I was anxious after my full hysterectomy, ovaries included… life, training, and recovery has been hard. I got sick in July and then again with Covid in August, my run wasn’t where it should be and the biggest anxiety - excuses, disappointing people and myself which made the mental side hard.
Throw in the hardest IronMan Bike course on the planet, cold weather and well I think I’ve said it clearly here but let me make sure — IT WAS A HARD FUCKING DAY!
The venue can’t be beaten, the people of Nice WANT US THERE! They want photos with you, are excited and remember you when you come into their shop, I have never felt welcomed like this in Hawaii… and we have a house there! The people of Nice understand tourism and what events like these bring to their economy! This past weekend they hosted a huge run as well as a swim event!
Speaking of the swim, it was one of my best! Thankfully it was wetsuit legal because it was cold!! I found the best set of feet, she was a machine! The water was “rolling” and ugh I felt seasick more than once, it gets deep fast and unlike Hawaii, there is nothing to look at… I welcomed the course design that didn’t take us so far out into the abyss of the ocean!
The bike, well I can write an entire post about this bike course. First, it’s fucking mean. Second, they didn’t close the roads, we had a LOT of car issues. We had cars zipping in and out of us, on descents where we were hitting 40+mph! They would pass us then immediately slam on their brakes. More than one of us almost ate the back of car. It was terrifying and a bummer because after all the climbing, the downhill should have been the award! Special needs was another disaster - I spent 6:36 while they tired to find my bag. Not to mention it wasn’t on the course - you had to ride off course backwards in a roundabout, which came on one of the fastest descents, which meant you had to ride around uphill into a gravel parking lot. It was a total clusterfuck! I usually don’t use special needs, and this reminded me why! HUGE MISTAKE! I have never wanted off my bike so badly and I spent a lot of time hating my life choices. Headwind all day, cold and the longest I have been on my bike ever in an Ironman. I was sure this would be my last Ironman! The struggle was real… and really mental!
Once in T2 I truly wasn’t sure if I was going to run a marathon, like I just didn’t want to. That bike ride crushed my soul and will to live and let me be clear, I was ready for this course, I spent a month training in France / Italy riding mountains. It just wasn’t fun!
Somehow I talked myself into leaving T2 and while I was in a lot of body pain for the run, Brendan McKee, Carolyn, Chelsea, Becky, and many others out there cheering me on kept me going. I knew I was going to be walking aid stations due to lacking run miles. The run went as well as I could hope for and surprisingly the watermelon at the aid stations really motivated me!! YAY for watermelon!
The finish line was amazing and like a disco party! Having a surprise friend and Carolyn greet me there left me speechless!
For the first time in my life I uttered the “R” word (retirement) and truthfully it has taken me over a week to talk myself into racing IMAZ! As for IM Nice in 2026… it’s going to take a lot longer before I get over the suffering of this one….
This picture of me at the finish really feels like that moment when I realized how much everyone who supports me got me to this finish line…. If I was out there on my own… I truly don’t know if I would have crossed the line.
Thank You…. ALL OF you who support me, in all the ways! ❤️❤️
Coach Rebecca McKee has been coaching 20 years! She is one of very few USAT Triathlon Level II Endurance Coaches in the Nation. She holds the highest level Coaching Certification from USA Cycling and is Power Certified. She is a USA Track & Field Coach, a US Master Swimming Level II Coach, as well as a Slowtwitch Certified Swim Coach. She is Training Peaks certified along with countless other certifications. She holds specialty certifications as a Metabolic Specialist, Nutrition Specialist and Menopause Specialist. Rebecca has also been co-directing races in Alaska for 20 years and is a Certified USAT Race Director. She is one of the founding members of the Alaska Triathlon Club and still sits on the Board of Directors.
Rebecca is also a competitive Elite Triathlete with 8 Ironman Kona World Championship finishes 3x in the top 10. She has won her age group at Ironman Arizona 5 times. She is currently ranked #4 in the World in the World Triathlon Corporation Overall Standings for her age group in 2023. She has been ranked #1 in the World two times (2018 and 2019), for her age group, at the 70.3 distance. She has raced in over 100 triathlons all over the world to include World Championships in the United States, Canada, Austria, Australia, South Africa (finishing 4th), France, and Finland. She also raced in Thailand and Spain.
Learn more about Coach Rebecca at: https://www.peakcenterak.com/