Heaven and Hell - Or better yet, the Great, The Better, The Good and the Downright Painfully UGLY

So, I have been back from Cozumel for about a week now. I've had a lot to think about and ponder. I personally would prefer to be back on the beach.

This picture was the day after in Cancun. Yeah, I wore a bikini. Get over it.
My race didn't go as expected but I had some major positives (the Great), some things that just went right (the better), going with the flow on some things (the good) and the point in the race where I went into a VERY DARK PLACE (the Downright, painfully UGLY). I do not EVER want to go back there, well until the next race.

It was truly Heaven and Hell at the same time. How is that possible? Well, it is. Let me give you all that happened leading up to the race, the race itself and some reflections afterwards.

Thanksgiving morning:
I was out the door at 3:30am to catch the Red Line to the Blue Line to get to O'Hare. Let me tell you, the Red Line is a HOT ASS MESS that early in the morning. If you live in Chicago, you know this to be the God's honest truth. I had a backpack and my suitcase. That was it. I was just so happy running away from below 60 degree, rainy, gloomy weather. I get to the airport and the security line was RIDICULOUS. What the hell?? Ok, I can deal with this. Note to self: Apply for Global Entry before next adventure (Canada). I notice that my flight is on time and I am a happy camper. I boarded my flight (thank you aisle seat), fastened my seatbelt and as soon as we started taxing down the runway, I was knocked out. I normally wake up during cruising altitude. I watched 2 television shows and was just waiting to land.

The minute we landed, the sunglasses went on, the pullover came off (I had on a tank top) and off to Customs. No problem there and now it was time to find the shuttle to get to the ferry. After working my way to Playa del Carmen, I just had to wait for the ferry. Damn, it was hot! No complaints from this gal. I noticed that there were a lot of other athletes boarding the ferry to Cozumel also. How would I know? Well, the various Ironman backpacks, M-dot tattoos and bike cases. Now the water was a little rough so it was interesting seeing the bikes getting loaded on the ferry. The ferry ride was a roller coaster ride on steroids. I do not get seasick, but I had to close my eyes just to get through that ride. As usual, I made friends. I met 2 hot triathletes from Costa Rica and we spoke about the race. I also met a triathlete from Texas by the name of Alex. We waited literally 30 minutes for a taxi, but hey, I had to work on my tan. :) We ended up sharing a taxi ride. Luckily, I do speak Spanish so that helped us both a lot. He came with his bike. Luckily he was going in the same direction as I was to get to the BTA (Black Triathletes Association) Compound.

I was dropped off at the Condo Complex and was shown my new home for the next few days. How did I manage to beat everyone to the house, I have no idea. Think "The Real World", but a little classier. I had to wait for my namesake to come, so I actually had the WHOLE PLACE to myself. I decided to chill because of course, I was tired. Finally, Kendrick shows up after the debacle called "Peanut Butter Gate". You need to ask him about that in his chronicles. Now, this was the first time that we had actually met face to face. Some folks assumed we were married since we have the same last name. Just roll with the punches. It was starting to get late and we were hungry. Kendrick thought it would be great for us to get a scooter to ride around the island. My thought, "Okaaaayyy." We got a scooter delivered to us and we were off. Don't worry, he was driving. We checked out the Mega Mart grocery store which is a Super Target, Super Walmart, Auto Zone and Best Buy all in one on crack. If it wasn't there, it didn't exist. Still hungry, we went to Hooters to eat. Yep! Classy! We ended up meeting with Marq, another BTA member and fellow Midwesterner.

Friday:
Well, we had to make it downtown to get groceries, check in, attend the course talk and I needed to be reunited with Beeker. So, of course, I see the Ironman sign and I had to take a picture with the M-Dot.

Now, I was not impressed with the expo. I only had to purchase 2 CO2 cartridges and of course my prerequisite visor, names shirt and water bottle. Well, the names shirt was the only thing that I did not purchase because there is no way in hell that I am squeezing in an XS or S t-shirt. Those shirts tend to run VERY small. At the expo, I finally met Tom, another BTA team member. So we putz around and decide to go down the street to the course talk. Course talk was interesting. This was not going to be a mass swim start, but a rolling start as you would in a road race. More on that later. Since this was a 2 transition race (swim to bike in 1 location, bike to run in another location), it gets tricky. Especially since we were going to be bussed to the swim start. The questions of the day, will there be a special needs table for glasses, inhalers, etc. I was told "No". You know what that means? Glasses in my sports bra for the swim. Don't worry, I'm a professional. After the talk, I met with some more BTA team members. The rest we would meet at dinner.

I left and I had to be reunited with Beeker. I went to TriBike Transport to have my pedals put back on my bike. I would pick up my bike on Saturday. Please use them whenever you race! Jared and his team were AMAZING!

Well, Kendrick and I made it back to the house and had some time to rest before we had dinner. Dinner time rolled around and it was time to head back downtown to Senor Frogs for dinner with the BTA crew. This was a total black out! We roll deep.

Now the rest of the night, what happens in Cozumel, stays in Cozumel.

Saturday (the night before IM Cozumel):
Today's agenda was the following:

• Breakfast
• Practice Swim
• Breakfast again
• Pick up bike
• Drop off run bag
• Ride bike to transition 1 to drop off bike and bike bag
• eat again
• get off my feet
• talk to my coach
• wait for the Beez to land (my partner in crime/friend/Sherpa, Sally Stresnak-she's kind of a big deal)

The practice swim-what can I say? It was everything that they said it was and then some. Since the water was so warm, a wetsuit was not necessary. I wore my Roka swim skin over my swimsuit. I jumped in the water and was amazed at how buoyant I was as well as how clear the the water was.. I was seriously in seventh heaven! It was like "Finding Nemo" and I was Dory. I just love to swim. While waiting for everyone else to finish, I struck up a conversation with a woman from Sweden. It was her first Ironman and her first open water swim EVER. She thought that I was Dominican instead of American because she heard me speak Spanish and just assumed I was. I wished her luck and waited to get back to the house to have breakfast number 2: WAFFLES!!!!!!!! After breakfast, I had to rush downtown to pick up my bike, drop off my run gear bag and then ride to Chakanaab Park to drop off my bike and bike gear bag.

Now, let's talk about riding your bike in traffic in Mexico in the middle of the day. That was some of the scariest stuff ever but I survived. Beeker was working well and I felt good about him doing some work.

While waiting for Kendrick to bring me my bike number (don't ask), I made more friends. 3 guys from Mexico, a couple of Germans, a whole hell of a lot of Texans to name a few. I finally meet up with Kendrick and I was able to find my rack for my bike. Had to take a picture:

I had to continue the tradition. Anyhoo, as always, I want to walk through swim out, to the showers, to the bags, to the bike, to the bike out. I do this at least 4 times. Now, why in the Hell was the women's change tent literally over the border and through the woods??? Then the path from the change tent to my bike was very rocky so I was not going to run it, but walk it instead.
I finally got back to the house and had a video chat with my coach, It went very well and I felt good. I watched another episode of "Jessica Jones" on Netflix and made some dinner. You know, pasta and chicken and then it was time for lights out.

Sunday: Time to go to work
I woke up at 3am and went downstairs to make breakfast, listen to music, stretch and chill. I saw a message that Sally was in the clubhouse so I had to get her. Retrieved Sally and all was good. She took a brief nap while I got ready. Everyone else started to wake up also. We had ordered a taxi to take us to Chakanaab Park. From there, I placed my frozen bottles on my bike of eFuel and my eGels from Crank Sports, I placed my sunglasses in my cycling shoes and dropped off my special needs bag for the bike and run. My bike bag had a bag of Swedish fish, cough drops and sunscreen packets. My run bag had a bag of Sour Patch Kids and cough drops. Once everything was done, it was time to get on the bus to get to the swim start. I got to meet my newest friend, Kendra from Boston and we chit chatted the whole time. I was not nervous at all.

It was so beautiful out, a little warm but that was ok. The first thing I did was head to the porta potty line. As in every race, there is NEVER enough. I went to the shortest line. It was a line of men. Once I was done, I walked over to the busses to drop off my morning clothes bag and found my crew. Of course, we had to take a picture.

Isn't this a great looking group! Once this picture was taken, it was just about time to line up. I lined up with the 1:20-1:30 swim pace. I was not nervous. Let me repeat that, I WAS NOT NERVOUS! While in line, I was speaking with Kim, he is the 2nd guy from the right. Real cool dude! He gave me some pointers on the bike. On the windy section of the bike, don't get my heart rate up. Just know that if you are suffering, everyone else is suffering as well.

Now we were suppose to be in the water in less than 6 minutes. Ummm, 30 minutes later and we are still waiting. I didn't know at the time, but the dock that we were walking down was bowing in due to the weight of the athletes and some folks were either slipping and sliding on the carpeting (indoor/outdoor carpeting anyone?) or cutting their feet and/or hands on the coral. Sooo, they were letting us in 4 at a time. Can we go back to the mass swim start? Anyway, my friend Sally videotaped me starting the swim. Damn! I looked good. Can I just say that this was the BEST open water swim EVER!!! I saw pretty fisheys and coral reefs and oh, there's a buoy! Oh crap, I forgot to start my watch! Oh well. Around half way, I really started to get very warm. That sun is blaring down. Yay for the swim skin. I finally see the final turn buoy and it is a straight shot! Now getting up those damn stairs was a BIATCH! No one was assisting us. My arms were tired but I mustered up the strength and cheered my heart out because I knew I had a DAMN GOOD SWIM.

Swim: 1:43:09ish

Got through the fresh water showers to rinse off the salt, hugged my friend Marq and proceeded to yell for my bike bag in Spanish and made my way to the change tent. Threw on my tri top, compression sleeves, more sunscreen, socks, shoes, sunglasses and helmet and made my way to the bike. 112 miles next on the docket.

The Bike:
I mounted my bike and took off. I knew that the bike would be windy, but F%$k!!!!!!! Yep, windy as all HELL!!! But, I didn't push my heart rate. I stayed between 135-140 bpm. The first 10 miles or so, ok, I got this. And then, BAM!!!!!! I got slapped and disrespected by the wind for a good 12+miles. Oh my GOD!!!!! Keep it steady. I started singing in my head the ENTIRE "Around the World in a Day" album by Prince & the Revolution. I knew I had to this twice more. Going back to make the second loop, I helped a fellow biker. He was on his third flat and had no tube. I gave him mine. I believe in spreading good Karma. He was so thankful. He passed me on the second loop and thanked me immensely. Now due to the wind, I stayed in my aero bars as much as possible. What pissed me off about the bike was there was a SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT of drafting and blocking. I followed the rules. I head towards that half way point to my special needs bag. I was happy for 2 new bottles, a bag of Swedish Fish candy and MORE Sunscreen. Now time for the last loop. Time wise, I'm hustling . I get down in aero and start singing in my head, "8 mile" by Eminem. I start to slowly pass people. Keep moving. More people passed. Keep moving. Did I pass 3 more guys????? Hell, yeah. Get me off this damn bike! Mile 105...7 more to go. I have nothing to lose so I decide to leave it all out on that course. Now here is the problem that I have, I have no depth perception so I kind of went in  little hot. Ooops! But, I did not fall when I dismounted and I had a smile! A smile y'all!

I got off that damn bike and told them they could throw it away! Due to pushing it like a crazy woman, I hobbled on the way to T2. I threw on my running shoes, picked out me hair and walked to the run. The first 2 miles was BRUTAL!!!!!!!!! "Hate it or Love it" was playing in my head so I started to run/walk. I saw some of my fellow BTA members going into their 2nd loop and some more friends that I made on the run. The turnaround! YES!!!!! Hallefreakinglujah.!!!!!! 2.5 loops to go. I make the first loop and I'm on the 2nd. I am hurting! My body is cussing me out in 3 different languages but I keep going. I can do this. I drink some water, I'm dizzy. It's not a migraine thank God. I keep going. Can I tell you how much I DESPISE PEPSI!!!!!!!!! 1.5 laps to go. This sucks! I'm going into that dark place in my head. You don't want to go there. this is where it becomes sheer will at this moment. I'm heading into the final loop and Sally meets me on the other side. She is trying to gauge how I'm doing. I told her not good but I am not going to quit. She reads me some well wishes from friends back home to keep me inspired. I walk, I run, I jog, I cry a little, I walk some more. I eat some pretzels, I drink some water. Sally gets off the course so I wouldn't get disqualified. I keep pushing. I meet some more folks and we are pushing each other. I make the final turn. 4.4 miles to go. I am told that I have 50 minutes to go. I can do this, but at mile 23.5 my chip was taken away. I keep going. I'm calm and I keep going. I meet up with Matt Miller from Base and he was tasked with finding me. He walks with me and keeps me going.  The girls are cheering me on and Matt accompanies me to the finish line which is all but dismantled. 140.6 miles and a big, sexy DNF!!!!!! But I don't care. I'm a little depressed but I just want to get in my flip flops, go back to the house, eat my damn ice cream and take a shower.

Looking  back:
I am actually proud of what I did and accomplished again. I became comfortable on my bike in aero even though it is not a proper fit. I had a wonderful swim. I finished the bike. I made it through this race with only a blister and no chafing! I had fun for the first time. I took time to enjoy myself! I spoke a gangload of Spanish! I did something for ME!!!!!It is no secret, but I am back working out: swimming, running and Pilates. No biking because Beeker is not back yet from his tour of Mexico. The other not so big secret is that I will be back. Not once, but twice for the 70.3 and 140.6. I WILL HAVE A NEW BIKE NEXT YEAR!

THANK YOUS!

• Sally Stresnak: THANK YOU !!!!!! Words cannot express my gratitude.
• Fitness Formula Clubs: My employer, enough said
• Jenny Hayes: my coach. THANK YOU ! THANK YOU !
• Ed Dailey for kicking my ass each and every Thursday at 6am and the 6am crew
• CompuTrainer: my entire training was on this
• TriMonster and Team to End AIDS: I love y'all
• BTA: including Kendrick (my tri hubbie), Tom, Marq, Lauralyn, Estelle, Shatora, Gwen, Kim, Eilsel, Arvan, Mecca,  Rafeek??, Travis, Shayla, Sabrina and I can keep going on
• SoleTri Sisters: Including KD and the Ericas
• Chicago Black Runners: Including the Research Department Alan and King Juan
• Everyone Else who had my back

It was a long season. A long, lonely season so thank you and just wait until the next episode. #thesagacontinues #Afroenduranceathlete #theironfitfro #blacktriathlete #USATLevel1coach