I am an IRONMAN (70.3)

Race weekend... I had it cleared with my school to leave early on Friday in order to catch the bus up to Gimpo airport.

 I had called the English help line to find out the time tables and how long the ride is. After being told the bus ride is about 2hr 20min I opted for the 4:10pm bus, thinking I'd have about an hour to kill before my flight.... turns out the bus ride took over 3 hours and I missed my flight!! Ah! I did get lucky enough to find an open airline that had a seat on their plane and room for my bike, I made it to Jeju on Friday night... of course since it was late I missed dinner. I though to myself, great I hope this isn't an indication of how this weekend will go.... 


Saturday morning was a busy one! Up early to get my bike assembled, and go with my roommates down to the beach for a swim! We rode down there and back, about 24km total. I went to the registration to get all checked in.... did some shopping at the Ironman store. Picked up a few things for my bike at the expo. By this time it was a little past noon, and I was starving! Myself and a few others went to the restaurant at my hotel to grab some lunch... then it was time to go to the mandatory race meeting. They reviewed the course and some of the rules. 

Then it was time to set up my transition bags, I needed one for the swim to bike area and one for the bike to run area. I needed to put anything I would need in these bags, (shoes, visor, helmet, food, etc). Once that was complete and all my numbers were on my bike, helmet, and race belt I was ready to ride my bike down to the beach again to set it up for Sunday. On the way back to the hotel, I shared a cab with this guy who flew over from the USA, he works for Good Morning America as the show's personal trainer, he also does some health segment on the show. Now it was time to for a quick shower and to meet up with a few friends for dinner!! We ended up at Crazy Burger, there didn't seem to be many options around the resort area for food. Luckily I was able to get a salad, so I kept my pre-race meals healthy! Finally got back to the room about 8-830pm, time to settle down, watch some TV (CSI of course, haha), and go to sleep!! Alarm set for 4am, since my roommates were doing the full ironman, their start time was 7am! 





Race morning!! After my roommates left, I was able to relax and close my eyes for about another hour. Got up and had some break fast, got ready and met my friend before heading to the shuttle  to the start line. I was surprisingly calm at the start line, I had a bit on nerves on Saturday morning while warming up, so I guess I had gotten it out of my system. I hung out with the girls I knew who were also doing the race, and watched the people doing the Full Ironman swim. As 9am approached I did my final bit of getting ready and made sure my bike was set up, and moved my way to the beach. 



This race was a mass-start meaning that all participants will run into the water and start at the same time. My plan was to start at the back and swim my way up. 9am hit and the "canon" (or weak sounding gun) shot off and the race began! I ran/walked my way into the water and then tried to get into a rhythm with my swim. I was able to overtake quite a few people, I did have some problems keeping a rhythm because there were so many of us in the water at once (about 250 people). I manged to get out of the water in 41min. I saw quite a few bikes still racked when I got to mine, so I must have done a good job on passing people. Now it was time to put all the biking I've done in the past few months to work. The course was all hills, even when it looked flat it was usually a false flat, and was really a hill. I was told after the total elevation climbed was 3500ft. I had fun and tried to keep the pace that I planned on riding. I had a race plan and it was very tempting to ride faster or really push it on the up-hills, but I didn't want to use too much and have nothing left for the run. About 46 miles into the ride my back began to really hurt. Felt like some sort of spasm or something. Making the last 10 miles really painful! By 52 miles into the ride, my only thought was pedal faster and get off this bike! My legs were getting a bit fatigued at this point, but not bad. My source of pain was my back, and my feet a little bit. The bike did take a bit longer then I planned on it taking, but all in all I didn't mind. I made it almost an hour before the cut-off time and was left with 4 hours to complete an 1/2 marathon. After making it into T2, I felt an awesome since of relief. I knew even if I walked the entire 13.1 miles I could do it in under 4 hours! After a quick change of my shoes, I sucked down a melted snickers and set off on the 'run' or as I will call it, the ironman-shuffle! Ha! The hills on the run were non-stop and killer. Not one section of the run was flat! Since my feet were hurting, I took the first 1-2miles in a fast walk/slow run. As my body adjusted to the run, I actually was able to do a slow trot for most of the whole 13.1miles. I did walk on some of the up-hills near the end. At every aid station, I took in water and most I took in some gatorade too. I was constantly using the sponges to try and keep cool. I had an American Flag with me, I had intended on just having it in my pocket during the run, but since the sun was shinning bright, I decided to cover my shoulders with it. A really good idea since my back was already burnt from the bike!!! For as little as I ran in my training, I was a bit surprised that I was able to run most the race. I had this little voice in my head telling me, if I keep moving, I can place in my AG. I knew my competition and I knew where they were on the course, so I used this as my motivation. The run was an out an back, the way out felt like it was easier then the back. There was more downhills on the way out. The last mile of the race was all up hill too, this made it a challenge. I saw quite a few people doing the ironman-shuffle out there. A lot of people looked like they were suffering! I made a good attempt at being a cheerleader on the run and encouraging people as we passed each other! I even saw one guy napping in the bus station! After making it up the hill and around the corner knowing how close I was to the finish, I picked up the speed and let the joy of finishing this race take over my body. True to my fashion, I sprinted in for a strong finish! Flag held high above my head with a huge smile on my face!!!


After the race I got my massage, and attempted to eat... didn't go as well as I wanted. I was a bit dehydrated  boo! There really wasn't enough time to get back to the hotel, disassemble my bike, and make it to the airport in time for my flight, so I called the airline to have it changed. I was able to attend the award ceremony and dinner... where I got my trophy for a 3rd place win in my age group! At dinner, I filled up 2 plates full of all the different foods they had, and kept trying to eat... fail! Still feeling like I was going to be sick, I gave up on eating and went back to the hotel for shower. I spent the rest of the evening down at the finish watching the full ironman competitors come in! So awesome to see this!!! :) I was so happy to be there and to have completed my race! I made it back to my room a bit before midnight to go to sleep! 


Monday morning (happy 4th of July to my fellow American's!), got up early and had a good breakfast down at the hotel restaurant! Much needed after not being able to eat on Sunday! I woke up with a great deal of pain in my back, other then that, my legs were just a bit sore. I packed up and went to catch my plane. By the time I made it back to Seoul, my legs were sore for all the sitting. 


Overall it was a totally awesome experience. I was so happy to be out there racing. I had such great spirits and a big smile on my face all day. I know that I gave my all and did the best that I could do. I learned SO MUCH from this race! I am so ready to take on another. This time I'll do it teamed with a coach, as to help me stay on track and get the most out of all my workouts! Thank you all for your support in this! I am now 1 step closer to my goal of completing a full Ironman! :)