Ironman Switzerland – Land of the Walking Dead
FYI - I posted this to Facebook so if you've read it there, it's the same thing. 
13:13:49, 23/45 (including 6 DNF) M55-59. This was my 10th Ironman at 8
different venues. I had a crappy day from the beginning but it was a wonderful
race at a fantastic site. Since I’m in
the last year of the M55-59 I looked up how many finishers were older than me …
28 total (26 men and 2 women) out of roughly 1500 in this race. Yeah, there aren’t many people 60 and up
doing this gig! For those interested in
racing in Zurich, I’m going to cover the following topics in this race report:
1) course description, 2) Ironman differences in Europe, 3) logistics, 4) race
recap and 5) my finishing thoughts.
Course Description:
2016 was the 20th anniversary of IM Switzerland and the swim
and run course were changed from previous years. I don’t know whether they will keep these
changes. The swim was basically a large
rectangle in Lake Zurich. The swim start
and exit are about 200 yards apart. Age
groupers formed in corrals based on anticipated swim times and entered the
water in groups of 8 people every 5 seconds.
It was a very smooth start. The
bike leg consists of two loops of 56 miles.
Each loop has 4 notable climbs with two having names: the “Beast” and “Heartbreak Hill”. Coming out of transition you have a good 18
miles of flat riding before you hit the first climb, then the course is rolling
before dropping down to almost lake level where you turn back up the ridge to
climb the Beast, followed by a nice but brief descent, then another long but
less steep climb and then a rapid descent back to lake level. Once back by the leg you bike around to
transition on the other side of the lake and past transition until the route
leaves the lake takes you up Heartbreak Hill before returning to
transition. There are three descents on
each loop where being in the aerobars was a DQ offense…these are well-marked
including a sign when you could be back in the bars. The run course is 4 loops and almost
completely flat. Multi-loop run courses
are common in Europe and you collect hair bands (scrunchies) on your arm
towards the end of each loop. When you
get the final color you are allowed to finish.
This year’s route was altered to go right downtown on the
Bahnhoffstrasse, then back up the Renweg, before dropping down to the River
Limmat by the Frau Munster church and across the river to the Gross Munster
church before heading back to the lake.
The run course is beyond scenic but the cobblestone/brick sessions were
tough on my feet. The majority of the
course was asphalt, but there is enough cobblestone, concrete, and brick
portions to get your attention.
Ironman Differences in Europe: Zurich was my third Ironman in Europe. I’ve
also completed Ironman Regensburg (Germany) in 2011 and Ironman Kalmar (Sweden)
in 2013. Like Sweden, Zurich did not do
any body marking. Yet two days after the
race I received a full set of Finisher Pix photos including two of me coming
out of the water. Bodymarking is an
anachronism from before timing chips.
Why the US still does bodymarking is beyond me. In the U.S. full bike covers are not
permitted at all. In Regensburg and
Sweden they required them and issued them to all competitors. Zurich apparently did so up to this year but
announced that due to predicted storms the night before and the potential for
wind, they would not provide them.
However, athletes were allowed to use full covers if they had them and
dozens upon dozens did so. Another difference is that none of the races
I’ve done in Europe do Special Needs bags. If you need a change of clothes, an additional
tire/tube/CO2 or other equipment, that’s not permitted over there. Take the gear you need with you. However, they did have two provisions for
food and drink. One option was to place
your food/drink (no gear) in big plastic tubs that they would take out to
certain locations on the bike and run.
If you wanted something out of a bin, then you had to stop and dig it
out along with everyone else’s stuff.
The other option was two spectator zones on the bike and run course
where your Sherpa or Coach could hand you food or drink. These were marked for 50 meters at the
beginning or end of specific stations.
For example, on the run, the spectator zones were at the “Hot Zone” and
“Golden” aid stations. Getting food at
any other location would be outside assistance.
Being handed gear at these locations would be illegal outside
assistance. On the plus side, European
IMs have the “athlete garden” which is an area for finishers only that includes
showers, Jacuzzis, beer, food, changing tents and the like. I knew I was in Europe after taking
shower. I was in the men’s tent with
just the short towel around me that they handed us at the finish line. There where a couple dozen men in varies
stages of dress including some guys butt naked when in comes this women whose
job was apparently to keep the place trash free. She is just walking around picking up like
she’s strolling through the mall. Ho
hum, nothing to see here! Finally, a major difference from the U.S. is
that most Ironman races offer only 16 hrs to complete the race (plus or minus a
few minutes depending on the actual start time and the rolling start). IM Frankfurt and Challenge Roth offer only 15
hrs. Still, somethings are starting to
change over there. Zurich had wetsuit
strippers for the first time, something I haven’t seen in Europe at any IM,
IM70.3 or ITU race I’ve done there.
Logistics. My
wife and I flew to Zurich directly from Tampa on Eidelweiss Air, a subsidiary
of Swiss Air that flies in and out of Tampa three times a week. Direct flights are always the way to go when
available. The airport is a little north
of Zurich, about a 20 min train ride to the Haupbahnhoff (main train
station). From there I took a cab to our
hotel. I’ve been to Zurich before and
the hotel elevators are comically small.
The one at our hotel on this trip was maybe 3’ by 3’ running up the
center of a spiral staircase…meaning I lugged my bike case up 4 flights…ugh. Fortunately, I have a softside bike case that
packed is typically around 35 lbs. And
with the front wheel off, I was able to get the bike and me up and down the
elevator. If you do the race and have a
heavy case be sure to ask about the elevator size or get a room on the lowest
floor possible. Getting around Zurich on
the streetcar system is extremely easy.
You don’t need a car for in town, and there is virtually NO parking
anywhere near the venue beyond what was reserved for key IM staff. We used the streetcars to go to and from the
venue with the exception of race morning.
The early morning schedule for Sunday was pretty sparse so we took a cab
to the tram station instead … about a ¼ mile walk to transition from
there. Zurich is one of the most
expensive cities to live in so be prepared for price shock, especially when you
go out to eat. Most hotels offer a full
breakfast included in the room price so eat big in the morning. We tended to eat light during the day by
buying food at a grocery store. For
example, a soda or a bottle of water at a store would cost about 1.1 Swiss
Francs (nearly 1 for 1 on the dollar) but 3.7 to 5 francs on the street
depending on how much competition was around.
In the evening we would go to a nice restaurant where we averaged about
$80 a meal without alcohol. Zurich
offers a lot of bus tours outside of the city or you can just take the train
wherever you want to go. While there we
visited Rapperswil (site of IM70.3), Lucerne, Heidiland, Rhein Falls,
Lichtenstein and Titesee, Germany.
The Race. It
was a very warm week leading up to the race but the forecast called for heavy
thunderstorms the two days before the race and the day of the race. With the exception of about 1 hour of rain
two days before, the forecast missed the mark and race day ended up much, much
warmer than predicted. Worse for me was
that the water temperature rose to 75.2 degrees. I had only brought a full wetsuit and a
swimskin just in case it went over 76.1.
So even though my wife says I break into a sweat walking to the mailbox,
I put on my full for the buoyancy. This
nearly ended my day. Although I had a
clean start and felt I was swimming fine, by halfway I was out of gas, going
through the motions and thinking about how thirsty I was. TOO HOT!!
I ended up 16 mins slower than my normal IM swim...absolute worst I’ve
done. Unlike the U.S. there was no one
handing you a drink as you exit. So I
got to my bike and started chugging. In
another IM first, I drank THREE 20 oz bottles of liquid before I reached the
20KM mark on the bike leg. Starting the
bike with such a significant deficit is less than ideal and early on I threw
out all race goals beyond finishing. At
about 20 miles I had a chain drop that cost me a little time, my only
mechanical of the day. Meanwhile it was
warming up and I was literally soaked climbing up the Beast at about .93FTP in
a 34x27, but worked hard to stay hydrated.
About 47 miles or so into the course, back on the flat, there was a guy
about 70 yards ahead of me. I looked
down for a second and then back up to see the guy doing a spectacular endo,
slamming into the road and flipping another time. No one was around him, and I didn’t see what
caused it, but I knew it was bad … another stop. Moved his bike off the road, and asked if he
could stand…no. Two Swiss spectators
came up and I asked one to call an ambulance. Then an IM worker came running up
from the other direction. Nothing more I
could do at that point so I got back on my bike and left. Next up was Heartbreak Hill – only 1K long
but very steep – another match burner over FTP threshold. Came back around to the other side of the
lake and see the ambulance crew working with the guy who had flipped – more
than a half hour after I had stopped. I
never saw much drafting on the course, partly because of the rolling start, the
small field relative to other IMs, and the hills. But on this second loop before hitting the
hills, I watched one guy get carded for what appeared to me to be a technical
drafting violation – not wheel sucking, but within the 12m zone. Unfortunately, they did not get the guy in
front of him who must have had a neck kink for checking his six so often as he
sat on the wheel of another guy. Coming by
the next penalty tent there were several checked in so the race marshals were
doing their job. I felt better going up
the Beast the second time, but it was hotter still. When we came back down to lake level again,
you could feel the temperature noticeably higher and the sun more
prominent. Any hope I had for afternoon
thunderstorms during the run vanished.
I had biked my “should” pace for this course, but my left knee was
really stiff from the climbs and I had to walk a couple hundred yards before
jogging. All I could think about on the
first loop was how warm it was and how hot I was getting…which gets to another
key difference between Europe and the U.S. – they have not discovered the
purpose of ice. Not an ice cube anywhere
on the course and no cold drinks whatsoever.
I saw that they had cases of 2 liter plastic bottles of Coke at each aid
station wrapped in plastic sitting in the sun.
I nearly spewed the first time I took a glass of Coke and it was
hot. Finally I got my first arm band,
but now my heart rate was jacked and I was already into a game of run to the
next landmark that my mind would accept as a possibility. Starting on loop 2 I found a water fountain
with cold water and spent a couple minutes chugging it. There are over 1200 spring fed water
fountains in Zurich and this one was a treat unlike the warm liquids they were
handing out as if we were running in a blizzard. Quitting entered my thoughts a couple of
times but I rejected that knowing I had sufficient time. Finished another loop and got band #2. Loop 3 sucked even more, and now I was seeing
medical staff assisting folks on the ground.
Saw another young lady with a number sitting on the curb crying to her
boyfriend that she couldn’t do it. Two
bands on me and I’m seeing some runners with none so I knew I had to go on, but
I was thinking that this really should be my last. And my feet were killing me, partly from a
blister on each little toe, and partly from the cobblestones. But a small miracle was about to happen. Coming into the aptly named Hot Zone (for the
temperature of whatever you wanted to drink) at the end of Lap 3, I see my wife
in the spectator assist zone with a COLD SPRITE and a CUP OF ICE! No kidding ICE!! OMG!!!
So I’m walking through the zone pouring my Sprite over the ice and
laughing at the volunteers who are offering me drinks of water, vita (their
version of Gatorade), or coke. I’m
showing them that I have ICE and they have nothing to offer but liquid
misery. A couple of hundred yards later
I pick up armband #3 and am rejuvenated knowing that I am going to finish this
sufferfest. I continue the death march
despite my feet hurting more and more, and finally get armband #4 with about a
¼ mile to the finish. Just before I
enter the happy zone that is an IM finish I walk for a few yards to steel
myself, zip up my trisuit for the pics, then run down the “magic carpet” at a
respectable pace to complete Ironman #10!
Finishing Thoughts.
Ironman hurts. I was very well
prepared for this race but it wasn’t my day and that just made it hurt all the
more. The MOP time hurt my pride and the
race itself hurt my body. I especially
hate hot IM races which I seem to get more often than not. Closing in on a Legacy qualification to Kona,
I asked myself why the heck I would even want to do Hawaii when I can drive to
the beach from my house in about 35 minutes.
For that matter, why would I want to do anymore Ironman races at
all? Isn’t 10 enough? What more do I have to prove? Should guys my age even be doing this? These are the kind of negative thoughts going
through my mind during the race and immediately after. Three days later, the pain is fading away and
I know I’m not quite ready to hang it up.
There will be another Ironman to conquer next year.
Comments
Paul - My philosophy: "Keep doing' it till you can't". Of course, "It" doesn't necessarily have to be an Ironman, but it does need to be something which makes people go, "Whoa, you did that?!"
It's too late to stop now...
I raced twice in Europe (Mallorca) and I agree with you that alot of differences compare to NA, I dont know for Zurich but I also think Europpeans are wayyyyyyyyy much better cyclist than we are. They are really strong.
10 IM is not shit, 3-4 more to go and you get your pass to the island!! This is also my plan since I dont consider myself fast enuff in my AG to get a spot.
Dunno if you are back, but if not, enjoy your time in Suisse, its a really nice country
Give it some time before you make some plans/direction
Next time drink more Rivella.
60 yo next year ?
Paul, for me, these are the ones I most admire. Knowing things are looking ugly, yet continuing to move forward and grit it out. That is true IM stuff right there IMO. Super inspirational from my view.
Thank you for sharing and congratulations on getting a tough one done and completed!
SS
Inspiring read- nice job toughing it out. I am continuously awestruck at what you veterans are able to do mentally and physically.
Congrats on #10 Paul.... Norseman??? next ????
@ Francis - we spent 8 days there and saw a lot and it was indeed beautiful. I'm reading a book called "Swiss Watching."
@ David - thanks. I'm not making any drastic decisions at this point.
@ Robin - yep, moving up to M60 in 2017.
@ Shaughn - thanks. It may be admirable but it didn't FEEL admirable.
@ Steve - Ironman South Africa is next.
@ David - I still have some margin, but I don't want to ever be within an hour of cut-off.
@ Satish - I'm just stubborn.
@ Jennifer - If someone has a mechanical they are on their own. But when you KNOW someone is hurt bad right in front of you, then stopping is a must. Good luck for IMMT...fingers crossed for great weather!
@ Tim - Yep, I'm definitely like your dog!