I don't know which I am more excited about ... Completing my second Ironman or hitting the 5 year milestone in the cancer journey!!! Both are pretty amazing and cause for celebration!!
I'll start with the race report :-). WARNING - SUPER LONG!!!
I am apologizing, in advance, to those that I forget to mention in this post ... You are not forgotten ... My brain doesn't always get everything straight anymore :-).
The day started early ... 4:15am to be exact (I don't think I slept much the night before). The alarm went off and up I went to have my standard pre-race breakfast, a banana and peanut butter toast. Mixed all of my beverages for the first part of the bike and got organized. At 4:45am, I woke B up and got him moving so we could head down to the Monona Terrace. Best line while he was getting ready ... "Spectators need to glide it up too" :-). It is such a long day as we all know that I am not a fasty, so my support team was they would be out there for an extra long time!
We made it downtown, and I headed straight to transition to inflate my tires. When I was done, I saw Alison, my friend and training partner ... She wondered why I was so quiet and if I had cried yet. Well, as soon as she said that, what did I do??? Cry :-).
We chatted and walked together to find the hubcaps. I got body marked and then Alison did the honors of writing everyone's names on me. I took care of Brendon, Jack and Parker and she took care of Molly ... The survivor and wonderful friend that I was racing for and Max and Barb ... My two angels for the day. I do have to add that my friend Scott gave me a ChasingChad wristband, so his brother Chad could help guide me as well.
Before the race, I was able to see Gina and her son Joey. They wanted to see me off and I appreciated it. I had to go to transition to drop some things off and brought them along so they could see the see of bags of all of the athletes belongings. Pretty incredible site.
As Alison and I made our way down to the water, I, of course, see more peeps I know (B calls me the mayor of the world). When we get closer to the water, I turn my head and who do I see ... Dawn!! She is the inspiration behind Effcansah and an amazing woman ... As soon as I see her, I cry ... A theme of the day. So proud to support Effcansah and what she has all done :-). Then I saw both Terri and Amy Jo. Cried again, giving Terri the biggest and tightest hug I could (and of course cried again) and making sure to give Amy Jo a big squeeze too.
As we headed into the water to warm up/tread water, I try to put myself in a position where I won't get banged up too terribly ... LOL, that is a hilarious thought in itself. As the cannon goes off, I start swimming, only to feel like I am swimming backwards. I thought to myself, this is going to be a LONG swim. I tried to find some room to move, but it is hard with over 2000 participants looking to accomplish the same goal. I thought I found a rhythm, but kept either running into people or getting run into. A very nice gentleman, not, thought it would be a great idea to push me under water so he could get by ... Mama was cranky after that. The field never really opened up except on the long stretch after the second turn. Well, you would have thought I had several cocktails with the way I was swimming ... Let's just say that it was NOT in a straight line (happy to find out later that I wasn't the only one with those thoughts) Not a highlight. The water was choppy which made it harder to sight. When I made the final turn in, I was so happy to see the end, that I was able to pick up the pace a bit. I came in at about 1:30 ... What I predicted, but was hoping for a little faster time ... If I would have stayed on course, time would have been better, but hey, I was done. Got out of the water, got my wetsuit stripped, and started running up the helix. Who do I see ... DeAnn, Mark and Stephanie :-). Big hugs for them. They told me to get moving.
As I make it up to transition and call out my number to receive my bag, there is Kayla, smiling and ready to hand it off :-). Made my way into transition and there was Jacque, waiting to help me. She was awesome!!! She chatted with me but kept me on track ... Which can be hard to do. So great to see her. She sent me on my way (I believe I insisted on a hug) and off to the bike I went!!!
The bike ... The first 30 miles were pretty good, non eventful, just tried to keep it easy and loose. The first and second loop sort of blended together, but the second loop was definitely more of a challenge than the first. The bike:
The first loop, I tried to stay as relaxed as possible, just soaking it all in. As I got into Cross Plains, I was able to see my friend and fellow survivor Steffani as well as Marn. So good to see them and of course, I cried. Now, I can't remember which loops I saw these people, but I was able to have short conversations with them, so it was great :-). Laurie, my new friend and former teammate, came upon me and we were able to chat for a bit, bitched a little about the swim and she was on her way. Suzy, my friend from BT passed me and we chatted for a bit, And my friend Alison. I was suprised to see her as I thought I wouldn't see her until the run when she was going the other way. She was having major back problems and wasn't sure how the day was going to go. I have seen that expression on her face before and I was a little worried ... Well, she will come up later :-).
On the first loop up the "3 bitches", as they are so affectionately called, went well. My least favorite is the first, Old Sauk Pass. If rather have shorter and steeper than longer and not quite as steep. There were plenty of peeps out there giving encouragement to all of the riders!!
The second of the 3, Timber Lane, I saw DeAnn and Mark towards the bottom of the hill. So good to see them and they were yelling, I am ahead of schedule!!! I had no idea as to what time it was and my tracker wasn't working, so people were guessing based on my cheat sheet. DeAnn ran up the hill with me for a little bit and I said to stay strong and I would see her later.
When I get to the top of Timber, I see Brendon, Jack, Sparky and Barbie (my friend of over 40 years ... Yes, it's been THAT long) ... Such a great sight to see :-), but no stopping the first loop. Randy was also there cheering away! I know I saw a lot of people, so thanks for being out there, but I can't remember much else about that first loop on that hill. As I work my way to the 3rd of the 3 of the worst hills, I saw Steffani and Marn again and as I passed our old neighborhood, I saw lots of peeps from the old hood out there cheering!!!!
Third hill, did my best to spin up the hill, got a lot of encouragement from random people in costume and saw the Wimmers (love those guys) and Aimee, Brenda and Kitty. Always good to see friendly faces. As I work my way back to the start of the second loop, I see Becky and Kortney ... They were screaming so loud I couldn't miss them!! Loved it! Can you tell that I thrive on communication and friends/family? ;-).
As I am working my way into Mt Horeb, I come up upon my friend Todd who was plugging along. We chat for a minute and I keep on pedaling, as did he :-) ... I see the cave of the mounds sign and I know the hill into Mt Horeb is coming up. The first time wasn't too bad, second time, I did my best to spin up the hill and keep the legs fresh. Make it to the top and who comes upon me, Gina (a breast radiologist - and triathlete who I connected with on FB) so glad to actually meet her and talk for a little bit.
A few really cool things happened on the bike before I made it back to Cross Plains ... Riders cheered for me as Molly, Max and Barb ... Loved it and, of course, cried every time. They were truly with me that day and that was a pretty special thing. I was asked and was able to share my story, Molly's story, Max's story and Barb's story with several riders ... Pretty awesome to be able to talk them up!!!
Almost back at the 3-B's, I look around me and see no one near, I call Brendon, yes I call him, and ask where they will be on Timber because I needed to stop and give them a big hug. Needed extra support soon. They will be waiting for me :-).
First of the 3 hills AGAIN ... My least favorite and my breathing was not cooperating. I stop mid hill, use my inhaler, have a little pity party ... That was the one time of the day that I wasn't sure about the day. Then, I had a little chat with myself. Why am I out here? To celebrate my survival, to celebrate and race for Molly, an amazing friend and survivor, for all survivors, and for Max and Barb, my angels who guided me A LOT that day. There were many times that I asked all of them if they would please give me that little extra nudge that I needed. Made it to the top ... And I yell, "Suck It Old Sauk Pass!!!" So happy to not have to see that hill again that day.
As I began to head up Timber, I see many people that I know, yelling encouraging words. The best sight at the top of the hill was to be stop for a hug and see Brendon, Jack, Sparky, Barbie, my college friend Krista, and my MOM!!!! So fun to see her there and give her a big birthday hug and kiss. She was 80 on Ironman day.
As I work my way to the third hill ... Who do I see? My rockin' Oncologist sporting the Effcansah shirt!!! Of course I cried when I saw him ... He is an incredible doctor and friend as well.
The last of the 3 B's was tough ... My body was getting tired and I was ready to be off the bike. So happy to see, Dave and Lisa, Jen, Aimee, Brenda and Kitty and of course the Wimmers :-).
Back towards Verona and back to Monona Terrace ... That part was not fun. The headwind was strong, so my pace slowed quite a bit. Two best parts about that part of the ride ... Another participant comes up behind me and says, I have been following you for TWO HOURS trying to figure out what the HELL your jersey says and I FINALLY figured it out!! I was happy to be able to entertain him and keep his mind off the pain of the ride. Second, was that I was able to talk all about Molly, Max and Barb as well as my own celebration. So proud at that moment. :-). Made it off the bike pretty much on time in just a little over 7 hours.
Off the bike into transition again ... Made it out relatively quickly and was off "running". As I head out I immediately see Laura, Kurt and Julie and Mike and Jan :-). So fun!! As I round the corner, who do I see, but the one and only Molly!!! Of course, I immediately start crying and give her the biggest hug that I could. She was like, get moving!! Love that girl and I couldn't have seen her at a better time!!!!
The run gets a little fuzzy as to who I all saw, but I was able to give Brendon, Barbie, Jack, Sparky, Molly, Terri, Amy Jo, Tracy, Synthia and Mitch, Jacque, Terry, Laura and Chris, , Jim, Tonya, Randy and Carol, another friend Molly, Doug, the Wimmers, Gina, Cheryl, Mary, Megan, Becky, Kortney, Jodi and Derrick, CJ and Phil, and my special friends from Komen - Silvia and hubby Wayne, Dee, Joan, and Laura .. And, I know I am forgetting people ...but I gave everyone that I knew at LEAST one hug on the run ... There was some SERIOUS hugging going on ... so it got a little blurry :-). It was truly special to see all of you!!!!!
As I started, my friend Jim walked with me for a little bit, and filled me in on where everyone was at and how it was going. As I left him and have him a hug, I worked my way over to camp Randall ... While walking around the inside of the football stadium, I see Fireman Rob (if you don't know about him, give him a google search) and caught up to him and another gentleman walking and they ask, what is the cape all about??? It was pretty awesome to be able to share the story with them and an honor to race with them both (the other person I was walking with has done 97 ironmans - holy boats!!!).
You know me and how shy I am, NOT :-), I asked for a picture with them!! How did I do that ... Yes, I carried the binky with me the whole time. Since my tracker wasn't working, I was able to let B know where I was and responded to some messages to give people a heads up as to where I would be and when.
At about mile 7, my race changed ... As I come back from the State Street turn around, I see my friend Alison that I had seen during the bike. I was so happy to see her!!! I said, I am not stopping as you will catch up to me. Well, as soon as she catches up to me, she asked if I would cry if we ran together ... No, not yet. She was able to "find" some medication that helped her back ... Yay!!! Well, she said if we were sticking together we would need to run more and I said, if we were sticking together, we would need to walk some as well. We made a deal ... Run the flats, run the downhills, walk the hills and the aide stations. DEAL!!!
Well, we proceeded to have the most interesting, best and worst time over the course of the next 18 miles!! We said some not so nice things to each other (we determined that on ironman day, all was said with love) and there were times that she kept going and I had to play catch-up as I was stopping to talk to a lot of people and giving hugs when I should have been running with her. We laughed a lot too, which is so important to me and the experience of the race. I forgot to mention that the pink cape was back in action for the run and it was quite the topic of conversation. The best line by Alison .. What about the sidekick?? ... No one remembers the sidekick :-). We become the Boobed and Boobless Wonders. As we endured the last several miles ... the deals changed a little bit, but it was so awesome to have my friend and training partner by my side. I do have to say that I SO appreciated every minute with her!!! It was also awesome to see other friends/athletes out racing that day/night ... There was that knowing smile from everyone showing that the completely understood.
As we hit about mile 25.5, she was on a mission as we knew we would hit the 14:XX time ... She needed to keep going, and I said, "You have been incredible today, you enjoy your finish and celebrate it, I will be there in a little bit!" As I rounded the Capital and headed for the chute, I saw Terri (got a big congrats hug - her hubby had finished about 2 hours earlier than I had) and Robert who was cheering like crazy (sitting and enjoying his finish). I felt such strength and ran as fast as I could into the chute. Such an amazing feeling to finish strong and know that I was going to be an Ironman for the second time!!!!! Had to love Mike Reilly when he announced me coming in, "MILTON WISCONSIN, MICHELE WILKINSON, BREAST CANCER SURVIVOR, YOU ARE AN IRONMAN!!!! :-). 14:56:20!!! An hour and 10 minutes faster than in 2010 :-). Suck it cancer!!!!!
I was lucky enough to be caught by two awesome people, Kim and Doug ... Loved seeing their faces. When I got my shirt and hat, who do I see, Alison ... It was the best hug I could get at that moment. Have I said that is amazing ;-) and am so proud to call her my friend ... And did we cry??? I'll let you guess at that one :-).
After the race we found Dave, Alison's husband, Brendon, Jack, Sparky and Barbie :-). Sparky was so happy it didn't take me as long as last time as she was TIRED!!! We saw Synthia and Mitch ... Waiting for the big squeeze and I proudly told her that her mom was with me :-). Jacque, Mike and Jan were waiting too!!! When I turn to the right, who do I see, my best running buds ... Kathi, Lesley and Sherri (and Sherri's husband Chris too :-). So awesome to see them there and appreciated them coming out.
As we headed back to rockin' Milton and the fatigue and soreness set in ... I thought to myself, I am the luckiest lady on the face of the earth. I am surrounded by so many incredible people both near and far and I have to say that you are all a gift in my life and I wouldn't trade it for anything. I felt the support on the course both in person and from afar. It was awesome to receive messages and posts and calls from everyone :-). So whether you supported me near or far that day, I TRULY appreciate it. The experience wouldn't be the same without all of you :-). And my husband, my biggest jockstrapper, love you to bits babe. Couldn't have done it without all of your support!!!! And my kiddos, Jack and Sparky ... I truly appreciated your patience and support as well. Love you both like crazy!!
Will I do an Ironman again? I will say this, I'm not rushing out to do one next year, but it will maybe happen again ... For now, I am enjoying the relaxed and looser schedule and am actually excited to get back to TRX with Tracy ... Miss that kick in the pants :-). And It's been great to spend time catching up with family and friends.
Moving on to the Canciversary ...
This is a big one ... 5 years ... Such a monumental day ... So many thoughts and feelings go along with this day. When I think about that moment, that day ... I cry, remembering vividly that moment at 10:16am on September 22, 2008, when I heard those words that no one ever wants to hear. I had no idea as to what to expect in the upcoming months (in actuality, 15 months), or what my fate would be. The unknown is a scary thing, but as I said from the beginning of this journey, I was going to fight, make a difference, embrace life and live it to the fullest, appreciating my life and everyone in it :-) and to encourage everyone to reach for their dreams!!!
As we all know, I am a sharer, but I think it's important that we all know that we are all special in our own way!!!
One never wants to hear those words "You have cancer" ... For me, those words have made a difference in who I am, what I am about and how I live my life. I am not perfect, but I embrace the good bad and ugly that this life brings us.
Some of the most important things I have learned with this gift of cancer (yes it sounds hokey, but those that have been told those words, know what I mean), are that people are inherently good. The relationships/friendships that have come from my diagnosis have been incredible. Family is so important and shouldn't be taken for granted. I have learned what it feels like to feel beautiful, without breasts, without hair and hopefully helping people be not so afraid of someone with cancer. I have also learned that with determination, a little blood, sweat and tears, that ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE.
So, embrace the gift of life ... And live in the moment, try not to wish time away.
Thanks so much for joining me for this long ride. :-). It's not over and sorry, I'm not going away. Love you all bunches and bunches!!!
I have attached some of my favorite photos from the day :-).
Giving B one of MANY hugs ... Look, he has a binky too ;-). He rocks!
Love this photo of the kids ... They do love each other ;-)
Molly ... So excited to see her and race in her honor!
Alison - pre swim :-). Lucky to have her as my friend!
Oops, upside down ;-)
Sparky was T.I.R.E.D!!
Still happy on the bike :-)
Ahh .... The finish line!!!!
Some of the running buds :-). Lesley, Sherri and Kathi. Love those ladies!
Terri a/k/a Penny, one of my besties and fellow survivor :-)
Fireman Rob, Me and Luis Alvarez :-).
Enjoy your Sunday, and remember ... Life is good. Enjoy it, love it and be kind to one another!!! I'll be back soon ... Hopefully next Sunday :-)
