Going Long

Swim. Bike. Run. 140.6 miles.

June 25, 2006 – the forecast called for 80 degrees with relatively high humidity. 2500 nervous athletes stood on the shore of Lake Coeur D’Alene, waiting for the start of the 2006 Ironman Triathlon and wondering what the day would bring. Standing among them, I too was wondering – had my training been enough, would the day allow me to rejoice at the end or would it bring frustration and disappointment? I tried to breathe, relax and just think about the immediate task at hand – swimming 2.4 miles, two laps around orange buoys.

It had been a relatively short and intensive journey leading up to my first Ironman. I signed up in November of 2005, and started training in earnest in January of 2006. The tri-bike I bought for the race was the first road bike I had ever bought. The idea to race started with an email from Sherry Smith, Stanford’s tri team coach, who was affiliated with Team Sheeper, whom I would join for training.

Six months later, the gun went off and I ran into the cold water of the lake, off on a journey that would take me the entire day to complete.

I started the swim close to the far end of the racers, not wanting to be stuck in a pack of swinging elbows and kicking feet. I figured I only had to swim 200 extra yards, so it was worth it. I started at a steady, but fast pace. The first lap was uneventful, and as I came out of the water to start the second lap I grabbed a glass of water from one of the volunteers, and dove back in to start swimming.

When I came out of the water, the race clock showed 1:02 – about 5 minutes faster than I had thought. I quickly had my wetsuit stripped from me as I put on my bike shoes, drank some more and ran to my bike.

The bike course was 2 loops of 56 miles each, mostly flat with two large hills at the front end of each loop. What most racers hadn’t counted on was the temperature. When I started the bike leg it was already 80 degrees, and it would climb up to 90 by the time I would finish. On top of that, the flat section of the course was windy, which drains even more fluids from the body. Racers who didn’t take that into account suffered later on from dehydration and fatigue. My plan was to ride two loops of 3 hours each.

For the 112 miles that followed, I was constantly passed by other riders. I may have passed one or two, but other than that, I felt like I was riding in slow motion, even though I was exactly on pace! I had my ‘uncool’ camelback hydration pack on, and I didn’t feel like too much of an Ironman at this point. It took a lot of discipline not to push harder and chase down some people that were flying by, but I stuck to my original plan.

It took me 6:05 hours to finish the bike leg, pretty much on schedule. I felt good as I left the transition area to start the marathon. I started REALLY slow, just to get my legs back under me and see how I feel. The early miles saw me drinking a lot and continuing to take in a lot of salt.

The marathon was two loops of 13 miles each, through the town of Coeur D’Alene and then along the shore of the lake. I actually don’t remember too much of the town itself – I remember trying to run underneath or through every sprinkler that was put out by the people lining the streets. It was in the mid-nineties now, the sun was high in the sky and it was HOT. The first half of the marathon went well, and I was getting back at all the people that passed me on the bike. I walked through every other aid station, taking in Gatorade, water, salt and some pretzels, and filling my bottle with Gatorade as well. As I left for my second loop, I remember seeing Tim on the side of the road and shouting to him “I got this one, I got it.”

I guess that summed up how I felt. I was on mile 16 or 17, and I knew I would finish, and finish well for a first Ironman. All I had to do was keep moving, hydrating and pushing forward. As the miles ticked on, a weird expression developed on my face – half grimace and half smile. I ran the marathon in 4:11, and I crossed the finish line after 11:30 hours. It was wonderful, a true feeling of achievement. I remember being on a ‘high’ a week later. It was a big challenge, one which I wasn’t sure I could handle when I first started training for it. After so many months of training and anticipation, I felt satisfaction, confidence and hunger for more, all rolled into one great sensation.

A month later, I signed up for the Marathon De Sables and the 2007 Wisconsin Ironman. Maybe the high lasted for more than a week?

Anyway, come April 2007, I hope my MdS race report will be as happy as this one

Cheers,

E