well i have done my race report on my other journal....but i felt like i wantd to comment here too. last night we had our meeting with Brad to discuss what went well with training and what we wanted more of. I can't believe its been almost 2 weeks since I became an Ironman!! time flies.
I feel like i'm not sure what to do with myself and have tried to keep working out at least some right now to keep myself going!
The swim:
I felt very prepared for this swim! We had a chance to practice the day before and it was pretty choppy. the stairs were a little daunting, so i practiced going up and down them a couple of times. i actually got in 3x the 3rd time to swim the whole practice loop with estella. talked to Lisa C about where to set up the tent and then went to lunch with Brad.
before the swim we had a huddle with brad which made me cry...i had to get myself to stop crying and then we ran into michelle who said a prayer with us which also made me cry. I had to leave estella and lynn and start to get my head in the game.
I wanted to line up with people who could do around 1:20/1:15 for the swim...i had to push my way thru a bit and when i got up to the stairs it all went so fast! it was like one minute i was standing on the deck and then i was in the water going!
The swim for the race felt much the same as the practice. it was choppy and there were people on me teh entire time. there was no swimming away to be on my own, there was always someone right there! I had a bit of a headache from the goggles that were kinda tight but at least they didnt leak like they did in the practice. i of course was singing and talking to myself. I was repeating the names of all of our dogs and of the people that came with us to support us. i got hit in the face a few times and people swam over me and i swam over there. it felt awesome to get to the turn around point , I was counting the buoys on the way back to the stairs. It all felt like it went really fast. the volunteers were right there to help me out of the water and up the stairs and i finished in an hour and 18 mins. Michelle was my wet suit stripper but i sat down too fast and said :i'm sorry" she said...no no no you don't say you're sorry today! hee hee so she was able to get my wet suit off me and i headed to the changing tent. i was so focused about getting my bag that i didnt see or hear my fam/friends at all! my volunteer was really cool . i was able to give her a gc for starbucks and i was able to drink a diet coke before the bike which helped some. i changed to my bike shorts and jersey and kept thinking about what i twas like to be on the volunteer side just a year ago!
I headed out and this time i heard everyone cheering! I went into the bike transition and they yelled out my name and brought me my bike and then it was on! there was a long chute to go thru to get out on the course and then a lot of turns thru the city. when i turned on beeline highway it was windy as hell. straight head wind! and a climb! not a steep climb like here at home, but definitely a climb and i wasn't feeling great. my stomach was upset and i was feeling nauseated. i took a gu right away but it was hard to eat anything. i drank a lot of water though! the 1st trip up the beeline was pretty brutal, i was of course singing jynxie bear and everything else that would pop into my head. it was really weird that i felt like i could lay my head down on my aero bars and go to sleep. probably not a good thing!! i kept seeing people coming the other way and thinking they are flying so i know it can't be that much longer of this suffering. once i got to the top and we had the turn around i was able to fly back down at about 25-28 mph which was AWESOME> that was when i knew that i would make the cut off for sure...cuz i coudl make up the time on the way back down! got back into town though and didnt see any fam or friends waiting so that was kinda disappointing, and it was time for loop number 2....again it was pain and suffering..hard to eat my sandiwches or really anything, but i forced myself. this time i talked to a girl named kristi from florida who was playing tag with me back and forth. she was super nice and we talked about how many ironmans we had done (she was on her 5th) if we have kids...where we are from..what we like best of the 3...it helped it go a little faster. i did see 2 women walking up the beeline which i thought, ok..ridiculous..its not that bad of a hill! lol. then at the top i got ot see Eunice! it was awesome to see her and she took my pic :) fernando her husband was up there too but i didnt see him. then it was time to fly again. i loved th going down the beeline part for sure! i did stop at my special needs bag this time too which helped so much! i was able to get more skratch and to get caffiene! it helped me wake up and feel better. i also ate my payday which was my special treat to myself. as i came to the turn off of the beeline ronda was there! it was awesome to see her too! she was yelling for me and excited to see me. I did see estella twice on the bike but lynn only once so i was getting worried. got back down to tempe town and it was time for the last turn around. this time i saw and heard the fam and friends all yelling for me and i yelled out..this is it!! ONE MORE!! then i was feeling so much better and ready to take on the last time up the beeline. it seemed to go much faster this time and not near as brutal even though the wind was still strong and straight in the face! But when it was done I knew i was going to finish this...i really knew it all along, but this was validation!!
I got into the tent for the run and Caryn was there! That helped immensely. I wasn't feeling the best and i dont think i had enough electrolytes on the bike and maybe not enough fuel at all but it was time to run!! I headed out and after 2 miles it was literally the 1st itme in the race i had to pee...and then i dropped my water bottle in the toilet!! NOOOOO! i was in a bit of a panic and asking the volunteers for a water bottle and someone gave me a used one, but i didnt care i just needd something to carry.
there was a group of people cheering people on and you had to run thru and slap their hands and they were all dressed in bikinis or undies and they really helped me keep going, but the absolute best was when i got up to our tent and everyone was there with signs and yelling and cheering! It was AWESOME to see them..that carried me on for a bit and i was able to run for quite a ways ...i saw brad on the course, he was on his bike at one point he told me "one foot in front of the other" which also helped a lot. the 1st loop was super tough mentally and physically. for some reason the bottoms of my feet were just on fire! i was feeling pretty yuck a lot of the time on the run and my plan was to just find people who would run and then walk and i would copy them. i found one guy and i told him i was tailgating him. lol. then i found a girl and she said we should run together. she was in much better shape at the time than i was but i was able to hang with her for a while and when i rounded a corner and donny and tom were there that helped me some more. i did have to stop at my special needs bag and then i got myother water bottle with my scratch which was still super cold. i had no idea where lynn or estella were at that point. it was also awesome that on the other side of the canal i got ot see carrie and shelly and laurie and donny again. every time i saw them it was a little spirit lift :) after a while i had to let the girl go on without me and just keep on keeping on for myself. there were times i felt dizzy and times i just felt rotten but other times i was able to think mind over body and keep going! once it got dark it got cooler and i ran with these 2 guys for a while. found brad on his bike again and he helped us keep going and then the guy i was running with and iw ould set little goals..we will run til this next sign and hten walk...after a while i left him and went on my own again. it was a lot of talking to myself for sure. then i ran into donny again and this time he was playing don't stop believing!! it was the absolute best part of the race. he ran with me a little and that kept me going. also i finally found estella. she caught up to me at almost the end of the race...we walked a little , ran a little and hten she said go on without her so i was finaly able to just go! I ran around the corner and could see the shoot and i didn't want anyone else to run in at the same time so i could hear my name ...i slowed a little and gave people high fives and thenit was time to finish this bitch. the best feeling in the world was hearing them call out "Bethany Koubsky YOU ARE AN IRONMAN!" and then my volunteer grabbed me, put my medal on and held me up and then my family was all there and it was the best best best feeling. all that hard work for one year and that moment made it all worth while! very soon after me estella came in..she looked great and was so strong! so awesome!!
Lynn was havig major troubles and had puked a few times and matt was walking with her and brad was with her to help her finish. she was out of it and not doing well...
Estella and i went with our families and sat down for a bit and i culd not eat anything. after sitting for a bit i had to get up and puke and then decided i better go to the medical tent. they gave me anti nausea meds and i sat for a while. i didnt' get to see lynn come in though. we went to load stuff up and then headed back to the condos. lynn ended up in medical and then later the ER. she was over night in the hosptial for dehydration. she was doing better the next day but not great. poor lynnie...but i am so proud of all of us! we rocked it and didn't give up and we are all IRON WOMEN!!! YAY AMAZING LADIES!!!
I got into the tent for the run and Caryn was there! That helped immensely. I wasn't feeling the best and i dont think i had enough electrolytes on the bike and maybe not enough fuel at all but it was time to run!! I headed out and after 2 miles it was literally the 1st itme in the race i had to pee...and then i dropped my water bottle in the toilet!! NOOOOO! i was in a bit of a panic and asking the volunteers for a water bottle and someone gave me a used one, but i didnt care i just needd something to carry.
there was a group of people cheering people on and you had to run thru and slap their hands and they were all dressed in bikinis or undies and they really helped me keep going, but the absolute best was when i got up to our tent and everyone was there with signs and yelling and cheering! It was AWESOME to see them..that carried me on for a bit and i was able to run for quite a ways ...i saw brad on the course, he was on his bike at one point he told me "one foot in front of the other" which also helped a lot. the 1st loop was super tough mentally and physically. for some reason the bottoms of my feet were just on fire! i was feeling pretty yuck a lot of the time on the run and my plan was to just find people who would run and then walk and i would copy them. i found one guy and i told him i was tailgating him. lol. then i found a girl and she said we should run together. she was in much better shape at the time than i was but i was able to hang with her for a while and when i rounded a corner and donny and tom were there that helped me some more. i did have to stop at my special needs bag and then i got myother water bottle with my scratch which was still super cold. i had no idea where lynn or estella were at that point. it was also awesome that on the other side of the canal i got ot see carrie and shelly and laurie and donny again. every time i saw them it was a little spirit lift :) after a while i had to let the girl go on without me and just keep on keeping on for myself. there were times i felt dizzy and times i just felt rotten but other times i was able to think mind over body and keep going! once it got dark it got cooler and i ran with these 2 guys for a while. found brad on his bike again and he helped us keep going and then the guy i was running with and iw ould set little goals..we will run til this next sign and hten walk...after a while i left him and went on my own again. it was a lot of talking to myself for sure. then i ran into donny again and this time he was playing don't stop believing!! it was the absolute best part of the race. he ran with me a little and that kept me going. also i finally found estella. she caught up to me at almost the end of the race...we walked a little , ran a little and hten she said go on without her so i was finaly able to just go! I ran around the corner and could see the shoot and i didn't want anyone else to run in at the same time so i could hear my name ...i slowed a little and gave people high fives and thenit was time to finish this bitch. the best feeling in the world was hearing them call out "Bethany Koubsky YOU ARE AN IRONMAN!" and then my volunteer grabbed me, put my medal on and held me up and then my family was all there and it was the best best best feeling. all that hard work for one year and that moment made it all worth while! very soon after me estella came in..she looked great and was so strong! so awesome!!
Lynn was havig major troubles and had puked a few times and matt was walking with her and brad was with her to help her finish. she was out of it and not doing well...
Estella and i went with our families and sat down for a bit and i culd not eat anything. after sitting for a bit i had to get up and puke and then decided i better go to the medical tent. they gave me anti nausea meds and i sat for a while. i didnt' get to see lynn come in though. we went to load stuff up and then headed back to the condos. lynn ended up in medical and then later the ER. she was over night in the hosptial for dehydration. she was doing better the next day but not great. poor lynnie...but i am so proud of all of us! we rocked it and didn't give up and we are all IRON WOMEN!!! YAY AMAZING LADIES!!!
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