13/10/2007 - Emily Farrell - Kona

Well, I thought I'd start the race report with the good stuff... the swim.

I was out in 1 hr 12 minutes and for a non-wetsuit swim I was really happy with that.  I didn't get beat up too badly so that was also nice.  I really enjoyed the swim overall.  Coming out of the swim there were covered, metal stairs to exit the water and I wacked my shin pretty good on the bottom step that I didn't see. 

That started the second half of the race report...the not so good stuff.

The bike was tough almost right from the start.  There wasn't a cloud in the sky so the sun was pretty intense.  It was hot and humid.  Training in 60 degree weather all summer in England didn't help the situation...I had a severe lack of heat training.  The winds were also really bad.   I knew that it was windy at this race but holy s%&#!   There was a deadly head wind all the way out to Hawi (mile 15-60).  I was SO happy to see the turn around. The lava fields reflecting heat on the bike route were also making temps feel like 100 degrees.  Turning around relieved us from the head winds for a short time, thankfully, but then somehow the winds turned and at least those of us on the course at that time found ourselves in another head wind most of the way back.  I think the way out was the worst, though.  I found out a few days after the race that the winds on the course were the 2nd worst they've had since the first Kona Ironman in 1978.  Well, I guess wasn't just me, then. 

I was very happy to start the marathon.  I saw my family almost immediately and I was feeling good.  But at about 0.5 miles into the run, after a slight downhill, my quad muscles (one in each leg; biking muscles) started to spasm.  I knew at that moment that if I didn't get my quads to stop spasming that I wouldn't be able to walk, run, or finish.  So I stopped at the side of the road and massaged my quads.  I tried to run but stopped 2 more times in the next 100 meters to massage them and stretch.  I got going again but it was all too clear that this race was no longer about time and place but about making it to the finish.  I could run but my quads defined a strict limit of how much I could push (or not) so that I could continue without spasming.  Needless to say, the run took a very long time.  The muscles that had spasmed were in a lot of pain.  My pace was pretty pathetic but I was almost feeling lucky that I was still going.  I never thought before the race started that finishing might ever be in question, but I sure did at 1/2 mile into the run.  When you start counting the miles at mile 1, you know things aren't going well.  Well, I just plodded along, eventually running in the dark and somehow eventually approached the finish. 

It was the hardest race, both physically and mentally, that I've ever done in my life.  I've never been in so much pain for such a long period of time.  It was 100 times harder for me than Ironman Wisconsin, not to say that wasn't a challenge.  I kept telling myself throughout the race, "just have fun.  you've made it here, now just enjoy it".  That was really just not possible.  

Although it's dissappointing to finish with a time of one hour longer than my qualifying race, I keep reminding myself of the 1/2 mile point in the run, with seizing quads, and of how lucky I am to have made it to the finish, even in the dark. 

I'm trying now to stop analyzing and move on.  It was definitely an experience.  OK, maybe one that I don't want to ever have again, but nonetheless, I learned a lot.  What a trip!

I wish I had a more impressive story to tell but I guess not every race goes as we would like.  

Thanks for reading :)

Emily Farrell

Just to add, that all at CTC were impressed and send their congratulation to Emily on her finish - something that few manage in their lifetimes.

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