By Michelle Kruse

I thought you guys would like to see some photos from my Ironman competition.

Waving to my family midway through the 13.1 mile run

Catching my breath at the finish

The finish line (themed “Yellow Brick Road” by Ironman KS). BTW, my wave started 36 minutes after the first wave so the clock is deceiving

My training partner congratulates me at the finish

By Michelle Kruse

Ironman 70.3 – conquered! And I had a blast! Seriously, it was fun. My pre-race anxiety was unnecessary. I did not sleep at all the night before the race (too wound-up, I guess) and that added to my nerves. It’s the swim that stresses me out. It’s all-out war. I hate watching people get beat up in the swim. Really, the girl next to me at the bike transition had a bloody lip. It scares the heck out of me that I’m going to get hit and thrown under water. Fortunately, that didn’t happen. I did have to stop and tread water near the finish just to find a spot to get into the finishing “corral.” Bodies were everywhere.

Fortunately, I made it through in one piece and it was onto the bike. Having the swim behind me eased my nerves and I was ready to enjoy the rest of the race. The bike wasn’t easy, but it wasn’t difficult. I held back a little bit b/c I wanted to be all right for the run, but I finished the bike faster than I thought I would. Then, the run went great! I walked through every water stop (all 12 of them) and felt strong the entire run. It was wonderful to high-five my kids as I ran by (four times) and seeing my husband, my parents and friends on the route made it truly enjoyable.

I wasn’t in this thing to “win,” obviously. I was there for fun and to challenge myself. In the end, I beat my best goal by half an hour and had I known how close I was to going under six hours, I would have pushed just “one minute” somewhere on the race (like not chatted for an hour with the girl next to me on the run – but that’s part of what made it so fun). I finished in 6 hours, one minute and 24 seconds. The best part is I finished strong, happy, and ready to do it all over again and finished with my husband, kids, parents and friends hugging me at the finish line. I’m truly proud of this accomplishment!

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