Beach 2 Battleship Iron Distance - TriathlonFull Ironman

First mass start for me. Wasn’t really sure where to position myself but ended up thinking if I was in the front then I wouldn’t have to worry about anyone ahead of me, at least at the very beginning. We started right at the edge of the water so I just took a few steps then dove in and started swimming. There was some bumping but I’ve had more contact in wave starts, so it was a fairly clean beginning. Made the first turn at the buoy and headed up the channel. Didn’t need to sight much as people were around you pretty much the whole way. I was wearing a sleeveless wetsuit, no gloves, cap or booties as many had talked about but I felt relatively comfortable. My left hand got cold and felt crampy after the turn. It was difficult to keep my fingers straight, did some ‘fist drills’ for a while and just pushed through it. Never did see the wiggley man.

Consider some of the extras like gloves, booties etc.

18/81

Exited the water and saw the my time was about 10 minutes slower than expected. I figured it was the tide, or lack to favorable tide. Decided not to use the strippers and kept the wetsuit on for warmth. The run to the transition area was about 400 yards. Running on the asphalt portions was uncomfortable and probably where booties would have helped the most. The crowds on the final part of the run up were loud and great, although I couldn’t see much with the morning sun. Grabbed my bag and made a quick stop at the portojohn to pee. Went into the tent and started changing. Did a complete change with new shorts. It was surprisingly difficult to put my cloths due to cold hands. I couldn’t really move my thumbs but managed to slowly get things together and headed out.

I wasn’t sure if I would get to see my family at T1 but was pleasantly surprised when I saw my wife and two little boys at the bike mount. Managing toddlers in that environment is more challenging than racing, so I wasn’t sure if they would make it. I was happy to see them.


nothing.

The bike started smooth. Took it easy around the turns at the beginning. Did not put the gloves on. I didn’t want to risk losing a good grip on the bike. Didn’t take any fluid until about 30 minutes. Stomach was a little tight but nothing too bad. Had some gas but felt good otherwise. Started to drink Gatorade and took in more than training centuries so I should have brought more. I carried two powerbar Gelblast packages and a powerbar. Started the first gelblasts taking 2 at a time every 20 minutes or so. Felt like I was working against the wind but kept a steady pace. Didn’t stop at the special needs stop (mile 51) as I didn’t need anything and wanted to keep moving. I wanted to make to the next aid station (mile 68) before stopping but had to pee too bad to I stopped on the side and went to the trees. Probably the most uncomfortable part of the bike and I should have just stopped to pee earlier. This stop was about mile 65 and had the power bar then too. Stopped again at the aid station about mile 86 and peed again. It felt like downhill from there with a terrific tailwind. I took my last gelblasts at about mile 95, so at that point I was out of the nutrition I brought with me. I made a mental note but felt fine and kept going. I picked up a bottle of heed at the 100 mile aid station. It was watered down and tasted terrible so I didn’t drink much of it. Part of my downfall in this race was I didn’t like Heed and failed to have a good substitute plan. Made it into town and was surprised at all the traffic. Toward the end, I was riding on the shoulder right next to the stopped traffic. I was worried someone would open their door or I would run over some glass. The final stretch to the battleship was congested but the volunteers did well to direct me to the bike finish. All in all, I felt great about the bike. I had made up the time I felt like I lost in the swim while keeping a steady pace. I was able to stay comfortably in aero the whole way with no remarkable saddle soreness. Average HR was 128 for the ride.

take time to use the rest room and take on more nutrition for ironman distance.

50/81

Grabbed my bag and did a complete change again. Ate a powerbar I had in my bag knowing I needed more calories. Saw my family again outside the tent. Gave my little boy my empty heed bottle and, to my surprise, he gave me a piece of candy. I tucked it into my shorts not knowing how much it would mean later.

a little slow here but considering I did another full change and took nutrition and said hi to the family, I have no complaints.

I felt great starting out. It was an exciting time and my legs felt fresh. I was ‘just jogging along’ and remember saying to myself, “slowdown… if you want to run fast, do it after mile 20”. First two aid stations I walked and took only water. At this point, I didn’t want to take on much nutrition as I felt like it might upset my stomach and cause problems later… mistake. I remember reading race reports and GI problems and having to stop at every portojohn on the way. I didn’t want to end up that way so I didn’t eat or drink much… which was a major execution error as I would soon learn. Took some pepsi at mile 3 and still felt good. Took a few gelblast between mile 3 and 6 figuring I needed to take in something. Was running about 10 minute miles and reached the turn (6 miles) about 1 hour into the run. I figured one 10k was done and 3 more to go. Started taking a few more walking breaks, between mile 7 and 8 and remember thinking I might need to adopt a walk run strategy. After mile 9 and before mile 10 something happened, I felt weaker and then before mile 11, I felt woozy and weak. It didn’t take long to figure out I blew it on nutrition. I went downhill so fast, I was seriously questioning my ability to finish which was very sobering. From here on out, it is difficult to describe how I felt. I wasn’t fighting against leg pain, cramps, stomach pain, GI, or even the internal voice that said don’t stop running. I expected all these things but never expected just a pure fight to just to keep moving. I kept asking myself, “what is so hard about just walking?”. But even walking fast was difficult. I had a strong sense that if I stopped moving forward then I wouldn’t be able to start again and my ironman dreams were done. The best way I can describe it is as being on “the edge”. Sort of like the edge you feel when you have a bad cold or the flu and any movement could cause something bad. I started to try to take on nutrition… chicken broth became available and started eating oranges and pretzels. I ran out between aid stations to found my powergels and the candy my son gave me, priceless. Moving toward the turn around point (13), I knew I couldn’t stop long at special needs or I was done. I grabbed my long sleeve, another power bar and my pill/blister bag and left. I made it to the mile 14 aid station and had to stop for a few minutes I felt so bad. I knelled down and pretended to sort through my pill bag for about 5 minutes. Volunteers asked is I was doing ok and I lied and said yes and was just getting something out of my little bag.

I didn’t feel any better after about five minutes, so I decided to just keep going. By now it was dark the temperature was dropping which was now becoming a bigger factor. Since I wasn’t running, I started to get cold since I didn’t plan on needing more clothes. Somehow I plugged through the next 3 miles through the city. The cheering was great but I just needed to keep my head down and keep moving. Each aid station I picked up a cup of chicken broth and a hand full of oranges. Together, they kept me going until the next aid station. As I made it to the park about mile 17, I started to feel s slightly better with the nutrition I’d been able to get down. I even was able to bring my head up and look around some and thank the volunteers. I made to the final turnaround and just kept moving. Shortly after the turnaround, the slightly better turned to slightly worse. Now I was very cold which started to affect my well being. I was still ‘on the edge’ trying to keep moving. I made it to the start of town and was approached by a volunteer, who had a very scary walkie talkie. He asked if I was ok and I lied again… just said I was cold and kept moving. It was a long lonely walk over the bridges with my broth and oranges in hand. The broth was starting to get less attractive by now but eating the oranges seemed to take my senses off everything else I felt better when I was eating them. I reached the final aid station and took my normal broth and oranges. This time however, I held the broth cup up to my mouth and kept it there for a moment. The warmth felt good so I held the cup there and breathed the warmer air. Funny but I kept the cup up to my mouth the entire last mile… to just couple hundred yards short of the finish line. It helped keep me warm and focused.

I trotted the last 10 yards no longer worried about going ‘over the edge’ because I figured I could crawl from there. I cross the line and saw the family. I apologized for taking so damn long as they were cold and tired too. There wasn’t the elation I had thought I would experience at the end of an Ironman. More relief and disappointment for not executing and being able to fight or run to the end.


manage pace and nutrition better.

I got the medal and gave it to my little boy. After a few moments at the finish line, we went to the warming tent which was great. There was no thoughts of beer or pizza even if there was any left… just get warm and get home. Waiting for the ferry was cold again but we made it back to the hotel. I took a hot bath with my boys and we crashed. I wasn’t able to eat anything or celebrate, just drank some water before falling asleep with the family.


execution


A well organized and fun event.