Oh my God, Mom...it's been a big week of celebration! There hasn't been a moment to even stop and rest the past week! I'm sorry I have not written much this week. It's been non-stop laughing, fun, visiting and celebrating with family and friends since the race. The house has been filled with family, food, festivities (wine) and laughter. The only thing missing is you and Don.
Kate and Garth left today after a wonderful time spent here. I think they really had a great time. Gwen and Rob have been over every night this week for dinner, too, and all of us have had such a good time together!
There really is nothing like family! We are all so very blessed.
I don't know where to start...
The race seems like forever ago, but I wanted to tell you about it and then I'll get to your famous flapper pie that Kate and I made (which turned out superb...thx to your recipe and instruction)! You would have been proud! I am my mother's daughter!
It's so funny...Mom, you shine through each of us in different ways. Your sense of taking care of everything and covering all the details is totally evident in Kate. She calmly takes care of everything, like you do. And then your sense of humour is definitely present in Gwen. She is hilarious. Lastnight, and, well, most nights, she is in fine form! I'm not sure what part of you comes through me, but I'm sure there are so many parts of you in all of us...how lucky for us.
So...the race!
Mom, it was truly one of my best races. For many different reasons...
Thankfully, I was pretty organized and had all my stuff laid out and ready to go.
It was very windy the days before the race. I was quite nervous, obviously. The weather was not cooperating. The day before the race, when we were checking our bikes in and giving our transition bags (with bike gear in one bag and running gear in another), it was still windy!
While we were there, I thought I should get down on my knees and pray a little! ;)
I know....I was sort of kidding around....but there's "truth in humour"!
I did pray a lot before the race. During the race. And after.
There were over 3000 people in the race! This made it the world's largest mass swim start ever! I'll have race photos for you (from the photographers) in a few days, to show you how incredible it really was.
On race morning, the water was like glass. It was perfectly calm. Sunrise was still an hour away as we got down to the transition area to get ready for the race. But by the time the canon went off to start the race at 7am, it was quite light out.
I had a great start to the swim. It felt easy. I wasn't stressed at all. And while I tried to find people to swim behind, and draft, I mostly stuck to myself, simply moving forward, closer to the turn-around and tried to sing songs in my head. Before I knew it, I was on my way back to the shore. At one point, I found myself sort of daydreaming, like when I go out for a training swim, so I had to get back near the other swimmers b/c they motivate me to focus and get my head in the race. Getting back to shore was awesome and although I spent 10 minutes in transition, getting changed and ready to get on the bike (not sure what exactly I was doing for that long), I eventually got on the bike and cheered and waved to everyone as I sped through town. It was wonderful to see people that I knew and wave, smile and enjoy the time. Someday, I should be more competitive and focus on the race, but this day was not one of those days. I was a bit nervous about the race still, due to my minimal training, so I just wanted to take it easy and have fun.
The bike ride started out FAST! For 2 hours,to the base of Richter Pass, I was in my zone, singing songs in my head and feeling like a machine! I should mention the awesome tailwind that pushed me forward through the first 50km. It was awesome!
Then, at the base of Richter pass, I stopped for a moment to rest. On training rides, I always stopped here so that's what I did in the race. Just for a couple minutes. To relax. To breathe.
A rider from Mexico (they were all in orange jerseys) asked if I was OK as he passed by. I said yes and thought to myself, "gee. That was nice of him."
Then I got on my bike and started my favourite part of the bike course. The 12km climb up Richter Pass. Smiling pretty much the whole way, I started catching up and then passing people. Not that I'm a better rider, just that I know the course so well and have been up and down this hill probably 30 times over the years. And I'm a pretty good climber with these muscular legs of mine.
Some days I wish for long skinny legs...but not this day. I'll take my legs any day on race day!
I ended up passing the guy from Mexico and we chatted for a bit. His name was Salvador. I thanked him for asking if I was OK. Then I told him this phrase I learned on the Diva Retreat. "Vamanos a'la ching gara!" (It means "Lets get the f&^% out of here!"
He laughed!
I said that we should say this to ourselves as we reach the top of the pass! He said "OK!" with a big smile on his face.
Getting to the top of Richter Pass was a breeze and I stopped there to eat a power bar. People were wondering why I was stopping. I just wanted to. It was a mini-celebration and as I broke the race into tiny pieces, this was one piece to get through and celebrate before moving on to the next piece. I also wanted to eat and ensure that I would be hydrated and taking in proper nutrition all day.
I also had to take out my retainer to eat. I heard that wearing a retainer and having something to bite down on (not just clenching your jaw) adds 10-15% power output. Dr Gerasim told us this years ago when we got braces and made me a retainer when were doing the bike trip across the country. I wore my retainer in Cozumel and it worked out there so I thought I should try it again.
It was working!
Back on the bike, the next 20km were easy! That's because I was flying down the hills at 60km per hour! Whaahhhh...hooooooo!!!!!!! Taking up the whole lane, no traffic to worry about. It was my moment to shine.
Up. and down. 7 rolling hills. Up. Down. Up. Down....
It was perfect! I was having a fabulous ride!!!
Until the road turned to the right and the headwinds started! The downhills seemed flat and pedalling down them was not fun. Pedaling up was even harder. The flats became a challenge.
Out in any race, there's a moment where you get to "meet yourself". Where you get to see what you're made of.
I knew that was that moment.
I knew I wasn't going to quit. I also knew that it wasn't going to get easier. The headwinds were going to be there for a while. I knew the course. I couldn't pretend. It was time to dig deep.
As I passed one person on the sideline, he quietly said those words, "Dig deep." as I passed. They stuck with me for the next 20km as I truly had to dig deep to get through the headwinds and 120-140km point.
Then, the famous Yellow Lake climb started and once again, I was out of the wind and in my element. It was cold, the road was wet (it had rained earlier) and I said the phrase, "40km to finish." over and over and over. And over. There were cars and people lining the road way. I imagined you and our family out there like in my first race and smiled most of the way up.
The people on the sidelines were so encouraging.
Getting to the top was a welcomed reprieve. I stopped again there and went to the bathroom. Put on my arm-warmers b/c the descent would be cold, heading down into town. Got a 1 minute shoulder massage from the volunteer. And got back on Lexi (my bike) (Short for Lexus...b/c if my bike were a car - it would surely be a Lexus.) :)
Once again, I found myself smiling brightly, holding on tight and loving the reward for getting up the Pass. Sailing down the last 30km into town was a joy! Once back in Penticton, I waved and cheered for the people on the sidelines because they were out there cheering for me and everyone else. It's amazing. If you wave and cheer - they wave and cheer! If you just ride by silently. They let you ride by in silence. What a waste that would be - for everyone!
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Getting off my bike was a dream come true. It was only then, that I thought about the next part.
The marathon.
I got my runners on. Brushed my teeth. Grabbed my little piece of paper with a bunch of songs on it and stuffed it into my pocket (in case I needed a little inspiration later).
I put on my new Ironman hat, sunglasses and big smile and headed out to the marathon. (I got the same visor for you that you can wear fishing, Mom! You're going to love it!)
Running through the first mile was easy. So many people. The music. The welcomed feeling of being off my bike....
But after the first couple miles, reality sets in. There is still a long ways to go. I had made it so far though and my swim and bike were awesome! And I still felt strong physically. Mentally, my confidence was growing stronger and stronger because I knew this was (or could be) one of my fastest races if I could remain focused.
Something happened to me out there on the run course, Mom. Something that I'll remember forever.
You know how you always told me that "I could do anything."? Maybe you don't even remember telling me this, Mom, but you did. Years ago, you said, "You can do anything you want, Crystal." Well, I believed you then and over the years, I've reminded myself of this countless times. It's because you told me this, that I can do anything, that I actually can. If you didn't tell me, I would never be the person I am today. I would never have believed that i could do anything. And I likely wouldn't have ever attempted so many big and small things in life.
Well, I've always thought that I was a bad runner. That I wasn't very fast. And it's slowed me down a lot over the years. I've never thought I could really run and it's been disappointing for me to be able to swim and bike moderately but not feel lke I could run very well.
Mom, I was out running with Eric months ago and he said to me , "You know, you're a good runner." I didn't really believe him. But he said it again and again. And the day before the race, he said to me again, "You're a very good runner."
I listened.
And out there on the course, for the first time, I thought that just maybe, I might be a good runner.
I told myself, over and over, as each mile passed, "I'm a good runner! I'm a good runner!"
And I ran. And ran. And before I knew it, I was at the 8 mile point, and Eric passed me (on his way in to finish) and he gave me a big hug that reminded me that I'm a good runner! From mile 8-13, I smiled, thanked the volunteers and walked through every aid station, drinking gatorade, eating those gells that weren't so good any more...and the rest of the time...I ran.
Because I finally believed that I'm a good runner!
At the turn-around, I knew I was going home and nothing would stop me from getting to teh finish line. I knew that Gwen and Kate and everyone would be there! I was so excited to get there!
Mile 16-20 were not easy and I walked a bit. But mostly, I ran. Unless it was up a hill, I ran. I told myself that I could walk up the hills but I had to run every other part, except through the aid stations. And that's what I did.
At mile 20, just 10km to finish, I started to kick it into gear (if you can call it that)! The smile on my face was bigger than ever. It was getting dark but I would be finished before they passed out glow-sticks, which is always a goal of mine!
Mile 20-24 sailed by and now I was back in town. I knew Gwen would be out there and I was so excited to see her. She has a tradition where she comes running out on teh course to find me and we run a bit together. And at mile 24, there she was! Well, at first I could not see her...but boy, could I hear her! There she was, larger than life, an angel in disguise, carrying me home! We flew the next mile together and as we came to a corner, she said, "Look for the red sweater!"
when I came around the corner, with one mile to go, I saw the legendary red sweater, swirling in the air, like there was nothing else there. Never mind teh hundreds of people, all I could see was teh red sweater! And all I could feel was the strenght of my family, carrying me to the finish line.
I stopped to hug Kate, Garth, friends...and ran the last mile surrounded by cheering, screaming people on the sidelines.
Even a bunch of the staff from teh hostel came out to the race. And as I ran the last mile, I heard them cheering so loudly for me - it was truly amazing! I felt so lucky!
I felt like I was on fire, Mom. I passed so many people...all the people that I thought would surely beat me; people I saw in the start of the marathon, who I felt would obviously beat me because "they looked like such good runners.".
I passed them all.
I could hardly contain my emotion. Not at beating them. But at realizing that when someone believes in me...I believe in me.
And I realized for the first time in my life, that I really am a good runner!
The last mile was a small miracle. I thanked God for my life. For myt healthy body. For my family. For the day and for every moment.
They say that out there, somewhere on the Ironman course, your life will change forever.
Mine did.
As I ran through the final few hundred meters and crossed the finish line, I held my arms out to my sides; embracing the moment, embracing my life, embracing the people I love and all that I've been blessed with.
I finished in 14 hours and 13 minutes. My third best race ever!
If the headwinds were less and if I didn't stop so many times to go to the bathroom, I think I would have possibly finished in 13:45...and maybe even better. Who knows...it might have even been my best race ever, beating 13:37, if I didn't stop to have so much fun!
But what fun would that be?
I'll write more and add photos soon, Mom, but I hope you know how grateful I am to you for telling me that I can do anything. You might not realize the power in your words, but I do.
You have not only changed my life with the power of your words, you have made my life what it is.
Thank you, Mom.
I love you and I'm forever grateful.
Crystal
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