3:04:34

My alarm was set for 4:45AM. We had a wake-up call scheduled for 4:50AM. I woke up at 3:11AM. At 4:40AM I finally surrendered and got up to start getting ready. Rob followed shortly.

My nerves were a mess as I squeezed into my tri "uniform," but my gear was ready to go. We headed to the lobby to check-in with the TNT team manager at 5:30, then walked the ~1 mile to the transition area in the pitch black morning. Rob announced that he was taking credit for being my coach, but really ended up being my own personal paprazzi - he got some amazing photos that I'll upload once we're back on the mainland.

You could see the transition area from quite a ways away, as it was lit up with stadium lights. Or, you could just follow the steady stream of cyclists who were heading the same direction.

I got there and found my bike slot: bib number 344, third row from the front, about 1/4 of the way in, on the right side. The space we got was tiny: only the area to the right (as you look at the bike) of the bike, and your gear could not extend beyond the front tire upon penalty or rearrangement by the staff. As I planned to bike and run in what I swam in, I really only needed to place my bike shoes, helmet, sunglasses, hair tie, running shoes, and water bottle in my allotted area. Then, it was off to get body-marked, where they stamp your bib number on both of your arms. Once I was marked with "344" on both arms I got in another line to pick up my timing chip, a little electronic-containing plastic piece attached to a velcro ankle-strap. We had one for the Stanford Treeathlon that was all velcro and left me with a nasty deep cut on my ankle, and I was worried about a repeat so I slapped a big band-aid over that region. Thankfully, the timing chips were neoprene with just a velcro attacher part, so I didn't even notice it.

So that was done around 6:15, and the race didn't officially begin until 7:30. Of course.

I ended up hanging out in the transition area with a bunch of the TNT-ers, taking photos (but not with my camera because I was too dumb to bring it!) and stressing out. When we finally went down to the water we took an official Team photo - all 108 of us! We are the largest TNT faction by far, so cramming us all into the photo was quite the adventure, but we did it!

Then, people were hopping into the water to warm up and before I knew it the race was starting.

The waves were as follows and were three minutes apart:

Wave 1: Pros/elites and relays
Wave 2: Men 15-39
Wave 3: Men 40 and over
Wave 4: Women 15-39
Wave 5: Women 40 and over
Each wave had its own cap color: Pros were orange, relays were white; men 15-39 were red; men 40 and over were green; women 15-39 were pink; and women 40 and over were yellow.

Before I even get into the race itself, let me just call bullshit on starting the younger women after the older men, and starting the waves three minutes apart. Actually, let me call bullshit on generally starting the women after the men. You'll see why in a minute.

So, the waves begin, and before I know it wave three is getting into position, so I just followed them into the water and hung out behind them so I could get a good starting position. I am convinced that half the battle in the swim (and it is a battle, trust me) is where you position yourself, and I want to be in the front.

As the men leave the women swim into position and for the next three minutes we are crammed up against each other in water too deep to stand in, and it's all arms and legs and kicking and pushing and grabbing and maneuvering for position. I had to really fight to just keep my spot two or three people back from the front line, and that was not ideal for me.

And all of a sudden we're starting! Splashing and kicking and elbows and feet and shoving and trying not to swallow water or have your goggles knocked off and where's that first bouy and am I going in a straight line and who's this bitch next to me trying to steal my line and can I just get in front of her enough to hook my elbow on her shoulder and push off? Total chaos. Usually, in the open water swims I've done previously, the field spreads out and you end up with your own water in which you can swim smoothly.

This race, however, was a battle from start to finish. This was directly due to two things: 1) starting the older men immediately prior to the younger women, and 2) the 3-minute lag between waves. The course was rectangular with left turns, and as soon as we rounded the first buoy into our first left turn we encountered the slower men from the wave before us. Soon, there were hoards of men from the previous wave. Now, not only were we swimming with each other (the faster women from the "pink" wave were pretty well spread out and had lots of space), we were swimming "with" less experienced swimmers, some of which were doing breaststroke right in your face (big faux pas). It was one bog jockey for position, and passing got increasingly difficult as we encountered more and more green caps, in fact sometimes a wall of green caps, and then I saw some of the red caps - the men from two waves in front!

Clearly, a three-minute separation is not enough if swimmers from two waves back are catching up.

Ugh.

So, the finish was a zoo - they funnel you into this narrow space and the beaches are not sand. I swam for as long as I possibly could - into water that was probably less than knee-deep - before I hooked my fingers into the rocks and pulled myself into a standing position. I sprinted out of the water and heard "Go Megan!" and when I looked to my right there was Rob, right up against the rope with his camera pointed right at me! He got an amazing video of me running up the sand. And then apparently followed me, as he has photos of me running into transition and then getting ready for the bike!

In transition, I tied back my hair, put on my sunglasses, and put on my helmet (in that order) first. Then, I shoved socks onto my feet and crammed my feet into my bike shoes. I got these "quick zip" shoelaces that you don't have to tie, and my transition time was a full minute faster than the Stanford Treeathlon one (count for 60 seconds and see how long that actually feels - now imagine that under pressure in a race!). I took an electrolyte pill, washed it down with electrolyte fluid, chewed on a ShotBlock, then I grabbed my bike and jogged it towards the mount line, which you have to cross before you can get on your bike to avoid running innocent bystanders over.

I got on the bike and the route took us out to the main road, which was part of the actual Ironman Triathlon race course! Once out there, we were riding on pavement through lavafields in the sun. The route out was mostly uphill and into a small headwind. I am clearly not a very good cyclist, because almost immediately I was getting passed profusely. Seriously, people were jamming by me at an alarming rate. On the uphills they started calling out encouraging words, which makes me think that perhaps I wasn't looking so strong. I think I'll start blaming my bike.

At one point I was passed by a hoard of TNT men, one of whom, as he was passing me, said, "I knew you were a fast swimmer!" To which I replied: "Yes but clearly that's the only part I'm good at!" And I think I heard him laughing as he rode away.

But whatever - it was MY race, and I was going at MY pace. I figured holding 12 mph (so a 2-hour ride) was a good estimate, but all of a sudden I was at the turn-around! We took a hard right off the highway onto a steep downhill, then a VERY sharp left, over a speedbump (that was fun), through a dark tunnel, then a sharp left and up a huge hill, another left then a quick right back onto the highway but heading the other direction. This part was ridiculous fun - mostly downhill, no headwind, and I was flying. Oh, I was still getting passed, albeit less often, but I was really flying. I actually passed a person or two myself! The course is notorious for causing flat tires - one woman had three last year! I was appropriately paranoid, and brought with me two tubes, two CO2 cartridges to inflate them, tire irons, and a patch kit just in case. But, I also utilized my amazing tire-puncturing-debris-avoidance skills and managed to finish the bike with tires intact! Also, Rob had re-installed my pedals (you have to ship the bike sans pedals) and put on a two-water-bottle-carrier onto my seat post (which involved removing the seat and then re-adjusting seat height), and he was worried the pedals were going to spontaneously fall off during the race or that the seat wasn't the right height or that the water bottle holder would disintegrate or something, but they all held quite well! I made sure to drink a LOT of liquid (two big water bottles worth!) and eat a bunch of shot blocks (two packs!) during the ride, so I felt a little sloshy at the end of it...

Before I knew it was heading back towards the transition area, which was lined with people, but I couldn't see Rob anywhere! Apparently he'd walked back to the hotel (~1 mile), picked up the car, and driven the bike route - where he stopped at the halfway point to try and catch me. Unfortunately I had already passed that point by the time he was there...

Riding back to the transition area was exciting! People crowded up against the railings and cheering as we rode in and dismounted, then jogged our bikes back into the gated area to re-rack it and strip off the bike shoes, sunglasses and helmet, shove on the running shoes, slap my hat on my head, grab my water bottle, turn my number from back to front, and head out on the run. Still no sign of Rob though!

The run took us out over a dirt/lava path, then onto blacktop. The sun was shining and it was pretty warm, and after a 25-mile bike ride I was starting to drag. My legs were really tight and it took about three miles for them to loosen up. As I was running the first half, up a little hill, on the blacktop, who do I see running across the street with his camera but Rob! He'd caught me in the car, pulled over to the side of the road and got out to get some photos and yell encouragement at me - that was the hardest part of the race, I think - those first three miles were brutal. Blacktop, not a lot to look at, hot...

The aid stations were great - because I had a water bottle already I didn't need to drink water, but I took water at each station and dumped it over my head. Right before mile 3 there was an aid station that had a huge bag of ice, and there was a boy putting handfuls in people's hats - brilliant! I ran the next couple of miles with a hatful of ice cubes that melted down my neck and dripped off the brim, and was a convenient stash for chewing. I just reached up, pulled a cube out of my hat, and popped it in my mouth!

After mile three we cut into the resorts, and the run got really interesting. We ran right by our room, through the Hilton grounds, where people had their law chairs turned to face us and were cheering as they lay motionless in the sun (or in the shade, or in the pool, the bastards). We ran by pools and waterfalls and frolicking children. I thought about hopping into one of the pool really quickly but decided soggy running shoes sounded miserable.

The course took us on a single-track dirt and rock path with a 6-foot drop into the ocean, which was exciting. I ended up behind a woman who was a little slow, and soon enough there was a big line of people behind us. I finally passed her but then had to step aside a few times to let faster runners through, which was a bit scary - you did not want to fall in that area.

After the single-track gauntlet, we wound around the resort through some trees and over a trail that was entirely lava rocks. After that much time in the sun exerting yourself, it's a bit scary to try and navigate such a treacherous path, and I was petrified I was going to twist and ankle or trip and fall, and I slowed way down. There were people scattered through the trees cheering for us - a lot of women cheering specifically for the female racers, which was funny - lots of "go women!" on the trail.

Emerging from the lava trail through the trees put us onto the last 1/4ish mile, which was all on soft sand. I think people were walking faster than I was running at that point, but I was actually running. I got passed by a bunch of people who turned on the speed for a strong finish, and I made the executive decision to just cruise right in.

I did try to pick up the pace right at the end, but the guy in front of me came to a dead stop when his two kids (4 and under) came onto the course to run to the finish with him. It was very cute, and I feel badly for bitching, but the finish chute was narrow, and he should have stepped aside to let people pass before taking up the whole chute and running very slowly. I actually slowed to a near walk to give him some space, as there was a photographer catching everyone at the finish line and I didn't want to ruin his shot. Of course, I also wanted a good shot, so it wasn't entirely altruistic!

I finished! I got the photo, and someone immediately removes your ankle timing chip and someone else puts a finisher's medal around your neck. One of the finish line volunteers grabbed my arm and asked me if I was okay, so I think I looked pretty rough. Then, they shove you right into a line to pick up a wristband for the lunch buffet. There was no clear area for water or food immediately after the race, I was crammed into a crowd of sweaty athletes who were all taller than me so I felt really stifled, I was hurting, I couldn't see Rob, and I totally started to cry and hyperventilate. I had to bend over and catch my breath for a moment, and actually another finisher who was yelling about how stupid that situation was made me laugh and calmed me down a bit. They had two people handing out wristbands, checking you off the list, no clear place to buy a wristband for significant others, it took for-freaking-ever, and it was totally stupid.

After I was wristbanded, I found the food table. I was dying for water and a banana. The food table had cookies, and only cookies. No bananas. They'd run out. Also, the people handing out water were trying to hand out little paper cups of it, but the nice lady took one look at me and gave me a huge bottle. I drank half of the thing on one fell swoop, dumped some over my face, and started scanning the crowd for Rob, who magically appeared! He missed my finish because the traffic was so bad and he got stuck in it, but the finish line was so crowded I don't think he would have gotten a good shot anyway.

Turns out after my first transition, he'd walked the ~1 mile back to the hotel to get the car to try and catch me on the bike, but apparently I beat him to it - he drove to the turnaround and took a bunch of photos of other cyclists, then came back to try and find me but I'd already gone into the run - that's where he caught me! Then he had to park the car and try and find me on the run course, but again I beat him to the finish line.



Here are my final stats, and you can see how much better my swimming is by my ranking after that leg versus the other legs of the race:

Overall Place: 447/816 finishers
Overall Age Group Place: 28/73
Swim Time: 24:24
Overall Rank After Swim: 83
Age Group Rank After Swim: 4!!!!!!
Swim Pace: 1:28 per 100 meters
Transition 1 Time: 0:57
Bike Time: 1:28:55
Bike Pace: 16.7 mph (!!)
Overall Rank After Bike: 188
Transition 2 Time: 1:09
Run Time: 1:09:11
Run Pace: 11:10 per mile (!!)
Overall Rank After Run: 447
Total Time: 3:04:34

Yeah, can you see where I'm weakest? I suck at running! I lost 300 places after the bike! HA HA!

After the race, we hung out for the after party for a bit, had a beer, then headed back to the room and fell asleep for like two hours. We got up and got ready for the TNT Victory Party that started at 6PM, and as we were walking over to the bar for a quick cocktail pre-party, I GOT ENGAGED!

What a day! There's going to be another whole post about the proposal, don't worry. It was sweet and took me totally by surprise, which apparently was the biggest challenge for Rob because apparently I pay very close attention to events and behavior and he didn't want to tip me off with a big romantic dinner on the beach or some other obvious thing...

Yay yay yay!