Ironman Maryland Part II: There's a Girl in the Heart of Maryland

Welcome to Part Two of my Ironman Maryland story.  If you missed Part One you can catch up here - don't worry, I will wait for you!

Bike
Preparation pays off again and I was thankful that we had driven the bike course on Thursday afternoon.  It sure helped me to be able to visualize what would be coming at me that day.  I was very excited about the course because it covered some beautiful territory and the roads were simply divine - all asphalt without as much as an inch of chip seal.  A rare treat for a Texas cyclist! This course was also two loops and was as flat as flat could be.  There are positives and negatives to this - no rolling hills to climb, but also no coasting.  I knew that if I stopped pedaling, my bike would stop moving.  There was one "hill" on the course, which they had jokingly marked with tape, because if they didn't then we might have just missed it! I don't even think that there was even a false flat on this entire ride.  I do love getting in aero and cranking out some big gear miles on a straight flat road and there were some long stretches of road that begged me to do just that.

There were several turns in the beginning as it took us a little bit to get out of Cambridge.  I worked on just settling in and getting comfortable on the ride during all of this.  This year I added a new dimension to my cycling by training and riding with a power meter.  It helped me so much during this race because all I had to think about was staying in my range.  I'm not one to "blow up" on the bike, but I do tend to ride a little more conservatively and the power meter helps to prevent me from getting lazy.  "Ride to power" because my frequent mantra.  I ended up on the low end of my power range and that tells me that I can and will push a little harder in the future.

One of the "perks" of being a slower swimmer is that I always pass tons of people on the ride.  It is always fun to zoom by people and then work hard not to let them repass me on down the road.  It was a beautiful morning out there on that first loop - beautiful skies and plenty of sunshine.  The wind was in our faces at times, but nothing that I really noticed until I made a right turn that put the wind at my back.  My main focus was getting to the halfway mark around mile 56, as I got closer I decided that I wanted to take a restroom break mostly just to get off my bike for a minute and take a break from that constant pedaling in the aero position.  Again, I was surprised to hear my name and see Karen there.  Turns out, Erin was on the other side and I didn't actually see her face....but I knew that she had to be there.  I had packed some "emergency" Pop Tarts in my special needs bag in case I needed something different nutritionally, but I didn't need that bag at all. I got in and out of there as fast as I could and started out on the second loop.

Ooops....didn't see Erin over there

As I began the second loop I could tell that the winds had picked up quite a bit.  I remembered that right turn later in the course and just put my head down and got to work knowing that it would get better eventually.  I heard a familiar voice right about then and saw Mr K ride up beside me. It was a relief to see him because I'd been wondering how his day was going.  He said that he had a very enjoyable swim, but he had been stung by a bee on the ride.  We chatted a little bit longer before he slipped away.  He is such a strong cyclist, I knew that I would not see him again until the run.  The second time through the Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge was not quite as enjoyable as the first because there was nothing to block the winds.

I focused on eating and drinking and knocking off the miles.  My fueling plan of Shot Blocks, Honey Stinger Waffles, EFS drink, and water worked very well for me.  I stopped at aide stations a couple of times just to take a break and put my feet on the ground for a minute or two, I just felt so much stronger after taking the quickest break like that.  I picked up a bottle of Gatorade Endurance, but I did not drink very much of it as I prefer water when I am riding or running.  The cross winds were a bit scary at times on the back half of that second loop and I found myself holding on for dear life a few times.  The road was beautiful, fresh asphalt but the row of rumble strips paired with those cross winds made passing tricky at times.  Did I trust my bike skills enough to negotiate the short gap in the rumble strip paired with the strong wind? Sometimes I did and sometimes I didn't.

Eventually I made it to mile 100 and then I got to make the turn towards town instead of going straight for another loop.  It was a happy moment, but I had to remind myself to be patient because those last twelve miles would feel like they took forever. When you sign up for an Ironman, you'd better be okay with spending a lot of time with yourself because you are going to do a lot of it during the swim and bike. My contacts tend to get dry when I am riding and especially when I'm riding into the wind and because of this I packed a spare pair of contacts in my transition bag.  It was a good thing that I did because somewhere after mile 100, my right contact blew out of my eye and stuck to the inside of my sunglasses.  Thankfully my vision is barely corrected and having only one contact did not cause me very much trouble.  As I pedaled towards transition, Erin and Karen popped up one more time.  Those girls are everywhere! I smiled super big because I knew that I'd made it.  I racked my bike with a huge sigh of relief as I always worry about the random fluke mechanical issue, flat tire, or crash that can ruin a day.  I gave her a pat and thanked her for the solid miles and I headed off to transition.

Almost done and happy to see Karen & Erin

Official time: 6:13:42
18.54 mph

T2
It felt like a long way from the bike racks until the back of the transition area where my bag would be waiting.  I will admit that I kind of sauntered through there a bit, using the time to gather myself and prepare mentally for the run.  I hit the restroom again before heading into the tent to see if they happened to have a mirror so that I could put in my new contact.  The sweetest volunteer ever came over to help, she did not have a mirror but she put her phone in selfie mode so that I could see to put my contact in.  She also helped me change my socks (Body Glide and toe socks are a must because my feet are so blister prone) and get ready to head out for the run.  I had no idea that I would see her later on in the evening.  I felt really satisfied heading into the run because I knew that I was two thirds done and I trusted my abilities as a runner to carry me the rest of the way to the finish line.