Well if you have been following my occasional blogs..(I know I have not posted anything since June 2013). You know that for the last year I have been training for IRONMAN FLORIDA. This last weekend November 2, 2013, I completed that GOAL!
Grab a cup of Coffee, Water and some Fuel it is going to be a long RIDE!!!!!

FIRST, I WOULD LIKE TO TAKE A MOMENT AND THANK EVERYONE FOR ALL OF THEIR LOVE, SUPPORT, GUIDANCE, ENCOURAGEMENT, KICKING ME IN THE HINEY WHEN I NEEDED IT, HOLDING MY HAND AND PRAYING FOR AND WITH ME WHEN THINGS WERE TOUGH AS WELL AS LAUGHING AND SMILING WHEN THEY WERE GOOD.

THIS IRONMAN JOURNEY HAS BEEN TRAINING FOR OVER A YEAR. BUT TO BE HONEST, IT HAS BEEN A LIFETIME IN THE MAKING!

I am going to start with:

Wednesday October 30…

6 am: Been up since 4 am time to get ready to go to see Dr McNally and get my right shoulder and left foot taped before I leave for Florida.

9 am: pick up Sue and head to TF Green Airport..of course I take wrong entrance to the airport and Sue says I have to go the other way, so as we drive "all away around the airport again", I say to her no you can drop me off over here and she says NOOOOOO…you have to go to departures!!! OK OK so I go to departures and I see Debbie there ringing her COW BELL!!!!! I love these girls…

1110 am: The flight is off to Florida. Plane has several people on the way to #IMFL. Deb P. is on the plane even though I never actually see her…LOL but we did chat via FB.

3 PM: Arrived at PCB Airport, gather bags and rent car…..Head to venue to do Athlete Check in and and picked up PIPPI and gear bag…missed ya Pippi! then off to Condo

5 pm: OMG this condo is amazing….hot tub and cool spa and two pools right outside and the beach…I am taking pictures when a nice gentleman comes up and offers to take my pictures with the beach behind me….The rest of the evening is unpacking and walking the beach going grocery shopping….

Sun Set Wednesday Night after I arrived in PCB

Thursday Oct 31:

8 am to 12 pm: Been up since 4 am and went for a walk, had coffee and breakfast, and got dressed to meet the BAZINGA CREW for a easy 30 minute ride…

Then meet up with Laura to go to one of the Athlete meetings. Got to see "Rinny" and other Pros!!! Found the ART tent…Yeah release of left shoulder and a little work on the left foot…

I found a guy to retape my shoulder and foot on Friday!!! YEAH!!!!

Checked out the venue and Ironman Shops.

5 pm: Heading to Welcome Dinner with Laura and John…LONG LINE..Food ok…Awesome inspirations and vibes at the dinner…..

830 pm: Setting up transition and special needs bags… making sure Pippi is all ready to go!!!!!

930 pm: Watching the storm clouds roll in!!! Wind picking up and they are expecting a really bad storm on FRIDAY possible into Saturday!!!!

Friday Nov 1, 2013.

Rain, winds crashing waves…yes sir all day and night before!!!!!

430 am: up and having coffee listening to the waves crashing on the shore and the rain is pelleting the windows Wind is ripping on the pool deck…..

9 am: Double and triple checking my bags for race day...Melissa is arriving today….Thank God!…Melissa is one of my best friends and has been so supportive…Love her and THANK YOU MELISSA!!!!! SPARKY!!!!!!

10 am : I get a visit from a new friend Scot and his wife Barbara. Scot has been doing tri's for over 30 years and they wanted to make sure I was ready to go…. Thanks Scot... Great advice and loved meeting you and Barbara! They tell me that will be at the mile 5 water stop for the day on the run and Ill get to see them tomorrow as well…..

12 noon: headed to venue to drop off Pippi and transitions bags…still storming on and off and I am nervous as I leave the T1 area the wind whips up and knocks over a few bike racks and bikes go crashing everywhere…

530 PM (ish): Melissa and I are hanging out, had dinner at one of the local restaurants down near the venue. I order GATOR..yes alligator and pasta. We enjoyed our dinner as the sun was setting on the Gulf Coast….It was so beautiful! Then we go to see Laura and her crew….Pippi is all set and I say good night to her…transition bags are dropped off…head back to condo….

830 pm: restless playing on the computer, looking at the weather and outside HOPING and PRAYING this is all going to clear up!!!

9 pm: Sparky tells me to go to bed…yeah right!!!!! I try but lay there and fidget for a while then watch TV with Sparky.

SATURDAY NOV 2, 2013

IRONMAN FLORIDA

430 am: up and having coffee…and water and peanut butter on an Arnold's round….(I know same thing as always, but it works!) Melissa is up and we grab the special needs bags and my morning cloths bag and head to venue to get fluids on bike and into transitions bags!

510 am: In the car and head to the race site….We park about 1/2 mile away…closest parking available… walk to special needs drop off and head to T1 and T2 area to check on Pippi….All looks well….

530 am: Go to Laura room and say MORNING!!! Check out the Ocean...not too bad…FIRMMAN 2012 was much worse!!!!

6 am: We are staying warm in Laura's room and changing into wetsuit…LOL Yes I am still a stuffed penguin!!!

630 am: headed to swim start…Strange… I am not nervous at all…. just want to get this started. I know it is going to be a long day…but I am not nervous just kept repeating to my self if i get thru the swim that will be the most difficult for me mentally…(fighting those damn SHARKS in my dreams for months!!!)

655 am: PROs GO OFF!!!

7 am: AND WE ARE OFF!!!!!!! Surf is a little rough but doable,,, Lap one I stay out to the right I was not about to fight the rest of the athletes… I had a great first lap..out of the water and short runt to he second lap start.. I hit the water and just catch it between waves beautiful.. no fighting to get out at all.

Lap 2 of the swim is done 1:34….Yahooooo one of my fastest swim to date at that distance!!!! 2.4 miles and no SHARKS!!!!! Just so you all know my Garmin said 2.85 miles….

835 am: Over to wet suit stripper….they had that suit off in 2 seconds after laying me on the ground!!!! They hand me my suit and help me up!! Off to the T1… another volunteer hands me my bag and off to the changing area…which is a giant room full of other women all changing and getting ready for a little spin around the NW part of Florida!!! I had decided to make a complete change of clothes, I swam in my bathing suit and did not want to ride in salty wet cloths. Hardest part was putting the socks on. I had calf compressions which I LOVED

and put on my team kit TRI NE!!!!!! Helmet and sunglasses on next. Chamois Butt'r (lots of that) and sun block all over!!! OK ready for a little ride only 112 miles to go on the bike!

A GAINT SHOUT OUT TO THE VOLUNTEERS!!!

They were Great ALL DAY!!!!!!!!!!

853 am: Out of T1 and off to find Pippi..

Try running in bike shoes…LOL…it was so weird….someone calls out my number and Pippi is waiting for me in the aisle of the T1 section… as I go to add more fluid to my aero bottle on the front of my bike, another volunteer comes up and offers to open the bottle for me and pours the fluid into the bottle, which allows me to switch sides and get on the left side of my bike (cause that is the side I always mount the bike on and wanted to be on that side before getting to the mount line….

Great start: nice flat and fast..

Mile 10 of the ride and I was looking into my bento box for some fuel and took to long to look up again and all of a sudden there is NO MORE ROAD!!!! I am off roading on my beautiful PIPPI!!!!! I start to yell and I think I may even of SCREAMED…"OH SHIT!!!!!" I was going "fast" enough to be able to correct and get back onto the road with out losing total control or crashing….The other racers around me all checked on me to make sure I was ok… THANK YOU!!!! Never had to actually come to a full stop but my heart rate sure went sky high for a few minutes there!!!!

I do not know how to explain the rest of the bike.. some was flat , LOTS of head wind…at about half way mark around mile 53 or 54 was special needs on the bike…some great (and good looking) guy/volunteer opens my bag and holds it for me so I can reload my fuel and fluids. He helps me to reapply sun block to my lower back and shoulders…I did not need to change any clothing and it still warm out. I, as usual, packed way to much had lots of extra fuel and fluids. I told the volunteers to give the extra to someone else who may need them….just as I was saying that another rider came up and said they could not find his special needs bag and asked if there was any extra nutrition and or fluids. I gave him mine and wished him good luck. The road that lead to the special needs bag SUCKED!!!! It was like riding on tree roots the whole way…. I felt like I was going to need new kidneys after the race and poor Pippi has never been shaken like that before. I think she may have suffered from "shaken syndrome"...

DO NOT let anyone lie to you and tell you that #IMFL is perfectly flat...I know I know I am from New England and it was not rolling hills or mountains, but from mile 60 thru about 75 there were HILLS…..great going down the one or two. I got up to about 33 or 34 mph but going up them was back down to 10 - 11 mph…and head winds with those "hills".

At about mile 102, I start to get pain in my right side every time I go into my aero bars. It actually hurts to take a deep breath in that position. The last 10 miles or so was pretty much sitting up right and into a "great head wind"…. I round the corner to the last section of the bike route and I can hear people yelling and shouting, cheering on some of the FINISHERS…Yes I said FINISHERS of IMFL 2013. I even seen one guy sitting on the side of the road in a beach chair wrapped up in the space blanket eating something with the finishers medal on his neck…. It has been almost 8 hours since I got on the bike… I was about an hour off my race plan. I knew that if I wanted to finish before midnight I needed to get my feet moving, but the pain in my right side was getting worse. It went from the middle of my ribs to my middle of my thigh. Every breath was hurting and I was nausea as all can be for the last 40 minutes. I could not eat anything the last 30 minutes and drinking was difficult. Finally, I see John and Melissa on the side of the road and hear them shouting my name… that brings a smile to my face… I am almost to T2!!! PIPPI, I Love you, but I could not wait to get away from you at that moment in time!

446 (isn) pm: I am off Pippi someone takes her from me and points me in the direction of T2: another volunteer hands me my bag and directs me off to the changing area. I reapply the chamois butt'r and sun block, eat part of a PB sandwich which is about the only thing I can get down but had to take small tiny bites and chew chew chew. The pain in my side is getting better but still there. The nausea is starting to clear.

I grab my running shoes and see the note Sue left for me to remember to take my watch and I start to tear up, the volunteer asks if I am ok and I say yes just so happy to know my family and friends are cheering for me and have been there for me thru this who journey….

(ps Sue I never took the watch off my wrist, I was too afraid that I would forget to take it off).

Running shoes on and fuel belt ready to go… 26.2 miles here we go…….

Leaving T2….

Rocking the TRINE Race Kit…..

The first three miles of the marathon I walk with Deb P. We encourage each other. I am sure she will leave me behind soon. But she is very gracious and listens to me babble for about three miles. I stop to use the port a potty, I tell her not to wait, I'll try to catch up.

Uhmm did I happen to say that I would be passing my condo FOUR, yes FOUR, times while doing the marathon….What a mind game that was!

After the potty break, I start to trot and feel like I am getting my legs back. I run for a couple of miles and then do a run walk for the next ten miles. I figure if I keep it at or less then 15 min miles then I will be good to finish in time. I meet a lot of wonderful and inspiring people along the way. several who like to talk as much as I do! I wish I could remember their names..but if any of you are reading this THANK YOU FOR HELPING TO KEEP ME SANE while out there!!!!!!

This picture is taken just before mile 13 where Melissa, John and the rest of Laura's Crew are waiting and watching… I all of a sudden hear them calling out my name and the words "GO GATOR GO"…I start to laugh cause it takes me a minute to realize they are talking about me…cause I had gator for dinner the night before!!!

After the first loop is the special needs for the run bag site. Two volunteers help me open my bag and add another layer on as it is getting chilly… I put on a long sleeve under-armor top and one female volunteer notices I am having trouble raising my right arm and helps me to get the tri top off so I can put the long sleeve shirt on as well as helps me put the tri top back on. The male volunteer is going thru my bag looking for my tylenol for me and some extra fluids to refill my fuel belt.

I ask for the "pink cape" and they both start to smile and ask what it is for… I tell them it is because have amazing grandchildren and I am wearing the cape in their honor cause they think their "Grammie is a super hero and she can do ANYTHING"… I will say this it was the thought of my grand children that kept me going forward in the last few miles. It was cold and windy and I was hurting. I had started to develop blisters on both feet around mile three of the marathon and knew that my stride was off cause of trying to prevent landing on the blisters.

Coming around the bend from special needs is Melissa and the Crew again… cheering and encouraging me…

Coffee in hand I go off… yes I said COFFEE… Did you really think I would not have some during a 16+ hour race???? I had packed a bottle of black coffee in each special needs bag…I will do this again!!! (I can not drink the soda they offer on the route.)

The next 13 miles were walk/run/trot/walk…meeting new people and saying hi to others I meet on the bike or run earlier…around Mile 18, I see Scott and Barbara and they encourage me and Barbara gives me a big hug….EXACTLY what I needed at that moment!!!

As we get close to the 23 mile mark we can hear the announcer calling out names… I start to speed ups and even trot a little more…I can feel the emotions start to weld up cause I look at my watch it is not 11 pm yet…I have just about 3 miles to go...I shout out loud…I GOT THIS!!! I think I scared a couple of the others around me!

The chips, pretzels, and chicken broth and GU and GU chomps and my peanut butter sandwiches and crackers as well as the Kind bars got me thru wonderfully!!!! I had brought my own G2 and Powerade zero cause I could not use their sports fluids w/o getting sick….

I can feel the crowd as I take the last left hand turn toward the finishers chute… I can see the finish line.. I start to run!!!!! I am going to finish and faster then I ever thought in my wildest dreams… I told everyone my "goal was 16:59:59…I just wanted to finish"… but a few people knew that I was hoping for a little more then that… that my best time wish was 16:30:00….

I look down at my Garmin and I am running down the chute and it says 16:26:45…

For the last 12 months I have been training for this moment. I hear people shouting my name and I start to high five people along the way…

The announcer says :" From Johnston, RI, Lets welcome First Timer Kellie Armstrong…hey Kellie has on a cape….Kellie YOU are an IRONMAN!!!!!!!!

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