I fully expected this race NOT to be wetsuit legal, so I purchased a Swimskin and practiced in it a couple of times. Before I left on Wednesday, I learned that the water temperature in Lake Woodlands at the time was 69 degrees. Oh no! I don’t even own a wetsuit! I quickly had one overnighted to my hotel. Great! Another expense I hadn’t anticipated. Oh well, at least it wasn’t for my bike this time.
I swam at my local pool Wednesday morning and left for Houston around noon to arrive that afternoon…about a 3-1/2hr drive. I checked into my hotel then went to the expo to check-in. I walked around the expo some, but decided to heed the advice of the coaches and stay away from there. I ate dinner, messed around with my bags and tried to sleep, but for whatever reason (probably nerves) I could only sleep about 3 hours.
Thursday I woke up, ate my prescribed breakfast, toured the transition area and went to the 4 Keys talk at the library. Spent the rest of the day either eating, unsuccessfully trying to nap, or packing my bike and run bags. I also rode my trainer in my hotel for about an hour. Then I attended the EN dinner. Sleep eluded me again, only got around 5 hours.
Friday, I got up early and ate breakfast, then went to practice swim. I tried my new wetsuit on that came in the day before and it fit perfectly (thank goodness). I dropped my bike off with bike and run bags and headed back to the hotel. My wife, Jamie, and twin boys, Eli and Jase, arrived at the hotel. I drove her around to show her where to park for the race, and then ate dinner. Got back to hotel early and tried to sleep, but couldn’t really. Maybe got about 4 hours of real sleep.
Race Day
Got up at 3:30, ate my applesauce, banana, Perform, and whey protein. I didn’t feel real well, neither before nor after eating. I don’t know what it was but I just didn’t feel like my full self. At 5AM, I got all my stuff together and drove to T1. Got my tires pumped up, nutrition put on bike, and headed to swim start, a pretty decent hike. I was supposed to eat 1.5 PowerBars at 5:30, but I just didn’t feel very good and those things don’t taste good anyway. Got my special needs bags dropped off and found a place to just stand alone and take it all in. Got about 10 minutes of this when Jamie and the boys arrived. I put on my wetsuit, hugged and kissed my family, drank a sip of water, ate a GU, and headed for the start.
Swim – Goal 1:10 w/Swimskin Actual 1:06:52 w/wetsuit.
I lined up in the very front row. Initially, I got to hold on to a paddleboard, but then the guy paddled away so luckily, I was able to hang on to one of the pointy ends of the buoy so I didn’t have to tread water. I wasn’t quite ready to start when the gun went off. I guess I expected a countdown or maybe I just didn’t hear it? I tried to get up front but had people grabbing my feet right from the start. I had difficulty sighting as the splashing was just too much to be able to really see much of the next buoy. I didn’t get much clean water until after about midway back and even then sighting was worse. I had tinted goggles, but the sun was really causing a glare. I ended up just sighting from the shoreline and only occasionally looking up. Upon entering the canal, it got congested again. I had to slow down a lot here because the people in front were just blocking any forward progression. Out of the water I could barely stand, but I quickly got my legs back.
T1- Goal 5:00- Actual: 05:46
Pretty uneventful. My plan initially was to carry my shoes to my bike, but I realized that I would have grass and whatever else on my feet so I just put them on in the tent and ran to my bike. I could have been faster here. I took too much time stuffing my wetsuit in my bag.
Bike – Goal: 5:50 Actual: 6:04:27
My race plan called for me to do the first part of the race at .65IF or 165w then when HR came down increase to .67IF or 170w. I started off with a HR that was a bit too high so I kept my watts at about 160 to force the HR down. I was getting passed like I was sitting still. I had come out of the water ahead of more than 2,000 other athletes so I knew it would happen. As the HR started to go down, I tried to increase the watts, but every time I started to I just didn’t feel well, so I’d back off. This went on and on. I just wasn’t going to push 170 consistently without feeling a bit nauseous. Shortly after mile 60, I routinely glanced down at my computer and when I did I veered off the road, hit some loose gravel and my bike slid out from under me. I landed on the chip seal road on my left shoulder, knee and hand. I thought my race was over. I bleeding like a stuck pig and emotionally deflated. I checked my bike out and all looked okay, so I got on and rode to the next aid station where I got patched up and kept riding. While I was stopped, I went ahead and peed. The wreck cost me about 10 minutes, but for whatever reason, my nausea had subsided some and I felt better the last 70 miles. On the way in, I passed a lot of strong looking folks who must have gone out a bit too hard? I needed to pee again as we got close to the bike finish, but there wasn’t any real downhill spots to let it out, so I just held it and hoped for a quick Porto potty break at the start of the run. Big mistake. Ended up riding total at .62IF/156w.
T2- Goal: 05:00 Actual: 09:21
I don’t know what happened to me here. I just lost focus on what I was doing. Maybe because I had to pee? I ended up dumping my go bag out and individually picking all the items up. Then I stopped at the Porto potty outside of the changing tent, but it was full, so I had to wait. This was just stupid.
Run – Goal: Not walk Actual: 4:41.38 and I only walked the aid stations.
I didn’t have or didn’t believe I had the run durability that I would have liked due to plantar problems. In training, I was unable to run consecutive days because my foot hurt too badly, so I knew this was my biggest limiter. My IM pace was supposed to be 9:45 plus 30 seconds, so 10:15. I started out at that pace, but just seemed to naturally settle in to about 10:45 (including walking the aid stations). I didn’t want to push it so I just stayed there. I followed the same routine every mile: I took ice water, bent over and poured it over my neck, drank one cup of Perform, then got some ice held it in my hands and started running again. Before each aid station, I ate a Cliff Shot Blok. Every hour, I ate a GU caffeinated Gel. My knee was starting to hurt pretty good from the crash. At mile 16.5 or so my quads started screaming at me. I thought I was approaching “The Wall”, but miraculously it just eased up and I kept going. Those last two miles seemed like they took forever. I know I sped up pretty good by then but the end just wasn’t getting there soon enough. And then there it was, the turn off for the finish line. I hit that ramp and thought about my one thing that I hadn’t yet needed to draw from: I hadn’t looked at the chute before the race so I didn’t realize I had to go up, then down, the back up to the finish. I had a great time running that chute and high fived Jamie on the way up the last hill. I high fived others who may or may not have wanted a high five.
Observations and Mistakes
Swim-My goal was a 1:10 swim or better based upon past RR, so I beat this goal. However, I have plenty of room for improvement. I would do a better job pre-sighting. I should have lined up farther to the right and tried for more of a straight line rather than having to weave in and out, following the buoys. This was part inexperience and part stupid.
T1 – I would be a little more efficient and make sure my plan was solid before heading in to T1. I could have shaved some time off here without missing anything. Again, just inexperience and stupidity.
Bike- I could have pushed a bit harder, but I honestly don’t know if my nausea would have gotten worse or not. At the very least I could have shaved 10 minutes off had I not wrecked.
T2 – 09:21!!!! I’m just plain embarrased by this. After all the expensive little things I do to shave seconds and I squander time in transition doing dumb stuff! Just stupid!!!
Run-I might have been able to push the pace a bit and based on my HR which stayed steady through the entire race, rather than the ideal progressive curve. My inexperience with the distance combined with my lack of run durability and fear of walking kept the pace where it was. I don’t know what would have happened had I sped up, but I feel I could have gone a few seconds faster per mile and been okay.
Going forward
I haven’t signed up for another IM yet, but intend to do so or at least set my sights on one for 2015. I plan on really trying to work on my fast between now and 2015 so I can hopefully translate that to an IM. I know I can finish one, now I would like to race one.
I want to thank of all my teammates for their willingness to share their experiences and wisdom with me, and the coaches for providing the roadmap for IM success. Thank you all for being so willing to share the details that can make or break a race. I’ve now seen firsthand what the 90% is doing and I’m glad I wasn’t one of them. I’m glad to be a part of the EN 10.
Wow Chris way to overcome lots of heath adversities and triumph! Congratulations you IRONMAN! I TOO have crashed looking at my Garmin 310XT on my wrist (while training)...... Every TT bike computer belongs between the aero bars and as far forward as it can go and even then requires very short glances at the appropriate times to collect the data safely! I don't think you'll make that one again! The rest is just minor tweaking for when you do sign up for another IM!
Thanks Tim and thanks for all your guidance through the training. My Garmin is in between my aero bars all the way forward. I wish I had a better excuse, but I just ran off the road. Congrats on the race and for not needing, but rather reaffirming your KQ! Good luck in IM CHOO and Kona!
Congratulations, Chris! I barely got through the first part of your race report and was crying. I am always amazed by the unbelievable people like you! It's just so inspiring to hear what you've been able to overcome and finish an Ironman, no less! Other than the crash, it sounds like your race went about as well as a first IM should! Soak up God's glory!!
Chris what an incredible story. Congratulations on taking the reigns of your dreams and riding that bull in to the finish. It sounds like you had an epic race day minus the wreck. I know when I saw you, you were looking strong and smiling. I'm sure there are two little ones who look up to their daddy as a ironman hero this week. It was so great meeting you and I hope our race paths cross again soon.
Your background story is a testament to why events like this exist; we want to push ourselves beyond whatever limitations we think we may have! Great race recap. I can't agree more with one of the last things you said- I now know I can finish one, now I want to race one. I feel the same way and hope we cross paths at a future race!
Thanks for doing a race report and sharing. I'm going for my first HIM in two weeks and have only done sprints. I've had issues with training, but still feel mostly ready (recovering from an injury at the moment.) Reading about you becoming an IRONMAN/your experience has pumped me up. I needed that-thanks!
Was my pleasure to meet you and get to know you. You made the team so much stronger. Way to show what it means to always keep moving forward, no excuses! Well deserved and congratulations IM!!
Chris, It's easy to get caught up in the "I did this" attitude but it's obvious from the medical adversities you have had through your life that "He has helped you do this". Great report. I've come close many times to running off the road while looking down at my computer. One of the thoughts that goes through my head continuously while on the bike is "stay vigilant." Thinking about all those things that we could have done better is what keeps me doing ironman. It was great meeting you and I hope our paths cross again.
Chris - simply amazing, for your first IM and only third tri. Anytime someone runs the whole way, the IM counts as a success, no matter what happens along the way.
Lucky, lucky on the bike - that's the way people brake their collar bones. Road rash - you can keep going. It's funny, sometimes an enforced rest on the bike, like a flat or a penalty, gives you a second wind. While it probably cost some real time on your bike split, it may have helped you on the run. My best runs in an IM and HIM have come respectively after a penalty and a flat.
T2 Two pieces of advice you probably have already figured out. First, the concept of the "Go Bag". The only things you deal with in T@ are putting on shoes, and getting out the gate. EVERYTHING ELSE - hat, sunscreen, gel, number belt, peeing - you deal with on the first mile of the run. Put all the stuff in a large Ziplock, mess with it while running (this helps slow your pace), and hit up the first porta potty you see. Its almost always empty, as everyone else has done their business in T2.
I get where you're coming from about your medical challenges. For the past few years, I've been living with a spinal cord injury and dysphagia (Swallowing deficit) from a bike accident which affects how I have to train and race. Just some of the gazillion things anyone/everyone has to deal with to get out the door and make it happen, grateful for the chance to do it.
Thank you all for your kind words! What a great team!
EB-thank you for your positive, always cheerful attitude. Yes, when I caught up to you, I was pretty happy to have been able to still be out there. The wreck was kinda like pressing reset so it might have even been a blessing in disguise? I know you've got some proud kiddos yourself. How many kids can say their mom's an ironman? Remember, before entering your garage, always ask yourself where's my bike
Crosby-it was awesome getting to know you at camp and catching up on Thursday. I think you're right, part of the draw to IM is to test the limits of our ability as humans. It's an amazing discovery to learn how much you really have in you. I hope we cross race paths again and really race to see just how far we can push it.
Carol-Thank you! At one point when I was on my last lap near the special needs area, I ran past a guy guiding a deaf and blind guy. I told myself my ailments are so so minor compared to this guy. I found out later that he was the first deaf and blind athlete to ever complete an ironman. Incredible!!
Carla-You've got that HIM in the bag!
Jeff-Thank you! Great meeting and racing with you too...even if you did completely forget meeting me at camp in March
SS- Thanks for the incredible support and leadership. KMF
Tom- you're right about it being easy to be too prideful. Triathlon is such a me sport, but my I certainly made a rookie mistake running off the road. I've always learned lessons the hard way! Great meeting you and sharing the course with you. Good luck at Lake Stevens.
Al- You're absolutely right about the bike. I think the combination of the adrenaline rush from the crash followed by sitting down a few minutes getting patched up might have been the thing I needed. I have been sick thinking about my T2. As detailed as I thought I was with my planning both on paper and in my head, I have absolutely no excuse for that stupidity. Another lesson learned the hard/dumb way. My medical issues are really controlled with the treatment I get, so I rarely feel like I have anything wrong with me. I just feel grateful and lucky to be able to do this.
Comments
Time: 12:08:04
Age – 37
Ht – 5’11
Wt – 175 (on race day)
Race Week
I fully expected this race NOT to be wetsuit legal, so I purchased a Swimskin and practiced in it a couple of times. Before I left on Wednesday, I learned that the water temperature in Lake Woodlands at the time was 69 degrees. Oh no! I don’t even own a wetsuit! I quickly had one overnighted to my hotel. Great! Another expense I hadn’t anticipated. Oh well, at least it wasn’t for my bike this time.
I swam at my local pool Wednesday morning and left for Houston around noon to arrive that afternoon…about a 3-1/2hr drive. I checked into my hotel then went to the expo to check-in. I walked around the expo some, but decided to heed the advice of the coaches and stay away from there. I ate dinner, messed around with my bags and tried to sleep, but for whatever reason (probably nerves) I could only sleep about 3 hours.
Thursday I woke up, ate my prescribed breakfast, toured the transition area and went to the 4 Keys talk at the library. Spent the rest of the day either eating, unsuccessfully trying to nap, or packing my bike and run bags. I also rode my trainer in my hotel for about an hour. Then I attended the EN dinner. Sleep eluded me again, only got around 5 hours.
Friday, I got up early and ate breakfast, then went to practice swim. I tried my new wetsuit on that came in the day before and it fit perfectly (thank goodness). I dropped my bike off with bike and run bags and headed back to the hotel. My wife, Jamie, and twin boys, Eli and Jase, arrived at the hotel. I drove her around to show her where to park for the race, and then ate dinner. Got back to hotel early and tried to sleep, but couldn’t really. Maybe got about 4 hours of real sleep.
Race Day
Got up at 3:30, ate my applesauce, banana, Perform, and whey protein. I didn’t feel real well, neither before nor after eating. I don’t know what it was but I just didn’t feel like my full self. At 5AM, I got all my stuff together and drove to T1. Got my tires pumped up, nutrition put on bike, and headed to swim start, a pretty decent hike. I was supposed to eat 1.5 PowerBars at 5:30, but I just didn’t feel very good and those things don’t taste good anyway. Got my special needs bags dropped off and found a place to just stand alone and take it all in. Got about 10 minutes of this when Jamie and the boys arrived. I put on my wetsuit, hugged and kissed my family, drank a sip of water, ate a GU, and headed for the start.
Swim – Goal 1:10 w/Swimskin Actual 1:06:52 w/wetsuit.
I lined up in the very front row. Initially, I got to hold on to a paddleboard, but then the guy paddled away so luckily, I was able to hang on to one of the pointy ends of the buoy so I didn’t have to tread water. I wasn’t quite ready to start when the gun went off. I guess I expected a countdown or maybe I just didn’t hear it? I tried to get up front but had people grabbing my feet right from the start. I had difficulty sighting as the splashing was just too much to be able to really see much of the next buoy. I didn’t get much clean water until after about midway back and even then sighting was worse. I had tinted goggles, but the sun was really causing a glare. I ended up just sighting from the shoreline and only occasionally looking up. Upon entering the canal, it got congested again. I had to slow down a lot here because the people in front were just blocking any forward progression. Out of the water I could barely stand, but I quickly got my legs back.
T1- Goal 5:00- Actual: 05:46
Pretty uneventful. My plan initially was to carry my shoes to my bike, but I realized that I would have grass and whatever else on my feet so I just put them on in the tent and ran to my bike. I could have been faster here. I took too much time stuffing my wetsuit in my bag.
Bike – Goal: 5:50 Actual: 6:04:27
My race plan called for me to do the first part of the race at .65IF or 165w then when HR came down increase to .67IF or 170w. I started off with a HR that was a bit too high so I kept my watts at about 160 to force the HR down. I was getting passed like I was sitting still. I had come out of the water ahead of more than 2,000 other athletes so I knew it would happen. As the HR started to go down, I tried to increase the watts, but every time I started to I just didn’t feel well, so I’d back off. This went on and on. I just wasn’t going to push 170 consistently without feeling a bit nauseous. Shortly after mile 60, I routinely glanced down at my computer and when I did I veered off the road, hit some loose gravel and my bike slid out from under me. I landed on the chip seal road on my left shoulder, knee and hand. I thought my race was over. I bleeding like a stuck pig and emotionally deflated. I checked my bike out and all looked okay, so I got on and rode to the next aid station where I got patched up and kept riding. While I was stopped, I went ahead and peed. The wreck cost me about 10 minutes, but for whatever reason, my nausea had subsided some and I felt better the last 70 miles. On the way in, I passed a lot of strong looking folks who must have gone out a bit too hard? I needed to pee again as we got close to the bike finish, but there wasn’t any real downhill spots to let it out, so I just held it and hoped for a quick Porto potty break at the start of the run. Big mistake. Ended up riding total at .62IF/156w.
T2- Goal: 05:00 Actual: 09:21
I don’t know what happened to me here. I just lost focus on what I was doing. Maybe because I had to pee? I ended up dumping my go bag out and individually picking all the items up. Then I stopped at the Porto potty outside of the changing tent, but it was full, so I had to wait. This was just stupid.
Run – Goal: Not walk Actual: 4:41.38 and I only walked the aid stations.
I didn’t have or didn’t believe I had the run durability that I would have liked due to plantar problems. In training, I was unable to run consecutive days because my foot hurt too badly, so I knew this was my biggest limiter. My IM pace was supposed to be 9:45 plus 30 seconds, so 10:15. I started out at that pace, but just seemed to naturally settle in to about 10:45 (including walking the aid stations). I didn’t want to push it so I just stayed there. I followed the same routine every mile: I took ice water, bent over and poured it over my neck, drank one cup of Perform, then got some ice held it in my hands and started running again. Before each aid station, I ate a Cliff Shot Blok. Every hour, I ate a GU caffeinated Gel. My knee was starting to hurt pretty good from the crash. At mile 16.5 or so my quads started screaming at me. I thought I was approaching “The Wall”, but miraculously it just eased up and I kept going. Those last two miles seemed like they took forever. I know I sped up pretty good by then but the end just wasn’t getting there soon enough. And then there it was, the turn off for the finish line. I hit that ramp and thought about my one thing that I hadn’t yet needed to draw from: I hadn’t looked at the chute before the race so I didn’t realize I had to go up, then down, the back up to the finish. I had a great time running that chute and high fived Jamie on the way up the last hill. I high fived others who may or may not have wanted a high five.
Observations and Mistakes
Swim-My goal was a 1:10 swim or better based upon past RR, so I beat this goal. However, I have plenty of room for improvement. I would do a better job pre-sighting. I should have lined up farther to the right and tried for more of a straight line rather than having to weave in and out, following the buoys. This was part inexperience and part stupid.
T1 – I would be a little more efficient and make sure my plan was solid before heading in to T1. I could have shaved some time off here without missing anything. Again, just inexperience and stupidity.
Bike- I could have pushed a bit harder, but I honestly don’t know if my nausea would have gotten worse or not. At the very least I could have shaved 10 minutes off had I not wrecked.
T2 – 09:21!!!! I’m just plain embarrased by this. After all the expensive little things I do to shave seconds and I squander time in transition doing dumb stuff! Just stupid!!!
Run-I might have been able to push the pace a bit and based on my HR which stayed steady through the entire race, rather than the ideal progressive curve. My inexperience with the distance combined with my lack of run durability and fear of walking kept the pace where it was. I don’t know what would have happened had I sped up, but I feel I could have gone a few seconds faster per mile and been okay.
Going forward
I haven’t signed up for another IM yet, but intend to do so or at least set my sights on one for 2015. I plan on really trying to work on my fast between now and 2015 so I can hopefully translate that to an IM. I know I can finish one, now I would like to race one.
I want to thank of all my teammates for their willingness to share their experiences and wisdom with me, and the coaches for providing the roadmap for IM success. Thank you all for being so willing to share the details that can make or break a race. I’ve now seen firsthand what the 90% is doing and I’m glad I wasn’t one of them. I’m glad to be a part of the EN 10.
Your background story is a testament to why events like this exist; we want to push ourselves beyond whatever limitations we think we may have! Great race recap. I can't agree more with one of the last things you said- I now know I can finish one, now I want to race one. I feel the same way and hope we cross paths at a future race!
Congrats!
CK...great report. Inspirational history. Congratulations! Way to persevere despite the crash and nausea. It was great to meet and race with you.
CK,
Was my pleasure to meet you and get to know you. You made the team so much stronger. Way to show what it means to always keep moving forward, no excuses! Well deserved and congratulations IM!!
It's easy to get caught up in the "I did this" attitude but it's obvious from the medical adversities you have had through your life that "He has helped you do this". Great report. I've come close many times to running off the road while looking down at my computer. One of the thoughts that goes through my head continuously while on the bike is "stay vigilant." Thinking about all those things that we could have done better is what keeps me doing ironman. It was great meeting you and I hope our paths cross again.
Chris - simply amazing, for your first IM and only third tri. Anytime someone runs the whole way, the IM counts as a success, no matter what happens along the way.
Lucky, lucky on the bike - that's the way people brake their collar bones. Road rash - you can keep going. It's funny, sometimes an enforced rest on the bike, like a flat or a penalty, gives you a second wind. While it probably cost some real time on your bike split, it may have helped you on the run. My best runs in an IM and HIM have come respectively after a penalty and a flat.
T2
Two pieces of advice you probably have already figured out. First, the concept of the "Go Bag". The only things you deal with in T@ are putting on shoes, and getting out the gate. EVERYTHING ELSE - hat, sunscreen, gel, number belt, peeing - you deal with on the first mile of the run. Put all the stuff in a large Ziplock, mess with it while running (this helps slow your pace), and hit up the first porta potty you see. Its almost always empty, as everyone else has done their business in T2.
I get where you're coming from about your medical challenges. For the past few years, I've been living with a spinal cord injury and dysphagia (Swallowing deficit) from a bike accident which affects how I have to train and race. Just some of the gazillion things anyone/everyone has to deal with to get out the door and make it happen, grateful for the chance to do it.
EB-thank you for your positive, always cheerful attitude. Yes, when I caught up to you, I was pretty happy to have been able to still be out there. The wreck was kinda like pressing reset so it might have even been a blessing in disguise? I know you've got some proud kiddos yourself. How many kids can say their mom's an ironman? Remember, before entering your garage, always ask yourself where's my bike
Crosby-it was awesome getting to know you at camp and catching up on Thursday. I think you're right, part of the draw to IM is to test the limits of our ability as humans. It's an amazing discovery to learn how much you really have in you. I hope we cross race paths again and really race to see just how far we can push it.
Carol-Thank you! At one point when I was on my last lap near the special needs area, I ran past a guy guiding a deaf and blind guy. I told myself my ailments are so so minor compared to this guy. I found out later that he was the first deaf and blind athlete to ever complete an ironman. Incredible!!
Carla-You've got that HIM in the bag!
Jeff-Thank you! Great meeting and racing with you too...even if you did completely forget meeting me at camp in March
SS- Thanks for the incredible support and leadership. KMF
Tom- you're right about it being easy to be too prideful. Triathlon is such a me sport, but my I certainly made a rookie mistake running off the road. I've always learned lessons the hard way! Great meeting you and sharing the course with you. Good luck at Lake Stevens.
Al- You're absolutely right about the bike. I think the combination of the adrenaline rush from the crash followed by sitting down a few minutes getting patched up might have been the thing I needed. I have been sick thinking about my T2. As detailed as I thought I was with my planning both on paper and in my head, I have absolutely no excuse for that stupidity. Another lesson learned the hard/dumb way. My medical issues are really controlled with the treatment I get, so I rarely feel like I have anything wrong with me. I just feel grateful and lucky to be able to do this.