1o Random Thoughts on Ironman

1. After completing a new distance (any new distance) in racing, your perception of shorter distance races changes. What used to be "the ultimate", is now not quite so grand (or hard). I experienced this when I did the 200 butterfly race, and my perception of the 100 fly completely changed. I believe that now this has occurred at the Half IM level for me as well. So Wierd!

2. The absolute best part of Ironman has to be the fans and volunteers! If they were not out there yelling your name (complete strangers, mind you), I believe that the purpose of this day would be lost

3. I cannot believe that I kept moving for 13:11:49... only sitting in T2 once (to lace up my shoes). Otherwise, consistently moving forward the entire race. Go! Go! Go!

4. The marathon is almost a blur, it flew by so fast (not technically...as I wasn't running a 3:30 or anything), but before I knew it the miles were done. I've never felt that way in a 'regular' marathon before!

5. I've made some great friends in my training for Ironman. Crazy people tend to stick together, which is what we are good at! (I never said that we were sane)

6. I can't believe we were swimming with a dead body in Lake Menona...glad that he surfaced after the race and not during! But, I doubt that anybody would have known, with all the arms and legs flailing.

7. The "Bitches" (hills) didn't seem as bad as when we were on training rides...attributed to the adrenaline pumping with all the people on those hills cheering and yelling I think. During training rides, not so much. Just you and your legs (and snot).

8. I think that besides swimming, biking, and running...nutrition is almost as important - if not more important during a race of this magnitude. Teaching your body to keep moving for that length of time on certain nutrition is required well in advanced of this race...every training ride and session counts!

9. They need to have a full book written on mental Ironman preparation, not just one sentence or paragraph stating that "you may become emotional during your taper period". They fail to mention that a fly could send you off a cliff with an emotional outburst or breakdown, causing the people around you to wonder if they should call 911 to commit you or not.

10. I cannot believe that I didn't sing to myself all day long on the course. I do this in shorter races and I even made little 'playlists' to pull out in case I couldn't think of other songs to sing to myself during the day. Nope! I think I only sang to myself in two spots - during the swim...which paces my arms (and what else do you do when you swim?) and when I was climbing up some of the "bitches" (hills). I was too entralled in watching people and fans to sing to myself, I think.

Post Race

Post Race: After chatting with family and friends for a bit at the finish line, I attempted to eat some food. Didn't really want to, but choked down a piece of pizza and a cookie. (You really DON'T feel like eating after these long races...believe it or not). Then Jake and I had to go get my bags and Pink Lightning and head back to the hotel to pack up our stuff, because he had to leave super early to get to work the next day. Unfortunately, I didn't get to hang at the finish line to see Cindy cross it - which bummed me out.

The crew at the finish line

Jen & Noelle showing off their pipes (a post race tradition)

Cindy & Noelle at Finish (Rockstars!)

"Team" at Finish (Jen M., Jen & Val)
Back at the hotel I did get to run into Cindy and get her 'recap' of the race, which made me happy. Both her and Noelle did so well! At the hotel, the fam met us up for a little recap at the room. I attempted to have a beer...choked down maybe half of it. Food + Drink = Not appealing to Jen at this point. That night I didn't sleep...I think I was too jacked up on caffeine from the Cokes at the water stops and the Gus that I consumed. That, and just the realization of the whole day just wasn't going to turn my brain off. Which was OK, as I had to get up early and head back to the Terrace again to go get my "Finisher's Gear", which opened up at 7:00 AM. We were in line by 6:00...let me tell you why.

Waiting in line for the Finisher's Gear (Jen M., Pam, Jen & Kim) By 7:15, the 'normal' sizes for all the decent gear were pretty much picked over and rampaged. It is just like Black Friday with crazy shoppers when they opened up those doors. People rushed in and just grabbed things off the racks. So funny! I ended up putting another small dent in the pocketbook on this little trip to the store too. The Finisher's gear I got: 2 jackets (1 normal, 1 bike), sweatshirt, ribbed 3/4 zip sweatshirt deal, t-shirt, tech-shirt, water bottles. After that craziness, I sat in the hallway and chatted with Brian, one of the coaches from our training weekend and recapped the race with him. What a super nice guy! Am so glad we met those people in June...was great to familiar faces during the race (except Brian was working in one of the Penalty Tents...so was a good thing we didn't technically 'visit' him during the race - ha ha!). Then I stood in line to get my pictures with Jen M., Kim & Pam (a.k.a. Mrs. Kona Qualifier!!! or Rockstar!). Picked up my pictures and my plaque - which turned out pretty good - and then headed back to the hotel to meet mom, dad & Stacy. Jake had loaded up the truck and was already half-way home, so I got to ride home with the fam. We stopped at Perkins on the way home, and saw Jonny, Val, Jen, & Mimi - just keep running into people we know! Surprisingly, I felt really good 1 day post-race. Legs a little sore, but not bad! The marathon this spring was 100x worse - as I was walking like a 100 year old for about 3 days! The only thing that hurt were the blisters on my toes. Still hadn't popped them, so everytime I hit them on something (back of car seat) - they just throbbed! Ouch!

Blister on Toe! (Yes, I know! Pedicure is a MUST!)

Run Video Clips

Here is some footage of the run on State Street

Jen at the Finish Line!!!

The Run & Finish

The Run: After getting out of transition, I had no idea how my legs were gonna feel for the marathon. Over the past week and a half when I was given permission to run again - my leg/foot took about 1/3 mile to 'warm up' and not tingle. I had NONE of that this day! I guess the 112 mile bike was enough of a warm up for those guys. 

Miles 1 - 6: I headed out on the run, planning to galloway (run 5 minutes, walk 1 minute) and just keep it strong and steady. My watch was set to beep at me and tell me when to walk or run...this watch was also borrowed by Val and had just run Louisville Ironman, giving her a stellar performance - so I was using it as my good luck charm at IMWI!

As I headed out, I saw my cheering crews again! Man, I loved them all! Jake asked me if I was doing alright and I smiled and gave the thumbs up and kept running. The surprising thing about the run, was that it went so fast...I tried to take everything in while my legs were doing their thing. Watching all the spectators, all the runners, reading all the signs, EVERYTHING! It was absolutely amazing! At about mile 3 we run around the football stadium (Camp Randall) on the football field and then head out to the running trail before we hit State Street (where the majority of the crowds are). 

 

At State Street, I saw Mom, dad & Stacy cheering loudly with their signs. The TCMC crew were back there again and Ironman Jim ran beside me and asked how I was feeling...my response was that I surprisingly felt better than I had in my Half Ironman races this summer (granted I was injured during those races...). It didn't feel too bad! Then I saw the Team IronJen crew and Jake, yelling and screaming.

Miles 7 - 13:

The run is a 2-loop course, so at mile 13, you get to see the finish line, you turn and do it all again! Everyone said that this is the most discouraging part of the race, to be so close to the finish line and have another 13 miles to go...but it didn't even phase me! After the turn around I stopped at my special needs bag for some Gu, and then got to run past all the cheering crews again a few blocks down!

Miles 14 - 18:

On the far portion of the run route, the running path was lined with the Janus signs that people made for their athletes...it spanned over a mile with back-to-back signs. I really liked this part, seeing all of the great motivational posters people made for their loved ones. I never did see the sign that mom, dad & Stacy made for me (Go IronJen & Pink Lightning) - but I was looking! At the Ford Motivational zone, they had music blaring and I got to see the message that Jake put up on the electronic board for me - which meant a lot to me! At mile 18, on the last turn around on State Street before heading back to the finish, the cheering crews were going nuts! Jake ran with me here for a little bit, giving me my last pep-talk and the Team IronJen girls were shouting that I could make it back by around 8:00 PM! I gave Jake a kiss and headed out on the final stretch to the finish line.

Miles 19 - 26.2:

I kind of picked up my pace a bit for this final stretch...I tried to keep my water stops minimal and just kept moving forward. It finally got dark with about 3 miles left to go. Athletes were getting their 'glow' bands, but I never was offered one - which was fine with me! I just kept going. I never had an instance during the marathon that the miles didn't just peel away, or where I was just dying to see the next mile marker. It flew by so fast! Before I knew it...I could hear the music and Mike Reilly announcing finishers names by the capital. I rounded the corner and saw the chute and was almost there!!! I guess I was pretty 'serious' looking going into the finish line (according to Jake) but then I threw my arms in the air as they said my name..."Jennifer Rehling You Are An IRONMAN!" I was actually pretty surprised that I didn't start bawling...I expected that I would really tear up. But I was too excited and wanted to go see Jake, my family, and friends. Final time: 13:11:49!!! My Run time: 5:01:41 / 11:30 min/mi pace. I finished before 9:00 PM, which was my goal (after the standard goal of just finishing!) 

The volunteers gave me my medal, a shirt and a finishers hat and escorted me to the "Finishers photo" area. They kept asking if I was OK and I kept telling them, they could leave me, as I was fine. I got my photo taken and then got out of the finishers area where I gave Jake the biggest hug & kiss! Then I got to talk to mom, dad, Stacy, Team IronJen and the TCMC crew for a bit. It was the most wonderful day!

 

Jen's Ironman Finish Photo!

IMWI 2009 Medals

Bike Video Clip

Jen & Pink Lightning biking through Verona

(Red / White / Blue TCMC uniform)

The Bike & T2

The Bike: The bike course in Madison is 112 miles long - consisting of a 16 mile stretch out to a town called Verona, then it is a 2 loop course (roughly 40 miles per loop) and then back from Verona into Madison again for the last 16 miles. For those that are not aware...this course has HILLS! This is considered one of the most technical Ironman bike courses in the U.S., including Kona. You are constantly on rolling hills or turning at 90 degrees, or climbing (what I affectionately call) the "Bitches" - the 4 major hills on the loop that you have to do twice. Plan for the bike is to go out super easy, take the first loop very conservative and keep it steady for loop 2...then the stick back to Madison, just do it (remembering I had to run a marathon after I got back)! Key goals for the bike was to keep my hydration and nutrition on task. I had my watch set to beep at me every 10 minutes to remind me to drink something. My liquid food was to be taken in every half hour, and my supplement pills, at the top of the hour. It is a science!

Jen & Pink Lightning on the course

I started out on the bike just like Jonny said to - in my low chain ring and spinning it out nice & easy out to Verona. Kim (a girl I train with) passed me on the bike in Madison and was cruising! I felt pretty good going out to Verona, and was holding about 19-20 mph. Leg and foot weren't even numb! Awesome!

I little before Verona, I went into my large chain ring and decided to keep it there...I was feeling great and was trying to keep telling myself to actually slow down. Don't get too excited here...it is a long day out on the bike. I was holding a pretty fast pace, but it felt really easy.

In Mount Horeb (~30 miles in), Noelle passed me on the bike. We chatted briefly and she was off. I half debated to try to keep pace with her, but that lasted 2 seconds when I scolded myself and remembered that this was my own race, and to keep pacing myself nice and easy. It is a long day to go still! At about mile 45, the "bitches" #2 and #3 came up - as I had attempted standing briefly on a couple of the short 90 degree ascents earlier in the ride, my legs felt super rubbery in that position...so on the big hills I kept in the saddle for the whole ascent (#2 is about a mile long!). With all the people, signs, chalk, etc - the hills didn't seem as bad as when we were there for training. Thank god for adrenaline!

On the last "bitch" (#4), the TCMC crew was a waiting towards the top. Was awesome to see them there cheering and jumping up and down. At this point, I was about 30 minutes faster than my predicted pace. So was feeling pretty good.

Coming up Bitch #4 - Smiling & Waving!
I got back to Verona for the completion of Loop #1 and got to see my awesome cheering crews #2 and #3! Mom, dad, and Stacy were waving and yelling as I flew by, and Team IronJen did the same. Jake did his job and yelled out to me to "Eat!", in case I had forgotten. (Nope! I was on task!) I stopped at the special needs bags at mile 56, and all I wanted out of that thing was my wet naps. My aero bars were SO sticky with my Carbo-Pro (food), I could barely get my fingers off of it! So I wiped those down, grabbed a swig of Coke, and took off in no time at all. On to loop #2. On this loop, I was slowing down a bit...I knew I had a ways to go until I might see any more of the people I knew on the course. And those darn "bitches" again....augh! Well, I hit the hills again and made them all without standing. On the last hill, with the TCMC'ers - Ironman Jim ran me up the hill and talked to me until the top. I SO needed that boost! I knew once I made that last hill, that the rest of the course would just fall into place and be fine.

 

Gotta Make It..Up...The...Last...Hill!

Ironman Jim, Steve G. & Jonny J running Jen & P.L. up the last hill

Heidi, Jonny J & Val on the hill (Go Team!)
Back in Verona, for the last time, I got another glimpse of Mom, dad & Stacy and as I went by the IronJen crew (and Jake), they started singing "Somebody call 911!!!", which made me laugh! Jake had filled them in on this little 'joke' and they wanted to make me laugh as I went by this last time on the bike. It definitely worked! Those cheering crews of mine were the absolute best on the bike course! By far my favorite part of the day out there!!! On the stick back to Madison, I was slowing down a bit more still...but I didn't care. I only had a little bit left and wasn't gonna kill myself. I was WAY ahead of my expected split and was going to make it back into town soon. My feet were hurting a bit, so was curious how that was gonna feel when I got off the bike. I also think I got stung by a bee somewhere on this stretch... whatever. I didn't care at this point. Back in Madison, I got back to the helix and rode 'er up to the transition area. The bike takers took Pink Lightning from me and I headed into the Terrace. Bike time was 6:39 - I wanted to get in around 7:00 or under. Was very happy about that...as I knew that since it was 3:00 PM at this point in time...I could walk the whole marathon and make it in by midnight. No problem, this Ironman thing was going to be mine! T2 Transition: In transition 2 I grabbed my bag and heard Leann, Erica and Corrine yelling at me and cheering me on (they are friends of mine that were volunteering in there). I was so excited to see those guys! I ran into the changing area and had a lovely volunteer help me get all set. I changed into a running outfit, took my supplements, grabbed my running belt, and then quickly stopped at the restroom before heading out on the run. Only 26.2 miles to go!!! 

Leann, Erica & Corrine in T2

Swim Video Clips

Stacy got some good footage of the swim. What chaos! Check it out.

Here's a clip of me running up the Helix after getting out of the water & going to T1

(blue swimsuit & waving)

The Swim & T1

The Swim: Noelle, Cindy and I filtered into the swim chute just around the time the National anthem was being played. I swam out to the 'ski ramp' and was going to start the swim semi-near the front of the crowd (maybe about 20-30 feet from the front line) and just a tad 'wide'. The plan for the swim was just to keep it loose and swim steady. Not going for any speed records here - is just a 'warm up' for the day. We bobbed in the water for about 4 to 5 minutes until the cannon fired. And we were off!

Lining up at the swim start
The first minute required you to swim heads up - to see what the heck was going on. Imagine arms and feet just flailing, causing the water around you to be one big, bubbly mess! The course is a 2-loop rectangle, and the first length was just pandemonium. Who cares about swim technique here...just survival!

The best part of the swim was looking out at the Menona Terrace, that was lined with people from top to bottom! Was so amazing to see all those bodies...which I'm sure they were thinking the exact same thing as they looked at all of us, flailing in the water.

The top of Menona Terrace - Spectators
The absolute worst part of the swim came at the first 90 degree turn. Everyone descending on one small point, attempting to change direction was just like a whirlpool! I made it around the buoy and just kept going. A couple times I literally had to stop, tread water for a bit to allow stupid people to get out of the way, and then I would curse at them (not that they could hear me...but it made me feel better). At the end of the first loop, I checked my Garmin and saw I was at 33 minutes...which was below my expected split. Loop two, I decided to take it wide and swim out a bit from the crowd. This allowed me to have about 5-10 feet of open water in front of me so that I could actually do a proper swim stroke. What a concept! It was still crazy at the 90-degree turns, but then I got back out to my spot with open water. I came into the final stretch and swam it into the finish chute. A volunteer helped me out of the water as I glanced at my watch. 1:12 was my split - I was very happy, as I had estimated around a 1:15 for my time, based on my Half Ironman swims this year.

Next, I ran over to the wetsuit strippers. Down I went, and off came my wetsuit - the coolest thing! I grabbed my wetsuit and started running up the helix to the T1 area. I got a big yell from my two cheering groups on the helix and then headed into the Terrace.

T1 Transition: In transition, I grabbed my bag in the convention room and went into the changing room. I decided to change every 'sport', so had to get out of my wet swimsuit and into my bike uniform. I for some reason didn't have any 'helpers', so it was a bit tricky to put on the sports bra and uniform top by myself, slightly wet. I got it done, put on my bike shoes, belt with my bib number, and helmet and headed out the door. Collin was my 'sunscreen' guy - who wiped me down on my arms and legs and then I was off to grab Pink Lightning for the 112 mile bike ride. I saw Jake and Team IronJen as I was heading to the helix to ride my bike down out to the course. They were cheering loudly and pumped me up! And then the bike leg began...here is where the endurance of this race actually starts!

Jen and Pink Lightning on Bike Out

Pre-Race

Saturday: I got up and went out to the Terrace to run for 15-20 minutes. I ran into some of the girls who were at the Gatorade swim and/or spectating - including Kat, who we met in August on our training ride (she is from Chicago), Val & Jen (a.k.a. "Team"). 

 

Me, Kat, Val & Jen at Lake Menona
After the run, I took Pink Lightning out for a spin to get her gears all checked out. I was still fretting about the valve extender and thought I'd just replace the tube/extender when I got back to the hotel. Well, I couldn't get the air out of the tube (no tool) and decided I'd need to call my personal mechanic (Jonny) to assist or I'd go insane thinking about this issue all night before the race. I got all my bags packed up for transition and special needs and Jake and I headed to the Terrace to drop off Pink Lightning (& get 'er fixed up) and the bags. Jonny met us and looked at the situation - said it looked like it would be fine to race on...then looked at my worried face and said "OR...we can just change it". That's what we did, and got P.L. all checked in and bags dropped off.

My bike rack spot

Bikes set up in transition
Mom, dad & Stacy got into town and so had "the girls" (Heidi, Maggie & Andrea). The girls were the sweetest things - they had delivered a huge pink bouquet of flowers to the hotel and a good luck note. Of course I started crying...they are the absolute best!

I took my sleeping pill that night and tried to sleep - I got about 4-5 hours of sleep (I think) and then Cindy and I headed to the race site Sunday morning at 5:00 AM. Sunday: At the Terrace, we met up with Noelle at the bikes and got them all checked over. I put in air to P.L.'s back tire again and I SWEAR air was leaking out a bit still. Slight Panic!!! Called Jonny quick (as he was there) and then just decided - screw it! The air wasn't leaking out now and seemed to be holding fine. It will be just fine for the race. I got body marked (I told them to mark over my bruise on my arm from Jake's tailgate incident - so I didn't look like a battered woman) and went into the Terrace to do a quick bag check and chill out in the hallway until we got shuffled down to the swim start. My Cheering Crew: The girls and Jake showed up and met me in the hallway - again, the girls teared me up with their display of support via their 'custom' Team IronJen t-shirts they had made up the day before and their IronJen visors! And Jake sported his custom shirt we had made stating: "I don't do triathlons, I do a triathlete" (with "Go IronJen!" on the back). They are the best!

Noelle, Maggie, Andrea, me, Heidi, & Cindy

We went down to the start via the helix (parking ramp spiral) and I ran into Mom, Dad & Stacy in their "Team Pink Lightning" apparel and signs - which teared me up AGAIN! Man, you'd think I was PMS-ing or something!

Mom, me & Stacy (Dad taking pic)
And last but not least, I ran into the TCMC crew on the way down...Ironman Jim gave me a great big hug and told me to have fun. Of which, I again started to lose it. So I had to keep moving towards the swim start before I totally was a puddle. I then dropped my clothes bag off and stood in line with Cindy and Noelle to enter the water. Cindy seemed calm and happy, I started to calm down and threw a smile on my face, and Noelle seemed a bit tense but strong. Man...we were ready to get this thing done with! The swim was about to start!

Cindy, Noelle & Jen