The night before the race I had an early dinner with my family who came down to support me and see their “crazy” sister do an Ironman. I was expecting that I would not be able to sleep the night before the race, but I slept like a baby and woke up at 4:00 am feeling thrilled that I actually slept. I had my usual pre-race meal, of water, oatmeal, ensure, and coffee to go in the car. 

6:00 am ­ We arrive at the race site- the morning was calm, dark, and humid. The air felt warm, which made me very happy. I much prefer racing in hotter vs cooler temps. I had no idea what I would feel like when this day arrived, but I was confident in my training, and felt as ready as I could be. I didn’t want to show it, but I had a huge smile inside of me, and I thanked God for the privilege to be a competitor in such a special event.

7:30am ­ Mass swim start at Lake Minneola, (gator infested per native Floridians), I kiss my husband and we begin the race. I actually enjoy mass starts, (most of the time); I think its one of the thrills of triathlon. The water temp was 77 degrees and calm. The first loop was really nice. I was in a good pack of people and was able to get a comfortable rhythm going without having to sight too much. The second loop was less enjoyable, mostly because I was pulling a lot more of my own water, with fewer feet to draft off. Also, I had to sight much more, which I find sort of annoying. I had never done an open water swim of this distance, but I kept a fairly steady pace and did not feel too tired after exiting at 1:09+.

T1 -  I was excited about the wet suit stripper, I wish all races could have them!

Bike - This was a two loop course, which was a change from the years prior, which meant a lot hills, some very steep, 8+ % grade! All in all the elevation gain was 5200 feet. As it turned out that was not the only challenge it was fairly windy on sections and the temperature rose into the 90-degree range. The interesting thing is however, that I felt incredibly focused and none of these factors bothered me. I felt very neutral in my thoughts, and just tried to remember to eat and drink on schedule.

The most telling tidbit that I can share regarding the toughness of this bike course was that on the second loop at about the 85 mile mark you encounter Sugar Loaf, one of the steepest sections. The first time up it is what you would expect- slow going, standing up to turn over the pedals. The second time as I ascended I witnessed an ugly scene. I was one out of every three actually riding it, many had to dismount and walk up it! I nick named it “carnage hill”. As I approached T2 I was relieved to finish the bike without many technical problems, my chain dropped twice, but no flats and no accidents. Bike time was 6:21, I would have been happy with a bit faster pace but I stayed with in myself and was hoping for a decent run.

T2 - When I ran into the changing tent, the volunteers inside where excited to have “business” and informed me that I was the 5^th woman to come into T2.  I thought “you gotta to be kidding me!” It was information I sort of didn’t want, but thrilled all the same. I stopped quickly into the bathroom and then started the run.

Run - The first 5 miles of the marathon are ­you guessed it - hilly, with one very steep section that I had to walk up, I was thinking how absurd it was to include such a hill on the course. After that, it is 3 loops around Lake Minneola. I wanted to keep track of my mile splits but my watch was not allowing me to do it, (possibly operator error?) I decided it was probably best to listen to my body rather than numbers anyway. I hit the half-way mark at about 2 hours, my feet started to feel pretty heavy soon after that, and I had a couple of sluggish miles, but kept running. My second lap around the lake was the hardest. More and more people were walking, it was a serious death march, and there wasn’t much energy out there. I think the combination of the tough bike and the heat was affecting a lot of people. When I approached mile 20 I really thought I had made it. I still walked all the aids stations, (except the last one) but at mile 22 I pick my pace up to more of an 8 minute mile, I was just ready to bring it in. My feet ached and I was feeling stiff but I wanted to see the finish line

Prior to the race, Lynda and I discussed finishing times, and she suggested that I let it be a surprise and not worry about it while I was out there. I thought that was good advice and so that is what I did. I secretly had wanted to finish under 12 hours but I did not think that would be possible on this course. When I turned the corner for the last few yards, I could barely describe my emotions; the clock was just turning over to 11:49!I saw my family and they were as happy as I was, cheering and beaming full of energy after a long day of spectating. I wanted that moment to last forever, it was absolutely one of the most incredible feelings I have ever had.

I maintained the 5^th overall female finisher. But mostly I was happy about accomplishing one of my main goals ­ which was to enjoy the experience. I didn't think things could get much better, but the following day at the awards ceremony they posted the qualifiers for the ITU World Championships for the long course in Sweden for 2004. My husband and I were both on the list! Reflecting on my race, there were two things that Lynda said that I kept running through my mind: 1) to race my own race, and not worry about what others are doing, and 2) that there will be times that you will feel good, and times you feel not so good, and to work through the hard times and know that it will change.