Ironman Florida... it all came true!, Alina Farinas First IM Report

"I'd like to thank Alina for sharing her first IM Report! I think you will agree that Alina's performance was impressive on many levels! Not much more I can say because Alina tells it best. Please read below!-Mark"

Nov 1 2008

One year ago when I signed up for this race I had dreams of the kind of race I wanted to have... and on Nov 1 2008 they all came true. It really was an amazing day and all the support I got from my friends and family made this race that much sweeter. I put in the work, stayed focused and believed in myself and the end result was better than I could have ever hoped for.

On Wed the 29th I left with my mom to go to Panama City to compete in my first Ironman. I knew one thing for certain, I was as fit as I have ever been and I had nothing to lose by going out there and giving it my all. My coach Jeff Cuddeback had put together a sub 11 training program for me and I worked my butt off to complete it. I had very few setbacks so the training went better than expected on most days. It was definitely a confidence builder going into the race. I knew I had put in the work, hard work.

When we arrived on Wed early evening it was really cold, it was a little concerning but from the weather report I had faith that it was going to warm up. I had my compression tights on in the car to prevent swelling and after a 8.5 hour drive I felt pretty good. I got on my bike as soon as we arrived for a half hour easy spin. My mom and I spent that evening cooking a great dinner and relaxing.

Thurs morning I hooked up with my friend Don for an early swim, man the first 100m in the water sure was cold but once I got moving I felt great! We hit the expo and registration and then I went back to make a great lunch. Thurs night we went to dinner for Dons sons birthday. Another early night.

Fri I felt like I had a sore throat coming on so opted fora run bike run instead of a swim. I went to the IM prayer service at 11:00 am and then headed back to have a huge lunch and prep dinner. Steak, Quinoa pasta, spinach , and acorn squash. Im not sure why but my body preforms really well on red meat, I discovered this during my training after eating a cheeseburger the night before a long ride, and rode the next day like an animal. I mixed my nutrition bottles for the race, froze my special needs bike bottle and fuelbelt bottles and was in bed by 8, asleep by 8:30.

Sat I woke feeling great, 3:30 am. Had some coffee and sipped on 2 scoops of sustained energy mixed with vitamin water... no food. I sat in quiet, stretched, and meditated and at 4:45 headed to the race site. I was really amazed how calm I was because normally even before a sprint race I get nervous. It was cold in the morning, I even went back to my room to put socks on because I didnt want to be cold. I dropped off special needs bags, got body marked and headed to my bike to do the rest. I ran into Linda and George Robb in the trans area and was happy to see people I knew. They both were racing however Linda said she would drop out after the swim and bike due to a stress fracture. They gave me kind words of support and then I headed to the neighbor hotel to put my wet suit on so I wouldnt freeze.

The swim: Normally before a race I like to get in the water and get my muscles warmed up, but I could not even fathom getting in the water and then getting back out to wait for the pros to go and then our gun. I figured I had 2.4 miles to get a warm up in. I consider myself a pretty strong swimmer so I positioned myself accordingly but still was not prepared for the 2000 other people I encountered when the gun went off. I hit the start on my polar and off we went. I opted to not go out of the gate to fast, I started a solid steady pace that I would build. I had a solid swim that seemed to fly by in 1:02:59. I wanted to break 1:05 so I was pleased. I came out of the water had my wet suit stripped and felt the temp of the air, it was warming up, I did not change. Hopped on my bike in trans 1 in 3:14.

The Bike: When I first got on my bike I looked at my heart rate monitor which was reading 175 and decided I needed to chill. All that excitement in transition really shot my heart rate up. I stayed in the small chain ring for the first 30 min of the bike letting the blood flow transfer slowly to my legs. It really was hard to do because everyone was passing me but I had drawn up a game plan with my coach and I was sticking to it. After 30 min I hit the big gear and pushing into a slight headwind that was quite cold Ifelt amazing. My body temp felt good and my legs felt strong. It was very tempting to jump into some of the packs
that were passing me but after my last race I had really learned my lesson and today was not the day for penalties... I felt so good there was no need for that. However I was pissed when I saw 2 girls in my age group go by in the packs. The officials were handing out a lot of penalties, I saw them nail two huge packs in front of me. My nutrition on the bike was planned just right, I took my special needs bottle and used only half of it... My hip started bothering me a bit but I just pushed it out of my
head. All the hours I spent on the bike really paid off with a bike split of 5:21:17 avg 20.9 mph. Wow.... when I got off the bike in under 5 and a half hours, and felt so good, I knew I was going to hit my goal of sub 11.

My second trans might be the most impressive thing in the whole race 1:27... The best female T2 time... I think I was 4th or 5th in the whole race. My friend Dean had given me some tips after I saw his trans times in Hawaii... Thanks
Dean : )

The Run: As I started the run I had everything I needed, hat, gel flask, fuel belt, sunscreen, and Garmin all in a zip lock bag so during the first mile I put myself together and then started what I considered to be the toughest part of the race. Now Im not sure how other people run the marathon in an IM but it seemed to me that my first instinct was to just take off, and for a min I did. Then I caught myself. I looked down at my garmin that was reading 7:45 miles. Now I know I was not going to be able to hold that pace the whole time so even though I felt like I was running 10 min miles I slowed my pace to 8:30's. I saw 2 girls in my age group pass me flying but I knew if I didnt want to blow up I needed to stick to my plan. And boy was I happy I did when I hit the half marathon point, this was the only point in the race where it got a little mental. It sucks to go to the finish line and then have to turn around and go back, like you forgot something. I was hurting for the next 3 miles. My pace slowed here during the 3rd leg of the run and the girls in front of me were not blowing up. I didnt care, I was so happy to be out there having so much fun and enjoying all the music at the aid stations... slapping people high fives, thanking the volunteers for their help and knowing that I was reaching my goal of a sub 11 first IM. At the last turnaround I felt good again, all smiles. With about 2 miles to go I caught my friend Don who was having problems with his quad. I gave him a pep talk and we ran in together, with about half a mile togo he had really picked up the pace and I could not hold on. I told him to go, he looked at me and said today was your day, you first, I am getting the chills writing this! I ran through the crowed high fiving everyone and crossed that finish line strong! Final run time 3:46:15. Final time 10:15:10. I came in 6th in my age group and missed Kona by 2 spots after the roll down.

Everything I did to prepare for this race really paid off. I know that I will get to Kona and I am not afraid to be confident in my ability to do so. I have come a long way not only in triathlon but in my life and I hope my success in the sport and in my life continues to grow. We can do anything we set our mind to... its just believing in ourselves.

It was a great race... I dont think we could have asked for better conditions. It was so much fun just being there and seeing everyone who finished to meet such a great challenge. We are Ironmen and woman and I am the Iron Bunny! LOL... at least that is what Gina says. Something to do with the way I run. I do not think that there is a better feeling then one of finishing my first Ironman... looking forward to the follow up.
Alina Farinas