Ironman USA 2008 Race Report
"Pain is just weakness leaving the body" - my favorite sign out on the bike course. This became my mantra for the day. I must have repeated it 25 times at various points.
Ironman is a long day. It will definitely be fun, exciting, likely painful, and rewarding. For reasons you may never know about as you send in your check and register for your event. I do guarantee that you will learn a lot about yourself in any Ironman. I think that is part of the reason I love endurance sports.
Quick background: This, the tenth year of IMLP, there were about 2400 competitors. Ironman USA is known for a tough bike and run and the most crowded swim start in the series due to the smaller starting area and narrow lake. More reasons for anxiety!
Other than a few mishaps that resulted from my nonchalant detail preparation attitude towards my second Ironman (broke sunglasses, forgot to check in gear bags and had to drive back to get them on pre race day, locked myself out of house, ripped wetsuit, overslept Saturday training session with friends) the days leading up to the event were not unlike any short training days with a 30 mile bike ride two days out, swims every day, and even a short run to keep the legs loose. All of this in overcast, cool conditions here in the Adirondacks. While my legs were a bit tired on pre-race day I wasn’t overly worried that would have any effect on my day.
This year, I was joined in Lake Placid by my wife Heather, our three kids, and my mother and father in law. They made the days leading up to the race relaxing for me great meal prep, some casual beer drinking, great cooking and low-key attitude - not needing to be on the go all day long. We were fortunate to rent a fantastic house right on Lake Flower about 10 miles from the race site where the kids could fish/swim/feed ducks and the adults can enjoy a great view from the deck (with Corona and Saranac beverages!). Since Ironman Wisconsin I have decided that staying a few miles away from the chaos and nervousness of the Ironman Village is a good thing. Especially if one can stay near a lake or ocean for “private” swimming away from the Ironman swim course where everyone else is. Having said that it is wise to swim the actual course once and hit the bike course for a preview. And always, always drive the entire bike course to see what is coming. In this case, driving the bike course resulted in a huge intimidation factor – it was not going to be an easy ride.
Race Morning
The morning started perfectly for me. I slept about 5 hours after having taken a solid nap the day before. Great sleep for a pre race night. I awoke at 3AM and had coffee, a huge bowl of oatmeal, and a protein shake (thanks for the tip Fernando!). After pacing the floor getting my final gear checks done my father in-law and wife awoke and he and I headed out the door for the drive to check in. Smooth and uneventful.
Upon arrival at check in everything went smoothly. I even ran into my training friends from Raleigh, Tommy King, Margo Pitts, and Jon Armstrong. All veteran Ironmen. We wished each other best of luck and I left to find my father in law who was waiting to help me with final pre-swim prep. Also at IMLP this year were some others I know – Mike Eldredge, Mike Thaker, and Mike Beaman. That’s probably 50% of the Mikes I know.
By far the coolest thing I saw in pre-race transition was a woman talking to her husband on the phone at 5:15AM EST...he had called her from Iraq. Tear jerker!
1) Bike prep – tires pumped, nutrition on, ready to go
2) Transition bags – checked in to racks, ready to go
3) Transition area study – didn’t get a chance to really check that out this year but in Ironman you can just follow the crowd or the instructions of the volunteers
4) Time to hit the water. I like to get in early then find a place to stand where my feet can touch away from the main crowd who always line up right on the marker pylons.
Swim - The Cannon Fires
As with Ironman Wisconsin I knew I wanted to start my swim wide but only about 10 yards behind the line. Despite my not being a fast swimmer I don’t like to “seed” myself in the back even if it means I will be run over by faster swimmers. The reality of Ironman is that few people are hammering the swim so you are likely to be swum around rather than over if you are a slower swimmer.
Right before the cannon went off I treaded water towards the start line and floated where my feet could not touch the bottom. I seemed to find a bit of space right behind three pink-capped ladies (all men in blue caps, women in pink this year).
National Anthem then BANG! We were off and swimming.
During IM Wisconsin I concluded that the best approach for my swimming ability is to start in a less crowded area (even if its not the shortest point to the turn) and simply swim slowly at the beginning. Will swimmers be kicking you? Yes. Will they be freaking out all around you? Yes. But just swim slow and easy with long strokes for as long as necessary. This keeps you calm, straight, and keeps the HR low. I also received what I believe to be the one of the best tips from Ironman Tommy King – swim with girls! They are smoother, generally more polite, and don’t kick you as hard. Whenever I saw a pink cap I picked her as my leader or flank. Sometimes I even found two or three in a pack and made my way next to them or behind them. I followed the plan and kept my cool and before I knew it I was at the chaos of the first turn.
While the turns on both loops of the two loop swim were crowded and hectic, I was able to stay in my freestyle stroke the whole way and just alternate my breathing side as necessary. I exited lap one at 36 minutes. Perfect! Lap two was equally uneventful other than my conscious decision to swim nearer to the pylons and take advantage of better draft. At the end of the swim I was out of the water with dead even split times and a 1:12. Another great swim start to my Ironman day!
Transition 1 – Weather “Issue”?
After about a 300 yard run to T1, in the now pouring rain, I grabbed my bags and made a conscious decision not to enter the change tent due to the massive crowd inside. Instead I put my helmet and arm warmers on, added a gel and energy bar to my jersey, and ran with my shoes to my bike. They did make me run through the transition tent to get to my bike but I am glad I did not change in there. It was chaos!
About the time I got to my bike I remembered that the weather forecast said “30% chance of rain from 7AM-3PM then increasing to 60% for the remainder of the day, 72 degrees for a high temp”. That forecast turned into a reality of “non stop downpour from 7AM to 7PM, accumulating 3-4 inches and flooding mountain rivers, streams, and Ironman events, with a high of about 65-70 degrees”. It was unreal. You will read much more on the impact of the weather. I ran with my shoes in my hand (always do that if they are not strapped to your bike) and headed to the start line where I mounted up and headed down the short steep hill onto the course.
Bike – Feedback, Schmeedback
Uh oh. Five yards into my ride I saw a small metal dime fly off my bike. That’s funny, I’m not carrying any money. I quickly learned that it was the sensor from my wheel for my bike computer. I’m astonished that I actually saw it bouncing along the ground as I navigated a tight crowd and a downpour. I looked down to see my speed of 0.0 which meant yes, I am embarking on a 112 mile bike ride with no computer. I also chose to wear no HR monitor so my only feedback would be my watch. Well, maybe that will make me ride even better using perceived exertion and my “pass to being passed” ratio as my feedback on the course. Of course I would not really ever know how many miles I had left to ride except for a couple of signs on the course and a general idea of how far a couple turns were from the finish. And it was a two looper so I could guage my time once I got to the half way mat.
The Ironman USA course is known as one of the toughest bike courses in the Ironman series. That, combined with its history, location, and picturesque swim make it high demand as a destination Ironman. I began to realize this a few ways - some obvious, some not. First, this Ironman seems to have fewer first timers and fewer seemingly less fit body types competing. Everyone seemed jacked and had huge, pedal busting quads. Then the obvious – drive the course in a car and prepare to panic. Finally, every piece of advice for this course says "don't go hard on the first bike lap or you will pay dearly"...
Once I got out on the main course it was a couple miles of solid uphill towards the giant downhill towards Keane. The course was very, very crowded with the racing cyclists at this point. Right away after the uphill comes the long downhill (several miles) everyone talks about. Speeds over 50mph are common and it lasts about 15 minutes. As I crested the last hill after the olympic traning center I prepared for the big descent. It was pouring rain at this point and the roads were far from smooth so puddles were everywhere. I took the descent moderately fast riding well within my limits - but noticed I had very little braking power so I ended up riding the brakes a bit out of concern for possible trouble ahead. Several bikes passed me going at least 5-8mph faster than I was. I did pass a few on the downhill and of course screamed "on your left" as loud as I could as I cruised downhill at an estimated 40mph with my brakes partly compressed. Once getting to the bottom and turning onto about 10 miles of relative flat on the way to the town of Jay I noticed that my legs were cold and I couldn't really feel them. That seemed like a good thing as I was hammering right along past many riders. The rest of the first loop went by fairly uneventful other than it was clearly a difficult course with some serious uphill sections followed by some flats where the invitation to hammer was hard to resist. All said, on lap one I estimate I passed 4 cyclists for every one that passed me.
Once I got back to town I was able to get a time check on my watch, which was my only source of performance feedback. It showed a 2:45 first loop! Wow! I was still feeling great as I passed my family who was toughing out the weather (still pouring rain) to cheer for me as I sped by. At this point I was feeling so good that I even had delusions of granduer and an even bike split between the two loops. As it turns out that was delusional thought.
Upon starting the second loop (still pouring rain) I had great luck with the first set of hills and I positively crushed the downhill since the field had spread out and I had more room to cruise at higher speeds. I passed about 6 for every one that passed me at this point and for the remainder of the second loop. I did fade a bit around mile 95 but by that time I could feel the finish ahead. I could see others really struggling. While I stood up to stretch it appeared others were standing up just to crawl their way up the final hills. I took this as a good sign but also noticed that another 2:45 lap was out of reach. However, I knew that I was having a great bike day and that I would have some juice left for the run.
One highlight of the bike was that I never missed a water or food grab from a volunteer. My "hand to eye grip skills" were so good at about 15-18mph I even grabbed a water and a gel in the same hand from two different volunteers at one aid station. This may have been the highlight of the whole race as I spent the next five minutes telling myself how great I was for that feat of athletic talent.
I passed the "family corner" again and, sure enough, the whole gang was still cheering in the soaking rain as I sped by. They were troopers! Then I hit the dismount line and jumped off my bike. Time on bike 5:42. 11 minutes slower on second lap. Still solid!
Transition 2
After a quick grab of the bag a volunteer steered me towards the tent. Of course it was still raining hard. I looked in the tent and all I could see was fog. So I chose to change into my running gear outside. But then they made me run through the tent and it was like finding your way in the dark. I could hardly move as athletes went all different directions trying to find change space and the exit door. My decision to change outside was a very good one.
Run - ouch
I can't think of much to say here other than from about mile 7 I knew the run was going to hurt. I had great speed and turnover coming out of T2 and for the first leg of what is a double out and back run. After mile 7 I slowed slightly then by mile 13 I slowed fairly dramatically. I was pretty excited at the turn with a time of 1:44. That had me on pace for a sub-3:30 but I knew that was not a reality today. My mission from here was to keep my legs moving as fast as I could and keep consuming liquids and food. I was able to see my friends on the road and Margo even shouted out some uplifting info about my pursuit of others we knew. Oh, and I passed Desiree Ficker during the second half of the run! Granted, she was having a bad day, but she is generally known as a great runner so I was fired up about that...but strangely sad for how hard her day must have been.
Here are a few run details:
1) Walked three aid stations for the first time ever
2) Ate soup on the run for the first time ever
3) Rec'd a lot of compliments from spectators about my turnover and form - that helped keep me running strong from an efficiency standpoint
4) The hills were short, sharp and brutal. Never walked but certainly shuffled on the second lap
I knew I was going to finish running, not walking. It was just a matter of how strong my run would be at the finish. As I came to the final mile I was able to pick it up a bit for the finishing chute. I crossed with a smile, but with hurting legs, at 3:40 run and 10:44 overall time. Solid!
The Finish
One of the best parts of Ironman is the finish. Its great because you finish of course. But its also great because you get your own personal volunteer assistant for as long as you want her/him. They seemed to be taking about 1 of every 3 people into the medical tent as I crossed the line. My assistant recognized that I was in pretty good shape after a short conversation so I asked her to grab me a coke. Unfortunately I then lost her in the crowd so I headed to the food tent to two pieces of pizza, two cokes, and some cookies. Then I began to about freeze in the rain and falling temperature. Luckily about that time I spotted my father in law and son Travis looking for me. They quickly whisked me away to the rest of the family where I declared, in the rain, I wanted a hot shower. So we took off, went home, then came back later for some more festivities. I did not see the midnight finishers this year unfortunately. It had to be a brutal day for them in the rain for as much as 17 hours.
Nutrition
Pre-race
Breakfast of oatmeal, coffee, and Muscle Milk protein shake
Pre-race half bottle gatorade endurance, one caffeine gel
Swim
None
Bike
One Optima bar eaten between miles 50-70
Equivalent of 6-8 gels eaten along the way
Half bottle of carbo pro
One bottle Gatorade Endurance
Four bottles water
Run
10-12 half cups cola
6-8 half cups water
6-8 half cups gatorade endurance
3-4 cups chicken broth
12-20 mini pretzels
4 cookies
1 piece watermelon
2 orange slices
No use of special needs bags
Kona
Not even close. While I was 200th overall out of 2400, I was 43 out of almost 390 in my age group. By my calculations I would have had to be about 20-30 minutes faster to get a slot. "Qualify for Kona" may have to fall off the bucket list...
Thanks
Thank you to my family. My wife Heather, my kids Travis, Olivia, and Madison. You put up with my passion to compete in my second Ironman. Only one more this year then a year off!
Thank you to my mother and father in law. They were incredibly supportive and made the pre-race time very easy on me. And they never got tired of bad weather or a seemingly lazy son in law.
Thanks to my parents and my friends who have supported my during my training and those who checked up on me during and after the race. Special thanks to my November 140.6 buddy John Wilkins.
Thanks to my coach, Roch Frey and thanks to coach Lance Leo for cheering me on while I was on the course.
Stats:
Swim 1:12:41, 1057/2340 overall, 203/386 in age group
Bike 5:42:14, 19.6mph average, 379/2340, 80/386
Run 3:40:04, 8:23/mi avg, 200/2340, 43/386
Total time 10:44:52, 200/2340, 43/386
Swim: 50th percentile in age group, top 45% overall
Bike: top 20% in age group, top 16% overall
Run: top 11% in age group, top 8% overall
Total: top 11% in age group, top 8% overall
Congratulations to all competitors, especially those I know, and thank you to the fantastic volunteers and fans! A great event!!!!!
ML
Ironman is a long day. It will definitely be fun, exciting, likely painful, and rewarding. For reasons you may never know about as you send in your check and register for your event. I do guarantee that you will learn a lot about yourself in any Ironman. I think that is part of the reason I love endurance sports.
Quick background: This, the tenth year of IMLP, there were about 2400 competitors. Ironman USA is known for a tough bike and run and the most crowded swim start in the series due to the smaller starting area and narrow lake. More reasons for anxiety!
Other than a few mishaps that resulted from my nonchalant detail preparation attitude towards my second Ironman (broke sunglasses, forgot to check in gear bags and had to drive back to get them on pre race day, locked myself out of house, ripped wetsuit, overslept Saturday training session with friends) the days leading up to the event were not unlike any short training days with a 30 mile bike ride two days out, swims every day, and even a short run to keep the legs loose. All of this in overcast, cool conditions here in the Adirondacks. While my legs were a bit tired on pre-race day I wasn’t overly worried that would have any effect on my day.
This year, I was joined in Lake Placid by my wife Heather, our three kids, and my mother and father in law. They made the days leading up to the race relaxing for me great meal prep, some casual beer drinking, great cooking and low-key attitude - not needing to be on the go all day long. We were fortunate to rent a fantastic house right on Lake Flower about 10 miles from the race site where the kids could fish/swim/feed ducks and the adults can enjoy a great view from the deck (with Corona and Saranac beverages!). Since Ironman Wisconsin I have decided that staying a few miles away from the chaos and nervousness of the Ironman Village is a good thing. Especially if one can stay near a lake or ocean for “private” swimming away from the Ironman swim course where everyone else is. Having said that it is wise to swim the actual course once and hit the bike course for a preview. And always, always drive the entire bike course to see what is coming. In this case, driving the bike course resulted in a huge intimidation factor – it was not going to be an easy ride.
Race Morning
The morning started perfectly for me. I slept about 5 hours after having taken a solid nap the day before. Great sleep for a pre race night. I awoke at 3AM and had coffee, a huge bowl of oatmeal, and a protein shake (thanks for the tip Fernando!). After pacing the floor getting my final gear checks done my father in-law and wife awoke and he and I headed out the door for the drive to check in. Smooth and uneventful.
Upon arrival at check in everything went smoothly. I even ran into my training friends from Raleigh, Tommy King, Margo Pitts, and Jon Armstrong. All veteran Ironmen. We wished each other best of luck and I left to find my father in law who was waiting to help me with final pre-swim prep. Also at IMLP this year were some others I know – Mike Eldredge, Mike Thaker, and Mike Beaman. That’s probably 50% of the Mikes I know.
By far the coolest thing I saw in pre-race transition was a woman talking to her husband on the phone at 5:15AM EST...he had called her from Iraq. Tear jerker!
1) Bike prep – tires pumped, nutrition on, ready to go
2) Transition bags – checked in to racks, ready to go
3) Transition area study – didn’t get a chance to really check that out this year but in Ironman you can just follow the crowd or the instructions of the volunteers
4) Time to hit the water. I like to get in early then find a place to stand where my feet can touch away from the main crowd who always line up right on the marker pylons.
Swim - The Cannon Fires
As with Ironman Wisconsin I knew I wanted to start my swim wide but only about 10 yards behind the line. Despite my not being a fast swimmer I don’t like to “seed” myself in the back even if it means I will be run over by faster swimmers. The reality of Ironman is that few people are hammering the swim so you are likely to be swum around rather than over if you are a slower swimmer.
Right before the cannon went off I treaded water towards the start line and floated where my feet could not touch the bottom. I seemed to find a bit of space right behind three pink-capped ladies (all men in blue caps, women in pink this year).
National Anthem then BANG! We were off and swimming.
During IM Wisconsin I concluded that the best approach for my swimming ability is to start in a less crowded area (even if its not the shortest point to the turn) and simply swim slowly at the beginning. Will swimmers be kicking you? Yes. Will they be freaking out all around you? Yes. But just swim slow and easy with long strokes for as long as necessary. This keeps you calm, straight, and keeps the HR low. I also received what I believe to be the one of the best tips from Ironman Tommy King – swim with girls! They are smoother, generally more polite, and don’t kick you as hard. Whenever I saw a pink cap I picked her as my leader or flank. Sometimes I even found two or three in a pack and made my way next to them or behind them. I followed the plan and kept my cool and before I knew it I was at the chaos of the first turn.
While the turns on both loops of the two loop swim were crowded and hectic, I was able to stay in my freestyle stroke the whole way and just alternate my breathing side as necessary. I exited lap one at 36 minutes. Perfect! Lap two was equally uneventful other than my conscious decision to swim nearer to the pylons and take advantage of better draft. At the end of the swim I was out of the water with dead even split times and a 1:12. Another great swim start to my Ironman day!
Transition 1 – Weather “Issue”?
After about a 300 yard run to T1, in the now pouring rain, I grabbed my bags and made a conscious decision not to enter the change tent due to the massive crowd inside. Instead I put my helmet and arm warmers on, added a gel and energy bar to my jersey, and ran with my shoes to my bike. They did make me run through the transition tent to get to my bike but I am glad I did not change in there. It was chaos!
About the time I got to my bike I remembered that the weather forecast said “30% chance of rain from 7AM-3PM then increasing to 60% for the remainder of the day, 72 degrees for a high temp”. That forecast turned into a reality of “non stop downpour from 7AM to 7PM, accumulating 3-4 inches and flooding mountain rivers, streams, and Ironman events, with a high of about 65-70 degrees”. It was unreal. You will read much more on the impact of the weather. I ran with my shoes in my hand (always do that if they are not strapped to your bike) and headed to the start line where I mounted up and headed down the short steep hill onto the course.
Bike – Feedback, Schmeedback
Uh oh. Five yards into my ride I saw a small metal dime fly off my bike. That’s funny, I’m not carrying any money. I quickly learned that it was the sensor from my wheel for my bike computer. I’m astonished that I actually saw it bouncing along the ground as I navigated a tight crowd and a downpour. I looked down to see my speed of 0.0 which meant yes, I am embarking on a 112 mile bike ride with no computer. I also chose to wear no HR monitor so my only feedback would be my watch. Well, maybe that will make me ride even better using perceived exertion and my “pass to being passed” ratio as my feedback on the course. Of course I would not really ever know how many miles I had left to ride except for a couple of signs on the course and a general idea of how far a couple turns were from the finish. And it was a two looper so I could guage my time once I got to the half way mat.
The Ironman USA course is known as one of the toughest bike courses in the Ironman series. That, combined with its history, location, and picturesque swim make it high demand as a destination Ironman. I began to realize this a few ways - some obvious, some not. First, this Ironman seems to have fewer first timers and fewer seemingly less fit body types competing. Everyone seemed jacked and had huge, pedal busting quads. Then the obvious – drive the course in a car and prepare to panic. Finally, every piece of advice for this course says "don't go hard on the first bike lap or you will pay dearly"...
Once I got out on the main course it was a couple miles of solid uphill towards the giant downhill towards Keane. The course was very, very crowded with the racing cyclists at this point. Right away after the uphill comes the long downhill (several miles) everyone talks about. Speeds over 50mph are common and it lasts about 15 minutes. As I crested the last hill after the olympic traning center I prepared for the big descent. It was pouring rain at this point and the roads were far from smooth so puddles were everywhere. I took the descent moderately fast riding well within my limits - but noticed I had very little braking power so I ended up riding the brakes a bit out of concern for possible trouble ahead. Several bikes passed me going at least 5-8mph faster than I was. I did pass a few on the downhill and of course screamed "on your left" as loud as I could as I cruised downhill at an estimated 40mph with my brakes partly compressed. Once getting to the bottom and turning onto about 10 miles of relative flat on the way to the town of Jay I noticed that my legs were cold and I couldn't really feel them. That seemed like a good thing as I was hammering right along past many riders. The rest of the first loop went by fairly uneventful other than it was clearly a difficult course with some serious uphill sections followed by some flats where the invitation to hammer was hard to resist. All said, on lap one I estimate I passed 4 cyclists for every one that passed me.
Once I got back to town I was able to get a time check on my watch, which was my only source of performance feedback. It showed a 2:45 first loop! Wow! I was still feeling great as I passed my family who was toughing out the weather (still pouring rain) to cheer for me as I sped by. At this point I was feeling so good that I even had delusions of granduer and an even bike split between the two loops. As it turns out that was delusional thought.
Upon starting the second loop (still pouring rain) I had great luck with the first set of hills and I positively crushed the downhill since the field had spread out and I had more room to cruise at higher speeds. I passed about 6 for every one that passed me at this point and for the remainder of the second loop. I did fade a bit around mile 95 but by that time I could feel the finish ahead. I could see others really struggling. While I stood up to stretch it appeared others were standing up just to crawl their way up the final hills. I took this as a good sign but also noticed that another 2:45 lap was out of reach. However, I knew that I was having a great bike day and that I would have some juice left for the run.
One highlight of the bike was that I never missed a water or food grab from a volunteer. My "hand to eye grip skills" were so good at about 15-18mph I even grabbed a water and a gel in the same hand from two different volunteers at one aid station. This may have been the highlight of the whole race as I spent the next five minutes telling myself how great I was for that feat of athletic talent.
I passed the "family corner" again and, sure enough, the whole gang was still cheering in the soaking rain as I sped by. They were troopers! Then I hit the dismount line and jumped off my bike. Time on bike 5:42. 11 minutes slower on second lap. Still solid!
Transition 2
After a quick grab of the bag a volunteer steered me towards the tent. Of course it was still raining hard. I looked in the tent and all I could see was fog. So I chose to change into my running gear outside. But then they made me run through the tent and it was like finding your way in the dark. I could hardly move as athletes went all different directions trying to find change space and the exit door. My decision to change outside was a very good one.
Run - ouch
I can't think of much to say here other than from about mile 7 I knew the run was going to hurt. I had great speed and turnover coming out of T2 and for the first leg of what is a double out and back run. After mile 7 I slowed slightly then by mile 13 I slowed fairly dramatically. I was pretty excited at the turn with a time of 1:44. That had me on pace for a sub-3:30 but I knew that was not a reality today. My mission from here was to keep my legs moving as fast as I could and keep consuming liquids and food. I was able to see my friends on the road and Margo even shouted out some uplifting info about my pursuit of others we knew. Oh, and I passed Desiree Ficker during the second half of the run! Granted, she was having a bad day, but she is generally known as a great runner so I was fired up about that...but strangely sad for how hard her day must have been.
Here are a few run details:
1) Walked three aid stations for the first time ever
2) Ate soup on the run for the first time ever
3) Rec'd a lot of compliments from spectators about my turnover and form - that helped keep me running strong from an efficiency standpoint
4) The hills were short, sharp and brutal. Never walked but certainly shuffled on the second lap
I knew I was going to finish running, not walking. It was just a matter of how strong my run would be at the finish. As I came to the final mile I was able to pick it up a bit for the finishing chute. I crossed with a smile, but with hurting legs, at 3:40 run and 10:44 overall time. Solid!
The Finish
One of the best parts of Ironman is the finish. Its great because you finish of course. But its also great because you get your own personal volunteer assistant for as long as you want her/him. They seemed to be taking about 1 of every 3 people into the medical tent as I crossed the line. My assistant recognized that I was in pretty good shape after a short conversation so I asked her to grab me a coke. Unfortunately I then lost her in the crowd so I headed to the food tent to two pieces of pizza, two cokes, and some cookies. Then I began to about freeze in the rain and falling temperature. Luckily about that time I spotted my father in law and son Travis looking for me. They quickly whisked me away to the rest of the family where I declared, in the rain, I wanted a hot shower. So we took off, went home, then came back later for some more festivities. I did not see the midnight finishers this year unfortunately. It had to be a brutal day for them in the rain for as much as 17 hours.
Nutrition
Pre-race
Breakfast of oatmeal, coffee, and Muscle Milk protein shake
Pre-race half bottle gatorade endurance, one caffeine gel
Swim
None
Bike
One Optima bar eaten between miles 50-70
Equivalent of 6-8 gels eaten along the way
Half bottle of carbo pro
One bottle Gatorade Endurance
Four bottles water
Run
10-12 half cups cola
6-8 half cups water
6-8 half cups gatorade endurance
3-4 cups chicken broth
12-20 mini pretzels
4 cookies
1 piece watermelon
2 orange slices
No use of special needs bags
Kona
Not even close. While I was 200th overall out of 2400, I was 43 out of almost 390 in my age group. By my calculations I would have had to be about 20-30 minutes faster to get a slot. "Qualify for Kona" may have to fall off the bucket list...
Thanks
Thank you to my family. My wife Heather, my kids Travis, Olivia, and Madison. You put up with my passion to compete in my second Ironman. Only one more this year then a year off!
Thank you to my mother and father in law. They were incredibly supportive and made the pre-race time very easy on me. And they never got tired of bad weather or a seemingly lazy son in law.
Thanks to my parents and my friends who have supported my during my training and those who checked up on me during and after the race. Special thanks to my November 140.6 buddy John Wilkins.
Thanks to my coach, Roch Frey and thanks to coach Lance Leo for cheering me on while I was on the course.
Stats:
Swim 1:12:41, 1057/2340 overall, 203/386 in age group
Bike 5:42:14, 19.6mph average, 379/2340, 80/386
Run 3:40:04, 8:23/mi avg, 200/2340, 43/386
Total time 10:44:52, 200/2340, 43/386
Swim: 50th percentile in age group, top 45% overall
Bike: top 20% in age group, top 16% overall
Run: top 11% in age group, top 8% overall
Total: top 11% in age group, top 8% overall
Congratulations to all competitors, especially those I know, and thank you to the fantastic volunteers and fans! A great event!!!!!
ML
posted by Lucky at 9:39 AM
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