Cari Kauffman, you ARE an IRONMAN!

Well, it's all said and done now. Louisville was this past Sunday and I'm back in Chicago preparing to go back to work tomorrow. What an exciting weekend it was though! Since I'm writing this post, you all should know that I did indeed survive :-) And I did finish! Bear with me as this will probably be a huge post...I have lots to share.

I headed down to Louisville Friday afternoon to check in, pick up my packet and all my information, and attend the welcome banquet and age group athlete meeting. I got down there a little early and had lunch with a few sorority sisters that I haven't seen in a really long time too. Then I headed over to the Galt House to check in. Check in procedures were pretty standard and I got all my stuff and checked out the Ironman store. I spent a pretty penny on Friday but made sure I didn't purchase ANYTHING that said "finisher" on it so as not to jinx myself! Then I headed back to Mom's for the night.

Saturday morning, my roommate Staci, Mom and I packed up the car and headed to Louisville. We checked into the Marriott and I put all of my gear in the appropriate bags to take to transition. This was a completely new concept for me. Normally I pack my backpack with all of my gear and set it up next to my bike. Here we were given 5 different bags to use for all of our gear. We had a morning clothes bag that we dropped off at the swim start to put our clothes and anything we had on us at the start of the race in. That bag was then transported to the finish so we could get our things back at the end. Then we had a bag specifically for the swim to bike transition and another for the bike to run transition. Finally, we had two special needs bags (one for the bike and one for the run) that we could retrieve at about halfway during the bike and the run. So I separated all my stuff into their respective bags and Staci and I took my bike and bags to the transition area. Once that was all set up, we headed back to the hotel and enjoyed an early dinner so I could get to bed and rest up.

Sunday started super early. My alarm went off at 4:30 and we were out the door around 5. We made a stop at transition to drop off my special needs bags, fill up my water bottles, and pump up my bike tires. Then we walked about a mile or so down the road to the swim start. Louisville does an interesting start...instead of a mass start on a beach or in the water, it was a time trial start where they sent off athletes one after the other off of two boat docks. It was also a first come first serve on starting position. We got down there around 5:30-5:45 so I was pretty far back in line. I didn't get started until about 7:37. For those of you wondering...yes, we did swim in the Ohio River. It was a little on the murky side but as far as I know, I didn't catch anything! The water temperature was about 85 degrees so wetsuits were not allowed. Once I got started, we swam upstream and around a little island before heading south to the swim end. I pretty much ROCKED the swim! I finished the 2.4 miles in 1:06.32. That was fast enough to place me 20th in my division and 437 overall in the swim.

After coming out of the water, I ran into transition and someone was waiting there with my bike bag. I headed into the changing tent and there was someone there waiting to help me with whatever I needed. Because we had a men's and women's changing tent, I was able to completely change. I took off the wet swim suit and put on fresh dry cycling shorts and my tri top. The lady assisting me helped me change, dried my feet, put my socks on, then took my bag and sent me on my way. I grabbed my bike and hit the course. I felt pretty good when I got started on the bike but it didn't take long before I hit the hills. There were some pretty big ones! And just in case you weren't aware, there aren't many hills to train on in Chicago! So I was definitely not prepared for that (which pretty much explains my 8:09.16 bike time and average speed of only 13.73 MPH). I did really well with nutrition along the bike course though. I found these little pouches of applesauce that were fantastic. They were a nice change from the usual Gu and Gu Chomps and since I don't eat fruits, it gave me the nutrients I was missing out on. One of the cool things about the bike was that around mile 30-something and 60-something, we went through a little town called LaGrange. They set up a little festival in that area so people could go out and watch. The first time through, I heard my mom cheering but didn't see her. One the second lap, I got out of my aero bars and looked around. I was able to see everyone that came to watch :-) Erin, Staci, Courtney, Ashley and Mom were all there cheering as I went by. I gave a little wave and continued on. The upside to all of the hills on the ride was the downhills! At one point I looked down and saw I was going 43 mph down a hill. That was pretty exhilarating. And I really only had one problem with people on the bike. One man started to pass me (going downhill mind you) and practically ran me off the road. So I of course threw some obscenities his way and he yelled at me for not backing off while being overtaken. I politely told him to F--- off and apologized because I didn't realize he was going to pussy break on the downhill. I wasn't even pedaling so it was not my fault that gravity was pulling me to the bottom of the hill. And you know what...I'm a little topheavy so I go down hills fast! I never encountered him again so I rode on in peace. Somewhere between halfway and the end of the bike, my feet really began to hurt and cramp up in my shoes, my butt went numb and I started doubting myself. I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to finish the bike, let alone the run that followed. I kept trying to shut the voices in my head up and eventually, I made it to the bike finish. After 112 miles of pedaling, it was rather difficult to get back up and walking. I hopped off the bike, handed it off to one of the volunteers, and headed back to the changing tent.

This time around, I suited up for the run, grabbed some more applesauce and hit the road running. As I came out of transition and turned a corner, I miraculously ran into Erin, Ashley, Staci and Courtney! They jumped on the sidewalk beside me and stayed alongside me for about the first mile or two. Luckily, Staci had some sunscreen because I forgot to put it on my scalp and I didn't want a sunburn there! Then Courtney helped get the tag out of my running shorts so it wouldn't keep rubbing against my skin and she had some chap stick to relieve my lips! After about two miles, I took off on my own. The first couple miles were tough getting into the running. I walked the entire fifth mile. Then I started running for ten minutes and walking for 15. Then I realized that 15 minutes was not really necessary so I switched it to ten and ten. I continued on that way for the remainder of the marathon...walk ten minutes, run ten minutes, repeat. At the 13.1 mark, I got my special needs bag and popped some ibuprofen. Then it was time for the turnaround. This was the BIGGEST FREAKING TEASE!!!!!! As it turns out, the turnaround near mile 14 is right NEXT TO the finish line. So as you are running up Fourth Street, you see the bright lights and hear the announcer at the finish line and see people running towards it. There is a sign that says, "Finishers left; 2nd Loop right." So I had to make the turn knowing I still had 12 miles left to run. About that time, it also started getting dark and Staci hopped in with me for another mile or two. I was so thankful to have her with me because at that point, my stomach had started bothering me and I wasn't sure how much I was going to be able to run. She kept me going then left me on my own to get to the final turnaround. About mile 15-ish, I started drinking Coke in addition to the Perform and water. They had some good food along the course too :-) I had some chocolate chip cookies and pretzels and when it got dark, they had chicken broth. I hit my second wind around mile 20 and picked up the pace a little. I also started cheering on everyone I ran by. This put me in a much better mood and then I made the final turn just before mile 21. Then I knew it was the home stretch. I was very cautious on time too because I knew I had to finish before midnight. I knew at the turn around that I was going to make it. All I had to do was keep up the pace I was going and I would finish well before midnight and if I didn't slow down, I could finish in under 16 hours. Staci found me somewhere around mile 25 and ran me in. She dropped off right before the final chute and I headed home. I saved up a little bit of energy so I could cross the finish line in style (think flying leap with arms thrown up in the air)! I wanted to have a good finisher photo :-) As it turns out, I did the run in 6:27.20 and negative split it by about two minutes. Seriously, who negative splits a marathon at the end of an Ironman?! Well, apparently this girl does!

My official finish time was 15:58.52 and I finished 2119 out of 2276 finishers. 2439 people started the race. After I finished, I got my medal, my t-shirt and my hat and met up with Mom and the girls. I picked up my morning clothes bag and headed straight for the bar at our hotel. The bartender told me they had already done last call but the look on my face (and the fact I looked disgusting) made her feel sorry for me so I got my post-race celebratory beer! Then we ordered a pizza to the room and I washed up. I ate my pizza then proceeded to pass out.

Monday morning I woke up around 8 and got up and moving. I walked over to the Ironman store and stocked up on all my finisher apparel. After spending a small fortune, I went back to the hotel and we packed up and headed home. I am still surprised at how good I felt yesterday morning and even today. I have the expected soreness in my legs and back but I am walking (almost normally) and am getting around quite well. I am still pretty tired and slept 9 hours last night and took about a two hour nap this afternoon but I think that is to be expected too. The worst thing of all is that my big toes are really really sore and might be infected. If you are wondering how bad one's toenails can hurt, I'll tell you that I almost passed out last night just getting a pedicure. I was looking at my toes, my nail was black underneath and she pushed down on it. My vision slowly faded to black, I got all hot and sweaty, started to feel nauseous and knew I was going to pass out if something wasn't done. So Mom got them to give me some water and a cold wash rag and I came back before actually passing out. I've been loading up on ibuprofen and have had my feet up most of the evening in hopes that the swelling goes down a little bit. But overall, I'm feeling pretty good!

I've had a lot of people ask me if I will do another Ironman. Honestly, I have no idea. Ask me again in a couple weeks when my feet are back to normal and I have forgotten how painful it all was. Then I might consider doing another in a couple years. I know for sure though that I cannot take the time to train for a full again next year. Maybe I'll convince my brother or some friends to do one with me in a few years. Until then, I will stick with the shorter distances.

I know this post is dragging on but a few final thoughts. THANK YOU SO MUCH to all of you that have continued to read this blog and follow my journey. All of your good luck wishes and congratulatory posts, phone calls, texts, etc. were greatly appreciated. I could not have accomplished this without such an amazing support system that had my back throughout the past 30 weeks. One particular member of my support team deserves a little shout out here: my boyfriend Casey. He was bummed out that he missed my race because he was on vacation with his dad and family/friends in Canada. He was way outside of civilization and has not had cell phone reception since Saturday. He won't get it back for another few days either so he has no idea how I did. But he gets a shout out because he was sneaky and had been talking to my mom for a few days. When I returned to her house Monday afternoon, he had sent a very thoughtful card to her house and inside was a gift certificate for me to go get a massage to aid in my recovery :-)

And finally, a very special thanks to the amazing women that made the trip to Louisville to watch me accomplish my dream! My mom has always been the foundation of my support team and she showed that this weekend. I know it wasn't easy for her but she saw me on every leg of the race and had just as long of a day as I did. My roommate Staci drove from Chicago down to watch me and even sacrificed a vacation day so she could be there with me. Ashley stayed up way past her bedtime to watch me cross the finish line even though she had to be up super early Monday morning to teach. Erin was quite possibly more excited than anyone during the race and made her presence known by yelling her heart out and ringing that darned cow bell! She also has been a huge support through this entire process as she is my go-to person to call on my way home from work. She listened and helped me out the whole way so it was extra special to have her there at the end seeing me cross the finish. Courtney is quite possibly one of my busiest friends but she still found the time to get down to Louisville and watch. She also removed the tag of my shorts with her teeth when I am pretty sure I was smelling pretty ripe. If that isn't friendship, I don't know what is! These women are the very definition of a best friend and I could not have made it through without them being there along the sidelines. I LOVE YOU ALL!!!!!!!!!!!

SO CLOSE!

Well, my bags are packed and the car is loaded up...I'm heading out tomorrow after work! I can't believe that Ironman is THIS WEEKEND!!!!!!! It seems like just a few weeks since I signed up and started training when in actuality, I've been training for 30 weeks. In terms of gear, I think I have everything that I need. The only purchases I still need to make are some more nutrition (Gu, Chomps, Luna Bars, etc) and the new spray on sunscreen you can use when you're wet. In terms of training, I'm as prepared as I can be. Yes, I should have put in more miles running. But I'm feeling pretty confident about the swim and the bike. Let's just hope adrenaline will get me through that marathon :-)

For those of you that have followed me on this journey, you can follow me on Sunday too! If you go to www.ironman.com you should be able to track my race. I'm bib #104. Race start is 7:00am EST. In order to be an official finisher, I have to cross the finish line by midnight. However, my goal is to finish in 15 hours so by 10:00pm EST. You can always check back to Ironman later to verify that I did indeed finish and didn't die out on the course.

Tune in Monday or Tuesday for an update on the blog. Thanks for all your support thus far and send good vibes my way this weekend!!!!!!

**Anything*is*Possible**

2 WEEKS AWAY!

Well kids, we are less than two weeks away now! Ironman Louisville is quickly approaching. And now that we are at the two week mark, it’s time to start my taper. This is my favorite time of the year. I’m pretty sure my swim coaches hated me and my teammates during taper time. I have tons more energy during this time and do my best to be obnoxious :-)

I ended my training on a pretty good note before heading into my taper this week. On Saturday morning, my roommate Staci drove me and my friend Andy (hereinafter “A Ho”) up to Milwaukee, WI. It was an early morning getting up at the asscrack of dawn. And poor Staci didn’t get any coffee before we got on the road. We got up to Milwaukee around 7:30 in the morning and Staci drove right back to Chicago. A Ho and I started our 98.95 mile adventure at Veterans Park along the lakeshore. We headed south along the lake to the Oakleaf Trail running through Milwaukee County. This trail was beautiful. We got some great views of the beach and the lake then went through the woods/forest in the shade for a while too. We saw this pretty big dog walking down the beach too with a big fish in its mouth J It as happy as could be and incredibly proud of his catch.

When we came off the Oakleaf Trail, I pretty much lost track of trail names and where we went. I had directions that should have gotten us most of the way on bike trails but it got to be a little tedious so we just kind of went in the general direction of Chicago and hoped for the best. We tried to stop about every 20 miles and shortly after our second stop around Racine, WI, A Ho had a little mishap. I stopped abruptly as my CatEye cyclometer went flying off my handlebars and he wasn’t quite ready for that and took a tumble. He got a little scraped up and had to continue the rest of the ride without front breaks. We also ran into some unpaved trails around Racine which weren’t very much fun on a road bike! My tires weren’t made for that.

So we pressed on towards Kenosha. But at mile 43.5 just north of Kenosha, we found ourselves in a storm. The wind started to pick up and it began to sprinkle. We stopped at this abandoned building so I could take a look at the map and directions to figure out where to go when it started to hail. We hung out there for a little bit and let the storm pass before venturing out in the rain. After we left Kenosha, I pretty much lost track of where we were until we hit Waukegan, IL. The rain subsided about 10 miles out of Kenosha though so we started to dry off. We made a couple of stops at some gas stations to refuel with Gatorade.

We had a nice little scenic tour while getting in our ride. Once in Illinois and past Waukegan, we entered some really nice areas. When I lost the trail we were supposed to be riding on, we just rode down Sheridan Road. We found ourselves riding by HUGE houses in Glencoe and Winnetka. We rode right by Ravinia too. Steely Dan was playing Saturday night so we saw everyone walking over to the show. The last probably 30 miles of the trip seemed to drag on forever but once we got to Northwestern University, I had a renewed energy and excitement that we were going to make it. About that same time, A Ho was ready to kill himself (or me for making him do this!) As we got closer to home (somewhere around Loyola University) it started to rain again. By the time we made it onto the Lakefront Path, it was a pretty steady stream of rain.

We finally made it home nearly 8 hours after we started in Milwaukee. I originally thought it would take us about 6 hours but we had a few unplanned stops and the fact that I really didn’t know where we were going didn’t help. But luckily I have a good sense of direction and we both were determined to get back!

I felt pretty good when we finished and still had a good amount of energy. That made me feel pretty good knowing that in two weeks, I will bike 112 miles and go straight into a 26.2 mile run. While I don’t think I could have run that far after our ride, I know that I could have immediately started running. So I’m just banking on adrenaline to get me through.

I’m freaking out a little bit now that we are so close but I’m also getting excited. I’m really doing this!

Dress Rehearsal

So, I had my dress rehearsal for Louisville this weekend. I did the Ironman Muncie 70.3. So it was really a dress rehearsal at half the length. There were a lot of positives and negatives to this race so we'll start with the results then get into particulars of what I learned. First of all, I finished in 7:05:21. I did the swim in 35:49, the bike in 3:14.22 with a 17.3 MPH average, and the run in 3:06:28 at a 14:14 pace. Out of 1530 finishers, I was 1369. I was 202nd in the swim overall though so that is good. So to get into the good, the bad, and the just plain ugly.

The Good:
1) I felt great in the water and had a good rhythm.

2) Despite some intense headwinds, I had a strong bike leg. There were times when it was a struggle but overall, I am happy with the ride.

3) My nutrition/hydration plan seemed to work pretty well (with the exception of the last part of the run but more on that later). I have a standard race day breakfast of a bagel with Canadian bacon and cheese with a small glass of chocolate milk when I wake up. Then I have a Clif Bar when I get to the race followed by a decent amount of water. When I get on the bike, I have a good combination of Gatorade and water and I snack on some Gu Chomps. On the run, I switch over to mainly water and I do just the straight Gu. I tried out the Coke thing too. At about mile 8 on the run, I had some Coke. Pretty good pick me up when you need it.

4) I felt pretty good coming off the bike and starting the run.

5) I made a friend on the run that kept me sane from about mile 3 or 4 until the finish.

6) I avoided all stinging insects this time around :-)

The Bad:

1) It was f-ing HOT!!!!!

2) There were HILLS. I'm not a very strong runner to begin with but throw in hills and I'm toast. That was not fun.

3) The headwinds on the bike were pretty horrific and lasted for more than half of the ride.

4) There was not a cloud in the sky so the sun just beat down on us and baked me to a crisp.

The Ugly:

1) I got sun poisoning on my legs during the bike. They hurt. A lot.

2) About mile 8 on the run, I started to feel like I was going to vomit. Perhaps I drank too much water.

3) I have some sweet ass tan (read: BURN) lines on my back.

4) I have some seriously sub-par snot rockets.

5) I have horrible ass chafing.

But one excellent thing was that I made a friend on the run. About mile 3 or 4 I met Symantha. We ended up running the entire thing together and it made it so much more bearable. We were able to talk and not think about the fact that it was so hot and there were no clouds and your feet hurt like hell and you wanted to puke. So a big shout out to her for getting me through the run!!!! She's doing the Steelhead 70.3 in a few weeks so I'm wishing her the best of luck.

After yesterday's race, I am now back in Chicago curled up in my bed relaxing. I think I will stay here for a while :-)

My Inspiration Lately

I've been getting in some really good training sessions lately. And my attitude has been pretty fantastic. I've been reading the book "I'm Here to Win" by Chris McCormack.

Macca is a Kona Ironman champion and the book is just inspirational. He tells about his entry into the sport and the fights he has put up to get where he is. While I am not (nor will ever be) a professional triathlete, there is a lot that I can learn from this guy. In the past week, I've found two passages that really speak to me:

"Embrace the suck. Because no matter how much you love being a triathlete, at some point a race is going to really, really suck."

"You become a better person when you manage to do something as insane as swimming, biking, and running 140.6 miles in the same day."

I get more and more excited the more I think about it. True, I also am getting more and more nervous but it's a good nervous. If I weren't nervous about 140.6 miles of hell, something would be seriously wrong with me. But I'm looking forward to the challenge. I am looking forward to crossing that finish line and finally becoming an IronWOman!

After the Naperville sprint tri a couple weeks ago, I have tried to focus some more on the bike knowing that it is my weakest link. I rode with a group out of Urban Tri Gear in Burr Ridge last week for some extra training. They ride every Wednesday night and they have a couple different pace groups. There are some really strong cyclists that push me to train harder. I went out with the fastest group. We were told that we would be averaging about 19.5 mph for a 25 mile ride. Well, apparently my 19.5 and their 19.5 is completely different. When we reached the 6 mile mark, I checked out my CatEye and it said our average was 24 mph. RIDICULOUS! I couldn't maintain that pace so I slowed down and another man and I stayed at 19 for the remainder of the ride. There were some decent hills on the route and I felt really good about the ride when we finished. I'm also hoping to get in about a 70 mile ride on Monday morning since we're off work for the holiday. A woman I swim with is also training for Louisville and she suggested we go ride. He daughter is my age and the three of us are going to hear out to Nowheresville, IL to get in a long ride.

I have an opportunity next weekend to see how I perform in a longer event. I am signed up for the Muncie 70.3 Half-Ironman race in Muncie, IN on July 9. My goal is to drop about 15 minutes from last year's half time. So I would like to finish in 6 hours and 15 minutes. It's going to be a hot one but so will Louisville so it's good practice.

I'm about 8 weeks out now so it's time to really focus. After the 4th, I'm going sober till September. OK, not really till September...just until I cross that finish line at approximately 10 pm on August 28. And by sober, I mean that I'm just not drinking in excess. I will still have a glass of wine every once in a while with dinner or I may get one beer on Thursdays at BW's. But I am seriously cutting back. I'm also changing up the diet and making sure I get GOOD food into my system instead of eating the shit I have been eating lately. We're down to two months and things are getting real now. This is going to ROCK!

The Weakest Link

It's been a while since I last updated. I moved and unfortunately, the internet in my new building isn't quite working right. So, any tech savvy friends that want to come help are welcome :-)

Training took a back seat to moving during the first week of June. Although, I am pretty sure that the whole moving process counted as quality workouts because I'm STILL sore from it! I got into my new place and have it all set up now though so I'm back in the swing of things.

I used this weekend as a chance to see exactly where I am at. I did two races. On Saturday, I did the Burr Ridge 5K. Every year, my firm will pay the registration for any employee that wishes to participate. I took advantage of the free entry and signed up. I even placed a friendly bet with a friend. I'm not gonna lie...he's kind of a badass runner so I knew it was going to be hard. There was absolutely no way that I could beat him flat out so we had to do a minutes spread. After much Googling, I found his ridiculously fast times and after much thought and calculation, I came up with 9 minutes. If he beat me by more than 9 minutes, he won and I owed him dinner. If he beat me by less than 9 minutes, I won and he buys dinner. I don't think it could have come any closer. He beat me by 8 minutes and 45 seconds. So I WON! But let's not forget the fact he ran a 19:24 which equals 6:15 per mile!!!! That's freakishly fast. So hats off to him for a good race! My time was 28:09. This is my fastest 5K time EVER. So I was really happy with that too.

Then today I got out and did my first tri of the season. I did the Naperville SheROX Sprint Triathlon. I had never done a sprint distance and I think it went pretty well. My goal was to finish in 1:30. My official finish was 1:33:09. I can't complain about that. My swim time was 11:11, 1st transition was 3:36, bike was 45:28, 2nd transition 2:51, and the run was 30:09. So I finished off the tri with a 5K only 2 minutes slower than Saturday's straight 5K. I am EXTREMELY HAPPY with that!

I learned today, however, that the bike is where I need to focus my improvement. My swim is always going to be one of the top times. That's to be expected when you spend 17 years as a competitive swimmer. My run is always just going to be mediocre. When just running, I can hold 9 minute miles. I'm just not built to run (and hold) sub-9's. When you put the run after a swim and a bike, I am lucky to hold 10 minute miles. And regardless of how crappy I feel, I don't really every go slower than 13 minute miles (however that may be my average when we get to Ironman!) So all that is left to improve upon is my bike. I averaged about 17.5 MPH today. If I could bump up my average to even say just 20 MPH, that would shave off a significant amount of time over the course of a 112 mile ride in the Ironman. So that is where I am now placing my focus. I will keep up the swimming as usual and just maintain my level there. I will get in the running but I'm not going to kill myself with any speed work or trying to improve. My main goal now is to increase my speed while decreasing the effort on the bike. If I can cut time on the bike, it will allow me some extra time in the run when I know I am going to be hating life.

This weekend of racing was exactly what I needed to renew my motivation, though. I am a competitor at heart. I like to race. The daily grind of training isn't what excites me. It's the thrill of getting out there, racing against my competitors, fighting against my mind, and seeing what kind of time I can put in. After two successful races this weekend, my inner competitor is coming out and I'm excited again!

What a freaking roller coaster

Oh. My. Goodness. What a freaking mess I am. I don't even know where to begin. I'm still struggling to get in all of my workouts because there just aren't enough hours in the day to accomplish everything I need to. Throw in the stress of moving next week and I'm all sorts of screwed.

I'm also INCREDIBLY frustrated by the weight roller coaster I have been on. You would think that someone who exercises as often as I do wouldn't have any problem dropping those last couple pounds. But nooooooooo...I may be the only person training for an Ironman that GAINS almost ten pounds in a matter of months. WTF?! I try to be conscious of what I am putting in my body but obviously I'm not doing a good job of that. So starting this morning I'm really putting a lot of effort into it. One problem I see is that I don't eat fruit. But I'm trying.

I was also pretty upset with my run attempt this morning. The goal was to get in 8 miles before court this morning. I started running and felt like I was going to puke. I got in about 3 miles of running and a mile and a half of walking before I had to quit. So we will try again this evening and see if I can get it in.

I did, however, have a decent bike ride on Saturday. Put in 25 miles and encountered a ton of obtacles (skater punks in the path, the Autism Speaks walk, some rain and some downpour).

So, send some love my way and keep me motivated!!!!!! I NEED HELP!!!!!!