We Conquered Ironman California!

Skyler and I raced in Ironman California for the second time on March 27, 2010. The race took place in Oceanside, CA. We stayed in a hotel nearby the night before so we wouldn't have to get up extra, extra early for the race.

The morning of the race we woke up at 4:45. We packed up our gear, ate some breakfast, and headed off to the race. It was still dark when we arrived at the race area. The sun started to rise as the first wave of racers began.

We set up our transition areas and nervously waited for our times to go. Skyler started at 6:53am and I started at 7:20am.


Skyler has spent the past year improving his swim. Wow, what a difference! He finished his swim (1.2 miles) with a time of 38:30, an almost 5:00 improvement from last year.



I, on the other hand, didn't swim quite as fast as last year. My swim time was 41:07, which was about 3 minutes slower than last year. I think my realization of that bummed me out for the rest of the race and I spent the entire time trying to make up the difference, because my goal was to be faster than the previous year.

Skyler is always fast with transitions. He finished T1 in 3:19.

My T1 was 4:53 (faster than last year).

Unfortunately, we don't have pictures for the rest of the race (except for the official pictures which you have to purchase). The bike leg of the race (56 miles) was more difficult than last year. The middle section consists of a lot of steep hills. But this year, add some strong winds. I definitely felt like I was pushing myself very hard. I was worried that there wouldn't be enough left in my legs to run, but I would worry about that later. Skyler bike time-2:45:28. Skyler T2-1:42. My bike time-3:17:12. My T2-3:07.

Onto the run. This year we both felt better prepared for the run. Last year we felt like our legs were bricks, but this year we felt a little more light on our feet. I started out doing 8:15 miles, but then slowed way down when my recently-discovered IT-band pain flared up. I still finished with a better run time than last year. Skyler run-1:54:38. My run-2:01:10.

Overall, Skyler improved his total time by 34 minutes and I improved by 5 minutes. My improvement may not have been as much as I hoped for, but at least I wasn't slower. I pushed myself to the limit and accomplished a goal. Skyler did an amazing job and looked refreshed after the race. I am so proud of him!


So as I mentioned before, we didn't have any family there to take pictures of us during the race. I had told them not to come because it was essentially the same race as last year. Plus, it's a really long race and it's not very close to home.

Imagine my surprise as I sprinted down the finish line, only to glance to the left and see my dad cheering me on! He was the last person I expected to see since I specifically told him not to come because of how busy he was at work. I was thrilled to see him there and I, of course, started to cry (emotions run high when you're at a physical limit)! I high-fived him and crossed the finish line. Of course, it was a very emotional time for me.

My mom and two sisters arrived five minutes later (just barely missing me crossing the finish line). I was so happy to see them there.


And how exciting it was to have my newest and youngest spectator there to say congrats. My new niece Rose (only one week old at the time) accompanied my sisters and mom to the race. Of course, she slept the whole time, as she's been doing a lot of.


As you may notice, I'm wearing a pink skirt. At the last minute, I decided to wear my Team Sparkle running skirt during the running portion of the race. (I didn't wear it on the bike.) I wasn't sure about wearing it during a triathlon, but I'm so glad that I did. The run was proving to be painful for me near the end and I have to admit that I walked through a lot of the aid stations. After walking through the last aid station, I contemplated walking the rest of the race because my knees were hurting so bad (lame IT-band!). On the right side of the street were some condos. A lady leaned her head out the window and said, "Hey Sparkle, you're almost done. Keep running!" She inspired me to push through the pain and finish the race proud and strong.


This is one of my favorite races because of how much work is required for it. I'm not training to do something easy, I want to be rewarded for my hard work. Since we enjoy this race distance so much, we signed up for the same distance, but in a different location. In two months we will be racing the Ironman Boise race (not sure why it's called Ironman because it is only a Half-Ironman). We are excited to race and see our family that lives in Boise. Should be a great weekend!