2011 Timberman 70.3: A Step toward my Destiny. A Day of Giving Thanks. Genine’s Race Report&Prelude to Race Day

For many of you out there reading this, completing a half-ironman has become a regular part of your race season. For me, however, it was anything but common. So if you will indulge me for a few moments, I would like to start with a prelude to my Timberman 70.3 race report. I will try to be brief, but no guarantees. Actually, you may want to get a cup of coffee before starting to read.

For the past 3+ years I had been working in a high stress retail environment, commuting over 100 miles each day (driving), suffering from insomnia and eating poorly – all while trying to live the healthy lifestyle of a triathlete. I felt as if I was living a lie and the life was being sucked out of me. By fall of last year I had reached my limit. I could not physically, mentally or emotionally continue on my current path. I approached my supervisors at work, explained my situation, crossed my fingers that I wasn’t committing career suicide and respectfully asked to be transferred to a store closer to home. In January of this year, I was granted the chance to change jobs and gain my life back. I felt like I could breathe again. It was the first step in changing my direction toward being happy.

In the months between when I asked for the transfer and it was finally granted, I made a promise to myself- a promise that I would make the most of this opportunity if it were given to me. I would not waste the chance to take the next big step toward my destiny. I needed a new goal – a BIG goal – to keep me motivated. Signing up for a half-iron seemed like the perfect idea. Achievable, but not without a lot of work. The day I accepted the offer to start my new job I went on line and registered for Timberman. There was no going back. Scared or not, I was going to do it!

I began my new job (now less than 5 miles from home!) in February. I had such lofty expectations of what the next 6 months of training would look like. Since our race schedule was very much the same, I was shadowing Matt’s coached training plan. It felt good knowing I had a plan to follow. Next was getting my eating back on track- story of my life. (I have always wished that I were one of those people that stopped eating when they are stressed. Unfortunately I am the exact opposite. I can’t seem to stop eating). Over the course of about 2 years, I had gained back 15lbs of the 40lbs I had lost when we first started triathlon in 2008. Back to Fit Day and tracking the calories. (::sigh::) The first 2-3 months brought only a slight drop in weight (still wasn’t in a place to wrap my brain around the eating part) and some good progress in getting back to a regular workout schedule. I was especially proud of my gains in my run training. I ran in two 5k’s and at the end of April I completed my first 15k. I finished right on my goal time of 1:30 (a few seconds under in fact). Wahoo! And yes, race reports are still needed for these run races.

Now it was May- only 1 month to Mooseman- my first A race of the season. The couple pounds that I had lost came back (grrrr…) and I was finding that the schedule of 14 workouts per week was harder to fit in around work and life than I thought. And since I tend to be an “all or nothing” person, I was skipping or post-poning workouts that I didn’t have time to complete as written (so dumb). On May 14^th, I raced in the Jersey Shore Kick-Off (a small, nicely run sprint tri- close to home). It was a great warm-up race for Mooseman. My swim was a bit rough, but my bike and run felt improved. Overall I was happy with my times and actually won my age group! That was a first! (still need to write that race report! Ha!)

I went into Mooseman with the attitude of “it will be what it will be”. I was hoping to have been at a better place in my training/level of fitness. And I was certainly not happy with the extra pounds that were still lingering. But regardless, race day is always fun…especially on my favorite course EVER! All 3 of my splits that day were within seconds or minute of my 2009 splits. Kind of ironic and a bit depressing, but I didn’t dwell. Time to focus forward. I had 10 weeks to Timberman. Time to kick my own butt!

I had made a commitment that when I returned home after Mooseman, my eating would make a drastic change for the better. And it did. My biggest obstacle has always been my sugar addiction. Yep! I’m an addict… full-fledged, card-holding sugar addict. So I decided to go cold turkey and kick it once and for all. Through my Inten-Sati instructors, I discovered a diet cleanse that looked like something I could handle because I was able to eat solid foods – as opposed to only drinking smoothies or juice. I made the mind shift and began the 14 day Be Well Cleanse by Dr. Frank Lipman. Basically, this cleanse is 3 shakes a day, supplements and 2-3 meals daily that you choose from the “approved” food list. And the food list was plentiful. This 14day cleanse removes all possible food allergies from your diet- no sugar, no dairy, no gluten, no caffeine and all organic. Tough? Yes. Impossible? No way. I was determined! No more excuses. By the end of the 2 weeks, I had dropped 10 pounds just by changing what I was putting in my mouth- no counting calories – no fake “sugar-free” gimmicks. I felt lean, my energy levels began to even out and my clothes were fitting better - all the incentive I needed to continue with this new way of eating. I was also feeling some momentum in my training. Things were moving in the right direction! Mentally I had made a shift to knowing I was on the right path to get me to race day…and beyond. Even though I recite the words every week during my warm-up in Inten-Sati- “As above so is below. This is what I know.”- I sometimes forget how true it really is. What you put out in the world is what you get back. What you choose to focus on shapes the path of your life. What you give is what you get. It was mid-June when I came across this post from Big Daddy Diesel- a blog of a triathlete that I follow. It struck me so profoundly, that I have to share it with you.

Destiny

So often hear that word thrown around. Many feel that we’re all predestined for this or that fate, predetermined to live this life or that life. Somehow, someway, mystically “meant to be”. I’m too wise to spit in the face of the cosmos or to second guess the presence of a higher power, but I don’t buy that laissez-faire, hands-off-the-wheel crap for a second. Yeah, I believe, elementally and fundamentally in my destiny and my dreams, but because I put that future in place. I set that goal, I fixed my gaze on that faraway destination, and if I’m ever going to have a puncher’s chance of getting there, that is ultimately up to me and only me. I don’t have the luxury of passing this buck to the whims of divine providence or to blame the great bogeyman on my fears or the miserable lot of life in the working class. The only “man holding me down”, the only force holding me back, is me. I don’t read my horoscope or heed the dictates of a zodiac sign or birthstone. Instead I’ve committed my life to willing my stars to order themselves as I demand. I refuse to be a passenger on my own journey or a bystander standing idly by, cheering from the sidelines in my own game. I’ll own my upshot, I’ll face my odds. I’m not following somebody else’s path or building according to a preset blueprint. If I’ll ever have a future worth telling, it won’t be read by some psychic reading my palm. It will be told in a story of blood, sweat, pain, and tears, in dark days of doubt and long nights of toil. Wielding this heavy hammer. Banging away. Framing and molding. Conceiving and creating. Intent on being the architect of my own destiny.

Wow! This was exactly what I needed to hear (well…read) at that moment, and I have read this post hundreds of times since then. I knew that if I was going to reach the starting line of Timberman (and hopefully the finish line, too!), I must not waver. No -way.

Several lessons were learned during the month of July. One: Traveling to PA or NH every other weekend to see family, while fun, is not conducive to sticking to a heavy workout schedule. Two: I need to take salt tabs on long bike/run bricks in 95+degree heat. (Go figure!) Because of our hectic vacation travel, most of the weekends we were home, I was working. I manuevered my schedule the best I could, but I felt like I still was missed many of my long bike rides. But I did the best with the time I had available. Swimming and running, for the most part, were getting done. Our NH vacation in mid-July made for great practice for hot & humid race day conditions. It was an oven most days, but we used that to our advantage to practice our nutrition & hydration…and learning that salt tablets are necessary for me to make it through these longer distances on hot & humid days. It was a tough go, but we put in the miles and got it done. Very satisfying!

The first weekend in August was the Kinzua Country Tango adventure race in our hometown of Warren, PA. It is one of my favorite races and weekends of the summer. So many friends come home for this race, so it is always a good time. When we decided to join forces to form a co-ed high school relay team (WAHS Class of 88), I volunteered to do the 2.5mile swim. I needed a new goal for this race. I needed to prove to myself that I could it. (And it would be good practice for Timberman). I completed the swim in 1 hour 5mins (still need to write a race report for this, too!) I was feeling good and was hopeful going into the final weeks to Timberman.

However, somewhere in the those last few weeks, I felt like I was starting to second guess myself. I was procrastinating over workouts and/or missing them totally. Putting the blame on “work” or “too much to do” or maybe I was having sympathy pains for Matt & his battle with shingles. Lame excuses, right? Maybe it was nerves or my own subconscious working against me. Don’t know why. Just was. How ironic that Tiffany’s Inten-Sati series for August zeroed in on whatever was going on in my brain at that time. This is the series. These are the words that got me thru to race day.

August Series
I am the change I want to see
I am done complaining
I set myself free!
MY life is on fire!
I am bursting at the seams
with PASSION, LOVE,
APPRECIATION, DESIRE!
I have the will to BELIEVE
I have the will to be STRONG
I have the will to be EXCEED
All excuses are GONE!
I have the courage and confidence to be
the warrior I am meant to be.
I have the power, strength to see my beauty and divinity.

And so I stopped complaining, stopped my pity parties, stopped being self-deprecating and began accepting where I was. And being grateful for the opportunity that lay before me. Was my training 100% according to plan or what I had envisioned it to be back in February? No. I guess a person doesn’t become super human in 6 months! But, I had made significant improvements in my endurance (maybe a tiny bit of speed- relative to where I was) and overall fitness. I was feeling HEALTHY and was anticipating what I could do on the racecourse. For the first time in a very long while, I really had no idea what to expect. Both nerve racking and exciting!

The Wednesday before the race, I worked a half-day and went home to pack. The goal was to leave Thursday morning. As I was scurrying around the house, I turned the corner from the living room to go upstairs. Midway thru the turn, I caught the little toe of my right foot on the corner of the baseboard on the wall. I fell on to the stairs, screaming in pain! SON OF A B@*#H!! After sitting for a minute, I refused to believe that it was anything more than a stubbed toe. It will be fine. Continue packing. It will be fine. And so I did…hobbling along ignoring the pain. It wasn’t until we were getting ready to meet a friend for dinner that night that I glanced down and did a double take of my right foot. It was noticeably swollen and rapidly turning purple & blue. Still refusing to acknowledge that there may be a problem, I put on my flip-flops and we went to dinner. When we got home, I decided I had better check it out further. I got my running shoe and attempted to put my foot into it. Painful, but I got it in. That’s all I needed to know. We were good to go!

My toe in the car on the way to NH. Made it thru the race. Still hurts now tho.

The Timberman in Cannan, NH. Very appropriate, right?

Thursday we drove up to NH, arriving at the farm in the early evening and got to share a game of cards and some delicious homemade berry pie with Matt’s cousin Abby and her friend Melissa. I slept well Thursday night. Abby, Melissa & kids left Friday morning. Matt and I got a bike ride and short run in, went to the grocery store and then relaxed for the rest of the day. I slept well Friday night and awoke Saturday morning not to an alarm, but to the sun shining on the red barn. Aahh. Saturday was a super quick pre-race swim, bike, run- prep race gear and then it was into the car to drive to Gunstock for packet pick-up and Ellacoya Park for bike drop off. I was super excited to have a purple swim cap (whew! No pink!) and that my bib was # 500! That seemed like a lucky number! We got our packets, walked thru the expo and then went to drop off bikes. I was in the middle of a row, but easy to find by the tree with the big dead branch above my rack. Perfect! Time to head back to the house to meet my mom, sister & nephews (arriving from PA) and Matt’s brother & nephew for dinner. I wanted to be in bed by 8:00, then it was 9:00. I made it in bed with lights out at 10:00pm. Typical. It wasn’t a good sleep, but not a bad sleep either. Also typical.

Sunday – Race Day! The alarm went off a 2:15am. I was able to easily eat my oatmeal. I packed a PBJ, Hammer Bar and bananas for the car. It was still a long time until my 7:20am start. We left the house around 3:15am and arrived at Ellacoya at 4:00am when the park opened. We parked easily and Matt immediately fell back to sleep in the car. I tried to sleep, but it just wasn’t happening. I remained quiet, trying not to disturb Matt. Times like this are when I love my Iphone! I passed some time posting on FB and reviewing the day’s weather. In the hour+ before transition opened, while Matt slept soundly, I was out of the car 3 times to go to the porta-potties. Might as well take advantage of clean potties with no lines early in the morning! I also put to good use my new head lamp. It’s dark in the potties at 4:30am! Best $12 spent at L.L.Bean!

Early morning photo of my WARRIOR arm for race day.

5:30am arrived. Matt got up and we headed to transition to set up. I am always amazed at how quickly this time before race start goes. It FLYS!! Before I knew it, we were at the beach in line for one last pee stop and getting ready to start. My wave started ahead of Matt’s, so he stood with me until my wave was called. He gave me a kiss, wished me luck and promised me that he would take it easy out there today- not to worry. (I still worried). The water was calm & a nice temp. This was the first time that I felt any nerves. We were running just late enough to the start that we missed swim warm-ups. Was this bad or would it not matter? I was about to find out!

There were 125 women in my wave. I decided to start on the inside close to the buoys, but a little further back. The gun went off and I soon found myself in a washing machine of swimmers. Typically this would freak me out and I would end up in a panic. Today- all it did was make me aggravated! A small victory for me already! After about 200m of bumping, kicking and grabbing feet, I escaped to the left a bit and found some space. From there on out, I found a groove and swam. I felt good, the water was clear to see other swimmers and also the safety kayaks. Which was a good thing because even though I felt great swimming, I am sure that I swam the course on a zig-zag. It seemed like I swam from a buoy to a kayak- back & forth- the entire time! A bit frustrating, but over all I was very happy with my swim time. The swim seemed to be over in no time!

I have never used wetsuit strippers because I have never had any issues getting out of my wetsuit…until today. It wasn’t anything catastrophic, but just annoying. At one point a guy in the row beside me offered to help get the last leg of my wetsuit off in exchange for helping him get the back of his bike jersey pulled down over his back. Deal! Then it was time to bike. YES!!

I felt confident on this bike course. It was fresh in my mind from our practice ride the month prior. My only strategy for today was to not go out too hard, aim to maintain a 90 cadence, get my nutrition in and hydrate. Oh! And to have fun! Since there was only 1 wave of women that started ahead of me, I got to pass a lot of guys on the bike to start, but soon the fast guys & girls from the later waves were in the mix. It was crowded at times and a bit challenging at the beginning of the course, but once I was out onto the highway (Rt 106), it was fun riding. I kept expecting to have Matt pass me at some point as his wave started only 10 minutes behind me. It wasn’t until I had made the half-way turnaround that I saw him on the other side of the highway. I shouted and waved. He waved back. I was relieved to see him and know he was doing ok. I was also excited to see that I had made it to the turnaround in 1 hour 30mins! I was pacing to possibly finish my bike around 3 hours! I had figured closer to 3 hours 30mins, so I was thrilled. I kept on moving along feeling excited and hopeful! The only down side to my bike was that I had forgot to put my Cliff Shot Blocks in my bento box. Luckily I had taped 2 GU’s to my top tube the night before…just in case. Even though the shot blocks sit better in my stomach, I used both GU’s. They gave me the pep I needed, but my stomach was starting to revolt. And by the last 5 miles of my ride, so were my quads. Big time. In the last downhill (no passing zone) into the park, I stood on my pedals to stretch my legs. They immediately began to seize! Terrified of my legs freezing while clipped into my pedals going 20mph, I instinctively sat and coasted into the park.

T2 was painful. My quads were on the verge of seizing and my stomach was on the verge of puking. And it was time to start the toughest part of my race – the run. I took my time in transition, remembered my shot blocks this time, taped the back of my ankles, grabbed my hat & fuel belt palm bottle and calmly talked myself thru my plan of how I was going to get through the next 13.1 miles. I had never run 13.1 miles before. I figured today was a good day to do it! I decided to walk out of transition & talk my legs into working for me. I started to run when I hit the timing mat. Ouch! I kept going. I have to admit, part of me was hoping that Matt would soon be right behind me and we could run this together. But he didn’t show. He stopped his race after his bike. I was on my own. I needed to get to the mile 1 aid station so I could get some Coke in me to help calm my stomach. And so I did. Around mile2, I looked up to see a woman in a blue race kit with “Race with Passion” on the back. I knew immediately who it was. So I yelled, “Hey Frayed Laces! You’re looking good there! I am a big fan of your blog!” She asked my name and we had a quick exchange. She wished me good luck on my first half and off she went. (BTW- She PR’d this race. Congrats, Laura! You are awesome!) Then I got to see the pro women coming back on their last 2 miles to the finish. I yelled to Chrissie (as everyone was doing). So awesome to see athletes of that caliber! Meanwhile, I continued to run aid station to aid station- grabbing water & Coke at each one. Little by little, my stomach seemed to cooperate as did my legs. Now mind you, none of this was pretty. But I was doing it! I repeated to myself, “No more complaining!” and “I CAN do this!” over and over again. I looked at the WARRIOR on my arm. Oh YES! I am a warrior! This was the toughest mental battle of my life and I was winning!

Finishing my first loop of the run.

As I was approaching the park for the turnaround loop, I heard Matt yelling my name, but I couldn’t see him. In my mind I was still looking for his yellow tri top. Obviously he had changed! Don’t worry, I found him! He told me I was looking good. I said, “This is painful, but I’m going to finish!” As I started out of the park for lap 2, Matt was there again. It was so nice to see him and have him there cheering for me! I thought the second loop would be torture, but I have to say that miles 7-10 were the best feeling of the day. I just kept my pace, walked the aid stations, got my nutrition in me and focused on the beautiful scenery. Oh! Have I mentioned how much I loved the ice cubes in my sports bra and the snow balls (crushed ice) that the local high school hockey team was handing out on the course? Heaven!

When I started approaching the park for the finish, I switched from “I can do this” to “I AM doing this! I am going to FINISH!!” As I was running down the chute to the finish line, I was elated! Bursting with pride! I saw Matt and Kryste with Danny in the backpack. I was so thankful that they were there for this moment! But as I crossed the finish line and Chrissie Wellington handed me my medal (Yes! I finished in time to get my medal from Chrissie!), I felt my stomach revolt. I pushed the kid getting ready to take my timing chip aside as I frantically searched for a garbage can. I didn’t find one. I ended up throwing up (just a little!) in the corner of the tent were the very kind woman was handing our cold bottles of water to finishers. I apologized and assured her I was ok. She was very sweet and said not to worry. Once I gathered my composure again, I went to the side of the fence where Matt was telling me that Chrissie was autographing people’s medals, jerseys, etc. There was a bit of a gap, so I went walked back to the finish line and asked Chrissie if she would sign my medal. She graciously said yes. I didn’t say much, but thanked her and told her she is AMAZING! She was so sincere and grateful. What an incredible gift to receive as a keepsake from my first 70.3!

Chrissie Wellington signing my medal!

Happy to be done and showing off my bling!

With my autographed medal in hand, I made my way out the back of the finishing chute to meet up with Matt, Kryste and Danny. As I weaved my way through the crowd, my eyes welled up with tears. In that quiet moment alone, it hit me. I did it. I really did it. Wow. I wonder what else is possible. What is the next step toward my destiny? And then I decided now was not the time to wonder. Now was the time to celebrate!

I found Matt, Kryste and Danny. We went to get some post race food and relax. As we were sitting in the grass eating, I got a text from my friend Jeff. He, Debbie and Zoe were arriving at the park! Hooray! It was so good to see them. But within a half hour, the storm started brewing. And it was a BIG one! We decided to pack it up and head back to the farm. I am glad we escaped when we did. Matt & I drove Kryste & Danny back to Gunstock to get their car as the line to take the shuttle bus was GIGANTIC and filled with sweaty athletes, bikes, gear, families, etc. There was pouring rain on the drive back. When I called my mom to tell here we were heading home, she said the electric was out. Matt & I stopped to pick up pizza & salads at the B.H.O.P. for dinner and visited back at the house. After Jeff, Debbie and Zoe left, I was more than ready for a hot shower! Matt reminded me that no power = no water pump. Rats! So in the car and to Newfound Lake we went for a post race ice bath! Not ideal, but the water wasn’t too chilly and it got the stink off! And with that the day was done.

It was a day that will live in my memory as one of my best. Not only did I achieve my goal, I surpassed it. I finished in 6 hours 18mins and1 sec.(Swim= 38:36 Bike= 3:01:08 Run= 2:27:15) But best of all, I spent my entire day saying, “Thank You!” It felt so good, too! I made sure to say thank you to as many people as I could- all day long!. The guys parking cars at 4:00am, volunteers on the bike course, police officers, people handing out water, high school kids at the aid stations, the guys picking up sponges and empty cups from the run course, other athletes, the woman serving clam chowder in the food tent and on and on. But my most special Thank You’s of the day went to Matt (my AMAZING husband!)and Kryste & Danny. To Jeff, Debbie and Zoe. To my mom and Ian when she called after the race. To my Dad in PA when he called after the race. To my friends and family who checked in via text, email or FB. Thank you for always being in my corner and supporting me! With love and gratitude…..

My family at our house in NH.

(Mom, Ian, Kryste and Danny. Matt and me.)