You are an IRONMAN!!

I can't even tell you how good it felt to hear those words when I crossed the finish line - You are an Ironman! After 7 months of grueling training, everything had come together in one exhausting and exciting day. I finished the Ironman in 12 hours and 26 minutes. I was really happy with that time and proud of myself for pushing through the entire race. My Dad ran across the finish line with me, while I was laughing and crying at the same time. Although I have been training for the Florida Ironman for the better part of this year, I have really been preparing for this since I started triathlons in 2001. The Ironman has always been my ultimate goal, and it felt amazing to run through that finish line with my whole family waiting on the other side. What an awesome journey.
















Here is a summary of the race itself as well as the days leading up to it. I am excited to share it with all of you who supported me! It's a little bit long, but I hope you enjoy it!


Thursday - Ironman Registration (2 days before)
Johnce and I arrived late Wednesday night, so Thursday was the first full day we were there. I woke up to the sound of the ocean and a truly gorgeous view from our condo. There was turqouis water and white sand as far as I could see in both directions. Gatorade sponsored a practice swim in the ocean that morning, so Johnce and I drove over to the race area first thing. This was great because I was able to swim through the actual swim course for the race. When we got there, Ironman athletes were everywhere. I was so pumped up to see all these incredible athletes preparing for the race. Even on the way there we passed people biking and running down the road. The weather was amazing - the sun was shining and the water was calm as could be. I put on my wetsuit and jumped in the water. I swam around for about 30 minutes, just loosening up by swimming easy and enjoying myself. Starting the day off with a swim was a great idea because I was beaming with excitement afterwards. We went back to the condo to clean up, picked up my parents and grandparents (who had just arrived), and then headed back to the race area for registration. Registration was hectic. I had to stand in line for nearly an hour before being rushed into the athlete tent for weigh-in and packet pick-up. After signing some forms and collecting all my pre-race materials, I was free to go. My family and I walked around the Ironman Village for a while, bought some Ironman paraphanelia, and then went to lunch. We found a really neat restaurant right on the beach with a great view of the water and then walked down the beach for a while after eating. The rest of the day was spent relaxing. Johnce and I watched a gorgeous sunset that night (the first of many during the trip). That night I attended the Pre-Race athlete meeting where we received some last minute details/instructions and then we started packing my transition bags. This was a pretty complicated process. Unlike normal triathlons where you place all your stuff on a towel in the transition area, Ironman races require you to pack a bag for each stage of the race. I had to pack a Swim-to-Bike bag and a Bike-to-Run bag, as well as Bike and Run Special Needs bags (given to you halfway through the bike and run courses). I had a checklist written out so that I didn't forget anything, and I spent a good hour Thursday night packing for the race. Then I went to bed and tried to get some sleep..

Friday - Bike & Transition Bag Drop-Off (1 day before)
I started the day off with another Gatorade swim on Friday. I only swam for about 20 minutes this time, but I wanted to loosen up. It also helped to calm my nerves a little. It was another gorgeous day with perfect weather and calm water. I was getting really excited for the race at this point, and also starting to feel some nervousness. While I was swiming, Johnce did some research for me. I needed to get a new bike computer because mine had stopped working, so he walked around to find out where I could buy one later. We went home for breakfast and then headed back to the race area for the bike and transition bag drop off. Unfortunately, this was a little stressful. The first place we went didn't have the computer that I needed, so Johnce stood in line to talk to the mechanics while I ran around trying to find another computer vendor. I found a computer at a vendor down the road right when Johnce got to the front of the other line. So I ran back, found out my computer was definitely broken, and then ran back to the other place to get the new computer put on my bike. In the process, Johnce lost one of my transition bags and I almost had a heart attack. We collected ourselves, found the bag, and finally (about 1 pm) got my bike and transition bags safely in the transition area. When we got back to the condo, Katie and my other Grandpa had arrived. It was so fun to have everyone together! We had lunch and then played on the beach for a while that afternoon. I felt like the mom sitting carefully on the beach with my hat and sunglasses while Johnce and Katie played in the water. We got to see another incredible sunset that night too. My mom and my grandma cooked a good dinner for me that night (chicken and pasta) and I started to get focused on this task ahead of me. At dinner, Katie gave me one of the coolest presents I have ever received. Most of you probably already know about this since you participated, but she had collected note cards with words of encouragement from nearly 100 people - extended family, friends from high school, friends from college, friends from work, and more. At first I was confused because I saw a note from a friend at work and then a note from my grandpa, but when I realized that Katie had teamed up with Johnce and my mom to collect these note cards from everyone I know, I started crying. It was awesome to see all the support, love, and encouragement coming from people all over the country. In this emotional moment, I also asked my Dad if he would run across the finish line with me. He has been my biggest athletic supporter and teacher since I was a little girl, so I couldn't imagine anyone I would rather have asked to share this special moment with me. So, after we were all done crying, I went to bed and tried to get some rest for the big day ahead. It took me about and hour and a half to fall asleep, but I finally did and got a few hours of sleep before my alarm went off at 4 a.m. the next day....race day!!

Saturday - Ironman Race Day!
Race day started at 4 a.m. when the alarm went off. I jumped right out of bed since I hadn't slept much anyway and started to prepare my breakfast. My coach had instructed me to eat 800-1500 calories (60g carbs, 25g protein) that morning since I had such a strenuous day ahead. My stomach was a little too nervous to eat, but I managed to stuff down 3 mini bagels sandwiches with peanut butter and a banana. I had been drinking water with dissolvable electrolyte tabs for the past few days to stay hydrated, so I made myself one more of these "cocktails" for the road. I packed a PowerBar for the road as well, but I couldn't stand to eat any of it. When I got to the race area, I first had to drop off my special needs bags. Then I headed into the transition area to get body marked (my favorite part of the race!) and make sure that all my transition items were still in place from the day before. I double checked my bike and pumped the tires one last time. I also met a few girls that were racing in my age group - a few of them first timers like me. It was really exciting to be there and see all the athletes walking around. I wasn't nearly as nervous that morning as I thought I would be! Instead I felt more like a competitor than a first-timer. Once I had everything set for the transition area, I dropped off my "Morning Dry Bag" with my last minute items and clothes and then headed toward the water to start putting my wetsuit on. I found Johnce on my way out and we sat down together for a second so that I could collect my thoughts. I wanted to have a few minutes of calm before heading out to the water to line up. After I got my wetsuit on and headed over to the start area, I finally found my family. They were lined up along the railing that led down to the water. I got really choked up when I saw them and almost lost it! They were all wearing the Team Suzanne shirts that Katie and Johnce made and it was so awesome to have ALL of them there to cheer me on! I could see how excited they were to be there and to see me go by, so this really got me excited and calmed those last nerves. I gave everyone hugs and kisses and then headed to the starting line!


The Swim - Little Fish among the Sharks
I cannot even begin to tell you how pumped up I was right before the swim start. I was standing there with my feet in the water, realizing that I was about to start the IRONMAN!! I have been thinking about this moment for the last 6 years and it was finally here!! I couldn't even stand still. The pros started 10 minutes before us, so I spent that time until we started trying to soak in all the excitement. There were spectators lined up along the beach, helicopters flying around taking pictures of the battle in the water, and Ironman athletes surrounding me. It was amazing. I tried to position myself toward the front of the group but near the side so I wouldn't get trampled. I'm a strong swimmer, but I am also very small compared to all the men I was standing next to. When the gun went off, I started running into the water with the masses. We all started swimming and it was instant chaos! Every time I looked up all I could see were flaling arms & legs and churned up white water. I was smiling ear to ear under water just thinking that this was the coolest experience ever. I started getting worried that I was going too fast or too slow because I was caught in this chaos, but I just told myself to put my head down and SWIM! There wasn't anywhere that I could go anyway. About 5 minutes into the swim I swallowed a big gulp of salt water and had a moment of panic. I was trying to cough or throw up or something....I tried to raise up and catch my breath, but when I looked behind me I realized that I was about to get trampled by the masses of people swimming behind me. Somehow I managed to stick my head back in the water and start swimming again. The rest of the swim went really well after that. It thinned out a little and I was able to get into a good groove on the way back to shore. I thought that I might be doing well because I could see people still on their way out when I was heading back to shore. I also didn't see any women around me and realized I was in a big group of men. Women wore blue caps and men wore white, so it was really easy to tell. The swim course was two loops, so I kicked it in when I was heading back to the shore on the first loop. I kept thinking that people would be watching the Ironman website from home and I had to atleast put out a good swim time! When I stepped out of the water on the first lap, my watch said 27 minutes. I was really pumped up because I was hoping to finish my swim in a little over an hour and I realized that this was possible! I ran along the beach and then jumped back in for the second loop. It was a little hard to get started again since running on the beach had raised my heart rate quite a bit. I got into a good groove again about halfway out on the second loop though and really felt great for the rest of the swim. I actually think that the congested swim played to my advantage because I didn't have to worry about sighting. In most smaller races, we start in waves and I am usually toward the front of my age group. I have to sight the whole time, which can be exhausting and frustrating to swim in a straight line. In this race I was just able to put my head down and swim. As long as I could see someone on both sides when I breathed, I knew I was probably heading in the right direction. My family told me after the race that they were all going crazy when they saw me come out of the water so far ahead on the first loop and then again after the second loop! I finished in #145 out of around 2500 athletes, so I imagine that was pretty cool to see from a spectator point of view...a little munchkin among all those big, strong guys :) After I was done swimming, I had to run up the beach, through some sprinklers, and then into the transition area. I started pulling off my wetsuit in the transition area and actually threw up while I was doing it!! I didn't even realize that was coming, but I guess I had swallowed too much salt water. Ironman transitioning was awesome because they had volunteers to help you. When they saw me throw up, I heard someone yell, "Someone needs to go help her!!" They came over and led me into the transition tent. Someone had picked up my Swim-to-Bike bag and poured it out on the ground in front of me. I put on my socks while the ladies helped put my shoes on. There were only 2 other women in the tent since we were among the first women to finish the swim, so I got lots of attention...and it was much needed! Once I was all suited up, I ran out of the tent and found someone holding my bike for me. I just grabbed it and hopped on! Ready to start the 112 mile bike ride...

Bike - Fish out of water!
I felt great as I headed out of the bike chute. I was still pumped up from the swim and was ready to keep up the lead on the bike. I saw Katie and Johnce cheering as I was coming out of the chute and I gave them a holler. Then reality set in. My legs were really tight from the swim and I couldn't seem to loosen them up. I tried to spin them out, but I didn't feel like I had any power. The theme of my bike ride quickly became "Fish out of water." Since I had finished so far ahead on the swim, I was quickly getting passed by all the fast men on the bike. And I mean quickly! I was blown away by all the gorgeous bikes that I saw going by! I knew that this was going to happen since everyone starts at the same time for the Ironman (rather than in waves), so I wasn't too bothered by it at first. They were all really nice and they would encourage me as they went past (your name is on your bib, so people could cheer you on by your name rather than just your number). However, after about 30 miles I started to get frustrated because I wasn't passing ANYONE. Normal looking (non-semi pro) people started passing me too. I kept my pace (16-17 mph) and tried not to think about getting passed. Instead I concentrated on my nutrition and staying loose. After about 50 miles I started having some mental breakdowns. The wind was strong and I couldn't seem to get my mph over 16 or 17. I knew that this was slower than I had planned on riding, so I started to feel like it was going to take me ALL day to finish. I was getting frustrated with myself for not going faster, but I didn't feel like I had any power in my legs. I remembered my coach saying something about counting one time in practice, so I tried this on the bike. I would count to 100, then count by fives, count up by 2's, count to 30, etc. This actually really helped to take my mind off how fast I was going so that I could just ride. After a while I got tired of counting, my knees and foot had started to hurt, and then I started panicking again that I wasn't going to be able to run a marathon! I decided to stop for the bathroom and stretch my quads. This helped a little. The main difference between this ride and my training rides was that I didn't get to stop. On my training rides I would stop every 30 miles or so to stretch and get water. In the Ironman, they hold out water, gatorade, bananas, PowerGel, etc. for you so that you don't have to stop on your bike. It's great because you don't lose time, but I realized that I didn't practice staying on the bike for 6 hours straight! The other big difference is that there is no drafting, no talking, and no riding next to anyone, so basically you are all by yourself for the entire ride. This made for a very lonely 7 hours. I was starting to feel pretty loopy by the end of the ride. I kept counting off and on when I found myself getting frustrated. I also would read peoples names on their bib and then spell them outloud in my head...anything to keep me distracted. My nutrition went pretty well on the bike. I drank my Perpetuem (liquid carbs) and ate a PowerGel (Gu) every hour. I also took 2 electrolyte pills every 30 minutes. Toward the end of the ride I felt depleted, so I started eating bananas at the aid stations. I stuck to my plan of eating on the 0, 30, 60 and using electrolyte pills on the 15 and 45. It seemed to work well, although I ran out of Perpetuem early and had to start eating more PowerGel. Things went on like this for a while. I couldn't wait to be done. You have all that excitement coming out of the swim with so many spectators around, and then suddenly you are riding in the middle of nowhere with no one around. It's a strange feeling. Another issue I had was that my neck was so tired by the end of the ride that I couldn't even hold my head up. I didn't want to sit up on the bike because of the wind, but I couldn't hold my neck up in the aero position. This was very dangerous, but all I could do was lift my head enough to see the next 30 feet ahead on the road and then ride with my head down looking at the ground for that 30 foot stretch. I was so uncomfortable and this seemed to be my only option. Luckily the roads were pretty smooth. By 90 miles or so, all I wanted in the world was to be finished with that bike ride. I never felt like I was in a groove, and I was ready to be done. I kept thinking I would turn the next corner and get a strong tailwind, but it always seemed to be another headwind. Just keep riding...just keep riding. Finally I was almost done. I saw the end of the bike course up ahead and started getting all choked up. I couldn't breathe since I was starting to cry, so I had to make myself stop crying through that last mile. I didn't know how I was ever going to run a marathon at that point, but I motivated myself by deciding that I had to suck it up and pass all those people who had passed me on the bike!

Run- Passing people one cup of broth at a time
I think I was so happy to be finished biking, that I forgot how hard it had been. Somehow I felt like my spirits had been renewed by the time I handed my bike off (I don't even remember giving it to anyone). I was given my Bike-to-Run bag and I started heading to the transition tent. This time the tent was much busier and I didn't have anyone to help me at first. I started putting on my running shoes and finally a volunteer came over to help. She took all my biking gear and helped me figure out what I wanted to carry on the run. As I ran out of the transition tent, there were volunteers there to rub sunscreen on my shoulders. They really spoiled us! I stopped by the bathroom before I started the run, and then I headed out toward the course. I felt renewed and was excited to see Johnce and Katie at the start of the run. Several of the spectators were cheering for runners just getting started, and it made a huge difference that they were cheering for me by name! The first three miles of the run were pretty tough. My stomach started cramping from all the food I had eaten on the bike. I knew it would go away, as the first few miles of the run are always hard, so I didn't let it get me down. I made a promise to myself that I could walk through each aid station, but that was the only time I was allowed to walk. I kept this system through the entire marathon. I also tried not to think of the run as a "MARATHON." For some reason that is too mentally huge for me to think about, so I felt better just thinking of it as a long run. I knew I could get through a long run because I had done so many of these throughout my training. Once I got through those first few miles and had my stomach back in working order, I settled into a pace. I really felt surprisingly strong! I was passing people left and right and this helped to pump me up. I was surprised at how many people were walking on the run portion. My family was cheering around mile 5 of the run, so I was really happy to see them. The run course went through a residential area, through some condos, and then deep into a state park. There were lots of motivational signs posted in the state park area, as well as the turnaround mat. I concentrated on making my way to the first turnaround because I knew I could make it back from there. I saw my family again on the way back. My Dad later told me that he had never seen me looking so determined and "all business" in all my years of athletices. For the first loop, I mostly just ate PowerGel and drank water. I had a few bananas also and tried some cola, but I really wasn't that hungry. I saw Katie and Johnce again at the 12 mile turnaround. I really thought that running two loops was going to be very mentally tough for me (it usually is), but for this race I felt more confident on the second loop since I knew where I was going. I stayed positive and was able to mark my progress by remembering where the next aid station was. What helped me keep going the most was (again) counting!! I must have counted to 10,000 during the run. I would count 100 steps on my right foot and then 100 on my left. Then I would count to five on each several times, then ten on each. I know that sounds weird, but by the time I was tired of counting, I was usually in sight of the next aid station. I did this almost every mile, just counting my way to the next time I could walk! On the second loop of the run, they started serving chicken broth. I've never practiced with chicken broth, but it tasted like heaven on earth. It was warm and salty, and I started to look forward to it at each station. I would even get annoyed if they didn't have it at one aid station! I stuck to drinking a cup of water and a cup of broth at each station, and then eating half a PowerGel at every 2nd or 3rd stop. Somehow I was able to stay strong and I kept pushing for the entire marathon. My quads were feeling really tight, but I was keeping my strength knowing that I was still passing people throughout the whole run. I remember that I stopped for the bathroom a few times and I could barely stand back up! My knees also buckled a few times as I was walking through the last few aid stations. It's amazing what you can get your body to do by the power of positive thinking. After the turnaround in the back of the course, I knew that I just had to make it back to the starting area and then I would be done! I counted my way back and started to see mile 23, 24, 25. Oh my gosh! I was about to finish the Ironman. I got a little choked up around mile 25, but I was so determined to finish that it didn't last long. I kicked it in and and soon enough I saw Katie running along the fence telling me that I was almost done. Then I saw my family on the sideline and my dad standing there about to jump in with me...I knew it was time. I started sprinting toward the finish. My dad couldn't even keep up with me! It was so exciting to finish and hear them call my name as an IRONMAN. My dad had his arm around me and I just started laughing and crying. My whole family was waiting for me on the other side and there were hugs all around. It was one of the best moments of my life.

Finishing Time and Stats
I finished the Ironman in 12 hours and 26 minutes! I was really excited about my time. I felt like my training had paid off, and I couldn't have asked for a better first time experience.

Here are my splits:

Swim Time 58:11
Swim Pace (100m) 1:32
T1 4:12
Bike Time 6:49:25
Bike Pace 16.4 mph
T2 5:15
Run Time 4:29:47
Run Pace 10:18 per mile
Total Time: 12:26:48

I heard someone say that 99% of the Ironman race is getting to the starting line. It is not just about what happens on race day, but it is about the entire journey. This couldn't be more true. By the time race day came, I felt confident and prepared that I would be able to finish the Ironman. I could not wait to just get out there and tackle anything that came my way. Becuase of a grueling and challenging 7 months of training, I learned how to stay mentally strong no matter what is facing me, and I have grown so much through this experience. I feel very blessed to have this opportunity to race with so many incredible athletes and be supported by so many amazing people. The Ironman race itself was a fun way to end the challenging and life-changing journey.

I can't say thank you enough for all your well wishes and support! You have no idea how much it helped to know that I had so many friends and family encouraging me on race day.

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