday. Raptorex was working well and I felt pretty good. I followed the bike up with a 30 min T-run and explored a bit of the run course through the neighborhood. Met up with Mom, Dayle, and Bri and we got some lunch to bring back to the house.
LL arrived and the crew was complete! It meant so much that she came out to cheer us on and spend the weekend with us (Thanks Matt for sole parenting for a weekend while we got to play!). While we chitchatted outside on the porch, I got an IG DM from Sarah True. WTH? I opened it and learned I had won a month of Nuun hydration products via an IG contest on her recent post. Hell yea - we had been drinking tubes of it over the past week to bump up the electrolyte intake and had, in fact, just bought 2 more tubes at the expo the previous day. Good juju, yes?
Mom made lasagna for dinner and Andrea and Wes joined us which was awesome to catch up. We had a lot of laughs, traded cat stories, and talked about our upcoming big day on Sunday before heading to bed early.
Thanks to the time change, Bri and I had been getting up very early which would be helpful for Sunday and the 5:35 am start time. We got up sans alarm at 4:45, had coffee and a snack and headed back to the water for one last shake-out swim. After swimming daily for 3 days in a row, I was feeling good in the water and looking forward to the first leg of the race. The rest of the day consisted of bike drop off, packing transition bag and relaxing while watching TV and youtube. Dinner was chicken and white rice while the crew had chicken parm, then it was off to sleep to get some rest before Sunday… I did slam a water bottle with osmo preload before passing out though.
Race day!
Alarm went off at 2:45 am and that was just a bit too early. I snoozed for 10 minutes and finally got out of bed to get coffee and food. I made my Picky Bar Matcha Oatmeal (RIP Matcha Oatmeal, you were my favorite and I’m sad you are discontinued). I didn’t have the best appetite and my stomach was a bit off but I was able to eat most of it and keep it down. Another bottle of osmo preload and i was ready to roll. The fam dropped us off - everyone got up to make the trek over, bless them - and Bri and I headed to transition to start setting up. In light of covid safe return to racing, there were no change tents and no bike or run gear bags so transition was just like any other race and it felt like i didn’t have enough STUFF! my transition area looked like any other 70.3 and i commandeered the area behind bri’s rear wheel. Jason and Cindy showed up shortly after us and it was awesome to be racked all together and soak in the pre-race feels.
I finally felt like I had all the gear laid out in a semi-logical fashion and had a salted watermelon Gu, a pop-tart, and some water before heading over to the crew to put wetsuits on and watch the pros start. Before I knew it, the cannons were going off and the men and women pros were on their way. When the cannon went off for the ladies, I cried (actual tears) and cheered for Holli (THATS MY FRIEND!). Bri and I finished putting wetsuits on but not before I cuddled a fun-loving mini australian shepherd that made fast friends with me.
Down at the beach, Bri and I lined up with the sub-1 hour group and waded into the water for a short, 2 minute warm-up. Everything seemed to be in working order and my guesstimate for a swim time was 1:01-1:03 if we followed the plan and didn’t go out hard. The plan being that I would lead us comfortably for the first loop (since B is often a bit overzealous for the first few hundred meters) and at the run onto the beach to start the second loop, Bri would takeover and I would draft off of him for the second loop. Right as we were about to get in, Bri said - stay on left side of buoys! - which seemed like it would have less traffic since many people assume you have to stay to the right - and he was right!
SWIM:
The cannon went off and just over 3 minutes later, I was running into the water. I was already adjusted to the water temp from the short jump in the water earlier so I got to work right away - smooth strokes, exerting just enough energy to swim at a quick type of comfortable pace. I knew there were 8-9 buoys on the way out, then a red turn buoy, another red turn buoy, and 8-9 on the way back. Ironman does swim buoys right on their courses. I guessed it was roughly 100m in between the buoys which gave me something to think about as my watch vibrated with 500m splits. It was pretty smooth sailing on the way out with little traffic as we were very near the front of the masses but I knew this would later be a mess on the second loop. It felt like it took awhile to hit the first turn buoy - so much so that I couldn’t believe we’d have to do another full loop!
Shortly after the second turn buoy, on the way back toward the beach, I saw Bri come up on my left. I was glad the plan was working so far as his plan was to stay on my left hip. Except he kept coming up, pulled even with me, and even continued forward. I guess he got tired of our fun, comfortable swimming pace so I resigned myself to keeping on his feet, likely holding a slightly faster pace. The pace seemed to continue but I felt like my effort dropped slightly so I was happy with the switch - if he wanted to pull us for 3/4 of the swim, then by all means, let him!
We got to the beach and I was just a couple feet behind him on the sand. My watch said 30:23 and I was thrilled that we were right on pace with where I expected us to be. I also knew the second loop would be a bit slower with the increased number of swimmers. After a handful of steps on the sand, it was back in the water. I took a clumsy header into the waves that sort of felt like I dove into a soft brick wall but I recovered and quickly found Bri’s feet again. This time, I was competing with a dude for foot space and he was. not. having. it. he kept shoving into me in order to sit square on Bri’s feet but I wasn’t having it either and - whether he was aware or not - Bri took a sharp turn to get to the outer side of the first buoy and I followed and the man did not. Temporarily. A handful of buoys later, the guy was back and I was less than thrilled. I dropped off Bri’s feet for a buoy and lost sight of the silver arms that I had been following for 40 or so minutes. After a minute or two, I caught a flash of silver, crossed my fingers that it was Bri and took a handful of strong strokes to catch up.
At the turn buoy, chaos ensued as the water had gotten very choppy and the number of people getting around the buoy seemed to have quadrupled… and then I got run over. I coughed a few times and tried to just hold my breath for a handful of strokes to get out of the washing machine and get back on his feet. I survived part 2 of the washing machine around the second turn buoy and then it was a free for all on the way home. I could semi make out Bri’s silver arms and he was swimming very straight which was perfect. I kept on his feet, unintentionally tapping his feet and I knew that he knew it was me and that it was probably bugging the crap out of him so I tried to ease off but it felt like the waves were bringing us in and I just kept tap-tap-tapping along. Just a little friendly payback from IMMT baby.
I could make out the inflatable Gatorade bottle just beyond the arch and I could feel Bri start to speed up, so I did too. Before I knew it, I was back on the beach and my watch said 1:01 something - I’ll take it! Other than the slightly disorienting feeling that always comes after Ironman swimming, I felt fine and ran up the concrete ramp to transition. I waved in the direction of the crew to the right and took the left around the bank of portapotties to my bike while chatting with Bri.
SWIM TIME: 1:02:30
T1:
I quickly pulled the wetsuit off and got to putting on socks, shoes, helmet, and sunglasses. This seemed like a much quicker transition without the gear bags and other minutia that comes with the changing tent so I took 10 seconds to eat another salted watermelon Gu and take a sip of skratch. I also took an extra 20 seconds to apply sunscreen on my arms and exposed parts of my legs which I would definitely not regret later.
T1 Time: 5:49
BIKE:
I ran my bike past the mount line with Bri just behind me. “Love you, have a great ride.” Buoyed that our swim plan had worked (despite my semi-lack of swim fitness), I was excited to do some damage on Raptorex. This was going to be MY FREAKING DAY. I set out, waving to the crew as I passed them, toward the 14 mile out-and-back that followed the majority of the run loop. I started drinking my concentrated Skratch right away, aiming to consume 6 bottles over the ride (250-300 calories per bottle) plus another 2-3 bottles of water via aid stations. I had 3 packages of Skratch green tea chews ready to go in the bento box along with a tube of Base salt and I would refill exactly this set up at special needs around mile 63.
The plan was to not go out too hard (lets be honest, have I ever really gone out *too* hard?) and to keep power steady if possible during the cooler part of the day. I knew the plan would likely go out the window depending on what the weather felt like later on in the bike, but I didn’t want to tax my legs much leading into the warmer miles. 180-185w felt like cake but I purposefully slowed and my heart rate was nice and low, way under zn1, though the goal also was low zn1. It felt like I was out for a casual ride!
The first turn around was about 7 miles in, where special needs would later be set up. I was rolling back toward town when Bri passed me and he looked strong and I hoped that it would be a great day for him. I was focused on drinking consistently and eating a couple of chews every 15 minutes. At 45 minutes, I was already a bottle in - ahead of schedule but this was okay.
We headed onto the highway and shortly came upon the first climb, 2-2.5 miles up which started right where the road to our AirBnB was located. Spinning up the hill didn’t feel too taxing and a girl on a road bike with the Zoot Salty kit passed me. We would make this back and forth pass approximately 10 more times over the course of the race and she unknowingly became my friend that I looked forward to seeing on each downhill section.
An hour or so into the ride, my upper back started to tighten up and my worst fear came true. I’ve been having this fairly debilitating upper right back and neck pain during long rides that I hadn’t bothered to address in the weeks/months leading into the race. I assumed the new bike would be helpful but that hasn’t been the case so far. The only thing that helps is to stop biking… but that wasn’t an option here so I turned my mind onto singing Christmas carols as the temperature outside started to get warm. LL said that Lindsey Corbin said that Tim Snow (there were some other people in there too) said that when the temperatures were up, singing Christmas carols helped to feel cool. Whether this is true or absolute crap, I did it and it didn’t make things worse so… I hold to it. Unfortunately, this didn’t help my back. Aero was painful, sitting up was painful, and generally riding a bike for hours on end was painful but I just had to keep moving forward.
At some point (mile 30-ish) along the first stretch of highway, Jenny Stoner from LU passed me on her beautiful Felt in a very pretty deep teal kit. She looked phenomenal - so strong - and it was great to see a friendly face, even if that friendly face passed me like I was standing still! After that long stretch, mile 35 came around and brought the first turnaround.
Only a little bit more to go, right?
The bike course became a bit of a blur as the pain was coming in waves. I grabbed water at every aid station, dumping it on me and my back which gave me 10 seconds of sheer relief before the burning pain came back. I shifted focus to nutrition and continued to take in my calories and hydration because I knew this particular crappy bike leg was now just my warm-up for the now biggest part of the race - the run.
I continued to see my road bike friend in the Salty kit on the ups and downs and saying hello each time made me smile. We headed back into town and I waved at the crew who were still faithfully cheering as the temps were starting to rise as I headed back to the run course portion of the bike. Halfway baby, halfway…
Thank god special needs was a bit later. That meant I would only have 49 miles to survive my back pain after getting a minute to stand up and stretch. My volunteers were great, I refilled my chews and switched out my bottles while stuffing a strawberry uncrustable into my mouth. I stretched my back for some seconds and woefully set off for the last 49 miles.
Things did *not* get better. The temperature felt like it had climbed 30+ degrees from the first time we rode the highway and despite doing everything I could to hydrate, dump water on myself, take salt, and eat, I knew I was not in a good place. I started to get very sleepy on the downhills and flats - so much so that I caught myself closing my eyes and veering to the right off the road. Not good my friends, not a good sign!
I went into survival mode. I slowed my pace to the point where I felt like I was just soft pedaling tried my best to stay awake and in the moment. My legs felt like lead weights and I was shocked no one had stopped me from the flames that I felt emanating from my back - I felt like my back was on actual fire. A new fun sensation started as well - the bottoms of my feet were hot so I kept soaking them as well at the aid stations and from the extra water I was carrying on my bike.
The good news was that I peed 3-4 times on the bike so I knew I was hydrating myself at least. That’s really the only good thing that came out of that bike ride other than recognizing my friends and yelling out to them.
I woke up a bit on the no-pass, no-aero dangerous downhill section where I was lucky to get stuck behind someone riding their brakes so severely that we were going <15 mph down the hill. It was hard not to run into them and out of the corner of my eye, I saw the line of bikes building up behind our snail-paced leader.
When the no pass zone ended, the flood gates opened and cyclists began streaming past me and I tried to safely get around person in front of me but it was a little sketch.
One last little incline and we were back in town. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU. I was alive, I hadn’t fallen asleep completely and crashed, and I was ready to throw my bike in the trash. So, pretty standard feelings after 112 miles of an Ironman bike.
BIKE TIME: 6:22:30 (slowest ever. 10 minutes slower than placid when i vomited and was in the portapotty and my bike box broke and i rode one handed back into town… )
T2:
I barely got my bike racked, my back was so sore. I stood up straight and stretched, knowing that it would improve over the course of the run. I took off my helmet, sunglasses, shoes, and changed out socks for low cut breathable running socks. I realized that I hadn’t used the anti-chafe foot stuff so I peeled my socks off and sat down in order to give my feet 15 seconds of attention that would pay dividends later. The guy racked a few bikes over came in and we exchanged our grievances over the bike course. He said something along the lines of “yea, i’m not going back out there” and simply walked away. I finished putting my socks and shoes on and he returned with a bunch of water bottles and offered me one. I decided to stand up and pee right there, stupidly peeing into my left sock and shoe. I rinsed it with water, bid the man good-bye as he was now lying flat on his back, arms outstretched, in the grass in the shade and set off in my soggy shoe toward the run-out arch.
T2 TIME: 6:53
RUN:
I had legs which was not surprising given the lack of power on the bike. I definitely felt like I’d been riding my bike but my pace was quick and I consciously slowed. The heat was very apparent now and at the first aid station, I whipped out my ziploc freezer bag and filled it with ice and stuffed it in my sports bra and doused myself with cool water. It was going to be a soggy shoe run and now at least both of my feet were equally nice and damp.
I saw the crew shortly into the first loop and anxiously asked what my place was. “14th?” LL said as she shrugged her shoulders, obviously not wanting to be the one to share the bad news. Internally I groaned and felt the millions of available Kona slots slip away.
Real talk - there were 200 slots to be had and I knew my AG was going to have 6 or 7 when originally there were 150 offered. With the late addition of 50 more slots, I was praying for 8. 14-question-mark-shoulder-shrug-placement is not close to 8.
Running isn’t really even my forte. I’m not a *great* runner. Consistent, yes. Fast? Nah, not really. Ironman fast? A bit better but yea, no, still not really. But who knew what was going to happen in these conditions. My only saving grace was that I knew I could outlast other people in shitty conditions - cheers to mental toughness. We also train in hot, humid DC - we know what terrible running weather feels like. And I have the experience to know I just have to KEEP MOVING FORWARD and maybe this time I pull the selfish card and I don’t stop to dick around and walk with friends a la IMMT 2015.
So I passed the crew and resigned myself to what would NOT be a comfortable run in an effort to give myself any semblance of a chance to get that Kona slot. My plan was to walk every aid station, keep the body temp cool, continue nutrition via Honey Stinger blocks and Skratch contrated hydration in my handheld bottle and take in Base salt.
This plan lasted two miles.
At mile 2.3 or so, just past the aid station, my stomach declared war. It had hit maximum capacity and it said “NO MORE LIQUID” as I pulled over to the grass (away from people as much as possible but this also was a very popular spectating spot in the shady grassy knoll) and puked my guts out. My stomach wanted to be outside my body as I vomited over. and over. and over again. I saw bits of Goji berries from that morning’s Picky Bar oatmeal. I saw the Honey Stinger chews. and I saw more liquid than I swear any human has the potential to consume as I watered the grass with my electrolyte filled stomach contents. I should send a bill to whoever takes care of the lawn because they won’t have to water it for a month - you’re welcome, town of CDA.
Some of the spectators had taken notice and expressed their concerned support. “You look… good?” “Get it out girl!” I waved and took a few steps and realized I wasn’t done throwing up so I watered the grass some more a bit further down on the knoll.
After 2 min to 2:30 stoppage time, I pulled my life together and started running again and I knew that if I played my cards right, I was done vomiting for the day. I would, however, be a bit behind in hydration-land but I was hoping this wouldn’t be a big set-back. I did make a snap decision that my nutrition plan was garbage and I would just be using on course nutrition - all of which I’d never touched before. As they say, always do new things on race day.
I saw Andrew and he basically told me “good job” and I knew I was not in a good position in my AG but I asked him for placement anyway. I don’t remember if he said anything that time around…
… But my pace was back and my legs felt good and I got back into a rhythm. Around mile 3 or so, I encountered my first Maurten gel and it changed my life. It was this thick gelatin-goo that was being held in an ice water bath and it was flavorless and I could swallow it by washing it down with water in just three gulps. It hit my stomach and didn’t immediately come back up which was already an improvement from the last aid station so I figured I’d keep on it and have one every 40 minutes or so. I continued to refill my ziploc with ice and douse myself in water at each aid station. Around mile 5, I picked up my first cold, wet towel and it was life alteringly wonderful.
I wasn’t really paying a lot of attention to my pace but i was closely watching the field and who I was passing. In the first loop, everyone is ahead of you so you have an idea of what is happening. With covid safety return to racing, there isn’t body marking so knowing who you are passing is just not a thing. In the 2nd and 3rd loops, knowing who is ahead would become impossible. I saw Andrew for the second time around mile 6-7 and he told me I was in 15th (maybe 16th), there were 9 confirmed Kona slots for my AG and 10th was 6 minutes away but girls were already fading. That’s all I needed to hear to keep going and keep on track. I could do this, I think.
I saw my family again as I came around for loop 2. I threw my handheld water bottle at my mom which felt like freedom. Now that my hands were both free, I could hold ice and keep my hands cool which felt really lovely.
Another Andrew update told me I was in 14th and continuing to move-up. Hold your pace, he said, and you will keep passing girls. Oh, and Brian is just up ahead!
A minute later, I came up on Bri. “I’m done” he said with a wave. For fraction of a second, I thought - “I could just walk with him and we could walk the marathon together” but I quickly put that thought out of my head. I told him I loved him and to do what he had to do and I ran away.
Most people were starting to hurt on that run while few others still looked incredible. I tried to encourage some of my favorite pros that were out walking but I didn’t know if that would be harmful or helpful. Lionel was struggling. But Sam Long looked amazing. Carrie Lester was running like she was just racing a marathon and hadn’t already swam and biked. I gained strength from watching the pros generally being awesome at their jobs and kept moving forward.
I continued loop 2 and continued passing girls without many girls passing me. I did math near the turnarounds to see if I was closing in on the strong, fast looking girls - and i was. I kept walking the aid stations - just be consistent and be smart - and kept up with my new nutrition plan. At the halfway point, I was sub 2 hours and I knew I could somewhat continue this pace. Or, I hoped I could. My longest run leading into this race was 1:35 but this was what I did for Ireland when I had my fastest IM marathon so I trusted Drew’s plan and the training. It’s 50% mental anyway and I had that part covered.
I always tell myself that after mile 13, its just downhill to the finish. I kept that mentality and kept up the pace. Andrew’s next update told me I was in 12th or 13th but close to 11th. I was moving up. And it was COLA TIME. From mile 14 and on, I indulged in the nectar of the Gods and it gave me new life.
I let myself smile as I hit the divide for the second time for “finish” and “loops 2 and 3”. My next time through would be toward that finish line and I couldn’t wait. Let’s just get there faster, shall we?
I saw the crew again as I started loop 3 and even though my legs were tired, I tried to fake it up the hills. Dayle told me I was in 11th and I tried to argue with her and inform her I was in 12th and that there were *only* 9 slots. I only semi-remember yelling at her but apologized later. Let’s just say I was deep into that marathon and not in the happiest frame of minds…
Andrew’s next update was that I was in 11th. In my brain, I knew that two of the girls ahead of me in the AG already had Kona slots. If I could stay in 11th… I would be in. Just keep moving forward, right?
The last loop felt the quickest. I felt like the Kona slot was now mine to lose if I faltered. With each pass of a girl, I heard the replay of the Ironman announcer say “passes like these are always almost permanent” and “Heather Prochnow - reason to worry”. Obviously I was getting over-tired and slap happy, but it made each pass feel like an accomplishment and at that moment, I just needed little wins.
I wasn’t sure if I’d see Andrew again, but at mile 24.5 or so - there he was! Still in 11th, 10th was 4 minutes up but fading. JUST KEEP GOING.
My legs were getting stiff but my body temp felt controlled. It didn’t feel like 100+ degrees thanks to the ice and water and wet towels but I did feel like I had already run 25 miles.
Next, I channeled Lester from the final mile of IMMD 2017 and knew it was time to “eat the pain”. One more mile. You can do anything for one mile. Let’s make this our strongest one.
I upped my cadence and felt the weight of the previous 25 miles in my legs but I pushed that out of my brain. 50% mental, you can do this, the pain is in your head. I didn’t dramatically get faster, but I did speed up. I felt like I *flew* past the sprinklers and jogged the last aid station for one last douse of water and suddenly, the park was in sight and the divide was there. It was time to go left toward “finish”. My family was gone and I knew they were waiting for me on Sherman Avenue. With a smile, I veered left and Wes and Andrea were there yelling their hearts out and I absorbed their energy and kept running as strong as I could. I felt a smile starting to emerge on my face but I wasn’t *quite* there yet. I went over the bridge and down a block to the left hand turn and suddenly I was on Sherman and I could see the arch and that it was a downhill stretch to the finish. This part seemed to take forever as it was a couple (few?) blocks down but it was in sight and I ran faster. I felt like my legs were barely clearing the pavement in true Ironman shuffle fashion, but the arch was steadily approaching. I hit the red carpet and swung out to the right to high five a little boy as I continued to the arch. My face was one of grit and relief to be done. I didn’t try to jump (I couldn’t) which may have saved me from another broken foot. Instead I slowed and a kind volunteer grabbed me to slow my role before potentially crashing into a man being helped into a wheelchair.
RUN TIME: 4:01:37
OVERALL TIME: 11:39:18
I was handed my finisher shirt and hat with the medal tucked inside. I medaled myself and took a picture and took a few steps over to my family and friends. They told me I got 11th and I broke down, I only needed 11th to get the Kona slot… or so I thought.
It was too early to celebrate - I knew I couldn’t celebrate until Mike Reilly called my name the next morning during roll down. But I celebrated the completion of another race, healthy and whole, with the run of my life in 100+ degree temperatures. It wasn’t my fastest run but it was consistent and it was unfathomable to me that I could do that in those conditions.
For the next 20 minutes or so, I didn’t do too great. I started to overheat and really feel the toll of the day so I camped under some misters as the crew dumped water bottles on me. We moved the group into the next-door restaurant and enjoyed the AC for awhile before gathering our wits to get our stuff to go home. Brian had met me at the finish line which surprised me for a second even though I already knew he hadn’t finished. My heart hurt for him because I knew how hard he had worked this year to be in the best Ironman shape I’ve ever seen him in despite the significant injury earlier in the year. Ironman can be such a little bitch.
We got all our stuff and LL and Dayle thankfully took the bikes and gear to the 4-runner as Mom and Dad picked us up right outside transition to take us home.
The post-race shower was lovely as always and I hadn’t gotten too badly chafed with the wetsuit which was a nice surprise. The sunburn on the legs was crisp but I’d done a good job with sunscreen on the upper half of my body at least and my hat and sunglasses thankfully saved my face from the sunshine on the hot run.
We all sat and talked about our days - both athletes and spectators - and I stomached chicken broth and a slice of pizza before heading to bed and slept poorly as I always do after an Ironman.
The next morning, we decided to go to awards before roll down. The fam (minus Kevin who was golfing) met Bri and I at the pavilion as we waited for roll down to start. Kristen Yax (who Dayle and I know from SOAS and who I was counting on to roll her slot) came over to chat and told Dayle that she had deferred her slot from 2019 to 2022 and was accepting her 2021 slot.
My heart dropped and my face got hot. Not again. NOT FUCKING AGAIN. Was I going to miss NINE KONA SLOTS in my AG by one because I had the crappiest bike split of my life? I knew Meghan Fillnow had a slot from her win at IMMD but maybe she had deferred hers also? Would I have had to get 9th with no chance of roll down? All the feelings came bubbling up and the despair from Ireland came circling back - it had taken months to get over the disappointment in a 2nd place finish that day. Even deep into the fall that year, every time I heard the word “Kona” I felt like I was punched in the gut. It took me until 2020 to read the signed copy of Mike Reilly’s book that Mom had given me back in Ireland before the race. I had tears in my eyes as I walked away to find solace in Holli.
The minutes crawled by as allocation started with the oldest male and female age groups. I got teary as I saw some men’s AGs roll to 25th place and beyond. That would never happen for us women.
Finally, it was Female 35-39. Mike said there were 9 slots. I watched first take hers, I watched Meghan’s roll and prayed there was one single other person who would roll her slot. I watched Kristen take her slot and Mike continued on to 4th who accepted, 5th who accepted and then 6th… and it went quiet.
I grabbed Hollis thigh with my left hand and stared straight ahead. Mike repeated her name. And then again, one last time. And moved on to 7th place.
I started to ugly cry. My mouth and face were trembling and I was glad I was wearing sunglasses so no one could see the tears literally jumping out of my eyeballs.
Mike announced Stoner who got 9th and I clapped and cheered. He announced 10th… and then stopped and went on a tangent about something. I couldn’t breathe. He then said something like “well that’s it” and someone on stage said something to him and then he said “Heather Prochnow!” and the cheering started.
It felt unreal as I walked toward the tent with my credit card already out of my wallet. I stood in line surrounded by other athletes to whom this was old hat for them. I caught conversations about how they couldn’t wait to go back to this restaurant and how this year, they were going out on this day instead of this day, and so on. I blocked them out and continued to stare straight at Mike Reilly, listening to the hum of his voice while he continued to make dreams come true from his place on the stage, shaking only slightly with tears still freshly rolling down my cheeks.
Dayle and Mom joined me after awhile and Dayle was inconsoleably crying. Mom too. Mollie too via Facetime. I lost my chill and let myself celebrate with them, letting the rest of the line know that I was a newbie and this was one of the biggest things to ever happen in my competitive life.
Finally, I reached the ipad and inputted my credit card number, not even acknowledging the $1200 total that flashed at the end screen. I hugged Mom and Dayle again and said good-bye to Mollie, who was already making plans for October. I returned to the crew which had grown and included dear friends. I hugged everyone, grateful for their support and for waiting this thing out after the long days everyone had had the day before. I cried again hugging my Mom and Dad and then hugging LL - it meant so much that they were there - lets be honest, they’ve been present at many of my Ironman races but this was by far the most meaningful to me.
I then hugged Brian the longest, just whispering “I did it” over and over while I continued to let the tears flow and really acknowledged all the feelings that led to that singular moment in time.
- - - - -
I can’t even begin to comprehend how overwhelming the support and congratulations have been. Thank you everyone who reached out or even just sent an emoji in response to the IG story from roll down. It means so much that its making me cry AGAIN, just sitting here and typing and reliving the weekend. You are thoughtful and amazing and I am grateful for all of you.
If you read this far - thank you. Thank you for being on this journey with me. If you’ve read this far, you’ve probably read the other 12+ page race recaps and know that there have been so many heartbreaks and successes along the way to get to this point. It took having 9 slots and my second slowest ironman ever to finally getting that piece of luck that I’d been missing in years past. To those that have made comments about the number of slots - yea it was a crazy amount but no, that didn’t guarantee placement by any means. It was the hardest I’ve ever fought and I’ve been on the podium more times than not in Ironman racing. 11th place doesn’t represent what went on that day but damn it, I finally earned that slot and that dream finally came true :)
Looking forward to writing that next race recap in October… Mahalo for your love and support my friends!
