I did it!!! - I finished my 1st Ironman.
I know I said I was disappointed that the bike was reduced by 18 miles because of road damage, but after the crazy weather I definitely feel that I overcame a huge challenge.
Overall - 15:16:48
Swim - 1:48:51
Bike - 6:06:59
Run 7:01:23
Pre-Race
We arrived in the Woodlands on Wednesday. Athlete check in was Wed/Thur so I thought getting there on Wed was a better idea - less crowded and would give us more time to spend with family when they started to arrive.
Our hotel room, Marriott Residence Inn, was nice, a bit small considering we were going to have one of my BFF's staying with us on the couch and the bed was only a Queen (we are use to a King). But it was very convenient to the event and the staff was great.
Upon arriving we went straight to Ironman Village so I could check in and attend athlete briefing. You want to talk about organized, impressive. I decided to buy an Ironman TX tshirt and water bottles as it was not finisher gear and no matter what - I was doing the event. After check in and the briefing we checked in at the hotel and headed out for some dinner.
One Thursday one of my BFF's arrived and to my surprise her sister joined us. Of course I was the only one that didn't know she was coming and of course when I saw her I cried. We hung out on Thursday, enjoyed the Irish pub, did some grocery shopping and relaxing. We learned that because of the water quality in the canal the swim would stay in the lake. I was ok with that because the canal did not look appealing and it was very narrow so it would be congested.
On Friday the rest of the crew arrived, one of my other BFF's, my mom and Aunt and Uncle all arrived. I had bike check in, bag drop off and a practice swim on Friday morning. The practice swim was nice to get in the water and just get a bit acclimated to the water. This was my 1st true realization of how big this even really was going to be and started to get a bit overwhelmed. After that we all met up for lunch and later for dinner. The "Cru" made plans for where they would be meeting and how their day would go. I tried to stay out of that discussion so as not to get too worked up.
We split up for the evening and I was in bed by 9 as I knew it was going to be an early morning and wasn't expecting to sleep well.
Swim
The water was still wet suit legal, barely. Because of the heat people were worried about overheating and dehydrating. I know that I'm a bit faster with my wet suit so I elected to wear it. I did not experience any overheating issues and there were some chilly spots. I was very happy with my pace and actually started to catch people that weren't wearing wet suits (we had to start in the very back). I stopped a few times to catch my breathe, site or get out of the way of other people. I did experience minor leg cramps but nothing that stopped me.
I got out of the water, got stripped out of my wet suit and headed to the women's changing tent. Wow, I have been told how great the volunteers are in the tents but the women that helped me was amazing. She did everything for me, was friendly, had very kind words and sent me on my way.
I found my bike easily and headed out of transition with a big smile because of was proud I completed the 1st step towards becoming an Ironman.
Bike
I had a good bike but I'm still disappointed in my overall time. I wanted to be faster. The course was ok, lots of turns, lots of traffic and damn that sun was intense. At mile 22.5 a women in an SUV pulled out in front of me and I thought I was done. Lots of f bombs came out of my mouth!! I stopped at 30, 45, 60 and 75 aid stations to refill my water bottles. I was amazed that I actually had to go to the bathroom several times so I knew I was doing well on my hydration. I felt that I could have done the additional 18 miles if the bike course was not shortened.
I again came into transition with a huge smile because I knew I had completed the 2nd step in my journey. Getting off the bike was tough, the legs were tight and it was a long walk to find my bag and get to the changing tent.
When I dismounted my bike, BB (Black Beauty), a very nice female volunteer said she would rack my bike. I said to her "Her name is BB and she took very good care of me today, please take good care of her for me." The nice volunteer said "I will take good care of BB for you."
Again the changing tent volunteers were amazing, I was moving a bit slower at this point but yet another wonderful volunteer helped me get ready and on my way.
Run
My legs were stiff coming off the bike so it took a bit for me to get loose and start running but I knew this was the final part of my journey. About 1/2 way through the 1st of 3 loops the skies got dark, the wind picked up, the temperature dropped and the thunder and lightning started and VERY quickly the rain and hail started. Because the lightning was within 3 miles they stopped all the athletes. Me and at least 500 other athletes were on the back side of the lake so there was no shelter, we were all bunched up under some trees. Everyone was cold, wet and cramping up. After 45 minutes we were given the go ahead to start again.
We were all soaking wet and I knew that the blisters on my feet were starting. We walked/jogged/ran through 2-3 inches of standing water and the rain kept coming. I was struggling, I was frustrated because thus far my day had gone well. As we were heading to the start of the 2nd loop - I was in a VERY bad place, I was not happy, I was not confident that my feet would hold up. I found my pit cru and exchanged an eye to eye conversation with one of my BFF's and the tears started, and then the only person I wanted to see was the hubby. I had ZERO confidence, I did not think I could finish.....and as he always does he picked me back up and told me I could do this and I was not going to quit. I started out again ,crying with his words in my head, he is right, I'm not going to quit, I have completed 2/3 of this event and if I had to walk the rest I WOULD do this.
I had a special needs bag waiting for me on the 2nd loop and I had dry socks, for at least 10 minutes before the rain started again and continued till I had about 1 mile left. As I completed the 3rd loop with extreme pain in my feet, I knew that I would soon be an Ironman.
The volunteers told me how close I was to the finish chute, as I went up the hill I saw one of my BFF's and she was smiling and I knew I had this and no matter how much it hurt I was going to run this in. I had no idea where the rest of the cru was but I knew where she was I stopped and gave her a big hug. We told each other that we loved one another and then I heard Mike Reilly say "from New Braunfels, TX, her 1st Ironman.....yes Nicol those cheers are all for you. Nicol Newell-Bell YOU ARE AN IRONMAN. With tears in my eyes, I lifted my head, smiled and raised my arms as I crossed the finish line.
I finished what I had set out to do so many months ago. For so many years dreaming that maybe some day......
Post Race
I finally found this amazing group of people, who spent their entire day cheering for us and waiting for me. I can never thank them enough for being there for me, not just on this day but through the entire journey. I also know there were lots of people cheering for me from afar and I'm so happy to have such a large support team.
We slowly headed to the cars and planned to meet for breakfast the next morning.
We went back to our hotel for a few adult beverages and I actually made it till 1 before we decided to call it a night.
The feet are healing and I have done nothing but eat and drink all week but will be back at the gym on Monday for spin class. At breakfast on Sunday I knew that this was not a one and done event and more Ironman races were in my future.
I know I said I was disappointed that the bike was reduced by 18 miles because of road damage, but after the crazy weather I definitely feel that I overcame a huge challenge.
Overall - 15:16:48
Swim - 1:48:51
Bike - 6:06:59
Run 7:01:23
Pre-Race
We arrived in the Woodlands on Wednesday. Athlete check in was Wed/Thur so I thought getting there on Wed was a better idea - less crowded and would give us more time to spend with family when they started to arrive.
Our hotel room, Marriott Residence Inn, was nice, a bit small considering we were going to have one of my BFF's staying with us on the couch and the bed was only a Queen (we are use to a King). But it was very convenient to the event and the staff was great.
Upon arriving we went straight to Ironman Village so I could check in and attend athlete briefing. You want to talk about organized, impressive. I decided to buy an Ironman TX tshirt and water bottles as it was not finisher gear and no matter what - I was doing the event. After check in and the briefing we checked in at the hotel and headed out for some dinner.
One Thursday one of my BFF's arrived and to my surprise her sister joined us. Of course I was the only one that didn't know she was coming and of course when I saw her I cried. We hung out on Thursday, enjoyed the Irish pub, did some grocery shopping and relaxing. We learned that because of the water quality in the canal the swim would stay in the lake. I was ok with that because the canal did not look appealing and it was very narrow so it would be congested.
On Friday the rest of the crew arrived, one of my other BFF's, my mom and Aunt and Uncle all arrived. I had bike check in, bag drop off and a practice swim on Friday morning. The practice swim was nice to get in the water and just get a bit acclimated to the water. This was my 1st true realization of how big this even really was going to be and started to get a bit overwhelmed. After that we all met up for lunch and later for dinner. The "Cru" made plans for where they would be meeting and how their day would go. I tried to stay out of that discussion so as not to get too worked up.
We split up for the evening and I was in bed by 9 as I knew it was going to be an early morning and wasn't expecting to sleep well.
Swim
The water was still wet suit legal, barely. Because of the heat people were worried about overheating and dehydrating. I know that I'm a bit faster with my wet suit so I elected to wear it. I did not experience any overheating issues and there were some chilly spots. I was very happy with my pace and actually started to catch people that weren't wearing wet suits (we had to start in the very back). I stopped a few times to catch my breathe, site or get out of the way of other people. I did experience minor leg cramps but nothing that stopped me.
I got out of the water, got stripped out of my wet suit and headed to the women's changing tent. Wow, I have been told how great the volunteers are in the tents but the women that helped me was amazing. She did everything for me, was friendly, had very kind words and sent me on my way.
I found my bike easily and headed out of transition with a big smile because of was proud I completed the 1st step towards becoming an Ironman.
Bike
I had a good bike but I'm still disappointed in my overall time. I wanted to be faster. The course was ok, lots of turns, lots of traffic and damn that sun was intense. At mile 22.5 a women in an SUV pulled out in front of me and I thought I was done. Lots of f bombs came out of my mouth!! I stopped at 30, 45, 60 and 75 aid stations to refill my water bottles. I was amazed that I actually had to go to the bathroom several times so I knew I was doing well on my hydration. I felt that I could have done the additional 18 miles if the bike course was not shortened.
I again came into transition with a huge smile because I knew I had completed the 2nd step in my journey. Getting off the bike was tough, the legs were tight and it was a long walk to find my bag and get to the changing tent.
When I dismounted my bike, BB (Black Beauty), a very nice female volunteer said she would rack my bike. I said to her "Her name is BB and she took very good care of me today, please take good care of her for me." The nice volunteer said "I will take good care of BB for you."
Again the changing tent volunteers were amazing, I was moving a bit slower at this point but yet another wonderful volunteer helped me get ready and on my way.
Run
My legs were stiff coming off the bike so it took a bit for me to get loose and start running but I knew this was the final part of my journey. About 1/2 way through the 1st of 3 loops the skies got dark, the wind picked up, the temperature dropped and the thunder and lightning started and VERY quickly the rain and hail started. Because the lightning was within 3 miles they stopped all the athletes. Me and at least 500 other athletes were on the back side of the lake so there was no shelter, we were all bunched up under some trees. Everyone was cold, wet and cramping up. After 45 minutes we were given the go ahead to start again.
We were all soaking wet and I knew that the blisters on my feet were starting. We walked/jogged/ran through 2-3 inches of standing water and the rain kept coming. I was struggling, I was frustrated because thus far my day had gone well. As we were heading to the start of the 2nd loop - I was in a VERY bad place, I was not happy, I was not confident that my feet would hold up. I found my pit cru and exchanged an eye to eye conversation with one of my BFF's and the tears started, and then the only person I wanted to see was the hubby. I had ZERO confidence, I did not think I could finish.....and as he always does he picked me back up and told me I could do this and I was not going to quit. I started out again ,crying with his words in my head, he is right, I'm not going to quit, I have completed 2/3 of this event and if I had to walk the rest I WOULD do this.
I had a special needs bag waiting for me on the 2nd loop and I had dry socks, for at least 10 minutes before the rain started again and continued till I had about 1 mile left. As I completed the 3rd loop with extreme pain in my feet, I knew that I would soon be an Ironman.
The volunteers told me how close I was to the finish chute, as I went up the hill I saw one of my BFF's and she was smiling and I knew I had this and no matter how much it hurt I was going to run this in. I had no idea where the rest of the cru was but I knew where she was I stopped and gave her a big hug. We told each other that we loved one another and then I heard Mike Reilly say "from New Braunfels, TX, her 1st Ironman.....yes Nicol those cheers are all for you. Nicol Newell-Bell YOU ARE AN IRONMAN. With tears in my eyes, I lifted my head, smiled and raised my arms as I crossed the finish line.
I finished what I had set out to do so many months ago. For so many years dreaming that maybe some day......
Post Race
I finally found this amazing group of people, who spent their entire day cheering for us and waiting for me. I can never thank them enough for being there for me, not just on this day but through the entire journey. I also know there were lots of people cheering for me from afar and I'm so happy to have such a large support team.
We slowly headed to the cars and planned to meet for breakfast the next morning.
We went back to our hotel for a few adult beverages and I actually made it till 1 before we decided to call it a night.
The feet are healing and I have done nothing but eat and drink all week but will be back at the gym on Monday for spin class. At breakfast on Sunday I knew that this was not a one and done event and more Ironman races were in my future.
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