Orissa Loftin.....You are an Ironman!

Where do I begin about this awesome journey I just completed?  First, I have to give my love and thanks to my husband, Brian, who made this journey possible.  He understood my need to accomplish this goal and gave me all the support I needed to do it.  Thank you so much and I love you!!  I also have to thank my wonderful training partners, AKA "The Iron Whiners", Kris, Shelly, Herb, and Aixa for always making the training a fun experience.  I now look forward to training almost as much as I do to the actual race, which is completely opposite of how I used to think about training.  We had our ups and downs but through it all you guys were always there for me and I appreciate all your support and encouragement.  And thank you to my coach, Dawn Elder, for giving me the training plan that not only got me through an Ironman, but got me through an Ironman at a time that I didn't think was possible for me to do when I first started.  Your passion and love for the sport of Ironman is amazing!

Okay - race day!!

After all the pre-race obligations were completed, I was off to bed on Saturday night.  Surprisingly, I slept well and only woke up once so I was nice and rested Sunday morning.  I got to transition and pumped up the tires on my bike, put my nutrition bottles on my bike, put up my special needs bags, and walked around looking for my friends.  Luckily, I found them right away and we were able to chat a bit before the race started and said that we couldn't believe that we were actually going to do this.  We got in the crowd to walk out to the water early so we didn't risk the chance of getting in the water too late and having to rush to the start line.  We tried looking for Herb, but with a crowd that big it was really hard to find him.  As we walked up to the water the announcer was saying to jump in and start swimming to the right and for people jumping to be careful and not jump on anyone.  Yeah, that didn't make me more nervous than I already was!  I was expecting the water to feel as cold as it had on Saturday when we did our practice swim, but I guess I had so much adrenaline running through me that when I jumped in and started swimming to the right I didn't even feel the temperature of the water.  I started swimming towards the bridge that is the start line trying to keep Kris and Shelly in my sights because I didn't want to loose them this early in the race!  We positioned ourselves to the left and to the front and actually bumped into our other friend Meagan, which was really cool!  As we were hanging out we heard our friend Herb call out to us as he started swimming toward us.  So happy to see him!!  He said he heard Kris's voice and that's how he found us.  Gotta love that!!  So we were all able to start together.

Swim:  1:36:43

Before I knew it the start cannon went off and Ironman Arizona 2012 had officially started for me.  I started swimming and was sure that I was going to be drowned within the first 5 minutes.  I was trying to find some clear water but just seemed to find arms and legs.  This was the washing machine!!!  My main goal was just to try to not get hit on the head.  I didn't mind all the grabbing and clawing of the my arms and legs, but I didn't want my head to get hit or my goggles to get moved.  Finally it seemed that I found my crowd.  I had nice open water and was able to get into a rhythm.  I hit the turn buoy and started making my way back towards the bridge and the finish line.  I forced myself to not stop and look at my watch at that point.  I so wanted to know how long I had been in the water but I mustered up the self-control and didn't look.  It seemed to take forever to swim past the ASU football stadium that is located right near the lake.  I swear there was a current in that spot that was holding me back :)  I finally passed it and was coming up to the bridges.  I was so excited.  I started smiling to myself and swimming a little bit harder.  Then I came up on a swimmer and I was going to the left to pass him, he stops, kicks out his left foot, and nails me right on the nose, pushing the goggle enough to loose their suction so water starts to come in.  I gave myself a few seconds to say a curse word and try to shake the water out before I continued swimming.  I knew I needed to keep swimming because my time wasn't going to be scorching fast.  I pushed them back on my face but water kept filling up the left eye.  I tried swimming for a bit with water in it but then it started getting into my eye and I didn't want my contact to get messed up because that would just be a mess racing with only one good eye so I went into "drill" mode.  I extended my right arm and kicked and turned my head to the left so I could drain the water from goggles and reposition them, all the while still moving forward in the water.  Thank goodness for swim drills!  I was able to get a good suction again and I was up to the last turn buoy headed for the stairs.  As the volunteers pulled me out of the water I was so happy to see my time.  I wanted to be between 1:30 and 1:45 and I did it!  As I ran to the "strippers" I noticed my feet were tingling.  I guess the water was cold after all.

T1:  11:29

Walking into the changing tent was a crazy experience.  First off, it was much smaller that it looked from the outside.  And it was so funny just seeing all these women stripping off their clothes.  I was happy that I hadn't planned on a wardrobe change!  It took me a bit longer than I had planned but I wanted to warm up my feet before heading out on the bike.  I forgot to do one major procedure before I left the changing tent:  chamois cream!!  I didn't realize this until I was running out, so I ran back to my bag and grabbed the little bottle I had put in the there and threw it in my jersey pocket then ran out for my bike, planning to apply it at one of my potty stops on the bike.     

Bike:  6:45:27

 

It was so awesome seeing the crowd as I rode my bike out of transition.  I ran up to the mount line and ran a little past it.  I have watched a few Ironman bike mounts and know how crowded it can get and how sometimes people are in such a hurry to get on their bikes that things can go wrong.  I heard my name and looked up and saw everyone cheering for me.  It was so exciting to see them.  I remember seeing Dawn's face and her telling me to, "go, go, go!!"  I ran over the right side of the barrier and got on my bike and I was so happy when my foot clipped into my pedal on the first try.  I had remembered to put my bike in the right gear and I was taking off.  I had one failed attempt to get my right foot in the pedal but I got it on the second try.  I was happy that I didn't have any issues with other rides almost riding into me or vice versa!  Heading out on the course I got into areo and tried to get my heart rate down.  It was a very crowded course and you had to be aware of your surroundings when you tried to pass anyone.  I had a goal of trying to maintain a 17 mph for the ride or try to finish in about 6:15.  I had only planned one doing one potty stop at the special needs bag at mile 63, but things didn't go as planned.  The first thing I noticed right away on the bike was that I was HUNGRY!  Luckily I had packed an extra Roctane on my bike and I downed it right way.  The next thing I noticed was when I took my first sip of my infinit, it tasted too salty!  Oh no, oh well, not much I could do so I kept taking sips of it and drinking water too to try to counter the extra salt in the drink.  Unfortunately around mile 10 my bladder was telling me it had to go!!  I had just passed the last aid station that had a port-o-potty, so that meant I had to go 8.5 miles to get to the turnaround.  I tried to stay areo but my bladder did not make it easy so I sat up on that first trip out of Tempe.  The other thing I noticed on my first loop is that the trip out was pretty much a gradual uphill, which made me happy because that meant the way back into town would be downhill.  Yahoo!!  Another great thing was that the winds were calm.  I was happy that I was not going to have to fight wind all day.  I finally made the turnaround, after watching the pros just cruise past me with what looked like little effort.  I made a bee line (hehe) for the bathroom and I think I peed out half of Tempe Town Lake!  But I was not going to make the mistake to trying to "tough" it out because that would probably just make my day horrible!  And I was able to apply the missing chamois cream while I was at the stop.  It was the best decision I made.  I also dumped that first bottle of infinit and went to the drinks they had on the course and that was another good decision!  The rest of the bike ride was great.  It honestly did not feel like I was out on the course for almost 7 hours.  Even though my bike computer said I was averaging 17 mph I did not take into account the stops I was making so my actual race average was 16.5.  (Note for next time)  I also got to see each of my friends at least once on the bike which was really cool!  I only saw my cheering section once as I was finishing my first loop for reasons I wouldn't find out about until I was on the run.  I loved riding back into the transition area and handing my bike off to a volunteer. 

T2:  5:58

The biggest difference I noticed in T2 was the temperature of the changing tent.  Whereas the first time I was in it, I thought it felt nice and toasty after being in the water, this time it felt hot and muggy.  I wanted to get out of there as quickly as possible!  Again, I had no wardrobe change to do, as all I had to do was take off my bike helmet and change my socks and put on my running shoes. 

Run:  5:26:53

 

The size of the crowds as I ran out of transition amazed me.  It was awesome to see so many people cheering us on.  I heard a few people yell out to me "Race for Monica", which made me happy.  She had been in my thoughts a lot throughout the day and I wanted to make her proud.  I knew that probably all my friends were ahead of me on the course and I was excited to see if I was ever going to see anyone.  My goal on the run was to try not to walk at all.  I knew I could run at least two hours because I had done that on my "last long training day" so I knew I had to keep my feet moving for at least two hours.  The volunteers at the run aid stations were great and there was plenty to choose from.  It was fun to see my coach and the Smashfest girls on the backside of the run course.  I also saw Fireman Rob on the course and I told him I was so happy to say that I could say that I raced with Fireman Rob.  He was nice and said thanks and that I was doing a good job.  I don't know how he can walk a marathon in all the gear.  Amazing!  The first loop felt great.  I was maintaining a good pace and my heart rate was staying relatively low.  I came up to Herb at the end of the first loop and I was so excited for him.  He was having a great race, and it had taken me almost a whole loop of the run course to catch him!  He had a killer bike time! 

As I started my second loop, I saw my cheering group again.  It was awesome to see them and they gave me a tunnel to run through.  It was at this time I found out why I hadn't seen them on the bike course again.  Kris had been run into by another biker on the bike course and taken out of the race.  My friend told me this thinking that I already knew this.  I didn't.  I immediately asked if she was okay and she said she was.  I was so disappointed for her.  I knew how much this meant to her and was worried that she would just be devastated by this.  So I started my second loop with a slightly heavier heart but determined to make her proud.  I was able to keep running and came upon another racer from San Antonio. I gave him some words of encouragement as I passed him and kept going.  He caught up to me a little while later and we ran together for a bit but he stopped to walk an aid station and I left him again.  When I saw my coach again on the back side she had Monica on the phone and I was able to talk to her for a bit.  That was really awesome.  She told me she was excited for me and I told her I had been thinking of her all day.  On the way back to start my last loop my knees Kris was there with the group.  When I saw her and saw her smiling face I just grabbed her hand and squeezed it so hard.  I was so happy to see her there because I knew it must have been so emotional for her to come out and cheer us on.  It was at this time I had to dig deep.  You see so many people walking on the course you begin to tell yourself things, "why are you still running?"  or "you can walk just a little bit."  But I tried to hold firm to my plan.  I did decide to walk the first aid station I came to on my third loop to see if it made my knees feel better.  It didn't.  So I resumed my shuffle again to the next aid station.  This was the trend until I got to the hill on the back side of the course.  I had been able to run up it the first two times, but this last time I walked it.  Once I was up it again though I started running until I got to the downhill and I had to walk that.  Going downhill was killing my knees!  It was on the third loop of the run course that I decided that I would be happy with just completing one Ironman and that I had no need to ever do another ever again.  Once I hit the sidewalk that was by the marina I knew it was almost over.  I saw the mile 24 sign and looked at my watch and began to think that I might actually go under 5:30 for my marathon time.  My goal coming in was to be under 6 hours so I was super excited to beat that!  I was heading to mile 25 when I looked behind me and saw my friend from San Antonio coming up behind me.  I was determined that he was not going to pass in that last mile and put everything I had left into that last mile.  In my head I was sure I was running at least a 9 or 10 minute pace, but after downloading my Garmin I saw it was only a 12:30 pace.  That just cracked me up!  But I held on and finished strong.  Coming around the corner and seeing the lights and the finish line with the time was one of the most amazing moments in my life.  The crowds are lined up on either side of the barriers and you can hear Mike Reilly's voice.  I heard him say my name, but after that it was like I had tunnel hearing.  I didn't hear anything, the music, the crowds, anything.  I just looked around wide-eyed and started smiling so big and began high-fiving people as I went across the finish line.

Total:  14:06:30  (Kind of cool how my time is just a rearranged 140.6)

P.S. The next day I said that of course I would have to do another one :)