IM CDA Race Report - From Broken Neck to Ironman!
Hey Team...
So my story on competing in Ironman began on February 13, 2007, while skiing in Verbier Switzerland with my sons, I had a fluke fall and broke my neck. I was lucky to have no spinal cord damage, but was basically confined to the couch for 4 months. One day surfing the TV, I came upon a replay of the Ironman world championship race. I’d seen this race before on TV and always thought it was pretty cool, however, this time it really hit me, so with tears coming to my eyes watching the competitors giving everything as I was practically immobile, I decided then and there that I was going to do an Ironman – a conviction I haven’t told people about until right before the race – Ironman CDA was when I was going to meet that promise to myself.
I’d be remiss as I get started if I also didn’t mention that in the last year I’ve been battling hamstring and knee issues, and without the help of Wicked Smart Member Leigh Boyle, I’d wouldn’t have even made it to Idaho. Her guidance and selfless assistance has been invaluable – “Thanks Leigh”
Pre-Race
I arrived in Coeur d’Alene on Thursday afternoon, after my son’s HS graduation that night before. I met up with my fellow house mates (Endurance Nation members – my brother Bruce, Tucker McKeever, & Pete Giesen, as well as 2 buddies from NJ) and quickly got thru registration and grabbed my bike from Tri-Bike Transport. It was then off to our rental house (good spot if looking for a place to stay) and then we all changed and headed out for a quick, easy loop on the bike course and then dinner.
Friday morning we headed down for a swim and the water was an invigorating 56 degrees with plenty of chop. It was cold and rough, but manageable. Next, hit the expo to get the credit card burning on the latest stuff and listened to the pro panel of racers with Craig Alexander and Julie Dibbins. Had lunch downtown then headed back to the house for a nap.
Late Friday afternoon headed back downtown to the pre-race Endurance Nation dinner at Crickets. We had over 50 team members and family attend as well as Coach Rich. It was great to meet fellow team members and get fired up for racing. Next it was off to the athletes pre-race meeting, where we got filled in on the details by the race directors.
Saturday morning we brought our bikes and transition bags down to the race site. Starting to get very real now as you saw many athletes getting everything ready. Next attended the 4 Keys Talk by Coach Rich (who was also staying with us at our house), who reminded us of the best way to race an Ironman as well as tips about the CDA course. The rest of the day was pretty quiet (per Rich’s order – always a Marine) as we headed back to the house for lunch, hit the hot tub and took naps, got our final gear and special needs bags ready, then had dinner and crashed.
Race Day
Up at 4am, got dressed, had breakfast, grabbed our gear and then Rich gave us a lift into town and dropped us off close to the start. Next dropped off our special needs bags and did last minute prep on the bikes. It was beautiful morning – no clouds in the sky and little wind (just like Al Truscott said it would be – Oracle) – but a little cold as it was about 46 degrees. I got into my wetsuit and then stretched to warm up. Took some time to get down to the beach due to all the racers trying to get over the timing mat, but once there, I headed to a planned spot and found EN teammates Al Truscott, Tucker Mckeever and my brother. Some quick “Good Luck’s” and then the cannon went off…
Swim
I had positioned myself about 6-7 people back from the front, thinking that with an expected time of between 1hr 10min and 1hr 20min that this would be hopefully about right. Hit the water and it didn’t feel as cold as the days before, but holy cow it was crowded and rough. Yet this is what I expected, so just kept going and looking for any open water. Didn’t take too much punishment, just an elbow to the chin and some shots to the legs, but it was really tight all the way to the first buoy, where everybody slowed down just trying to get around it. Rest of the first loop remained crowded and then hit the beach and walked across the timing mat and then walked back into the water for the next loop.
2nd loop remained pretty crowded with continued contact, but there was more open water and also found a few feet to follow, but continued to be a challenge to get into a great rhythm. I do distinctly remember swimming near the floating Ford sign, smiling and thinking “Yep – you are here doing a big time Ironman – this is what you’ve been work for since that time on the couch” I also started to notice that my right hand was having trouble and losing feeling in my pinkie. It wasn’t till after I read Al Truscott’s post that it dawned on me that the numbness I still have in my right tricep and shoulder was what was bothering my hand in the cold water. I started to make fists with my hand coming thru the stroke to try to get some feeling back and just kept going
Finished the swim in 1:16:26, which was a little slower than hoped, but fine by me.
Transition 1
After crossing the timing mat, heard my friends Michelle and Scott screaming at me as I started getting the wetsuit off which the wetsuit strippers took care of. It was at this point, that I realized that my both hands were half numb from the cold water. Grabbed my T1 bag and instead of going into the changing tent, found a place on the ground outside in the sun since it felt warmer and tent was packed. Started to get my bike stuff on, but it was really hard to do, as my hands were half- frozen, so it took much longer. Put on knee warmers to keep the legs warm due to the hammy and knee issues I’ve had, partially tossed on arm warmers (pulled them up when moving on the bike) and put on a lightweight vest. Shoes and socks (since it was only about 50 degrees at this point) were not all the easy either. I ended up with a total T1 time of 13:31 – not sure how it got that long, something that will be improved, but I know the cold was as issue.
Bike
The bike started off with a bang as about ¼ mile into the ride, I went to move my front derailleur into the big chain ring and “snap” the cable went, which meant that I only had my 34-chain ring and had no big gears. I just had to laugh as I’d told my brother “Something will go wrong in the race – you just have to go with it” Well, this was clearly one of those, so I just laughed it off and counted myself lucky that I had the gears I did (and that it wasn’t a totally flat course) and figured my race plan was a little different now.
Per EN guidance, I rode the first hour fairly easy and saw coach Rich at the start of the hills (thanks for taking my vest) and then said the ride was now starting. My snapped cable wasn’t an issue going up hills, as had the right gears, but then going down the rollers on the other side, I was just spinning out even with the chain double crossed – nothing I could do so just kept going…
The first loop went pretty uneventful – stopped once to hit the porta John, but otherwise stayed in my box and watched my watts power output. Hit bike special needs, and per my plan, dumped my arm and knee warmers, grabbed my Infinit nutrition bottle and stretched the hamstrings and adductors. Went thru town again and then headed back out for the hills. Saw Rich again at English Point and then kept going. Felt good and was able to do the second loop in the same fashion as the first, with a slight negative split.
Stats:
Bike Split 1 18.33m/h
Bike Split 2 17.87 m/h
Bike Split 3 18.47 m/h
TSS 250.8 (which tells me I could have gone a little harder)
VI 1.12
IF .65 (also says could have gone a little harder)
Transition 2
Pretty uneventful – got the attention of a volunteer and we dumped my bag out and he put my helmet in and I hit the feet with Body Glide, put on fresh socks and running shoes, took a pee, got sunscreen put on by a volunteer and then it was off to start the run. Time….6:08 that I can also improve.
Run
The run starts off in town and it was great to get some crowd support. I also saw Rich as well as Michelle and Pete Giesen, the Mckeever girls. After you’ve been going a long time, it’s great to see some people you know.
Per EN guidance, I was targeting to go the first 6 miles at around 9:45/mi pace including walking the aid stations. I was a little unsure if this was right, since I had not been able to do a real Vdot test due to the injuries and had only been trying to build up the miles – the longest run being 15.5 miles.
After running thru town, you head out toward Lake Couer d’Alene and just a beautiful run along the shore. The first split of 6.6 mi was 9:43, with the 2nd split at 13.4m at 9:52, so the first half of the race was on track and I was enjoying the crowd support. It was great to Rich and team in the middle of the road in town supporting the team.
At the start of the 2nd loop, I noticed my stomach was a little off, so decided to have coke at the next aid station instead of my Infinit run formula. It worked well - at least the first time – as could feel a little more energy and the stomach was good. I hit mile 18 and said – “Well, this is where the race really starts!”
Then, at about 19.5 miles, my stomach started to shut down and I got some nausea. In retrospect, I don’t think I’d been drinking enough water with my Infinit as I could tell at this point I was dehydrated. This corresponded with the only long hill on the run course, so I half walked/ran it, then ran down the other side. At the next aid station, grabbed only water walked a little more…but I can tell you that having Rich stay in our house was a very good motivator at this point – there was no way I wanted to explain why I walked it in after Mile 19 that night!! Besides – this pain was nothing compared to a broken neck, so sucked it up and ran. I then switched to my emergency gels I’d been carrying and the stomach rallied.
The last run split wasn’t as strong as I wanted – 6.7m at an 11:27 pace, but I ran it in. Coming down the finishing street was incredible as I saw a number of friends, encouraged the crowd to cheer and did some high fives. I also tapped the Ford Edge on the ramp and thought about that time years ago on the couch with neck collar saying, “I will do an Ironman!” Then I heard Mike Reilly call out my name and I threw up my arms and crossed the finish – Official Time – 12:31:59
Thanks again to Leigh, my brother and all the team for your help and guidance. Starting to plan the next one already! All The Best and Hope you have an Outstanding Day….J.T.
Comments
JT - Great race. I'm so proud of you. And thanks for dragging me into this crazy sport with you.
way to go, JT. broken neck? i knew about the hammy, but not the neck. excellent job!!