Episode 162 - Smashing Her First Ironman: Christina's Journey to the Finish Line

Smashing Her First Ironman: Christina's Journey to the Finish Line

Completing an Ironman isn’t for suckers. It's something that many triathletes dream about and today, I want to share the story of one of my Triathlon Nutrition Academy athletes, Christina, whose journey to the finish line of her first Ironman is truly inspirational. 

Christina isn't a professional athlete – she's a full-time interior designer and dedicated mother who held onto her Ironman dream since her post-college days in Tucson, Arizona. Fast forward 18 years, after juggling work, family, and fitness, Christina finally decided to take the plunge into this mammoth challenge and recently completed the Texas Ironman.

While preparing for race day, Christina navigated the same challenges most of us face – demanding work schedules, family commitments and the constant juggle to fit training into an already packed life. What set her apart wasn't superhuman abilities, but rather strategic planning, a personal and professional support network and an unwavering commitment to her goal.

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Episode Transcription

Episode 192: Smashing Her First Ironman: Christina's Journey to the Finish Line

Welcome to the Triathlon Nutrition Academy podcast. The show designed to serve you up evidence-based sports nutrition advice from the experts. Hi, I'm your host Taryn, Accredited Practicing Dietitian, Advanced Sports Dietitian and founder of Dietitian Approved. Listen as I break down the latest evidence to give you practical, easy-to-digest strategies to train hard, recover faster and perform at your best. You have so much potential, and I want to help you unlock that with the power of nutrition. Let's get into it.

[00:00:19] Taryn: Joining me on the podcast today is one of my TNA athletes, Christina, all the way from the us She's kicked the kids outta the house so that we have a, a nice. Quiet recording environment. Well done. But she has just embarked on her very first Ironman journey, and I would love her to share some of the behind the scenes of how she got to the start line whether or not she's gonna do another one and some of the lessons that she learned during her actual race as well.

[00:00:45] So welcome Christina.

[00:00:47] Christina: Hello. Thank you.

[00:00:49] Taryn: So to get us started, for those people that aren't TNA athletes and and don't know you, can you tell us a little bit about who you are and how you got into triathlon?

[00:00:58] Christina: So I am just an everyday trying parent. I work full-time as a healthcare interior designer. I do triathlons on the side as my health and fitness and just enjoyment. Love the community. I first got into triathlons when I graduated college. Moved out to Tucson, Arizona from Ohio, I am originally a college swimmer, so just swimming. I absolutely hated running. I couldn't even run a mile without walking and just dry heaving basically. But the architectural firm that I worked for the architect was a runner and the mechanical engineer was a biker. And so shout out to Chris and Kurt there and my uh, supervisor there.

[00:01:45] Alan was an advocate swimmer as well, so he would protect our lunchtime so we could practice swimming, biking, and running. He would literally tell clients no, sorry, we can't meet with you, we're, we have practice [00:02:00] and we need to stay healthy so that we can best serve you, which was awesome.

[00:02:04] Taryn: I love that.

[00:02:05] Christina: Yeah. So there, that's when I started getting into triathlons. I learned how to run properly without dying. And then I, learned how to bike and Kurt would always yell at me to pedal harder, you know, up those mountains. And we started getting into triathlons and I set out that goal of completing an Ironman at that time.

[00:02:27] fast forward 18 years later, This is now, when I completed it, I mean, having kids kind of gotten in the way, I would uh, get really fit and then get pregnant and then get really fit and then get pregnant again. 

[00:02:39] Taryn: it.

[00:02:41] Christina: So finally here I am.

[00:02:43] Taryn: every time.

[00:02:45] Christina: Yeah. So I mean, if anybody gets anything out of this podcast, just know that if you set a goal, it may take a while.

[00:02:53] Just stay the course and keep persisting it and you'll get there eventually. 'cause if I can do it, anyone can do it.

[00:03:01] Taryn: sister.

[00:03:03] So 

[00:03:03] Christina: Yeah.

[00:03:03] Taryn: you decide right in the beginning that you wanted to do an Ironman? Is it just because it's, you know, like the pinnacle of a triathlete's career, or did you have somebody in your ear saying, you should do this, you can do this. Why did you decide to go from beginner to Ironman even if it was 18 years later?

[00:03:19] Christina: Probably both because I was surrounded by a community that said, you can do this. Just do it. And like the challenge and I like to see what my personal body and what I can actually achieve. 

[00:03:31] Taryn: you also have a really supportive workplace too, which is amazing. Are they looking for a sports dietician to add to the team or anything? Because having a lunch break protected for triathlon training is amazing because how else do you fit it in when you, you work full-time, like you're a full-time mom as well.

[00:03:46] How do you fit in Ironman training into a life like that?

[00:03:49] Christina: So I definitely would wake up early to get my first workout in during the weekday. so my husband knew I. Like Tuesdays and Thursday mornings were dedicated for swimming [00:04:00] and that he was in charge of the kids that morning. Wednesdays and Fridays I would run and then um, bike during the day or right after I got off work on Tuesdays and Thursdays and then lifted on the days that I ran.

[00:04:14] And then of course the weekends were my longer rides and runs. And God bless my husband, he. Was awesome when I started training for the Ironman because he took the kids, he took 'em out every single weekend and would take 'em to like ski lessons for like the half of the day, or take 'em to bullying or somewhere fun so that they weren't pestering me while I was sitting there on the trainer in the basement or out running for hours.

[00:04:43] I mean, I just squeezed it in, in the nooks and crannies of my time.

[00:04:47] Taryn: Um, You're amazing. You're a superwoman, that's for sure. And knowing right in the beginning that you wanted to do an Ironman, how did you decide that Ironman, Texas was the one that you wanted to do? I.

[00:04:59] Christina: There actually were other races that I liked the location a little bit better. However, Texas um, had a date that fit perfectly with my schedules and my husband's schedule. I knew he could handle the kids, and then like I knew that I could get it completed and have the whole entire summer to play and relax and enjoy the summer with my kids. why I picked Texas.

[00:05:22] Taryn: It really is a team effort, isn't it, when you've got a family to support and, you know, look after. So it's good that you know, you support him and he's got his busy time and then he can support you through that too. So 

[00:05:34] Christina: Yes.

[00:05:35] Taryn: a team.

[00:05:36] Christina: it really helped to like communicate and I tried to like, over communicate with him. So like I printed out my training schedule and put it on the refrigerator. So. Him and the family could see what I had planned for that weekend.

[00:05:50] we would have family meetings on Sundays during dinnertime, and we'd go over the week schedule and talk about what things I had coming up and where [00:06:00] I needed help. like, I, I know some people say if you're not close to divorce, then you're not training hard enough.

[00:06:07] But that never was the case. I also didn't hide, like And I also didn't hide the finances away from 'em. I, up in front told 'em what I was spending. I mean, the first initial conversation was a little nerve wracking. 'cause like the race entry alone is expensive.

[00:06:24] Taryn: Oh, you guys have a good little partnership going on there. I really like that. I think a lot of people have some tips that they can pull from that to learn to not risk getting divorced when they do

[00:06:34] Christina: Yeah.

[00:06:35] Taryn: race.

[00:06:36] what are some of the things that you needed to do to get ready for an Ironman?

[00:06:39] Like, you sound like you're a very organized person and you, you get all your ducks in a row, plus you keep the whole household running and humming along. What are the, the steps that you took to make sure that you had, you know, the most successful day out there on the course when it came to race day?

[00:06:55] Christina: Well first thing, I hired you and joined the TNA team. it is funny because I found your podcast and you promised that you could help me not want a nap after I go out and run.

[00:07:11] And you had me sold on that. Because I literally, like, if I ran more than an hour and a half, I would come home and I would try to like get the whole family to take a nap and absolutely no one wanted to take a nap with me and then I was just like miserable the whole rest of the afternoon. So that I think was one of my key successes.

[00:07:31] I mean, the other key success was I hired a, a coach who helped kind of organize my training. Um, Sessions to my lifestyle and my work and what I had going on, and we could pivot when we all got sick or work was just stressful, et cetera, you know? 

[00:07:51] Taryn: So what were you doing with your nutrition beforehand that made you feel like you needed a nap after your long runs? Like What were you struggling with that you knew you needed to get [00:08:00] fixed to embark on an Ironman journey?

[00:08:02] Christina: To be honest with you, I had no clue what I was doing wrong. I thought I was doing pretty good at what I was doing, or I thought I knew what I was doing. I just knew that. If I felt like I was having a nap and you were saying that I shouldn't feel like that, then there was something wrong.

[00:08:17] Taryn: You dunno what you dunno really? Isn't that right?

[00:08:20] Christina: Exactly,

[00:08:21] Taryn: that join us are like, oh my God, I thought I had recovery sorted and I was so far off the ballpark.

[00:08:27] Christina: yes. One of the main examples is I didn't feel before working out at all. I would go do even my long runs fasted and I now I know I need a certain amount of carbs per my, my body type to make sure that I have enough carbs and energy to get through those workouts recovery part too.

[00:08:50] Taryn: shift.

[00:08:51] what were some of the biggest changes that you made then to your nutrition? 

[00:08:55] Christina: So to start off eating first before I went out and ran, making sure that I had digested some. Fast carbohydrates. And then we doubled my carbs during the work, the long workouts. So that, I think that helped as well. And then the recovery piece of it, I think I was missing the protein afterwards and getting the amount of protein that I needed to recover properly.

[00:09:23] Taryn: Yeah, those are all big ones, aren't they? That we do like pretty early in the program. Really, like pre-training and

[00:09:28] Christina: Yes.

[00:09:29] Taryn: are the first two weeks. 'cause most triathletes suck at those things, unfortunately. But they're gonna have some of the biggest impact to how you feel and front up to that session versus how you then feel for the whole rest of the day.

[00:09:41] Christina: A hundred percent yes.

[00:09:43] Taryn: How long did it take you to not need that nap after your long runs?

[00:09:48] Christina: Like you said, we hit that in the first part of the program, so I would say like within week one and two,

[00:09:56] Taryn: Yeah. Wow.

[00:09:56] Christina: my kids. Yes. Yeah. And my kids noticed [00:10:00] definitely because I was coming home and saying, all right, let's go to the amusement park. Let's go swimming, you know? And I wasn't wanting a nap at all.

[00:10:08] Taryn: Yeah. Wow, So can you

[00:10:10] Christina: Yeah.

[00:10:10] Taryn: race day, like fast forward. Years of preparation, or 18 years of even thinking about it and ruminating until it was the right time for you and you could shine and you had all the support around you, which was amazing.

[00:10:23] fast forward to race day. What are some of the things that you did to make sure you had a good day out there like this was, this was your first Ironman race at Ironman, Texas and, is meant to be your last. It was like a one and done type thing. What are some of the things that you did and some strategies you lent on to have a good day out there?

[00:10:44] Christina: Well, first um, during training leading up to the Ironman, I definitely tried everything that I wanted to use during race day. The food, the drinks making sure that I could handle it. I mean, that's the other thing. I live in Utah where it's cold in the wintertime. Texas is pretty warm, Considering Utah. So I drove down to Southern Utah, which is a lot warmer and tested out my bike and my setup and make sure that I could handle getting out all my nutrition where I was stashing it while dodging people on bike pass and maneuvering curves and hills and all that good stuff. So that helped me prepare for race day.

[00:11:28] Um, The other thing that helped me was the carb loading plan and making sure that I had the perfect carb loading plan for me. That's specific to me. Leading up to race day and then as well as the acute sodium loading the day of because it was a hot race and I'm not used to the heat. I think that kind of saved me, which we'll get into my story of how I kind of overheated on the bike a little bit.

[00:11:57] I think that saved me.

[00:11:59] Taryn: I haven't [00:12:00] heard that story actually. I haven't heard the, details of like, all that stuff. So before we go into that though, like is there any big wins that you had from the day that you're really proud of?

[00:12:11] Christina: Finishing.

[00:12:13] Taryn: Yeah. When you cross the line

[00:12:16] Christina: Yes.

[00:12:16] Taryn: an Ironman, and you're like, yeah.

[00:12:19] Christina: Yeah, I would also say my swim was really good. I mean, obviously I'm a swimmer and so that is kind of my easy part of the race, but I went faster than what I had planned, and I was able to keep my head down. I got only one kick to the chest, and I was able to kind of swim past that person and.

[00:12:41] Keep moving and I felt great getting out of the swim.

[00:12:44] Taryn: Amazing. And so

[00:12:46] Christina: Yeah.

[00:12:46] Taryn: on the bike?

[00:12:47] Christina: So I got on the bike, If people don't know Texas Ironman, it's a two loop on a toll highway. And so it's out in the sun. There's no shade except for the few overhead passes that you get a drive under. It was 93% humidity and. I did make one mistake that morning. I had my parents drop me off and I thought I was gonna be able to find them so that they could put sunscreen on my back and they, I couldn't find them, so I ended up trying to put sunscreen on my own back and I should have just asked someone to do it for me, and I missed a couple spots.

[00:13:26] So. I mean, everything was going great until I hit mile 80 and I think that's where I was overheating. I was starting to get a sunburn on my back. I stopped at a aid station and I kind of, I was clipped in one side. I. And I was trying to refill my water bottles and I tried to spray myself, got kind of slippery and wet and lost my balance and fell over and kind of scraped myself.

[00:13:51] So at that point I was like, okay, I am not spraying myself. I'm not gonna get myself wet. I'm just gonna like fill my water bottles and deal with [00:14:00] it, you know? And when I hit mile 80, I got a huge stomach stitch. And that's one thing that you teach us how to deal with in the race during Our program.

[00:14:11] So I, I knew what to do. I kind of stayed the course. The other thing that I have found is during Christmas time, I don't know if you guys have 'em, at Australia, there is these soft mints that like kind of melt in your mouth, but they're hard enough to not melt in your back pocket. And six of those are 30 grams of carbs.

[00:14:33] So between those just sucking on those and water. that kind of like held me over, but I knew like I needed to figure out something. Like if the stitch didn't go away, I knew I couldn't just continue on racing without getting something in my body. But I made it back to transition. Tired, fatigued, but as soon as I got into the changing tent and got ice underneath my hat, I had ice in my mouth and I drank my watermelon flavored tailwind, which was really yummy. That kind of re-energized me, and that stitch kind of went away. me a lot.

[00:15:12] Taryn: That is a definite skill, isn't it? Having the ability to troubleshoot, particularly in a full distance race, because you're out there so, so long, there's a high chance that something's gonna happen. Like it's pretty rare that you get through a race of that distance, and I. Literally nothing happens.

[00:15:27] So I love to teach you guys how to actually troubleshoot all the common things that can happen so that it doesn't break your day. Like particularly something like a an Ironman. You train so hard and so long on, on this one day that for something to go wrong and end up with a DNF or just for you to hate it is not.

[00:15:48] Ideally though, once you're crossing that finish line with a smile on your face, not regretting all of life's choices. So it's a,

[00:15:56] Christina: Yeah.

[00:15:57] Taryn: skill that I, I love all my athletes to have.

[00:15:59] Christina: Yeah. [00:16:00] And I'm so grateful you taught us that. 'cause it definitely helped on that day.

[00:16:04] Taryn: how'd the run go? You sorted yourself out.

[00:16:07] Christina: Yeah, the run went pretty good. The stitch kind of returned on mile 18. I walked two miles, and I, I was trying to find something at the aid station that like helped me push me through those. I practiced with everything that they had at the aid stations, like the Coke, the potato chips, the Martin gels and everything.

[00:16:29] But nothing was working until I got to mile 20 and I found orange slices. And the orange slices. I don't know what was in the orange slices, but they provided pure magic. My stitch went away and I had this abundance of energy and it probably was because I was like, okay, I only have 6.2 miles left and I am going to finish this, and so that kind of propelled me to the finish line.

[00:16:54] Taryn: Yeah. Amazing. so you did a 14 hour, five minute and 37 second race. What did you have in your goals for racing times? Did you do the three tier race goal structure, like one of our TNA athletes, Erin does or did you have a set certain time in mind, or you really just wanted to go out there, have a good time, cross the finish line in one piece?

[00:17:16] Christina: my first goal, of course was just to finish. My second goal was my friend who just completed an Ironman, went 14 hours and something, and I just wanted to go under 15 hours because I knew, and I thought to myself, I can beat him. I know I can beat him.

[00:17:36] That's the, my competitive side coming out on me.

[00:17:40] Taryn: Yeah, I love that. I'm here for that. And so did you beat him in the end, like time-wise

[00:17:45] Christina: Yes. Yes, I did.

[00:17:46] Taryn: by a lot.

[00:17:48] Christina: No, I, I have to look up at his time, but I think his time was like 14 hours and 30 something So.

[00:17:55] Taryn: a lot. Yes. Girl power. And [00:18:00] how did it feel crossing that finish line after years in the making?

[00:18:03] Christina: It was definitely emotional. I wanted to cry. yeah, I was just full of emotions of pride joy relief, and I definitely wanted to cry. However, the volunteer quickly grabbed me. It was like, come here, now you gotta get ready for pictures and all this. So emotion subsided quickly.

[00:18:26] Taryn: Don't want like ugly crying photos as your race picks.

[00:18:29] Christina: Exactly.

[00:18:30] Taryn: those things can go really wrong, but you've gotta make them look really good, don't you? 'cause you've got them forever.

[00:18:35] Christina: Yes.

[00:18:36] Taryn: So looking back on that journey, what do you think make the biggest difference to your performance?

[00:18:43] Christina: Nutrition, hands down. Yes. I don't think I would've finished as strong as happy. And I. mean, I didn't sleep at all that night and I was able to wake up the morning pack up my stuff, pack up my bike, get on the airplane, come home and do the whole family thing with the kids and put 'em to bed and, and then crash myself and without any troubles.

[00:19:07] And I didn't get sick at all after this race.

[00:19:11] Taryn: yes. I haven't heard that

[00:19:12] Christina: Yeah.

[00:19:13] Taryn: So. Good.

[00:19:14] Christina: Yeah.

[00:19:15] Taryn: And do you put that down to the nutrition things that you did for recovery to not getting sick?

[00:19:20] Christina: Yes. that's a funny story.

[00:19:22] Taryn: I.

[00:19:23] Christina: So I crossed the finish line, I crossed the finish line. I go into the food tent. I look at everything. It, it, nothing looked appealing, and I quickly wrote, whipped out my protein shake, and I only had my water bottle with me and I accidentally filled up my water bottle too much.

[00:19:42] I put in the powder and then of course I had to drink the powder with the water to get more of the powder in. And then one of the volunteers like, man, you are determined to get that powder in there, aren't you? And I was like, I have to, my dietician's gonna be mad if [00:20:00] I don't get my recovery drink in within 30 minutes.

[00:20:02] Taryn: I love it. I love

[00:20:07] Christina: Yeah.

[00:20:08] Taryn: So good. Well, as a result, you didn't get sick afterwards and when you come home to a busy life, right, like back into work, family life, there's no time. Like there's no rest for the wicked and you can't have a pity party afterwards and you know, lie on the beach and recover for weeks.

[00:20:24] You've actually. Just get flung headfirst back into the reality of things.

[00:20:29] Christina: Yeah. I don't have time to get sick.

[00:20:30] Taryn: Ain't anybody got time for that?

[00:20:33] So what, advice do you have for someone that is preparing for their first Ironman?

[00:20:39] Christina: Number one, know that you can do it. You're stronger than you think you are, even if you feel like you aren't strong enough or not capable of it. I, I think you definitely are. Number two, get the right people on your team to help you. This isn't an individual sport. Higher. The dietician, hire the trainer.

[00:21:01] Hire the coach that you need to fully, successfully complete it so you can complete it. Happy and strong. 

[00:21:09] Taryn: yeah, you spend so much money on the race, you know, particularly if you have to travel like the entry's expensive, accommodation flights and all of your nutrition heading into race day as well. Like, people forget the actual cost of a race is, is everything that went into that as well. So to have a terrible time it just doesn't make any sense to me why you wouldn't do all the things to get it right.

[00:21:32] So this was meant to be a one and done nine, man. There wasn't gonna be another one. But how do you feel after crossing the finish line and having that post-race euphoria?

[00:21:42] Christina: I think I could possibly do another one, but not right now. I'm definitely gonna enjoy life and camping with my family and hiking and Have you seen those swim runs? we have 'em here in the United States. They're actually branded Odyssey, and so [00:22:00] it's swimming in a body of water, getting out like on an island, running, trail, running, getting back into a, a body of water and swimming and then getting out, trail running.

[00:22:10] You keep doing that until you get the finish line

[00:22:13] that's my next journey.

[00:22:15] Taryn: I love the, all the adventure racing stuff. Like if I was still doing triathlon, would've definitely gone down the adventure path. It just looks so much fun, I always found triathlon racing so stressful. Everyone was so highly strong and I obviously put too much pressure on myself, but adventure racing just looks like it's all that fun without the stress interest in going for, you know, world champs or Kona or anything like that in the future?

[00:22:42] Christina: I, I don't wanna say never.

[00:22:46] It's not in the cards right now. Let's just put it that way.

[00:22:49] Taryn: Okay. Very PC of you. I've loved watching your journey too. Like every time we're on powwow you're often like making dinner or you know, you've got kids in the background, like you do fit a lot into life, but it's a. Prime example that you can do all those things and then still fit Iron Man into stuff and you know, not get divorced,

[00:23:09] Christina: Yep, 

[00:23:09] Taryn: kids are still 

[00:23:10] Christina: yep,

[00:23:11] Taryn: and you still have a smile on your face at the end of it, which is amazing.

[00:23:14] Christina: I was gonna say my little one. As soon as I got done with the race, I was like, aren't you glad that I have more time to spend with you? And he said, no, you need to keep training because now you're gonna make me clean the house.

[00:23:30] Taryn: You hear too much now and I'm gonna be given more jobs.

[00:23:33] Hilarious. you have any final words of advice for somebody that is preparing for the first Ironman? Anything that they definitely have to do to make sure they have a good day out there?

[00:23:44] Christina: plan for the unexpected and know how to pivot and be resilient just take it mile by mile. You are, You're gonna have good miles and bad miles and just. Keep going.

[00:23:57] Taryn: One foot in front of the other.

[00:23:58] Christina: Yep. 

[00:23:59] Taryn: And if somebody's [00:24:00] sitting on the fence about joining us in the TNA in the cool kids and actually getting their nutrition sorted, what would you say to them?

[00:24:07] Christina: I would say hands down, best money spent ever. I think it was the most important money spent.

[00:24:14] Taryn: There you go. You heard it here first. Well, thank you so much for joining me, Christina, and sharing your story of your very first Iron Man. I I know that there's lots of people listening that are doing that journey themselves.

[00:24:25] So even just some of those tips around like communication and over communication can help prevent, you know, all that stuff that happens when maybe one partner's taking the limelight for a period of time before you hand the Batten back over and things like that. There's lots of lessons in that, so thank you for sharing so openly.

[00:24:43] Christina: my pleasure.

[00:24:44] Taryn: All right. Enjoy some me time and I'll see you in Power Hour soon.

[00:24:47] Christina: Sounds great. Thanks Taryn. 

 

Thanks for joining me for this episode of the Triathlon Nutrition Academy podcast. I would love to hear from you. If you have any questions or want to share with me what you've learned, email me at [email protected]. You can also spread the word by leaving me a review and taking a screenshot of you listening to the show. Don't forget to tag me on social media, @dietitian.approved, so I can give you a shout out, too. If you want to learn more about what we do, head to dietitianapproved.com. And if you want to learn more about the Triathlon Nutrition Academy program, head to dietitianapproved.com/academy. Thanks for joining me and I look forward to helping you smashed in the fourth leg - nutrition!