The Day Before Boston

I'm on the flight to Boston and in less than 24 hours I will be running my 3rd (not including ironman) marathon.  It's not ideal that I'm arriving to Boston so late but with Easter this weekend I had to compromise to appease the kids.  I still "ruined" easter according to my dear daughter but I'm sure she will get over it.

My thoughts on the Boston marathon are pretty simple.  3 years ago I would have never even set a goal to qualify.  Then some how, through training for Ironman Florida I got it in my head that I wanted to run a full marathon and qualify.

I ran the Chicago marathon in 2012 on a last minute bought bib.  I paced Barry for the first 32k and instead of pulling out like my training plan said, I finished the last 10k feeling super strong.  It was after Chicago that I seriously contimplated training to qualify for Boston.

3 1/2 months after completing Ironman Florida,  I raced the Ft. Lauderdale marathon and qualified with a 3:37, well under my 3:45 qualifing time.  This, of course, was 2 months before the horrifying events at Boston last year.  It never even crossed my mind that I wouldn't run Boston in 2014. But it made qualifying this year a bit special. Though any year you qualify for Boston is special!

It's already been an emotional day and I can only predict many tears tomorrow as I run. My wave stars at 11 and if all goes well I will be across the finish line before the time the first bomb went off.  And I know that throughout my 42.2km,  26.1 miles, my thoughts will go to the families of those who lost their lives watching and cheering on a sport I adore.  When it seems too hard, I'll think of those folks who have had to learn to walk, to run, to  dance again on prosthetic limbs.

And when I cross that finish line - when I earn the right to say "I ran the Boston Marathon" it just might be the sweetest finish line I have ever crossed!

So don't forget to check up on me. Bib 19270, wave 3 start time 11 am.   You can track my 5k splits at www.baa.org.  you can also watch the race online at watchlive.baa.org. 

Around the Bay 30k Race Report

While I have registered for the ATB a few times in the past, I never ran it.  This year I did not register before it sold out but got a bib before the transfer date so today I ran my first (and most likely last) Around the Bay 30k today, March 30,2014.

It was an uneventful morning, and not a particularly early wake time given the 9:30am start time plus an hour drive.  We picked up Carole and Elaine at 8am and were on the way.  We made it to the race site with plenty of time to look for a parking space and were lucky enough to scoring an amazing space very close to the venue, right behind a charter bus ... whose driver was nice enough to let me use the bathroom so I didn't even have to deal with port-o-let lines!  Bonus!

We slowly made it to the start line, not in much of a hurry as Elaine and Carole are relaxed runners and I was not "racing" today, I was just out for my long training run for Boston.  We finally caught up to the massive group and this is where I saw something that hit me as a bit of a problem.  Way up, hundreds of people in front of me, the only pace bunny sign I could see read 3:30!  OMG - 3:30?????  Then I turned around and realized there were probably only 100 or so folks behind me.  So, 13,000 registered ...  running at my "training pace" of 5:30/km (estimated 2:45 finish) I was not in the most ideal position.  Deep breath, this is not a race, it is training, it is all good.

Carole, me and Elaine at the back of the starting pack!

The gun went off and it took me 10 minutes to get to the start line!  10 minutes!  Ok, not a problem, this is just a training run.  So I ran, I weaved, I passed and passed and passed.  The weather, while it threaten to be cold and windy, was pretty darn nice for March 30!  By kilometre 3, I was taking the sleeves off my wind breaker.  From then out I felt perfectly dressed in my tights and light long sleeved shirt.  I have to say the weather probably couldn't have been better for a late March day!

So here's this race in a nutshell.  20 kilometres of boring, ugly, smelly industrial running.  Then 10 km of beautiful homes and rolling hills with some massive climbs ending around kilometre 27 and then a down hill run to the finish.  

I finished in 2:42:36 - that's a PR by a couple of minutes.  I've only run one other 30km race - Midsummer's Night in 2012 - and that I finished in 2:44:33 but as I said back then in my race report:

 I felt horrible.  I cannot remember feeling so horrible after a race. I stopped at medical and sat down on a chair but quickly stood up.  Sitting was not the right thing to do.  I staggered to the medals and found my way to the plastic bag that had a banana and a bag of candy.  My legs were wobbly and I was searching for a place to lean when I saw Cavin walking toward me.  A huge wave of relief washed over me.  I did not want to be alone in a sea of people.  Shawna,  Calvin's lovely fiancée took my stuff (I had my hand-held bottle, the steal bottle they hand out at the finish line and my food baggie.  I inhaled my banana thinking it would somehow cure my pains.  I'm not sure how long we stood there but I slowly stretched and regained my balance and composure.  They were off to the beer tent and I made my way back to the finish line to wait for Barry.

Unlike after the Midsummer's Night 30k, today I felt great - like it was just any other training run I've ever done.  So my running has definitely improved in the couple of years!

going so fast I'm a blur

So happy to see Barry in the stands and happy to feel great.

I executed this race pretty well except for starting so far back and having to run through people for the entire 30k.  I nailed my nutrition and adapted my eating schedule according to the water stations.  I felt great the entire run and feel pretty good now.  I'm feeling positive going into Boston in 3 weeks - I'm not sure what my goal is going to be but I would be happy to run between 5:20 and 5:30/km.  I have to keep in mind that I still have Ironman training on the schedule for the next three weeks as well!

Carole, me and Elaine post-race

Will I run ATM30k again - probably not - unless the weather was going to absolutely awesome and I had an early season Marathon (like Boston) to run.   However, it is worth noting, that while this is a HUGE race, it is run pretty well.  The water stations (while not necessary spaced as I like) were well staffed and the volunteers as always were amazing (Please remember to say THANK YOU to the volunteers on the course- I didn't hear nearly enough of that today).  The finish line is very efficient and well run with a good assortment of food and they do a good job of getting you through the finish area without feeling rushed.  A+ to the race director and his team!

And always, a big Thank You to my number one fan for driving us to Hamilton and being photographer and finish line sherpa!  Thanks Barry!

Did I bite off more than I can chew?

Well here it is, officially the end of March is around the corner and the beginning of Spring is here though the weather outside and the forecast would have you thinking it was still deep in February.

Does that look like Spring to you?

I haven't been myself lately and I can list off a million and one excuses why. I pushed too hard at the Ft. Lauderdale Half Marathon and I had to take 2 weeks off to recover, then I had my trip to NYC with my daughter coming up and then I got a head cold right before leaving for NYC ...  in any case, my training schedule was basically non-existent and definitely very little consistency if any!  Not to mention this winter and the Polar Vortex!

And then it sort of hit me - did I bite off too much this year?  Is shifting from end of year Ironman to a mid-season Ironman not giving my body (and mind) enough distance from Ironman training?  Did I really think I could sandwich an Ironman in between the Boston and the NYC Marathons?  How in the heck did I get here anyway??????

But I am here - and I've got entry to and paid for both Boston and NYC - both of which I may never get the opportunity to run again.  Then there is Ironman Lake Placid - my "validation" Ironman.  What's a validation Ironman you ask?  As you know I have done two Ironmans - Ironman Florida 2012 and Ironman Cozumel 2013.  Both of these course are flat and considered "easy".  Well, let's just be clear - there is no such thing an an easy way to propel your body 140.6 miles.  If you take a look at this guy's number crunching you will see that Cozumel is ranked just under Lake Placid, Florida however is a lot further down.

http://www.runtri.com/2010/07/runtri-benchmarks-easiest-ironman.html

In any case, in my head, I was pretty sure I needed to do a "real" Ironman - like Placid, or Penticton, or Whistler, Or Coeur d'Alene or Mont Tremblant, to quell the thought that I only picked the easy Ironmans.  Now of course people have made comments to this effect but honestly this all stems from my own head.  So last July I signed up for Placid.  Yes, at that time I knew I was running Boston and NYC marathons.  Yes, I think I was crazy.

But here I am, 4 weeks out from Boston Marathon and 17 weeks out from Ironman Lake Placid.  It is what it is and I'm doing both, I've just had to shift my goals a little bit.  I always wanted to run my BQ time at Boston but that is just going to have to wait for another lifetime.  I will have to take it easy in Boston because I will not have weeks to recover.  In fact, I won't have any time to recover because I will be 3 weeks into my official training for Placid.  I will be pushing my biking legs to the max.

And, I've decided to take a lot of pressure off myself for IMLP.  When I got into this crazy sport I promised it was for fun.  Then I sort of got fast.  And then the talk and dreams of qualifying for Kona filled my head. And then it didn't seem fun any more.  And then it seemed that I was going to disappoint those closest to me.

And then my husband - the greatest sherpa, my biggest fan, and most amazing sport photographer, Barry sent me the most beautiful email.  I won't share it in it's entirety but one of the many paragraphs that hit home I will:

Go forward bravely and boldly.

You have become a powerhouse of endurance and you have trained brilliantly, religiously and so incredibly for 3 years now!

You are amazing!!

Fear not, as you battle on.

Fear not.

Rest assured that all will be good, no matter what the outcome.

Good, bad or neutral, life will go on and more races will come.

 So I might have bit off more than I can chew but I'm not going to back down from this challenge.  So I'm back on the training program, focusing on IM training with a little marathon training in the background.  I'm running the Around the Bay 30k next Sunday as my longest training run for Boston.  And then I'm going to run Boston, enjoying every moment of it and not once regretting that I'm not running fast enough.  And as for Lake Placid - I can only train, like I have trained in the past - I will push myself to my limits over and over in training and then on race day, I will push myself over my limits as I have done in the Ironmans before.  And at the end will be the next question - Which Ironman next?

Ft. Lauderdale Half Marathon Race Report

Ok, well it's been awhile since I last hit the blog and I guess I owe myself a race report on the Fort Lauderdale half marathon since it's been over 2 weeks. 

This race came about because I had a 20k training run on my Boston marathon training schedule and I was going to be in south Florida anyway so why not. Well. Short answer is if I ran it as a training run then all good, but if I raced it for a major PR having not trained for a half marathon it could be down right stupid. I'll save the suspense... I was down right stupid.

We arrived in South Florida on Friday night. Dropped the kids with the grandparents and headed to Fort Lauderdale on Saturday. The weather was perfect and I spent the afternoon drinking beers and getting sun by the cruddy hotel pool. We had a nice dinner out and retired to the cruddy hotel room for a pretty decent sleep. Given the 6am start time and the bus ride to the start line, I was up at 4 am. Had my normal hotel breakfast of coffee and cereal and headed out. 

cold but not nervous like I was the previous year

It was quite "chilly" especially since I was in my little running shorts and tank top. I knew as soon as we got moving I would be perfectly dressed.  This race is run amazingly well as we made it to the start line with ample time. Found a spot next to a generator to stay warm in the exhaust and waited for the start. 

Race was great. I started near the front and was just so happy to start running to get warm. Settled into a nice 4:35/km pace and ran happily. The sun was just coming up as we crossed e bridge over the inter-coastal and hit A1A. It was pretty spectacular.  I ran a consistent race, staying with a good group of people.

the views are down right stunning

There isn't much more to say than this is a beautiful, flat and fast course. Aid stations are well staffed and efficient.  Great support and a fun race to run. The last 5 km my legs were feeling the stress of the run since I was running basically faster than I normally would for this distance. I pushed through and hit the finish line in 1:37:15. A huge PB for me by about 5 minutes. 

Barry's signature shot

I was completely wasted when I finished.  It was like I say at the end of a hard track interval- if you don't feel like puking you didn't go fast enough. I felt like puking.  It is a fabulous finish line but I couldn't find Barry and that is always stressful for me. At the end of a race I have this unnerving need to find him and when I can't I get super irritated and annoyed. 

This was me when Barry found me

Finally we found each other and at this time I was freezing cold. They don't have Mylar blankets at these southern races so I was just ready to get back to the cruddy hotel and get out of my wet running cloths and into something warm. I wanted to go back and see the official results because I thought I might have made the podium. But of course we went back and I was hit with yet another 7 th place (6 th and 7th seem to be my sweet spot). But I ran it as fast as I could and at the time I was happy with the PR and breaking 1:40.

Sadly, racing this race was a mistake as it trashed my legs. Specifically my right hamstring. Exactly what happened last year after racing the Toronto Yonge Street 10k ....  So I've had to pay the price by missing out of running long while in Florida and having to curtail my training for a couple of weeks. 

So I returned to frigid Toronto without running a nice 30k run while in warm Florida. This of course threw me into a seriously depressed tailspin but that's for another post. 

Lesson learned though, if Ironman Lake Placid is my "A" race, my expectations and plan for Boston Marathon have to be tweaked!  While I had grand hopes for running close to 3:30 at Boston, I am now thinking just breaking 4 hours at Boston will be respectable.  I'm back to running now and my hamstring seems to be ok so only the next few weeks of training will tell!

And if you ever want a great destination race - I have now raced both the full (read the report here) and the half and I would do them again!  The expo is amazing for such a small race, the logistics are well run, the course is amazing and the finish-line has more food and freebees than any race I have ever been at!  So next time the Polar Vortex has you down escape to Ft. Lauderdale in mid-February for a destination race!

It's 2014 Already?

Happy New Year!  I think that will be the last time I say those words.  I just recently celebrated had my 41st birthday and have decided that in my life as a triathlete I will only celebrate my birthday every 5 years ... so here's looking at turning 45 in 4 years.

So, what have I been up to?  I started training for the Boston Marathon - fun times training for a marathon in the middle of the worst winter I have ever seen in Toronto.  Couple that with the fact that we remained in Canada over the holidays removing my  2 weeks of outdoor running in Florida at the beginning of this training cycle and that means in door training has consumed my life.  One thing you should know about me is I do not like the cold (hey I'm a Florida girl remember?) and the other thing is that if there is even just one little patch of ice, I will find it and I will slip.  Guaranteed.  So you can basically assume that until we are having an incredibly freakish warm spell and all the ice is gone, I will be doing my runs at the indoor track and on the treadmill.

Speaking of track - I love it!  I started last week training with the Toronto Triathlon Club at the beautiful Monarch Park indoor track.  Tuesday night track party as I like to call it!  Running track alone is dreadful.  Running  with a group and a coach is delightful!  If you get the chance to join a track group I high recommend it!

Another thing I have been up to is making great use of my Christmas present!

2.5hp motor!  LOVE my Vitamix!

Besides now having the smoothest smoothies in town, Ive ventured into making lovely frozen deserts and great soups.  I think the over all verdict is this blender is totally worth the hefty price-tag!  If you want to make a super yummy soup - this is my new all time favourite!
http://www.againstallgrain.com/2013/01/30/leftover-roast-chicken-soup-with-roasted-vegetables/

I've also ventured back to the yoga mat - believe it of not I went 3 consecutive days this week.  After my long run on the weekend I was feeling some sciatic hamstring pain in my left leg.  I quickly remembered my struggle with this in my right leg last year and decided I had to fix it asap.  After a plank-knee-swivel went horribly wrong on Sunday I sent a plea to my massage therapist and was lucky to get in to see her on Monday.  We are sure it is the Gluteus Medius and the Piriformis and Jen was able to work out the trigger points.  I decided right then and there that I was going to put yoga into my schedule to take care of these issues before they took over my training.  I am fortunate to have one of my Ironman mentors as a yoga instructor at my gym and he has helped me a lot with these issues.

Next up is the Ft. Lauderdale Half Marathon in February along with 10 glorious warm days in Florida!  Until then, I'll be wishing for warmer temps and no more ice or snow!

Musings post Ironman Cozumel

1.  I have to get faster in the swim.  If I want to be more competitive I cannot give up 10 - 15 minutes on the swim. That's it. I need those minutes.  I need to get to the pool and get it done!

2.  I have to train harder on the bike this winter to develop my riding muscles.  I am new to cycling (3 years on the road) and I know there is untapped potential in my legs. I need to figure out / find / hire someone to help me reach this potential.  I need to learn more about using power and I need to push myself harder here.

3. I have to figure out the mental aspect of the run.  I lost the mental game at Cozumel (read about that here: Ironman Cozumel) on the run.  Just because I couldn't get a gel in me, I basically surrendered to hitting the wall HOURS before it could even happen - I actually remember at 14km, 1/3 into the run, that I was "not going to make it if I couldn't keep nutrition in me"..  I didn't even think I could do it drinking pepsi every 10 minutes!  Why did my brain not let me entertain the idea of just running the marathon on gatorade and pepsi?  I'm sure it could be done.  I thought there would be more variety of food on the run but the aid stations were sparse.

I'm not sure I'll be ready for Lake Placid in 2014, but I'm setting my sights on a race in 2015 which will be all out try for a Kona slot.

2013 Ironman Cozumel Race Report

It's been over a week since I raced Ironman Cozumel.  I thought of many titles of this blog that day - Ironman Cozumel: the s#*tshow was a big favourite.  Getting there via Cancun-Playa del Carman to Cozumel, to the unorganized registration and packet pick up, to the misinformation as to where we had to check out T2 bags ... it was what I guess you would expect in Mexico ... a bit of a s#itshow.

BUT, our hotel was great and the locals were great.  We stayed at the Intercontinental which ended up being the swim start for the race, so we can't complain there.

The days leading up to the race were windy - incredibly windy and the seas were rough.  The day before the race, as we ate breakfast, we noticed a bunch of officials talking for a long time and I started a rumour that our swim would be made a shorter, point-to-point swim starting at our hotel.  By 4pm that afternoon that rumour was confirmed by a race official.  That's right - hang with me before an Ironman because I'm in the know! (or follow me on twitter)....

Race Directors and Triathlon Mexico Officials

So race morning was like most race mornings though a bit light on nutrition now that I think about it.  I had brought my gluten free bagels, a toaster and some peanut butter but the bagels were too stale and I only got down a few bites.  I had a 200 calorie bottle of CarboPro+Nuun before heading to the T1 and took another bottle to sip on.  I caught the first bus from the hotel to T1, made very quick work of putting my nutrition on the bike, borrowing a pump and pumping my tires and lubing the chain.  I got on the first bus back to my hotel which was key as there were over 2,000 athletes, some of which had no idea the swim start had been changed, that needed to be bused from T1 to the swim start.

I was so lucky to be staying at that hotel!  I went back to the room and heading down to the swim start just before the pros were to go off.  I found my buddy Duncan and like always it's so calming to have a friend to chat with!

talking about something....

The pros went off and in went the age groupers.  Even though officials were saying we had 15 minutes - you know us triathletes - so the fast swimmers got to the start line and started drifting with the current - oh did I mention the new swim course was point-to-point with the current the entire way?  So by the time the gun went off, which no one even claims they heard, the lead swimmers were probably 50-75 meters past the start line (including my buddy Hector who was the 2nd age grouper out of the water, first out of T1 and led the first 50k on the bike!).  Oh well.  There was a loud cheer and we were off swimming.

Typical Ironman mass start swim.  Most violent swim I have ever experienced.  I was pushed into a buoy line and got rope burn on my left leg, I nearly sliced my left hand completely open on a coral head and felt lucky that I only caught a chunk of my right hand on it (which I am still nursing back to health) and I took a whip kick to my left eye that knocked my goggles off and left me seeing stars. It was a short (3.1km) and fast swim (52 minutes).  Getting to the stairs and pulling myself out of the water was a complete disaster too...

yes, we had to tread  water waiting to get up the stairs!

As always I was happy to get out of the swim.  They were handing out the bags of water so I grabbed 2 - one to drink and wash my face and the other to rinse my feet in the change tent - brilliant move if I say so myself!  I made quick work in T1 with a time of 4:58 but there was a long, crowded run-up (that's right people RUN -it's a race) and a crazy bike transition area.

I was happy to get out on the road until I realised that I hadn't secured the top correctly on my new aerobottle (I left mine at home) and I lost half a bottle of Carbopro-Nuun before I pulled over and fixed it.  Deep breaths, long race ahead, put that behind me.

the wind sucked but the scenery was beautiful

The first loop of the bike course was super fast.  The winds hadn't picked up too much and I was riding strong. I had passed quite a few and was only being passed by a few men until I got caught by the first big peleton of the day.  I was about half way through the windy side of the island when I was over taken and sucked in by the largest peleton I have ever seen in a triathlon!  They were 5-6 wide and when I looked over my shoulder they went on as far as I could see.  I'm sure I benefited from this pack passing me.  When we made the turn to head West across the island the pack broke up.  And as I was catching up to a large group of riders, and actively passing on the left (and eating a gel) I heard an official shout out - I turned and saw a guy, on a scooter with his phone, calling out numbers.  In hindsight I think he was warning me to drop back or pass faster - but I assumed it was a penalty.

So we came into town, I saw Barry and Carole and they had a sign that said "22nd out of the swim".  I knew I had passed quite a few and had not been passed by any woman that I knew of so I felt good.  I shouted "Penalty" and road on.  I stopped at the penalty tent and had a frustrating conversation with the official.  Since no card was shown to me I presumably didn't have one.  Ugh - wasted time and energy there.

different bottles on the back, further along

Back on my bike I continued to drink my nutrition, take a gel every 40 mins as well as some gel blasts to switch it up.  I peed 3 times on the bike which I thought at the time was great - must not be getting dehydrated.  I supplemented my Carbopro+Nuun with gatorade and felt like I had done a good job with my nutrition on the bike.  The second loop was tougher, the peletons had mostly broken up and the winds were picking up.

I should mention it rained twice on the bike.  Though my exact memory of when escapes me.

The third loop was mental!  The winds had picked up substantially on the Eastern Side of the island and my speed and power dropped substantially.  It was disheartening when I realized not only was I not going to hit my bike goal for this race, I wasn't even going to beat my bike time from IMFL last year.  We made the last turn to cross the island and the crosswinds had picked up too so there was little reprieve there.  I was ready to get off my bike.  I successfully held back my tears of frustration as I shouted to Barry "That Sucked".  Official bike results: 5:56:40, 12th off the bike.

happy to be off the bike, not happy with the bike

I made quick work in T2 - had a volunteer sunscreen my back, got my socks and shoes on and was out in 3:15 and off on the run.

Let's do this!

My legs were shakier than normal but at this time I felt pretty good.  I was running 5:15/km when I was running.  I stopped at the first aid station and grabbed a bag of water and took my first gel.  Here's how it went... open gel, squeeze in mouth, big gulp of water, step, step, step, yack.  Gel and water on the ground.  Ok, well that is sub-optimal.  Keep running and walking the aid stations.  Take Pepsi and gatorade.  Make it work....

First loop the sun was out and it was hot.  I was taking gatorade, pepsi and water and  whenever I could get a hold of it, ice too.  It was hot but that wasn't a bother, the fact I didn't keep my gel down was.  Made it to the 7km turn and felt ok.  Thought I would try another gel ... same results.  Remember joking that it would be nice for a bit of rain.  I don't like to leave much out of these race reports, and since this is sort of nutritionally relevant, I wanted to mention that I peed a lot on the run.  A lot, a lot.  Like every time I stopped running and walked, I had to pee.  And I did. And my runners are no longer useful due to the smell.  That's all I'm going to say about that right now. I'll dissect this more in depth with my tri friends, but I'll just leave it at that for this blog.

still sunny and hot

Made it back to town, 2 down, 4 to go, I told myself (three 14 km loops or 6 x 7km).  It was nice to see Barry and Carole at the turn.

still dry, 7km in

At this point I was averaging 5:30/km but knew if I couldn't get nutrition into me, the next 28km were going to be slower ... much slower.  I took pepsi and gatorade  at every aid station.  Then the rain came.  First it was a nice gentle mist, then it would come in buckets.  The roads flooded, the aid stations became self-serve as the volunteers disappeared as did the spectators and it was a pretty grim time in my head.  This is where I again failed miserable in the mental race.  I would walk the aid stations and would struggle to start running again.  Nothing really hurt, I just didn't have the energy.  I knew at this point Kona was out of the question, and pretty much breaking a 4 hour run and an 11 hour race were history (though with hindsight the 4 hour marathon and 11 hour race were still in reach ... it's so mental!).  Not a good space in my head.

I pushed on.  As I came to the end of the second lap I had dealt with the demons in my head telling me to quit.  I actually had the conversation and almost convinced myself I could quit.  But I pulled it together.  As I made the turn to go out for my last lap, in the pouring rain, I remember saying to Carole "I'm going to finish this thing.  It won't be soon, but I'm going to finish".  I left them with my sunglasses and pushed on, tears in my eyes.  Disappointed in myself. 

14km to go

The last lap, the last 7km out, were mentally tough.  I drew strength from athletes that I knew were on their first or second lap.  I thought back to all those miles spent on the bike, on the run.  I reminded myself of why I do this crazy thing and I told myself this was supposed to be fun.  I will not lie, it was not fun.  It was pouring, there were puddles calf deep, and my body was pretty much revolting on me.  But I pushed on.  I got to the top and made the turn and said to the guys recording bib numbers at the turn "gentlemen, I will not be seeing you again today".  7km left.

It was pouring.  There was little aid station support and little spectator support.  The puddles were massive.  But it was only 7km.  Then 6km.  Then 5.... ok no more walking, I can do this and slowly I sped up, I pushed, I smiled, I grimaced.  I was ready to finish this thing.

I ran the 41st. Km at 5:29/km pace and the 42nd km at 5:16/km.  I finished strong, in the pouring rain, with a smile on my face.

And I gathered all the energy I could muster to jump across that finish line.

Run time: 4:13:59. Official Time 11:10:57: 7th  in my age group, 50th female, 431st overall.

I cried after I finished.  I was disappointed in my run.  I was sad that my body didn't produce what I had thought I had train to produce.  Don't get me wrong, I know that just finishing this race is a feat in itself. And the journey to the race is more important than the race itself.  And deep down, I was not ready, I was not able to endure to make it in the top 3.  I was not World Championship material.  Not yet.

nice photo bomb, that's Carole comforting me as I broke down.

But in the end, I finished strong.  I went from 25th in my age group last year in Florida to 7th.  That's pretty good.

So that's it for Cozumel - would I race it again , yes I think I would. Will I race it next year, nope.  So what's next I'm always asked.  Well I've got Boston Marathon in April, Lake Placid Ironman in July and NYC Marathon in November.  Plus a few local races along the way.  And as for the off season, I'll be working on my swim, bike and run as I've got a long way to go before I'm Kona bound!  Dream big, and never stop dreaming!

two days post race with my bestie and a pina colada!