Challenge Barcelona

I did finish… My 10th IM distance
Anne Schlierbach and Katja Konchak, this RR is for you!
(sorry for my very bad English..)
Barcelona or Calelle is a great place, a bit warm for me. Something is a bit difficult about the competition, because I do NOT speak Spanish. And there was very few in the crew that speaks English. But the track is beautiful, flat and fast (if you are a good on flat track!)

And then some words about my day in Challenge Barcelona:
I get lost on the swimming; I had to swim 400m extra to turn on the right bow! That is my own fault… I have to use a bit more time in the water to find the right direction and navigate better. I will do that next time!!
After 8km on the bike, I got cramp. I have NEVER had cramp before, and now I got it in both thighs… How is it possible?? After swallow so mush salt water, that I was sore in my mouth!
It was so strange… I drank so mush I possibly could, without throwing up. It did not feel good! I tried to bike fast when I could, and stretched and massage as mush as possible, when the cramp stiffen the leg so mush that it was impossible to bike.
My first loop of 3 on the bike went relatively fast, a bit too fast… So I had a bad feeling that I might have cycled the first loop to short! On my second loop, I got right in my feeling… I had cycled the first loop to short – or I had taken the “last” loop first, I had turned on the right point – but in wrong time! That was a bit to mush to handle on the same day – I lost all my energy and good feeling!
After cycling in the right direction for a while, I decide to go to the first penalty box and ask, “Do I get disqualified if I just cycle the right distance, but in wrong order?” I had biked 120km when I arrive the penalty box, so I already had decide to finish the bike leg, but I wanted to ask – because if I got disqualified, I saw no point in running a whole marathon. My leg was hurting to mush because of the cramp, that I did not look forward to any kind of walking or running.
There was nobody to help me; none of the staff could understand my English… I was standing in the penalty box for 10 min, and get no good answer. So I just decide to go on, and see what’s happening when I entered T2.
I used over 6.20 on the flat and fast bike leg! I will NEVER do a flat 180km flat bike cycling again!! (I think…)
If the cycling was bad, the “running” was worse.
It becomes a long walk. My stomach felt good – and my leg was not hurting, apart from the cramp. And I got a lot of good support from spectators, other Norwegian, other slow runners and some fast runners, like the girl raked as nr1 among the female pro, Katja Konchak. She had also a “bad” day at work, but took her time to talk to me on her way to the finish line. Katja ordered me to continue! You INSPIRED me to go on!! Thank you, for taking your time to make me go on!
So in one kind of way, it started to get fun and I really enjoyed my walk from food station to another food station! It was impossible to run; my legs could not handle it… So from km 25 to km 42,2 I just walked – the whole way! I got company with a girl from Germany (living in Spain); it was her first Ironman distance. Anne – start nr 79, great company! It was good inspiration to have somebody to talk with. And the walk did not feel so long! (Anne SCHLIERBACH I am so proud of you!! Thank you, for being such a fantastic company!! See you on Norseman!!! :-) )
It becomes a long day, again!
But I am proud of finishing!