Reflections on IM Hawaii 2019 and my final walk to Ironman Glory!
I qualified for Kona 2019 the hard way … via the Legacy program. Despite not earning a KQ I still hoped to beat about half of my age group at Hawaii, then continue racing Ironman at other venues that called to me. But as luck would have it, I hurt my knee in April and learned that I could no longer run at all if I wanted to continue to walk. So my new plan was to just finish Kona by walking the marathon, then retire from triathlon. And I mean walk-walking, not run-walking. I started power-walking in my training and built to a long walk of 18 miles three weeks before race day. I have never walked that far before and Kona was going to be a grand experiment just to finish.
I’ve always wanted to race Kona, but only because it was the World Championship, not because of its storied history. On this point, I differ from so many of my Legacy peers. I actually felt guilty that the race didn’t mean as much to me although I had every intention of killing myself to finish…as I would for any race. One participant wrote after the race that finishing was the single greatest thing that ever happened to him. Sorry to bust any bubbles, but it wasn’t even in the same zip code as many other things I’ve done. But it was a great event, and it certainly is the most important ironman on the circuit.
Given the significance of the event, my wife and I travelled to Kona eight days before the race, the earliest I’ve ever shown up for an IM event. Even then, it already felt like the race was just two days away as it does at a ‘regular’ ironman. The flow of athletic humanity up and down Ali’I Drive provided for endless people watching. Athletes were training everywhere you turned, and many weren’t even in the race. I participated in the Ho’ala Ironman training swim, did a few practice rides including the climb to Hawi and on the Queen K, and walked some of the course to get ready for race day.
And then we toured. A lot of people come to the big dance with little intention of doing anything else. I’ve never been able to separate an IM event from the tourist destination because that’s half the fun. To make more time for checking out the big island, I blew off the Iron Gents dinner, the Legacy Reception, the Parade of Nations, the Ironman Experience, the Welcome Banquet and the Awards Banquet. I confess that I did participate in the Kona Underpants Run, but only because that was an organized ‘athletic event’. Meanwhile, before race day, my wife and I took in the Pacific Voyagers Luau, the King K monument, the Pololu Valley Overlook, the Waipo Valley Overlook, Akaka Falls, Rainbow Falls, Pu’ukohola Heiau National Historic Site, Punalu’u Bake Shop (southern most bakery in the U.S.) and the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park – my top sightseeing priority while on the island. The Hulihe’e Palace is right on Ali’I Drive in the center of all the action, so yeah, we toured that too, and it was sad how few athletes made time for the history that was staring them in the face just two blocks from the pier. Of course, I also made time for the Endurance Nation team dinner and team breakfast to keep it real (thank you Coach Patrick)! We only had two days left on the island after the race but made it to St Benedicts Painted Church, Pu-honua O Honaunau National Historical Park, Puako Petroglyph Park, took in a Sunset Dinner Cruise on the Body Glove boat, did some final shopping and went to the movies. The point is there is more to Kona than this one event.
Now to the race. I did not post a race plan in advance since by this point (my 15th race) I intended to just follow the same old protocol. But I did have a realistic time goal and I will share that with my actual splits.
Swim: Goal – 1:25, Actual – 1:26:53. I swam several minutes faster in the Ho’ala training swim, but it had a mass start, a slightly different finish and the conditions were more favorable. On race day, I was in the very last wave starting 65 minutes after the pro men. The swells were certainly greater than on any of the Kona training swims I had done, but I was close enough.
T1: Goal – 5 mins; Actual: 6:43. I was pretty smooth in transition but lost some time in the men’s tent where it seemed every exit row was blocked by people just standing there. And putting on sun screen was more time consuming then I thought. I had expected that there would be people doing it for you ala Ironman Florida, but quickly realized that I was on my own. I hobbled/walked around the entire pier to my bike as fast as I could and was on my way.
Bike: Goal – 6:25; Actual – 7:09:47. WTF! In my practice rides, I was unimpressed with Kona’s heat or wind, so I never saw Madame Pele’s sucker punch coming my way. Not only was race day a lot more humid than early in the week, about 10 miles before the port where we turn to head to Hawi the winds began to really pick up. And as I was climbing the crosswinds were 30+mph. Yes, there were people blown off their bikes and one lady was knocked unconscious. A friend described it as the single most dangerous ride he had ever done. I had wisely selected a 45mm deep front rim (with 90mm in the back) for this race, but still spent most of the climb white knuckling my base bars and was afraid to grab a bottle or nutrition. So about a half mile from the turn in Hawi I was cramping bad and had to finally stop to drink and take some salt pills. The return was a long crampfest with the winds swirling from every which way on the Queen K. This was my single worst bike split even though I’ve ridden courses with a lot more elevation.
T2: Goal – 5 mins; Actual – 8:49. Handing off the bike to a volunteer was a wonderful feeling but I needed to pull myself together, so I walked so-so to the changing tent where I did a slow change, put on my knee brace, and prepared to power walk this sucker. By now, I had given up half my expected finish pad from the 17-hour cut-off. But again, the bike to walk transition is a very different animal than the bike to run, and I came out of transition with serious intent.
Run: Goal – 7:30, Actual – 7:00:25. Oh yeah, I was the power walking champion of Kona! I went out fast (for me) and only slowed a little on the long gentle uphill between 11-13 miles. Walking sucks, but the one significant advantage is that I knew I could easily stay on top of nutrition at a walk pace compared to a run pace. And two hours into the walk it was dark with a temperature only in the upper 70s. I was very comfortable. My Garmin 920 ran out of power in the Energy Lab but I knew I was ahead of my goal walk pace and that if I could keep it up I would at least be able to crack 16 hours. Coming down Palani Hill, I knew I had it in the bag, but could not slow my speed sub-16 min walk pace as I went up and down the ramp without hardly thinking. The nice touch was having Andrew Messick coming right up to me, shaking my hand and telling me it was great to finally meet. One of my kids worked at Ironman for awhile so I assume that’s what he meant.
And so it ends. My goal for walking Ironman Hawaii had been 15:30 and I finished in 15:52:35 good enough! I was 2185 out of 2266 official finishers in the world championship, not to mention the 100 DNF, 65 DNS, and 5 DQ. Not bad for not being able to run a single step of the marathon. This was Ironman #15 and my last triathlon – ever. I had done two triathlons in 1980, one in 1994, then came to the sport full time in 2006. Kona wasn’t supposed to be my final tri, but it is certainly was a good one to go out on. I rate it 4th of the 15 (13 different venues) that I’ve done. I’m now going to transition to aquabike for the next several years and use my fitness to tackle some other adventures that don’t involve running. I hope to see you out there.
Comments
Hi Paul
I really enjoyed reading your report.
Am impressed by your planning and execution of the run/walk leg. As you may recall, I am a potential member of the “no run”, so I was very interested in your thinking.
Cheers
Peter
Paul, I know your competitive spirit burns as bright as the sun. Potentially brighter. So not tackling this race on your own terms wasn't what you had in mind, but you really nailed it. You got to see it all, take it in, push your limits and finish strong. Can't ask for much more than that!!! Can't wait to follow your cycling exploits!
@Paul Hough I couldnt help but chuckle when I read your comments pre race about the KONA heat/winds. Never ever ever tempt the gods :-) Congrats on getting there and finishing. Enjoy Ironman retirement!
glad you strongly completed the day . you certainly earned the right to be there.
i am very glad you saw a lot of the cultural and scenic stuff. For me, having that background is important to making Kona an even more special day.
have a solid rest.
go Navy. i mean, Air Force.
Congrats! Def enjoyed reading this report. 7 hrs to walk 26 miles is pretty fast in my book.
@Paul Hough Every time I saw you race week, your head was up, you were beaming, thoroughly enjoying your time there. Out on the course, you had a clear plan for the run, and executed it smartly after preparing so well. Multiple 5+ hour walks in training was probably harder than what most of us ever do while running, and then you hit the pavement race day for 7 hours, finishing under 16 - a marvel. Your decades of race experience and mental persistence must have had their shining hour that evening.
May your fitness never falter, and your new adventures be as successful and fulfilling as your triathlon career, (and your running one before that.)
@Paul Hough This was really great to read. I love how you enjoyed your entire experience and weren't focused singularly on the race. For sure at times we all take this much too seriously. It sounds like you have a great IM career and can carry that spirit into new adventures. Congratulations on being able to pivot to a successful plan B.
@Paul Hough I loved your photo journalism on FB. You exemplify patience and humility. KMF.
@Peter Greagg - I hope your knees hold up! Being forced to walk in a triathlon is a complete fun-sucker. It is also time-intensive. In my training I hit a 3 week high of 30-30-31 miles a few weeks out. I dropped weight lifting for this final ironman to help make time for the walking. You use some different muscles than running so my best advice to someone that knows they have to walk is to not blow off the training. You have to prepare for what you expect to do.
@Coach Patrick - thanks for your support and leadership. Next up is USAT aquabike nationals on Nov 10. The ITU multisport long course WC in Sep 2020 will be contested over the full 140.6 so if I make the team I'll get to do a full swim and bike in Holland next Sep.
@tim cronk - thank you. I should have known that after last's years record setting conditions that 2019 would be a bear. :)
@robin sarner - thank you. I'm waiting to read your next Kona report. Go get that KQ! Airpower!!
@Carl Alleyne - can you imagine that world class race walkers go about 6 mins per mile? I tried a lot of different styles and even watched videos on race walking to see if I could go faster, but I'm afraid at my age that was as good as it gets. But I was very pleased to come in a half-hour under goal.
@Al Truscott - thanks so much for the support. It was an honor racing the course with you. If your knee will no longer let you run then I hope to see you out there doing the aquabike!!
@Sid Wavrin - I have a couple of degrees in geography (of all things) and the traveler in me will never let me focus exclusively on a race. Too many things to see and too many places to go! The big island was definitely worth the trip. I got the satisfaction of finishing and checked off about 90% of what I had hoped to see.
@Sheila Leard - Thanks Sheila. We had a blast. It simply wasn't possible to take in all the Ironman-related events and do justice to the island too. Karen and I knew which we enjoyed more so off went!
@Paul Hough It was great to FINALLY meet you in Kona. It was also nice to see you out on the Queen K during your planned walk and my unplanned shuffle. I loved the report and it sounds like you nailed it, given your newly adjusted execution goals for the race. All the best to you in your future endeavors, I'm sure they will be epic!
@Paul Hough Congratulations! I enjoyed reading your report and following you on race day. You killed that walk!
@Paul Hough Very late to this RR. Congrats on the Kona finish. Enjoy the new adventures in aquabike or where you go.