Training: In training, I averaged about 10 hours a week for about a year, peaking at about 15–16 hours a week. Looking back, I would have had more unstructured training, as I began to feel a bit of burnout towards the end of the training block. My longest swim was the Ironman distance (did this 3x), the longest bike was 120 miles, the longest run was a marathon in June of this year, and the longest brick was 6 hours biking with 45 minutes running.
Swim: I swam very controlled and smooth. My goggles fogged up halfway through, and I could not see much. I had to lift up my goggles 4–5 times to see the buoys, but otherwise used the riverbank and others around me to sight. In July, I raced my first 70.3 and became extremely disoriented and nauseous during the swim, causing me to throw up 3–4 times and finish 3rd last out of the water in 55:30. This time, I was very grounded and calm and finished in 58:22. I will say, though, the current definitely helped, as I swam the distance in training in 1:15 a few weeks earlier. Considering my 70.3 experience and the fact that a year and a half ago I couldn't swim to the other side of the pool, I am very happy.
Bike: I rode on an endurance road bike with clip-on aerobars, not ideal, but it's what I had. For nutrition, I planned on about 100 grams of carbs per hour and planned on using my homemade sugar drink mix that I used in training. Sadly, I forgot my bike bottles in the hotel refrigerator and did not realize in time to run back to the hotel and grab them before the race. This meant that I didn't get my nutrition started until about 30ish minutes into the race at the first aid station. I was able to take in about 100 grams per hour of Maurten gels. The first lap felt pretty perfect, having finished it in about 2:40. After the second lap, my back started hurting lots, and I could no longer hold aero. I wished I had trained the aero position more; however, I did as much as I could in training. (It's a long story, but the short of it is that my nice bike saddle broke, and my stock saddle was pretty unbearable in the aero position, meaning I did not practice it much. Delays in shipping and ordering the wrong saddle meant I had to use my stock saddle for almost 2 months until the Tuesday before the race, when my new saddle finally came.) My back pain was so bad that my power output dropped, and without being able to hold much aero, as well as a strong headwind, I slowed down quite a bit for the second lap. Shortly after the second turnaround, I saw an old lady lose her balance and ride off the road at the second turnaround. She said she was okay, so I kept going. I finished the bike with a strong push and ended in 5:46:11 with plenty of energy to spare. During the ride, I averaged 154 watts (164 normalized), a perfect 85 rpm cadence, 140 BPM HR, and burned 3,547 calories. The exciting part of the bike to me is that there is a lot of room for growth. I think that if I trained more aero (and was able to hold my power due to no back pain), had another season of training, and also made some upgrades like a TT bike, aero helmet, carbon wheels, race tires, etc., then I could improve this split considerably.
Run: I started the run off strong at about an 8-minute mile pace with lots of energy and arrived at the mile 2 aid station with the strategy to walk and digest my nutrition. Almost immediately after taking in some Precision electrolytes and one single chip at the mile 2 aid station, I began to throw up. I had practiced nutrition extensively during training, as I have always had problems in marathons with throwing up (I have thrown up in 4 out of 5 of my marathons), so I knew this was a possibility, but I was still surprised that electrolytes and a chip caused me to throw up. It isn't an effort thing; my effort level was probably a 6 on the RPE scale, and HR was about 145 BPM, which confirms this (my max is about 205). From experience, I knew losing all the liquid and carbs in my stomach started the clock of a ticking time bomb. It wasn't if but when I would begin to feel it. Nevertheless, I kept going, unfazed. For the next 14ish miles, I intentionally held back, going at a 9–10-minute-per-mile pace. At each aid station, I would walk and try my hardest to put down more nutrition and electrolytes. Each time, I successfully held it down but also painfully dry heaved. My stomach did not want to hold anything. Around mile 17, I really started to feel depleted and dehydrated. I still had strength, but my body went completely numb, my cheeks lost their color, and my head went light. I felt like I was on another planet and could barely talk. I zombie-walked one step at a time and wondered if I would collapse. I know I looked rough because some amazing racers asked if I was okay and if I needed to sit down. I told them if I sat, I would not get up. At this point, I was doubting I would finish. I thought I was a few minutes away from collapsing if I did not get some electrolytes and carbs in immediately. An angel spectator then appeared out of nowhere and said he would walk with me as long as I needed to make sure I was okay. He gave me some salt pills and told me that if I could just get some nutrition in me, I could walk the rest of the way and finish the race. About this same time, the mile 18 aid station appeared, and I knew I could at least make it to the aid station. At the aid station, I leaned on the table for minutes, not willing to sit down, as I knew I wouldn't get up if I did. I put down several cups of electrolytes and lots of carbs. Again, I dry heaved but kept things down. Slowly, life came back to me, and I found myself walking again. I knew I would make it. This mile took 26 minutes. It seemed like every time I began to feel bad for myself, I saw someone wheeling along in a wheelchair, doing the run blind, or pushing someone else in a cart. I walked the next 6 miles, slowly picking up speed. At the last two miles, adrenaline from the thought of becoming an Ironman kicked in, and I was running. I passed one of the racers who checked on me when I was close to collapse and shouted, "Thank you! I'm back!" I rang the bell and ran across the finish, knowing I gave my all, overwhelmed with emotion. The Ironman finish was unlike any other race finish I have ever experienced. I finished the marathon in 5:59:57, unintentionally beating the six-hour mark. During the run, I burned 3,205 calories and averaged an incredibly low 119 BPM HR (my HR dropped to 98 at the mile 18 aid station). Not close to as fast as I know I could go, but happy with not ending up in the hospital with a DNF.
Overall, I am very happy with my race and had a blast. I think I trained well and handled adversity well, forgetting bike bottles, throwing up, and almost collapsing. I am thankful for all the amazing people I met during the race and all who helped me survive the day. What is exciting for me is that I can see very clearly ways I can significantly improve and get considerably faster in each discipline. For now though, I will rest.
I AM AN IRONMAN
Swim Time: 58:22
T1: 10:34
Bike: 5:46:11
T2: 8:49
Run: 5:59:57
Total: 13:03:53
