June 27, 2010
The Cannonball Swim
As myself and 2500 hundred other athletes entered the water, nothing out of the ordinary occurred (just the usual wrangling for position). After the 1st loop, my time was a bit slower than I anticipated, 34:20. With that I was off for a another dunk in the washing machine. Right off the bat, a pair of feet magically appeared. Unfortunately, they weren't the fastest pair in the lake... 2ND loop 37:27, total swim 1:11:47.
The positive was I felt very fresh going into T1, my pace was consistent and under control 4:23.
Days of Blunder
My brain must have been left in my swim cap back at T1 because the game plan my coach prepared for me went out the window with pedal stroke #1. I was supposed to maintain a power average of approximately 220 watts +/- 5 watts. At 10 miles, I looked down to see how well I was controlling myself... only to find out my average power was 270 watts and a speed avg. of 24 mph. Now, after the fact, I look back and say 'What an idiot!', however, that's not how I felt at the time. It was more like 'Man, I'm going sub 5 hours today, let's book the flight to Kona!'. As we move on to the 56 mile mark, my pace was still at sub 5 hour pace (2:28/240 watt average). It was right around this point I started to control my pace albeit 56 miles too late. By mile 80, my speed and power had continued to drop like a pebble in a pond. Although I wasn't feeling that bad, I knew it was only because my wattage was dramatically less than that of just a few hours ago. Once I reached the century mark, my effort was minimal with my focus clearly fixed on the marathon yet to come. My confidence at this point is still very high that a sub 3:20 (or at the very least a sub 3:30) marathon is possible. Bike complete... lets go for a run (Bike split 5:14:23 average power 220 watts).
T2 2:28 a quick pit stop, then over the fields we go, off to the finish line we go.
Run Fat Boy Don't Walk
30 minutes of... 'I'm going to Hawaii!', then 3hrs 39Min's. of realizing I would be watching it on TV.
The first 5 miles were right on schedule. By mile 6 I was relegated to a 10 minute mile pace. It was about this time the mental toughness training began rearing its ugly head, and screaming very loudly between my ears to MOVE YOUR BUTT! On this occasion my body wasn't moving as fast as my spirit wanted it to go, but I never quit fighting even when all appeared lost. By mile 14 I refocused my attention on new goals for the day and this time my body was responding to the refueling. Now that my body was ready to move again, it was time to catch a few people. The air no longer felt hot, the gels were going down easy and the water was now cold. The miles began ticking away 16, 18, 22, 24 and now I could taste the pizza at the finish... just a mile away. When I came around the corner with 1/3 of a mile to go the 2 people that passed me moments earlier were 50 meters and 100 meters ahead. Finally, I felt like running. After a quick glance in my rear view mirror, the after-burners were turned on. Finally done! marathon time 4:09:32.
Finishing time: 10:42:33/ 189Th overall/ 34Th M35-39
It wasn't pretty but I'm an Ironman again. THAT part never becomes old. Lessons learned? Gee, where do I begin...
-If your going to hire a coach, listen to them.
-What ever you swim, own it and move on.
-Never positive split your effort on the Ironman Bike. No amount of recovery can save you from the marathon.
-Most importantly... if you want to have your best time possible, be prepared to get CUT! We live in a society where the fictional hero comes back from battle unscathed, sometimes not even a scratch. If you watch UFC, Boxing, Football etc. the winners take a beating too. When you do an Ironman to touch even for just that day your maximum potential, you're going to have to push yourself to places of pain most people would never have nightmares of going to.
Yes, I passed them!
A special thanks goes out to:
PowerTri
Tri Yoga Endurance
Leo
Lindsay
Daley
Sam
Kelly
July : IM 70.3 Boulder
