Ironman Kansas 70.3 - Triathlon1/2 Ironman

Apparently the course was a little long according to the pros' times, as well as people I talked to post-race. My time was longer than I expected, but it also includes anywhere from a 150 [original distance per RD] to 300 yard run to transition around Clinton Lake Jr. that had formed between the beach and the transition area. Lisa said she took about 2 min. from water exit to transition entrance so that would give me about a 1:55/100 pace for the actual swim portion.

Started out kind of slow because everybody seemed to be bottlenecked. Don't know what the deal was. Also, at about 150-200 yards out I see this leg whipping around to my left. Head up and see that some guy with no wetsuit is breast stroking in the middle of the bedlam. Not sure if it was a reactionary measure or if that's his faster stroke, but he was holding up traffic and it was tricky getting around him without getting walloped. After that I was pretty much in my own little world. Nobody for 5 yards to my left, right, or front. Didn't want to look behind me and see how many people there weren't! Caught up to some pink caps [previous wave] about halfway to the first buoy, then caught the next color [white or silver, don't remember] after rounding the buoy. Turned the corner on the second buoy to head for home and the sun was right where I knew it would be - on my proficient breathing side RIGHT IN MY EYES. Buh. I tried keeping my eyes closed when breathing for a while, tried breathing left for a while, then the clouds came and covered it so I could breathe normally again. About 150 yards from shore something whacked me on top of the head. I thought I was going to have to get scrappy with another breast stroker but when I pulled my head up it was about a 3" diameter by 3 foot LOG in the water! What the deuce?! Did nine waves seriously just pass this unscathed? I shouted to the kayaker 10 yards away "Hey buddy!" and held it up for him to see. He paddled over as I swam to him and we both had to wait for another swimmer to go by before I could give it to him.

Turns out that other swimmer was Jason! I pulled up beside him [before the race he told me he breathed to the left so I came up on his left] and started grinning at him as we were swimming. Seeing his face on each breath go from "What the heck does this guy want?" to "Get away from me, weirdo!" to "Hey, it's Brian!" We had a little conversation as we were swimming, seeing how each was doing and whatnot. When we got out of the water he said "Let's go across at the same time." I thought that was pretty cool! Here's a guy who has a legitimate shot at Clearwater [though he didn't believe he did] and he wants to wait for me so we can cross together! Awesome guy. We took off toward transition and immediately I got a HUGE monster cramp in my right calf. I told Jason and he said "You just gotta get it moving." and I was like "What the deuce?!" But I ran through it anyway. When we stopped to take off our wetsuits the rest of the way I looked down and my calf had a huge indentation in it like some invisible person was taking their thumb and pressing it through my calf into my bone. I was having trouble with my suit on the other foot until I stepped on it and it came right off.

Focus on form more. Took about 500 yards before I got my senses about me to start my front-quadrant swimming. Didn't force my pull or anything - I still had 6+ hours after the swim to force things!] but then got distracted with the sun and trying to enjoy the event. At one point I floated on my back and just tried to take in everything, watching everyone swimming and remembering how much I love this sport and thinking about how hard I'd worked to get where I was. I'd maybe get some more OWS in before the race too, because I think all the sighting caused my neck to be hurting late into the bike.

Ran with and jumped onto my bike past the mount line. I noticed many of my comrades were not doing that and taking their sweet time getting onto their bikes, including Jason. All in all a good transition.

Get a waterproof heart rate strap to wear under the wetsuit. Also one of my pedal straps [I don't have clipless pedals] had come completely out of the clasp so I stopped at that first left turn [500 Road I think] to fix it. That cost me maybe 20-30 seconds. Also I forgot to put on my race belt so I put that on while riding. How come it's so much easier to ride with no hands on the trainer as compared to riding with no hands on the road? I digress.

Started the bike on a bad foot, had to stop and get my pedal strapped in. Also had to put my race belt on while riding and that made me nervous a little bit. Got out to the cross and planned on coasting all the downhills on the first segment down to 14mph before pedaling, just to make sure I didn't push too hard on the bike and leave nothing left for the run. That went fine and I ended up doing that all the way until the way in from the second segment, since the wind was at my back. Couldn't coast on the third segment on the way out because of the wind, and didn't want to on the way back, again because of the wind.

Ate a gel right after I turned right on the first segment of the cross, washed it down with some water. Drank my whole bottle of gatorade on the first segment so I filled up at the aid station on the beast hill. Stopped at the port-o-potty and went pee [wasn't smart like Lisa and didn't go in my suit]. Probably cost me 35 seconds or less. Crested the hill and saw a helicopter circling the cross. I was wondering what in the world was going on, if he was going to try to land in the cross or what. Apparently he was, and he was picking up VeganMan. I wouldn't find that out until later though.

Starting the second segment I took another gel and washed with water. I was climbing a good hill and chatting with a lady who had moved to KS from TN and was doing her second half. That was all I got before the official came up and warned us that we couldn't ride side-by-side, we had to pass or fall back so I took off down the hill. Also, I ran out of fluid and had to go dry for about 10-15 min. before I got to the aid station along the third segment, just south of the cross. I think that station could have been better placed before the cross on that somewhat flat part of the second segment. At least it would have helped me out! And it wouldn't have been so close to that next one on the third segment. I filled up both my water and gatorade at the second aid station. Those took me through the third segment and I caught the aid station on the way back. Total for the ride: 5.5 to 6 bottles of fluid. I'm kind of a heavy sweater.

On the third segment I was able to chat with this woman who had a really neat looking bike - all decked out with blue frame, bar tape, and wheels, as well as her top was a matching blue. I tried to go with red shoes, red bike, red top, and red helmet, but they weren't matching at all. Anyway, turns out she was the lady I saw right out of the transition area CRYING HER EYES OUT! I remembered thinking "What in the world is going on? Why isn't there a bike tech helping her?" Turns out she got one of the bike mechanics to help her out, I never did understand what her problem was but she ended up having two tubes in her tire, one to protect the other from something. She said she had a stripped something, but I wasn't sure what it was. Anyway, it seemed to be working because she caught up to me on the third leg! Also I rode by a lady and I said "This wind is just money in the bank for the way back" and she replied "Yeah, but look at my back tire." FLAT! She was out of tubes and was running 650s. I had two 700s and would have given her one without thought [I know that's not allowed, but we weren't up for any podium spots coming in at 7+]. Dunno what happened to her but she had at least 13 miles to ride on that flat tire.

Pushed it hard all the way back in on the third leg, even got into "aero", sans aero bars on one of the long downhills. My lower back was hurting and standing up wasn't really helping anymore. Brought it home at a steady pace and came in just a wee bit slower than when I did on May 4, but we also cut the course short on that day by maybe 3/4 mile. Also on May 4 I had no designs on running afterward and probably couldn't have even if I'd wanted.

I'd have done more trainer rides in the first two months of gearing up for this. I had the slowest bike avg. of everyone in my AG. Kinda disheartening, but like I told my wife - I wasn't shooting for the fastest bike split of my AG, I was shooting for a finish. Period. And I wanted to beat Lisa :)

I rode with my running shoes on, forgot my bike gloves so I didn't have to take those off, and already had my race belt on. Ran to my spot, racked my bike, took my helmet off, unloaded my c02 cartridge, shooter, and spare tube, tucked in some gels [which I didn't end up needing because they had them on the run course] and took off. My wife was surprised at how little time I spent in transition. I might have been a few seconds faster, but I got done and was like "Okay, I've got to be forgetting something." so I paused and did an Austin Powers "Spectacles, testicles, wallet, and watch" and took off on the run.

Get clipless pedals and shoes. I'd prefer the additional time in transition if it would help my bike avg even just 0.5mph. Otherwise this was a good transition.

Started off really strong, but could feel I was just outside of where I should be for this length of run. My first mile split was 9:45 but I don't know where they started the run time. I clicked my split button about 20 yards outside of the "Run Start" blow-up and when I add my run times it comes out to 66:03 total run time. I'll go by the official results here and assume they know what they're talking about. Took water and a gel at the first aid station, even though I had taken one after turning into the campground from the cross on the bike. After the next aid station I was joking around with some guys who were walking by me in their late 30s, early 40s, then once I finished my gatorade I threw my cup aside and said "Okay, enough jibber-jabber, let's get to work" and they all went silent and started running. It was pretty cool! Hope I motivated them a little bit. Saw Lisa [Lisac957] and Renee [rreischl] on their way in from the first loop on that gravel road. Then I saw Tony [Mr2Tony] coming back from the second aid station but somehow missed the goggles. What's the story on that anyway? Saw Jason along the way somewhere but don't remember where, he gave me a high five and encouraged me on. Later on I saw Tom [Climbin5414] a couple of times, then he caught me around the boat ramp area right before the steep left-hand uphill heading up toward the North campsite. He said he had 2 miles left and I told him he was looking strong [I was lying - he looked like he was falling apart]. I noticed his head was drooping so I said "Head up" and he *snapped* his head right up. Hopefully I encouraged him to keep his run form strong those last two miles.

I walked all the aid stations and tried to keep my HR under 170, that seemed to be a magic number for me. Above that and everything became more and more difficult. Came out of the first loop/campground area and ran right past the port-o-potties. Should have stopped but I was thinking about the little 4 year-old girl who gave me a high-five as I ran by. She's a future triathlete, for sure! It was cute. Ran through the second loop, the smaller one, on the north campground. Ran past Jeremy & Jeff's campers and didn't see them so I started to wonder where they were. Looked up ahead and they had been recruited as volunteers at the aid station! All of them! Jeremy, Jeff [Jeff417], Jeff's wife and his kids. I chatted with Jeremy for a second, just gave him an update on how I was feeling, then got a gatorade from Jeff's boy. He's a future triathlete for sure.

Came down the hill of the road that takes you to the beach and at the left turn toward the boat ramp I saw Jason again. He was all changed and had a backpack on. I shouted "Hey J.D.!" and he came over to run with me. I said "Are you going to pull me through the rest of this thing?" And he was like "Actually I was gonna go get my stuff out of the transition area." He ran with me to the next aid station, then walked as I hydrated some more. We got across that open space and were nearing the finisher chute/second lap turn-off and a lady says "Head straight for the finish line, the race has been canceled." I go "Are you serious?" And with a very serious face she says "I'm totally serious." I look at Jason and he gave me a blank look. I'm wondering now if he knew and just didn't want to be the bearer of bad news. I went through the finisher chute, ran past the guy who was saying "Smile for the camera." I was just in total shock. I felt tricked, like I shouldn't have done that and should head back out, but everyone else had the same goofy expression on their faces so I knew it was true. I reluctantly took my finisher medal, got my chip taken off for me, and stood around just past the finish line with my wife. This girl came through and hugged who I'm assuming is her boyfriend or husband or something and just start bawling. At that point I said to my wife, "Let's get out of here, I don't need to see people crying." Not because I didn't want to see it, but because I knew I'd get caught up in the emotions and probably lose it myself.

Well if I'd have known the race would have been called I would have pushed harder so I could get out on that second loop and at least get 11 miles in like most everybody else. Otherwise there's not much I would have done differently. I didn't have a strong running base coming in because I injured myself training for a marathon last September [Plantar Fasciitis]. Came into this race on 104 miles running so I'm proud of how well I did. After 60 miles this year I came within 13 seconds of a 10K PR so apparently my biking has helped maintain most of my run fitness.

No cheers at the finish line. No name announcement. No smiling. No post-race food. No finishing kick. Only shock, confusion, resentment, anger, and sadness. Gathered all my things in my transition area and walked down to the first rack to find the guy who let me borrow his wetsuit. Couldn't find him so we waited around for a little bit. As we were getting ready to head for the car to get my cell phone and call him he comes around the corner. His goal for the race was 5:20 and after the grueling bike course he changed it to sub-6. He's an Iron vet with 5 full and Teen halfs [he wasn't sure of the count] under his belt so he knew what he was capable of but like many people that day I assume he was taken by surprise at the challenge of the course. Gave him the wetsuit back, wished him well, and made the approx. 1 mile trek back up the car. In the pouring rain. People in their cars were trying to pull out in front of us who were walking. Yeah, you are in your car drying off and you want to slow me down in the pouring rain. Thanks, friend. A lady walked by us who had a pizza box and some other misc. fruit on top of it. I go "Is that pizza?!" gape-mouthed and drooling. She said "Do you want some? It's probably soaked, and it's definitely not warm." I hadn't had solid food since approx. 3:30 AM so I was all about it. MMMMMMMMM. Got to the car and put the bike on the rack, then got in and sat down for a few minutes. Then the sun came out. Laughing at us. It felt awful.


This was my first half so I'm really pleased with how I did. Might have been able to go a little faster on the swim if I'd have focused on form a little more. Running might have been faster if I'd have run some more during training, but you gotta do what you gotta do. That about does it as far as things I can control. Hills, wind, and heat limited my ability to perform faster, but they're outside my control. Based on the pace I was running I might have had a shot at coming in sub-7 hours. My original goal was to finish, then the more I got asked "What's your goal" the more I thought "7 and a half". To come in under 7 would have been right at what I was capable of doing all three events open. My fastest 2125 swim was just over 36 min. in the pool, I did 3:41 on May 4 on the bike course, and my open half-mary last March was 2:28. Figure in transitions and I would be just a shade under 7 hours. To me that would have been quite the accomplishment on that course.


I give this race a 4.

Pros:
-PLENTY of volunteers
-PLENTY of drinks/gels
-COLD drinks
-Nice finisher shirts and medals
-lots of port-o-potties
-Good crowd support on the run

Cons:
-No shuttles to the Iron Cross which were promised
-No cleaning of the transition area or full covering with mats to protect participants' feet
-Second bike aid station was a little further out than probably necessary
-No wet suit strippers
-No clocks or people announcing time ANYWHERE
-Race was called on account of weather

All of the cons are probably standard first-run bugs that can be easily corrected for next year's event. I go round and round in my head about the race cancellation but I can't blame the RD for it. Not in America. We went to dinner Sunday night with a guy from New Zealand and he was telling us about the second marathon he ever ran continuing through a hail storm. He said they just simply don't have the same mentality that we do in America about being sued and liability and all that. I'm still upset because I have that "What if" feeling, but I won't knock this race because of that. The other things bring it down from a 5 to a 4 for me. Also the fact that so many things were changed last minute or not communicated properly is frustrating. You can download the athlete guide which states that your timing chip will be in your race packet when you pick it up. Then you drive 10 minutes outside of Lawrence, turn around and head back to the expo and get told "Oh no, you'll get those tomorrow when you check in your bike." Thanks. Same with the run course, though that was more due to logistics/weather than anything. Again, can't blame them for that.

Still on the fence as to whether I want to do this again next year. I'd be curious to see how much a camper rental would be, because camping for $18/night or however much it was seems like a really good deal, and you're right on top of the event. Just have to make your way to Lawrence for the expo and packet pickup, otherwise you're good to go on the cheap [and we like cheap!]