Ironman Start and Swim 2.4 miles
The ocean was a bit rough like it was 2-days prior during a training swim. Well, so be it. I was in the thick of it with nearly 3000 other athletes. It was like a salty washing machine of arms and legs. My feet were scratched, people were riding up on my back and I only got hit in the face one time and not too bad. This is all pretty normal for me since my age group is typically the largest during age group swims. And Men 30-44 are always the biggest groups. I have 2 seasons before I age-up. As you may recall, my goal was 1:15 +/- 10 min and I swam the 2.4 miles in 1:15. Perfect!
The ocean was a bit rough like it was 2-days prior during a training swim. Well, so be it. I was in the thick of it with nearly 3000 other athletes. It was like a salty washing machine of arms and legs. My feet were scratched, people were riding up on my back and I only got hit in the face one time and not too bad. This is all pretty normal for me since my age group is typically the largest during age group swims. And Men 30-44 are always the biggest groups. I have 2 seasons before I age-up. As you may recall, my goal was 1:15 +/- 10 min and I swam the 2.4 miles in 1:15. Perfect!
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Swim to Bike
T1 was planned at 6min but with all the running on beach, thru transition, into building, changing, sunscreen, out of building, thru transition again and on bike I'm pretty happy with my 11 min. Plus, I drank 20 oz and ate a Cliff Bar. Getting on the bike I saw my support couple Laura and Eric which was so cool!
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Bike 112 miles
I tried to chill and not go too hard. I won't bore you with the 112 mile details but my goal was 6 hours +/- 30 min. My dream goal was to average 20 mph as that is what I have averaged for the past several years in shorter races. And let me just say, this pace is nothing to sneeze at. Well, I totally hit my goal! I avg. 19.97 mph (I'll round up) and that included stopping for 1-2 min after a bee flew in my helmet and stung me at around mile 60. Oh, the 112 miles took me 5h 36m. AWESOME!
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Bike to Run
T2 is traditionally faster as you don't have to deal with a wetsuit and there is less gear. I hit my 6 min goal, exactly! (How do I do that????) This included getting sunscreened, again, and drinking another 20 oz. and a cliff bar. I was starting the marathon just after 2 p.m. (the heat of the day and the hottest day of the week) and I was hoping to begin by 3 p.m. Score, I'm doing great!
T2 is traditionally faster as you don't have to deal with a wetsuit and there is less gear. I hit my 6 min goal, exactly! (How do I do that????) This included getting sunscreened, again, and drinking another 20 oz. and a cliff bar. I was starting the marathon just after 2 p.m. (the heat of the day and the hottest day of the week) and I was hoping to begin by 3 p.m. Score, I'm doing great!
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Run 26.2 miles
Running my first Marathon (26.2 miles) I really wasn't too worried. My training was solid and I peed 5x on the bike. (Yes, we triathletes are graphic and shameless.... I peed in my shorts.) So, I figured I was in good shape. I started the run slowly, as planned. Based on training I figured I could go 4h 20m +/- 20min but I really just didn't want to go over 5h which is an 11:30 min/mile pace. Well, the first half went according to plan but I was starting to feel the dehydration setting in around mile 12. I got my 20 oz Gatorade at the halfway point and started drinking more. It took a while to finish it and by this time I was starting to walk/run or just run much slower. Thankfully, I have 11 years of racing experience and I know how to push forward. My head was always in the race but my quads were rocking out (lack of fluids) and my stomach was a bit sour (again, dehydration). Well, I managed the 3rd quarter pretty well and forced myself to pee (port-a-potty this time). I hadn't peed since the bike so that's not good for me. I wanted to finish strong and once I made it to the final turn-around I pushed the final 6 miles to the finish line. My plan was run hard and walk when I needed to. I simply ignored the pain and pushed until I thought I might puke. This worked well and I passed a lot of people in those final 6 miles. My marathon took 5h 8min but that's fine.
The Finish Line 140.6 miles completed
My dream goal was to finish in under 12 hours (more like 11h 47m). My realistic goal was 12:30 - 14 hrs. I crossed the finish line in 12h 17m 18s. This was a great race for me!!!!! I almost couldn't believe it.
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Post-Race
Well, it's a funny situation, once you stop moving after working hard for so long. Your body does weird things. Well, mine really doesn't like dehydration and it started to set in. I went to our meeting place and started to get water in me. But I really wasn't getting in much or fast enough. I was light-headed, sour stomach and my hands were tingling. I've had this once before and I needed 2L of IV fluids. (This was after running a 10 mi race with the Thanksgiving flu half the family got from my nephew.) I told Laura and Eric I should probably go to medical and Eric was a trooper putting my sweaty, stinky arm around him for support. After about 1.5-2 hrs I drank 4 cups of chicken broth (yum) and some water and a tiny bit of banana. It wasn't enough and they decided to IV me. Yea!!!! I got 2 bags of IV fluids, felt much better and was ready to drink and eat on my own.
Well, it's a funny situation, once you stop moving after working hard for so long. Your body does weird things. Well, mine really doesn't like dehydration and it started to set in. I went to our meeting place and started to get water in me. But I really wasn't getting in much or fast enough. I was light-headed, sour stomach and my hands were tingling. I've had this once before and I needed 2L of IV fluids. (This was after running a 10 mi race with the Thanksgiving flu half the family got from my nephew.) I told Laura and Eric I should probably go to medical and Eric was a trooper putting my sweaty, stinky arm around him for support. After about 1.5-2 hrs I drank 4 cups of chicken broth (yum) and some water and a tiny bit of banana. It wasn't enough and they decided to IV me. Yea!!!! I got 2 bags of IV fluids, felt much better and was ready to drink and eat on my own.
Laura and Eric had already picked up my bike and gear (athletes are given 2 tickets for just such an occasion, when you can't do it yourself) and we walked the 15 min back to the condo. I was feeling so much better and was able to drink, eat and shower before going to bed.
The Future
My current plans are to not race in 2013 but I think I'll be volunteering at many triathlons. I just can't say enough about the volunteers and especially those at an Ironman distance race. They are simply the most amazing people, EVER! 2012 has been an amazing and enlightening year for me and more is to come. I'm really excited about my next project and cutting way back on training... but I'll never stop.
Thanks again to all of you and if you if you want more details or are interested in training for a triathlon please let me know how I can help. Afterall, I am an Ironman!
Ps. First task when I get home is to get the M-Dot tattoo! Completed!
Nice! That's a crazy amount of exercise but it looks like you trained well and aced it. I liked the description of swimming in the ocean because I wondered what that felt like.
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