Ironman Arizona 2012: My Pro Debut!

What’s it like racing as a pro triathlete?

Ironman Arizona was my very first professional race. It was also my third Ironman this year, and my second in five weeks. And finishing up my season with a seventh place finish and a 31 minute PR?! I will definitely take that!!

From my very limited experience, I’d say racing pro isn’t all that different from racing as an amateur. It’s the same course, the same aid stations, and definitely the same suffering! And I think all that similarity is what makes Ironman so special. BUT, I will say there were a few differences…

The Swim

Race morning was like any other until I got down to the swim start. I couldn’t believe how RELAXED everyone was! Laughing, joking, talking like old friends. You’d have thought we were standing around an office water cooler NOT about to jump into 62 degree water for a full day of racing! I loved it!

Boom! The cannon went off and I swam hard!! Within a couple minutes I was feeling good and had the buoy line in sight! I could see my parents cheering from the shore and hear Betty blowing her vuvuzela. In my mind, I was swimming solo. But reality looked a bit more like this:

I think Meredith might win the award for all-time best swim etiquitte because in 2.4 miles she didn’t touch my feet even once! I actually had no idea she was there until a yellow cap appeared next to me just past the final turn buoy.

Surprised? YES!

Worried? NO!

By the time Meredith caught me the steps were in sight. A couple years back my coach taught me a lesson in stair climbing that I will NEVER forget (he won’t LET me forget!), but on this day it paid off and I crossed the swim finish line in 50 minutes and 16 seconds as the first pro female – barely!

The Bike

My lead lasted all of about one second before Meredith showed why she’s an Ironman champ by storming past me into T1 and out onto the bike course. I decided I wanted to race, so I tried to keep her in sight. I was riding so far out of my comfort zone and I knew there was a pretty good chance I would totally blow up. But really, what did I have to lose?!

Hammering (for me!) on the bike. Thanks to Ernie Janelle for the great pics!

Eventually I did lose sight of Meredith, but I kept pressing. The three loop out-and-back bike course meant I got to see how far ahead she was at every turn around. It also meant I got to see my parents and Dynamo teammates three times and that was ridiculously cool! GO GREEN!

My dad and Drew cheering me on!

Near the end of the second loop Mirjam Weerd passed me and I dropped to third place. But unlike with Meredith, I was able to keep Mirjam in sight. And thanks to some favorable wind changes on lap 3, I kept feeling stronger and stronger until I was able to re-pass Mirjam and put a little time into her before we cruised back into town.

5 hours and 112 miles later I got off the bike IN SECOND PLACE!

The Run

Holy SUFFERFEST! I knew that bike effort was going to cost me a bit, but I didn’t expect the run to start hurting in just the first half mile! I passed the first aid station (Circus Themed! Very Cool!) thinking “OMG, there are aid stations out here!?” I was so out of it!

About that time my bike escort (#2 was the best!) said he could ride ahead through the aid stations and tell them what I wanted so they’d be ready when I got there. Full service GU buffet?! That got my attention! I switched my focus to nutrition and keeping my legs RUNNING no matter how bad I felt.

Thank goodness for bike escorts and AMAZING Coaches!

Over the three loop marathon course I watched Linsey, Mirjam, Corinne, Sara, and Leanda fly by me. But I also heard my parents, Betty, Ernie, Drew, Kerri and Coach Diablo cheering for me.

Six times I passed Hillary and the Smashfest Queen crew. And six times they cheered me on!

I heard cheers at aid stations, cheers from the sidelines, and even a few cheers from my fellow athletes. I heard Chris Hauth and the Sag Monkey crew offering some sound advice. And even in that never-ending last mile Sonja was there convincing me not to give up!

Thanks to those cheers and some good vibes from home, I crossed the finish line with a 3:33 marathon, and 9:28 total time. A HUGE best time and the kind of race I’ve known I had in me all year. Seventh place and LOTS of room for improvement. Those women in front of me have set the bar high. Nine hours is the new black and I’m excited for 2013!!!

Acknowledgements

Thank you to my parents, Betty, Ernie, Drew, and El Diablo for coming out to Tempe to cheer me on, even though I know you guys are my biggest supporters year round! Special thanks to Coach for probably being the only person NOT surprised when I came off the bike in second!

Thanks to Coach Maria and the rest of the Dynamo Multisport athletes back home – ANOTHER swim win for the DynaMafia! Sheesh!

Thanks to Chance and everyone at Blue Competition Cycles for creating the amazingly fast and incredibly gorgeous Triad SL. Thanks to Allen Heaton for helping me get my steed race-ready and thanks to TriBike Transport for getting it to the race and back safe and sound!

Me with my beloved bicicleta #rideblue!

Thanks to Matt Booth and Mizuno. Lots of run PRs this year and I am nowhere near finished!

And last, but definitely not least, thank you to everyone who followed along and cheered from home! All the emails, texts, phone calls, tweets, facebook messages, and blog comments made all the suffering more than worth it! All of you inspire me and I can’t wait to see what’s in store for all of us 2013!