IM Chattanooga 2021

Ironman Chattanooga – September 26, 2021
Total Race Time:  13:24:02
Overall Place: 897^th out of 1866
Gender Place: 214^th out of 577
AG Place: 19^th out of 76   AG 55-59

When I decided to do my first triathlon in 2016, my thought was to complete my first half Ironman before my 55^th birthday.  I completed IM70.3 Ohio and really enjoyed it, but I had absolutely no intention of ever trying to race a full Ironman.   Fast forward to 2018, as I decided to try my hand at a full and signed up to do Ironman Louisville.  I completed that race, but…….it wasn’t completely satisfying as the swim was indeed cancel.  As a result, I decided to give it one more try and registered for the 2020 IM  Chattanooga race.  Well, we all know where 2020 went …………….. and how I ended up at the start line of the 2021 race.

Pre-Race: I drove to Chattanooga on Thursday afternoon before the Sunday race, as I wanted to get settled in and have the full day on Friday and Saturday to get in those last quick training runs/rides and be acclimated and less anxious.  Of course, on the way to Chattanooga, I had to make a side stop at Buck-ees just to see what it is all about – definitely a trip.  As luck would have it, just as I was finishing parking my car at the hotel, I ran into Chuck and Nicole and they asked if I wanted to join them for dinner at Tony’s so I did.  Chuck and Nicole pretty much took care of me the next couple of days keeping my mind at ease and allowing me to be anxious but not without much love and support.  We even checked in together (with Laurie and Gene) on Friday morning, so we were all racked together.  Friday evening was the ATC get together which was a lot of fun, but it made it all very real.

On Saturday afternoon, my daughter was able to get to Chattanooga.  She was excited to volunteer at the Swim-Bike transition the next day and we walked back down to the Expo and Ross’s Landing/Transition so she could see where everything was to happen.  We then went to dinner with Stephanie (Tobben) and Andrew which was super fun.

Sunday morning, I woke up around 4:30 and then by chance again, I met up with Chuck, Nicole and Laurie for breakfast at the hotel.  We walked to the start together and drop off our bags, etc. before boarding the bus for the swim start.  It was super fun to share the ride and start area with them. 


Swim Start:  Chuck and I realized that we were probably about the same “speed” in the water, so we lined up together in the swim line – 1:20-1:30 pace.  I worked very hard on my swim these past few months – not so much as to get “faster” but really to get more relaxed in the water.  Like many others, I tend to swim about 500 m and then have a panic attack and I just wanted to feel super comfortable in the water.  With all my work in the pool and OWS in NY over the summer, I thought that I could finish the swim in the 1:15 range with the current assist if I could stay in control.  Earlier in the summer, I completed IM70.3 Musselman and had a very successful swim in a choppy lake, so I hoped for the best. 
The swim turned out to be better than I ever could have expected.  I jumped in, started swimming, and before I knew it I was half way there (where the buoys changed from yellow to orange) and without so much as a bit of anxiety.  Weirdly I tend to count strokes and swim when I’m in open water and the Queen song, “Another One Bites the Dust” stuck in my head for every buoy that I passed.  I swim pretty straight and was able to pretty consistently swim and I only had to stop 2x for swimmers who cut me off and then right at the final exit area, I felt like I had to pull up and tread water a bit just waiting my turn to exit.  Run/walking up to the bike area it was great to see/hear the ATCers and then high five Shannon in transition when I got my bike bag.
Swim Time: 1:05:16, 37^th AG

T1: I knew that it would be a bit to get off that wetsuit, dry my feet, get on a dry shirt, socks and bike shoes.  I made sure to eat a Picky bar and put on sunscreen and a bit more chamois cream in the portapotty, packed up that bag, slugged some water, dropped the bag and off I went. 
T1 Time: 9:05

Bike:  My plan on the bike as not to overdo it.  As most of you know, I’m a runner by background and if I’m going to do “well” and finish this race, I need to make sure that I play to my strength.  I knew the course was rolling and pretty fast, but I also didn’t want to make the mistake of leaving my run on the bike course.  The plan was for me to keep my heartrate under 130 and basically ride by effort knowing not to push to hard and grind too much on the uphills.  I also needed to make sure to eat and drink to keep my calories up so I had set my watch to alarm every 20 min to remind me to drink and eat.  As per plan, I ate two additional picky bars and drank 3.5 bottles of fluid (2 of Maurten 320 and 1 Total IV) and I made it to Bike Special Needs only stopping briefly to just switch bottles around.   Somewhere in this loop, Stephanie W caught me and we exchanged “heys” as she rode by.  At special needs though, I sure did need to pee (just cannot do it on the bike) and that really got me since there were only TWO 2!!!! Portapotties with many 1000s of athletes.  Huh???  I ended up spending a bit more time than I wanted at Special Needs which annoyed me some, but I also was able to refill/switch all bottles, take my pickle juice shot, and make sure that I had what I needed for food in place for the next loop. 


The 2^nd loop felt better than the first except for the stretch of road after Andrews (where the 70.3 turns) to Hog Jowl.  It was just pretty chewed up and I know I had a bit of triathlon brain as the bumps, bad road was just annoying me.  Lots of bottles on the road and many riders no longer liking the hills.  Some climbs were tough because riders would stop and walk their bikes up which is frustrating if you’re following them.  Hmm, maybe my mantra of staying at ease on the bike was actually working.  I stopped one more time in the 2^nd loop to change over bottles and quickly pee, and I was super happy to hit that final downhill out of Chickamauga and head back on the highway towards Chattanooga.  At this point, I was riding with many of the same athletes for the last few miles and we worked together into transition. Over this 2^nd loop, I drank 4 more bottles and ate two packages of chews and two Maurten gels. 
Bike Time: 7:18:38; 53^rd AG

T2: I was happy to get off the bike, grabbed my run bag, and headed to a chair.  I sat for a minute and changed shoes, my shirt, my hat, and grabbed my race belt.  I then made sure to make a potty stop so that I could get on with the run.

T2 Time: 11:18  (probably could work on this)

Run:  Now for the part of the race that I knew I could do the best especially if I was smart and kept it in control.  Plan was again to keep the heartrate under 130 and I had set my watch to alarm when I was at 132.  In this manner, I knew I would back off when it chimed.  I also planned to walk each water stop (especially in the beginning) to grab alternately water or Gatorade and a Maurten gel every 5 miles.  This had worked for me in my training and it had worked at Louisville as well.  Honestly, there was never a part of the run where I felt off and I felt as good as I did in training.  It was kind of fun to keep moving and pass a lot of athletes on the course which always makes me happy that I’m not a better cyclist – lol.  The first loop went by pretty quickly and suddenly I was climbing the hill on Barton where I saw Chuck coming down on his first loop and high fived Jess and Jerome.   As I came down Barton to go under the bridge, I was surprised to see a few of the Goat Riders and Mary Alice swimmers that I know at the end of the pedestrian bridge and I was so looking forward to the hot corner.  It was such a boost when I came past the ITL tent and then turned the corner to the ATC tent.  I didn’t need anything from my special needs bag so I only slowed a bit to hand Shannon my sunglasses and acknowledge those I could see at the tent. 


I made a quick pit stop at mile 15 to pee and I turned on my cap and shoe lights.  Boy was I glad that I had them as the boardwalk miles were pretty dark the second time around, and even with lights, there were definitely a few spots where I know I consciously slowed cause I couldn’t see as well as I wanted.  Somewhere along here I caught Gene as we chatted a bit and I headed to the final climbs.  My goal was to use that runner in me and all those times I’ve climbed the hill on Hgwy 120 in Roswell to get back up Barton.  By then I felt pretty much like the only person running up the hill, but run it I did and I was re-energized when I saw a friend from Cleveland on the side cheering and I was passing a lot of runners without my heartrate going up.  Steady forward motion is what my ultra-friends always say, and it works.  My shoe lights also were a super hit as I got more comments on my lit up feet than I would have ever thought possible, and even though I was tired, there was no stopping now.  It was along this stretch where I saw both Chuck and Steph L coming down the backside of the Barton hill as I was heading up for the final time.  I also had stopped “walking” or even stopping at the water stops as the strategy had worked, and I knew I was going to finish strong.  I also had started to receive/see positive texts on my watch especially one from Shannon that said she was going to see me finish.
As I crossed that bridge, I could see and feel the finish and I knew that I was going to get to the end and I was going to be a “real” Ironman.  I got to the corner and saw all the screaming ATC peeps and Shannon jumped in to run the some of the last piece with me.  It was super funny when she was like ”Mom, I can’t keep up with your pace”.  I ran comfortably hard through that last stretch and was just so happy to hear them announce that I was an “Ironman”. 
Run Time: 4:39:48  6^th AG   (Yes, I am definitely still a runner).

Post Race:  Grabbed my medal and got my picture taken and met Shannon right at the exit.  I saw Steve Marshall who had just finished and punched his ticket to Kona – and we high fived, and then Shannon and I went to get my bike and bags.  I wasn’t hungry at all, so we decided to just head to the hotel as she could help me carry stuff since she had to drive back to Atlanta for work in the morning.   I was actually shocked that I had actually gone under 14 hrs as I had estimated 14:15-14:20, and I was tired but super thrilled.  I’ve retired from this crazy full Ironman stuff as I did the whole thing – swim, bike, and run – and I earned that tattoo. 


Chattanooga is a great race and even with those 4 extra miles, it is well worth doing.  Sure I lucked out with exceptional weather, but the city really welcomes all the athletes and everywhere you felt like a rock star.   My next endeavor is Boston on Monday, October 11^th – and that is another event where the spectators and locals make you feel super special – so hats off to both cities.  Most exciting for me was that my Louisville bike time as only 4 min faster (for 4 fewer miles) and my Louisville run time was only 1:30 faster for a much easier, flatter course. 


Thank you to everyone who helped me along this journey especially Shannon for all her Sherpa cheerleader work, Coach Sara and Coach Cody (my swim coach), and all my swim, run and bike buddies.  It really does take a village to train and complete an Ironman – way more so than to simply run a marathon.

Thanks for the race report Michele.  I can't tell you how impressed I am.  I know what it took to complete a half IM and realize a full is not in the cards for me!  You sure nailed it...especially the run!!  Congratulations.

Enjoy Boston.  I can't imagine running it so soon after your Ironman but I also know it's a special race for you.

I know that Nick and Steve Foster both have bibs...not sure who else is participating.

Maybe someday I'll make it back.  I'd love to actually remember making those famous turns on Hereford and Boylston.  

Take care and have a fantastic run on Monday.

Congratulations! I can't swim to save my life (for real) , very happy for you!