Ford Ironman St. George - Triathlon

Training: Training in central Indiana for an early May Ironman isn’t ideal and was probably the hardest part of the whole event. I ran a lot of long runs in single digits on sheets of snow and ice. I had to do a lot of my early bike training indoors as well which, in my opinion, is completely mind numbing. As soon as the thermometer was consistently over 35F I was riding outdoors. I finished more than a few rides with numb feet and hands. I found that the hills in southern Indiana’s Brown County State Park more than adequately prepared me for the ascent to Veyo. The good thing for me, considering the weather, is that I do not follow a training schedule. I would do whatever the weather allowed when I had time to work out. If it was raining or snowing, I ran. If it was slightly warmer and clear, I biked. I also was able to sneak a quick trip out to St. George about a month before the race to preview the course and find some warm weather for a 100 mile training ride. That was a big help.

Raceday: I’m a calm person most of the time, but the day before the race I was anxious. Once I had my bike and race bags all delivered to the transitions I felt a lot better and got decent sleep considering what I had in front of me the next day. I woke up race day morning at 3am. I had a little to eat and drink, got my stuff together, and headed for the shuttles. I’m pretty sure I was on the first bus out to Sand Hollow. That was nice because I had plenty of time to get my tires pumped and stuff together before it got really crowded. After I suited up I met up with my wife. I was glad she decided to come watch the start of the race. I gave her a quick hug and kiss and headed towards the water.

I think this is the biggest flaw in the organization of the race, getting everyone into the water. They didn’t start letting age-groupers in the water until the pros went at 6:45. I was in the back half of people trying to get into the water and after pushing my way through some people milling around outside the water I barely made it into the reservoir and to the start line before the race started.

I don’t consider myself much of a swimmer (back and forth in a pool = boring), but had a 1:12:15 swim time. This is a really good time for me. I thought the swim was pleasant. Sure there was some jostling at the start of the race and going around the buoys, but that was to be expected. I thought the water temperature was perfect. My average heart-rate during the swim was around 141 bpm.

5 minute transition, there is not much to talk about here. I sprayed on some SPF 100, and then had the volunteers rub on whatever they were using for good measure. I figured I couldn’t get enough sunscreen.

The bike course was hard, but I tried to conserve myself as much as possible for the marathon. I never really felt spent, even going up the larger hills. The worst part for me was the aching in my back, neck, and shoulders. I hadn’t done enough long rides in the full aero position. I could barely keep my head up for the last hour of the ride. I was just uncomfortable. The best decision I made on the bike was to stop eating GU’s and Ironman Perform after the first hour or so of the ride. That stuff wasn’t sitting well. I switched to bananas and electrolyte/salt pills with water and felt a lot better. I drank lots of water, had to make two pit stops. I finished with a 17.8 mph pace (6:18:08 overall time). My average heart-rate on the bike was 135 bpm. I maybe could have pushed myself a little harder, but was happy with this time.

Another 5 minute transition, I added two more layers of sunscreen. My body hasn’t seen sun yet this year, because there isn’t much of it in Indiana in the winter and spring.

I knew from my past Ironman experience and from my training weekend in St. George that the marathon was going to be a complete bear. My main goal for the day was to not listen to the demons that I knew would be telling me to stop running and walk. I knew I would get past the swim and bike (barring mechanical problems), but I wanted to run the entire course no matter how slow, except for the aid stations to make sure I got in enough fluids and calories. The first loop of the course went fine, but by the second loop of the course the demons were really screaming loudly. I do a lot of my miles on trails and running on the pavement was killing my feet. So I had that to deal with too. I finally figured out that it felt a lot better for me to run in the gravel on the side of the road. If anyone saw a guy running over in the gravel it was probably me.
I’ve ran 4 marathons in my life (counting the marathon in the 2007 IM Louisville) and nothing is more demoralizing for me than having to walk miles of them at a time. My 3:10 marathon back in 2008 being the only one I didn’t get to that point. I wasn’t nearly that fast here, but I never walked anything more than the aid stations and that felt really good. The sun and heat didn’t bother me much. I was wearing layers upon layers of sunscreen and I just kept throwing ice down my shirt and into the pouches in my jersey. That kept me pretty cool. It felt much cooler than Louisville in 2007 which was 93F and nearly 100% humidity. The low humidity was huge. I finished the marathon in 4:34:34 (10:28/mile), but for this course with all those hills I think that is pretty good. My average heart-rate on the run was 135 bpm.

My overall time was 12:14:57, exactly 15 minutes faster than IM Louisville 2007. I’ll get under 12 hours one of these days. My overall average heart-rate was 135 bpm. I felt good after the race, as good as can be expected anyway. I spent some time celebrating with my family and taking pictures, eating a little. It was hard to get up after sitting down, but I wasn’t dehydrated or sick. I was really cold once I stopped, shivering actually, but the space blanket helped with that. I was mainly just tired. I went back to the hotel, showered, put on compression socks, iced my legs, and relaxed. I was glad that I finished in a decent time and that I wasn’t still out on the course.

The next big adventure for me is the baby we have on the way. I told my wife that I’m going to treat Ironmans like the Olympics. I’ll do one every four years. I did 2007 and 2011, next up 2015. We’ll see…