What a year it has been! Well, I really hope the old adage “What doesn’t kill you will only make you stronger” is true! My year started out great, with podium finishes all races, except Wildflower where I encountered a few mechanical problems on the bike. By June, I was training hard and feeling strong. Then things seemed to take a turn for the worse, when I crashed badly on my bike separating my shoulder. By August, I was healthy and training hard for the Ironman World Championships.

As most of you now by now, my race in Hawaii did not go well at all. 7 weeks before Kona, I went to Boulder for my final build. My training went really well for the first 2 weeks. I was training hard with my sister Kelly and feeling great. After two weeks, I started feeling overly run down. I raced the Vancouver International as a tune up for Hawaii and felt horrible. I could barely breathe and I got so hypothermic on the bike, that I hobbled on numb legs at a pace much slower than my 22 mile long runs! I found out shortly after that I was anemic. I scaled back on my training and paid extra attention to my recovery. Four weeks out form Kona, I encountered another obstacle, a stress fracture in my pelvis. I rested for four weeks and tried to get my iron levels up, but by race week, I was still very sore and tired. Being my last race of the year, I decided 2 days before the race that I would race and give it my best shot. I did not want to be on the sidelines wondering what if.

The swim went very well for me considering how much swim fitness I lost from June-August. I exited the water with a good pack, about 4 min. off the main pack. Last year, I was 6 min. down from this pack, so that was encouraging. I had a great PT (my husband!) and great support from my friends over at Vasa. They kindly sent a Vasa to me in Boulder so I could keep up with my physical therapy and strength work. About 30 minutes into the bike I knew it was going to be a tough day. My heart rate was very high and felt powerless. Before my stress fracture, I was running very well and I just kept telling myself that if I ran 3:10, I could still make it to the top 10. My run started ok, but I knew it was just a matter of time until my hip gave out. About mile 8, it was screaming at me. I altered my gait and by mile 11, my right quad was completely shot! I contemplated dropping out to minimize further damage. I thought about how upset I was when I could not race the Lake Placid Ironman due to my shoulder injury. My thoughts turned from feeling sorry for myself to be grateful that I could be part of the day. I know so many people who have been trying for years to make it to Kona and here I was; racing Kona for the 6th time. It was my last race of the year and I wanted to end it on a good note, knowing I gave it my all. I wanted run through the energy lab, I wanted to run down Alii and I wanted to cross the finish line.

Race week, my husband sent me a quote, it read” You may have a fresh start any moment you choose, for this thing called failure is not the falling down, but the staying down”. I may stumble and fall but I will always get back up! I would like to extend a very big thank you to my my husband; Brian, my sister; Kelly, and my Mom, for their endless encouragement, belief and support. I’m grateful to be on this journey with you all.

See you all next year!