Hour 3: On my way out for my 1st time around the big hilly loop I had a special and unexpected blessing of receiving cheers from Greg and Barb Smith (my girlfriend from High School, who came all the way from Oregon to cheer me on and share in my 1st Ironman experience)! That was another amazing boost of energy for me.
I was just getting into the part of the course where you think the hills will never end and I hear this voice behind me say, “Gee I love following your ass!” that made me smile and my intuition told me that it is someone I knew, and then pulling up beside me comes Mark, we exchanged words for a few seconds and he was off passing me.
I was feeling pretty good and concentrating on trying to keep within my Lactate Heart Rate Zone. My plan was to ride a conservative 1st loop to make sure I had enough left to do the 2nd loop without blowing up! I was enjoying passing lots of people and found energy in reminding myself that every person that passed me, was a person that I beat out of that terrifying swim!
There were several out and backs on the bike course and every one was like a hug to my heart because every time I was going out I saw Jessi coming back in, we would always hoot and holler for each other
Heading up one of the steeper hills I hear my name being yelled out only to spot a group of bright green Team Thompson shirts where Tiffany, Leni and Kim were standing. These girls were putting some major energy into their cheering, they were yelling, jumping waving their signs, they cheered their hearts out for me. They all became my New Best Friends immediately! What a gift to my tired body and what a blessed surprise, amazing treat and boost of energy this was for me.
I notice a pattern on the bike of me passing people up the hills and people passing me going down hill. In this race however I achieved a new “Top Speed” on my bike! My bike computer registered 40.2 MPH..........Yea Baby!!!!!!
Way out on the big loop I had a welcomed surprise of seeing some Red Cheer Squad t-shirts, as I got closer I could tell it was Kevin, Tim (Jessi’s dad) John Tormino and Cindy Doty and they were out cheering and taking pictures. This was a special treat because I did not expect to see anyone way out there.
Hour 4: I was on my 2nd time riding the small loop and this is where the “Special Needs Station” was for the bike. I stopped to refill my personal nutrition, take a much needed potty break and cater to my feminine hygiene needs. I was concentrating a lot on successfully staying on the task of implementing my nutrition plan.
Hour 5: I was still feeling pretty good, however I was beginning to notice some fatigue in my quads, but I tried not to think about it and just stay in my rhythm. I was once again filled with energy riding through the hub of town and past the major concentration of spectators and my Cheer Squad! I soaked up all their cheers knowing that I would need all of them to carry me through the 2nd time around the big hilly loop.
There was a guy named Greg from San Jose who was riding behind me at that time and after we got past the crowd, he rides up next to me and says “Hi Kathi (my name was on my race number), I am going to stick close to you, because you have some major supporters and I got energy from their cheers! This is Greg passing me on the downhill again!!!!
Heading up one of the steeper hills I hear my name being yelled out only to spot a group of bright green Team Thompson shirts where Tiffany, Leni and Kim were standing. These girls were putting some major energy into their cheering, they were yelling, jumping waving their signs, they cheered their hearts out for me. They all became my New Best Friends immediately! What a gift to my tired body and what a blessed surprise, amazing treat and boost of energy this was for me.
I notice a pattern on the bike of me passing people up the hills and people passing me going down hill. In this race however I achieved a new “Top Speed” on my bike! My bike computer registered 40.2 MPH..........Yea Baby!!!!!!
Way out on the big loop I had a welcomed surprise of seeing some Red Cheer Squad t-shirts, as I got closer I could tell it was Kevin, Tim (Jessi’s dad) John Tormino and Cindy Doty and they were out cheering and taking pictures. This was a special treat because I did not expect to see anyone way out there.
Hour 4: I was on my 2nd time riding the small loop and this is where the “Special Needs Station” was for the bike. I stopped to refill my personal nutrition, take a much needed potty break and cater to my feminine hygiene needs. I was concentrating a lot on successfully staying on the task of implementing my nutrition plan.
Hour 5: I was still feeling pretty good, however I was beginning to notice some fatigue in my quads, but I tried not to think about it and just stay in my rhythm. I was once again filled with energy riding through the hub of town and past the major concentration of spectators and my Cheer Squad! I soaked up all their cheers knowing that I would need all of them to carry me through the 2nd time around the big hilly loop.
There was a guy named Greg from San Jose who was riding behind me at that time and after we got past the crowd, he rides up next to me and says “Hi Kathi (my name was on my race number), I am going to stick close to you, because you have some major supporters and I got energy from their cheers! This is Greg passing me on the downhill again!!!!
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