Barb's IMLOU Race Report or SHEESH, WHAT A DAY!!
Time to grab your favorite beverage, be it hot cocoa or a cold libation. I have a most unusual story to tell, so you might as well be comfortable! The story you are about to read is true. The names have not been changed to protect the innocent. I could not possibly make this stuff up!
My IMLOU experience began at the Galt House, when attending the Athlete Check-In. How cool to see all of the athletes, awesome bikes, and realize that I was one of these many, about to begin my IM journey! I wasn't prepared to immediately be instructed to take off my shoes and socks and step onto the Tanita Scale. Jokingly, I asked the volunteer if they were weighing me to see if I was too thin to race! (She didn't get the joke...) Scale said: Hydrated! Yeah! First hurdle cleared!
Next came the 'show me your USAT card' table. Oh CRAP!!! I LEFT MY CARD AT HOME! No problem, says the WTC volunteer...just shell out $10 for your one day membership. Out came the ten. This should have been my first clue to what was going to transpire in the coming weekend. I went about my day, hitting the expo, getting checked in to the Brown Hotel, and attending the TEAM meeting at Old Spaghetti Factory. I had such a great time meeting everyone! What a great group of people we have in EN! Someone was missing though...Coach P was stranded back in Boston. I felt bad for him, but we went ahead w/our evening, and Kris Frazier did a fantastic job as acting host.
The remaining days prior to IMLOU were filled with iAmTri get-together, OW Swim practice, packing my T1, T2, and Special Needs bags, and generally getting ready for the race. I participated in the Louisville Underpants Run, which was so much fun! Coach Mo was there, of Biggest Loser Fame. He is the founder of the charity which benefitted from the run.
The pinnacle of the pre-race experience was about to transpire in the convention center at the banquet. As Mike Reilly spoke throughout the evening, he eventually began to ask the 3000 gathered athletes, to stand, as he inquired how many had lost xxx lbs. training for IM. As he upped the weight, athletes sat down and fewer remained standing. When inquiring how many had lost 60 lbs. or more, there were 3 people standing..a guy who had lost 100 lbs., a woman who lost 141 lbs. (WHOA!) and ME, who had lost 65 lbs.! Next thing I know, Mike Reilly, the VOICE OF IRONMAN, is calling us up onto the stage! The gregarious, social being that I am, became a quiet little mouse, when being interviewed in front of 3000 people!
Mike R.: So, Barbara, what made you decide to do an Ironman?
Me: Um, when I saw Julie Moss crawl across the finish line...
Mike R.: How did you lose this weight?
Me: Um...lots of .....um...hard work... (In my head, I'm thinking, YOU FREAKING IDIOT! Why didn't you mention EN?? Lots of hard work???)
Fast forward to race day, as I'm certain that is what you are really waiting to hear about.... After getting up at 3:30, eating my pnb/strawberry preserves sandwich, drinking Gatorade and gathering my gear, my friend Marcia dropped me off at transition, with my trusty bike pump. I had decided to wait to pump up my tires until the morning of the race, so they didn't deplete during the heat of the day Saturday. Mistake #1. As I was trying to remove the pump from the stem, I ever so slightly tweaked it and heard the gut-wrenching sound of air rapidly escaping from my tire...%&!#! After attempting to change the flat and becoming frustrated (I REALLY wanted to be in line at the swim start, so I had time to add for my bike.) I had one of the bike techs change it for me. She was an ANGEL! So, onward I went, to get in line, meet up with Marcia, and found Aimee Hendrigan to join us. The line was atleast a mile long by that time. Apparently, family members had been camping out in the swim line, sleeping on AIR MATRESSES!! I think that WTC should not allow this practice! It is not fair! Okay, rant over with for now. That being said, when the swim line began really moving, we were being herded like cattle...."move it, move it!" So, as I'm heading down to the swim, I begin to freak out that I didn't see the glasses table for the SWIM IN. There is a volunteer down by the swim, who says to me, I"ll take your glasses and your bottle. (I forgot to put my Infinit bottle on my %&! bike!) I had her my labeled glasses and bottle MISTAKE #2 and keep moooving down the ramp and jump off of the pier to begin the swim. The swim was fine. I only got a couple of kicks and punches. The problem with MY swim was that it was painfully slow. At one point I was swimming along and hit something. It was a log! I wondered to myself, could this be used as a kickboard? (Just kidding!) A guy swims past me, wearing a snorkel! I wasn't prepared to see this, so I looked at him, and he kind of stared at me, then went on his merry way. You know how you have random thoughts during these things, well mine was, 'I shall call him Frogman!' The swim took me forever, but I did get in, with a wonderful young volunteer on her surfboard, just hanging out next to me on the way in, pointing when I needed to go a little left or right. It was weird, but very nice. Sooo, I get out of the swim and go straight to the SWIM IN table. "where are my glasses and bottle?" I inquire. "We don't have them." WHATTTTT??????? After asking again, and they still didn't materialize, I ran to the changing tent. As I'm putting on my helmet , socks and bike shoes, I'm still asking for explanations as to where my RX glasses and my 3 1/2 hours worth of nutrition went! Basically, I was told they did not know, they probably went to the convention center in my morning bag, and they "could not get them for me". I will not type the words that desribe my feelings at this point. You get the picture! 
So, being a resourceful teacher, I made do with what I had...I biked for the next 73 miles, in my RX swim goggles!! Yep, I biked in swim goggles that fogged up and had to constantly be cleared. I hd no oxygen to my eyes for 73 miles on the bike, on top of the 2 + hours I spent on the swim! The heat got up to 95 degrees, heat index 110, humidity probably the same, and I looked like a freak woman, wearing swim goggles while riding my bike! I was hot, it was distracting to try to keep atleast one eye cleared so I could watch for pot holes and traffic, but I thought I can do this! The bigger problem was riding for atleast the first 10 miles without any nutrition! I had only water and one Gu Chomps packet on board my bike, as I had planned to drink my 3.5 hr. bottle of concentrated Infinit! I was behind the 8 Ball, and it wasn't getting better! I was seeing athletes under trees, flat on their backs, bikes just thrown off into ditches, ambulances everywhere, seemed like all day and they went on into the evening. When I got to Sligo Road on the first loop, they were already out of WATER! Bless the volunteers, who were making due the best they could, in a bad situation. They had a garden hose and were picking up empty bottles from the ground, filling them with water. I was thirsty, so I drank!
I made the cutoff for the first loop, and made my way through LaGrange and out to Ballard School Rd. It was here, that I hit the wall. I was very dehydrated, my black shorts turned white with salt. I got off of my bike and started walking it up the hills, and eventually even down the hills. I could not ride anymore. That wouldn't have been a problem, had I not had 39 more miles to navigate to town! Quite frankly, I was a walking salt lick! I was surprised that deer weren't bounding out of the woods at this point, to chase me down! There was a L'Ville cop escorting behind me. I kept waiting (praying) for him to pull me from the course, as I didn't want to make the decision to quit. I perservere no matter what! Well, he just kept letting me walk along with my bike. Finally I had enough, turned around and gave him the hand across the throat sign that I was DONE! He asked if I was dropping, how did I feel, and I told him I was indeed dropping, I was 'toast'. From there on, I was picked up, transferred to an aid station, where I met Brennan, another EN'er who suffered from the heat of the day, along with several others. We were loaded into a van, taken to another aid station, where several more people sat with their bikes, waiting to be taken back to town. Two of them had been waiting for a ride for 4 HOURS! They were not happy campers! Bob Scott, the 80 year old who always competes in IM, was there, and was thanking the volunteers, as he too, had had enough from the heat. Evntually, our bikes were transferred from the van, to a HUGE moving truck! It was FULL of bikes! So full in fact, that they couldn't pick up any of the other bikes, nor could we pick up any of the umpteen athetes we saw on the way into town, parked under trees and laying flat on their backs. Some looked dead!
When I got back to Transition, I was told they still didn't have my glasses, then found out they were at the convention center. The volunteer asked me if I could 'come back this evening' to get them. I lost my cool at that point, apologized for my demeanor, but stated I had been in these swim goggles for several hours and was not going out to dinner, wearing SWIM GOGGLES! I was finally reunited with my glasses, got showered, and met up with Patrick at the finish line area. Team EN was ROCKIN' LOUISVILLE! So proud of my friends who finished so strong and fast! And Matt S., what can I say? Congratulations buddy! Man, had I any idea you were going to qualify for Kona, I would have stayed for that banquet! We had such a nice time post-race, meeting at The Pub and eating some dinner. Thanks again Matt, for dinner! I would not trade this experience for anything! I had such a wonderful week, met great teamates and friends, and enjoyed all of it! Okay, I could have done without the glasses/nutrition experience! All in all it was fabulous. However, I cannot help but wonder what might have been, if I had my glasses and nutrition bottle during the race....
Comments
WOW, Barb!! WHAT a day. I would say you gave it the best you could given the circumstances. Your RR is so entertaining & props to you for such a POSITIVE perspective.
Looking forward to meeting you in Madison!!
Wowsers what a story, what a day!! Loved reading your report, thanks for being so genuine and making me laugh! Good for you to make it to mile 73 without glasses and fuel!! You are amazing
Oh and congrats for losing 65 llbs and being interviewed by Mike Reilly.....smile Barb you are famous 
Keep at it, there is always next time!!
******
GIRLFRIEND, YOU ROCK!! your weight loss and you deserved to be up on stage and then swim goggles on a bike.... no way, no way. unbelievable tale and I have been waiting for days for you to publish it. congrats, so sorry that the heat/nutrition got you down but I think you gained more than a medal anyways. great job out there and now if something happens to me next weekend, I will say "gonna improvise like Barb did!"
Oh, Barb!! I just want to hug you!! You are brave and awesome and got as far as you did with some serious feather ruffling!
Definition of tough day at the races! And you were absolutely right to not have to go to dinner in goggles -- they got you a lot farther than they needed to in the first place.
Barb, thank you for getting all this down and so poignantly describing your day. The image of a truck full of bikes, passing more prostrate riders left on the course, is unsettling. Your spirit, though, seemed upbeat, and still defiant.
As a nearly blind person myself (I can see about three inches in front of my face, and that's it), I can fully appreciate the feeling (I would call it terror) of not having your glasses. Because of that, I have always had a back up plan for seeing. I use contacts while I swim and bike (and sometimes when I run), and have an extra set in my T1 bag, and have my glasses in my T2 bag. Your story is instructive for those of us who depend totally on lenses for sight.
To have that issue, along with no Infinit, add in the heat and the worries about cut-off times, and I'd say you overcame a lot, and are here on the other side still positive in your outlook.
A big, big hug to you, girlfriend! Thank you for sharing your incredible experience.
Wow, Barb! Goggles on the bike???? That is just too much to ask from anyone. Pesonally, I think they should have taken down your number, gotten your glasses and Infinit, and tracked you down on the course. It is 2010, and they have "tracking." It's so hard to think in the time of mayhem--for the athletes and the vols. I am so sorry that happened to you. HUGE bummer, but your spirit prevails. Congrats on taking the challenge and getting through all that training. You inspired many of us along the way, and continue to do so.
xoxo,
LP
Barb-Yikes! what an adventure. You gave it your all for what you thrown your way. Next one will be better and you will nail it.!
Thanks for sharing your story, the aid station out of water, just WOW! Congrats on the 65 lb weight loss, great accomplishment!
Sorry to hear your day ended prematurely. When I saw you on the bike it really lifted my own spirits out there (was that near LaGrange or Sligo? Can't remember). That's the effect you have on others. Hope you keep at it.
It's been fun virtually training with you this year on the IM Lou forum. What's next for you?
Dan
Thank you for letting us know what happened. I was tracking you ( I had some problems with the live feed, but I always got it back quickly).
That said, hope you don't mind that I was LOL about the goggles. Here you saw "Frogman" on the swim, only to be "FrogWoman" on the bike.
But they should have gotten you glasses to the swim out ramp. Crazy that it didn't occur to them that you needed them!
Ugh on the nutrition. So sorry that you had to make the call. I was hoping that you'd say he made the call for you. But you were still upright, so he probably figured you could keep going.
Sorry I won't see you this week. Sometime, someday.
Thanks so much for getting the full story out there. Your toughness and persistence are inspiring. I enjoyed meeting you at the practice ride on June 12th and over the weekend. I love how you end on a positive note. I saw that you signed up for the Chicago Marathon. Sounds like the beginning of a comeback to me! Let us know how that goes and hope to see you again soon! Scott
Barb!! What an experience! I can't tell you how worried I was about you getting your nutrition and glasses back after you handed them off in the swim line! As Dan said it was great to see you on the bike course - I figured "awesome, she got her stuff" but as you told me then - "nope!" I think the goggles looked stylish and could start a new trend in aerostyle - minus the fogging! Bob does have a pic of you on the bike couse I'm going to try to get that to you asap!
It was great to see you right after the race in such positive spirits - thanks for being such a fun and supportive teammate!!
p.s. thanks for letting me jump in line w/you
- I agree that free-for-all swim line-up is lame!