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Jael's Story - Half Ironman
My apologies for delaying my message to all of
you who have been of an incredible great support for my Tri
Journey...I cannot find enough words of appreciation to tell you how
much seeing all your entries to sheer me on have meant to "little
me".
I did it in 7:45 minutes.....
Here is my story...
I was nervous, and a bit anxious. I drove to Orlando early morning
on Saturday from Ft.Lauderdale.
I kept on thinking about the swim; I had to do it.
I kept on replying in my mind, that I was not going to go home empty
handed this time, after the DNF at St.Anthony's. I figured, it is
only water, it is a lake. "Swim to the side girl! Swim to the side"
(Thank you Andy for your famous quote!).
I started hydrating very well starting Friday; drinking lots of
water and Gatorade Endurance formula to have some kind of "reserves"
to go by; and of course, pasta, bread, pretzels...
So, 4:00am Saturday morning (barely slept the
night before, but was in bed by 8:30pm-yes, I was a good girl). Here
it was the moment to go, everything ready and packed to go with my
transition bag and my new tri suit on! (red and black, love that
color!).
Time went by very quickly while putting things away and getting my
things ready in transition.
One more trip to the "ladies room" before the swim start.
I was by the beach start before I knew it....I looked at the
lake...It was absolutely gorgeous, what a view! The sun was rising,
the lake was flat as a pancake...the first waves went ahead (I was
in wave #9). I looked at the first groups going and I thought: "I
cannot believe the beauty of what I am seeing. Hundreds of bodies in
the water, all swimming towards the same direction..".I am sure you
can all relate to this kind of sight. Then I thought: "this is just
simply too amazing to pass up the opportunity to be part of
something so incredible...I am not quitting on this swim..". I was
still nervous, I breathed deeply a few times to calmed down. Then I
stopped and said a prayer; not only for me but for everyone who was
going to take on this day by swimming, biking and running 70.3
miles.
It was not going to be a day like any other...it was going to be a
1/2 IM Day....
I got in the water one minute before the start as they let us in to
get a taste for the temp etc...
Then, I thought. ..I am staying in the back,
relaxing and swimming to the side...and I did.
It was not easy...I think I still had some of
the phobia left over from St.Anthony's but I kept swimming....I had
to take a "breather" every quarter to half a mile to calmed by body
down, but I kept swimming....then the half way point came, then the
quarter point came and I thought...this is it..swim until you get
there and do not stop...so I did. ...and finally hit land!
Yeeeessssss, I had made it trough the swim....I thought about each
one of you...all of your encouragements and advice...I know your
thoughts were with me, and I felt it.
I also remembered all of your support with my DNF; I wanted to be
able to tell you a much better story this time. I thought about
Brad. H. who could not make it to this race and who I know would
have given a whole lot to be able to be there. So, I decided. If he
cannot do it this time, we are going to do it for him...and I won't
be the one to quit on him....So, Brad, this swim was for you too...
I got to T1, and got to my bike....I thought, you made it through
the swim. I just swam 1.2 miles. I just did!....Ok, time to go
riding now....
As Megan said, Hilllllyyyyy; yes, Florida is very FLAT, but Orlando,
is NOT in the area we were in. We got a run for our money with the
hills...all $245.00 we paid for in registration!
My gluteus maximus were sore after 3:00 hours of going up and
down....but waow was it cool!!!!
The good thing about the bike ride was that it was flat for the
beginning and flat for the end. So, I had time to look a little more
normal (meaning, like I was not working out that hard....) by the
time I got back to T2. I saw three people with flat tires at the
very beginning of the ride. It made me very nervous for the first
hour I was on my bike; then I calmed down....I had driven the course
the day before so I knew pretty much what to expect; but it is one
thing to drive a course and another thing to cycle through
it....Overall, it was a great ride and I had a great time.
It was a very well marked and organized race! In the water, there
were lifeguards or boats, or kayaks at every quarter mile. Let me
tell you; that is ALOT more than I saw at St.Anthony's, and there
were fewer people per wave in this race!....
The run was very flat (of course), but here is the catch: I had two
cliff bars on the bike. That did not do my much justice! I had
stomach pains the entire first 5 miles of the run! So, I had to run
and walk ( I lost quiet a bit of time on that loop). So, if you have
sensitive stomachs (like me)-Go for liquids ONLY (with carbs
etc...).
Got a second wind on the second loop so was able to run to each
water station.
On the third loop, I had a big blister on each foot, and could not
run on the ball of my feet. Lesson learned: if I pour water on my
head, do not let it get in my shoes. Got soaked running shoes for
the first 1h30minutes of the run.
Finally, I made it to the finish line after 7:45 minutes of an
incredible experience!
I am so ready to do it ALL OVER AGAIN!
I am so very thankful that I was able to redeem myself twice over by
being able to accomplish this great distance.
For those of you out there who wonder if they
can do it; I am here to tell you: YES YOU CAN!
Thank you all again....
Leo, from the bottom of my heart; Thank You for the famous line: "Jael
made it out of the swimming".
Andy- "I swam to the side!".
Dan.W- I remembered your words; "there will be many people rooting
for you coming Sunday".
Brad. H- Your congratulations phone call on Sunday evening touched
me profoundly...
Ryan-Thank you for stopping during your run to say hi. It was great
meeting you for a minute and talking.
Megan- I did not see you. I think you passed me during the bike.
Lady, YOU ROCK! Awesome time! Way to go!
To all the rest of you who have posted your encouragements to me: I
Thank You from the bottom of my heart (Mary, John, Andrew, Leo,
Steve....and everyone else). I cannot believe, people who have never
seen me or met me, can be so encouraging and become such a great
part of my life as a Triathlete and a person. You are all incredible
people, and I feel privileged to have found you all. This could not
be possible without the person who created ontri. He needs to know
that he has been the catalyst to people connecting with each other
at many different levels.
Thank you all, my Ontri Family!
Truly Yours,
Jael
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