Anguish and Adversity

The Ironman 70.3 Kansas has come and gone. It was an incredible experience to line up with 1300 competitors. If you haven't done a large event like this, you should add it to your list of things to do. Due to inclement weather, they cut the course short. Those of us who hadn't started our second loop on the run were redirected to the finish line. We all received our finishing metals, and officially completed the event. However, my wife and I have decided not to put the 70.3 sticker on our cars yet. Since we were not allowed to finish the full mileage, we don't feel it would be appropriate to display the sticker. Placing this sticker on my car is very important to me. I guess it will have to wait until later this year or next year.

Even though the event was cut short, I can say I experienced more anguish and adversity in this event than any other event or training session. Before I recap, I want to repeat a thought discussed on several of my friends blogs in the last week or two. Race day is just one day, just the destination. The prize is the journey with friends. Don't let race day mishaps ruin the journey.

The Swim was, a bit crowded, to say the least. The swim was counter clockwise so the buoys were on the left. This was great for me since I only breathe to my left. I knew most swimmers would hang close to the buoys, so I decided to stay to the outside. This turned out to be a great tactic, for the most part. As anticipated, I did not have any crowding problems. What I didn't anticipate was the wide turns I would be making as the buoys changed direction. On each of the two turns, I found myself 100 to 150 yards out to the right of the buoys. I had to swim in a diagonal line to get back on track. I felt strong in the swim, but the added yardage also added minutes to my time, and stress on my body.

The bike was my single worst day on a bike, ever!!!!! Before I tell this horrid tale, those who don't know me should know I am good long distance cyclist. Even though I am a heavy weight, I can put in the long miles with the best of them. My longest one day ride is 132 miles. I have done a four day ride that consist of 20,000 feet of climbing over 320 miles. To say I have suffered on the bike before, is an understatement.

The bike started out well. I had planned to keep and pace in the 18 mph range. I could go faster, but the run was my weak point, so I need to save my legs. There was T-storm moving in, so we had the pleasure of a murderous head wind. Kansas is not flat, so add rolling hills, steady climbs and a couple of steep climbs to the scenario and that means trouble. I started out with the planned pace and things were going great. I felt strong and had a good rhythm. Not even 10 miles in the ride, I found it hard to maintain even 15 mph. I swear I was putting in enough effort to roll at 21. I blamed it on the wind and kept plugging along. To my surprise, the wind got stronger, the hills got steeper and my legs got weaker and weaker. My energy levels were ok, but I was losing power. The suffering had started way to early. I am twenty miles into a bike ride, and I feel like I have been 100 miles. I put my head down and just pedaled. I took a mild curve and my front wheel slipped out from under me. I somehow stayed upright and kept moving. The curve didn't seem that sharp. I glanced at my front wheel and everything looked ok so I kept going. On the way back, I slipped in that same curve. I decided to get off the bike and take a closer look. Wow, my front wheel was almost flat. I had just rode 20 miles of hills and strong headwinds with a near flat front wheel. I used my fix a flat Co2 cartridge for tubular tires and got started. I could immediately feel a difference. The good news was the tire was holding, the bad news was my legs were shot. I could already feel my legs starting to cramp from the hard effort. I reached for my Endurolyte mixture in my jersey pocket. It was empty! I had took one shot of it and forgot to close the lid. I had twenty miles left on the bike and I had dead cramping legs. I was now looking at cutting is close to the bike cutoff. At one point, both of my quads seized up on a climb. I had to dismount the bike and walk up the hill. I couldn't even pedal on the downhill. I started chugging Gatorade at the rest stops to get all of the electrolytes possible. My stomach doesn't like Gatorade, but I had no choice. I made it back to the transition area just 15 minutes before the bike cutoff. I was exhausted, cramping and to tell you the truth, depressed. I had considered myself a good cyclist, and here I was fighting just to make the cutoff time. I had plenty of time to think on this ride. I had already decided I was doing no more Triathlons the rest of the year and wasn't doing any next year until I lost 35 lbs. It was truly some of the saddest moments I can remember.

The transition from the Bike to the run was the most painful part of the day. It is here where I would reach down deep and find resolve I truly did not know I had. Dismounting the bike hurt, and it hurt bad. Both quads locked up as I unclipped my pedals. I walked to my area and racked my bike. I could hardly stand, so I decided to set down. The second my legs bent, I almost screamed in pain. I couldn't straighten my legs out and I couldn't bend them to far. I couldn't even get my socks on. I layed in the transition area for a good 5 minutes in agony. I was done. No, wait, I am not done. I am not quitting. If I have to crawl the rest of the way, I am going to crawl until they pull me off the course. I couldn't get my socks on, so I just slipped my feet into my shoes without bending over. Thank God for speed laces. I grabbed my run belt, hat and watch. I had another bottle of endurolyte mixture for the run. I took it all, right there. I hobbled out of the transition. If i could walk to the first rest stop, I could get more nutrition and give my legs time to absorb the electrolytes. The rest stop had gels with double the electrolytes of normal gel. I took two of them and downed two cups of Gatorade. I started walking again, then decided to run. I couldn't believe it, my legs were allowing me to run. Some of the cramping had started to go away. I looked at my watch and calculated my pace needs to finish the run.

I was about to start my second loop when they started pulling all competitors in due to inclement weather. I was happy and a bit sad. I was happy I wouldn't have to suffer any longer today and happy that I didn't have to deal with the possibility of not meeting the cutoff. I felt I could make the cutoff, but you never know. I was also very sad that all of this suffering would go to waste. What a great feeling it would have been to finish the event and be able to tell the story of the pain and suffering. We did officially finish the event, but we are not yet 70.3 Ironmen. I will get my sticker!