Irongirl 10k

It’s the middle of the weekend, but I feel like so much has gone on since I last wrote. Thursday we went out for ladies night like always, but I opted not to drink seeing as I had a race the next day at 4. We got in kind of late, but I didn’t have class until 1pm. Class went by fast, thank goodness because we had to rush to our race. Once class was out Chelsea and I rode our bikes back to Annies and got ready to head out to Hobie Beach which is where the race started. It is about a 45 minute walk so we left with just enough time to get there. There were so many women, most dressed in pink, to support the Ironman and show that they are dedicated to a healthy lifestyle (that was what the run was about). Becca, Chelsea, Meli, Julia, and Isabel represented our group of internationals! Becca Chelsea and I are from the states, Julia and Isabel are from Germany and Meli is from Austria. We were all grouped around the speaker telling us some of the rules and he even called to the front a South African gold medalist from the 1984 Olympics named Zola Budd Pieterse. She spoke about how she was there to have fun and was so inspired by all the women that came out to run in the beautiful city of Port Elizabeth. She then stood by some people and Becca and I jumped in and got a photo with her! haha We aren’t even South African! They then turned us around to line up at the start. We didn’t realize we were going to be all the way at the back, so Becca grabbed my hand and basically pulled me all the way to the front. We didn’t get very far so we had to wait for the gun to go off and everyone to start, and straight away Becca and I were sprinting to get ahead of everyone. I was out of breath in the first 5 or 6 minutes because of this. Not to mention the wind was probably at about 20mph against us, like any other day in PE. The wind was against us all the way down to the SAMREC penguin center, which is were I volunteer at, and then there was a turn around and come back. The whole run was along the beach with the campus on our right and there were so many spectators at random places cheering everyone on. The sun was hot, but you couldn’t feel it when the wind was blowing. I couldn’t decide while I was running if I would have liked there to be no wind so I could run faster, but then I would be hot or if I would rather the wind pushing against me so I could stay cool. Once we got close to the turn around, Tomas and Anno, both from Annie’s Cove, came out of no where on their bikes and rode next to us and cheered us on. They couldn’t have came at a better time because it was the half way point and I was feeling a tad bit exhausted. After the turn around the wind was for the most past at our backs, but sometimes there would be a gust of wind into our face and that meant I got a mouthful of sand. By the end of the race I was covered in a thin coat of sand. I had been following a girl most of the way because she had a good pace going that challenged me, but was enough for me to stay with her. The whole way back I kept thinking to myself about how easy it would be to slow down and take it easy because no one was around me, just the girl in front of me. I fought with myself and decided that I needed to stick with her or I would slow to a pace where people could catch me. I liked the feeling of my legs towards the end because they hurt just enough to make me go faster and my breathing was perfect now that the wind wasn’t in my face. I hit the last water stop and picked up a bag of water (every race I have ever competed in they usually have cups) so I didn’t really know what to do with it. I tried my hardest to open it, but decided that I was wasting too much energy and just threw it on the ground (not something, as an environmentalist, I am proud of). At this point, I slowed just enough that I lost pace with the girl in front of me. I then had to fight myself to keep a strong enough pace to keep my place. Once I could see the Ironman set up, it just clicked to me to start my finishing pace, which is way to fast, but I figure since I’m almost done I don’t really need to walk the rest of the day. There were so many people along the path cheering everyone on, it was so exciting to get closer and closer to the finish. At the end it was kind of confusing because the path got skinnier and we had to weave in and out of the stands so that we came into the finish where the crowd was sitting. It was a dead sprint from me once I turned the corner to the finish. I remember hearing what I thought might be all my friends that came to watch in the stands, but I had no time or energy to turn my head. I was dead set on sprinting across that finish line. Once I crossed I was given a medal around my neck, which says Irongirl South Africa, and an ice cream popsicle!!! Yes, I ate this even though I gave up sweets for lent, I figured that I deserved it and it was a gift and God wouldn’t want me to turn down a gift! I waited for everyone else to finish and we all got together for hugs, congratulations, and pictures from our groupies that came to watch. I cramped a little bit at the end, so it was a little hard for me to walk. We headed over to the Vodacom Amphitheater were the awards ceremony would take place with Julia, Chelsea and Becca. They started off saying how great PE is and how awesome the Ironman is and then they went in order by age groups for the prizes. I was so shocked that I got 3rd in my age group with a time of 50:09, 23rd overall out of 698 women. I walked up to stage, I wanted to cry! They handed me a basket full of goodies and a rose and congratulated me! This was such a great experience and I am so happy I got to be apart of the first ever Irongirl in Port Elizabeth South Africa. I am still a little sore today, but I will hopefully get in some miles on Monday, not many though! Cheers!