Ironman Deluge Brief Race Report

Actually, I came up with a number of names for the race while out there yesterday:

• Ironman pee pee socks
• Ironman deluge
• Ironman what the fucking hell
• Ironman Beat the Dead Guy (more on that later)

I did not have a good day, but I didn't have a bad day. 15 hours and a minute or so (which I could have saved had I not stopped to pick up my special needs bags before finishing). I think the rain got to me, I think I didn't have enough hill riding under my belt, and I think some of the cumulative stress of the last 9 months managed to stay with me.

I knew it was going to be a rainy day, but I managed to put my wetsuit on in the beach house next to the lake before it started coming down, so that was a good thing. I lined up way in the back so I could wait for the washing machine to pass, and at some point while swimming, I figured out it was raining. It didn't seem to add too much chop to the lake, though, so that was a good thing. Although I thought I was swimming well, I guess not. I just can't figure out this swim! I can do 2.4 miles in a pool in 1:15, so what's up with 1:25? Oh well, get out and get on with the bike.

I met, or should I say he spotted me, Swordfish, on Saturday, and he gave me a great tip that I used--lube up my feet with Vaseline to avoid water blisters. Also, I completely changed my mind about my race day outfit due to the rain, and my theme for the day was "Appreciating Dryness." So I didn't put my Ironman Canada bike jersey on until after I got out of the swim. That was a nice touch. At this point, knowing it was going to be a long, wet day, I didn't see the point in rushing too much.

As soon as I got out of the changing tent, it started pouring like a mofo. I had wondered what it would be like wearing an aero helmet in the rain, but it turned out to be a wise decision, just because it kept my head relatively dry. Also, it encourage me to stay aero and tucked. I had put a rain jacket over my jersey, and it worked pretty well all day to keep me relatively dry underneath. In looking at the weather almanac for yesterday, apparently it stayed right around 60-65 all day. Generally that's pretty comfortable on the bike, but for me with the rain, I was a bit chilled.

Last year, I bombed down (relatively) the descent into Keene, but I was too timid with the rain this time so I held back to maybe 25MPH. I just didn't feel safe going any faster, and I know that cost me some time on the ride, but whatever. I felt like I climbed pretty well, and while I didn't watch my watts like a hawk, I could pretty much tell where I was.

What sucked was that my hands got all wrinkly like I had been taking a bath all day, and then my forearms weren't all that great with the rain jacket on the aerobars. Again, oh well, too bad, keep going. I don't think I have ever felt so miserable in an Ironman--I mean, knowing I could finish but just not wanting to. I wanted to bag it so many times.

While riding, every time I would drink my Infinit or water, within seconds I would need to pee. Since it was raining so hard, no worries, I just kept peeing on the bike. I lost count after about 15 times--I swear it was at least 5 times an hour! I don't know whether this means I didn't need to drink so much or it was a sign of slight hypothermia or what. At Ironman Brazil in 2006, I peed on the bike 7 times and I thought that was a lot! Other athletes reported the same experience, so it seems that the cooler temperatures contributed.

One of the things that kept my spirits up was telling volunteers that I hadn't planned on a 140.6 mile swim today! I caught one guy on his bike standing up and as I passed, I asked him if he was peeing, and I said, "Nice work!"

On the second lap of the bike, I had decided I'd dump some of my Dad's ashes at the top of the biggest climb next to Whiteface mountain. I had brought them with me in a crack baggie, and this was the only time I stopped my bike all day. I told him I wished him a beautiful view from there!

Bike time 7:34 and change. Pretty crappy for me. But I felt steady and strong all day, and just suffered for the conditions. Still, I felt pretty much like a poseur--I mean I should have been able to do better than that.

My nutrition was spot on, and I didn't feel calorie depleted or bloated or anything like that, and when I got into T2, of course, I was very happy to get off my bike, and told a bunch of people on the way in, "FREE BIKE!" The volunteers are awesome, and so are the spectators, and as suck ass as I felt, I still wanted to smile as much as possible and thank everyone.

In T2, I opted to just leave my bike shorts on even though I packed a clean pair of running shorts. Why? Because I figured I would keep peeing on myself. I lubed my feet again with Vaseline and put on fresh socks (I should have told the volunteer to throw the bike socks away!), my Fuel Belt and a running hat, and just as I was about to get up and go, we could hear the rain pick up to a heavy downpour. Great!

My legs didn't feel too bad exiting T2, but my back was really tight. This is where I think I needed the hill riding--not so much for climbing ability, which I have since I'm so small, but to get used to holding that position while climbing. Also, I think I was hunching my shoulders while on the bike to keep my neck dry. Not a good thing!

Anyway, nobody is going very fast in an Ironman marathon, including me. I just decided at this point that I wasn't looking at my watch, because it was going to be what it was going to be. The streets were wet, wet, wet, and my peeing odyssey continued. I used up almost all of my Ultra Violence, and supplemented with Gatorade, water and chicken broth (broth was to ensure I kept getting enough sodium). Nutrition-wise, I was doing well, although at Mile 14 I had to stop and actually use a porta-potty to take a well-earned dump. That had been keeping me feeling full, and I took a nice, full, emptying pee in there, too, but as soon as I began drinking again, the peeing began again in full force.

The road camber bothered me, just as it did last year, but I think I made a mistake in wearing my ultra lightweight running shoes. On the one hand, they were good because they didn't hold too much water; on the other, my feet took a beating. Oh well!

There were a few times during the marathon that I felt almost really cold once the sun went down, and that alone kept me moving just to get someplace warm! On the little out and back before the finish line, I decided to grab my special needs bags, because I had some good stuff in there that I wanted back, and didn't want to walk another 2 miles or try and get Shelley (who graciously was getting my bike and bags out of transition) to get them later. Unfortunately, there were no volunteers manning the bags at this point, so I had to just find them myself, and when I realized I might finish in 15:00 or slightly less, I was pissed that I wouldn't because of this, and I just thought fuck it. At this point, I've had a tough race as it is, and worrying about 1 or 2 minutes just wasn't worth it!

Once I got to the oval, there were so many people lining it who gave me so much energy that I just ran and ran and slapped as many hands as I could, and I heard my name, and it was all over! After getting my hat, medal and t-shirt, I had a finishing photo taken, and I just left the damn rain jacket on, because it went all the way with me!

On the run, I also carried some of my Dad's ashes with me, and if it wasn't for that, I'm sure I would have just quit. I kept thinking he would tell me that I was the one that had signed up for this and so it was up to me to finish, and so I did. I emptied the bag of ashes in the transition area in the hope that they will bring me good luck next year when I return to face the same course!

They allowed athletes to register on Saturday, and while I had been thinking I would do Ironman Wisconsin in 2009, Shelly convinced me to go with IMLP, and hopefully, we'll get the same great house to stay in. As I write this, I hear the race is sold out for 2009 between athletes re-upping, volunteers onsite getting preferred registration, and all others onsite, so there is no online registration.

This was one of my toughest finishes ever, and while I'm not proud of my time, I'm proud that I finished it, and gosh, I should be in good shape for NothingMan in 7 weeks!

I am happy that my Dad got to do the race with me. He never saw me do an Ironman, and when I first started doing it, he didn't understand why I did it, but in about 2 years, he figured it out. No matter how bad I felt yesterday, it couldn't compare to the suffering he went through in his last week of life--maybe I actually wanted myself to suffer yesterday--who knows? But this I do know--every time I do one of these I learn something new about myself and acquire new skills, and this one is no different. Other than getting through it in the rain, I'm not checking in yet on just all what I learned about myself--that will take a few weeks.

Now it's time for some beer and more food! Thanks everyone who was watching and rooting for me out there. I feel badly I made you wait so long for me to finish--I'll try harder next time, I promise!