Well, my day didn't go as planned....but I finished my 12th Ironman.
The day started off pretty good. I was calm (lots of race experience). All my equipment was ready, just had to top off the air in the tires. Took my time, and then got into my wetsuit and headed down to the boat dock where we would enter the water. I was one of the first into the water so I could get a bit of a warm up in and get a good position for the start. The National Anthem was sung and then it was game on...the cannon went BOOM! Off I went in the middle of a flailing mob of swimming bodies...4200 arms and legs going full speed ahead for 2.4 miles. If you've never seen a mass start of 2100 type A personalities for a swim, it is an experience that is hard to put into words. People swimming on top of you, arms hitting you, legs kicking you while at the same time trying to make forward progress and keep some resemblence of a good swim stroke. Oh yeah, and to make it even more interesting the sun was low and in our face! After about 300 meters the swim starts to thin out a bit. As I went around the turn around bueys I took a quick glance at my watch...30 minutes flat. Things looked good. The wind had started to pick up however and started to make the water a bit more choppy. Swam strong on the return leg only to exit in 1:07. 4 minutes slower than last year...not a good start. Payed a visit to the strippers...(they help you strip your wetsuit off...get your minds out of the gutter!) then it was off to the change tent. On went the bike shoes and new aero helmet and then it was off to fetch my bike out of the sea of 2100 bikes. Transition took just over 4 minutes and I was off for the 112 miles of spinning pedals. The first loop (the bike course was 3 loops) felt comfortable. I stayed in my aero position and the wind was not to bad YET! Second loop the wind had picked up and was howling. Still aero and still feeling pretty good. Third loop the wind go wicked on us. The long straight uphill section on the Beeline Hwy had a nice tail-side wind. 30MPH uphill...yahooo! Hit the turn around and it was a full on headwind...15MPH DOWNHILL! Not so fun. But I stayed in my aero position making it a bit easier...if there is such a thing. I was happy to get back into town and know the transition area was getting near. My feet were hurting and I was starting to get some slight cramping in my legs. My nutrition on the bike was good. I lost one of my bottles of "secret stuff" (500 calories) on a big bump on the road, but made it up with energy gels from the aid stations. Back to the transition I dismouted my bike glad to be on my feet. Bike time 5:52...ouch! 16 minutes longer than last year. As I ran into the transition change tent the legs were not functioning quite right. I saw my coach and he asked how I felt. I told him not as good as I'd hoped. Into the change tent I sat down to put on my run shoes. The legs cramped up immediately. So I took the time to rub them out and stretch a bit. Quick stop at the porta-potties and away I went. I actually felt fairly good...until about the 1/2 mile mark. The legs started to cramp again. I stopped and rubbed out the legs again and then resumed the running again. There was lots of people out cheering and giving encouragement...which is always a big help! First loop (of 3) I felt half way decent. Second loop I slowed a bit. The legs did not want to cooperate with the brain but I did not stop running. Consumed lots of Gatorade, gels, salt tablets and water to keep the engine energized. Third lap I switched to coke and water! For the third lap I told myself, this is it..give it all you got left. As I crossed the Mill Ave. bridge for the last time and made the right hand turn into the finish line I was just happy to see the finish tape. A 4:06 marathon...13 minutes slower than last year. Overall time was 11:16...last year was a 10:42. It was a brutal day, but goal 1 is always to finish. 276th out of 2066. The race had a 10% DNF (did not finish) rate. The highest in the 3 year race history.
So now after a couple of days hobbling around with VERY stiff legs its time to get in the pool for a VERY easy swim just to get the blood flowing and assist with recovery.
After talking to my coach after the race he wants me to take a year off from Ironman (somethng he has been trying to get me to do) and focus on shorter (half ironman) races to get more speed in my legs. This will definately clear my calandar for Moab 2008! Then it will be an all out assault on Ironman for 2009...and hopefully a trip to Kona!
Thanks to everyone here who gave me encouraging thoughts! They were all greatly appreciated.
Oh yeah, another race tid-bit. While riding (suffering) into the blasting headwind, what song was going nonstop through my head? Christopher Cross..."Ride like the wind"! It actually made me smile.
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