I decided the night before that I'll take a couple of salt tablets before I go to bed, just to 'prime my body'. Lesson learned - don't do it. My body decided that it doesn't need any freaking priming and was sweating the stuff out during the night. Which means I was up every hour, drinking water. Pretty stupid.
We got up at about 4am, I immediately consumed a pile of food (cereal, bananas, milk, some fruit, eggs and olive oil) and 2x24 oz glasses of water. Then we drove in to Jurere. Got pissed off immediately as we got there since we almost got ripped off by a parking opportunists. There is free parking - damned, I paid $350 for the race, I will park for free. And free parking was provided by the race organizers, indeed.
Nancy patched my scraped skin (the wetsuit experience), I checked in, got my body painted with #709, changed into my swimsuit and wetsuit (yes, it is good to have a swimsuit under the wetsuit, your wetsuit gets peeled off of you on a public beach after the swim). I put my civilian clothing into my swim bag and hoped that next time I see it, I'll be able to call myself an Ironman. I almost forgot to put my eyeglasses into my bike bag, that would be kind of bad. Then I greased my exposed body parts to keep warm and slippery. It's a good thing to wait with the grease until the body gets painted, otherwise the numbers will wash right off. Then I attached the race chip onto my left ankle under the wetsuit and off to the beach. What a feeling. 1200 lemmings on the beach anxiously waiting to be released into the cold water. I flooded the wetsuit - it makes it easier to adjust when there is a blob of sloshing water in it, then I squeezed the water out and strategically positioned myself to the upper right corner of the staging area. The swim was in an 'M' shape, starting at the lower right leg, returning to the beach in the middle of the 'M', going back and ending at the lower left leg. I wanted to be as far right as possible in order not to get trampled.
I did a bit of yoga stretching to calm myself down when the gun went off. The lemmings got released to the frigid waters. Nancy managed to capture the signal shot in this picture.
The water boiling with bodies. Kind of like a school of sardines, except the fish are sane and smart.
The swim wasn't too bad, although I quickly realized that having either contact lenses of prescription goggles would have been a great idea. I was constantly off course, swimming towards some blob on the horizon that later turned out to be a boat, not the buoy I was supposed to be aiming at. Good thing they have people on boards and kayaks that would frequently beat me back to my path. I did the first 2 km in a bit over 40 minutes, drank some water, got clocked (ran across the timing platform, made sure it beeped as it scanned my race chip) and back to the water.
Finished the swim in about 1:20, not too tired, but was glad it was over.
The volunteers on the beach peeled my wetsuit off and I ran off to the changing tent. I picked up my bike bag, drank some Gatorade and some water. Then I dropped my swimsuit only to find out that I am standing naked in the hallway between men and women's changing quarters. With women running by and begging me with their eyes to put my clothes back on. Aaah, who cares. I took my time, rested a bit and then I picked up Puddles (the bike) and off to defeat the bike course I went.
The course was 2 laps 56 miles each (90 km). I mentally split it into 4 parts, each representing a little over my one way 24 miles commute to work. I decided to have fun. I made a habit of picking up something at every aid station, either Gatorade (the citrus Endurance formula was pretty good) or water and pick up a banana here and there. I also decided to put away my Power and Clif bars while my stomach is still willing to digest them. So by the time I finished the first 56 miles, I cleaned up the bars, ate some cashews, drank like a fish and had a few bananas. Didn't touch the gels in my second bottle - I wanted to delay the sugar kick as long as I possibly could.
Finished the first loop in exactly 3 hours - pretty much where I was hoping I'd be. The goal was to finish this race, but my secret goal was to be around 12 hours. I felt pretty good the first time around, lets tackle the second loop.
The first part of the second loop went pretty well until the last about 4-5 miles up to and past the tunnel. The wind picked up right at the long smooth hill and it was a bitch. I put some effort into it and got my heart into 170s at times, as the wind was just pissing me off. It kind of sucked when I had to waste precious energy on fighting stupid wind. I really enjoyed turning around at the end and having the wind helping me down the hill. It did take enough toll on me to start feeling a bit of a cramp here and there in my left calf and my left ankle. Not too bad, just needed to keep my eye on it. The rest of the trip was relatively uneventful, one aid station ran out of water. I thought that kind of sucked. I kept my water bottle filled up with water at all times, but I thought there were quite a few people behind me and those are really the ones that can use the most help. I started sucking on the gel filled bottle for the last 26 miles. I probably took in about 3 gels worth of the stuff and that was it. Couldn't even think of taking another sip of it - off the bike it went to a little kid on the roadside. In general I had fun on the bike, there were a lot of onlookers along the way, I honked my squeaky whale at them and we all laughed. Keeping my mental faculties straight was really important. I have never before rode bike for more than 90 miles in one shot, so at mile 90 I started thinking that whatever happens from now on is just icing on the cake, since I have done more than ever before. Even if I don't finish (which, of course, I didn't even allow myself to think that I wouldn't finish).
Overall I was pretty happy with the bike ride. I found out that I am a decent climber - I passed quite a few people on the uphills, a lot of them on much nicer bikes than mine. Actually, I got a kind of perverted pleasure of passing someone on a very expensive bike with all the latest toys. I was one of only two bikes I have noticed that didn't have aero bars and my gearing was a standard 27 gears (52-42-39 up front, 12-23 in the back). So all these people passed me back on downhill or flatlands because I could not spin fast enough. Oh well.
At the end of the ride I really wanted to get off of the devil's instrument. The second lap took 3:15 - stupid wind, my tiring muscles and declining enthusiasm accounting for the extra 15 minutes. Still, I felt pretty good about it. However, my left calf almost locked up when getting off the bike.
I took my sweet time changing into my running gear. Again, I drank some, ate some and with a fresh pair of socks and new attitude I proceeded to see how far I can wobble through the running course. I couldn't even think of taking in another gel at the time, so I have thoughtfully left all my gels in the bag, only ate the Lara bar and that took some effort, too. After six hours on the bike and ten minutes sitting in (what it felt like) a very comfortable plastic lawn chair, I was thinking: "And you want me to do what now? Run a what? A marathon? You're out of your freakin' mind".
I wobbled out of the tent and ran about the first 200 yards, just to play a bit of 'I am really not that tired' game in front of the audience. Then I had to start walking and I walked probably at least the first mile. My feet hurt like hell, my left ankle felt pretty stiff. Yet I look pretty fresh here, don't I? Just an illusion.
About half a mile into it I met Klaus. He was coming back from the first loop, so he had a half marathon under his belt. Not too bad, I was a bit envious but I felt really good for him. He looked he was going all out at it. At the time I was already at a state of mind that I didn't even say hello. I am not sure whether he saw me, either. In any case, we were eight hours into it by now and he was doing well. Way to go Klaus.
The first loop was 13.2 miles (21k, half marathon), so I mentally split it into 2 halves, each being about the equivalent of a longest lunch training run I have done of 6+ miles. OK, so I got 4 lunch runs to do and then it will be over. Once I got some blood into my feet, things actually started looking pretty good. I employed the same strategy as I did on the bike. I stopped and walked every aid station, I ate some and I drank some. I alternated between Gatorade, Coke and water. I occasionally clocked myself at sub 9 minute mile pace, life was good. Then the bad ass hills came. I walked them up and walked them down. I decided well before the race not to screw with my legs, I have done enough hiking to know how badly I can hurt my knees running downhill. And there were a lot of lonely miles ahead of me. At about mile 10 I realized that my arms are rubbing against my torso and I am getting a nice stream of fresh sweat pouring directly into the wounded areas on both sides. And it hurt bad. I stopped at an ambulance and the nice people inside taped both my arms with a sandpaper like tape. It seemed kind of rough, but it felt overall much better than before.
Wearing the wounds of the battle I managed to finish the first 13 miles and I earned the pink wristband. I was immensely envious of the runners wearing both pink and green bands since I knew they were on the last 10k of it.
I stopped at the special needs station to pickup my bag. It took them a while to find it and I took the opportunity to rest a bit. This was the time to load up on the heavy artillery. Sugar, caffeine and 4x sodium. Yum. I took in the Gu chocolate, just to reward myself for running the furthest I have ever ran in my life. Up to this point, 13.2 miles was the max I have ever done in a single shot.
About a mile down the road the sandpaper tape started really bothering me so I ripped it off and bandaged at least one of my arms with my pink wristband. I found another ambulance and asked them for a cream. They were pumping fluids via IV into a runner inside the ambulance. One of the medics pointed at him and communicated a question whether I desire that too. I politely declined and repeated my request for cream. It wasn't until I said the magic word 'vaseline' that they understood what I wanted.
The other medic, a pretty girl, then pulled out a tube of some greasy stuff and started rubbing my under arm with it. It turned out she was using a massage cream. Camphor, menthol and all those goodies. It burned like hell to have something like that in an open wound, but it didn't hurt as bad as having salty sweat pouring into it. I stood there with my wings spread and let her do the deed. The stuff was very greasy so it kind of sealed my skin. It lasted for the rest of the race, so that was really nice. I was very thankful.
There was also a nice surprise waiting for me at a nearby aid station. They started serving chicken soup after dark. Oh, that stuff was soooo good. Hot chicken broth with some crumpled dumplings in it. Wow, it instantly improved my attitude and I started running so I can have more of it at the next station. Only to find out that they have only two out of five or so stations serving it and that wasn't one of them. Oh well, off to the next one I went.
I took the Gu Espresso (2x caffeine) about half way through the second loop (mile 15?) to give myself a bit of get up and go. Then I upped the ante about 10 minutes before I finished second loop with Power Bar 2x caffeine 4x sodium gel. I figured it will take about 15-20 minutes to kick in, so it will carry me for the first half of the third loop.
I managed to finish the second loop without a whole lot of other problems. Well, I did notice that I have about 3 or 4 blisters on my left foot, I didn't think of taking off my shoe and popping them. I did stop and rearranged my sock and tightened my shoe, so it didn't feel too bad. Other than occasional stopping and stretching my calves, it was kind of OK. I was constantly on the edge of cramping, so I had to keep my eyes on it. Just like during the bike ride, I was constantly taking an inventory of my body parts and categorized them based on whether I can feel them or not and if so, is the feeling good or bad. And of course, I left the salt tablets on the bike. I made a last minute decision on Saturday night to just take them with me on the bike and then transfer as I go running. Ooops.
Earning the green wristband gave me a boost of confidence. Knowing that my body now contains enough caffeine to kill a horse, I proudly jogged off into the darkness of the third and final loop.
The blisters were sloshing around my toes but didn't hurt too much. Loaded with caffeine and sugar, life was good. About 20 minutes into the last loop I pulled the final big weapon, Enervitene. Swallowed it and kept on trucking. At this time I was getting cold. The sun went down at about 5:30, it's 7 pm now and I am there with just a tanktop. I didn't think of putting a sweatshirt into my special needs bag, it would have been really handy now. So I tried to pick up the pace a little to keep warm but it seemed that my heart, being a hurt muscle just like the rest of them, just wasn't in the mood. I couldn't get it going much faster than about 145. That was it. My legs wouldn't move fast enough to get my heartbeat over 145. Oh well, have some more chicken soup before they run out of it. Yum.
About quarter mile before the finish line I pulled everything I had and passed one more runner (his name is Sergio Di Nizo Drago, bib #255, he's on the first picture on top of the previous page). Then I had to start walking and as he was passing me back, he perked me up, saying: "Come on, let's go - tomorrow is another day". How could I thank him for such words of encouragement? How cool, how generous, how human. The camaraderie here is really awesome. I managed to really gather the last drops of energy I had, passed Sergio again and finally made it through the finish line. What a feeling.
The funny thing at the moment was that the first question the volunteers at the finish like asked was: "Do you want an IV" and I was thinking "What is it with an IV, I saw people in ambulances getting it, hmmm, I can still walk on my own, what's the deal?". So I politely declined. I didn't realize at the time how incredibly fortunate I am. Then the next question came: "Do you want a massage?". Oh, man, do I want to? Please, please, I'll be forever in your debt. As they guided me through the facilities towards the massage hall, I saw about 20 stretchers with people on them getting an IV. And it finally dawned on me. I am so freaking lucky it's not even funny. I have done an Ironman on some 18 or so weeks of training and I didn't get hurt? And on top of it I did a reasonable time. I am one lucky guy.
Nancy found me after the massage (she was a bit nervous since she didn't know where I was), we went to eat something and then returned to the finish area to pay respect to the rest of the finishers. It was rather inspiring to watch Alan Carlisle of California to finish the race at about 16:15 at the young age of 76. I wish to have his stamina and physique when I'll be his age. That is if I live that long.
Well, here are the final stats, according to my Timex.
Swim 1: 41:40.87
Swim 2: 38:07.25
Total: 1:19:48.12
T1: 11:41.26
Bike 1: 3:00:00, 56.30 miles, 18.7 mph @ 155 bpm
Bike 2: 3:15:30, 56.26 miles, 17.2 mph @ 152 bpm
Total: 6:15:30
T2: 13:00.56
Run 1: 2:29:16, 13.1 miles, 11'23" mile @ 141 bpm
Run 2: 1:26:37, 6.625 miles, 13'04" mile @ 133 bpm
Run 3: 1:15:10, 6.759 miles, 11'07" mile @ 142 bpm
Total: 5:11:03
For a total of 13:11:06 - I didn't push the stop button until some time after I went through the gate, hence the discrepancy between the official time of 13:09:59. Or something like that. Who cares. 13:10 is good enough.
Link to the official result
Experiences, lessons learned
Swim
- get eye surgery or provide some means of seeing where I need to go
- memorize the swim course, walk around the beach and find some targets visible from the water
- avoid being kicked, fondled and otherwise abused. Stay on the outside unless I can outswim the herd.
- grease on exposed body parts is good
- find the abrasive points of the wetsuit. Patch them or patch my body. Minimize pain.
- consider what to do with eyeglasses before the swim
- calm down. Yoga stretches helped.
- timing chip goes under wetsuit so I don't loose it
- perhaps I could wear HR belt next time
- drink. Before, during, after
Bike
- had way too much food. 12 gel packs were definitely overkill. Try 3 next time. The bars and cashews worked well. Have some beef jerky or some such next time
- drink before, drink during, drink after. Just drink.
- enjoy the scenery, keep my eyes on the road, keep my spirits high
- periodically take inventory of my aches and pains, stretch hurting spots, possibly avoid painful motions
- do the bike stuff - change positions, stand up once in a while
- spend less time in T1
- proper gearing - I was probably the only guy with 27 speeds there
- get aero bars. Actually, get a tri-specific bike. Geometry matters.
- go tubular?
Run
- manage my food and fluids
- take a tube of vaseline and some kind of surgical tape
- stop and pierce the blisters
- walk the hills. Up and down.
- alternate water, Gatorade and Coke. Seems to work fine.
- mental - it's a lot of lonely miles ahead of me. Deal with it.
- suntan lotion is good
- minimize T2
- put a throwaway windbreaker or a sweatshirt in special needs bag. Figure out beforehand if I'll be there in the dark and cold.
- the buff worked very well as my head gear. Kept me protected from sun early on and relatively warm later on. It soaks up all the sweat so not a whole lot gets in my eyes
- have some high protein foods stashed in the civilian clothing bag so I can eat it as soon as I can get to it after the finish. The pizza served after the race kind of didn't cut it.
What a day!
So, what's next? I definitely want to go back to Brazil next year. I signed up for IM New Zealand (early March 2007) and I was toying with going to Austria early July, but it's full already. We'll see how it goes. I have employed a new training method of long, slow miles and I am about to start a new training blog.
Back at DIA, happy to be home.
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