Deja Vu: The RyBread Racing IMWI Lineup

I can't help but feel like I've been here before. Four years ago I packed up all of my triathlon belongings and embarked on my first Ironman journey, naive and full of nerves and uncertainty. This time around, I'm what most would call a "veteran" with some upgraded equipment over the years. But I still can't shake the same emotions I had four years ago.

Pre-Bike check-in 2014!
Please note the borrowed race wheels and road bike

Sometimes I wonder, if I wasn't so naive going into Ironman Wisconsin in 2014, would I have even attempted something like this in the first place? Would I EVER have decided to attempt an Ironman? I remember dismounting my bike on race day, very vividly. I stood still without moving for the first time since the race had started. The volunteer grabbed my bike from me and we made eye contact. "Do me a favor, sell it, " I told him. He laughed. Less than a year later, I owned bike number 2. But in that moment, I swore I'd never ride a bike again.

I might have also LOOKED naive.
Crooked helmet and all 

But here we are, 4 years and 6 full Ironman later. I'm heading back to the land of nostalgia. Looking over the lake from Monona Terrace, that left hand turn onto Witte Road on the bike, wondering "where exactly will the clown show up?",  and cruisin' down State Street with a view of the capitol building. And so.much.more.

IMWI 2014 Swim Start
I'm in there somewhere

Four years ago, I raced alone but had a great deal of support. My family, Rob, many friends, and Ryan (Coach Speedy, who will still tell you to this day, "I fought back tears watching you find that finish line!"). We've used the word "lab rat" over the years to describe my training that summer, and it's damn fitting. Back in the day, RyBread Racing wasn't even a thing. Coaching was still something Ryan "wasn't sure about" for a full time gig. The day I signed up for Madison in 2013, I called him up and told him I wasn't about to do this alone. And the rest is history.

Back when he pulled double duty
Powerbar Tent by day, Coach in the background

This time around, the racing crew looks a little different. In fact, I was the LAST to join the party. Unsure what would happen at Grandma's Marathon in June, I left the 2nd half of 2018 wide open. Once I took care of the major goal of qualifying for Boston, I could do whatever I wanted. And here I am, with my RyBread crew. Don't worry, I'll re-introduce everyone in case you forgot.

The 2018 RyBreading Racing IMWI Lineup

Mr. Tomato
Nathan Tamayo - #mrtomato

IMCHOO 2017
Nate gettin' some support from his dad on the run course!

Once again, we haven't broken the trend. I have raced ALL of my Ironman races with the Tamayo's since Ironman Lake Placid in 2016. Still living the vampire life with the Mrs, Nate continues to show up on race with his guns loaded and ready to tackle whatever comes his way. Living life opposite of the rest of society isn't a piece of cake, but this guy always makes it look easy. Nate raced Ironman Wisconsin as his first IM back in 2012 so he's ready to see what kind of progress he's made over the years. 



Mrs. Tomato

Trina Tamayo - #mrstomato

IMCHOO 2017 Swim exit

This is the first year since 2015 that the Tomatoes and I haven't raced 2 Ironman in one year. I decided to take the running route the first half of 2018, while the Tomatoes decided to donate some of their Ironman funds to their tattoo collection. This year when Trina exits the water, she'll be sporting TWO fabulous sleeves. Of course this passion of theirs cost them some valuable time in the pool. But not to worry, the RnR did them both a solid because I sense some fast swims out of these two! Living the night life makes it hard to find a common time for the group to get together with the Tomatoes. So if racing an Ironman once a year means I get to laugh until my cheeks hurt (which cheeks, eh Trina?! 🤣) then so be it. I don't get nearly enough time with this fabulous couple and I can't wait for more memories in Madison with these 2!

Mr. Speedy

Ryan Giuliano - #speedygiuliano

Aka - Da Coach

IMTX 2018
Overall Amatuer Win
North American Champion

This guy, you know his story. His limits are meant to be pushed on a daily basis. Between him and his wife, they work harder than anyone I know. The amount of work ethic, dedication, and commitment it takes to race at his level for as long as he has is something most can't even fathom. He'll tell you his training has suffered the last few months due to work, life, being sick, stress, and more work. And he's not wrong, I've witnessed multiple training cycles out of his man. But at the end of the day, his willingness to take the mind to that whole separate level is what separates him from the mere mortals of the world. You gotta be willing to really hurt, and that's what this guy does best.

Mrs. Speedy
Jacqui Giuliano - #thecomebackkid

Grand Rapids Half Ironman 2018
Overall Female Champion

I could go on and on about how much these 2 impress me. But until you witness their commitment to the sport, day in and day out, month after month, year after year, you won't truly understand. Winning is the name of their game in that house and together, they do everything the can to make sure that the rest of the pack is chasing them. This summer, Jacqui brought home her first W in the 70.3 triathlon world in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Her smile says it all. She oozes joy whenever she's on that race course. Her passion and love for this sport is infectious. It's been an entire YEAR since we've raced a triathlon together (to the day actually, 70.3 Worlds on my birthday last year was our last tri together) and I'm ready to see that smiling face somewhere on the run course on Sunday.

The BFG

Mark Hode - #bfg

IMCHOO 2017
Showin' off for the family

BFG. Brother Bear. Pain in the a$$. He's about to embark on Ironman #3. His training has been.... incomplete, to say the least. Working and flying (yes, flying) has COMPLETELY taken over Mark's day to day life. He's about as close as you can get to sinking his teeth into his private pilot's license and he works his ass off everyday (starting at 5am) to pay for it, because the good Lord knows it ain't cheap to do that. So Mark has taken a different training route for this Ironman. His motto is something along the lines of "Well, I'm gonna get my money's worth at this race and push the 17 hour time limit." He knows what he's in for. He knows it's gonna hurt and that it's gonna be far from pretty. He knew when he signed up for this race he'd be testing his fitness luck due to life.  But he also knows that there's not much that can top that feeling of crossing the Ironman finish line, and he wasn't willing to go an entire year without. 

Nathan Jeffrey

Nathan Jeffrey Vannoy - #amijeffreyoraminate

Post Race IMCHOO 2017
"Ironbae, come at me" - Nathan Jeffrey

So I have to start you off and immediately tell you that unfortunately, Nathan Jeffrey is not racing Ironman Wisconsin. He was the first to sign up for the race, way back when. But as of 48 hours ago, his Dr. officially put him in a boot and told him the race was out of the question due to a stress fracture in his foot. I can tell you 100% that this is the right decision, racing an Ironman with a stress fracture could mean so much more damage in the future. He's still trying to find a way up to Wisconsin for race day, he's told me many times he misses his RyBread family. And we can't imagine race day without our favorite Southern Gentleman. 

Yours Truly
Megan Hode - #mightymouse

Grandma's Marathon 2018
BQ - 3:30:27

Had you told me back in December when I had dedicated 2018 to "Boston Or Bust" that I'd be spending my birthday on the IMWI race course because I already checked BQ off my list, I would have given you a laundry list of reasons why your prediction was wrong. But here we are. This is my 2nd year in a row I've decided to celebrate another trip around the sun in the Ironman world. It was a no brainer, really. Once I knew my body was going to be recovered and ready to go in time to race, I really didn't have to think about where I'd want to race this fall. Madison stole my heart 4 years ago and I've ALWAYS promised myself I'd go back and race one day. One day. I never imagined that "one day" would be with a team of people I've grown to call family on my birthday. My emotions reach an all time high when I think about everything I get to experience in the next 72 hours, and I simply.cant.wait.

I promise you I'll take all the pictures. I'll make all the mental notes. I vow to soak up every moment of the day. I wholeheartedly promise that I will cherish the entire weekend. I'll make sure to bring my words to life for you in my next post about the race. Because we all know, NOTHING ever goes according to plan. And I certainly didn't plan this race into 2018.

And because this race wasn't on the calendar, this guy may or may not be making an appearance because of his work schedule. Of course I WANT him there. But I can't be selfish. I can't throw these curveballs and expect everyone to cater to me. But, I've got my fingers and my toes crossed, all in hopes we'll be able to snap a similar photo at the finish line on Sunday, my 31st birthday. As a side note, if he can't make it, the new Garmin 935 (birthday gift from him! Spoiled, I know!) I'll be sporting on my wrist will serve as a nice little reminder that I know he wants to be there as well.

IMWI 2014 finish line

But we'll have some friends and local triathlon acquaintances there on race day to help us when we need it most. All in all, it's gonna be a great day. Well guys, I'll see ya'll on the other side.

Running on Camp Randall Stadium

IMWI 2014 Finish line

Cheers.

What's Next?

I realized pretty quickly after I qualified for the Boston Marathon at Grandma's Marathon in June, that I didn't think I actually would.

I had people asking me daily, "So what's next?" "You have the whole summer left to race!" I was SO focused on qualifying for Boston that I truly had a one track mind. My mind was already made up. If I didn't qualify, I was going to be running a last chance qualifying marathon somewhere in the local area in August. I had never considered what I'd do if I qualified. Which leads me to believe, I 150% believed that I would still be training to run a marathon right now. 

But we're all well aware that I punched my ticket to Boston on June 16th and I have officially had the rest of the summer to do whatever I want. And I can't express to you enough how badly I've wanted to toe the line of my 7th Ironman and welcome myself back into the triathlon world. Which is why I'm going to do just that.

Ironman Wisconsin 2014
Goal: find the finish line

Ironman Wisconsin was my debut Ironman back in 2014. This year, the race happens to fall ON my birthday and there is a small slew of RyBread friends that are racing (BFG brother included). Would you be shocked if I told you that I'm joining the fun? I mean, I can't let the group celebrate my 31st birthday without me...

But Megan! Your bike legs, you don't have any! And your left hamstring that's been causing you so much distress, what about some good ole fashioned RnR! And the wedding, shouldn't you be planning right now!?

All of these are very valid concerns. But, lemme lay it allllll out for you.

1. It was probably 1 week after Grandma's Marathon that I knew I wanted to try and race an Ironman this year. Location and time of year unknown for sure. I just needed to get back on my bike.

2. During marathon training, I mentioned more than once how much I missed full blown triathlon training. Training to qualify for Boston took it's toll on my body, even though I kept my bike and swim base. Now that I had qualified, I wanted to go back to what I've grown to love, triathlon. I'll finish Boston fully bike trained, but I doubt I could qualify fully bike trained.

3. I gave my body all the time it needed. I checked out the Ironman Wisconsin website and saw that registration was still open (and would be for quite a while). I didn't have to make a rushed decision. Step 1, make sure my body recovers properly from Grandma's. For almost 3 weeks, all of my runs were listed as SLOW in Training Peaks. NOTHING was fast about my running. My bikes were also very slow. I never pushed the pace, I simply pedaled. Eventually I increased bike mileage slowly, eventually started to incorporate back some run speed, and spent almost every morning at the pool at 5am.

Just a casual Sunday stroll in the neighborhood

I even bought myself a new cute suit because everyone loves Summertime Watermelon

4. I told myself I wasn't allowed to sign up for Madison until I felt comfortable that my bike legs would come back in time. How does one know something like that? I ventured North with the BFG and tested out my legs on the Ironman Wisconsin bike course during mid July. If I could pull off 2 loops and still have something left in the tank, Ironman Madison on September 9th, 2018 was a done deal for me.

All systems are a GO

Don't get me wrong though, it's still Madison and kicked my ass.

5. The more I biked and swam, the less and less my left hamstring gave me issues. I was still getting 1 solid speed workout a week on my run legs, but the rest of the week seemed to keep my hamstring in check. Seriously, those people just run crazy amounts of miles without cross training are super human. Everything seemed to be lining up.

6. Rob is back on his night shift schedule. We see each other for a few hours (sometimes a full 24 hours!) on the weekends if we're lucky. It's the busy season, and he has a hard time saying no to weekend work right now. What else is a girl to do on a Saturday morning at 6am if her fiance is just getting home from work? BIKE ALL THE MILES.

7. Most people (other than closer friends and anyone who pays super close attention to Strava) don't even know I've been training. I haven't let it get in the way of life and summer. I recently flew out to Napa, California for Lauren's bachelorette party for 5 days. I didn't have my bike. I had my run shoes and a free 1 day pass at the local pool if I so desired. I drank allllllll the wine and ran according to feel and even cut my long run short because there was wine to be had and I couldn't add 2 more miles and miss out on a solid 15 minutes of wine tasting. 

We had time to spare before hotel check in, so we tripletted the shit out of this pool

Sharing some miles with the bride in Wine Country!

8. I think everyone knows how much I adore Madison, Wisconsin. You'll always hold a special place in your heart for your first Ironman and the city it resides in. It just so happens that mine has one of the BEST crowd supports. It also happens to ALWAYS fall on my birthday weekend (this year, my ACTUAL birthday). And the beauty of this entire course will always take my breath away. (Literally and figuratively). I've always wanted to go back and race. If I let this year slip by without racing, I may never actually get to do it.

9. July 23rd, 2018. D-Day. Only 5 and a half weeks after a BQ marathon, I had signed myself up for Ironman number 7. It's only been 2 weeks since I've signed up. We're exactly 1 month out from race day. And I can't tell you how pumped I am to be back on 2 wheels ready to tackle the backwoods of Wisconsin.

IMWI 2014 Finish line

Guys... I'M BACK!

(But, on next years birthday I plan on NOT racing an Ironman event. I'll do more normal things like drink a few beers and relax or something. Promise 😉)

America: All in the name of F-U-N

I'd like to preface this by stating that no matter how many "bad" days I may have on the road, "disappointing" races I may have, or how many "negative" thoughts that might run through my head after one of those "bad" days, I still won't stop running simply for the fun of it.

The 4th of July happened to fall exactly 2 and a half weeks after Grandma's Marathon. Which is not an ideal amount of time to allow for recovery and jumping into your local 10k for the best holiday ever. Oops. Guilty as charged. In all honesty, I had been REALLY good at listening to Ryan to a T after Grandma's and followed my scheduled RnR plan. I did all of my properly scheduled "SLOW" runs to keep the active recovery alive and well. In fact, my first official speed workout back was supposed to take place on the 4th of July. Surely this was a great alternative to the 1st speed workout post-marathon.

I know I've said this before but when I walked out my front door that morning, I was positive I couldn't remember the last time it was that humid outside. I enjoy the heat, really and truly I do. Ask anyone. But this air was dangerously thick and could make even the skinniest of people feel morbidly obese due to the rapid amount of sweat coming out of their pores. I had signed up for this race less than 12 hours ago and was having a very earnest internal argument in my mind about why I do this kind of thing to myself, time and time again.

I parked the car, dripped a couple droplets of sweat just waiting in line to pick up my bib, and decided to hide in the shade behind the porta potties to try and keep all my electrolytes before this 6.2 mile death march ensued.

Ok, I may have wandered and found a long row of flags and admired them too.

I took off to warm up and didn't look at my watch until I was done. I wanted to run by feel and see how the legs responded. Let's just say, it wasn't fast but it felt good. But it came with approximately a 1.5lb sweat loss over 1 mile. Sweet this is exactly what my body needs right now.

I came to this race solo so I contemplated just getting in my car and going home at this point but decided I should at least see what the legs could give me before the heat took over my body. The gun went off and the first mile is a significant downhill mixed with the usual mile 1 excitement that I carry in my blood so I pulled out a 7:20. Ha, this is a DOWNHILL and you just ran a 7:20 first mile of a 10K, this just ain't gonna be a pretty day. I knew right away. My body wasn't about to respond well to the rest of this race. I hung out in the 7 minute range for mile 2 before I decided to dial it way back and just "enjoy" the day before I actually hurt myself.

The hills came one by one and soon we hit Otis Rd. Otis Road is beginning of our Barrington bike loop, and it comes with one of the worst, unshaded banked hills. I zoned out and just ran easy. Hell, at times "easy" felt like some serious work. The course had a decent amount of shade, but the unshaded sections were out for all the sweat. I felt like I was out for a recovery run as I watched people pass by me, slowly but surely. {No records were being broken by any means and everyone dialed back on the speed ALOT.}

I made it to the turn around and wondered how in the hell I was going to make it the 2nd half of this race without a blister from soaking wet shoes, 3 miles down and 3 miles to go. {Oh yea, I was wearing my Feeatures 😜}

I trudged one foot in front of the other and felt as though I was running horizontal up the last significant hill in DIRECT SUNLIGHT. All energy at this point was completely and utterly zapped. Half mile to go and I hear someone from behind me: "Come on, you can do it! Let's finish this together! I've been behind you the whole time!"  These words spoken by a kid, no older than 15. I turned my head to glance at him and saw the ridiculously large grin on his face. Geez Megan, you look bad enough that you're getting hit on by a high school kid. I thanked him kindly but told him be best finish this race with his posse behind me.

I've never been more excited to see a finish line. And I have never cared less to have one of the worst races of my life. My pace at one point resembled a super slow cooldown. I immediately peeled my RyBread tank off because it was actually stuck to me. My shorts were dripping from every crevice and seemed to dump sweat like a faucet. Some probably assumed I was peeing my pants. "Don't mind me over here, just sweating ✋"

So much gross. 

I found a spot on the curb to sit and stop sweating and dry off long enough to claim my 1st place age group award. Huh? Seriously? I practically crawled that race. 'Twas an experience, that's for sure. My shorts still weren't completely dry by the time I got in the car to drive home but I was only going to get so dry as long as I stayed outside. On the bright side, my legs never felt like this was a bad decision (good sign, 2.5 weeks post marathon!) . Just my rosy red cheeks that were questioning me 😂

I don't even like Gatorade and I downed 2 of them at the finish line immediately after finishing because I needed ALL the sugar

Moral of the story: I still had fun. I laced up my running shoes and trotted through one of my favorite towns and lost enough water weight to justify all the salty brats and beers I was going to ingest later in the day. I can't really complain. In all honesty, I can't get enough of this kind of stuff. Pushing my body to it's limits is what I live for. And the day was young. I had plenty of holiday left and I wasn't about to waste it.

I made my way out to Rob's brothers house that afternoon and was promptly greeted in the pool by his nieces and nephews. From then on, it was HOURS of cannonballs, throwing children across the pool, chasing kids with squirt guns, and constant shrieks of, "MEGAN WATCH ME DO THIS! MEGAN CATCH ME! MEGAN CAN YOU DO THIS?!" Let's just say I contemplated taking a nap during dinner just to make it to fireworks. 

Post pool fun, pre dinner

I'm happy to report that I didn't have to take a nap, and I barely made it to the start of fireworks. And it's a good thing I did, otherwise I would have missed the proposal!

Rob's sister EB and her fiance Derek! 

I've never been apart of any proposal other than my own. And I have to admit, it was so fun to watch. Fireworks were going off in every direction and EB's prince went down on one knee in front of the ENTIRE family (yep, 90% of the Sloan's were there!). It truly was a terrific ending to a great day.

Cheers, America 🍺

Grandma's Marathon: Boston Bound

I have sat and thought about how I'd begin to write this blog. And still.. I'm drawing a blank. Call it writers block, a loss of words, whatever you will. But I'm pretty sure the reason I can't seem to find my keystrokes is because I still can't believe it actually happened.

That's not to say that I didn't have high hopes. Because I certainly did. That's not to say that I didn't KNOW that I could do it. Because I've known for years that this would happen one day. That's not to say I didn't have the faith. Because the good Lord knows we had many conversations regarding running over the last few months. I'm just a realist. My running body isn't young anymore. My left hamstring has never felt fully 100% over the last few months. I know exactly when my body will begin to break down during those 26.2 miles. And I have yet to find a way over that dreaded 20 mile wall. I guess I'll just put it this way. I had more faith in myself than anyone. But I was also just as prepared for this race to not go as I had planned.

Spoiler Alert: It did happen.
And the beginning of mile 19 was one of my stronger moments of the entire race

I woke up on Saturday morning and I couldn't believe how soundly I had slept. I barely heard Rob sneak in and out of the room. My night shifter can't exactly flip his schedule completely so he took a little late night drive on the course while I got my beauty sleep. I made my way to the 4am breakfast that my hotel was serving and I certainly wasn't alone. The room was full of runners, all eyes fixated on the TV screen. The local weather station. The storms that were predicted from the 5am-10am hour had slowed course, now entering the Duluth area mid-afternoon. The high temps would hover around 55 degrees with a low hanging fog. Did I hear that right? The weather was ACTUALLY in my benefit? I even heard rumor that there would likely be a tailwind. You gotta be shittin' me smalls.

5:15am. No rain. Whaaaaaaat?

I got ready pretty quickly since I had everything laid out the night before. Rob might have been lucky to get a few hours of sleep and when I waltzed into the room at 4:45am and flipped the lights on he immediately covered his eyes. "You said we didn't have to leave til 5:30, wake me at 5:29" he said. What actually happened was this: we pulled out of the parking lot at 5:15am so Rob could drop me off at the busses because he know I wouldn't be able to actually wait until 5:30am.

We pulled into the mall and could see all the half marathoners getting onto their busses. That's how early we were. Rob finally kicked me out of the car. I don't know why, but it was hard for me to leave him. I knew that once I did, everything was real. The next time I'd see him would be on course. Mid-race. And that seriously scared the shit out of me. 

The day before, just a few blocks from the downtown/finish line area

I love his love for architecture and boats and bridges
#kidinacandystore

I gave him my kiss goodbye and went to stand in line. I got on the bus and almost immediately I was greeted by an older lady who sat next to me for the 26.2 mile journey from Duluth to Two Harbors. I never caught her name. But she was not a newbie to this sport, Grandma's was her 25th marathon. She rambled on and on. I listened, nodded, and giggled when appropriate. But I couldn't help but stare out of the school bus window, because the sun was actually shining.

Once I got off the bus I started my game of, "how many times can I go to the bathroom before the race starts?" I was all alone, no phone, and had over an hour to kill. I immediately jumped into the porta potty line and made my first peeps. I then went to the medical tent and snagged a couple of tylenol in an effort to be proactive with the pain that was coming my way. Then, I stood in the porta potty line again, because what else do I do? 2nd potty successful. After that I found some open ground and sat down to stretch. Of course it wasn't long before someone noticed my jacket and asked if me I knew Ryan. I met new faces, mingled, and made my way back to the porta potty line for my final bathroom break before I dropped off my gear check bag. I pealed my sweats and was greeted with a nice little chill. I made my way to the start and could feel the wind at my back. Seriously Megan, if you waste this opportunity you'll never forgive yourself. I knew before the gun went off. Today was my day.

THE PLAY BY PLAY

Mile 1 - 7:43  The gun went off and it was a lot more crowded that I anticipated. I started right behind the 3:25 pace group and was still shuffling my way through the first quarter mile. It didn't take long though.. the road opened up and I was feeling mighty fine. Fine enough that I had to pull in the reins immediately. I'm really good at taking off to fast at the beginning of the race. I know it. Ryan knows it. And he even gave me permission to "bank" some time in the beginning. Not to much, but he knew it was a losing battle to ask me to run anything under an 8 minute mile. I don't think he expected the first 20 miles to all be under 8 minutes. {Spoiler Alert}.

Mile 2 - 7:51 I had to WORK to make sure this mile wasn't in the 7:40's. I barely scraped by with a 7:51. I didn't want to burn to many matches in the early miles of this race. I kept repeating my early mile mantra in my head: "If it feels to easy at that fast pace, slow down." 

Mile 3 - 7:51  Consistency can also be hard to come by. Yes, it was still SO early but I liked what I was seeing right now. I like these miles. Let's hang out here as long as possible. Mile 3 is also when I met my new friend Emma. Long and short of her story: she had the same exact goal I did. BQ with a 3:30 or under in order to secure our spot. "Hey, my name is Megan... we should try and hang out together as long as we can." This was my plea to the nice 21 year old stranger I was about to cling to for as long as possible. She had no arguments. YES.

Mile 4 - 7:50  I had a feeling I was going to be in trouble if I kept these kinds of miles up. I can pace myself... but I've never been successful at it over such a long distance. I had the angel on my left, Megan, you should really tuck down into the 8:00 range. It's safer. But the devil on my right, Take it and roll with it girl. Chances like this don't happen every day.

Mile 5 - 7:46  Have we been going downhill this ENTIRE time? I swear, I'm not doing ANY work. Also, fog. Like serious fog. We were running within feet of the Lake Superior and couldn't see ANY water at all. Finally, if I keep up this pace I'm sure Ryan will text Rob and tell him to make me slow down. Speedy is gonna yell at you, especially if this race comes back to bite you in the ass. 

This was during the most visible portion of the race

Mile 6 - 7:50  "Emma, are  we really at mile 6 already? How did the first 6 mile FLY by?" She agreed, the miles were ticking by like crazy. Also, I think I took my first gel around mile 6. I don't remember needing it. But I wasn't about to screw up the cardinal rule today: Fuel early and often. 

Mile 7 - 7:51 ROB SPOTTING! I knew I'd see him sooner or later, but it's always a surprise. I couldn't contain myself. 

My friend Emma in the orange hat
Me
Another lady we befriend for about 4 miles before she decided we were to slow for her 🙄

I mean, we're having like ZERO fun obviously 💙💛

Mile 8 - 7:51  The consistency is seriously CRAZY to me. I'm not questioning it though. Just go with it.

Mile 9 - 7:57  Speedy warned me about a "hill" around mile 8. I wasn't sure exactly where it would fall. I thought was going to be around 7.something. Turns out it was around 8.something and it was barely anything. But I made sure to slow my roll going up to make sure to conserve all energy.

Mile 10 - 7:46  Seriously? How am I still (not only) sub 8 but THIS far under 8? Nothing is falling apart yet. My hamstring is still in tact. Emma and I keep taking turns dodging people as we make our passes. We separate but also find our way back to each other. Overall, I did more talking than she did throughout the race. But there was a decent amount of time where we fed off of each other's body language. We knew when to speed up, when to slow down, when to make the pass. It was the weirdest thing. Perfect strangers, in perfect sync. 

Mile 11 - 7:53 Another forewarned "hill" that wasn't truly a hill. But a little later in the race it was noticed a touch more. 

Mile 12 - 7:55 Consistency on point still. Another gel into the gut. Gel miles are always a tad slower for me. I'm still good at choking on water at aide stations. 12 marathons and 6 Ironmans under my belt and every once in a while I take a solid amount of water up the nose or down the wind pipe unsolicited. ::facepalm:: Also, for the record, I'm almost positive I've been running downhill this ENTIRE race. 

Mile 13 - 7:53 Emma and I still hanging onto each other through the halfway point (1:42 and change). I noticed that every once in a while she would fall a half stride behind me. This perfect stranger had me seriously cheering for her. She told me that her last marathon was also a BQ (3:33) but she was unable to register for the race because there were that many FASTER qualifying times than hers. Come on girl we're not playing that game today.

Mile 14 - 7:49 I could tell Emma was possibly going to fall back. I couldn't sacrifice my good day for her but I wanted to make sure she knew exactly where she stood. "Emma, if you happen to have a bad mile, just know that we have 2.5 minutes in the bank. Any mile over 8 minutes, subtract from your bank."

Mile 15 - 7:50 Emma fell back every so slightly. Literally, I could turn barely turn my head to the left and see her a stride or 2 behind me the entire mile. I SO hoped this wouldn't be the last time I saw her. I made sure to stay focused and not lose my rhythm just because I lost my pacer. I got into such a groove that I almost missed Rob.

Oblivious to how close I am to Rob

A runners paradise 😍

Mile 16 - 7:50  I never expected my body to hold out this long. At all. I knew for a fact that any mile moving forward that I could log under 8 minutes was HUGE. Looking ahead of me I could tell my downhills were coming to an end. I wasn't about to start climbing. But when you've been cruising for 16 miles downhill and all of a sudden you're expected to run on FLAT ground it can start to zap the energy.

Mile 17 - 7:56 At this point I'm so used to running damn near the 7:40's that for a split second I was actually MAD with this "slow" mile. HA! Megan, have you forgotten that you still have 9 mile sto go? Take it girl. 

Mile 18 - 7:58 Another mile that seemed like an uphill but was truly just flat in comparison to rest of the miles. Fatigue started to set in. I fully expected my "wall" to hit from this point moving forward with ANY step that I took. Because if you've ever run a marathon you know how quickly that wall can face plant you. One step you're on top of the world and the next you're makin' deals with the devil himself.

Mile 19 - 7:50  WHAT. Where did this come from? I seemed to have gotten a 2nd wind. I spotted Rob on the side of the road and all I could muster was, "I'm still under!" He knew what I meant. He didn't dare say anything in response because he knows just as well as I do how badly the last 10K of a marathon separate the boys from the men. Instead, he proceeded to get on his bike and cruise next to me for a few minutes asking me all sorts of questions I couldn't answer. "Did you see the chef that's beating you? Yea, a guy dressed like a chef carrying a huge pot is beating you." Thanks honey.

Running on top of the world at mile 19 

Apparently this guy was not far ahead of me and I had no idea.

Mile 20 - 8:03 I knew my sub 8 minute mile streak wasn't going to last forever. I just can't believe it lasted damn near TWENTY MILES. Alright Megan. Head down. Eyes forward. Open heart. These last 6 miles are what you trained for. 

Mile 21 - 8:11 I was definitely having to work for my miles at this point. But I had only given up 14 seconds OVER an 8:00 mile and was still WELL below an 8:00 minute average. This is what your bank is for, but ONLY IF YOU NEED IT. Keep your stride long, shoulders relaxed.

Mile 22 - 8:26 Sub 8:30. You're doing just fine, keep it right here and you're golden. Nothing to worry about. Legs weren't feeling the best at this point, but I couldn't believe how much BETTER they felt compared to this point of past marathons. I knew I had a significant "hill" coming up so I did everything I could to keep my bank as full as possible in case I needed to cash it in on Lemon Drop.

Mile 23 - 8:33 Lemon Drop Hill. Not truly a hill, but a bridge you have to cross. But at mile 23 of a marathon anything can be considered a monster hill, curbs included. I made it to the top, gathered myself, and was able to bring my mile time back to where I wanted it without draining my bank, and I didn't feel like I had nothing left.

Mile 24 - 8:31 This was EXACTLY what I knew I had to train myself for. And not just my legs, but mostly my mind. I've been here ELEVEN times before. EVERYTHING inside is telling me to stop. Slow down. Walk it out. Stretch out your hamstring. But I was damned if that devil was gonna win. I thought about 2 months ago. I went to my parents house after work and watched the Boston Marathon with my mom. I watched Desi fight for every step in the worst weather I've ever seen. I watched all the age groupers muscle through with everything that they are. I sat and cried as the first American women took home the Boston Marathon title in 33 years. I remembered how emotional I was that day. And I wanted NOTHING more than to run that course with the Greats of our sport. I wanted to run in the Superbowl of running. 

Mile 25 - 8:17   HUGE mile. Just after my watched beeped at mile 24, I needed to turn the last few miles around. Thankfully, I had a little help. I heard a faint voice behind me on my left, "Hey, I'm back!" EMMA! YOU GOTTA BE KIDDING ME! I squealed like a school girl. I may have leaped in the air, I was SO excited to have my buddy back. "Emma, we're gonna do it!"  She smiled and laughed. Within a quarter mile of Emma finding me again, I heard my name from behind. "Megan! Kati's friend!" A girl I had met at the Illinois Half Marathon, Kim, who recognized me solely by the logo on my jersey knew who I was and introduced herself. We quickly found out that we were both running Grandma's in attempt to BQ. Mile 24.5 of Grandma's Marathon was the next time I saw her. "OMG KIM! WE'RE GOING!!" I yelled back at her. I couldn't believe it. And just like that, I brought my head up and spotted Rob. I couldn't stop smiling. I was going to Boston and I fuckin' knew it. 

The EXACT second I spotted Rob at around 24.6ish
Notice Emma is back! ORANGE HAT! 

I couldn't get to him fast enough. He was on the other side of the street and I did my best to make my way as close to him as I could. I was almost 25 miles into this marathon and I had damn near solidified my day. I had no reservations with more emotions pouring out of my heart than you can truly imagine. I ran past Rob and belted as loud as I could, "PACK YOUR BAGS BITCH WE'RE GOING!" Without meaning to I created quite the scene and made a lot of spectators bust out laughing. I didn't care, my dream was actively coming true. I was living the moment, I knew it, and I was busting with all the joy. Rob responded with the biggest laugh and yelled back, "You're gonna beat me to the finish line!!" Damn right I am.

This is what we call...

PRICELESS

PACK YOUR BAGS BITCH WE'RE GOING!

Mile 26 - 8:25 Crowds were thick. My legs felt like they weren't attached. Someone else was moving them, surely not me. One lady was in the middle of the street pointing out all women and getting in their faces. She made her way to me, "You, YOU'RE GOING TO BOSTON!" She told me. I wanted to kiss this woman. Truly I did. But I still had a few strides to go. 

FINISH 3:30:27 I did it. Rob truly almost missed me at the finish line. I played this moment out in my head a million times. I was convinced I'd ugly cry. But no, I smiled and spotted Kim, hands on her knees, panting. I let her know I was close and we embraced in the grossest hug 2 strangers could share. 

Captured on film by Grandma's marathon
Screenshotted by a friend of Kim's
BOSTON BOUND

I glanced to my right and saw my Spectathlete. I trotted (yes, trotted) to him and made him kiss me in all my sweaty salty glory. Finding my way out of the finish area I spotted Emma and flagged her down. I congratulated her, thanked her, and wished her well. Talk about one of the coolest stories. This, this is what running is capable of. 

See you in Boston 🦄

Thank you's for this one will certainly get me choked up and are quite obvious, at least to me.

My family. My parents. My brother. As kids, Mark and I were never given limits. Sky's the limit. The older we got, the more mad our goals sounded to our parents. We definitely received a few funny looks. But at the end of the day, we always had 2 permanent cheerleaders. And they are certainly the number one reason I ever dreamed of chasing that unicorn in the first place. And Mark has NEVER thought twice about setting an early Sunday morning alarm to shuffle around a race course when I ask him. He's always willing to pace me on the bike when I ask. He's truly my sidekick that I can't live without. 

As promised, every run is an adventure with my pacer

Rob. My Fiance. My forever Spectathlete. He's about to marry into this mess. He may never truly understand my passion on the deepest level, and may he does. But he's definitely accepted it and knows that it's a package deal. And I can't thank him enough for loving me for who I am, running/triathlete included. We aren't an easy bunch to handle, and he's taken it like a champ over these last 8 and a half years. Next April I'm going to run the Boston Marathon as a Hode and the following month I'm going to marry into the Sloan family ready to continue the fun.

💙💛💕

Ryan. I probably sound like a broken record at this point but I can't help it. He gave me full disclosure that my training cycle for Grandma's wouldn't be pretty. It wasn't until around April that I truly understood what he meant. Sure, the legs underwent a little speed and some discomfort. But this time around it was all about the mind. I can't tell you how many times Ryan had to dig me out of a mental hole. I can't tell you how many times I dug myself out of a hole because I was to embarrassed to let Ryan think I was that weak. Ryan Giuliano. Resume includes but not limited to: Ironman 70.3 World Champion. Ironman Texas and Ironman Lake Placid Champion. Sub 9 hour Ironman stud. Clinical Therapist. #truth

No questions asked. RyBread For Life

I still haven't found the proper words for all of my emotions almost a week after the race. The obvious is true. Happy, joyful, excited, and beyond. But the deepest of feelings.. Do words exist for those? Sometimes I wonder. I get choked up thinking about next April. For YEARS I was the runner who just needed to move. Times were never important. And then at some point my fire was sparked and here I am. Sometimes it's hard for me to comprehend. Wait.. Boston? Didn't you just run a 4:30 marathon a few months ago? No, no Megan. You're shipping out to Boston.

I've challenged myself over the years. I've dedicated my life to this sport and truly don't know what it's like to not have half of my dresser taken over by spandex running shorts and athletic apparel. I'm living, breathing proof that you don't have to have ALL the talent to chase your dreams that seem untouchable. Saturday's marathon shaved 1 hour and 57 minutes off of my first ever marathon. Nothin' but good ole hard word, dedication, passion, and a fire in my heart got me to Boston. If you want it, go get it.

#bostonhereicome

Grandma's Here I Come: By the Numbers

I’m not really a huge numbers person. I’m good with them, but not like some people I know. But I’ve recently looked at the numbers that are about to get me to starting line tomorrow.

_____________________________________________

169 days. I signed up for Grandma’s Marathon days ago. (December 28^th, 2017 was D-Day. My Christmas present to myself.)

757 miles. I’ve run 757 miles in 2018 in preparation for this race.

106 hours. I have logged 106 hours of running.

128 runs. I have run 128 times (within the last 166 days of 2018). You’re probably wondering… that’s not A LOT of runs. You’re right. That’s because I refused to let my body completely fall apart in it’s old age by taking away my beloved cross training that I have adopted over the years.

35. The average number of run miles I logged per week. Not a lot. At all. We were all about quality over quantity.

67 rides. I have ridden my bike 67 times since January 1^st. A good chunk of these have been “recovery rides” while others still test my triathlon fitness. (Just to keep the all systems a go at all times.)

88 hours. That’s 88 hours of bike riding. 88 hours I’ve chosen to take away from the run and devote to a separate set of leg muscles in hopes it will keep my run legs primed.

1,476 miles ridden. This number can’t be taken to heart. 99% of my bikes have been indoor on a computrainer. And we all know that power is what everyone cares about 😉

62 swims. I dipped my toes into the water 62 times in 2018. In all honesty looking back, I should have swam more. The pool is SUCH my zen place these days. When muscles hurt. When joints ache. When my legs say WTF. There weren’t TO many lung busters in preparation for Grandma’s, but occasionally Speedy would give me a workout to test the fitness. Spoiler alert: I can still crack a sub 1:25 100 (on repeat) if needed.

33 hours. 33 hours of swim therapy. And I wish I would have give a few more hours.

125,800 yards. Of swimming. That number probably shocks most people. But it’s really not a ton. It’s approximately 5K a week. For you hard core runners, yes a 5K on the road is the same distance on the road as it is in the pool.

12. This will be my 12^th open marathon.

11. The previous 11 marathons, starting with number 1…. Illinois Marathon 2010. Walt Disney Marathon 2011. Illinois Marathon 2011. Chicago Marathon 2011. Omaha Marathon 2012. CIM 2012. Wisconsin Marathon 2013. Nashville Hard Rock Café Marathon 2013. Big Sur International Marathon 2014. Marathon of the Treasure Coast, Jensen Beach, FL 2015. Indianapolis Monumental Marathon 2016. (2017 was pretty triathlon heavy, 2x Ironman, 3x half Ironman. By the time October rolled around my legs pretty much were screaming FU.)

17. The number of times I’ve run this distance. 11 open marathon distances + 6 full Iron distances (the run has never been cut short, only swim and bike occasionally). Soon to be 18.

5. I averaged 5 runs a week since January 1^st.

3. I averaged both 3 rides and 3 swims a week since January 1^st.

6.5 hours. The total number of hours GPS predicted it would take us to drive from Crystal Lake, IL to Duluth, MN.

7 hours. It actually took us 7 hours to get here with  our few stops we made for gas and food. Rob's still upset it took us longer than the GPS prediction. 

2. Rob ate 2 Subway sandwiches for dinner on Thursday night on the drive up to Duluth. No, he’s not running. No he’s not trying to gain weight. That’s just his M-O. Tall skinny dude who can eat whatever he wants.

26.2 miles. The number of miles I have to run tomorrow.

5:27:11. That was my first finish time in the 26.2 mile distance. It was a hot hot day. The humidity was out for blood. But a year prior one of my friends had told me, "There's no way you can run a marathon." so I wasn't about toss the in the towel just because it was hot.

3 hours and 35 minutes. The time I have to run to qualify for the Boston Marathon.

8:12. The pace per mile I have to run for 26.2 miles to qualify for the Boston Marathon.

3 hours and 30 minutes. My goal finish time to solidify entry into the Boston Marathon.

8:00. The pace per mile I need to run to solidify entry into the Boston Marathon.

3:41:17. That is my current marathon PR that I set in 2016 at the Indianapolis Monumental Marathon. 

8:26. The fastest pace mile that I have ever run 26.2 miles.

6 minutes. The number of minutes I need to shave off my current PR to qualify for the Boston Marathon.

11 minutes. The number of minutes I HOPE to shave off my current marathon PR in order to solidify my BQ.

January 10^th, 2018. The day my spectathlete became my fiancé. My ride or die promised that he was 100% into this crazy life I’ve chosen.

April 15^th, 2019. Not just tax day. The day I’m hopeful I’ll be taking my own tour of Massachusetts, starting in Hopkinton and ending on Boylston Street in Boston.

1 mental breakdown. Ryan endured 1 mental breakdown over the phone at the end of the April after I had finished the Illinois Half Marathon. I was convinced I wasn’t the right kind of athlete for the job. I was in the darkest of athletic dungeons.  Most people don’t realize it, but being a coach also means you’re practically a licensed therapist as well. Ryan put together a really really convincing story about how much I deserve to give myself the faith that everyone else has in me. He made me believe what I do day in and day out is worth it. He convinced me that it wasn’t time to toss in the towel on Grandma’s.

1 extra mental breakdown, just for good measure. Shortly after my little therapy session with Ryan (like 5 minutes after) I was caught in the kitchen of my best friend’s house, wiping my tears and checking how blotchy my face looked. She caught me in the middle of a breakdown that I was trying to hide from her and all of our college friends. “Megan! I heard you... please, are you ok!?” Cue the next breakdown. There’s a reason I try to hide this stuff from her sometimes. She’s good. Almost too good. She knows me all too well. And the waterworks continued to flow in overdrive in her kitchen. Maybe she never told the rest of the group about it, maybe she did. I’m not sure. But all I know is that I needed that good cry. I needed her to understand how much this stuff means to me. She’s always had an idea, but that day she was certainly reminded.

1 sleep. 1 more sleep until none of the numbers matter and all I have left to do is run every stride with my heart.

BQ or bust.

#grandmashereicome