Ironman USA - Coeur d'Alene June, 2005
I've been here
before, but
this time, I'm getting deparate. Last year I was fourth, and the
top THREE got into the Hawaii Ironman World Championships at Kailua
Kona - known to tri-geeks as "Kona", or "Mecca" for those into
religious metaphors. I'd already made my pilgrimage the year
before, and now I want to get back on my own right.
I'd caught the bug for Ironman about 14 months into my triathlon
career. In February, 2000, I was out on my "long run" one Sunday, and
realised that the 13 miles I was doing (the longest I'd ever run in my
life up to that point) seemed almost tolerable. I could actually
envision running for 26.2 miles without dying or shredding my knees. So
I went to the computer, and looked up "Ironman California", which was
to be held for the first time in May, near my sister's home in North
County San Diego. I discovered - horrors! - that the event was full. So
I surfed around for another option, and found Ironman Florida, in
Panama City, on the first weekend in November - just before election
day, 2000. I registered, charged $300 to my credit card, and had a goal.
I came back humbled. I'd felt good for 9 hours - roughly through mile
10 of the run - and then the wheels came off. It took me 3 hours and 20
minutes to do the next 16 miles, half running and half walking. Even
though I was only 2 years into my triathlon/running career, I felt a
distinct bitterness, but also a sense of hope. I devised a Five Year
Plan - a race by race timetable of how I would get my time down in
order to qualify.
I had learned my lesson on registering for IM California, and had
signed up in May for the 2001 race. I also signed up for the August
2001 Ironman Canada - figured, why not, Canada was closer, and racing
there annually might give me a better shot. In Oceanside the next year
(2001), I felt I was not yet ready to push the bike portion, and also
was determined to not walk a step of the marathon. I rode 20 minutes
slower than Florida, and ran one hour faster, not walking a step. Now,
I figured, it was just a matter of getting the bike time down, while
keeping my running stable.
Canada 2001 provided a further lesson in Ironman pacing. My bike time
was back down to my Florida level, but the run was also at Florida
speed. Hmm, something's not working here, and my 5 year plan is going
backwards!
For the next summer, IM California was off the books (somebody had died
on the bike course, and the Marines - we biked in Camp Pendleton -
didn't want the intrusion anymore), so I'd signed up for IM USA in Lake
Placid and Canada once again. Well-trained for Lake Placid, I didn't
race at all, due to my mother's illness starting a week before the
race. And Canada - a repeat of Florida and Canada '01.
This brings us to 2003, and the inaugural running of IM USA - Coeur
d'Alene. Now, by this time, I'd learned a bit about weather and racing.
Specifically, let the temp go over about 62F, and/or let the sun come
out full force, and my body (along with most others) starts to
decompensate while running. It's hard to get enough fluids in when the
temperature goes up, to replace the body water and salt lost by the
increased sweating. I'd begun to let this knowledge affect my mental
preparation, becoming overly concerned with weather reports and race
day conditions, when what I really should have been doing was learning
how to acclimatize myself and pace myself so I could remain hydrated,
and thus running (each mile I walk is AT LEAST 7 minutes slower than my
slowest running pace). I also should have learned my lesson, preached
by all tri coaches, and personified by me in California, that the true
key to running faster in an Ironman is to be a better biker.
Specifically, one must be a strong enough biker to go at an easy pace,
so as to not be tired for the run.
IM CdA would give me a chance to prove myself on these two points, I
hoped. Not. The weather, which had been cloudy and 65F up to five days
before the race, rose by about 5-10 degrees each day, so much so that
by the time I got to mile 80 on the bike, the thermometer was reading
98F, and I was baked. I had to get off and sit under the shade by the
greyhound race track in Post Falls for five minutes to revive. I
wobbled in to T2, saw my wife Cheryl broiling in the shade of an
underpass, and quit. I didn't see the point in trying to "run" in that
heat. I already had my finisher's medals and T-shirts from 4 IMs. Who
knows what damage I'd do to try to get a fifth, having no chance to
qualify for Kona there at the top of my age group.
Sensing some unfinished business, I signed up again for the next year.
The weather was a bit better - mid 80s - and my pacing was a bit
smarter. My bike time was halfway between California and the other
three finishes I had, and my run time and finishing time likewise was
halfway between them. But, I'd "aged up" and was now at the bottom of
my age group, so my time was good for 4th place - a trophy, a "podium"
finish (meaning I got to go on stage and shake Dave Scott's hand), and
the supreme disappointment of just missing a Kona slot.
So I signed up AGAIN for CdA, for 2005. By the time I got there, I was
also signed up for IM Wisconsin for that fall, as a "back-up". By this
time, I'd developed a support group of like-minded athletes and
friends, who kept my mind occupied during the lead up to the race.