The Ironman Adventure: Day 5 ("The Aftermath")

I just don't know where to start... This will likely be a length entry so get comfortable!

My experience to become an Ironman has been memorable, complete with the ups and downs. What I most appreciated yesterday during the race was just being there and being with others of all fitness levels, shapes and sizes, all there to cross that finish line with the announcer saying "You are an Ironman!" CDA is an incredible place and presents a tough course, but I would take the hills, wind and rain anytime to take the grand tour around a beautiful section of Idaho.

Before I get into my story, below are a few random blurbs from yesterday's adventure:

• During the second half of the bike course, some guy on his Specialized Transition TT bike (amazing machine) cruised by and asked if I knew how to pee on the bike. I said, "Uh, never tried it, but I imagine you're going to have to stop pushing on those pedals for a bit and make sure there aren't any sharp corners ahead." Good advice, I thought.
• At the top of one of the bike climbs there was a pipe band, complete with tartan quilt full dress and one incredible sound! Got some chills and yelled, "Yeah Scotland!" Dorky I know, but I had a moment of patriotism that kept the mind on something else.
• Riding around the northern part of the course takes you through some interesting neighborhoods. I recall one in particular with "an ol' coot" yelling positive thoughts through his industrial sized megaphone. ZZ top beard and all.
• After the race, many racers chilled in the athlete tent to grab some grub and get a quick massage. One dude said he was going home to take an ice bath. I asked, "Are you serious? You're shivering! I'm hitting the hot tub." He replied that he has done this all season and makes the next day so much more comfortable. He said you fill your tub with cold water, dump two 4 lb bags of ice in, and tuck that dude in between your legs and sit for 15 minutes! After taking 10 minutes to put my pants on this morning I realized that maybe this guy was right!
• Total number of snot rockets on the course: around 438
• Best aid station supplement ever: warm chicken broth (you were right, Heather)
• No. of house parties I passed complete with kegs, loud music and incredible cheering sections: too many to count

That was most definitely the single most challenging, most painful, and most rewarding race of my life. Now for the story...

Woke up at 3:30am to have a cup of coffee and some light breakfast. Made last minute gear check and we're off to CDA just before 5am. After parking, making final gear bags modifications and loading the bike up with food and liquids, we had time to sit near the swim start and watch the pros take off. They started 35 minutes head. A few minutes later I coated all appropriate parts with Body Glide and Okole Stuff (a thick vaseline-like substance developed by our professional mtb friend, Pua), and put on my wetsuit. Thanks again to Josh for letting me borrow his suit with sleeves. Mine is sleeveless and would have been a bit chilly for a 2.4 mile swim. Went to the water, swam around a bit and stood waiting for the start with 2,500 athletes. I decided to line up in the front row. A risk I know, but being a former swimmer, I was hoping it would give me that few extra feet to develop some space between the rest of the swimmers. And the gun went off...

Chillin' before the start of the race. (Kudos to Jen for taking my camera and capturing all of the race day pix below.)

The start was a blur. The waves were choppy but I just concentrated on a few power strokes through the water after sighting a far out buoy. Before I knew it I had broken away from the mass of swimmers and shut my legs off completely and concentrated on long, smooth strokes. The tough part was trying to conserve energy with tons of head on waves. I don't think there was a way to save energy on the swim and the other guys said the same thing after the race. I rounded the first lap and even passed a few pros! Was stoked on that! After the first lap, you run out of the water and go around a marker and timing mat and dive in for your second lap. The crowd was AMAZING! Talk about an adrenaline rush. Going out on lap 2 seemed a little rougher as the wind picked up again. It made the ocean swims we did in prep feel like swimming in a koi pond. Finally, the home stretch... Semi-body surfing back I was able to shut everything down and control my breathing. I had plenty of space and was stoked to be done with the first 2.4 mile leg of a very long day. Upon exiting the water, the crowd was going crazy again and I ran over to the transition tent to find myself a stripper!

2,500 or so athletes ready to start the swim at once.

Mayhem at the start of the swim. I was luckily able to be up front.

I even got two strippers all to myself! Ok, here's an explanation. The strippers are there to help you get your wetsuit off. They are pretty tight fitting and it takes some time. If you want, you can use their help. Better believe 'dat! Holding onto my shorts in an effort not to flash the curious crowd, my wetsuit was off in about 0.8 seconds. I ran to grab my swim-to-bike gear bag and went to the changing tent to get ready for a 112 mile bike ride. The volunteers at CDA were incredible. They guide you into the tent, make sure you're not dying, and help you get ready. One guy helped me put my socks on while I fastened my helmet! Just go with it. About 6 minutes later I was on the road riding through town. Again, the crowd was fantastic and it took everything to hold back and not get caught up in the rush.

I decided to take the professionals advice to not fuel or drink anything until you're about 20 minutes into the bike. Reason? Get your heart rate under control and your stomach and system reset. It worked like a charm. The first 20 mile section of the bike course was fast, complete with the pipe band I mentioned above and cheerleaders and live amateur bands. We had a head wind most of the ride so it was challenging to keep your frustration at bay. Although the head wind turned into a tailwind at points and knowing those were out there made it bearable. The second section of the bike course is known for the famous CDA rollers. They hurt. My plan was to work the flats and downs, and sit up and spin the climbs. Another challenging experience for me was relaxing when guys were passing me throughout the course on the bike. I was holding ahead of my goal pace so I was stoked, but it was still tough. I can still hear the sound of those disc wheels approaching! Sounds like a train coming... That's what you have to deal with as a swimmer I guess. But it was cool to catch back up with them on the climbs.

A portion of our incredible cheering section having a pint while we're out there racing... I would have done the same thing. In fact, mid-pint, I came by and they all came out hootin' and hollering! Outstanding.

I also decided to stop at two bike aid stations to fill up my bottles. It would have been too difficult with the turns and rolling terrain to try and fill your bottles with more. Plus I didn't want to lose my commemorative CDA bottles! First lap done at mile 56, time to do it all over again. I really only had one point of near-bonk, but I just kept fueling and it quickly subsided. It was also fairly difficult to get solid food down, but I was able to get down some Fig Newtons, almonds, salty chips, and half of one of Cindy's famous oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. Add two flasks of EFS fuel (equivalent to 8 goos) and six 20 oz. bottles to that, I was happy with my nutrition plan. The whole point is to top up completely knowing you have a marathon ahead of you...

Finishing the bike leg in aero form and trying to spin the legs out before the run.

At the completion of lap two I saw some friends, gave a wave, and headed into the transition zone. Again, the volunteers were incredible. A guy took my bike and I trotted to pick up my bike-to-run gear bag. Another volunteer grabbed my bag and helped me empty the contents on the grass. I decided to keep the same socks on (Smart Wool socks are the best at regulating temps and in the rain). A few minutes later, I was all changed and started jogging. I forgot to mention that perhaps the best decision I made all day was to put bike shorts over my tri-shorts for the bike leg. I was so comfortable the whole way and kept me warm. But about 20 steps in I realized I still had them on! Ran back to the transition tent, found my volunteer, gave him my shorts and he put them in my bag. Cool, aren't they?

The run start was difficult as always to get your legs going up and down and not round and round. Jen and Jake were running along side for about 250 yards which was really funny! Kudos to them for cheering all day! Just like the bike, I did not fuel until about 5 miles in. I had two goos on me just in case. My first 2 miles were too fast as I was just trying to find my feet. I was at 15 minutes in 2 miles, way too quick! I recall advice from Molly, back off right away and save it! The run turned into a bit of a shuffle after going through town again. Knowing I had a full 26 miles ahead was daunting...twice the distance I had ever run. My goal was around a 4 hour marathon and I had no idea if I could do it. We always here about "the wall" and I did not know when mine would hit...it hit around mile 23 but we'll get to that in a second.

Somewhere on the run course ready to ditch my undershirt (too warm). That was a VERY painful run!

At the far end of the first leg, there was a hill to go up and down. Coming down that hill was agony! My quads felt like knives were stabbing them and the pain never subsided. That was mile 7. I knew this was going to be a long day. Coming up on mile 10 I remembered my plan to stop and stretch at miles 10 and 20 no matter what. I tried to, but when I tried to stretch my quads, my hamstrings would cramp! Oh well, just keep pushing. Coming through town at the half marathon point was helpful, but I was in a total daze. From that point forward I decided to walk through every other aid station (which were spaced about a mile apart) to take a break from the pain in the quads and to fuel properly. Chicken broth, gatorade, water and oranges were my fuel of choice and I stuck to that. That is, other than a few bites of my Hostess Apple Pie I stashed in my run special needs bag! A few bites of that was enough. The next 13 miles was likely the most painful experience I had been through. Oscillating around 8:30 pace and 9:00 pace seemed to work ok. I stuck with my aid station nutrition plan and tried to keep my eyes on all things around me. I hate to say it, but it was somewhat comforting seeing most of the runners in some sort of distress as well!

I saw Jeana at some point but we were both so focused that we yelled and that was it. Knowing I only had 5 more miles was an amazing feeling. I just kept telling myself that this is the same mile square park distance that I'm used to! But it hurt way more. Finally at mile 23, I hit that wall. It took everything I had to keep moving. I now know what all those marathoners say about that wall. Quite the head trick! I slipped back to around 9:30 or so pace but I was still jogging. Finally, a few streets later through the neighborhood with parties going on and my eyeballs ready to bounce out of my head, I reached the sign that said, "Finish this way, 2nd lap this way." It was an amazing feeling knowing you are almost done. I actually saw Jeana start her second lap and she gave me some kind words, but I was so done I barely grunted! Then the most amazing left turn of my life down Sherman Avenue...

I had somehow spaced myself out between the runner ahead and anyone behind me. The crowd was incredible. People were having some pints in the porch of a pub and I yelled "be there in a few minutes!" They roared and my adrenaline took off. There are no words to describe the feeling of coming down that final 0.2 mile straight away. I looked skyward and thanked those who count most and then gave high fives to spectators who lined the finishing chute. Finding some last second energy I sprinted to the finish, arms raised high and crossed as an Ironman in 10 hours and 32 minutes... I was so stoked.

Here I am finishing in one of my most proud athletic endeavors of my life. What a rush and the crowd was awesome!

A catcher (volunteer ready to grab you and guide you to your finishing medal, t-shirt and running hat) draped me in a space blanket for warmth. I took a quick photo and headed to the post-race tent. I was quite wobbly on the legs and one of the volunteers noticed. She guided me over to a chair, gave me another space blanket and gave me some warm chicken broth and water. Then she led me into the massage tent! Didn't know that was part of the gig. Two minutes later I was on a table with two angels giving me a rubdown. Warm oil, space blankets, warm room, and the friendliest of folk...amazing! Then I stumbled over to the feeding area to grab a few slices of pizza, some water and shared stories with the other guys. Watching people come in an out was comical (in hindsight). You simply can't sit down or get up. It's a total tricep push so your chair better have arms! People were shivering as it was low-to-mid 50s with rain. But somehow everyone had that spark of accomplishment in their eyes.

Jeana, already draped in a space blanket, on the finishing straight. Way to go Iron Woman!

Post-race, space blanket wrap to keep warm. (Notice the sweet Kia rental car!)

I waited around for Jeana to show up and tried to find our friends (long story there). Ultimately we all met up. I missed Jeana's finish but she finished just over 13 hours and she is truly an Iron Woman! Finding our way back to the car, taking the elevator back up to our rooms still draped in space blankets, our day was done. I tried to keep drinking water, didn't feel like dinner, just wanted to lay down. After a restless night of dealing with an upset stomach, I awoke this morning to some seriously sore legs. But it was all worth it in my pursuit to become an Ironman.

You know, they say it's the journey and not the destination, and they are right. But I can't tell you enough how amazing it was to reach THAT destination! Thanks again to all my friends and family for such incredible support throughout my journey. I am so grateful to you all!