Just a warning: this is long! Also, I will publish other posts later with more pictures and videos. This event was very important to me though and I felt the desire to write about it in more detail than the other Triathlons I have completed. I hope you will still read and enjoy it - it really meant a lot to me and was fun to write about!
Overview
Last Saturday, September 24th 2011, I completed my first IronMan distance (Ultra distance) Triathlon. This was one of the proudest and happiest days of my life. Finishing an IronMan distance Triathlon has been a goal of mine that I have been intensely training for for just about this entire year. For those of you who don’t know, this Triathlon consists of a 2.4 mile run, a 112 mile bike ride, and a 26.2 (marathon) mile run. This adds up to 140.6 miles (if you see ‘140.6’ bumper stickers, it means they have completed an ultra-distance Triathlon). My goal was to finish the race in under 13 hours, but I was actually able to finish in 11 hours and 48 minutes.
The race was in Cambridge, Maryland, which is about an hour and half from where we live. The weather was horrible the entire day before the race. It was pouring rain and the forecast even showed rain for the race day. I was really worried that they would cancel the swimming portion of the race. Fortunately, the weather cleared up overnight and we were able to do the entire race, as scheduled. This race was unique in the fact that the transition areas (where you change from swimming to biking and from biking to running) were in different places – usually the race is setup so that the two transition areas are the same place. Because of this, I had to separate my running and biking gear into separate bags and turn them in at different locations in the early morning (5:00) before the race started. Another unique aspect of the race was that I had to rack my bike the night before, but couldn’t leave all of my bike stuff with it. None of this was problematic really, it was just different than what I was used to. Although things worked out just fine, I prefer the way things have been at my three previous Triathlons with the transition areas in the same place; it is more simple this way and you can actually get all your stuff (shoes, socks, GPS watch, etc.) situated just how you want it so it is ready to go when you get there.
The 2.4 Mile Swim
The swimming portion of the race took place in a small bay that is part of the Chesapeake River. The water was brackish, which means it is a mix of salt and fresh water. I bought my own wetsuit for this race because the water was in the 70’s and you are allowed to wear a wetsuit up to about 80 degrees. I had already rented a wetsuit twice so I decided to invest in my own this time. I am not planning on quitting the sport of Triathlon any time soon, so as long as I don’t gain or lose too much weight this wetsuit should last me a very long time.
I finished the swim in 1 hour and 19 minutes. I was pleased with this time. Overall the swim was a lot of fun and I enjoyed it a lot. There was definitely more bumping into people in this race than in any other though. Someone’s hand went into my face twice: one time their finger went in my mouth and the other time it went under my goggles (luckily water didn’t get in my goggles though). When I finished the swim my arms weren’t tired and I felt like I could have kept going! One interesting thing though is that there were lots of jellyfish in the water that could be seen by the spectators. Michelle told me she tried to warn some swimmers as they were getting close to the jellyfish. I wasn’t surprised to hear that there were jellyfish in the water because I actually thought I swam right over one on two different occasions. It could have just been bubbles of something else though – there is no way of knowing for sure.
The 112 Mile Bike Ride
After getting out of my wetsuit, I put on my biking shoes, GPS watch, and took off on my bike. The course was extremely flat; there were virtually no hills whatsoever. I liked this because it allowed me to push it and go fast. I finished the biking portion in 5 hours and 36 minutes, which equates to a pace of exactly 20 miles per hour. This was about an hour faster than the time I had estimated and projected it could take me to finish the biking portion. Also, I finally reached my goal of biking 100 miles in 5 hours. The bike ride was split into two loops but there was a 15 mile segment before loops started. Therefore, my family was really confused why it took so long for me to complete the first loop and so little time to finish the second loop.
There was one part on the bike course that had gotten flooded from all the rain the previous day. The flooded area was actually worse the second time going through; some people speculated that maybe the tide had risen over at the bay/river. Going through the flooded area was kind of crazy. It was at least a few inches deep – maybe as many as 6 inches deep at some parts – and while I was pedaling through it my foot would get entirely submerged in water at certain points. Luckily I had dry socks waiting with my running shoes at the next transition area.
The Marathon (26.2 Mile Run)
After handing off my bike to someone working for the race and changing into my running shoes, I changed my GPS watch from ‘bike’ to ‘run’ and started running. The running distance was achieved by running down a road about 4 and a half miles and then running back, and then doing this two more times. The first lap was not too bad because I was just excited to be on the final leg of the race. The second lap was very difficult though, as I really started to feel the soreness in my legs. My pace slowed down quite a bit during the second lap and I never was able to get it back up until the very end of the third lap (3.5 miles remaining) when I put everything I had left in the tank so that I could finish under 12 hours. I actually didn’t realize that if I didn’t pick my pace I might have finished over 12 hours until a guy running near me said, “Three miles left, right? Let’s finish in under twelve hours!” We both pushed it and made it under 12 hours. I am really glad that guy was there. I finished the marathon in 4 hours and 39 minutes. If I had only run a marathon, this would not have been a particularly great time, but with everything I had done before it I am happy with the time. My goal was to finish the marathon under 5 hours so at least I me this goal.
During the marathon, I really did have endurance and stamina left, but my legs were just gone. My quads and calves were pretty much spent and no matter how much I wanted to go faster I was not able to pick up the pace for longer than a couple minutes at a time (except the end when I made my final push to finish under 12 hours). I now know what I need to focus on improving: my legs! I plan to run more and do strength training to get my legs stronger before my next IronMan in June of 2012 (about 9 months away). I would like to run at least a couple of marathons before the next IronMan as well.
I am so thankful for all the support Michelle has given me through the months of training. She has not only been supportive of the cost of training for this sporting event but also of the time I have had to put into my training. I know there were plenty of times she would rather I have been home with her than at the gym or pool or out on a 100 mile bike ride, but she always encouraged me and gave me support. She was my biggest fan and reassured me that I would be able to reach this goal every time I had doubts or thought I wouldn’t be strong enough.
I can’t wait until the next IronMan. It will be in Couer d’Alene, Idaho. It is a grueling course, one of the most difficult IronMan races with one of the longest average finishing times. My hope is to improve and get strong enough to not only finish better than my time on this last race but actually finish under 11 hours. It is a lofty goal, but why aim any lower than what I think I could be capable of?
