I’m on the plane back to the main land …finally have some focus to write about my race experience at the Ironman World Championships on October 11th.

Had a decent sleep the night before the race. Got about 5 hours of solid straight sleep. When I woke up, I laid in bed until about 3:40 and then I got up- it’s time! Game plan was to leave just after 5am for the pier. I ate my usual pre race breakfast; 2 scrambled eggs, 2 dry whole wheat waffles, banana, coffee and sips of Gatorade and water.

We arrived at the King Kamehameha for body marking and to drop off my special needs bike bag. After that, I checked out my bike, pumped up the tires to 115 psi and put my bottles in the cages, filled up my aero drink, and put my gel flask in the bento box along with some emergency Tylenol- you never know when you may need it. As I was finishing up, I heard my name being called. When I looked up, I was filled with joy to see Bill Bell. Bill is a 32 time Ironman finisher and 86 years young. Mel and Derek chatted with Bill for a while at the bar of a Mexican restaurant earlier in the week. Bill asked for my name and number and that he would track me. I was blown away he actually took the time to do this race morning. Bill was not competing this year- I think he is retired from competing in Ironmans, but not from spectating. If you check out any past year Ironman video, chances are, Bill is mentioned in the coverage- he is a legend.

Having Bill wish me luck before the race was similar to my experience with Sister Madonna Buder at Ironman Coeur d’Alene. When Bill approached me, karma was flying high and I knew my day was off to a great start. Bill gave me the most genuine hug and told me where he lived in CA and to look him up when I get home, he’s in the book!

The race start was getting closer so I found my family and gave everyone hugs – see you later! Pro start kicked off at 6:45 am and the age groupers (me!) at 7:00 am. Last chance for me to get in a few more calories before the start, so I had a gel, hit the porta potty and made my way into the water.

Earlier in the week I discussed my swim strategy with Coach Luis. He drew me a diagram of the best location to start and I felt confident about it. Since I have experienced several other mass starts before, I knew what to expect. But since this was the World Championship, I had a feeling it was going to be more of a battle with 1800 of the best swimmers. Buoys are on your right, so most people want to stay as close to the buoy as possible. My plan was to stay as far left as possible… in fact I was so far left, I was told several times by kayakers to get right. Before I knew it, the cannon went off and I was on my way.

I was pleasantly surprised to have had a mostly non-confrontational swim. This was because I was so extreme left the entire time. As I was swimming along, I thought about how cool it would be if I had a GPS tracking device and my family could track me and later when I’m reviewing my splits, I could see how far off course I was. Total nerd.

I’m not the best sighter… so I just tried to stay to the left of the pack. When I exited the water, I was surprised to see my time was slower than IM CDA, but extremely pleased that I saved myself the stress of fighting for the entire 2.4 miles. Swim time was 1:16:42.

I made my way through T1 in 4:31 and was on the bike. The beginning of the bike was great… tons of spectators and excitement. The construction they warned us about wasn’t a big deal at all and before I knew it, I was on the Queen K. The first 30 miles felt great and I was excited to maintain this pace for the entire bike. Just as I acknowledged this thought, the wind started to pick up and got progressively worse the closer I got to Hawi. I did the Honu 70.3 in June 2007 and the bike course is the same up to Hawi. I was not aware the trade winds are significantly stronger in Oct vs. June until Pua told me after the race. When I met Sam McGlone back in September at Eli and Matt’s party, she told me, “expect the worst and hope for the best”. That statement popped into my head as the mental part of my race was amping up.

I did not take in any nutrition for roughly 20 miles of the bike on the way to Hawi (roughly between miles 38-58) since I was so completely uncomfortable with taking my hands off the hoods- I could not get aero. The wind was insane. I looked ahead and the other cyclists were slanted—the wind was pushing you so you were riding on an angle- like you were leaning. Then, as if things could not get any worse, another type of wind was there that seemed to play with you and toss you around. One minute, I’m hugging the white line next to the shoulder. The next second, I’m by the double yellow line in the middle of the road. I was terrified… the thought that repeatedly entered my mind was; 1. LIVE and 2. FINISH! Not finishing crossed my mind several times. The wind was ruthless and the possibility of me getting thrown off my bike was likely- that’s how strong it was. I knew this was probably the one and only opportunity I would have to do this race and there was no way I was not going to finish… “Stay strong and fucking deal with the wind- get through this- you have trained so long for this”. Then I thought about some of the athletes who were racing today with a prosthetic leg or even paralysis. They have the will to get through this- I have NOTHING to whine about. Big baby.

When I got to the turn around in Hawi, I was so happy to grab my special needs bag… 2 bottles with carbo pro. I pulled over, drank a bunch, took some salt tabs, some gel, drank water… GO! I couldn’t believe the salt that had accumulated on my shorts from sweating. Thank god I was ahead of my calories and hydration before things got really hairy around mile 38. That saved me from hitting a wall.

I was pleased to have a tail wind for a little bit after the turn around. Unfortunately it was very short lived. That bitch of a wind was still there and threw me around like a plastic bag in a hurricane- no joke. Just before turning back on the Queen K, the climb was a welcome change of muscles and the landscape sheltered you from the wind and with that, you really felt the heat. I was so happy to be on the way back to Kailua and then the headwind came along- again. COME ON!!! There is a reason why this is the World Championships – it’s the toughest, hottest, windiest course in the world. This is NOT supposed to be easy. I passed a CAF athlete towards the end of the bike. He had a prosthetic leg and was ahead of me for almost the entire bike. As I passed him I said, “YOU ARE AWESOME.”  His response … “You’re awesome!”

In T2, I laughed with another athlete about giving my bike away- I was so happy to be done with it. She said her bike time was 36 minutes slower than last year and was the toughest ever. This made me feel better- I was NOT the only one! I applied more sunscreen, quick pee- 1st one since the race began and I was on my way.

I was so happy to be on the run. My legs felt AWESOME! Running was such a welcome change from being in the saddle for 6:31:41. The first mile I ran an 8:00 pace- then add in my walk at the aid station and it bumped me up to 9 minute pace. Same deal for the second mile. Even though I felt great, I knew I had to run a marathon and I should slow my pace. I decided to run as I felt and with my heart and what my gut told me- no heart rate monitor—sorry Luis! My pace was not too hard but not a shuffle … just take my time (as always) at the aid stations. I stuck with my plan and ran the entire marathon except for the aid stations. I even stopped looking at my watch to clock my pace. I just wanted to stick with running and NOT walk unless I was fueling up at the aid stations. I saw my Dad and Evelyn at mile 3 and 6 and Derek, Mel, Michael, Tammy and Jae at mile 4 and 5. When I saw my Dad at mile 6, he had a huge smile and said, “See you at the finish!”

About 2 miles south of the energy lab, I ran past the white coral rock sign Mel, Michael and Tammy made for me in the lava along the Queen K. It was HUGE and beautiful and gave me such a boost. As I ran past it, I told the dude running behind me, “that’s for me!” … so proud! Once I entered the energy lab, the sun was starting to set and the temp lowered. It was nothing like the 108 degrees they reported earlier in the day. I ran with a gal from Massachusetts for a while and she said, “I never want to come back here again!” Her time was about an hour slower than her qualifying time at IM Lake Placid in July. We stopped running together because I had to pee again- yes, I’m hydrated! It’s a slow gradual hill out of the energy lab and then you are back on the Queen K. Tim called me the day before the race to wish me luck. He said it’s a long 10k (6.5 miles) to the finish line. So this thought popped into my mind… how many times have I done this distance? No problem!

Back on the Queen K, it was dark. The sun sets around 6:30 pm and it’s black at 6:45 pm. I actually picked up my pace in the dark – I was super focused and all I thought about was Ali’i drive and seeing my family. I reflected on all of the training I logged to get to the starting line and understood why I had so much volume… much more than training for IM CDA. I trained to finish strong and I also trained my head to deal with the obstacles I would face on the course… things I had no control over, like the heat and wind. I truly feel the freshness I felt in my legs was from all the volume I did in training. I have never felt so good in an Ironman marathon before.

I finally approached Palani and made the right turn down hill towards Kuakini. The crowd started to pick up and the smile on my face grew larger with each step I took. I made the left turn onto Kuakini and the lights got brighter and cheers louder. Before I knew it, I turned right onto Kailua Street and then I was on Ali’I drive… holy shit… this is IT!!!

The lights were as bright as Vegas and the cheers and people congratulating me were UNBELIEVEABLE!!! I wish I could bottle this up and slow my time right now and re-live it all over again…just to experience the last couple hundred yards on Ali’i- I would do all 140.6 right now. The spectators were 4-5 people deep to the finish. Just as you approach the finish line, you run up a slight upgrade to hundreds of cameras, volunteers and bright, bright lights and Mike Reilly calling out your name: “MICHELE LANDRY OF NEWPORT BEACH, CALIFORNIA, YOU ARE AN IRONMAN!!!”.

Immediately I was escorted by two volunteers. Not even two seconds later, I saw my Dad and Derek and began to sob tears of joy, happiness and relief. It was important for me to continue to move so they brought me to the finishers area to get some food. I haven’t eaten anything solid since breakfast at 4 a.m. I looked over at my Dad and noticed the tears on his face and as I type this, I am welling up. He instilled a passion for triathlon in me when I was 8 years old. I was on the same course watching him in 1983 and here we are, 25 years later and I’m the one competing. This moment is my greatest personal, mental and physical achievement of my life and I am grateful beyond words can express. My Dad always said, finishing an Ironman enables you to achieve any goals you set in life… career, family, other races, you name it. Of the 4 Ironmans I have finished, the World Championship was by far the toughest mentally and physically and even though it wasn’t a PR for me, I came to this race in the best shape of my life and I gave it everything I had and am so happy with my day. Thank you to all of my family who tolerated and supported my monk lifestyle since January. Some friendships have developed while others have deflated… this kinda comes with the territory when you spend so much time dedicated to training. It’s a lifestyle and I wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world. I am blessed to have a tighter bond with my family and network of friends (triathletes and non- triathletes, you know who you are!) through this journey.

Thank you Coach Luis for preparing me for IM CDA and Kona. Your plan, knowledge, experience and guidance gave me the strength and confidence to get to both the start and finish line. The journey was tough and exciting and I want to sign up for another race right now!

So what’s next for me? It’s definitely another Ironman- not sure where or when but I am 1000% sure I want to go back to Kona. Stay tuned …

Swim: 1:16:42

T1: 4:31

Bike: 6:31:41 (5.5 miles-19.32 mph)
(28 miles-18.74 mph)
(59 miles-15.92 mph- hello wind!)
(88 miles-17.42 mph)
(112 miles- 16.77 mph)
(hello headwind again!)

T2: 5:45

Run: 4:35:51 (5.2 miles- 9:32 pace)
(10.3 miles- 10:19 pace)
(17.6 miles- 11:15 pace)
(26.2 miles- 10:37 pace)

Overall time: 12:34:30

1,234th place out of 1736 best triathletes in the world and 50th out of 68 people in my age group.

Oh, and P.S., when I arrived home, I had a voice mail from Bill Bell… he looked me up in the book! He wished me congratulations on a great race and said how much he enjoyed meeting Mel and Derek! The Ironman family is a tight and incredible bond.