Ironman California 70.3 2006

There have been many requests to hear my Ironman experience, so if you have a few minutes, here is that I have taken from it so far….

Ironman was the hardest thing I think I've ever experienced. Now that it's been a few days since I completed the race, the thing that I keep recalling is not so much the swim, bike or run, but the emotional roller coaster that I experienced that day.
During the training leading up to the race I was most looking forward to the morning energy that surrounds triathlon and big events... If you've ever experienced the energetic vibe of a starting line of any race, you know what I mean. The thing I was most dreading was the weather report which told of an epic storm headed our way complete with torrential rains, hail, and strong wind gusts, which you can imagine gave me a little anxiety about riding my bike in race spandex. God heard many prayers concerning the weather.

At 6:40am the cannon blew and the Pro Triathletes were on their way with 5minute wave starts behind them. I was in the 4th wave out of 22 waves  (because of my age not my ability).  My wave had about 30 guys 25-29 years of age, all bobbing in the water that registered 54 degrees.  The horn blew for our wave to start and so began the hitting the kicking… I mean the swimming. There were so many people around me, I found it hard to get into a rhythm with my swim, and it doesn’t help that I am a crooked swimmer, so I had to constantly keep looking where I was going to make sure that I was going the right way.  I made it out to the turn around point, swallowing my share of salt water and had almost made it back when I had gotten my first cramp in my calf and I had to stop and tread water waiting for it to release.  Finally it did, and I was able to finish the swim and exit the water. I did notice however, that the sun was shining and it was going to be a beautiful day.

As I hobbled to transition, that’s when self-doubt begins to set in, and I think “how in the world am I supposed to go bike 56 miles with my legs already cramping?”   But, being determined, knowing that I didn’t fly to San Diego to quit and knowing that I didn’t train for 6months just to quit, I said a prayer and I got on my bike and began to pedal.  Surprisingly I felt great and was keeping a good pace.  I made friends with Jim from Calgary and we rode our bikes together for the first 30 miles averaging about 20-22mph. Then came the dreaded hill I had been hearing about, an 800 ft elevation climb that was steeper than imagined.  Climbing that hill I averaged a painful 4 mph but gritted my teeth and made it to the top.  The bike course was on a Marine base and there were many Marines everywhere barking encouragement and HOORAH!s which helped the hill climbing.  After many more little hills, another hill appeared that seemed to be as big as the first.  Averaging only 3mph, my legs were screaming and I knew that I could walk the hill faster than I was going, but no one else was walking, so I wasn’t going to either.  I knew that if I stood up to pedal that my legs would cramp, so I made myself sit down and keep going, but then out of instinct I stood up to pedal and my legs cramped and locked. I couldn’t move, so I did the only thing I could do …. I fell over.  I couldn’t even move my legs to unclip out of my pedals, but luckily another biker stopped to help me up and to the side of the road.  All I could do was stand there, not being able to move, and watch hundreds of cyclists go by.  Finally, I was able to move my legs enough to grab my water bottle and massage them to the point where I could walk again, and then get back on my bike and finish climbing the hill.  The last 8 miles I encountered a strong headwind and with tired legs I was not able to get up over 12-13mph, but finally finished the bike.

Again self-doubt sets in and I was thinking “How am I suppose to go run a half marathon now?”.  But knowing my wife was waiting out on the run course for me, I said a prayer and I took off out on the run.  Surprisingly again, I felt great. The run was a 2 loop course, so I had the opportunity to hear encouraging words from Christie at many points.  I was able to average 8:30-9min miles for the first 10 miles and then my legs decided that they were done for the day.  So I shuffled and walked the last 3 miles, and I began to become less concerned with my time and just enjoyed the amazing view of the ocean that I was running alongside. 

There are many times that day that I questioned, why I did this event or do any of these events, and as you can tell, I had plenty of time on a long swim, bike and run to come up with many answers. I did it because there are many people that I respect that have completed it and have inspired me to do it, I did it because I wanted to set a big goal and take the steps necessary to achieve it. I did it because I wanted my family to be proud of me, and I wanted to do something that speaks outwardly of my character. But when I crossed the finish line, what I learned was even more important than any of those reasons. There were many points of self-doubt during the race that I knew I could no longer rely on my own strength to carry me any further, and looking back now, it seemed silly to ask God to carry me further in something as trivial as a triathlon, but again He pulled me through. He was faithful to me in the little things, which strengthens my faith to more fully depend on Him to carry me through anything. It became even more apparent during those last three miles of the run, to learn to enjoy the beauty of where I’m at, while looking ahead to completing my goals.