Kona 2008 Race Report                        Cheryl Scigousky It has been a week since my first Ironman World Championship race in Kona.  I have mixed emotions about my experience.  So, I will start during race week.  We (Tony, the four kids, and myself) arrived in Hawaii on Saturday, October 4th, exactly 1 week before race day.  We spent the 1st two nights in Honolulu showing the kids the sights, relaxing, and hitting the beach.  Monday afternoon we flew over to Kona and that is when everything changed for me.     Monday - As soon as we landed, I headed to pick up my bike from Bike Works.  My bike was all set and ready to go.  It was a very easy and pain free experience. I rode over to our condo and the rest of the family was there waiting for me.  We stayed in an absolutely beautiful 3-bedroom condo at the Kona Reef.  We could not ask for better accommodations.  Our lanai looked out over the half way mark to the turn around of the swim course.  We relaxed the rest of the afternoon and made the short walk back into town for some dinner. Tuesday – First thing in the morning, Tony and I went down to Digme beach for a swim.  We swam half of the course.  It was beautiful, yet a little intimidating, being able to see the bottom of the ocean so far down!  The pier was hopping with nervous triathletes, all checking out the competition.  After the swim, Tony took the kids to a beach where they could catch some waves!  I headed down to packet pick up to check in for the race.  This was fun.  I met some nice people in line, however, again there was a lot of nervous energy.  I got out of there as quick as I could. I did end up coming down with a small stomach bug and stayed close to the bathroom for part of the day. I relaxed until mid afternoon, felt better, and then went out for a short run in the heat of the day.  Loved every minute of that run!   Wednesday – I was feeling back to normal today.  (at least my stomach). I took my bike out for a spin and did not feel at all comfortable.  I am not sure what happened, but my low back, neck, shoulders, and forearms all were in pain.  And, I have the best bike fit ever!!!  GET – A –GRIP does the job right!  So, I am not sure if things got a little messed up on the trip over.  Small changes can make a big difference in how you feel on the bike.  The ride itself was fun.  I rode out on the Queen K for a while and had to pinch myself a couple of times to make sure I wasn’t dreaming!  I thought, “Hey, I am really out here getting ready for the Ironman World Championship!  How great is this!!??!!”  Soon after the ride, my mind started playing tricks on me.  I started having this gut feeling that things were not quite right.  This feeling followed me the rest of the week leading up to the race.  I tried to push the negative thoughts out, but they kept sneaking back in.  After the ride, we drove up to Hawi and had some lunch.  I was glad to have seen the race course before race day.  It was a course right up my alley.  Gentle to moderate long climbs.  This is the terrain I love! Thursday – I was able to take the day off and rest and relax.  However, I never felt relaxed or that I was resting. I prepared everything for race day getting my bike race ready, all gear bags packed, etc.  In the evening, was the Welcome dinner.  A wonderful show was put on by Island Breeze.  Lots of fire and dancing.  Mike Reilly put on a great pre race presentation, followed by a pre race meeting regarding the course.  I was really tired and could not wait to get to bed. Friday -  24 hours to race start.  My nerves were out of control by this point, yet I appeared much calmer than earlier in the week.  (I was a bit of a crab early in the week) I went back to the beach for a quick swim.  A few hours later, went for a short ride and then racked my bike and gear.  Nothing left to do but wait for tomorrow morning.  At this point, I was chomping at the bit ready to go.  Everybody in the house had a cold, and I now felt a twinge of one coming on.  I went to bed early and did manage to get a few hours of sleep. RACE DAY Got up early had my ritual pre race breakfast, used my foam roller (an absolute must),  and headed out the door.  Tony came down with me and we arrived in transition at 5am.  I got body marked, pumped my tires, and put my water bottles and food on my bike.  I headed back out of transition, took a couple of photos and sent Tony on his way to go get the kids before race start.  I found a quiet place to sit for a while and before I knew it, it was time to get into the water. SWIM -  I found a nice spot staying way to the left and treaded water until the cannon went off.  I started swimming, and could not get into a rhythm.  I kept thinking that sooner or later it would kick in.  But unfortunately, it never did.  By my swim time, you might think I took a tour of the islands.  At the halfway point, my right elbow really started to hurt.  I have not had an issue with it all year…. Why now???  I struggled through the swim trying to get into a rhythm, and instead found myself fighting with the water.  As I neared the swim exit, I could hear the crowd and the excitement.  I checked my watch as I got out of the water and had to laugh.  I thought to myself, no big deal, I still have most of the day ahead of me. I went through transition and headed out onto the bike. BIKE – From the start, again, I did not feel comfortable on my bike.  All the pains in my low back, neck, and shoulders immediately reared their ugliness.  I did not feel like I had any power on the bike at the start of the ride.  But, it was still early; I had time to get into a groove.  Well, just like the swim, the groove never happened.  Some point after 30 miles while heading out to Hawi, the winds got CRAZY.  The crosswinds would blow my bike half way across the road.  A few people actually blew off of their bikes.  I had to really pay attention to stay upright.  Well, this did not help the strain in my neck and shoulders.  I, of course, tightened up even more and from gripping my bars so hard, everything was jacked up.  It was also extremely hot out as well.  I always really need to stay on top of my salt in take and today I could not miss a beat with it.  With this crazy wind, I had a hard time taking my hands off the bars.  I was afraid I would blow over.  I knew I was losing too much salt.  My hands were even covered in it as well as my base bars.  Later, I laughed at what I did next.  Hmmm, I could not take my hands off the bars, so I licked my arms a couple of times to get that salt back in!  ?  Drastic times call for drastic measures.  After the turn around in Hawi, my legs did end up cramping.  I took 5 salt tablets all at once, and within minutes, my muscles relaxed.  By then, I could feel I was overheating.  I wore my aero helmet, which has very little ventilation.  I could tell my body temperature was getting too high, so I knew I had to do something quick.  At the next aid station, I stopped, put ice in my helmet and the fantastic volunteers doused my body in ice water.  This helped a lot and after the first stop, I ended up getting off my bike at every aid station from there on out.  Lesson learned for me!  No aero helmet in Kona!!  With about 30 miles to go I got a little something caught in my throat and started a 45-minute coughing fit!!!!!!!  A couple of times the coughing got so bad that my gag reflex kicked in and I vomited!!  Yuck!  By this point, I knew that it was not my day.  I gave up mentally as well as physically.  Not good!  When I finally got back to town, I was thrilled to get back into transition.  My legs were not spent, so I thought, “ok, go out and redeem yourself with a good marathon.”   RUN – I started out running pretty good for the first 2 miles and then once again, I let my mind take over and I slowed down.  I have no reason for slowing down, other than at this point I gave up on myself.  So the rest of the marathon, I would run/walk/talk.  I tried to meet some new people and make new friends.  With about 8 miles to go and near the Energy lab, I decided to stop being such a sissy and just run!  There was a nice guy I met during these miles, Garrett, who kept me company until what else; I had to go to the bathroom.  (anyone who knows me, knows that this is an ongoing problem for me).  Garrett went on his way.  Luckily, because I was having such a bad day, it was dark during my bathroom breaks.  Yes, I said breaks!!  I ended up stopping 5 times in that last 8 miles.  Because it was dark, it was easy to go over to the side of the road in the dark, and no one really cared! Oh well!  Because of the darkness, I was forced to carry a glow stick.  When I entered town, I threw the glow stick in a garbage can.  I really did not want to cross the finish line with a glow stick.  ?  The one great part of the entire day for me was running down Alii drive towards the finisher’s chute! For me, crossing the finish line at Ironman Hawaii is reaching the pinnacle of this sport.  What an amazing feeling (if only for that 2 minutes)!!   I am so very grateful to have crossed that finish line.  I do wish that I had a better day, but just being at the Ironman World Championship is an amazing experience.  My race in Kona just makes me realize how much I have to learn about this incredible sport and my own mental and physical limits.  You can only get to reach those physical limits if your mind and body are working in unison. Unfortunately, this race was not my day. My physical fitness was ready to go, however, the mental aspects of my racing were not charged up and in gear.  However, I feel very fortunate to have been racing in Kona and will move on and take this experience on with me in a positive way!  I do know, that one day I will be back to race in Kona and when it happens, I will be ready!!! And a big mahalo to everyone who has supported me in this endeavor!  I could not have done it without all of you!