Ironman Florida 2016 may have been the biggest build up in all my Ironman races. This was number 16 for me, but it felt like my first since I had taken a 6-year break from the distance. I had never been as public about my goals as I was this year and the support I received going into this event was monumental!
The week before the race my athletes threw a surprise party for me! I was speechless! The fact that so many of them took the time to be there was overwhelming. To top it off they all chipped in to buy me a new Garmin. When I got home from that party I was on cloud 9, but the nerves also started to kick in. I didn’t want to let anyone down!
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My mom and I headed down to Panama City Wednesday before the race. My dad and George arrived that Friday. We had a great time! This was the most prepared and relaxed I had been before and event. We are usually running around for last minute items, like “mini M&M containers” for my salt tablets, but this time I was prepared! We relaxed in the 85-degree weather and gorgeous beaches!
Before I knew it race morning arrived! I woke up and walked out onto the balcony and noticed the wind! If there is one element that I fear the most, it’s wind. Wind is my nemesis! I told George to check it out, but he played it down “We are high up on the 8th floor so it seems windier than it is”, he told me. Then my mom, "It’s just a light breeze’. After the race, they both told me that they couldn’t believe how windy it was, but they both decided to play it down for my benefit!
George and I headed down to drop of my special needs bag and get my bike set up. Soon we were on the beach and I hugged him goodbye and get into the swim corral. I was SO excited to see my friend Nancy and gave her a hug. Nancy is an incredible athlete. She is in the 60-64 age group and swims just as fast as I do, so I was happy to see her there! The gun went off and I was in the water. I couldn’t believe how warm it was (I thought it was too warm for wetsuits and it got warmer the further out you swam)! I was more focused on not getting beat up than I was on swimming! I don’t think I have had a more congested swim, unless I just don’t remember…having raced Pro for the last years of my career, I got spoiled not being part of the mass swim start! I was terrified out there! It was so rough and I couldn’t find a spot to swim without getting beat up! Rounding the first turn-around was terrifying as everyone seems to get stuck by the buoy! I did my best to stay clear of people, but I never felt relaxed. I finally finished the two-lap course and was dumbfounded to see a 1:14 on my watch! It was by far the slowest swim I had ever done! I was a bit defeated, but years of racing taught me not to let times affect your mental state. For all I knew, it was slow for everyone (and it was!). I quickly headed to transition and minutes later I was on my bike.
Did I mention the wind? I knew I was in for a challenging day…the good news? My legs felt great! Around mile 10 I heard beeping and there, next to me was George and my parents. They were amazing! I think I saw them at least 6 times on the bike! Words cannot describe how much this meant to me and how helpful this is when you are out there suffering! Below is a picture of me complaining about my swim time to George, “This is going to be far from a PR day!” I ranted! “It’s going to be a slow day for everyone!” he yelled back. That made me feel better. I had time goals and I even had people betting on my time and the pressure to come through was immense. I tried not to focus on it, but it was always in the back of my mind. One thing that I’ve learned throughout these long events is that you MUST be flexible. Time goals MUST be adjusted throughout the day according to conditions, how you are feeling, etc. I’ve had races when a slower than expected swim or bike time broke me mentally, only to find out later that I had been doing better than I thought! I kept telling myself that, although I was going much slower than I had planned, there was a chance that I was still doing well in the standings…
…and slow it was! From mile 20-50 we had a crazy headwind! I found myself going 15 mph at some points! The packs that I remember being out on the course were much more spread out due to the rolling start. Everyone was out there suffering in the wind!
Finally, I reached a turnaround with a tailwind, but I knew it was short lived. I just kept focusing on drinking and eating… I knew I was well-hydrated as I peed about 6 times on the bike! Too much information, I know, but this is all part of racing Ironman. If you are racing an Ironman you DO NOT stop to use the bathroom…it’s an interesting sport in that respect! My watts were dropping and my knee started to hurt (I had issues leading into the race and they were finally surfacing). I struggled on the last 7 miles back to transition, again into a stiff headwind! I couldn’t be happier to reach transition and get off my bike!
My first thought when my feet hit the ground? “How am I going to run a marathon?!” I did not feel great to say the least. I got into the tent and the amazing volunteer got my race belt and visor on me, put my smelly “pee shoes” in the bag and helped me to get my shoes on. These people are amazing! Off I went… I took a quick bathroom break (I did this three times, two on the run and one in transition…very unlike me to take the time to do this) and was back out on the course. I was running, somehow, but I didn’t feel great. There were George and my parents again! “you are 1 minute back!” my dad yelled to me. This was incredibly helpful! For all I knew I was in 20th place, it was uplifting to hear I was in 2nd! I quickly caught and passed number one. Again, this was uplifting, but I still considered stopping and walking.
I felt nauseous and my body hurt. On top of that, my worst fear going into this race surfaced: My IT band! Four weeks out from the race I started having IT band issues. It was so bad that my last planned long run of 21 miles was dropped to 16 miles. I had to stop every mile just to get through it! I went to Dr. Larry Lembo religiously to try and get my body race ready, after 1 month of A.R.T treatment, massage, trigger point, acupuncture, my body was better but it wasn’t 100%. My biggest fear going into the race was that my body wouldn’t hold up, and here I was at mile 4, my knee locking up and the pain radiating! I thought to myself, “well you certainly won’t be able to deal with this for 22 more miles!” This was my excuse to stop and walk! Then I thought of my athletes, and the party, and all the support I have gotten from everyone and I just couldn't bring myself to walk… This was a mental struggle…part of me said everyone would understand: “I’ll just tell them I couldn’t go any further!”, the other part of me just kept moving forward: “plenty of other people out here are hurting too, Danielle. You don’t have a good enough reason to stop!” I said to myself. So I kept going, but doubt was constantly creeping in.
At mile 8 I saw George. All I needed was a little sympathy from him and I was going to stop and walk. I wanted to walk so bad! If he would have seemed sympathetic, or asked, “are you OK?” and I would have stopped to tell him how bad I hurt and how terrible I felt. Instead, as I looked at him and shook my head, I got: “You HAVE TO keep going!!” That snapped me out of it. I had to keep going!! …and I did. I just kept moving. I knew if I pushed too hard or made any quick movements my knee was done. I found that if I just kept moving in my comfort zone, with small steps, it would be good enough stay in first place and keep my knee at bay. Finally, at the turn-around (13.1 miles) I just kept telling myself, “just get to the park and then you know you will make it”. The park was the turn around 6.5 miles away…then I just had to turn around and run 6.5 back. I knew if I made it to the park I could keep going and finish, and that’s exactly what I did! Coming back out of the park, around mile 20 I saw George and my parents. I wanted to cry, but I just gave them a little fist pump as they told me they would see me at the finish.
As I ran down the finish chute I thought of my parents and George and how supportive they are and my athletes and friends who supported me. George was screaming with his hand out for a high-five just before I crossed the line. I broke down sobbing after finishing for a few reasons; extreme relief that I did it, relief from the pain that I endured, love for my family and their overwhelming support, and disbelief that I was here again 15 years after my first Ironman at the age of 24.
I earned a spot to the Ironman World Championships in Kona for my 6th time...
Last time I raced there it was as a Pro back in 2008. This time I will be racing as a 40-year old amateur. The first time I raced was 2002 and I was racing in the 25-29 age group. I never thought I’d be back, until one little thought creeped into my head last year, “I think I want to try to get back to Kona and race in the 40-44-year-old age group”!
It’s been a long strange trip…