Its in the books 16 hours and 30 minutes. I finished. This was more than I thought 24 hours before the event. People see my doubt as something that would hold me back. Make no mistake, on game day its on. Leave nothing behind and have full belief in your abilities.
This was such a different Ironman from 3 years ago in preparation and execution. I started with 5 weeks off with a cough that no one could diagnose (Still not) and then no belief in doing the event so I was just going to swallow the money and volunteer. A friend of mine (Mac) said that if Id payed the money why not enjoy the day aim to finish the swim and bike and call it a day. Well that got me motivated and once I was moving aimed to finish.
The sleep the night before was easy this time. I had one panic attack about jumping in the water as the water is 64 and freezing! Kathleen and I switched roles on where we were sleeping she took the kids to the hotel and I stayed at Lauren and Rays. Up at 4:30 and Ray gave me a lift over. We got there around 5:15 and I set about putting my water bottles and food on the bike. I forgot my inhaler for what the doc thought was exercise induced Asama but no time to go back.
My plan for the day was to go as hard as I could on the swim and bike then finish it out on the run. I put 1500 calories worth of Cliff Bloks on my bike, a bottle of flat diet coke and a bottle of Gatorade. I would take sips of the Diet Coke every 20 miles or so and use the initial Gatorade ad then perform from the Aid Stations. Addiction is annoying, I have to get off this Diet coke stuff. Then on the run eat whatever I could. During the training I had a lot of back pain on the bike and as I have to take Ibuprofen for my Arthritis Ill take it at the start of the bike and 4 hours into the bike and hope this keeps the back pain at rest. Before the race my aim was about 1:45 on the swim, 8 hours on the bike and whatever the run may hold. I reckoned on a good day I could do 7:30 on the bike.
I was able to see Kathleen and the kids before the start which was awesome then it was off to the start. I was the only person not wearing and lined up with the other 2700 people. As expected the jump into the water was the worst part of the day and was exceptionally cold. The usual A Types tried to swim over me on their way to the start line (Let the chaos begin). Then my goggles broke! Not completely and I was able to keep one eye clear during the swim. At the start while we were waiting to start someone shouted "Holy moly there is a polar bear in here!" A reference to everyone else being in a wetsuit except me. That cleared a bit of the stress away.
So the race kicks off, I hear after the race the start song is "Start me up" from the rolling stones. 2700 people kick and start moving. The entire swim is a crucible of kicking and crashing into people. The swim went much better than expected and I was out of the water in my best aimed time of 1:40. I nearly missed the family but spotted them at the last minute, then its off to change and restroom (Most people do this in their wetsuit on the swim. My upbringing makes that impossible - ha! or maybe it was just cold).
I always find the T1 transition slow as the water is so cold and it take a bit to get the brain working and start thinking about what I need to do. At this point I'm confident of a good bike as the 2 bikes this week have been awesome.
So onto the bike we go. Boom my calves and thighs feel like I've already cycled 50 miles - uh oh - just keep cycling and this will pass it must be the cold from the swim. I pick a nice low gear with high reps ad set a goal of 15 mph. This goes really well and by mile 10 the pain is gone. By mile 10 the pros are already lapping me it is very cool to see them flying along! The sun is up and its a beautiful day. Unfortunately I am then plagued by hot foot! I cant use large gears and go fast, it becomes about managing pain, thank god for the Ibuprofen! The pain is there for the whole time but I manage to keep an average of 15mph and finish in 7:30. Its looking good! It was great to see my friend Joe out there on the motorbike. When you see someone you know it always gives you that bit more energy.
T2 approaches and I jump off my bike. Uh oh, I cant walk. OK its the shoes, Ill get into the tent get them off a quick rub and we will be good. A 7 minute transition. I stand up and cant put full weight on my left foot and my right isn't doing good. Time to walk off the pain, no longer a run 5 miles walk 1 but walk 2 run 1 plan.
I hobble out of the tent and make eye contact with Kathleen. I could see Ray, the kids and Kathleens cheers go from "yeah you have this" to "Oh No". A quick high five with the family and hobble off onto the course watching my GPS to make sure I am doing 4 m.p.h. The first few miles are cool and intimidating. Everyone is cheering encouragement and there are so many people - very cool. Then the moment which makes me love this sport happens, people passing me start patting me on the back say "Keep moving", "Keep your pace up, you can do this". That is what makes this event awesome. These little bits of encouragement from complete strangers.
The run becomes a game of numbers. How long have I got? What pace do I need? Can I run? After 2 miles of walking I run a mile, then walk a mile, then run 2 miles, walk a mile run a mile. The pain never goes away. I am running with wonder woman! Only one person is dressed up and we keep passing each other, its a good laugh, every mile someone is shouting its wonder woman! About mile 10 a guy from Texas passes me and shouts "Keep moving - your my inspiration". He is 60 years old and doing an Ironman! Why would he say that I guess he seen me struggling and cheers me on. Over the whole race we pass each other back and forward with words of encouragement.
At mile 10 I enter the 80s the aid stations are playing Rick Astley and similar music. Another fun moment for a laugh.
Around mile 13 my hands start to swell, talk about getting beaten up. Everything I have read about this is its not a good sign so now I'm not drinking water every mile. Crikey this is freaky. The volunteers at this time of night are awesome, so positive and always cracking jokes. Instead of drinking the water I'm rinsing my mouth and spitting it out at mile 20 we pass the station I volunteer at and David and Ray meet me at the top a hill and walk with me for a bit. Kathleen and Isla meet me half a mile on. So I spit out the water and from the volunteer stand it looks like I just hit David with the water. Dogs abuse from the MC - all light hearted and funny.
At mile 10 I enter the 80s the aid stations are playing Rick Astley and similar music. Another fun moment for a laugh.
Around mile 13 my hands start to swell, talk about getting beaten up. Everything I have read about this is its not a good sign so now I'm not drinking water every mile. Crikey this is freaky. The volunteers at this time of night are awesome, so positive and always cracking jokes. Instead of drinking the water I'm rinsing my mouth and spitting it out at mile 20 we pass the station I volunteer at and David and Ray meet me at the top a hill and walk with me for a bit. Kathleen and Isla meet me half a mile on. So I spit out the water and from the volunteer stand it looks like I just hit David with the water. Dogs abuse from the MC - all light hearted and funny.
The last mile really was interesting. My brain has totally shut down and only doing what is needed to get to the finish line (1 foot in front of the other). I am passed by a guy who is doing Chemo. It was awesome to see he made it as he had been on the TV the night before. As I round the corner and see the lights I know I'm there and run round the chute to the finish where I am greeted by the Mens winner. I'm so out of it I have no clue what people are saying. However within 5 minutes my brain starts to wake up. Its amazing what your body and mind will do to make the finish. I didn't need to communicate so that bit was off. However now its over everything starts to wake up and I feel fine in another 5 mins. The pizza guy gives us enough for everyone, very nice of him. I didn't fall asleep in my chair this time!
The swollen hands were just my hands being at my side for too long so no issues there - phew.
Always awesome the next day to see the comments on facebook and those that couldn't be there cheering me on. Thanks to Ray, Kathleen, David and Isla for the support at the event. As always this stuff isn't possible without Kathleen being a single mother for a while.
The swollen hands were just my hands being at my side for too long so no issues there - phew.
Always awesome the next day to see the comments on facebook and those that couldn't be there cheering me on. Thanks to Ray, Kathleen, David and Isla for the support at the event. As always this stuff isn't possible without Kathleen being a single mother for a while.
Note: This was written 6 months ago but this was one of the hardest things Ive ever done and I am posting it to get some closure and move on. I havent biked, ran or swam since. Putting this out there should help me move on :)
