Hello!
After training and tapering, I had a very successful first HIM!
We drove (DH and two amazing friends who came to cheer) to New Orleans from Atlanta on Friday night. Saturday, I got up and rode my bike for 30 minutes around the city (the roads were SO rough!). Then, we went to the mandatory pre-race meeting on safety. Then, I got to pick up my packet and t-shirt, and more importantly, buy some fun gear! I got a visor, socks, and a water bottle from the race :) I figured I earned it! We drove to T1, and I checked my bike in. I also go to see the swim, and I was incredibly intimidated! It seemed choppy and really long!
After the last of my simple and carb-focused meals, I got up around 4:20 to get some coffee and a powerbar in. Then my amazing fans and I headed T1 so I could set up at transition before I got on a shuttle at the start. As I set everything up, I felt excited/anxious/intimidated by the whole event! I got marked up and set up before I hopped on a bus. Then at the start, I waited in line for the bathroom, bag check, and my timing chip. My DH and friends met up with me for one more hug before I put on my wetsuit and got in line at the start.
I stood in the water and waited for the sound of the horn! Everyone in my age group took off. Fortunately, there were many swim waves, so I was able to find my own place in the water after about a quarter mile, and swim uninterrupted by other people! The swim paralleled the shore, so my little fan club walked along side me, and when I came up to breathe, I could hear them yelling for me! Eventually, I made it to the end and I ran into T1!
With 3000 participants, this is the largest of the M-Dot 70.3 events in the world. My bike was right in the middle, so I had a nice jog every time! I had my wetsuit stripped off by an awesome volunteer, and I calmly got all of my bike gear on. Then, I ran my bike right out of transition.
For about the first 10 miles, the bike leg was a little crowded, but they completely shut down all of the roads we were on (in both directions!), which made it much easier to maneuver. I even managed well in the bottle exchanges grabbing bottles while still riding! :eek: My legs started to hurt between miles 10 and 25, and I had to mentally convince myself that this kind of event hurts sometimes, and that I needed to calm down and work through everything that hurt. Of course, later I new that I would address it, but in the race, I just pushed through it mentally. Around 25, we rode into a swamp sanctuary, which was great! After a while, I decided to count the dead snakes I saw in the road. I got to 5, and then number six was still alive between me and a guy passing me:eek: He was not a very happy snake!!! The last 10 miles on the bike were insanely windy. We rode straight into a horrible headwind. At the same time, those were the miles that my legs felt the strongest, so I just let my legs do the work. I was slowed down to about 14-15 miles an hour in a good feeling Zone 3, but I was flying past people who were clearly burned out by that point in the ride.
T2 was a minute faster for me, and quite easy. After about a half mile running, my feet went totally numb. I mean completely and totally numb! I stopped to loosen my shoe laces, because a half marathon is no short distance. I stopped again to loosen them to no avail. Finally, I just decided that I numb feet were nothing worth stopping me or messing up my times. I knew it was hot (mid 80's....really hot for April 5!), and my feet must have swollen. I just kept running. After 7 miles, it finally went away :rolleyes: I drank water, gatorade, gels, and poured water on my head at every single aid station. Other than walking to swallow the liquids (I choke if I try to run and drink!), I ran every step of the half marathon :p
At one point, I saw my fan club and they were yelling "Go Kacie!!!" really loud. After we passed them, a guy said, "Who is Kacie?" I raised my hand. A girl nearby said, "My name is Betsy, and I was pretending they were saying my name." Another guy said, "For a minute, we were all Kacie." My fans were the best! The last few miles running into the french quarter were amazing and exciting! There were tons of people on the street cheering and beautiful houses and giant live oaks lined the street. The finish line was packed with people and beautiful! I crossed the line, got my medal and water, and fell straight into an awesome and teary-eyed hug with DH.
I walked around and got food and gatorade while filling in my friends on the whole day! I felt so good even though my body was exhausted. Fortunately, it is my spring break, because I am still pretty tired, but I am so happy with my results. I promise that as soon as my friends email me pictures, I will post them up! :D
Here are my stats:
swim:47:09
t1: 3:39
bike: 3:15:03
t2: 2:52
run: 2:17:41
