East Greenwich woman details her first try at Ironman triathlon
5:45 AM Sat, Jul 18, 2009 | Permalink
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Editor's note: Jane Hillary Couto is a Rhode Islander with a big Internet presence. The East Greenwich resident is co-founder of Mom Generations (formerly Pinks & Blues):- A hip, informative and entertaining go-to resource for the whole family, specializing in her "dog mom blog." She's also senior counselor of social media of The Perry Group, and you can follow her on Twitter, join her on LinkedIn -- and friend her on Facebook. Here she details her first experience competing in Sunday's Amica Ironman 70.3.Rhode Island, and has provided photos of herself competing in all three legs of the event. Congratulations, Jane, you proved your "metal" in the Ironman.
With my background in competitive swimming and running, many people have told me, as I have entered adulthood, that I should get into triathlons. But perhaps because of all the competition in my past, I was always a bit reluctant. I had had it with putting in all the hours of training, feeling bad about missing a workout and stressing about race days. I was fine with keeping fit by taking exercise classes at the gym and walking on the treadmill. But last year around this time, something changed my mind. That "something" was watching my brother and sister-in-law train for and complete the inaugural Amica Ironman 70.3 Rhode Island race. Watching the dedication they had to their training - and then seeing their feelings of accomplishment when they finished - inspired me so much. It really lit that competitive fire inside of me that I thought was extinguished. But I still wasn't sure if I was up for a half-Ironman. By October 2008, I had made up my mind to run my first marathon, and I signed up for May's Cox Providence Marathon. While I trained for that, I also kept up with swimming and Spinning classes so I would be prepared with all three disciplines in case I decided to go for the half-Ironman.
When I crossed the finish line of the marathon, I was on such a high. My love of racing and the competitiveness inside of me was back in full force. I immediately signed up for the second annual Amica Ironman 70.3 Rhode Island, giving me about 10 weeks to prepare. I had never done an open water swim, and I didn't even own a road bike. The only swimming I had done was in a lap pool and the only cycling was in my Spinning classes. So I knew I needed to be a little more prepared if I was going to be serious about this thing. I purchased a wetsuit and a road bike (I laugh now about how I was Googling "how to shift gears on a road bike" just weeks before a half-Ironman) and went to work. Needless to say, I relied on my brother and sister-in-law for training tips and a lot of encouragement. The day of the race, the water at Roger Wheeler Beach (where the swimming portion took place) was really rough. So rough, in fact, that the race organizers delayed the start by 30 minutes. My swim wave was one of the last, so I was able to watch the earlier waves start the race and navigate the rough waters. When it was my turn to swim the first 1.2 mile leg of the half-Ironman, I just remember running into the water with my group and trying to fight my way through the waves crashing all around me - not to mention the arms and legs of the other swimmers thrashing around me. I would look up periodically to make sure I was staying close to the buoys that marked the swim loop, at times marveling at how quickly the current was taking many of us off course. Needless to say, I was very happy when I found myself at the end of the swim portion, able to feel the ground again and start the bike portion of the race. One word can pretty much sum up the bike course: hills! The route took us from Narragansett to Providence, by way of Exeter, West Greenwich, Coventry, Situate and Cranston, and I had never encountered so many hills on any of my training rides. Luckily, my brother and sister-in-law had prepared me for this, so they didn't take me by complete surprise. I made sure to stay hydrated and fueled throughout the 56-mile ride Gatorade, a bagel and energy bars that I had cut up and packed on my bike for easy access. By the end of the bike leg, my own legs were feeling the burn, but I couldn't concentrate on that -- it was time to run a half marathon and I had to have only that on my mind.
The run consisted of two 6 ½ mile loops around Providence, starting downtown and going up to the East Side onto Blackstone Boulevard - and the "going up" part included the rather large hill up Angell Street (which, of course, we had to run up twice). I was pretty familiar with the route since I ran cross-country at Moses Brown and had run around downtown Providence and the East Side countless times. My family had split up and positioned themselves along the route to cheer me on and take pictures. I felt really strong during the run, and vowed to finish the race feeling like I had nothing left in me. So the last mile, I just kicked it into gear and sprinted in. Coming up to the finish line, seeing the Capitol Building in front of me, and hearing all the spectators cheering the athletes on, was an amazing feeling. And crossing the finish line? Even better. I was very happy with my time of 5 hours and 45 minutes. And I'm happy that I am back in competitive mode again. It's something I didn't even know I was missing. 
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GREAT recap Janie and a fantastic race!
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Jane, you came right by our house! (My kids sat at the end of the driveway and clapped for everyone as they ate their cereal and bagels in their jammies.) Good for you for tackling your first triathalon, you IronWoman, you!
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