(race photos from Finisherpix)
Night Before
The night before
the race I was feeling really great. After hearing Ryan’s (the coach) soothing
words “You can do this, the hard part was all of the training, this is a
celebration, we are here for you, you are never alone” and Mike Reilly’s (the
Iconic Ironman announcer) soothing words “this is just a well-supported
training day, you WILL be an Ironman,” I felt a sense of confidence. They were
right - this IS just a well-supported training day, the hard work IS behind me,
this IS the celebration, and the team IS here for me.
I headed to bed at 8pm and that is when trouble hit. I
could not fall asleep! No matter how I turned I started to feel sick. I think
that I had overhydrated during the week and was paying the price the night
before the race. I will admit, there were probably some nerves, but I actually
wasn’t feeling all that nervous. I finally fell asleep around midnight – only 3
hours, 45 minutes before I had set my alarm. Luckily, I had completed my 120
training ride on less than four hours of sleep (thanks Reetika!) so I knew it
wasn’t the end of the world.
Pre-Race
I woke up at 3:45am and got ready to head out. My hotel
had breakfast at 4am! Despite not having much of an appetite, I forced myself
to eat oatmeal, a banana, and yogurt. I thought my lack of appetite was nerves
and didn’t think to take any medicine. I would regret this decision later.
I headed over to the race. Luckily, my parents found a
great parking space so they could walk to the transition with me. Despite
making a list of things to do/bring, I realized I left my fuel belt bottles for
the run back at the hotel (8 miles out of town). My dad came to the rescue by
bringing me some G2 from the car so I would at least have something in my run
transition bag.
My dad likes to pretend he is the one racing
Once everything was set, we headed up to meet Team Z for
the team wetsuit photo. Then it was time for hugs before heading off to the swim
start. I was feeling pretty pumped and enjoyed dancing to the music. When they
finally started letting people into the water, I waded in and hung by the side
(to the displeasure of Mike Reilly). It was great having my teammates with me
to calm the nerves and the sunrise was beautiful.
This is my game face (stolen from Lisa F)
Swim (1:50.19)
At 7am the cannon sounded and we were off! Swimming is my
least favorite activity by far. I tried to avoid the fray by swimming to the
outside. Unfortunately, I think I avoided the buoys as well because I realized
after several minutes I was all alone. A kayaker at one point pointed be back
on course (thanks!). I was surprised that I was quite comfortable in the swim (thanks
SOS swim clinic!) and just focused on trying to have good form and swim from
one buoy to the next. I finally reached the Orange buoys that signaled the half
way point and checked my watch (52 minutes! Eeek!). I realized I needed to pick
it up if I wanted to have more wiggle room for the bike cutoff. Despite having
what I thought was a better second half of the swim, it turned out to be slower
and I came out of the water after a much slower than expected hour and 50
minutes.
Hello dazed
T1 (10:30)
I knew I had to get a move on! Since I signed up for the
race, I have worried about the bike cutoff. Wisconsin is one of the hardest
bike courses, and I knew even at full health I would be cutting it really close
if I came out of transition any later than 9am.
I walked up the helix (cruel) and booked it to
transition. I grabbed my bag and an AMAZING volunteer and together we got me
ready for the bike. My one regret is I didn’t take the time to put on my own
sunscreen because the volunteers who did it forgot my forehead because of my
helmet! OUCH!
Bike (8:14.48)
You mean I have to bike 112 miles?!
I made it out of T1 at pretty much exactly 9am and I knew
I had to GO if I wanted to make the bike cutoff at 5:30mph. To be safe, I would
need to cover about 14mph which is slightly above the average I have been doing
on my long training rides. I mentally had broken up the ride into the 16 mile
stick, 25 miles to the Team Z cheering station, 16 more miles to the special
needs bags/halfway point, 25 miles to the Team Z cheering station, and 30 miles
home.
About a mile into
the ride, I dropped my salt tabs, turned around to get them, and caused a
crash. I felt AWFUL! I will blame the lack of sleep and disorientation from the
swim. The person was able to keep going though so hopefully I didn’t ruin her
day. Right after I got my salt tabs one of my water bottles fell off my bike. I
just let that one go! Lesson learned.
About 30 minutes into the ride, I went to go eat the ritz
crackers I brought and I realized I was in trouble. My stomach issues had NOT
gone away and I really didn’t want any of the food I brought. My nutrition strategy
took a big hit. As much as I could throughout the day, I forced myself to eat,
but I did not eat nearly as much as I should have. It would get even worse as
my focus turned from nutrition to making sure I made the cutoff.
After the (non)great start to the bike and the slow swim,
I started to get pretty nervous. The Wisconsin hills will kill you if you try
to take them too hard early. Prior to the race though, I had debated making my
race strategy to go hard on the bike and make sure I make the cutoff, whatever
the consequences on the run, rather than the customary “stay in zone 2” and
take it easy to save energy for the run. It looked like I had no choice but to go with
this strategy. I knew if I could make it to the run, I could finish the
marathon in the 6 ½ hours allotted before midnight. Running is my bread and
butter in triathlon. While I don’t consider a marathon easy by any stretch, I typically
run pretty well and have proven to myself I am capable of fighting to the
finish of a marathon. For the whole ride, when I hit the hills I switched to my
easiest gear and eased my way up them, but when I hit a flat or downhill, it
was FULL ON GO.
I covered ~15 miles in the first hours and was happy to
have a little wiggle room in the bank. I would need it! The Wisconsin course is
shaped like a lollipop – 16 miles out, two 40 mile loops, and 16 miles back. About
10 miles into the loop, we turned onto a part of the course that had been under
construction when I was out there in June. This part of the course was a LONG
uphill into a pretty strong headwind, for about 10-15 miles. Everyone slowed
down in this section, and I definitely didn’t hit my goal of 14 miles that
hour. In fact, I probably did closer to 10-12mph this section.
After this pretty rough section (in which any support from
the crowd/volunteers was not returned with my characteristic “Thanks!” but
rather a cold blank stare ahead as I was in the pain cave), I finally reached
the Team Z cheering station. It was great to see everyone and helped lift the
spirits. However, at this point I was definitely behind schedule and needed to
pick it up. Right after the cheer station, we hit the three big hills on the
course. These were lined with spectators who helped cheer us up them like at
the Tour de France but they were still tough. Luckily, the remainder of the back
half of the course provides plenty of opportunity for speed and I managed to
pick up some of my lost time. When I hit the 56 mile mark, it was about 4 hours
into the bike, giving me a little under 4 ½ hours to do the remaining 56 miles.
I got to the special needs point (the point at which I
could pick up a bag of stuff I dropped off in the morning – i.e. coke, gels,
tubes, etc) and realized I was not in good shape. I felt pretty lightheaded and
out of it. Despite giving up soda over two years ago, I had put Coke in my bag
because I have heard it works wonders. Thank goodness I did! I drank about 4 oz
of it, grabbed the snickers and other things I thought I might be able to eat
later (wrong), and got back on my bike. About 5 miles later, the Coke worked it’s
magic and I started to feel better. I enjoyed the rough section of the course
this time, and was even able to pass some people and thank
volunteers/spectators. I also managed to eat the snickers.
Feeling much better after coke/snickers
When I got to the Team Z station around 3, I knew I could
cover the last 32 miles or so in the 2 ½ hours I had until the cutoff thanks to
the fact that the second half of the loop was much quicker. I knew I would have
to MOVE though in order to do it. The team had been doing the math for my
parents and everyone was getting pretty nervous for me. Apparently my dad and
Ryan both told me I had to move it when I passed them, but I didn’t hear them
because I was too busy moving it, yelling “MARATHON
OR BUST” as I sped by. I told Sherri the same thing as I came across an
impromptu cheering station about 5 miles later. You guys rocked!
I struggled the last little bit, especially with shifting
into my big chain ring because my hand had no strength left (in fact, I still
don’t have full feeling in my pinky fingertips). Somehow, I made it up the
hills (which had much fewer spectators this late in the day) and to the transition
area after 8 hours and 15 minutes on the bike. 15 minutes! was the difference
between me continuing and ending my day.
T2 (8:18)
The relief I felt coming into T2 cannot be put into
words. With the help of another awesome volunteer, I somehow managed to
transition to the run. She asked about my nutrition (hahaha, what
nutrition?) and warned me to be careful
on the run to avoid stomach issues (too late!).
Run (5:47:41)
I started running immediately and felt pretty good. It
was great to be surrounded by people and to see other Zers on the course. I
made it to the Team Z cheer station at mile 1 (snickers in hand) and my parents
were very relieved to see I made it out on the course because the tracker hadn’t
updated yet.
The first half of the course was great! The course went around the capital, up state street (where all the shops/restaurants are), around the football field for the university, down by the lake, and back. There were plenty of people around as people were on both their first and second loops.
Despite thinking
I might blow up early due to the energy I had to use on the bike, I ran (slowly)
in between aid stations (other than a couple big hills), running off of the
energy I could muster from the coke/chicken broth/bananas at the aid stations.
I only ate one gel the entire run. I had several people remark to me how they
were really impressed with my running consistency which felt great. Thanks
Sherri and Kate for running with me to check in when I passed you! Your words
of encouragement meant a lot. I finished the first half in 2 hours 45 minutes,
giving me four hours to do the second half.
At this point I knew I had it in the bag. I would finish
one way or the other. I really just tried to enjoy the rest of the race,
thanking spectators/volunteers along the way. I started walking more at the aid
stations in order to ensure I got some calories in, but still managed to run
the majority of the second half of the course. As I passed people, I offered
them encouragement (we have plenty of time to get there, no matter how you have
to do it). I also gave away my second glow stick, and used the one that remained to help guide me and another racer through the dark portion of the course by the lake.
With a mile and a half to go until the finish, I started
to run and kept it up the entire way. The feeling of running up State Street
and around the capital as people told me “You are about to be an Ironman” is
indescribable. A random spectator put his arm around me (in a non-creepy way) and
ran up State Street with me, telling me how awesome I was for doing this. “Is
this your first one?! Yeaaaah Buudddy!”
Stolen from Lisa P
I got to the finishing chute and put my hand out for high
fives as I ran all the way down it. Team Z was in the stands and lit up when I
came by! I crossed the finish line and somehow missed Mike Reilly saying “Hilary
Heincer, YOU ARE AN IRONMAN” but that didn’t matter. My joy was overwhelming.
Two Team Z members caught me at the finish line, handed me my
medal/shirt/jacket, made me pretty for my finisher’s photo, and brought me to
my parents. I was too out of it to really thank you at the time, but THANKS!
The only unpleasant part about the finish was the fact
they ran out of Chocolate milk!! Mark and Mary can tell you how much this devastated
me, considering I had filmed an ad a mere 36 earlier to confess my love for the
liquid gold in order to win the endorsement deal I have been seeking. I don’t
know what disappointed me more – the lack of chocolate milk or the lack of
cowprint apparel (the reason I signed up for the race in the first place).
All told, I crossed the finish line in 16 hours 11
minutes. I met up with my teammates, stayed until midnight to see the final
finisher (awesome energy!), and then headed back to the hotel. I was up early
to stand in line for my finisher’s jacket (which I have worn daily). Paul and I chatted with three new
people (to me at least) about the race/our love of triathlon. I turned to my
dad (whom I had made drive me) and said “these are my people,” relishing in how
I have found such a home amongst triathletes. He replied “you should have come alone.” Poor
dad!
Happy Hot Mess
Overall thoughts
If there is one thing I have learned through this Ironman
process, it’s patience. My personal mantras that got me through this race were
to “just keep moving” and “keep calm and carry on.” This has impacted all areas
of my life, especially my job. When you sign up for an Ironman you sign up for
a long journey. It can be easy to lose the big picture in the midst of the
daily workouts/aches/pains. But if you commit to them, you will get the
results. Our team’s 100% success rate this weekend is proof of that! Despite
roadblocks you hit during training/racing, things have a tendency to work out
if you just stay calm and use your head/teammates. Let’s hope this new
perspective lasts!
I am now going to take some time to decide what my goals are for next season. I am so excited to have this race complete because there are several other things I want to do (hot yoga, strength training, hiking, etc). I have been signing up for one event after the other the last several years. I feel such a relief to have accomplished my goal and completed this Ironman. I feel like for the time at least, I can stop chasing the "next big thing" and just revel in whatever activity I choose to do each day. That is such a freeing feeling!
