Vineman 70.3:The good, the bad and the ugly

Humbling.

For me, Ironman 70.3 Vineman was humbling. Crossing the finish line second to last, 15 seconds before the cutoff time - that's humbling. Seeing your race plan fall apart 8 miles into the run when your back and glutes seize up on you. Humbling. Feeling like another full year of strong workouts and consistent training got me no better than a year ago. Frustration, self-doubt, questioning whether I really am cut out to be a long course athlete, or an athlete at all, cycling through my mind as I hobbled toward the finish.

Yes, all of that happened. And if I had written this last night, after the race, that's where it would have stopped. But there was plenty that went well.

I cut 17 minutes from my bike time of a year ago - and that was with two bathroom breaks and a stop at mile 25 when a woman got too close to me going up a hill and clipped my back wheel (she went down, I did not, but I did stop to go back and help her and make sure she was all right).

I cut 5 minutes out of my transition times.

The GI issues that plagued me last season were nonexistent thanks to a good hydration and nutrition plan (Osmo Pre-load Hydration - you can guess what 3000 mg of sodium tastes like, but it works) and no alcohol a minimum of 2 days before a race.

And despite a hot, painful 3:38 run time - I still cut 2 minutes off my overall finish time.

And that would not have happened without the support of Megan Reinhart, who found me a half mile from the finish, in tears, in pain, thinking I'd already missed the cutoff, and encouraged me to run a bit, staying with me, and an unknown woman, who was supporting a competitor just behind me, who got my name from Megan and kept saying "come on, Denise, you've got this. You can do it." As I turned into the finishing chute, I could hear the announcer calling out that there was 45 seconds to the cutoff - 45 seconds to go 100 yards. And with everything I had in me, I ran for that finish line - past my cheering parents and uncle, past my cheering coach and friend Cody Novak and partner in crime Guy Haycock, hitting the ribbon with seconds to spare before collapsing into a sobbing mess on my mother's shoulder (The woman behind me finished in time as well).

Striking a pose with Cody at the finish. 

Humbling, painful, but satisfying, because I didn't give up at mile 8 when each step confirmed that my plan was shattered or with 100 yards to go.

The saying goes that it's about the journey and not the destination. Well, the journey was a challenge, but it was made better by the encouragement and kindness of strangers - whoever you were, woman with the IM Coeur d'Alene shirt in that last half-mile, you were an angel, and from the support of my family and friends who came out to the course (Aunt Kathy, Sandee, Dad, Mom, Uncle Mike, Megan), my coach Cody and teammate Guy - who never give up on me, even when I give up on myself - and all my tri teammates, family and friends, who encouraged and cheered me all day from afar. It's hard sometimes not to feel like I have let everyone down, but in my heart I know that the only person who feels that way is me.

So, after a good week or two of recovery and massage, there are still a few Olympics ahead for me this season. As for Vineman 2014, that's going to require some time and discussion after debriefing with Cody. The journey continues.