The Iron(y) in Ironman

I drove 15 hours post IMCDA so I had a lot of time to reflect. Here are some ironic moments from the day:

• In the days leading up to the race, I experienced nausea due to nerves. Come race day, nothing.

• I wore white on a day that saw me piss my pants at least 6 times on the bike, a record for pissing on the bike for me.

• I was smiling all day even though I was racing to my second worst time for an ironman.

• I'm the 40 year-old with a 2:39 marathon to my credential, but it was the 55 year-old woman that went flying by me during the run telling me to hang in there.

• I spent hundreds of hours preparing for what could go wrong, but during miles 18-22 I was totally clueless and walked aimlessly (and all I had to do was eat, which I eventually figured out at mile 23).

• For something that is supposed to be fun, I sure went to some dark places with these thoughts being an all-time low: I'm not doing IM Canada; I'm going to quit blogging because I'm so embarrassed, I'm probably going to be the butt of a lot of jokes; but not once, did I think about not finishing.

• Though I fell FAR short of my goals and had a bad race, I was so happy running down that finish, and so happy post race in the athlete area talking to my teammates and friends.

• After 11+ hours of pain, I'm doing it all again in two months at IM Canada.

And now, my thank you's:

Bree Wee for sending those texts pre-race and and telling me something that made me happy post race.
John Murphy for that voicemail message, I too thought this was going to be my year. The year is not over and I do have Canada?
Charisa Wernick for your text messages pre and post race to check-in.
Matt Cusack for making my first day there one of my most memorable ironman first days, it was easy, relaxed, and fun.
Teresa Nelson and Mark Webb for inviting me to your pre-race dinner and to Mark's mom for boiling my eggs for race day.
Kim Schwabenbauer for sending me the bat phone number just in case.
Libby Bergman for taking the time to compose one of the best letters I've ever received. Regardless of my result, I really really read the letter...four times.
Michelle Simmons for using energy to advise me to spin up the hills during the second loop of the bike.
Mary Tanner for that hug right before the start of the race.
Joshua Schoenfeld, Evan Kerr, Jay Ridgeway, Mirek Boruta, and Jason Jacobs for always cheering me on when we crossed paths.
Kara Teklinski, Sandy Liaw-Myers, and Tricia Gellman for the best bike support crew and post-race support crew.
Gardi Jackson and Bert Schaeffer for being everywhere on the course.
Frank Kim for telling me to run with him...but I only lasted 400 yards?
Beth for introducing herself on the run saying that she reads my blog, and then proceeded to leave me in her dust, made me laugh.
Genevieve Priebe for that huge shout out, I was totally out of it and couldn't respond but it hit me about 5 seconds later.
Jamie Brooks and Ray Pajek for dinner convo and just generally hanging out.
And to the rest of you who sent me messages on FB and such. They say ironman is a journey and not a day, I wholeheartedly agree.