This was my second Ironman race (Arizona April 2008 was the first). I flew into Spokane on Thursday night and stayed in Post Falls which is about 6 miles outside of Coeur d Alene. The weather on Thursday night was clear but windy. I got to sleep right away to try and log as many hours as possible because I was pretty sure that Saturday night would be pretty restless.
Friday I woke up and went to athlete check-in. The weather had already started to take a turn and the sky was really dark and cloudy. The lake was really choppy due to the wind and the transition area was a little wet. I ran into quite a few of my fellow Tri Club San Diego members and we briefly discussed the ramifications of lightning on race day. After check-in I picked up my Dad at the Spokane airport and went to drive the now rain soaked bike course. While driving Patrick (one of my training partners) called me while driving and wished me goodluck and gave me a few mental reminders as well as the single best piece of advice... where the best beer in town was, and what to order. So instead of keeping you in suspense I will just tell you now. The place is Coeur d Alene Brewing Co. and the beer is Vanilla Bourbon Stout. Wow, what a beer... only ONE before the race.
The athlete pasta dinner on friday night was very entertaining, as they introduced the youngest and oldest competitors and three individuals who all lost over 130 pounds training for this race. After dinner it was straight to bed to try and log maximum hour of sleep. But that got interrupted by one of the best electrical storms Ive seen in a logn time. The entire sky was just abright with lightning for a least an hour.
Saturday kicked off with a practice swim in the lake and then an easy short run to get the rust off. Then a bomb breakfast at a dive diner called "down the street". Omelets, pancakes, and sausage oh my! After breakfast we were off to drop off the rocketship (my bike), and after racking it up I threw a few trash bags over it just in case it rained alot overnight. So with the bike in working order and all taken care of, it was time to get outta town and away from all the hype. My dad and I headed 50 miles east of Coeur d Alene to the North Fork of the Coeur d Alene river. Fly fishing was going to be the main event of the day and it was so relaxing to just wade in the river and catch small 6-8 inch cutthroat trout. We left the river around 5pm and headed back to get settled in for the race.
Here comes all the juicy stuff you are probably reading this race report for!
Saturday nights pre-race dinner was at another dive place called "Moontime" and consisted of a turkey/gouda cheese burger with avocado and grilled onion, some chipotle macaroni salad, a kick ass chicken quesadilla... and a great micro brew. (I know what youre thinking, not a great pre-race strategy). Bed time was 830 but my mind was just too active so even with the lights off and no sounds I was still having a hard time falling asleep.
Race morning: 330am the alarm goes off and although it seems as if I had just fallen asleep I really didnt feel all that tired. I grabbed my special needs bags, looked over my pre-race strategy a few more times and then headed down to town for breakfast at the same diner. I ate a 3 egg omelete with hame, cheese and avocado, 2 pancakes and 2 cups of coffee (the two racers that I was sitting near couldnt help but mention how jealous they were that I could have an appetite like that before a race like this AND that I could function after all that food, but hey I do it during training so why the heck should I do anything different). On my way to the race site I downed 3 salt sticks and drank some gatorade. Once at the race site I got my wetsuit on with the wind was cranked up about 10-20 knots out of the south. To my content the weather looked OK and no ominous clouds were in sight.
The swim: Goal time 55min
With my suit on I ran into a few people from my tri club and we wished each other good luck. My dad and I were hangin out by the water and talked about race strategy and I told him when I was expecting to finish each leg (something I was reluctant to do as I figured such actions would jinx me, but it was Fathers day and its the least I could do for him since he was gonna be chasing me around all day). I jumped in the lake and was so stoked to find the water at a toasty 64 F (the air temp was 53 F). I swam a few hundred meters to get warmed up and the more I swam the calmer I became. Back on the shore everyone was lining up and Mike (the guy who announces at every Ironman event) was getting everyone ready for launch. I lined up on the outside in the front of the pack. My adrenaline was raging in anticipation of the cannon. So with the blast of the cannon I was off, choppity, chop, chop, what a bumpy swim to the first turn bouy. Surprisingly i was being given some pretty open water to the sides of me and in front of me. On my way back in on loop 1 I stretched out the stroke and really focused on swimming easy as i was going with the wind and chop now. Coming out of the water and I look down at my watch (27:23), right on Im on target and the swim was choppy, and I still feel really good. Out on loop 2, more chop, more swell, and open water. I felt very composed and the only thing I could think was just go easy, maintain form and you got this swim nailed. Coming in on loop 2 I noticed I had a whole train of people drafting behind me but I could care less, I was having a great time.
Swim = 56:25 with tons of energy to spare. My Dad was going nuts as I ran by him on my way to T1.
T1: got my suit stripped, my transition bag and went into the tent. Socks on, shoes on, helmet on, 2 gu rocktane, 2 gas-x, 3 salt sticks. On my way out of the tent 4 very attractive Coeur d Alene girls were there to lube me up with sun screen, one for each arm and leg... I love this sport!
Le Bicycleta: Goal Time/Power = 5:20/ 220W ave
The bike started pretty sweetly, 20 miles of flat and no rain. At mile 25 or so you start the hills, at the first hill a pretty good sized group of my AG'ers passed me up like I was standing still. The hills were a bit steeper than I expected but none of them were super long. I consumed both my carbo pro bike bottles by mile 45, took an ultra long piss on the bike that just wouldnt stop (good thing nobody was around me or behind me) but man did that feel good, and with that I was back on my way into town going againt a brisk 20mph headwind. At mile 50 I saw some familiar bikes, they were the boys that passed me on the hills at mile 25. (Sweet!) In town I passed this crazy old fart banging a cowbell the size of a Buick, oh wait that was Pops with a formidable crew of supporterts that he had cheering for me. I go flying by and the next thing I know Im doing 515 Watts... ok Brad no showing off yet, save it for later.
Loop 1 : 2:30/ 225W ave Wow this is actually happening.
Mile 61 was special needs and I had something special! Redbull, 2 Gu Rocktane, 2 gas-x, 3 salt sticks. I felt pretty good still but I knew that it was only a matter of time before I got a taste of fatigue. Heading back into the hills I felt pretty strong, and sure enough the boys pulled a deja vu on me and went flying past me up the hills. During a long decent I thought I had to burp and in my attempt to depressurize I ended up just hurling everything in my stomach all over myself. (nice one Brad now you just wasted like 500 calories) I did my best to hose off most of it with a water bottle. Around mile 89 or so I started thinking fo the run and consciously decided to just take it easy for the following 20 miles and rest the legs. I didnt see a power reading over 220W the rest of the way in. I got to the bike dismount and the crowd was just going nuts.
Bike split: 5:15/ 211W ave
T2: As I take my first few steps off the bike my legs almost collapse as the brick hit full tilt. Immediately I wonder how the hell Im going to go run a marathon when I couldnt even go 20 feet! When I got into the transition tent it was down to business. I put my running shoes on, my Garmin, drank a redbull, 2 gu rocktane, 2 gas-x, 3 salt sticks. My hydration felt good and I took another pee break. (this added at least 90 sec. to my T-time) maybe next time I will just pee on myself during the run.
The Run: Goal time 3:15
I kicked out of transition and looked down at the Garmin to see 6:45s?!?!? Chill out nitro! I reeled it back in and started seeing 7:20s and that was much more comforting. I ran by my Dad and he was yelling some stuff about everyone calling him and texting him and to keep on charging. My strategy was to keep 7:30 pace for the first half and do coke from mile 6-25. As I ran the first 10K I really felt like the miles were just melting away, and thought to myself, shott if it stays like this Im gonna be chillin on thru this marathon. That brings me to mile 8. Where the battle begins. Just as my fellow AG'ers were passing me AGAIN, my IT band on my right leg lit up like a roman candle during 4th of July. Ive never had IT band issues, and never had a single indication prior to the race that I was gonna have any problems. The pain was pretty staggering but with 18 miles to go I had to keep running my 7:20s and try to gut this out... too much work to just quit now. Mile 12 and 13 were pretty painful as I finished the first loop.
Loop 1 - 1:37
Mile 14 was special needs and I stopped to get my redbull and 2 gu rocktanes. (HUGE MISTAKE) When I finished fueling up I tried to start running again but my legs just totally shut down, it felt almost impossible to get the turnover up again and get the legs to fire... my heart just sunk, I wondered if that was it. I was dragging my ass thru the transition crowds just past the special needs stop and I saw my Dad about 400m ahead and he was bangin the cowbell again. Talk about instant boost, I got my 7:20s pace back and ripped back into my groove, although it was a pretty painful one at this point. Mile 15 I passed a guy in my AG and he said that I was in 5th place. I was excited and scared at the same time. That put me on the bubble for a Kona slot and meant that I certainly couldnt get dropped by anyone else over the next 11 miles. At this point I just started thinking of all the people that had sent me emails, texts, calls, and how much support I had been given... gotta keep going. The pain started to feel "normal" and the wind blowing off the lake around mile 18 was kind of annoying and cold. Shortly thereafter around mile 20 I saw two of my AG'ers running the other way from the turnaround cone. I had a wave of energy surge thru me as I put my head down for the home stretch. At mile 22 I passed one of them, "keep it up, this is how you do it". Mile 24 I see the other AG'er 50 feet ahead. The moment I finally understood the true meaning of Ironman was upon me. I told myself "you are in 4th place, you have your kona slot, so let pour our heart and soul into this thing and really see what Ive got left in the tank!" 2.2 miles left. "Pass this guy with everything you have and blast past the 3rd place AG'er at a speed that will break his legs... or at least his spirit. Game on. As I passed him I looked down at the Garmin to see 6:21 pace and a little smile broke out across my face. Maybe it wasnt that small because many of the people seemed to be cheerign for me more than ever before. Mile 25 marker. Im still trying to push sub-7s and my knee is just on fire, but the cheers, cowbells, air horns, pots, and pans have me on another level. I turn the corner for the straightaway into the finish and there isnt a single person in front of me, Im as light as a feather and the cheers were deafening. I had both my arms stretched out as far as possible to try to slap 5s with all the people lining the finish chute. I look up at the finish clock and it says 9:35.
Run time - 3:15. Ridiculous
Im overwhelmed with joy. While making my way to the massage tent, my Dad was on the railing and he gave me a huge hug. I dont think Ive ever been squeezed so hard before. He said "this was the best father's day present I could ever ask for!" I got a little choked up and gave him another big hug. About that time the guy I passed in my AG at mile 24 gave be a pat on the back and said "I dont know where the hell you got that stride from but you earned it."
This race was filled with some of the hardest challenges Ive ever had to overcome. Not to mention Ive never put so much hard work and preparation into one single day in my whole life. Although I was the only one to cross the finish, many people were with me on race day. I want to especailly thank some key people, because without them I would not have been able to elevate myself to this level. So first off I want to thank my main training partner Nick, we have spent the past 7 months training together and he has kept me in check when Ive begun to wander off course. He has shown me so many biking and running routes that I would have never known about, and Ive been living in San Diego my whole life!!! Also I need to especially thank his wife Karla for letting me train so much with him. Patrick and Brian, you guys really have no idea how crucial your input over the past few months has been, Pat - the beer tip, the redbull tip, and the CDA race report from last year were excellent. Brian - the running advice you gave me worked beautifully, and coke is now my best friend. Craig - I really want to thank you for the encouragement and tips, they were invaluable. Ken - the performance testing throughout the build was killer, I think you have a client for life. Finally I want to thank my parents for always supporting me and running arond for hour after hour during my ironman event to catch a few seconds of me before Im gone for another 2 hours, I love you so much.
Swim - 56, bike - 5:15, Run - 3:15 = 9:35, 3rd AG, 24th Overall, Kona Qualifier.
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