Ironman U.S. Championship - TriathlonFull Ironman

One of those swims where you work hard, look up, and can't believe you're almost finished. I swear I thought my watch was broken or I had missed a turn (tough to do on a straight line course). The current definitely got stronger as the swim went on and by the end it felt like I was darting through the water. I did find myself drifting from side to side, but that might have been the current and not necessarily a flaw in my stroke. In any event, the swim was so fast that it seemed like almost everyone finished at around the same time.

Despite the race organizers claims that there would be no appreciable difference in the current between early starters and late starters, the current definitely picked up later in the race. If I had it to do over again, I probably would have started later. Also, I definitely spent too much time swim training for this race (consistently 2 or 3 times a week for almost 2 years). Yes, I'm a better swimmer than at Lake Placid (1:18) but I probably only saved myself a minute or two with all of that swim training (the current was that strong).

Never saw the wetsuit strippers. Jogged (not ran) over to the gear bags and transition tent and got changed. Made sure to put sunscreen on (it was a life saver at Lake Placid) and headed over to my bike. Unracked it myself and headed over to the starting line.

Tough day on the bike. Started off well enough. I felt good and was riding well. The course was a bit crowded at the start. For whatever reason, the aid stations didn't seem ready or prepared. I couldn't get any sports drink at the first two aid stations. At the next couple of aid stations, I noticed that the bottles of sports drink weren't openned. I tried to open them but wound up unscrewing the cap (not the sport bottle hole). Made a big mess and led to my biggest mistake of the day. At about mile 40, I took a bottle of sports drink, again noticed it wasn't open, tried to open it to no avail, and then (stupidly) tried to unscrew the entire cap and pour it into my aero drink. Rolled into the rumble strips at the side of the road and went down. Scraped up my arm and leg and did something to my ribs (as I write this over two weeks later, the road rash has mostly healed and my ribs still ache). Got back on the bike and finished up the bike as best I could, achy but still in one piece.

Be more careful and not try to ride a bike and play bartender.

Uneventful transition. Bike shoes to running shoes, helmet off. Kept the same shorts and top on for the entire race and, as a surprise to even me, it worked. Took a good look at my road rash and decided that I was going to get it cleaned up after the race.

And this, as they say, is where our story takes a turn for the worse. I expected a hilly run course. The run course I headed out onto really threw me for a loop. The starting uphill and then the big uphills that followed it (I think one was called Dykeman Hill) really took the wind out of my sails. It hurt when I tried to breathe too hard (from the fall on the bike) and my arm was hurting. I tried to walk the uphills and jog the downhills. I kept thinking that the hilly part of the course would be over soon (and certainly by the time we crossed the bridge to New York). It never seemed to get flat. The entire New Jersey portion was just one hill after another. The bridge was a nice change (and I managed to run most of the way across it). The stairs were no big deal. Once I got over to the New York side, I was glad to be there, and was thinking that the hilly parts were behind me. I was wrong. The course was still hilly and I struggled to keep moving. We ran through parks with families having barbecues and playing softball games, unaware of the presence of an Ironman race. It began getting later and later and harder to see the course. I made it to the park with the finish and there were even more hilly switchbacks (who designs a course like this?). Saw my wife (she volunteered) and she gave me some encouragement (thank you). Made my way to the finish and the best part of the day. I'm not sure why, but Mike Reilly stopped me right before the finish. He said, "Matthew, these people have something they want to say to you" and then led the crowd in a loud "MATTHEW YOU ARE AN IRONMAN". I crossed the line with a big smile on my face. Awesome end to a long tough day.

I should have known more about the course. Once the hills started going up and up, I should have been better prepared for this type of race. I have no one to blame but myself but I think this will keep me away from doing any more first time events.

Met up with my wife, got my swag and headed over to the medical tent to get my road rash cleaned up. After that, sat down, had a slice of pizza and a drink. We then went up to the bleachers to check out some of the later finishers. I was surprised that there weren't too many spectators at the finish line (and hardly any other finishers). The microphones were off by that point and it was weird to see people finishing an Ironman with no music or You Are An Ironman pronouncements, just the cheering of the crowd (which was enthusiastic). We went back to the hotel, I got cleaned up, had a snack and called it a night around midnight. A pretty eventful 22 hour day.


My fitness just isn't there for an Ironman. I can finish and I do pretty well (relatively) in the swim and bike but I can't keep it together on the run. I think I need to focus on running for some time before I try another Ironman, if I don't want another race like this. That and the fact that I busted up my arm and ribs.


This race has come under a lot of criticism, some of it justified, some not so much. For me, I found it well organized (the ferries all left on time and everything was where it was supposed to be) and I applaud the organizers for even managing to hold this event. All the more so that it was in and around New York City with, from what I could tell, just about zero community or city support (no interest by NYC residents or officials). That said, there were issues with this race that could have been disclosed better beforehand (the logistics of taking multiple ferries and an insanely early start to a long day) and that just come with a race in NYC (sewage leaks). I'm glad I did the race but I would not do it again.