IMAZ Race Report
I woke up on Iron day feeling more relaxed than I've felt before any of my other races. Meeting Rich and Patrick and the rest of the team really gave me a head of steam and made me feel like I had some wisdom and mojo in my pockets that I hadn't had before.
I got off to a good start on the swim, counting my strokes and keeping them long. It was definitely bumpy. With the wide course, a lot of people were zig-zagging across to find a line, so there was a lot of struggle to find space. Still, I felt pretty strong. When I got out, my time was only about a minute over what I'd done in my race rehearsal in the pool, so I felt pretty good, considering the number of human-shaped speed bumps that came with the open water swim.
Transition was a little slow. Fortunately there was a lot of room on the grass, so I was able to stay away from the very crowded changing tent. Definitely a good idea for anyone doing this event in the future to get a feel for the swim to bike transition steps.
Hit the bike and despite the chilly air, wasn't super cold. Started to feel some vibration in my rear tire and realized sure enough air was running out of my tire. Turned out a wire was embedded in the rubber. Changed up pretty fast. 2 mechanics actually showed up pretty quickly and helped me. On that note, I have to say I was really impressed with tech support - saw scooters everywhere on the course.
There was a pretty stiff headwind going up the highway, but of course a tailwind coming back, so I was flying. Felt pretty good about sticking to my race plan. Have to say the drafting out there was RIDICULOUS. There were moments it looked like a pro bike race with people coming down in full-on packs down the highway. Have to say that the sin bins were empty whenever I rode by. Seems like there could have been more officiating.
I did have a little trouble with my nutrition. I had two 3 hour bottles mixed up for the ride. Because I had trouble with digestion chasing the dense mix with a water chaser during rehearsal, my practice has been to mix some of the dense solution with water in my aero drink bottle as I go along. However, I made the mistake of losing concentration and squeezing 2 hours worth of nutrition in one shot into my aero drink early on, so my pattern got of synch and I was drinking some really strong fluid for a while. Did this contribute to stomach problems later on in my race? Not sure.
As I got to the last half of my 3rd loop, my legs were feeling a little wonky, so I tried to follow RnP's advice of better safe than sorry on the bike, and took my watts down by about 10 to try and save my legs a little more. Still felt pretty good though, and had an awesome bunch of family waving me back into Tempe. Had a much quicker bike to run transition, and for the moment, felt good.
As I hit the run, I tried to keep my pace down. My Garmin was reading 8:50 and I was trying to get down to the race plan 10:07. I was literally pumping my legs up higher to slow down. I was able to get my pace down, and feel steady. Then things got interesting. About mile 5, my stomach started feeling funky. I can push through muscular pain, but queasiness is something different. I tried a little of everything in the aid station: coke, gatorade and water. Nothing helped. I tried stopping, using the port-a-potty. Still sick. I've never been able to make myself puke, so that was a no-go. When I drank a full cup of water, I got a wicked stomach cramp, so I stuck to sucking on ice and very small portions of water.
Through the rest of the run, I alternated between some walking with the best run I could manage. One thing that helped, was simply closing my eyes and letting myself get inside my legs, finding a place where there was strength. Staying in my box was crucial. I focused on the next lamppost, or the next tree or the next aid station. I looked away from the runners around me and stayed on the task at hand.
Through all of this, I was so glad to see so many spectators scattered throughout the course. The goofy aid stations with pirate costumes etc. and so many people shouting my name made a huge difference. The big high-five from Patrick bought me at least a another mile. My one thing changed too. I decided that if I finished, I would be able to look back at this experience and know "I didn't quit. I'm not a quitter." And that was what I needed. The "one thing" really works.
Middle of the 3rd loop, I looked at the time and realized, almost no matter what, I'd be able to beat my time of 14:01 from my first Ironman. I'd been hoping to do much better, but I'd take it. In the finish chute, I was able to see my parents in the stands and my sister was close enough that I was able to give her a big hug. I'd seen the stands going up the day before, but nothing prepared me for what the finish chute actually was like. I was totally spent, and I puked for the first time at the end of any race, but I made it. Those 4 keys really work, and though there are some things I need to dial in and figure out for Lake Placid next year (and I will finish Lake Placid), had I not focused on my one thing and listened to those execution podcasts, I'm not sure I'd have finished another Ironman. Thank you everyone in the haus! I'm ready for another year.
Comments
Wow, Eric! You brought back memories of my last IM--just get to that next lamp post, the next crosswalk., the next whatever. Over and over like Rainman. But that's the box, and that's the incredible fortitude. Good for you! Excellent day overall, and congrats on your PR! Way to hang tougher than tough on that run.
Great job out there and nice meeting you at the team dinner. Good luck in '10.
Eric, you displayed some serious suckitupitude. Nice job. Having stomach issues at mile 5 is a total bummer, but you focused on what you could do and got it done. Congratulations.
Looking forward to meeting you at LP.
Dave
Eric,
Congrats on a well deserved finish. It's easy to do well when things are going well but it's when you get a flat or want to puke or the things that worked in the past 10months of training don't work on race day and to fight through that and never say die is what it's about . My best IM wasn't my fastest, it was the one I refused to quit. Great job. I look forward to meeting all the EN folks racing LP.
Way to hang tough and gut it out (pun intended)! Seriously, GI issues are difficult to push through. Congrats on executing some great mental strength.
Great job. It is nice to read the story of the day as we watched the results page update every ten minutes. Way to go.
Nice work, Eric. You definitely kept it moving forward despite a number of setbacks that were completely beyond your control. That is a huge accomplishment in itself. And then a PR to boot - wow.
Eric,
Sounds like a tough day on the run and a good job by you to manage the situation and nutrition. I am looking forward to that finish line in 2010 it's been 6 years for my at IM.
Gordon
Eric, Thanks for that report. I'm glad we met out there... somewhere on the bike course.
Lowell