IMCDA Race Report
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IMCDA Race Report:
It is 4:30am and it’s officially time to get this expedition under way. My day starts off with two Natural smoothies (per Rich’s guidance from the 4 Key’s talk) standing in the bathroom of the hotel so I don’t wake the wife and kids. The bathroom seems to be the appropriate place for the morning meal as my nerves/anxiety are running off the charts and my GI system is full of butterflies (large angry butterflies). By 5:00am I’m off to the transition area to setup my bike, double check all my bags, and get marked up with my race number. At this point, I have to give a major shout out to all the volunteers that are up and working long before we ever show up. This race was one of the best staffed events I’ve ever attended. I didn’t want to spend too much time in the transition area before the race due to nerves. Time to get back to the hotel room and wake the family.
The look of fear in the newbie's eyes.
After getting the kids up and ready for a long day it was time to head down to the start and watch the pro’s take off. To see all the athlete’s pouring onto the beach was very cool; it was a constant stream of shiny black bodies with colored heads (reminded me of a large pack of seals heading off to sea). This was my first time watching an IM event live and the magnitude of what I was about to compete in really started to set in and I was very excited.
Dad and his 3 iron girls at the start
All the seals.
Once the gun goes off it’s time to follow the pack and hit the water. Five minutes in I’m hit with a wicked panic attack and I start thinking that all the hard work and training was going to be for not. Fortunately, I make it to the first buoy and grab on tight and started to get my sh*t together. It took a couple of minutes to regroup and start swimming “my swim” (time for a major thank you to Mike and Giff at SwimLabs. I just started to remember everything we worked on…reach, hinge, pull, unzip). I reformulate my swim plan based on the situation and started swimming buoy to buoy; small steps. Since I quickly became a back of the pack swimmer the choppiness of the water from everyone else started to pick up which made sighting a little difficult, but not the end of the world. As I completed the first lap and the volunteer shouts to me that my time is 48 min and change, I realized “I CAN DO THIS.” The second lap was relatively uneventful other than swimming 10 meters to the right of a buoy and then 10 meters to the left, I exited the water with a swim split of 1:46:20. GOAL #1 Complete: Exit the water in under 2 hours (everything else is gravy at this point).
Heading into T1, I was a lot more tired than I anticipated; so I sat down and ate a Cliff bar while one of the nice volunteers dried me off and put on my socks and shoes. Once I felt a little better, I started to refocus and get my mind right for the bike.
Heading out of T1
I originally wanted to complete the bike course in approximately 6 hours; however, after the swim, I knew that I needed to adjust my expectations accordingly (revised plan, 7 hours). Approximately 10 miles into the ride I realized that one of my aero bars was loose and I would have to pull over and make the necessary adjustments. It appears as if my bike got knocked over in the racks during anther athletes’ transition (should he/she have left a note with their insurance info?). Anyhow, the repair only took a minute or two and then I was off and riding again. I feel like I did an excellent job of staying within the power bands I setup prior to the race and completed the first lap in 3:47:56. As I started the second lap I could feel the temperature warming up and the wind kicked up as well. There were a couple of points during this leg that I had to dig deep mentally to fight through the fatigue that was setting in. Other than another slight mechanical issue (crossed the gears and dropped the chain) the ride was solid. Lap 2 in 3:45, total bike split 7:24:04. As a side note, I don’t have my data downloaded from my CPU as it’s in my gear bag on its way back via Tribike Transport (awesome service that I highly recommend).
As far as nutrition goes, I had two 3-hour bottles of Infinit on my rear seat cage and my Speedfill full of water. I finished 1-1/2 bottles of the Infinit before I couldn’t stand the taste anymore and switched to Gatorade. I probably consumed two 40 oz. bottles of water, and 5 gels throughout the ride. As a side note for those who don’t like the taste of tap water (other than your home brew), I filled my Speedfill with bottled water right out of the gate and it made a big difference.
Off the bike and into T2-looking tired
In T2 I was grateful for the volunteers who helped change my socks and shoes, and more importantly wrap a cold wet towel around my neck. What a difference that made. After another Cliff bar, it was off to get lubed by the sun screen girls and hit the run. The marathon started off OK for the first mile or so but then the stomach cramps set in. It took another mile or two of walking/shuffling along to work through them. From miles 4-6 I felt better but was fading fast. At this point it was clear that I was going to be walking a lot and go well into the night. This was a big bummer mentally for me, but I also knew that there was no way I wasn’t going to cross the finish line. Seeing all the EN folks out on their second loop offering encouragement to me made a world of difference, as well as all the supporters throughout the crowd. I think it was at mile 8 that I ran (walked) up to Carly Morse (from EN) and paced with her for a little while (I know we are not suppose to make friends at this point in the race, but if I didn’t stop and work as a team with her I would have struggled even more). Subsequently, we stayed together through the rest of the race and took turns encouraging and setting the pace for each other (Carly, you where a life/race saver…thank you!). We also hooked up with Mike Rudolph for a little while and he looked AWSOME, a real inspiration to what you can do when you set your mind to something. Way to go on all that you’ve accomplished!
Heading for home down Sherman.
As the night wore on, we shuffled our way up and down and around the course to the top of Sherman. I decided that time wasn’t important anymore and the only thing to focus on was dragging my sorry and sore ass across the line. When we made the left hand turn towards the shoots and saw the electricity in the air and the crowds going crazy, all the pain and suffering left my legs, hips, arms, and brain and it was like running on air down to the finish line. I was fortunate to see the wife and kids about 3 blocks out for a quick picture and then enjoy and embrace the crowd all the way in. They were real troopers over the last 40 odd weeks with all my crazy schedules and training…I LOVE YOU.). Final time: 15:37:27. As I crossed the finish line and heard the PA announcer say those magic words…”Aaron Linkow from Denver, CO, you are an Ironman.” did it finally set in, I am an IRONMAN!
Screen shot from the web broadcast
To the rest of the EN team, thank you for the support and encouragement throughout this process. I truly appreciate all the knowledge and wisdom this group possesses and shared with a newbie like me for the last 10 months. I look forward to continuing with EN as I progress through the multisport world. Congratulations to all who participated in this event!
Comments
Congratulations Aaron you are an Ironman
Gave me goosh bumps and a lump in my throat when I read that part of your story. I am so anticipating hearing those words! Way to cross the line...with time to spare at that 
Aaron,
Great race report and congrats on a great race!
I added a few more pictures from your album
Congrats! Nothing better than the first one. Kids are super cute. Enjoy yourself and relax.
Vince
Arron, Congrats and thanks for the RR. There really is nothing like the 1st IM. How can you beat that support crew? Very cool
Aaron, You are an Ironman! Congratulations!!!! Those words are always great to hear
Your cheering squad is adorable! 3 beautiful girls. I love the picture of your daughter asleep on the sign
Congratulations and enjoy your recovery
Dominic
Well done!
Here's a couple of pics Jen took of us.
EN morning swim
Pre-event morning in transition
Congratulations! And you have the most adorable sherpas!