For a shorter recap, click here otherwise keep reading below!
Quick recap of my interesting journey to this point:
- September 2015: I had a plantar issue pop up. I chose not to run until Kona in hopes of it going away.
- October 2015: Determined to finish the Ironman World Championships, I ran most of the marathon. This is likely where I ended up tearing my plantar.
- October 2015-April 2016: Amniofix injection to heal the tear, lots of physical therapy, and some fun shockwave therapy to get my plantar healed.
- May 2016: I attempted Ironman Texas, feeling pretty confident in my shots of qualifying for Kona. Until I flipped over my handlebars the day before the race. Oops. I DNF'd IMTX after dropping at mile 12 due to what would later be diagnosed as a stress fracture in the hip.
Goal: sub-1:10
Actual: 1:09:55
500th overall; 108th female; 20th age group
The swim was a self-seeded swim, and I lined up with the 1:01:00-1:10:00 swimmers, right by Nate. I knew being sub-1:10 was a lofty goal considering how I have performed in the past, but I was ready to show what all of my hard work over these past six weeks have produced in combination with my new Roka Maverick Pro wetsuit.
Each discipline consisted of two loops. After the first loop of the swim, we’d get out, run 50m on the beach and do lap two. The really cool thing about this swim is that there is a permanent line that runs around the entire loop. The numbered buoys are connected to this line, as well as the smaller, permanent buoys. I decided to stay towards the inside of the permanent line and buoys as I did not think there would be as many people on the inside (in this race, we were required to go around the two red buoys only). This worked really well for the first lap as I did not get pushed around by too many people until the very end where we were funneled into the exit.
I checked out my watch—34:41. No big deal; I just swam a 70.3 swim PR. I wish there would’ve been a photographer at the swim exit to get my cheesy grin as I exited the water! The second loop seemed to be a little more congested on the inside of the line/buoys. I got socked in the face and had to readjust my goggles which was a little annoying (don’t worry, I beat that guy out of the water—don’t mess with me!). I ended up with a 1:09:55 as my overall swim time. The only time I swam faster was when we did Ironman Cozumel, which was in salt water and we had the current pushing us downstream. I was ecstatic!
5:00
I exited the water and immediately started running past people. The downfall of being an “average” swimmer is that there are a TON of people exiting the water at the time I do. I knew the beginning of the bike course could be scary if super congested (it’s a decent downhill), so tried to get past as many people as I could while exiting the water.
Goal: sub-5:40
Actual: 5:37:34
153 overall/ 12th female/2nd age group
- Downhill beginning: after exiting transition, we went down some quick hills. Guys were flying past me, but I was not about to blow my race (or crash) so early on. Crowds were AMAZING here and made me feel like I was winning the whole darn thing!
- The first longer uphill (about one mile of climbing) was tough, but I promised Ryan and myself that I would be fighting all day to secure that Kona slot, so I cranked it up that hill. This then took us past the Mt. Van Hovenberg Olympic complex.
- Keene Descent: Having confidence after riding it in practice on Wednesday, I was FLYING past people. My top speed hit 50.6mph and it was AWESOME. I decided I’d try to hit 50mph again on loop 2 because this going fast thing was too much fun (sorry, mom!).
- Shortly after the Keene Descent, we then went on a longer (6-mile) out and back at Ausable Falls. I was counting how many girls were in front of me. I stopped counting after 15. Dang. Even with my fastest ever swim time, I was still that far back. In hindsight, seeing how far back I was actually was a good thing as I started cranking even harder. The top girls might not be caught until the run, but I was determined to be top ten when getting off the bike.
- Next, we headed into the town of Jay, where Megan’s parents were staying. Her dad was wearing his RyBread Racing t-shirt, so was super easy for me to spot. They were staying at the top of a rather annoying climb, so seeing them reminded me that the torture was almost over. We then had a little (1-mile) out and back section again, and I could tell I was gaining on most of the girls! While I was excited, I also knew to keep my emotions in check as this next section was going to be a doozy.
- Wilmington was super fun to hang out in the day that we were driving the course, but boy was it not as fun on race day. Wilmington took us past Whiteface Mountain and we continued to hit “false flat” or “slight incline” sections where it was just so hard to keep a good cadence.
- Next, it was time for “The Three Bears.” If you’ve done Ironman Wisconsin, you know about the “Three Sisters,” which are arguably the three most challenging hills on the course. Let me just say, these “Three Bears” don’t even add up to ONE of the Sisters. So, when I finally got to Mama Bear, I was pretty excited as I knew after hitting her, Baby and Papa, I’d be heading back to Mirror Lake and out to do loop two. The crowd support was pretty awesome up the “Three Bears” and definitely reminded me of the time I’ve spent cheering at Sister Two in Madison.
- After climbing the Three Bears, the roads become slightly more congested as we weave around Mirror Lake (literally right past our old house) and head past Special Needs, into Loop Two. I checked my split and did some quick calculations—if I could be no more than 5 minutes slower on this second loop, I could go sub-5:40 (which was my secret goal for myself). Bring. It. On.
Obviously, the three guys I had JUST passed re-passing me via drafting off of each other annoyed me, but for some reason my mind told me to drop back for longer than normal before re-passing. Thank goodness I did; a course marshal flew by and wrote down the numbers of all three guys. Unfortunately, this course marshal stayed on these guys up all Three Bears, so by the time I was ready to pass them, we were on a single-file road.
We made a quick right turn and two of these guys decided to ride side by side! WHAT?! I’m pretty sure that’s not allowed. The guy on the left sped up a touch, and I went to go around, and he slowed down. I couldn’t control my emotions anymore and yelled out, “DUDE!!!!!” He didn’t seem to care, but his buddy yelled at him to scoot over. I blew by the two guys and finished the last 2 miles more than 2 minutes ahead of them. Thanks for that bit of anger, guys!!
3:33
This is where the race turned a bit scary for me.
After hopping off of my bike at the dismount line, a volunteer took it and I was left to run into transition. My left hip flexor started KILLING me. It wasn’t the back side of my hip where the stress fracture was, but the fact that ANY portion of a formerly injured area was hurting kind of freaked me out. A lot. I told myself that my hips were just tight from putting in a solid effort on the bike and to not worry. I went through transition, grabbed my run stuff and decided to hit the porta potty before heading to the run. I knew from Texas that stopping during the run could potentially jeopardize my chances of being able to run again, so the extra minute or so in transition wouldn’t hurt me.
Goal: sub-3:30
Actual: 3:24:47
57th overall/6th female (including pros)/1st age group
The run was a two-loop course that was out-and-back, which was nice as I could see all of the girls ahead of me. Except for Heather Jackson, the female pro who just demolished this course. I did get to see her a few times on the run, and she gave me these huge smiles thanks to my awesome Wattie Ink kit! Her husband, Wattie, just went CRAZY every time he saw me (we met at the expo a few days prior) and really boosted my spirits as I went by.
I decided to include my splits (partially for my benefit) to show how challenging this course was, and to show that even with a lower base than normal (aka my 11mile "long run" was the longest I had run in over one year), it is still possible to run pretty well during an Ironman. Not recommended, though ;)
Mile 1, 6:51 -- little conservative, focus on not speeding down the downhills. Save the hip.
Mile 2, 6:56 -- strong looking lady coming back. Focus on catching up to her. Steady on the downhill.
Mile 3, 6:51 -- Ryan, after the downhill, "Jac, you're 6th female age grouper!!!" Let's start counting to verify... now number 5 after catching this lady. She was 41 years old ("Miss 41" for future reference as I didn't see her bib).
I don’t normally post photos that I didn’t buy, but this one was too funny not to add into the blog.
Mile 5, 7:09 -- Even though we had biked the run course a few days prior, it felt like the turnaround took forever to get to (it was about 4 miles to the turnaround). I just kept looking and wondering how the heck these girls were so far ahead of me since I had my best swim ever and one of my best bikes ever.
Mile 6, 7:35 -- I realized during this mile why it was taking forever to catch these girls: the self-seeded start. I was 10+minutes behind the fast swimmers. Duh. At least the frustration made me push hard!
Mile 7, 7:29 -- Just after the turnaround (6.5ish), I passed a girl and was happy to be in 4th, though Miss 41 was still trucking along at a pretty good pace. This was good as I was unable to lift my foot off the gas and it forced me to hold onto an honest pace.
Mile 8, 7:28 -- Just about time to back up that big downhill. I knew my next mile would be slower so focused on staying steady during this mile.
Mile 9, 7:45 -- as predicted, a bit slower due to that uphill. I just knew if I walked, I might not be able to run again (IMTX).
Mile 10, 8:07 -- normally, this is where I'd freak out a bit. Hitting 8:xx's doesn't happen usually until the last 10k. However, considering my longest run leading up to this was 11 miles and I had just gone up a big hill, I figured I could get the paces back down within the next few miles.
Mile 11, 8:22 -- wrong. Honestly though, this mile is where another hill was and I was kinda freakin' out. I had NO idea how my body would react once I went over 11 miles since I hadn't done that in over one year.
Fortunately, though, this is when I saw Megan and she was going NUTS over seeing me running (the last two races, the only time she saw me was when I was walking during the run). This totally pumped me up to push through the tough hill.
Mile 12, 8:34 -- After getting through this tough hill, you see the portion of the course where you began the run. You turn right, continuing to go uphill. This is when I saw Rob who told me Ryan was winning, and that got me even more excited!
The great thing about a two-loop course is that you know what to expect for loop two. The not-so-great thing is that there is usually a sign that says “TO FINISH” or “TO LOOP TWO” and I was not so happy to be choosing the latter. Remember that big hill that I was climbing when I saw Megan? Yep, it was time to go down that one again. I used slightly less caution this time as my hip was feeling pretty good.
Mile 14, 7:57 -- At this time, Miss 41 came zooming by me. I knew she was still by me, but she took that downhill as fast as I normally would and I was not expecting that. This past year has taught me the need to be smart, so I just let her go.
Mile 15 , 8:06 -- Sure enough, less than a mile later, I was passing her again. Since she wasn’t in my age group and wouldn’t be taking a Kona slot from me, I honestly didn’t care too much as I was much more concerned with simply finishing the race than battling for the top run split.
Mile 16, 7:51 -- I could feel some blisters forming and my legs fatiguing. I took a PowerGel in hopes that my legs would at least respond well to that.
Mile 17, 8:00 -- I could see a girl that had to be in my age group, number 332 (I was 333), right ahead of me, and was determined to pass her (and did) before turning onto the out and back.
Mile 18, 7:49 -- I now knew that there should be two female amateurs ahead of me. I knew one girl would be pretty hard to catch as she looked super solid. The other girl had been running with one of her guy teammates both times that I saw her. The first time, I thought it was cute…the second time, I was out to catch her!
Mile 19, 8:05 --Fate was totally in my favor as this girl had to pull off to the side of the run course to go to the bathroom. I now knew there was only one girl ahead of me, but my time was running out.
Just after hitting the turnaround point (around mile 19.5), I saw Lauren walking. I asked if she was okay, and she told me that she fell. She was walking with someone and going to the medical tent and cheered me on; I felt guilty not stopping, but was scared out of my mind that I would lose a Kona slot and honestly didn’t know how I could help at that point. (side note: she ended up breaking her foot, but is determined to do another IronmanJ).
Mile 20, 7:57 -- Luckily I saw Ryan shortly after this and he confirmed that I was 2nd female amateur. I was relieved to hear that as I knew there would be 2 Kona slots in my age group, but started wondering if I could win the amateur race like Ryan was about to.
Mile 21, 7:46 -- My feet must have heard my brain pondering this idea as almost immediately, I felt one of my blisters pop. Fortunately, I was wearing red shoes so my shoes weren’t damaged, but BOY did that hurt.
Mile 23, 8:30 -- The second big uphill in town had nothing on me—I knew I would be seeing Rob soon and hearing, “Hey, Jacqui, Ryan just won the race!” soon. These words could not have come at a better time; right after I made it up the uphill, my left hip socket started bothering me. With just under 3 miles to go, I was ready to do whatever it took to finish in a qualifying position.
Mile 24, 8:59 -- Just after mile 24, I saw this crazy group in kilts. One of the guys shouted, “MAN, now THAT is a girl on a mission!” Darn right! Little did he know how much his words would mean to me as I couldn’t help but get a cheesy grin on my face (that would remain through the finish) when thinking about all I had overcome to get to this point.
Mile 25, 8:45 -- After the turnaround, I could see that none of the girls I had passed would be able to re-pass me before the finish. I was ecstatic. I was going to WIN my age group and QUALIFY for KONA!!!
Mile 26, 7:39 -- I blame emotions and the downhill for taking me through this mile. This was hands down the hardest I have ever worked in an Ironman. I never once gave up, and that's something I'm really proud of.
This was my first time WINNING my age group to qualify for Kona. Every other time we’ve qualified, I placed second in my age group and was left wondering if I’d get a slot the next day at the Slot Allocation ceremony. For once post-Ironman, I could go to bed knowing I was signing up for the Ironman World Championships for sure the next day.
As hard as it was for me to believe some times, God really does have a plan. As much as I wanted Texas to be in that plan, finishing Lake Placid the way I did was even more incredible. And honestly, it helped Lauren make a smart decision as well; she thought about continuing to just walk the rest of the marathon from mile 8-26.2, but learned from my Kona (plantar tear) and Texas (unknown stress fracture) experiences that she could do more harm than good. If just one person can learn from my experiences, I would gladly have this unfold the way it has again.
I won’t get TOO mushy here, but I have to call out Ryan for being so incredible over this past year. He has gone to every single doctors appointment, every MRI and X-Ray, and every Physical Therapy appointment without ever complaining. He designed my return to running and adjusted it daily to get me to the start line healthy, all while managing the rest of his paying athletes. To say I am lucky is a huge understatement.
EGO and Sammy’s Bikes: thank you for continuing to believe in me and providing me with support and top-notch equipment in my quest for Kona.
Saucony: thank you for understanding that injuries happen and for providing the best shoes and training clothing possible.
And for all of you reading this: thank you for the prayers, notes, support and encouragement throughout this incredibly trying year. I definitely hit some lows, but the support I’ve had is what has helped me overcome these lows and get to this incredible high. I can't wait to continue this journey and get stronger for Kona!