iron eyes for the normal guy

Quelle(quel-la) Challenge Roth(ruott)

Pre-race thoughts: Before I start, I want to say I only started running and swimming in September of last year, so doing an iron distance race only 7-8 months after that is a pretty big jump. Hopefully the 20+ years of bike racing was going to make up for my lack of swimming or running skills.

As for this particular race, I was just going into the race trying to stay as calm as possible. With all my racing experience, getting too nervous / excited, thinking about all the different possibilities and scenarios before a race does no good. The plan was just try and eat as much as I could on the bike and get something at every aid station on the run and hopefully things would work out okay, but this being my first iron distance race, one never knows how the body will react after 10+ hours of racing. Regardless of this being my first iron distance race I had goals in my head that I wanted to accomplish. Obviously, finishing was one, but I did believe I should be able to fall under the 11 hour mark if things went as planned. 1:10-1:15 in the swim, 5:00-5:15 bike and around 4 for the run. I was mostly worried about the run since racing mooseman I had picked up some tendonitis in my ankles and they were feeling really sore after any training runs and would need lots of ice and recovery before the next effort. My coach informed me that once you are in the run, you are hurting in so many other areas the ankles would be the least of my worries.

Race: Have I said before that tris start way too early?? Wake up at 3:45 so we can arrive by 4:50 as the race instructed. I’m a morning person and to me, it’s totally redonculous. On the autobahn doing 200 kph to the race and we make it in no time.

Swim: It was one lap up and back of a 40 meter wide canal I had swam in a couple days before the race. Being that the location is really further north than Boston, I was expecting the water to be just as frigid, maybe even more so, but I guess because the canal is never over 30 feet deep the water had warmed much warmer than I had expected and was pleasantly surprised and happy that it felt comfy. Anyway, I was in the 4th wave which started 45 minutes after Pam and another 5 minutes behind her brother, Jorge. Plan was just to get in a groove and get to the finish of the swim. Thankful the left shoulder was not bothering me as I had experienced in mooseman and some training open water swims. I felt like I was going okay, but I must say ¾ of the way through, I was ready for it to be over. As I got out of the water and I saw 82 minutes, I was a little surprised because I thought I was going pretty well. At mooseman, I felt like I couldn’t get out of my way and I finished that in 37 minutes some how. (1:22:14)

T1: This is a long race, sprinting to the changing tent is not really going to matter and I didn’t want to irritate my ankle before I even started running. Volunteer helped empty my bag and got me going onto the bike. (6:47)

Bike: As I got going I was trying to settle the heart rate down, but keep the speed at a decent pace. The first half lap I was passing boatloads of people, Obviously still feeling good. Loved the descent with 4 switchbacks. The euros are much better bike handlers than most US triathletes. If this descent was in the US, there would be people going 5 mph around the corners totally getting in the way. Nearing the 80 k point we have the climb out of Hilpoltstein with thousands of fans lining the roads. It was really cool and it just pushed you up the climb. In the next day’s newspaper, it said there was a total of around 130,000 people watching the race. WOW. Near this point, the riders around me were near the same level and things were staying status quo. With the amount of athletes, it was impossible not to be using other people’s drafts. Still feeling pretty good as I was heading out on the second lap. Average was 21 (.) something at this point. Passed Pam around the 140k point and we encouraged each other that we were doing great. The second time up the 2k long climb out of Greding, I saw our host Ingrid waving as I went by. Near the overall 5 hour point I started feeling a little fatigue in the quads so I started to be a little more cautious. All throughout the bike I had been really good about eating and gels approximately every 15 minutes and drinking plenty. Getting in the last 20 k of the bike ride I noticed some on the verge cramping when I stood up. I was thinking, this could be a problem for the following run. I had also been taking a pair of salt tabs every 1.5 hours. Then about 10 k from the bike finish I had one of my quads lock up for about a minute. Thankfully, it was on a down hill so I could just keep rolling. So, until T2 I just tried to spin the legs really easily and hope for the best in the run. (5:20:06)

T2: The volunteers at the race were absolutely great. She unloaded my bag, asked what I wanted from it and even applied some suntan lotion to my white farmer’s tan shoulders to prevent the scorching that would occur without that. (4:26)

Run: The thought was to jog the legs and hope for no more cramping. Out of T2 took some more salt tabs plus some Ibroprofen to hopefully assist me to the finish. The first k was not good. I had a calf cramp and had to walk already. WTF? After that initial cramp I got going pretty well. A couple days before I heard from my coach that ¾ of the run was along the canal with hard pack which my ankles were extremely grateful for. For about 15 k, I ran constantly while walking through the aid stations to refuel. Saw Jorge after about 8k, I think he was at 10 or 11k at that point. Then I barely saw Pam around 12 k for me. At the pace I was going I thought 10:45 might be possible. Unfortunately, the wheels really started to come off after here. I would get a serve cramp in the calf, quad, or hamstring and all I could do was walk. Between 15-30k, the frequency just increased as the distance continued. On the final out and back loop I saw Jorge & Pam and knew Pam was getting closer. Since, I was where I was, I knew she would catch me in time and hopefully my mind & body would work together and maybe we could finish together. That would have been really cool. Before she finally caught me, I had to take a pit stop in the woods. Then finally she caught me at 33-34k and she gave me some more salt tabs since I was out and then I tried to follow. That lasted about .5 k, a serve cramped followed in the calf and I told her she should just go on. I didn’t want me hindering her from having the best time possible. Pretty much from here out, I was mostly walking. With all the people cheering for me, I felt bad I wasn’t running. So, every couple minutes I would attempt to run again, but after 30 seconds or so, something would seize up and I had to walk. From 36 on I was in dire need of a porta-let but there were none to be had. Thankfully at one of the aid stations there was a workshop and I asked if there was any toilet I could use. Thankfully there was. After reliving myself I felt pretty dizzy so I sat on a bench a couple minutes before continuing. While sitting there, I thought I might not make it to the finish, but I got up and started again. Even though the crowds really started getting bigger, I just had no more run in me for the last couple of k’s. I was afraid I was going to have to walk through the very big crowds in the stands at the finish. But, I was able to barely run the last couple hundred meters to the finish line. (5:11:21)

Total Time: 12:04:57

Post race: I was in a world of hurt. I felt dizzy, nauseous, just out of it, and I meandered around for a while getting a little something to eat but mostly sitting down / laying down just waiting to feel better. Eventually found all the peeps and we gathered all our crap-o-la and we eventually made back to Greding after trips to pick up the car and bikes from the different transition areas. I think we arrived home near 11pm. Man, what a long f^&*ing day.

Post race thoughts: I think my body runs a little warmer than most and for me to have a successful race I would really have to amp up the salt & liquid intake. In bike racing, 6 hours is about the max time you spend on the bike and at that time of my race, I was still okay. The heat as well made it tougher on me. When I lived in Florida I would weigh myself before and after a ride and I would regular loose 10lbs in which I was drinking as much as I could. It would have been interesting to see what the difference in weight before I started and after I finished. So, after my ankles get a good recovery I’ll think about doing and ironman next year. My feet were already a little tweaked before I began run training all together and I will just have to wait and see how they feel in the future.

Finally I want to thank everyone for their support, my coach Olaf Sabatschus for his workouts, which I tried to follow as religiously as possible and his guidance, coach Patrick for master swimming, teaching me how to run correctly and so much more, and Pam for realizing if you work hard, good things happen.

Until next time,
dL

posted by supersonique @ 3:36 PM