RR IM FL 2009 -
OK - Here goes - I realize that I'm the comedy relief after meeting and reading about some of you guys ! Enjoyed meeting many of the group at the dinner in PC - My first Ironman and I finished ! I've been lurking in the shadows trying to glean a point or two here or there from EN - I worked through much of the plan - but I've got to start w/ "Bless me father for I have sinned" (Catholic Guilt) - as I bounced in and out of multiple plans / training groups / etc etc - spent most of September on the road - but ....all in all finishing .....and that checked the first box - I had hoped to break 14 hrs - did 14:05 - everything I was warned about came true - My primary take-away is that I CAN DO BETTER !!!
woke @ 3:45am - good nights sleep - some of the gang had waffles going @ the Sunset Inn where we stayed - got some coffee / waffles / granola / fruit / yogurt - felt nervous but pretty good - got down to the body marking - set up my bike w/ Infinit and turned in my special needs bags - put the wetsuit on and headed down to the water - small group of us met for a quick pre-race prayer - calmed the nerves - loaned an extra pair of goggles to a friend of a friend who had his goggles break as he was putting them on, and handed my fleece jacket to someone in the group (never to be seen again?!) - saw EN James the pilot from Pensacola waiting for the start - stayed back and to the right as you face the water - I'm an ok swimmer but hate the crowds - got in and got started - crowds pretty thick @ the turns, sun and waves more than I expected - made the first turn ok - then realized that the swimmer in front of me had one arm (humbling) - then the lady pushing the stroller passed me (ok just kidding) - crowds started to thin on 2nd lap - stayed w/ Patrick's comments of just keeping my swim form in place - got a vicious kick on 2nd lap - fat lip and thought I'd lose a tooth - out of water @ 1:21 - T1 took a little long (13:18) - no seats - port-o-let stop - general chaos in changing area - and on the bike by about 1:30+/- - which worked for me -
Bike was actually just what I had hoped for - stopped 3X to use the port-o-let (?) felt like I had to pee every 20 miles ? heard Patrick saying "slow down", and "don't get sucked into the passing" - tough headwinds on the first half - low point was the 250 plus lb guy who muscled past me then slowed down (?) then w/ a long drawn out throat clearing lugee spit over his right shoulder as he was right in front of me ?*%#@!!!!! nice face-ful - momentarily thought about jamming something in his spokes ......oh well - Bike right @ 6:31 which was my plan - came into T2 feeling pretty good - changed and headed out on the run -
The run has always been my problem - I'm a big guy (200lbs) - down from 230lbs - and although I can go the distance ...fast is never been a term used for me ! so the plan was slow but sure - walking 30- steps post water station - for the first lap (1/2) I was doing GREAT ..... and starting to think I had this thing under control - mile 13, 14, 15, thennnnnnnnnnnwell maybe I'll just walk @ 16 - for fear that if I see Rich @ 18 I've got to suck it up - tried to run/walk 17 - getting really slow -.....never saw Rich (thankfully) - blisters started - probably due to walking vs. running - gravel in the shoes - pitch black in the park - ended up walking almost all of 16-25 - which was exactly what i did not want to do !!!!! but that's what happened - sucked it up and ran on blistered battered feet for the last mile - 14:05:02
all in all finishing was really a treat - had hoped to break 14 and could have broken 13 if I had not walked and fallen apart in the second half of the run - The EN group has been a huge help over the last 6 months - so now my question is What's Next ? I'm heading to Denali in June to try and summit - which w/ be a kick in the teeth, have signed up for Augusta 70.3 and am toying w/ either New Orleans or Gulf Coast 70.3's in the Spring - really never embraced the training w/ Heart Rate, bought a Garmin 305 and wore a few times - enjoyed the GPS feature but never really did much w/ the heart tracking - might consider Power but not sure - been a week of no apparent goals and I'm getting a little anxious - Thanks to everyone for letting me look over your shoulder for the last year - I'm in awe of some of the times and what some of you accomplished and it makes me realize that I can do better !!!! Thanks !!!
Comments
It is so much more difficult to be the finisher who is gutting it out than the guy who cruises across the finish line. You epitimize Ironman and you will carry that thrill of the finish line with you for the rest of your life. Congratulations, YOU ARE AN IRONMAN!
I won't dissect your race at all except to say for your training next year, it will completely change your training and racing to use a PowerMeter. Get one. Use it. Heartrate is great for situational awareness, but not at all really necessary. And your Garmin will help you out running pace more than you know. It's like cheating!
I am also considering New Orleans 70.3 so keep me in mind if you decide to do that race!
Congratulations again...well earned.
Way to tough it out Bryan. Congratulations- you are an Ironman!!! Don't worry about setting goals just yet- take some time to enjoy the glory of becoming an Ironman for the first time. But I'll bet you'll be back in another year or two- you are too close to sub 14 not to give it another try- and you certainly have the ability to make it happen!
Oh- and of course you dang well better post a RR with pics when you summit Denali!!!!! That's on my to-do list one day too!!
Congrats on your first IM, Bryan! Blisters are no joke and seem to hurt way more than they should about half way through an IM run.
Denali---Wow! How cool is that?! I went up Kilimanjaro 5 years ago---not as hard as IMLP except I feel like crap at altitude. Denali makes Kili seem like a charity walk. Can't wait to hear about your adventure!
Bryan,
You are an Ironman. Way to go dude. 13:59 or 14:05, you're still an Ironman. As a former escapee of 8 years of parochial school and many years as an altar boy, I loved the bless me father line.
Great job.
Dave