by Coach Kati Derrick
Five years ago I decided to train for a 5K run. I had just given birth to my second child, was 40 pounds overweight and hadn’t run since high school when my gymnastics coach made me. I was the person who always said to runners, “I don’t run unless someone is chasing me!” It may have started as a reason to escape the baby and three year old at home - a need for some ‘me time.’ Whatever my motivation, the decision to take the first steps and run completely changed my life.
Fast forward five years: I recently ran a race. Actually it was a 26.2 mile run preceded by a 112 mile bike ride and a 2.4 mile swim. Today I am an Ironman because five years ago I took the first steps and began training for a 5K. I started with a walk/run. I could run about three quarters of a mile before I had to stop and walk, gasping for breath with my legs burning. I kept running. Soon the three quarters of a mile stretched into a mile. Eight months after my son was born I ran my first 5K race. I ran slow. My time was 34 minutes, but I ran every step of the race.
After the race, I started swimming. As a child, I swam on the swim team; as a teenager and young adult I worked as a lifeguard and taught swim lessons, but it wasn’t until I was thirty years old that I discovered I love to swim. I felt at home in the water. Everything was quiet. Running was my loud music . . . my pounding powerful place. Swimming was my quiet meditative place. My husband ran and learned to swim with me. Eventually we thought, if we add some biking, we could do a triathlon. Why not?!
Our first triathlon was a sprint distance race in Wilmington, NC. We rode mountain bikes with flat pedals and knobby tires. I didn’t even know how to shift gears. My goal was to finish the race in less than two hours. I finished in 1 hour and 55 minutes. I was hooked. Within the year, I bought a road bike, which I was still terrified of riding in traffic. The next season we competed in five sprint triathlons.
Each season we got faster, spent more money on gear, and became more passionate about the sport. I lost 30 pounds, became certified as a personal trainer, grew closer to my husband, and made lots of great friends. I was a triathlete.
When my husband brought up the idea of doing an Ironman, I laughed and told him to have fun. As he got more serious I started to think and dream, could I really go that far and train that much? Last October, on a whim, we registered for the Louisville Ironman. What better way to celebrate out 10 year wedding anniversary than to do our first Ironman together? I had a year to overcome my fear of biking and improve my running.
Life was changing fast. I decided to take my personal training to a new level and got certified as a USATriathlon coach. I was diagnosed with Celiac disease and had to completely change my eating. I trained . . . a lot. I discovered a love for my bike. I turned off the music while I ran, and enjoyed the sights and sounds of the outdoors. Swimming was my meditation, running was my power, and biking became my freedom. I started to rediscover the ‘me’ that had gotten lost in becoming a wife, a mom, a youth director, and a personal trainer.
In April I did my first half iron distance race. It wasn’t a great race but I was able to sit and look at what I did wrong and what I could learn. Over the summer, training became tedious at times. There were times that we had to skip workouts because we had two kids who came first. There were times we had to skip workouts because it was too hot, we were too tired, or just plain too lazy. I studied nutrition and race planning. We ran, we biked, and we swam . . . a lot. I lost another ten pounds. I gained muscles in my legs, my broad swimming shoulders and strong abs from countless hours of training. I started training first-time triathletes and introducing women to the sport.
August 23rd we left for Louisville, KY. There were heat warnings where we’d run, and bike and flooding upstream where we would swim in the Ohio River. We tried hard to stay positive and focused. I had a race plan, I had a nutrition plan, and I did the training. I was ready.
The heat broke to a cool 92 degrees for race day and race management modified the swim to deal with the flooding Ohio River.
On August 26th, we arose at 4:00 am and headed for the transition area. At 6:55am I began my Ironman. The swim was hard, mostly because I expected it to be easy for me, the swimmer. The 2.4 mile swim took me 1 hour and 11 minutes. We ran out of the river, grabbed our biking gear and bikes, and took off for the 112 mile ride. The crowds were fantastic. Near the river there were hordes of people cheering, waving signs and ringing cowbells. As we got out into the country there were locals sitting at the end of their driveway cheering us on. The bike was hard. My longest training ride had only been 85 miles. I knew the key to a good ride was to stay positive and follow my plan. I thanked every volunteer. I smiled at every spectator. Every hour I took in my nutrition as planned. At mile 100, I started to cry. Tears of joy flowed because I knew I was going to finish.
As I rode back into the transition area the crowds again cheered, waved their signs and rang their bells for me. They might have been doing that for all 2000 participants, but I didn’t care. In my mind it was all for me. They were cheering for the 112 miles of strength I had just shown. 124.4 miles down, 26.2 miles to go. I followed my plan on the run. Stay positive. Follow my race plan. Focus. I ran 26 one mile runs that day. I ran to each aid station then walked while I drank my water. I thanked the volunteers and I cheered back at the spectators. I cried again at mile 24. I looked at my watch and realized that my dream of finishing in less than 17 hours was shattered. Instead I would finish in 14 hours and 4 minutes. I felt great. My legs ached, my neck was sore, and I smelled really bad, but inside I was radiant.
140.6 miles in 14 hours and I was changed forever. I found a new confidence and inner light on August 26th – one that I plan on keeping forever. I hope to be a better mom and to teach my daughter to find her inner light and never lose it. I hope to inspire other women to look for their inner light through my training and coaching. I hope to do many more Ironman races, learning even more about myself along the way.
Coach Kati Derrick completed the Louisville Ironman in August, 2007. She is an ACE Certified personal trainer and USA Triathlon Level 1 certified coach with more than ten years experience in swimming instruction. She has been racing triathlons for 4 years, endurance running for 5 years, and swimming for 30 years. She placed 1st in the 2006 Virginia Triathlon Series, 30-34 year age group, and 7th in the 2007 Virginia Triathlon Series, 35-39 year age group. As of 7/16/08, she ranked 3rd in the 2008 Virginia Triathlon Series, 35-39 age group.
