It has been a long time since my last post...as you probably all know. The new year has brought me back to try and fill you in on some of the holes in the rest of 2010. This includes my long awaited recap of my ironman, the Redman Iron-distance Triathlon!
**Now, you'll have to excuse some lack of detail. This was 3-4 months ago, and I apologize for not getting this out sooner.**
The beginning of this epic race begins the day before the actual race. Rick, myself and our friend Steph (our chauffeur, and cheering squad) arrived in Oklahoma City Thursday evening. On Friday we had a few pre-race things to attend, this included registration, bike check and the pre-race meeting. Nothing interesting to tell here, other than it was an interesting experience and made the whole event seem real. The weather was pretty warm, I'd say it wasn't "hot" but very warm, maybe mid 80's. The sun was a scorcher though, and there was rain in the forecast, so I think we all were really wondering what race day would be like. After all the pre-race stuff, we retreated back to the hotel for dinner and a good nights rest. Unfortunately for me it was not a relaxing evening, and the night before my first Ironman race may have been the biggest test of my will, morale, emotional stability, and everything else similar to that.
I was sitting in the bed, eating my pasta (which wasn't that good, btw), and I was stretching my ankle, rotating it around like I usually do, just trying to stay loose. As I was doing this my right ankle for want of a better term, froze....I had intense pain under my achilles tendon, and I couldn't dorsiflex my foot past 90 degrees. I could not walk without intense pain. I was devastated. I was less than 9 hours from race start, and I couldn't walk! To this day, I don't know what happened, the only explanation I have is that some scar tissue in the ankle freakishly got caught around my achilles and heel bone. I do have a lot of scar tissue built up over my years as a basketball player. Luckily I had wonderful friends who were super supportive and tried to help me as much as they could. I tried to relax the ankle with hot water and manual manipulation (courtesy of chiropractic advice from my brother Dave). I tried to sleep, and like Steph said, perhaps it was psychological and rest was the best cure. I could barely sleep, no matter how I tried. I think I got a good 3 hours win with 2 or 3 hours of just lying there worrying about the morning. I honestly believed that my Ironman dream would have to wait till next year. You can imagine how hard this was for me. All the preparation, dedication, training and most importantly the support from family and friends all seemed to be for nothing. In other words, I was "in the depths of despair."
Race Day
4:00am - I woke up, with my ankle keenly in my mind. I tried stretching it in bed, the pain was still there, but not as intense. It was time to get ready, so the only thing I could do was test it. I got out of bed, and I was able to walk! A big relief washed over me. All I thought was, OK I can do this...even if I have to walk the whole marathon, I CAN DO THIS.
5:00am - Rick and I arrive at Transition, ready to start, but race start is still about two hours away. It had rained the night before, which cooled the air down, and also made everything wet. I was still concerned about how the ankle was going to hold up. It hurt to walk, but I was able to walk, and that's all that mattered. The ankle really changed my whole view of this race. Leading up to the race I was very focused on being competitive, hitting my pacing and meeting my time goal. I was ambitious, and the ankle brought everything into perspective. I realized how special it was to have just gotten the point of being able to race an Ironman. My goals changed from competitive to just wanting to finish. And, though the ankle was awful and a real test of nerves, I believe it made my experience 10 times better than it could have been. I do believe that the biggest winners are those that just get out there and go for their goals. Whether you're competitive or not, its just getting there, pushing yourself, and putting yourself out on the course that really matters.
7:00am - Race start in 15 minutes. Warming up in the water was fun. It was completely dark when we started our warm up, and by the time we entered the water again for race start the sun was just rising. It was really cool.
7:15am - Race start. An interesting one...the water was warm, but still wetsuit legal. The water was very shallow, waist high really. There were racers who actually walked for 10 or more minutes in the beginning.
8:30am (roughly) - I exit the water, headed to T1. My ankle did not bother me during the swim, as I figured it wouldn't. I was also correct in thinking that the swim would loosen it up a little more. I walked out of the swim, walked in to T1, got my bike gear and took a bathroom break. I was not rushing, and I probably was going too slow even, but it didn't matter to me.
8:30am to 3pm-ish (I'm guessing) - 6 hours 45 minutes on the bike including breaks. Not bad, the course was harder than I thought. I figured it was going to be very flat, but there were quite a few of long shallow hills. Those I feel are worse than the shorter steeper hills. I was shooting for a 17mph pace, and I think I hit that right on. The 4 lap course gave me a lot to think about. Rick was ahead of me the whole time, and I always judged his pace by where we passed each other. Deep down I wanted to catch up, but he was significantly further along than me, and I knew that it wasn't worth pushing the pace. Stick to your guns when you're out on an Ironman course. I stuck to my guns, kept my pace in check, even slowed down on lap 3, and finished the ride tired, and a bit sore, but still feeling pretty good. My biggest question mark was the run...and I was only thinking, will I be able to run, or am I in for a very long walk.
3:30pm - T2 was another long drawn out process. I walked my bike to my transition spot, and saw Rick walking up to me. He had waited for me to finish, knowing I was only 10 or so minutes behind him. I took my time, and Rick was in no rush. The most interesting part of T2 was putting on sunblock. Putting on sunscreen you definitely find out where your wetsuit rubbed your neck raw. That might have been the most pain I experienced all day :)
3:45pm - The run begins. More importantly, I COULD run. It was a long day, and the ankle worked itself out. There was an almost imperceptible lack of range of motion, but it did not bother me while I ran.
3:45pm to 8:45pm - Rick and I ran together for most of the first lap, there were 4 laps total (about 6 miles per lap). I was definitely tired after that bike, but when I began the run I felt surprisingly good. I wasn't going to be running a 3 hr marathon or anything, but I felt smooth and strong. Good training and preparation I guess. Around mile 5 Rick and I parted ways. He ended up walking the rest of the way, and I kept chugging along. The thought of The Little Engine That Could entered my mind more than once throughout the rest of the marathon. One of my goals entering the race was to run the entire marathon, stopping only at the aid stations. I basically did just that. I kept waiting for The Wall to hit. Part of my uncertainty with this whole race was the unknown. I really wanted to meet obstacles I had never dealt with before, The Wall was one of those. I still don't feel like I ever hit the wall, and if I did, it was a very thin and low wall. There was only one time during my run that I felt like I was going to have to resign to walking the rest. I started walking, but after about 15-20 seconds I just leaned forward and began running. I guess I am just too stubborn to even give in to fatigue. I was set on running that marathon, and I just did it. When I hit the beginning of lap 4 I could just taste the finish. I knew every inch of that last 6 miles, and I also knew that every step was the furthest I had ever run before. At 5k left, I was pumped. So pumped to be one last stretch from finishing. Darkness was setting in, and I decided I had the energy to push it. I picked up the pace. It probably was only 9-9.5 min/mile pace, but it was the fastest I had run all day. I held that pace to the finish, lapping Rick on the way ;)
8:45pm (or at least 13 hours 13 minutes from the Start) - I AM AN IRONMAN! I finished with a huge smile and a fist pump. I will admit that I was hoping to have some emotional moment, maybe cry while I cross the line, but it never came. I was just so happy to do it. It wasn't even one of those "I never thought I could do it" moments. It was just a "I DID IT!" moments, and I was just happy to be finished. I admit that as soon as I finished I was thinking about Rick, knowing he had 6 more miles to go, and I was rooting for him.
2 hours after I finish - Rick IS AN IRONMAN!!! We did it! And I know we'll do it again, just not in 2011 :)
I'll close with maybe my most memorable moment of the race. I think I was finishing my 2nd or 3rd lap of the run, and Steph came running up to me with a phone. On the phone was all of our awesome friends back home, having a party and cheering us one from 1000 miles away. Steph put them on speaker and I was able to talk to them, and they were able to cheer me on. It meant so much, and just thinking about it makes my heart leap. To all my family and friends, THANK YOU for your amazing support, I couldn't have done it without you.
