Ironman Louisville 2018 - Part 3

So I have one last post to write about Ironman Louisville. I went back and forth on whether or not to talk about this, but it was a part of my experience and I think it's important to share.

In the midst of seeing the finish line, I know the announcer called my name even if I don't recall hearing it. I walked under the arch, and a volunteer was placing a medal around my neck. I got a hug from my sister and one from my coach. I made everyone give me group hug. It was an amazing moment. Years of dreaming. Months of work. Hours on the course. And just like that it was over. I headed back to the hotel and got a shower. I laid down and got about 2 or 3 hours of sleep. I was sore. I was riding the high of one of the greatest days of my life.

I was on the the facebook group, seeing other people post about not being able to sleep. I went back into the ironman tracker app to look over my time, to see the results of all this hard work I had put in. There was a notification showing up in the event messages. Upon opening it, my heart immediately sank.

Just as a friendly reminder, my finish time was 15:18:52. Which now, according to this update, meant I didn't officially finish. Most of you (triathlete or not) will say "who cares?" Whether ironman officially recognizes my finish doesn't change the fact I covered the course, I did it in really tough conditions, and I still got to run down the chute and get my medal. So many people were behind me through this process and on race day. I know even if I hadn't finished, it wouldn't have changed their opinions about me. No one, except me, would have been disappointed. But, it still felt embarrassing in a way to say I finished but not really. It was confusing to those who listened to me explain that my results were disqualified after the race was over despite the fact I finished. 

My coach's initial response to me telling her that my results weren't going to be official were, "ummmmm  fuck that." Hahaha I absolutely love her. We tried to make sense of a seemingly arbitrary updated cutoff but neither us of really understood. Cait got an update from the timing tent at the finish line while I was still out on the course about how long I had to finish. They told her that the finish line was going to close at 12:56AM. I finished at 12:35AM. She then told me I would have found 2:52 (which I wholeheartedly also believe) and told me not to think twice about it. 

My sister who was still with me that morning shared in the frustration, although not disappointed in me for one second. But I'm sure in some sense even angrier than I was to have to witness the rug being pulled out from under me. My other sister had a great response as I tried to explain to a friend on twitter about my unofficial finish. 

And the support and amazing responses continue. I asked Linden how he felt about running a half marathon at midnight with me for no reason now that my results didn't "count."

Anyone I told about the situation had similar responses. Whatever the internet says doesn't change the fact that I did it. I'm an ironman whether ironman tells me I'm one of not. I can't say I wasn't hurt by the updated cutoff. At one point on the run, I still had enough mental capacity to do math and even told Drew and Linden that if they adjusted the overall cutoff in line with the adjusted swim cutoff, we should have only been allotted 15 hours and 10 minutes to finish. I also went on to say that I wouldn't have made that. At the time I was struggling through the back half of the marathon. 3 minutes I definitely could have found. 9 minutes would have been a lot tougher. Drew reassured me that had the swim gone as originally planned, had the weather not been what it was, I would have had a totally different day. And that no one was questioning my ability to finish before the cutoff, on an ideal day or the day I was given.

 I cried on my drive back home from Louisville. I felt robbed. Despite the encouragement and outrage others shared with me, it didn't change the fact that I had been blind-sided with DNF.  I don't think there is any shame in DNF, especially not on the tough day we were dealt. I said going into the race, that no matter what happens I was going to be proud of myself for the effort I put forth up until that point. I declared that even embarking on this ironman journey was a big, bold, brave thing. I believe that. Ironman isn't easy. It's not supposed to be. But when you spend an entire day racing based on a certain piece of information, just to find out after the race is over that you don't have correct information, it just plain sucks. It makes me wonder how many of the people that run ironman events have actually participated in them. Knowing course cutoffs is a critical piece of information, especially for slower athletes like myself. 

There are all sorts of discussions happening surrounding this debacle. Some people question whether or not those of us that received a DNF after-the-fact would have been able to finish the race under the original time constraints to begin with. Some people told us to train harder and try again. Had I truly DNF'ed, I don't think these comments would have seemed so elitist. One of the things I love about triathlon is the wide variety of people you find on the course, from professionals to recovering addicts to average Janes like myself. There are so many reasons people test themselves through ironman. To assume someone didn't train hard enough, or phoned it in because they thought they had extra time to finish is just ignorant. I am grateful that all the people I know and who I had direct conversations with about this don't share that same attitude. 

I submitted an inquiry through the tracker app about my finish time and the updated cutoff. I received a standard response about the math behind the update cutoff and that it was determined after the race because they had no good way of figuring it out or communicating it during. It really left me feeling sour about ironman. I know they are a corporation. I know they are in it for the money. A lot of the things that I've experienced as a back-of-the-pack-er already have me feeling like ironman doesn't care about their athletes, especially the slower ones. It's hard to be offended by the elitist comments people make when it sometimes seems like ironman themselves try to cultivate that mentality. 

On the flip side, their motto is "anything is possible." This morning Cait messaged me asking if I had seen someone's post about his finish time being reinstated. I had not. But I went over to the group and read through the thread. After that, I replied to the previous response I got about cutoff times. I never disagreed with an updated cutoff. But, it's hard to race when you don't have all the information you need. How could I possibly have done anything differently when I didn't know I was so close to making the cutoff that didn't even exist yet? It really is mind boggling. At this point, over a week later, I had already accepted my fate. I knew my results weren't official, but that I finished. I had my medal, although I honestly thought about throwing it away. Not even kidding a little bit. I didn't want to look at it. It was just a reminder of how close I really got. But then something unexpected happened. 

Just when I thought ironman truly couldn't care less, I got this response. And just as when I first stepped onto the carpeted finish line, I shouted "fuck yeah!" in the middle of the lab at work today. I went home on my lunch break and cried. My emotions are always on a rollercoaster. But the last 10 days have been wilder than I could have imagined. I know I didn't need ironman to recognize my finish for me to consider myself an ironman. What makes someone an ironman isn't race results on the internet. It's the early morning workouts. It's the long hours alone on my bike trainer. It was 139 miles in the rain and cold that I toughed out on race day. But, it is nice for them to acknowledge the poor communication and the overall crappy situation and change my results back to being an official finisher. This outcome is the difference between me racing this event again or not. I look forward to a sunnier day on the Louisville course. 

I did want to say a few words to a few people... 

Nicole - Thank you for making the trip down to be at my race. I was only as calm as I was because you were there. I know it was a miserable day to spectate a race just as it was to race the race. But you stuck it out til almost 1AM. Thanks for keeping the rest of the family updated. I know we didn't do much and I know it went by fast (at least for me) but I truly am glad you were there to see me come down the finisher's chute. Full circle from giving my first triathlon medal 7 years ago.  

To the rest of my family - thanks for all the support from afar. It would have been nice to have you there but I know you were thinking of me. I was happy to read the notes you all wrote for my special needs bag. Thank you for being proud of me even when I felt like I no longer deserved the accolades. But of course thank you for reminding me that I fought for my day and earned it whether my results were "official" or not. 

Caitlin - Oh my gosh. I could write a whole post just for you. You started triathlon only a little bit before I did. But as our friendship grew, so did we both into the sport. The dream of my ironman finish line always had you there. Thank you for making that part of this dream a reality. I am so grateful to have you for a coach but more so to have you as my friend. Never have you made me feel like I am less than because of what I look like or the pace I go. (although my own insecurities try to get me to think that way sometimes). Thank you for seeing me through some of the toughest times. You've always supported, prioritized, and tried to understand my ongoing battle with mental health. It's been an amazing season. I finally broke 8 hours for 70.3, I did my first ironman which included a marathon PR, and just return to triathlon after 2.5 years and staying injury free this season were wins without all the other great things. I am so so excited to continue this journey together. 

Drew - Thank you for being out on the course. You could have just as easily stayed back at the finish line with everyone else but instead you were out on the bike, checking in with me. Thanks for telling me the pain I was in was normal. Thanks for telling me to drink some coke. They may seem like little things, but when all my energy was being spent on continuing to move forward, they were much needed reminders.  

Linden - I've said it already a few times, but thanks doesn't feel like enough. I hope you know how much of an impact your seemingly random act of kindness had on my race day and on me in general.  

And thanks to everyone who cheered me on and congratulated me. 

Thanks for reading these entries if you did/if you made it this far. I hope you enjoyed the insight into what was a very interesting first ironman experience. 

P.S. I already tried to get Caitlin to let me race another ironman... Florida next weekend. She said no. 😂 But there will definitely be more ironman racing in my future. Maybe just not 2 weeks post my first one.

Ironman Louisville 2018 - Part 2

So, when we left off I had just gotten off of my bicycle. I took my bike shoes off to aid the walk/jog back to transition. I got my run bag. I had pack running capris and I am glad I did. Going into the race, I hadn't planned on changing in T2 but I was so cold and wet that it was necessary. It was tough though for a few reasons. The first one being that I didn't think to put a towel in my T2 bag. So I didn't really have anything to dry off with. Changing clothes when wet is a work out in and of itself. And when you can't feel, well anything really, it's hard to get dressed.  I somehow managed to get changed. Dry clothes, especially socks, felt amazing. I stopped to use the porta-potty and then I was on my way. I happened to run into my old boss Bill coming out of transition. It was great to finally run into him. It was both our first ironman. A quick how's it going, good to see you, and he was on his way. Heading out onto the road, Meredith informed me I had to keep a 15:15 minute per mile pace or better to finish in time. This was perfect news as 15 minute miles was my plan. I was feeling really good. T2- 16:38.

I just started plugging away. I was running slightly under 15 minute miles and felt really good. My heart rate was back down to my zone 1. I saw Nicole who was out with her sign. I'm pretty sure I gave her a quick hug and was on my way to run a marathon.  Despite the fact, or maybe because, I spent 15 hours on the course much of it is a blur already. At some point I saw Drew who told me Caitlin was up ahead. When we crossed paths, she stopped and gave me a hug. I asked her how she was doing and again, the exact response escapes me except for one thing, "we always find a way. right?" It was a tough day for anyone and everyone. Crew Racing's motto is Always Find A Way - because that's what we do. We keep putting one foot in front of the other any way we can and know how. I continued on my way. I felt great through mile 10 then the day caught up with me. Miles 12 and 13 were my slowest. I saw an old teammate, Linden, from when I worked with my previous coach Kim, as I was on my way to the turn around. Again, another encounter that is blurry now. He probably asked me how I was doing and whatever my response was could tell I was starting to struggle. He asked me if I wanted him to run with me for a minute, and I told him I would see him around the other side once I went through special needs and started the second lap. I saw Todd Nixon, the other leader of Spirit Us Tri Club (formerly known as Best Tri Club ever - an awesome virtual tri club for althetes of all levels). I got a fist bump and some encouragement. I know I saw my sister again somewhere in here. It's seriously amazing to me how much of this I already don't remember.

The Ironman Louisville course is cruel in the fact that they split the course for second lap runners and finishers a block in front of the finish line. I guess in some ways it's good motivation but mostly it's just evil. So there was the finish line. I made a right turn to special needs and began my second lap. I had a lot of things in my special needs bag. But honestly, I knew I didn't have a ton of time. I didn't think changing my socks would make any difference at this point so I skipped that. I didn't want to eat anything. I typically have a hard time eating even sports nutrition while running so I didn't take any of the special treats I packed and didn't even take any of the second half gels I had in there either. I did grab 1 thing, the notes I asked my family to write and send me. They definitely were the bright spot I needed in that moment. I was happy I made it to that point so I was able to see them. A few steps down the road I came back across Linden. He started walking with me. He told me Drew was up the road. So we went ahead and eventually found Drew.

He asked me how I was doing. I told him my hamstrings were tight and everything was hurting. He said that was totally normal. Then he checked my nutrition status. I told him I really didn't want to eat or drink anything. He said, go for the coke and redbull. Get some caffeine and keep moving. If anything sounds appetizing at all, eat it. If not, just pass on by. I had to get back to my 15 min/mile pace to finish. So I pressed on. Linden continued running with me.  At some point he decided and informed me he was going to stick with me for the rest of the run. I was in too much pain and was too focused on continuing to move forward to think about it. I didn't argue or protest, which under normal circumstance I definitely would have. I didn't worry about if there would be consequences. There is a rule that no outside assistance is allowed. People have been disqualified from ironman races for things as silly as having a loved one hand them a chapstick. But again, I didn't care.

The first aid station we passed after we parted from Drew I took a redbull and coke. And I got a second wind. I was able to get back under 15 minute miles for a little while. But the course seemed to drag on. It was dark. There were far fewer spectators and athletes on the course at this point. I just kept moving. And right there was Linden, for some reason. He had spent hours prior to this hanging out with his other tri team spectating and cheering the run course. Also, I'm pretty sure he had been drinking. Oh, and, he and I met for the first time on Friday at team dinner. So here was this person that I barely knew, helping me along, telling me I was doing great, telling me I was going to make it, running with me at 11:30 at night. It's not uncommon to find another athlete along the way and stick together for a while, to share in the misery of the moment that are the late night marathon miles of an ironman. But, this was different. I honestly don't know what possessed him to do it. I guess Drew and/or Cait had talked to him and there was some vague plan of him going with me for a bit. Somehow that turned into the rest of the second lap. Cait later told me he wanted to. What kind of crazy person wants to run a half marathon at midnight with someone they barely know? Although what kind of crazy people do ironman races? Ha! We are a special breed I suppose. Let me move on from my astonishment of his company for a minute.

He had to hear me say, shit, oh god, everything hurts, and ask repeatedly if I was going to make it. Never did he seem annoyed or worried. He just kept telling me I was doing great and I was going to make it. He may have told me the turn around was close when it wasn't, but I'm going to let that one slide. I told him to talk to me, to literally tell me anything to distract me. And so we jogged and chatted. We may have started out barely knowing each other, but over the course of the next 10 miles we got to know each other a little better. He checked with me at every aid station if I wanted anything. Sometimes he pushed me to go a little harder. And he respected when I told him not yet. And we continued on. He seriously was like my ironman marathon guardian angel.

Eventually we made it back to Churchill Downs and there was Drew again. I'm pretty sure he told me the time the finish line was going to close and told me I was going to make it. He rode along on his bike for a few minutes, telling me how everyone else had done for the day. New and old teammates getting on the podium. He reminded me to drink something if I felt I could. I really wanted water and the aid station we passed didn't have any. Drew saw a bottle and tossed it on the ground towards me. He said it wasn't outside assistance if I picked it up off the ground. This was another moment of not caring, even though a race vehicle was right in front of us when this happened. The bottle had rolled away from me and back towards him. He picked it up and handed it to me. Getting some water was more important than a potential rule violation and it's not cool that they didn't have any water at the aid station anyway or least not any ready in a cup to hand to me as I passed. It's not like I was moving that fast either. So I think they didn't have any. I don't know. Anyway... Drew snapped a picture to send to Cait and headed back to the finish line and told me he'd see me there.

I had 3 miles left. Then 2. Then 1. Linden lead the way and I followed. Soon he said just a left turn, a right turn and you're there. There was the faint noise of the crowd. We made the left. Then the right. And then there was the most glorious thing I've ever seen - my ironman finish line. I made it. It was exhilarating. I gave Linden a huge hug and said thank you (I think) and took off. People were beating on the boards. I couldn't hear the announcer call my name but he told me he did. The moment I first stepped onto the carpet, I shouted "FUCK YEAH!" And a woman standing down there yelled it back at me. She got a high five. A few other high fives. I looked for my sister but couldn't really see any faces the closer I got to the arch. There were very bright lights and I ran towards them arms raised. Run 6:36:04 (a marathon PR). Total time 15:18:52.

And just like that, my day came to an end. 138+ miles, 15+ hours later, a volunteer was putting a medal around my neck and congratulating me. I did it! Melissa Workoff, YOU. ARE. AN IRONMAN! A huge smile was plastered on my face. Passed the arch and the lights, Cait and Nicole were to the left of me, both teary. Hugs. All the hugs. Group hug. Then the volunteer came back to take me to get my picture taken with my medal. A very long day of self perpetual forward motion. It was absolutely incredible. We took some more pictures after I came out from the finisher's area. Nicole asked if I wanted to walk down to the food, I told her no. I really still didn't feel like eating anything. I chatted for just a few minutes with everyone and then Nicole and I walked back to the hotel, which I conveniently chose less than a block away from the finish line.

I had written a post prior to the race saying that no matter what happened, I felt like even taking on this endeavor to begin with was a big and brave thing. I toed the starting line when others didn't due to weather conditions. I was able to execute my race day plan despite not being presented with the day I was expecting.  I planned to remain grateful and keep moving forward, and I did just that. Even in the cold, I was happy. Even through the pain and fear, I was grateful.

This may be my favorite picture ever. 

I have some personal shout outs & thank you's to write, along with some overall thoughts about this crazy journey I've been on for a while now. So I'll wrap everything up in one last post, tomorrow!

Ironman Louisville 2018 - Part 1

Wow! What a day. My triathlon journey has been leading to this one day for literally years. My sister asked me why I wanted to do Ironman, other than the natural progression of longer distance racing. But after my first sprint triathlon, I dreamed this big dream of being called an Ironman. The years passed. Injuries came and went. Life had its ups and downs and turns. But, here I am. It came and went. It's over. All the long workouts. All the worry (honestly, there wasn't TOO much worry). I swam. I biked. And I ran and walked and jogged. And, I crossed the finish line.

There is so much to say about the day. Leading up to the weekend, the chance of rain crept up. I was upset about that. Then my coach told me I know better than to spend time on anything outside of my control. My sister also told me to get it out of my system now, early, that way on race day I don't give it any more mental attention. Both things were great pieces of advice and really worked.

I really wasn't feeling too nervous leading up to race day. I drove up to Louisville Thursday after work. I dealt with my athlete check-in stuff Friday morning before having to pick up my sister from the airport. I also had time to make a quick walmart run. The walk down to transition on Friday morning to get my packet was enough for me to know my hands would be freezing on the bike, rain or no rain. I found a decent pair of gloves for $10 and it may have been the best $10 I spent all weekend.

We had team dinner on Friday night. I got there early so I could have a couple minutes with my coach before everyone else started showing up. We continued to discuss wardrobe decisions and race plans. She reminded me that one of her best marathons was in a downpour at the end of Ironman Texas. I chatted with my old teammates, met some of my new ones.

 Saturday, I got out on my bike and tested out the gloves. I was able to shift and control my bike with them on which was most important. And they definitely were better than the basic $1 knit ones I had as my original emergency gloves. That was followed by a quick run around the block. I mixed my nutrition and packed up all of my transition and special need bags. Then we went down to drop that stuff off. The volunteer in transition who helped me rack my bike was the one that got my red volunteer bracelet. They give the athletes these bracelets at check-in to give to a volunteer to show appreciation. I honestly wish I had 100 to give away. All the volunteers all weekend were amazing.

We had a late lunch and then just lunged around all afternoon. I walked about 7 miles on my rest day Friday and my ankles were a little sore. I actually got them taped on Saturday, probably more for a mental reassurance than anything else. There were lots of good cartoons on TV. Perfect way to chill. Just having my sister there with me, even if all we were doing was watching tv made a huge difference in my pre-race nerves. It was a big day and even though I knew other people that would be out there racing or spectating on the course, it's not the same as having someone there to calm your nerves prior to the race.

I think the fact that I got the weather worries out of the way earlier in the week, I wasn't really thinking about it too much on Saturday. Friday and Saturday were pretty nice days. Cool, a little bit windy but sunny. It did make me a little bitter but again, nothing I could do about it and it wasn't going to change the plan I had going in. My coach and I talked about it before the weekend even started. I was aiming to swim a 1:30, bike 8 hours, and run 15 minute miles. She calculated my day with 6 minute transition times and this would have left me with about 14 minutes to spare before the 16:30 cutoff.

Wake up on Sunday morning and it's already raining. The weather called for "a bit of rain." The hourly  forecast for the day went over 50% only 2 or 3 hours, nonconsecutive - LIES!. I waited a while to get dressed. And then waited some more to start our walk down to transition. Since I had already dropped all my bags, I really didn't need to go down for anything other than to double check my bike. I did add a little air to my back tire and then it was time to head towards the swim start. We stopped under the bridge and I took off my warm morning clothes and traded up to a wetsuit. We then continued our walked. Eventually we came down to the lawn where people we lining up for the swim start. This is a self seeded swim and I positioned myself in the 1:20 to 1:30 group. Then we continued to wait. There really wasn't much going on. Nicole played some music for me on her phone. I even got to hear "Remember the Name" which she didn't know was one of my and Cait's songs.

7:25 came and went. This was when the professionals were supposed to start. Eventually, information got around that the swim was being delayed. And it was going to be shorted. I guess the rain from overnight and the morning added to the river and the current was too strong to swim the course as planned. They cut what was supposed to be a 2.4 mile swim down to 0.9 miles, all down stream. Honestly, I wasn't phased. It was not within my control. It would upset a lot of first-timers to know their course was being shortened. But safety is top priority and I didn't want to get sucked down river so I was perfectly ok with the situation. Caitlin had texted me to tell me nothing changes with the plan, but I didn't have my phone with me. Although, I just assumed as much anyway. They finally started the professionals at 8:00. The age groupers started around 8:15 I think. They were sending swimmers in 1 at a time in an attempt to keep the bike course from getting to crowded. I was able to see Cait go by starting the bike before I even made it down to the dock. I continued to mosey down the line. My sister gave me a hug and I left to head down the ramp. It was definitely slow going. The delayed start and anticipation of getting in the water, my emotions were running high as I was about to begin my first Ironman. It was a day that not that long ago felt out of reach. It was a dream I almost considered giving up on. But there I was, about to go forth and put my training, my body and my mind to the test. I started crying. A very nice woman in the crowd encouraged me. Then of course my fellow athletes began talking to me and it calmed me down. Finally it was my turn to get into the water! And so began my 140.6 (ok, well I guess 139.1) journey.

The swim was a bit frustrating. The water was definitely strong. They were shouting directions at us the whole time we were in the water. This made it hard to focus on swimming. It was difficult to see since it was still raining. The water was also steaming since it was 20 some degrees warmer than the air temperature. I don't even know how many buoys were still out there in positions that were actually for us to use for sighting. They kept telling us to swim right. We needed to pass under the bridge with a certain pillar to our left. Yet, almost as soon as we made it under the bridge they started yelling at us to swim left. It was challenging. Pro's were in and out in 12 minutes. My swim time was 17:40. Out of the water and I got some cheers from Swim Bike Mom - Meredith Atwood. I ran over and gave her a hug.

Then I hustled on into transition. The tent was crowded! I was able to find a chair and a volunteer. I had her put some vaseline on under my bra strap, a hot spot for chaffing. Long sleeve bike jersey on. I cleaned up and dried off my fee the best I could. Although I am not sure in the grand scheme of the day socks mattered on the bike all that much. Socks and bike shoes on. Helmet. Glasses. Gloves. GO! My volunteer told me I was quick. There was no point to changing out of my wet tri shorts since it was still raining a decent amount. Cait and I talked about transition as a good place to shave time. So I really did my best to not waste time there. However the wet conditions on the concrete made it precarious to try and run in bike shoes leading up to the mount line. I honestly can barely walk in my bike shoes to begin with. I made it to the mount line, got on my bike, and went on my way.  T1 10:03.

As I said, at the start, it was raining decently. For the rest of the day, it rained. I think there were a few 20 minutes sections were it wasn't raining but honestly it didn't matter or make a difference. I rode by Nicole who waited for me on the stretch of rode we were on down by the swim start. And so it began. A very long bike ride. My longest bike ride to date. I ate an uncrustables right away. I was hungy before I even started the swim due to the delayed start and long line to get into the water. I knew the cold would make it hard to stay on top of nutrition and fluids. It's hard to be motivated to eat and drink when you are freezing. My legs and feet were numb pretty much from the beginning but I just kept pedaling. Hills came and went. Miles ticked off. I made it to La Grange which is a viewing spot they actually shuttle spectators out to. It was great to hear people cheering. I even got some high fives! And a personal shout from my friend and old teammate Cheyenne.  It's always great to hear someone calling your name. It's such a boost. This was about 30 miles into the bike. I was very focused on continuing to move forward. When I first got on my bike, my HR was high, which is usually the case for me. Even though the first few miles of the course are relatively flat, I have a hard time getting it to come down. Then I started hitting the hills and I honestly couldn't worry about it. It was going to be what it was and I had to keep biking, even it my HR was high. It did start to settle down a little. It came down when I coasted the down hills. And then spiked again as I got winded going up hill. I definitely need to do more hill work if I am going to do this course again.

Two primary thoughts I had throughout the ride: I can imagine this is a gorgeous ride on a nice day. I'm cold but happy. I continued to bike.  Honestly, I feel like there isn't too much to say about the bike. I got it done. It was cold. It was hard to eat with my glove on. But I still was able to manage. I stopped at special needs to grab my second half nutrition. I asked what time it was. 2pm. I believe the cutoff for being on the second lap of the bike was 2:30 which means I was in good shape. I also was about 4 hours into my ride at this point,  a little more than half way and on track for my 8 hour overall bike time. I did have to make a pit stop for the bathroom at an aid station down the way because the ones in special needs were crowded.  The course was crowded on my first loop which is normal. The faster athletes on the course were coming around on their second loop while the rest of us were on our first. Crowded course and the wet road conditions are probably not the best mix.

Coasting some of the downhills was honestly scary. Wet roads and 30 mph downhill on a bicycle probably not the safest scenario. This did cause an overall slow down to my bike. Also, similar to driving a car, when the person in front of you is breaking, you break. And if you don't want to break, odds are there is someone about to speed past you on the left and you have to break anyway.  I got caught behind people going slower than I would have up hill once or twice. I dealt with these encounters as they arose and that's all I could do.  Eventually, almost exactly 8 hours from when I started, I was back at the dismount line. What a beautiful sight!

Official bike time - 7:58:30.

To be continued...  Second transition, a marathon, and the finish to come in part 2. :)