Part Deux: The Demise of Comfort

I said goodbye to my family and told them I would see them in Verona, and started walking toward the helix to go down to the water. It was a crazy zoo of people walking down the helix with fan clubs saying goodbye to their racers and racers trying to get down to the water. It was like cattle crawling into the barn. The emotion and excitement was thick in the air and I could see it on the faces of everyone around me. I had to remind myself to breathe or I was going to succumb to nerves, and now was not the time for nerves, it was time for my game face. It was about halfway down the helix that I started to think:

Ok, breathe, just breathe, why is it harder to breathe than it should be? OH JEEZ! I TOLD YOU NOT TO FORGET TO TAKE YOUR INHALER! You big dummy. One full hour this morning I reminded you, and this is how you remember? By not remembering?! Nice work. Well, Good luck Chicky, you're going to need it!

Ms. R: Oh hush up you. I'm going to be just fine. I have been through much
worse without my inhaler.

Call Mr. Fury, have him bring it down for you! He's probably not that far away.

Ms. R: Oh yeah, let me just pull my cell phone out of my tri shorts, hang on.... Or wait, they might have bananas down by the water that I could call him with.

Good point.


Ms. R: Really, it's going to be fine. Today is going to be a great day!

After I calmed myself after the panic of not taking my inhaler, I continued the walk to the water and tried to enjoy everything that was going on around me. When I got to the bottom of the helix, I slipped the remainder of my wetsuit on and stood at the edge of the water and thought to myself:

Wow! Look at all those people! That really is a site ain't it?

Ms. R: Ain't is not a word genius.

Sheesh, you're sure on the ball today Wonder Woman.

Mike Reilly was on the loudspeaker directing everyone to get in the water so I moved to the side a little more, put on my cap and goggles and waded into the water. The water felt great, it was a nice 71 degrees compared to the 50 something air temperature. I swam out to the edge of where most of the people were wading and moved more towards the back of the pack. I wanted to give myself some room and a little more time before I received a swift kick or elbow. A guy swam by me and asked, "So, what's your plan?" and not really knowing if he meant for the swim or for the whole race I just said, "To finish!" and laughed. He didn't think I was as funny as I thought I was, as is often the case, so he gave me a funny look and swam away. Did he think I had some big secret to share? Hello, I'm sure I had "FIRST TIMER" written all over my forehead!

Before we knew it, the pros were off and we had only a few more minutes until our race began. Mike Reilly was playing up the crowd as usual, but I got the chills when he asked all the racers, "Who's going to be an Ironman today?" and everyone in the water cheered. It was amazing the roar of racers in the water. It really made me aware of how many people were in the water with me. Not long after that, the cannon went off and everyone started swimming. Well, kind of swimming. Actually, it was more like treading water in a forward motion because no one was moving very quickly. I was just so happy that race day had officially started. (Yes, HAPPY IRONMAN DAY!)


I have heard over and over that the swim is like being in a washing machine. My opinion: Please pass the Tide! There were arms and bodies everywhere and you better have quick reflexes to dodge a kick or elbow to the face. The water was instantly choppy, but I felt well prepared for it. A big thank you to Mr. Fury and Safety Bob for making the team swim without lane lines in the pool. It was the best accidental preparation for Ironman I could have accidentally had.

I tried my darndest to stay to the outside during the first lap, and I was doing a really good job of it until we approached the first corner buoy. Suddenly, everyone came to a halt and I couldn't figure out what the problem was. I lifted my head out of the water and saw that I was about 15 ft from the buoy which was much, much closer than to the outside where I planned on staying. Somehow, in the madness to turn the corner, I was slowly pushed closer and closer to the line of buoys. Crap! This is not where I want to be! No one was moving very quickly, or much at all really, but most people seemed to have a good attitude about it. I think we all realized that none of us was going to set a course record today. One guy and I looked at each other and started to laugh, shrugged at each other and then tried to tread water in a forward motion.

After making my way out of that debacle, I made a very deliberate attempt to get back to the outside. I think I was stuck in the mess around the corner for a good couple of minutes before breaking free. I finally got some space in the water and was in a spot I was comfortable with when ::SMACK:: I got a swift elbow in the chin. What in Sam Hill! Where did that body part come from!? It was the phantom limb. I still couldn't tell you where the flying elbow came from, but let me tell you, I do like me a good flying elbow. (Insert Mr. Fury shaking his head at me here.)

I recovered nicely from the phantom limb episode to swim right into a swift kick to the ta-ta. Now, let me tell you, Comfort and Joy may not be the largest ladies on the block, but they are just as sensitive as the next pair. The blow to Comfort was pretty mighty and I had to take a moment to catch my breath and collect myself. If only that guy had any idea what he had just did, he would have felt a little remorse I'm sure.


I got back into the groove and the remainder of my swim was fairly uneventful, thankfully. There was so much action going on with the number of people in the water, it was quite entertaining, and made the swim go by much more quickly than I anticipated. My mind never strayed to think about how long I had been swimming or how much farther I had to go because I was instead jockeying for position and trying not to hit or be hit by others. I made my way back to the terrace after rounding the last buoy and before I knew it, I was being helped out of the water by a volunteer. I looked at the clock and it said 1:15:03. Nice! Exactly where I want to be! Next stop, T1! Sheesh, it's kind of cold out here!