Baowolf's Mentor Group- Closed (Page 49)

Nope, he finished! Congrats Steve!! Well done!

14:58!!! Great job Steve! Very tough course and you rocked it!! Congratulations!

He finished!! 140.6! Done! Congrats Steve. Can not wait to hear your story!!!

Way to go, Steve!!! Congrats on a race well done. The bike sounds like it was just crushing souls all day. Awesome to see you finished, and I'm so happy to see you come back from that nasty bike spill to once again be an IM finisher!! Hope to hear from you soon.

Well, I did think 4 sounded like too many..

Great job Steve! If that's not perseverance, I don't know what is! Now it's time to sit back, rest up, and tell the story!

Incredible Job Steve!!!!!!! That was so inspiring reading all the post tracking your progress. Cant wait to read your race post!!!!!!

If watching Steve's awesome Ironman finish hasn't provided enough motivation, I have a new "strategy", at least for swimming. Looking like we may have a slab leak...water shut off to the house, plumber can't come until later today. If I want a shower, it will be in the pool locker room. Might as well swim while I'm there!

Amazing Steve! Way to persevere!!! What a course. That bike must have been brutal!!!

Way to go the distance Steve! From my perspective it seems like it was brutal, so I'm anxious to hear from you. Great job picking it up at the end. How many more until Kona now?

I've heard today the DFN rate was over 30% for this race, which is insanely high. Finishing, no matter what time, is a sign of some real intestinal fortitude.

Steve you definitely rocked it! Heard about the bus loads of DNFs and the hypothermia. Many people said they need to change it to be able to get entrants for future years. Very, very interested in your opinion.

Two guys from the local tri-club were there. One finished 10th (he's a pro) the other barely made it across before midnight. I thought to myself several times how the weather isn't very conducive to swimming, biking and running. I would've been so very cold. Steve, I hope you report in soon simply so mine and the others curiosity can be satiated! So glad you made it and that you did so well in grueling conditions. Would you do it again at the same time of year? I know what IM I'm never signing up for. Sheesh! You rock!

Just found Steve on the live video crossing the finish line. He finished strong and was smiling! He is at 8:02 on the video player timer and 15:07 on the IM clock if you wanna check it out.

Sweet! Gonna check it out!

It was actually not easy to find, so here is the link.

http://www.ironman.com/triathlon/coverage/detail.aspx?race=laketaho...

watching now....

we've become a group of very resourceful stalkers

Hey guys thanks for all the support and for tosssing my number into the thread on the general forum. So ya where to start. Warning really long long post, but from what I read yall want to know the nitty gritty of the race.

Camping... was cold at night (high 20s low 30s). We got there Friday did the check in thing went to the mandatory meeting. The meal started at 5:30, it was full dark by 7:20 and the temp had drop from 70 ish to 45 by the end of the meeting. One of the speakers was in the very first IM and finished with a time of 20 hours and some odd minutes with his fastest ever IM of 17:30 ish. The next day we had to turn in run and bike bags and put my bike in T1. I couldn't put my aero bottle on the bike because it would freeze solid overnight. We drove the complicated bike course except for the gated community where you couldn't go in past the guard. We had some downtime before church so we sat in the car and just hung out. This is Saturday and it had been raining steady since about 9:00 am (remember we are camping..). As we waited in the car for church to start it changed from rain to snow (we were at about 6100 feet elevation with the bike up at 7200 feet. Cars would drive by with 3 or 4 inches of show on them. Ya it was cold camping Saturday night with constant rain until around 3:00 am. It turns out the weather contributed towards about 200 DNS. I got up at 4:30 am and went to eat a powerbar to find it was frozen very solid. We got the kids out of bed drove down to T1 (wet roads) and T1 was complete chaos. I walked probably 1 mile+ between dropping off stuff for Special needs run, special needs bike, putting some stuff in my swim to bike transition bag (which was left outside in the rain and freezing temps all night) putting the aero bottle on the bike, getting my morning clothes (28F brr) to that dropoff and getting to the swim start. It was disconcerting to see frost on the bike seats and aerobars. The sand was not quite crunchy under my bare feet, but close too it. I just wanted to get in the water (58F ish) to warm up. I went with the sleeveless wetsuit (totally the right choice) but all the stores were out of teh swimsocks which were legal (drat). I seeded myself at the end of the 1:20-1:30 finish time groups which was about right it runs out.

So looking out over the lake (20+ miles across with mild chop 4-6 inch waves ish), seeing the mountains covered with snow, and so much fog rising off the lake that I could not see any of the bouys on the course at all, this is while standing on shore (8-10 feet above water level). While we are waiting to warm up the sand starts feeling warmer... or not as cold, ya feet going numb before the swim starts. The water was shallow so everyone wades out about 150 feet or so until we start swimming. The water was cold, but not so cold that you can't put your face in it without freaking out (for me anyway). I was one of about 3 people I saw in sleeveless wetsuits. So off we go not as crowded as the mass swim starts, but ya I had people within a couple feet of me on each side front and behind for the entire race. In Lake Tahoe you can see down like 70 feet to the bottom, so it was cool to be able to see underwater structures and to be able to see other swimmers to your left and right for a long distance. What I couldn't see were any bouys. We just swam in the direction we thought was right and sighted as we could. I had to get my head up out of the water over a foot to have a chance at seeing a bouy if I was close enough to it. So ya sighting work was pretty much useless it was all breaststroke get your head up and hope. We muddled through, finding bouys here and there and I don't think I swam too too many extra yards. With the clear water I was actually able to do a little drafting which I had been unable to do in previous IMs with little to no visibility. The water got a bit rougher the farther out and later the race went with probably 1 foot waves max. My calves cramped more on the last 1000 yards, but I just let them work their way out and kept my body position as best I could. With the sleeveless wetsuit my arms never got that really heavy noodle feeling so my pace was pretty steady the whole way. I looked at my watch on the way out of the water and was happy to be under 1:30. For me the water was alright both temp and waves but, the combination of cold water, miserable sighting and mild chop resulted in 502 DNF on the swim.

T1 was a mess. I grabbed my bag and went into the changing tent. There was no lighting at all and everyone was standing trying to find a place to put their bags down. I went all the way to the back, gave up and came outside. It was hard getting my socks, shoes, helmet on. After seeing that the temps were going to be cold I had brought a biking jacket, windproof gloves and a biking hat with a windproof layer on the front and ear covers. I had a little trouble getting the sand off my feet and socks on and then my bike was nearly the farthest from the end, so all the way from the changing tent to the farthest bike and then running the bike all the way to the mounting line (maybe 1/4 mile). When I got on the bike my hand were numb, feet numb, whole body shivering. I was thinking that I would warm up, but not so much the air temps were still low 30s and then there was the wind. I wanted to go aero, but there were a lot of bikes and lots of water drain grates in the road, manhole covers and enough misc. stuff that I wasn't feeling too comfortable, did what I could. Also my neck kind of spasming from the shivering when I went aero. So did what I could, cruized with everyone else then hit the first hill, about 1 mile at maybe a 7 to 8 percent grade, got over that and then was on to the flatter part of the course. I was cautious about going on the right side of the road outside the white line because there were some flats, bike issues etc., with people who didn't move over all that far to be fixing their bikes and again some random water drains. The start of the bike was fine and then we got to Truckee with the roundabouts and the first really steep hill (10%+). It wasn't that long but I was happy for the climbing gears as I noticed some folks struggling to turn the crank around and just knew they were pushing harder gears. Things were fine for a ways and then we hit the hills of death. The reports did not do this section justice. They were a series of maybe 10 climbs, each with slops of 10% plus with a brief recovery down, so up 300 feet down 200 feet up 200 feet down 100 feet etc up to the top. We were all just grinding the whole way up these hills at like 4-5 mph (12-14 miles of this total per lap). At mile 35 I finally got all feeling back in my hands, at mile 40 I finally stopped shivering, feet still numb. I was fine so far muscle wise. Then there after the top there were some pretty fast downhills with 20-25 mph corners thrown in and these little manhole covers everywhere for water, sewer, power etc. They were all marked, but at 30 mph on the downhill they came up quick and some got in the way of your setups for the corners. Also, at the end of some of these downhills you would come right into a roundabout and needed to make a stiff right hand turn. (again the course was closed so no way to know in advance what the turns looked like for anyone doing the course), I was cautious but folks would come flying by me at breakneck speed into these corners and live. I got down the hill fine and then this dumped immediately onto the 4 mile climb at an 8 to 12 percent grade. During this section towards the top the connective whatever on the top of and center of my right kneecap started to hurt, but I made it to the top and down the other side. Again not sure of the obstacles and with gusts of wind coming in from the right I only maxed out at 40 mph (folks blew by me going much faster).

I neared the completion of the first loop and then started pedaling again and youch both kneecaps light up in significant pain. At this point I came to terms with the idea that I may DNF, even though I was on track with 3:30 or so for the first half of the bike course. I figured I needed 11 mph to not DNF, I couldn't go into aero at all without the right knee lighting up, left knee worked its way out. I thought I would be fine on the flatter section and figured I would probably be getting a ride back from the hillier section. Well, I paid my fee, lets ride it out and see how far I get. The flats were fine if slower, I just didn't push the pedal with as much power. I got to that first steep hill and made it up, aching some at the top, but settling down after that on the recovery. At mile 70 I got feeling back in my feet. It went on like that, moving father back in my seat alternating muscle groups, using some calf, some thigh, more hamstring, muddled my way through all the hills going much slower and finally grinding to the top of the big hill. It became more and more common to see folks walking their bikes up the hills. Some folks were walking miles.... Eventually I dropped down the big decent again brr colder more wind (headwind for the next 22 miles 8 () gusty at times and got to the bottom. Both knees lit up more than the first time, both calves a little iffy as well. It was just mile by mile at that point, I was doing the math and had to average around 11 mph still to finish under the bike cutoff. I coasted whenever I could and just muttled through. I got passed a lot. I was counting the miles as if I were on the run. The last 12 miles were really bad feeling every single rotation with my right knee, the last 2 miles agony, I worried about the run. At this point I saw one of the Pro's biking back to his hotel with his gear in a backpack, already finished. Finally I got to the bike finish and dismounted, the temperature was already dropping. The run ... I had no idea how that was going to work given my leg issues. The bike eventually claimed 249 DNFs.

I did the usual, gear change, kept my gloves and my jacket, threw a headlamp in a pocket and off I hobbled. Went through the initial ya my legs are dead from the bike thing and then around mile 2.5 the right knee started pinging some pretty significant pain. I looked at the watch, 7 hours to finish the run. Lets see how things go, 16 mpm required and I really need to beat Samantha's time if at all possible (yes I thought this). I did every variation of walk, shuffle, jog to try to maintain some kind of forward progress. Whenever the pain kicked up I would drop back down to a walk for 3 minutes and work my way back up to faster walk, shuffle, jog... walk. They said the run was flatish, not so much. Not horrid but deffinate ups and downs. Many folks were doing the same, walking, shuffling, hobbling. I passed a guy at mile 6 who was having stomach issues he was hopping to just make the time cuttoffs. I hadn't mentioned this, but ya the altitude did have an effect I was running 1 to 2 zones higher than I should have been the entire race with fast respiration. I had to focus to drop my breathing rate all day. The problem with breathing fast is that you get side cramps and stomach issues. I could hit zone 4 while jogging a 10:00 to 11:00 mpm pace. So I slogged on Gu mile 1, water mile 2 (2 oz), nothing mile 3, rinse repeat. (pineapple GU stung my throat btw). That was it just go until my right knee, left knee or calf hurt, then drop to walk and wait for recovery for the pain to subside. I knew it was just muscle not anything serious. The sun set, temps dropped, had the jacket, gloves and headlamp on by around mile 14 or so. I cheered folks on, let them know ya just need to hold a 16 mpm and you have this. And as the race went on folks on the other side of the yellow line were not going to finish in time, the math didn't add up. I was mixed about cheering them on, they still had 4 hours left to go and they were going to DNF. I stayed positive joking with folks and muttling on. More and more folks were having stomach issues, visiting the bushes bent over. I hadn't ever been in this part of an IM before, but here I was muttling to get to the finish line. Finally the first loop was done, you come in to town at mile 17 through the crowds and get to look at the finish line before going out for another 9 miles. I'm on track, just need to maintain 20 mpm to finish under the timelimit. Still shuffling walking shuffling jogging at times on downhills. At mile 20 my stomach starts to feel a bit less good than I would like. This often happens to me in an IM and with being out there longer and more faster breathing I have to focus on keeping the breathing rate down and HR below 165. I also need to decrease putting stuff in my stomach. So no more calories for the last 6 miles and only 2 oz of water at mile 23. Finally 3 miles to go hit the last timing chip check and head back to town. It is getting colder and my energy output is starting to not keep up with the temp drop, I consider changing out to my warmer hat, but decide to see how it goes. I'm alright for about 1 mile and then with two miles to go the knee is bugging me more than it had been all night. I walked more and it took longer to subside. I had plenty of time, but wanted to you know get done as strong as I could. I shuffled a little, nope not enough recovery time. Walk. Pretty much all the crowd along the run rout have gone home by this point, it is cold. Folks are wearing silver capes, wrapped in and out of clothing (thermal blankets). Just about everyone is walking now not even shuffling. Just before the last mile I chatted with someone, he was still on his first lap (he had 9 miles to go in just over 2 hours and probably wasn't going to make the cuttoff). Finally around 1 mile out my knee was feeling a little more recovered so I start a slow build, shuffling, up to jogging (really slow jogging) and then I entered the lights, (knee hurting but screw it) crowds and just picked up the pace through that last 1/2 to 1/4 mile passing folks along the way building to a full sprint (felt fast no idea what it looked like) to the finish line, just under 15 hours.

It was done, finished the course, had my catcher walk with me a bit, got my picture taken and my own silver blanket. I went over and got some food, sidestepping the ambulance that came in every 5 minutes to cart someone out to the hospital. In the end the run claimed another 182 DNFs. It wasn't pretty, the hills were incredibly worse than folks had said they would be, but I had finished it and that was all I could do, well and beat Samantha's time 8), one has to have something to shoot for. The course was just wicked bad. What is scary is that if the race had been the day before it would have been in rain and snow the entire day.

To put this in perspective, during Samantha's race (CDA 2013) there was a DNF rate of 8%. The highest DNF rate of any IM ever was St.George with a DNF rate of 16.5%. IMLT had a DNF rate of 35% or more than twice as bad as St. George. That is a total of 933 DNF + the 200 that DNS. Folks were speculating that this course will never be run again as is because it is just too hard. So swim was good (except for sighting) didn't meet time goals, run really sucked, but finished it with time to spare. Good enough. To hit this course right one needs to be running 8-10,000 feet bike rides weekly for 6 months with grades of 10% +. I would take 60 miles at 6% grade over those steep hills at 10%+. There just is no comparison. I would not recommend doing this race to anyone who is not a serious cyclist and then I would still remind them that they could be riding up and down steep hills that are wet or icy. So nopes, I won't be doing IMLT again. One was quite enough, especially since it was just yesterday.

Oh and 3 HIMs in a year is very doable, pretty quick recovery time from those put them about 4 to 6 weeks apart (or more).

Steve, all I can say is "Wow"! Way to persevere throughout a brutal course and conditions! Congratulations buddy!!!

Steve- you beat my time on the most brutal IM course possibly known to man. Bravo! Glad I could keep you moving forward. And I hope thy never do another IMLT with the same course so you will be one of the few who can say "I completed the original IMLT" because all that you and the others went through deserves some bragging rghts! I'm proud to know people like you who push through the hardest parts and finish well...so very inspiring. Next year when you come to race IMCDA I'll let you come inside if it gets that cold outside..haha. But seriously! In the video I would've never guessed your day was that rough; crossing the finish line must've felt incredible! Congrats a million times over!

Is IMCDA the official Full for the Baowolf mentor group next year?

Congrats again Steve....your report made me realize how much worse the race was than I had imagined. It sounds like a RL version of the Longest Walk by Steven King (minus soldiers shooting you dead anyway) I certainly hope you can feel your hands, toes, etc now!

I'm very proud to call you my mentor...that was all heart and determination to get it done

The reality of that race is even more insane than what I thought it would be. Nothing in your favor (bad weather, brutal course, logistics, etc) and you still manage to finish. Epic! Congtrats. That is amazing. I've also decided my first IM will be a warm weather area

Experience of a lifetime right there! I'm so glad that you finished, and that you came out (relatively) healthy on the other side! As you were shivering in the cold, were you thinking of riding through the lava fields at Kona in addition to beating Samantha's time? Have you promised your wife a two week Hawaiian vacation when the time comes?