IRONMAN Maryland Race Report by Dave S

 

Windy and cold.  Wind chill air temperature of 32 degrees at 6:30am.  Water temp was 63 degrees.

The wind was strong and constant and caused a small watercraft advisory which forced them to modify the swim to 3,000 meters.  Because of my ribs issue I didn’t do a lot of stretching or warming up.  I tried to relax.  My wife, Jess, was there with me which was awesome.  The start got pushed back to 7:30am and then it started.  I put myself in the 1:30hr swim speed group.  The water was cold but not bad.  After about 2 minutes I was surprised that I hadn’t lost my breath, which I normally do at the start of the swim before I can settle in to a rhythm.  This time, I took it easy and found my rhythm right away.  The water was very choppy at times.  Other times there felt like small sets rolling in.  But, I think what was most notable was the collisions.

There was the normal feet and hands bumping into each other, but I also got struck in the face a couple times.  It didn’t bother me, but I had to adjust the goggles a couple times.  The water was actually pretty clear, though visibility was limited by the early morning light and churn of athletes.  I found myself passing people pretty regularly.  Spotting was good.  I sort of wandered off the line during one stretch where my mind starting wandering too.  I swam aggressively around the buoys and to pass people who were slowing me down.

But, I kept my breathing easy the entire time, never really pushing my pace.  I really enjoyed those few stretches where I could really use my best form and just motor along.  About half way through the swim I realized that my back/ribs were not sore at all.  I could stretch and pull without limits.  We have a saying in my family, “The Lord is the best,” and that’s exactly what thought as I realized He had answered so many prayers that I would be able to complete the race (the day before, my back/ribs, were as sore as ever but I barely felt them throughout the entire race).  I finished the swim feeling fresh and ready to get out of that wetsuit.

T1 took forever b/c of my frozen fingers.  Due to the cold weather, I decided to wear my compression socks for the ride and run.  They’re hard to put on in normal conditions, but with frozen fingers, it took me a long time.  I just stared at my fingers trying to get them to move.  I wore an extra pair of wool cycling socks on top of my compression socks (it took the entire ride before I could move all my frozen toes again).  I also put on arm warmers, gloves, and a sleeveless windbreaker.  Under my helmet I had a gortex cap.

I got a Retul bike fit done the Monday before the race.  I know it’s not the smartest to tinker with bike fit that close, but the vast majority of my training was done on my road bike and I’ve always felt that my tri bike didn’t fit as well as it should.  Plus, I was worried about being in the aero position so long with my back injured.  So, I got it done, and they actually adjusted quite a bit.  They brought my seat up and forward and raised my handlebars and pulled my aero sticks way forward so my arms rested on my elbows instead of my forearms.  I did one 6mi ride on Wednesday around my house to feel it out and it felt fine so I went with it.  I’m glad I did as I felt more comfortable in the aero position than I normally do.

The wind was murder.  There were a couple times I just sort of laughed at how crazy it felt to grind into a 30mph headwind.  It felt like we had a tailwind for about 1/3 of the race and the rest was cross wind or head wind.  During the run, and 8x ironman told me this was the hardest bike he’s ever had.  I focused on my heart rate, keeping it as low as possible while maintaining a 20mph pace.  Most of the time I think I was at about 130-135 hr and 20mph.  The special needs bag at the half way point was huge for me.

Jess surprised me by putting in a bracelet with a scripture that has been a theme of ours for years: Look unto me in every thought, doubt not, fear not.  I put it on felt a surge of emotion and shed a few tears.  She also put in a bag of salt & vinegar potato chips and fresh fruit.  I downed about a cup of pineapple, watermelon, honey dew, stuffed the chips in my shirt pocket and headed off for the second half of the ride.  I immediately tore into the chips and was in heaven.  The salt and flavor of those chips were exactly what my mouth/body needed.  I spent the next 5 minutes in the aero position, just taking small bites of those chips.

Then, I remembered your advice to stop at the special needs bag even if you don’t need it at the time b/c you might need it at mile 90.  I thanked you for your advice and stuffed the bag away for mile 90.  I brought them back out at mile 90 and savored every bite.  I said I didn’t feel any pain but that’s not right.  My neck, as usual, was in severe pain from keeping it up in the aero position so long.  I finally found a way to alleviate the pain while staying aero and that was to prop my chin in my hand (sort of like a thinker’s pose) with one hand while keeping the other hand on the aero handlebar.  I’m sure I got some funny looks as I passed people propping up my head, looking like I didn’t have a care in the world.

Today was definitely a day where not being allowed headphones or drafting off others was relevant.  I saw a lot of guys get penalties for drafting.  Mentally, I mostly zoned out.  I wasn’t in pain and wasn’t pushing very hard so I just sort of went on cruise control mentally.  The wind is what had my attention most of the time and trying to balance my effort with conditions with the need to save up for the run.  My only worry on the bike was getting a flat tire and fortunately, that never happened.

My whole family was there for T2 and that was a big lift and exactly what I need before the marathon.  I took some time with them at the start and end of T2.  I changed from my bike bibs to my normal tri shorts and headed out.

I was surprised by how fresh my legs felt right away.  I was expecting a few miles of really heavy legs but they actually felt fine and ready to go right away.  I kept in mind your advice to start out really slow/easy and so I did.  Instead of looking at my heart rate, I focused on my splits and just tried to keep them around 10mi/min pace as long as it felt easy.  The first 5 miles went by quickly and I felt good and thought about going faster.  Instead, my legs started to really tighten up (my left IT band/knee) and I started to “feel” different parts of my legs from time to time, which caused me to slow down and be more conservative.

My only fear on the run was that I would pull, strain, or cramp and then have to walk/shuffle for a long time.  As far as fuel goes, the aid stations had two things that I hadn’t thought of before but found my body craved: ruffles chips and chocolate chip cookies.  I only drank water and had either chips (mostly) or cookies most practically every aid station.  When I had 8 miles to go, I had my lowest point.  8 miles isn’t a lot, but by that point, I did not feel like running another 8 miles.  I started chanting “Look unto me in every thought, doubt not, fear not” in my head to bring positive thoughts back and, of course it helped.

As the sun was beginning to set I saw Jess and my kids.  She asked me how I was doing, and I said, I’m dead.  She said, “don’t quit! you’re so close!” and that actually helped a lot.  I was so close.  When i got to mile 21, I got new life.  5 miles is just 2.5 out and back!  My legs were tight and sore.  I finally pulled over and stretched on a bench and it was like a miracle.  I felt great.  I kicked myself for not doing that hours earlier.  The tightness and pain was gone and I started to speed up.  With one mile left, I let it go and ran about a 8:30ish min/mile.

Adrenalin/emotion had taken over.  It was an emotional last mile as the crowd was big and loud and I realized I would finally achieve a goal I wondered about since I was a kid.  With about 100 yards to go, I spotted my son Caleb running towards me.  I said, “I think it’s time, buddy,” and he agreed.  He ran with me, weaving in and out of spectators to the side of the course as I sped up and held back the tears, crossing the finish line.

I felt so relieved, happy, proud, and grateful.  My whole family was there in the cold cheering for me and proud of me (with shirts that have a quote of ours that says, “the pain of discipline is far less than the pain of regret.”  I hoped to set an example for my kids to do hard things and stretch in life and I’m sure they’ll never forget that day.  Neither will I.  I still have some reflecting to do to learn everything the last 12 months have to teach me.  But, again, thank you for your coaching along the way.  You took a huge stress off my mind and made sure I was fit and ready.