The drive up was nice. I had rented a nice little house off of Skaha Lake with plenty of room for the dog to play and nap in.
This was to be the last Ironman for a little while for me. Everything had been going pretty well. I had been getting treatment on my IT band for the past 6 weeks from a great PT and was feeling ok about the state of it. However, I had yet to run over 14 miles on it in my build up. My folks drove up Saturday and we had a nice dinner at the house and then off to bed around 7:30 for the early wake up call.
Breakfast was the same as IMCDA. 2 ensures, toast with almond butter, two cups of coffee. I was going to try and eat a breakfast bar as well, but I was too full. We made our way down to T1. Body marking was quick this year. Used the toilet and then went to get my wetsuit and timing chip on. One small problem, no timing chip. I stayed calm. I knew that I wasn't the first to lose or forget my chip on race day. I made my way down to the swim start and found the timing chip people. They gave me a replacement and I was back to say goodbye to the family. Once again, it was emotional. You know you are about to go to war for 10 hours and you are going to hurt. Your family knows this as well. it's also that point, the time when everyone realizes that all the hard work that you (and the family as support) put in is finally done. Except for this one final race. The last 6 months of early morning wake up calls, late night workouts, grumpy behavior, perpetual tiredness...it's all done. Now those people that helped get your through everything are there, or at home glued to a computer. It's time to show them why you did all that work. Everyone gets a little teary eyed. Your truly included.
Swim: 54:32 17th overall - Not sure if this includes pros or not
My swim felt great. Canada is a great venue. Wide starting line. Time to warm up. Love it. I had some good advice to push hard the first 400 to 500 meters and then relax. The fellow swimmer had told me that there really is no difference between a 52 and a 56 if you can get on some fast feet and just hold the draft. The tough part is committing early to some lactic acid by sprinting. Well, I took the advice. I lined up directly in front of the buoy line. The start was frantic. Maybe everyone was jacked up after hearing the Canadian Anthem? I took off like a rocket and settled into a high position. I looked up to sight around 400 meters and I think I was in 5th or so. I think I basically maintained this position for most of the single loop swim. I got passed by two or three and then just focused on long strokes and taking it easy on the kicking. Soon I was nearing shore. I came out of the water and saw 54 on the clock...I was stoked. Fairly quick T1 and then I grabbed my hog and took off out of T1.
Bike: 5:23
So, you ever wonder it's like to race without heart rate, power, or even MPH? I have. I thought about doing it at an Olympic a while back but I didn't. Either way it didn't matter, Muddy and I had a very detailed HR plan to follow. I took off headed south on Main st. Figured I was in the top 10 amateurs or at least close to it. I looked down to start my Garmin. Well, I was about to find out what it was like to race without any feedback. I had no Garmin. In the frenzy before the start after losing my timing chip I had neglected to put my Garmin on my bike. I saw Muddy about .5 mile in. He was jumping up and down pumping his fist he was so excited about my swim. I yelled at him, "I have no computer!" He yelled back, "Just ride son." And ride I did.
The ride down to Osoyos was uneventful. Cruised along at what I thought was a quick enough pace and effort level. Got passed by some drafters but wasn't worried about it. Richter came soon enough and I probably passed 15 people or so going up. The best part was I was spinning. My legs were heavy to start the ride, but they were coming around nicely. We descended Richter and came upon the 7 bitches. I felt like I rode this part very well. I figured I was still in the top 30-40 and was feeling good. We came to the out and back and the sun was heating up a bit. I stayed on my salt and nutrition. The out and back was fine. I actually didn't mind it much, except for the road surface that is. I grabbed a couple almonds I had in my special needs and some more malto mix and I was off.
Meg and Mac waiting for me to return on the bike
The segment from Keremos to Yellow Lake summit was tough on me. I had been riding strong but was now hurting. In retrospect it was calories. I had eased back on the malto without realizing it and I wasn't drinking enough Perform (I might never do another Ironman event just to not have to drink this crap ever again. So terrible). I got passed by some people over the next hour. To top it all off, my IT Band was starting to really hurt and was probably effecting my mood, as well as power output. More than it should have. I saw my Dad at the top of the summit which was great. I needed a shot in the arm at that point. The wind had really picked up and was in our faces coming home. Normally I would have wanted this, but at this point my energy level was low and I was struggling. I finally put it together that it was probably lack of calories and started picking up the malto and Perform. I rolled into T2 without any idea what my split was (remember, no computer). I figured I had probably done around 5:40 or so since I had felt so weak the last 30 miles.
Run: 4:24
I took off out of T2 hoping my leg would cooperate. It was sketchy at first. I saw Meg and my Mom and stopped to give Meg a quick kiss and say hi. I completed the quick out and back along lake shore drive and saw Muddy. I told him about the leg. He said just do what you can. About mile 3 or so I realized that it was no longer really bothering me so I set in on 8:15 pace and got into the zone. Head down, focused on breathing, etc. I came across mile 5 or so and I saw my Dad. And then I heard another familiar voice and noticed it was my buddy Clinton and his friend Chris. They had driven all the way up to Penticton to support me. So cool. I finally asked what my split was on the bike. My Dad yelled back, "5:20 or so." I was ecstatic. Not as fast as I wanted, but within a few minutes. I looked down at my Garmin. Still on 8:15 pace.
Pops passed me at mile 9 and told me I was within the top 75 or so despite the leg and everything. I had done the math and realized I probably didn't have a chance at sub 10 but I sure had a chance at a huge PR (close to 10 hours, but under 10:15). And then mile 11 came. The pain in my IT Band was tremendous. I was forced to a full stop. I gave it a few seconds and started running again. Huge shooting pain and a quick stop. I tried walking. That seemed to work. Walked for 30 seconds and tried again. No dice. I almost started crying. Yes crying. I know. But hell, I was on a big day and was being forced to a walk because of this damn injury again. The sun was beating down on me. I was 15 miles from home and went from thinking I was less than 2 hours away to wondering what I was going to do. Walk it in? I stayed positive. I have dealt with this damn injury enough to know that it would eventually improve. In the meantime I started walking as fast as I could. Around 13 to 14 minute pace. About every minute I would try jogging again. I fell over at one point trying to do this as my leg was so painful.
I saw my Dad and updated him on what was going on. He gave me some encouraging words and I just kept trying to jog as I could. I was getting passed by dozens of people. I went from seeing almost nobody for the first 10 miles to having athletes all around me. I continued to stay positive and trust that even if it took me 12 hours because I walked it in that would still be better than not finishing. And then around mile 15 or 16 I tried the running again, like I had been every minute or two, and the pain was manageable. So I kept running. I will never forget coming around this corner somewhere around 15 or 16 and my father and friends were standing there clapping for me because they saw me running. It was a really cool moment. I remember my Dad was on his phone relaying info about the injury back to Mom and Meg and then he started yelling into the phone that I was running again. Very special moment.
Mac knew something was wrong :)
The rest of the run was pretty cool. I was running about 8:30-40 again. I was now holding my position, and in some cases, passing people again. I started doing the math around mile 18 and realized I still might be able to break 11 hours if I didn't walk any. Muddy stayed close during these tough stretches, same with Dad and my buddies. As I hit mile 21 and started into town I couldn't believe I only had 5 more miles in this race. All the emotions of the day and the summer of training started to overwhelm me. I saw my wife and Mom right before the final out and back on Lakeshore. I stopped and kissed Meg and said hi to everyone. At this point I knew I was going to be safely under 11 hours. I ran the final mile with pride. As I neared the chute I passed a few people so I could have it to myself. I saw my family off to the right and pointed at them as to say, "YOU!" You guys helped make this possible. Before I knew it I couldn't hear myself think as the finish chute was so loud. I don't remember hearing my name announced but I'm sure it was. I looked at the clock: 10:49. Hell, on this day with this injury, that was a hell of a time.
I grabbed some food and talked with some athletes until I saw my family. There was a tall metal fence separating us and I thought my dog was going to try and jump all 8 feet of it he was so excited to see me. I walked around and gave everyone a big hug. Everyone knew how important this race was to me. At the same point, they all know how important they are to me. Thank you to everyone that has offered support and guidance to me. Family, Muddy, teammates, etc! Special shout out to my swim coach...my SISTER!! We killed it Beck :) And my parents. Always there on these big days! Clinton and Chris for driving 10 hours each way to cheer for me! And of course, my beautiful wife. I owe her everything. Including a trip to Europe for allowing me to do two Ironmans in one year!! Yeah buddy...Ireland here we come :)
Not sure what is next. But it won't be Ironman. Not for a while at least. I need a break. This was my 5th on in less than four years. To some people that isn't much, but for me and my stressful work, it is. I will most likely concentrate on Olympic and half Irons this upcoming year, but again nothing is concrete. I will keep you posted as to my plans. In the meantime, I'm off to enjoy some time off. Thanks for reading.
T
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