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56 Mile Bike
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13.1 Mile Run
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70.3 Miles in total make up a long course/half Ironman distance triathlon and I fought my way through every inch.
With my in-laws in town to watch the girls, Erin and I headed for Lawrence, KS bright and early on Saturday morning for packet pickup. We arrived just before 10:30 am to pick up my packet and get some details on the race.
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| At packet pickup, I was number 349 |
After getting my packet, we headed out to Clinton Lake on the West side of Lawrence to check out part of the race course. On the way in, it struck me that the bike course was a lot more hilly then I expected. That started to make me a little nervous as most of my training in central Iowa does not include much for hills. As we drove into the beach parking lot at the lake they were already beginning to setup for the following day. The lake was beautiful as was the campground and surrounding roads that were part of the run course.
After checking out the course, we headed back to Overland Park to stay with John and Susan (Erin's aunt and uncle). We ate lunch at Johnny's Tavern and spent the afternoon in their pool before heading to church. After mass, we relaxed with some games, supper and a visit from Erin's cousin Sarah.
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| Hydrating at lunch |
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| Pre-race dinner |
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| Setting up transition in the dark |
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| Checking the water temp and admiring the sunrise |
It probably comes as no surprise that I prefer to arrive at the race as early as possible. This gives me plenty of time to set everything up, handle any issues, and calm down and spend time doing visualizations of the race in my head. To me, it is all part of the race experience and I just want to soak it all in.
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| My beautiful wife and I before the race |
Before I knew it, they were announcing the close of transition and we were being sent to the beach for the swim start. I was in the first swim wave, but due to some technical difficulties the race was delayed by about 20 minutes. As we stood in the starting corral, I took the extra time to look over the swim course and try to memorize the pattern of buoys. With early morning races, it can sometimes be very hard to sight buoys, but as it turned out, this course was laid out perfectly and I had no problems sighting at all.
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| Anxiously awaiting the start |
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| And we are off! |
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| Just keep swimming, just keep swimming |
So I'm not going to lie, 1.2 miles in the open water feels like it took forever. If you recall back, I was expecting my swim to take about 57 minutes (2:45 min/100 yds), so I was surprised when I got out of the water to look at my watch and see a time of just over 50 minutes (2:26 min/100 yds). I was smiling big as I headed up into T1.
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| Erin made everyone smile with this sign designed by her mom for a race last year |
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| Out of the water and heading to T1 |
I took my time in T1 as I downed some extra nutrition and Gatorade before heading out on the bike course. And oh, what a course it was. The 56 mile course had 2,700 feet of elevation gain and it kicked my butt. There were several points throughout the bike course, starting from as early as mile 15, that I wasn't sure that I would be able to make it. With the exception of 3 very short flats, I was either going up a hill or down a hill. With the course being made up of 4 out and back sections, I started to count hills on the way out and then count down on the way back. This seemed to help as I at least knew what to expect.
Even with the extremely challenging bike course, I managed to finish in a time of 3:29:24 which was just under my goal of 3:30. Through 2 legs of the race, I was still slightly ahead of pace, but I knew that I had used up a lot of my legs on that bike course and was unsure of how the run was going to turn out. Either way, I was sure glad to be off the bike. As I came into T2 Erin asked how I was doing and all that I managed to get out was "That was really rough!"
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| Glad to be finishing the bike course |
Again, I took some extra time in T2 to take in some nutrition and Gatorade before heading out on the run course. As I headed out on the run, I could tell my legs were going to be too tired to run the entire half marathon, but I still felt pretty good. The sun was high in the sky and it was starting to get pretty hot out by this point as well.
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| Heading out on the run course |
The first lap went very well as I only took a few short walking breaks. By the end of the 2nd lap, I was on a steady pace of alternating between running for 5 minutes and walking for 2 minutes. I was pacing about a minute per mile slower than I wanted to, but with a "built in" extra 30 minutes of time to finish in under my goal of 7:30 I wasn't too worried.
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| Just finished lap 1 (3.25 miles) and coming in for a high five |
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| Finishing lap 2 strong (6.5 miles) |
About a mile into lap 3, my calves started to cramp up, and around mile 8.5, both of them cramped completely. It was easily one of the worst pains that I have felt in my life, and even worse, I started to get emotional as the realization that I might not finish started to hit me. But, I had come too far to not keep trying so with some encouragement from a fellow racer (who was now a spectator) I worked out the cramps and started walking. I did attempt to run a couple of more times but each time I felt my calves start to cramp up again. Luckily, as long as I was walking, I was able to keep my feet from flexing too far and was fine.
By the end of lap 3, I accepted that the only way that I could finish was to walk the remaining 4 - 5 miles. As I finished up the last lap, Erin put down here camera and walked with me for about 100 yards encouraging me the whole way. I was putting all of my energy into holding back tears as in the moment I was very discouraged. This was the first time in my racing history that my body started to give out before my willpower and my energy.
Throughout that last lap, I really got the chance to experience the best side of humanity. From random spectators, aid station workers and other athletes still on the course, EVERYONE had an encouraging word for me. I dug down deep and gave it everything I had to finish out walking that last lap. My focus had gone from worrying about my pace to just trying to finish the race. Before I knew it, I was headed back down the last straight away towards the turn into the finish line. Now, I don't know how to finish a race other than giving it everything I have in the final stretch, so as I turned the corner, I dug down deeper than I ever have before and started running (not fast mind you, but still running). My calves cramped up instantly but I pushed through until I crossed the finish line.
I crossed the finish line with a final time of 7:47:06. It was longer than I had hoped but I didn't care (and I still don't). I had finished and I have never felt so proud of myself then I did in that moment. All of the sacrifices that I have made and time that I have put in paid off big time. In addition, I had won the Clydesdale division (for those wondering, this is a division for male athletes that weigh more than 220 lbs). It is the first race that I have ever placed, but I will admit that it was mere icing on the cake and the award paled in comparison to just being able to finish the race.
I learned a lot about myself my competing in this race and most of it would have never come had I not faced some adversity. I am more confident in myself today than I ever have been and I have the sport of triathlon to thank for that. If you take one thing away from my post, let it be this. Don't wait for anything in life to come to you because chances are it never will. Instead go out and make life what you want it to be. Through hard work and dedication, pretty much anything is possible.
Now I am also not full enough of myself to think that I could not have done this without plenty of help. For starters, I would like to thank all of the spectators, racers, and staff at the race. It was an awesome race with an excellent atmosphere. Thank you to all of my friends and family that showed interest and support leading up to the race as well as on race day. Thanks to Kurt and Mary (my in-laws) for staying with the girls so that Erin could come to the race with me. Thanks to John and Susan for the pre-race entertainment and a place to stay. Thanks to my 2 girls, Abigail and Bridget for all of the encouragement I get when returning home from hard workouts and the patience that they show when daddy isn't around some evenings and weekends.
Most of all, however, a big thanks to my wife, Erin. Not just for coming to the race with me and cheering me on, but for being the most loving and supportive spouse EVER. There is no way that I could accomplish any of this without your love, patience, and support. You are my rock and for that I am most grateful.
Now the plan is to rest and recover for a couple of days before getting back after it. My next race, and last triathlon of the year is the Cyman sprint triathlon on Sunday, September 24 in Bondurant, IA. I hope to make it a great end to what has been a fantastic triathlon season.
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