I must go back to that miserable stay in the hospital back
in September of 2012. I lay in the bed with a life threatening condition. Since
I was in ICU, I was allowed no visitors except for an occasional 30-minute
visit from family. I was, however, able to receive visits from doctors. Since
there are a lot of doctors in the area that are physically active, I have had
the pleasure of getting to know several of them and many came to see me.
My personal Doctor, Jonathan Krichev, came in too. I don’t
remember much about the visit except he seemed calm and confident that I would
recover from the stroke. The odd part of his visit is this: He claims that I
told him that I was going to get out of that hospital bed and do an Ironman
Triathlon. You must know that I just don’t remember that part of the
conversation because, at the time, I had no interest in swimming and I did not
own a road bike.
It was February. I sent in my entry to the Augusta
70.3 Ironman. I start going through process of beginning a training program. I
went to Bicycle Cove and got myself a road bike. The first ride came very easy
and was fun. I grew up riding bikes everywhere I went. It came very natural to
me to get back on a bike. I only had to make a few adjustments and get used to
the idea of riding with cars on the roads, they made me nervous when they
passed.
My mind continues to go back to that first swim. I still
remember asking myself just what have I gotten myself into? The swim was a
struggle. While the bike came rather easy, the swim did not. I never
participated in swim team growing up. I basically just knew how to get around
in the water. We grew up jumping off cliffs in Noccalula Falls in Gadsden and
playing in the neighborhood pool. I had
no formal swimming lessons.
Although I have been running since 1979 consistently, I had
no triathlon training experience. I did a few things. First, I joined Team
Rocket Triathlon Club. I felt like I needed to be around some Tri guys and
girls to learn more about the sport. Next I joined the Fleet Feet Tri 102
training class. Even though they offered a true beginners class, I felt like I
needed to move a little faster and skipped Tri 101. The Tri 102 class is really
where I learned the most about cycling from David Rawlings and Donnie Holmes.
This is also where I learned about bricks. Running off the bike was easy for me
to adjust to.
I sent a text to a friend of mine in Ohio, Jody Herzog. Jody
is a fellow Fleet Feet owner and I knew he had done the Florida Ironman. I
needed a training guide for Augusta 70.3. He sent me his 6 month training log
of exactly what he did for Ironman Florida. In return, I sent him my training
logs from my fastest time at JFK 50 miler since he is running it this November.
I figured his Ironman training might be good for my 70.3 and then if I ever
decided to try a full Ironman, I would have the schedule.
June rolled around and so did my first triathlon at Mach
Tenn. The swim was only 0.6 but it was open water. We had a very windy day and
the water was rough. I could not get stroke going for anything and I was again
thinking, “What have I gotten myself committed to?” A 1.2 mile swim was going
to be impossible for me. I thought to myself, there is no way I could ever even
consider doing a full Ironman because the swim is 2.4 miles. Once I got out of
the water at Mach Tenn and got on the bike, things got better. I had my road
bike and I was passing folks like crazy and several of them were on some pretty
fancy bikes. Then the run was even better, I felt like I was back at home on
the run and ended up with the number 1 run split in my division. This brought
my interest level up. I thought, I just started this Tri stuff and I am already
leading my division on the run by a nice margin. Even in the overall standing I
produced one of the fastest runs. Maybe I should not give up so fast on the Tri
scene!
From Mach Tenn I started searching the Tri race calendar. I
decided that the more triathlons I could do the better. I needed more
experience. I would just keep going to every race in the area and learn by
trial-and-error. At every race, I was a nervous wreck about the swim. Looking at
the swim courses, they always looked long. I just kept facing my fears time and
time again. Things continued to get better and after I continued work on the
swim, it got better too. I made several trips to Guntersville Lake and just
kept facing my fears by doing as many open water swims as possible. I am still
pretty slow by most swimmers standards but I do not care, I am participating.
As the summer months continued, my training continued to get
better. I remained focused and disciplined with my training. What I mean by discipline is that I got up many mornings at 4:00 am and took no days off. I made no
excuses and just did not miss workouts.
July 18. This was a special day for me. Suzanne Taylor,
Dianna Cioppi, Kasandra Gardner and Suzanne Ericson met over in Scottsboro for
an open water swim practice. As usual I was very nervous. We got to the swim
site and the water looked pretty smooth. Kasandra pointed to a boat house
across the way and said, 'That’s the direction we will swim." She said it was a
mile.
I said, "What?? Are we swimming there and getting out and walking back?"
She
said, "No. We will regroup over there and swim back."
I basically said, 'No
way,' and that I would walk back. Kasandra said she would stay back with me and I
said, "No." We got in and started swimming. The fast girls were gone in no time,
like dolphins going through the water. That was pretty intimidating for a rookie
swimmer like me.
I got my stroke going and things were pretty slow
in developing. Dianna was in just her second triathlon season and had just learned
to swim, herself, not too long ago. She was not so far ahead of me that I could
not see her. This made me feel a little better since the other girls had gone
away so quickly. Fifteen minutes into the swim I was about ready to quit. At this
point in time, every swim for me seemed like it took forever. If I could just
get to the 20-minute point of the swim, things always seemed to get better. I
thought to myself I can’t quit
I kept my stroke going and practiced sighting. I worked hard
enough so that I did not get too far behind. The next thing I knew, all the
girls were sitting there treading water and waiting on me at the turn-around.
They said, "Lets go back now."
I said "Okay, I’ll be there when I get there, don’t
wait on me." I made it back, dead last, and it took me 1:23:00 to swim two miles. I was
ecstatic. The girls looked at me like I crazy (or something), but I was excited to
have just swum two miles in open water. It was a new day, and it was that day
that I decided that I could do a long course triathlon. If I can swim 2, I can
swim 2.4 by golly, even if I am slow!!
.
The next thing I found myself doing is searching the race
calendar for a Full distance Tri. Augusta 70.3, while still a very important
race to me, was not going to be my final race of the season. I wanted to go the
FULL distance, 140.6 miles. The problem was that all of the races, especially the
Ironman events, were sold out. Not only were a lot of races sold out, I had to
make it fit into my calendar. I work a lot of races. My first choice was the Beach
to Battleship. I heard good things about that race, but it fell on the same day
as the Spooktacular 5k, our race, so that one was out. The only race that seemed to
fit was Great Floridian Triathlon. I honestly did not do a lot of research on
the race; I just signed up and made the commitment.
The season continued. I continued to make improvements in
every aspect of the sport. The distance of the triathlons continued to get longer.
Rocketman was my first Tri that took over 2 hours and then Augusta 70.3 was well
over 4 hours. I felt like these races were a perfect build-up towards GFT
(Great Floridian Triathlon).
I spent the last three weeks, before
the race, swimming in the open water only; no pool swimming. At this point in
time now, I prefer the open water. It’s almost like comparing running on a
treadmill to running outside. I don’t run on a treadmill! I like to run
outside. With the temperatures lowering, I also spent the last three weeks in a wetsuit. After swimming all summer without a wetsuit, that first swim at
Guntersville Lake was a real eye-opener for me. I could not believe how much
faster the swim is with a wet suit! Swimming in a wetsuit also gave me a new
swim confidence that I never had before. I now believed the 2.4-mile swim
was going to be smooth and easy.
The week before the race I started checking the weather
forecast. It did not look so good. In fact, it looked bad. It was going to be
hot. Waking up to cool mornings here at home made it just not seem possible
that it could be so warm down in Clermont, FL.
I started adjusting some of my last workouts, shooting for the middle of
the day and temperatures were still only in the upper 70s. Race forecast was calling for
low 90s.
Tuesday. I am preparing all of my equipment and packing. I
used a check list and did not forget anything. Water temperature is 81 in the
lake at Clermont. Wet suit legal is 76 and below. I am starting to panic. I
have now gone from a confident wetsuit swim to likely no wet suit. My
confidence was fading. Only one time in the previous twenty-two years had the race not
been wetsuit legal. This would surely hurt my swim time.
Wednesday. One final trip to the bike shop and then I hit
the road alone. Suzanne was going to fly down on Thursday evening. I stopped in
GA on Wednesday night. I was starting to settle down a little and relax.
Thursday. A few hours on the road and I was in Clermont FL.
It had been pretty flat driving until I got to Clermont, and then there were
hills. Lots of them. I started to realize that this was not only going to be
hot, but hilly as well. No wonder it was so easy to register for this event,
only few people ever do this one more than once!
I went straight to the race site. I was one of the first
ones there. I checked in and got my packet. I had everything
with me so I decided to do a short swim bike run. I ask the event coordinators
about the lake.
“Do I have to worry about alligators out there?” I asked.
They said,
“There are plenty of alligators in there but just stay away from the weeds.”
This did not sit too well with me. The water looked great and there was a nice
white beach. No one was swimming. I needed a short swim, and since I had not
swum without a wetsuit in a few weeks, I really needed a swim without it. The
water felt great and the lake water was clearer than Guntersville Lake. I am
here to tell you, I was petrified! Everything that moved in the water might as
well have been an alligator. I managed to get in fifteen minutes of swimming, but it
was horrifying. Everyone has always told me, 'no open-water swimming alone!' Here I was doing an
OWS, alone, in alligator infested waters! I could not wait to get out of the
water. As scared as I was, the water felt good and I knew that come Saturday
morning, with all the boats and other athletes, alligators would not be on my
mind.
I jumped on my bike for a short 22-minute ride on the run
course. The roads around Clermont had too much traffic for me and I was not
familiar to the area, so I just rode on the greenway. It felt good to be on the
bike. I got off the bike and did a 10-minute run. It was hot. Really hot. I
felt like I had gone right back to August, and I could not believe it was going
to be this warm for my first 140.6. I was off to the airport to pick up Suzanne.
Friday morning I got up and did a 3-mile run. It was very
hot. We went back to Waterfront Park, where the race would take place. I checked
my bike into T1. It was very sunny and very hot. While I walked around and got
familiar with the transition area, I ran into an old friend, David Harper. David
lived in Huntsville twelve years ago and had run Mountain Mist several times. He had also
completed the Badwater 135-mile run. David was an experienced athlete and I
trusted his opinions about this race. He lives in Clermont and he spent the
next forty-five minutes giving me full details about the race. He said the bike course
was very hilly. He said it was going to be hot. The one thing he told me that
stuck in my mind the most was this: “This course wears on you, and it is much
harder than anyone knows.”
I took him seriously. I realized then that my plans to
“race” must be changed to “survive and finish."
I also went to the pre-race briefing. It was low-key and
done by the race director. He said, “Add one hour to your normal Ironman finish
time for course difficulty, and this does not include the heat.” I know most people
have a time goal they set; myself included. With all my years of experience
racing, I have learned to adjust my goals according to the conditions. This is a
must. I was very disappointed with the forecast, but finishing was more
important than any posted times. Although I had my splits written down, I made a
decision to forget the splits and focus on staying in control and finishing.
Saturday. I am sitting in my Tri kit near the beach and it
is 30 minutes from the start. I felt like everything at Augusta 70.3 was
perfect and everything at GFT 140.6 was the complete opposite. I felt like
maybe it just wasn’t meant to be. No wetsuit. I could not get a pressure reading on
my back tire, so I just guessed. Alligators in the water, a hilly bike course,
and a somewhat hilly run course... things just were not going my way. The forecast
was 90F and it would surely get there by the start of the run. I asked Suzanne to
get her phone out and search for a song on youtube for me, “Sweater Weather.”
I listened to this song and it got me very relaxed. For
whatever reason, this song makes me feel good and it makes me relax. It stuck
in my head. The water was smooth. The race officials said smoother than usual. The
lake was big and for the first time in my life, the swim course did not look
long. Maybe it was because it was a two-loop swim and the lake was so big. The
gun went off and the long multi-sport trek began.
It was a mass start but the field was rather small. There
were a couple of guys that just had to push and shove me out of the way. I
think they do it on purpose. I let them go and just focused on relaxing and
keeping my stroke going. I wanted just to stay on course and to not stop swimming.
The song continued to play in my head, it made me relax and I felt good. I felt
like I was swimming in slow motion, it was not a bad thing. I felt like I was
dreaming. I think I was.
With my first loop down, I came out of the water to start the second
loop. This was the first time I had ever experienced coming out of the water
during a swim. It really made no difference to me. I would just as soon not come out and just kept swimming. First loop was forty minutes (or so) and I was
very pleased. As soon as I started the second loop, the daylight broke a little
more and along with the daylight, came a little wind. It made the water a bit
choppier and, even though I swam a little harder, I slowed just a little on the
second loop. 2.4 mile swim done, 1:23:03. I had planned to swim 1:25:00 with a
wet suit, so I came out of the water with a smile on my face. It would be the
best I felt all day. I felt like I had just done a full Ironman swim
legitimately, no wet suit. When I do get to do one with a wetsuit, look out, I
think I can take another 10 minutes off my swim time for sure!
T1 was 3:29 and I took my time. I knew the day was going to
be long. I had a lot of sand on my feet so I wiped them off the best that I could. A
long bike ride awaited.
Since it was a 3-loop bike course, I wanted to spend the
first loop getting familiar with the course and the aid stations. Immediately,
we started climbing. I was out of the saddle in the first mile. I stuck to my
plan of 200 calories per hour and I drank water only. The bike was warm from
the beginning and very sunny. I had heard stories of “Sugarloaf Mountain” and
how tough it would be. There were so many hills that I asking myself, 'is this
the mountain?' I was not sure which one it was until I got there. Sure enough, I
had to drop to my small ring and my smallest gear to make the climb up. Several
were off their bikes walking them up the hills. I had never seen this before.
People were actually getting off their bikes and pushing them up the hills!
This became a regular sight all day. Not me!! I have yet to find a hill I can’t
ride up. I feel like if I can ride up Keel Mountain in training, I should be able to
ride up these mountains during a race.
I kept the bike ride smooth and easy as possible. It was
hot, especially going uphill. Everyone, including myself, is surprised to find
out that there are hills in Florida. I can tell you, they are there. In fact on
several of the downhills, I reached 45 mph. It's a little fast
for my comfort zone, but I just remained in the aero position and prayed that I did not
crash. I did not feel like my bike was anything special. I actually felt like
it was slow, and that maybe the heat and hills were too much for me. My feet started
hurting at 100 miles along with my right shoulder, as usual for that distance. I
knew with twelve miles to go that the bike was pretty much done. That Sweater
Weather song and another song by the Goo Goo Dolls continued to play in my head
all day. I finished up in 5:46:05,
with an average speed of 19.4vmph. I thought that was about as slow as I could possible go on the bike. I
thought 20 mph would be more my speed, so I was a little disappointed. I also was
not taking the hills and heat in to account. It was the hilliest bike ride I
have ever done: over 3000’ feet of elevation gain. I know that is not too much,
but it is like riding up Monte Sano three times and we all know what that can do to
your average bike speed.
T2 was 3:40. I still took my time. After 112 miles on the
bike, I felt like there was no reason to rush into a marathon run.
The start of the run was miserable. The sun was shining and
the temperature was over 90F. Heat index was 100. It was 3:00 p.m.
and I was setting out to run a marathon. My skin felt like it might catch on
fire. My first mile felt easy and was just under 8 minutes. I thought, 'I can
run this pace pretty easy but it sure is hot!'
I had been hydrating pretty well all day. I had peed three times
during the swim and five times on the bike. After the first mile on the run it was
already time to pee again, only this would be the final time. Just stopping to
pee that first time made me start sweating really heavy. Mile 2 was around 9
minutes. I was able to average a 9-minute pace for the first seven miles. The course
would be a series of out-and-backs, 3 loops on the greenway. Half was flat and
the other half, rolling hills.
I knew it would be hot, but not this hot. In the world of
triathlon, you are not allowed any aid from anyone. You must take your own or
get what the aid stations have to offer. On the bike, I had gone through all of
my sea salt. Sea salt works best for me,
not the tablets. This was the biggest mistake that I made. I was not
prepared to go through so much salt. I thought I had enough for the bike and
the run. I should have had another full container for the run, but I did not. My
run without salt was going to be a problem and I knew it.
I told Suz the first time I saw her that the marathon was
going to take me over 4 hours. She said just get it done. I told her that is
was just too hot. I have been doing long distance events for more than 30
years. I know that if the temperature is over 85 degrees, I am going to have
problems. I also know that the real problems will start at around 11 hours. This day would be no different.
When it gets this hot I just can’t eat. I took one Gu on the
run and then I was done eating for the day. For the rest of the marathon, I
could only drink Coke with ice. I put ice down the back of my shirt and down my
shorts, it did not help much. From 8-13 miles I averaged around 9:30 pace. I was
walking through every aid station.
13 miles is when the real fun began. The cramps started in
the insides of my quads. I was totally happy with my 9:30 pace. I ran smooth, but
when I cramped I would have to stop and either massage the cramp out or stretch it
out. I can tell you that stopping does nothing to help your average pace. From
13-21 miles I could only manage an 11:30 pace.
21 miles in, I had to stop and throw up. My stomach had shut
down completely. I threw up three times. I was hoping it would make me feel better.
I only had a 5-mile run left. I would have to stop and throw up six more times in
the final 5 miles. It was dark by this time, but the heat was still intense.
Although I was struggling, I knew that I was going to finish.
I was about 100 yards from the finish. I had just gotten
over another cramp. I did not care about my time, I just wanted to be done with
this race, just like at Vermont 100-miler last year, I just wanted to be done!
Suddenly, for the first time in my life, I was overcome with
emotions of finishing a race. I had gotten plenty excited over finishing races
before. This finish was different than any other. My mind drifted back to the
beginning of the year to when and why it all started. My heart was filled with
happiness and I felt like tears were coming to my eyes. Just before the finish
line, I pulled myself together and I was done. Despite all the factors that
told me that I could not do this I did. I think about one of my most favorite
quotes by Sir Edmund Hillary, “It’s not the mountain we conquer-but ourselves.”
I faced my fear of the swim, the 112-mile bike ride (I had never ridden that far)
and being able to run a marathon at the end, it just did not seem
possible to me 6 months ago!
I will be the first to tell you that I was very disappointed
with my run. My 4:48:25 marathon was just not acceptable to me. After I
finished the race, I just wanted to lie down. There was no celebration. I was not happy with my overall time of
12:04:48. Yes, the race was hilly and hot; but I really wanted to believe
that I could do better.
The girls in the medical tent said I finished 6th. They
were actually wrong, I was 9th. I promised myself that my first year
of triathlon would be about participating, learning, and getting some experience.
Competition would not be important to me this year. With that being said, I
must admit when I did see the results of the race, I felt much better. Being
patient and cautious with the heat paid off. Not only did I manage a top 10
over all finish, I was 1st in the Men’s 45-49 age division.
My swim was nothing special, competitively speaking, but it
was the most pleasurable part of my race, it was the only time I was not hot.
It would be the bike that separated me from my competition. I thought I did not
ride well, but there were only a few others that rode better. Only one
guy managed to average 20 mph. I finished 28 minutes ahead of the second-place in my
division (on the bike), which was the difference in the race. My run was 3rd, but only 10 seconds
behind 2nd and 3 minutes out of 1st place. Heck, I spent more than 3
minutes throwing up!
Suzanne Ericson told me one time that the Ironman would be a
life changing experience. I must say I disagree. While completing the Ironman
was exciting and a major accomplishment for me, it was not life changing in any way. My life had already been changed before the start of the race. What has been
life changing, is the sport of triathlon. Whether it is an Olympic-distance race, like Rocketman, Augusta 70.3, or any Long Course Traithlon, the sport of triathlon, and what it takes
to complete any race, is what is life changing. Triathlon has certainly changed mine
for the better.
Thank you for leading me in the direction of the sport, my fellow
Triathletes. I have had several people help me along the way and help me reach my
goal. I have shared lots of miles in the water, on the bike and on the run. I
have enjoyed every minute of the training. Now, when do I reach “non-rookie”
status? I still don’t consider myself a true triathlete yet. Can someone tell
me my next phase? I am still learning and if I have my way, I will return to the
start of another Ironman. If the day and course are right, I fully expect to go
faster... much faster. You can count on that.
Training for this race required a lot of time. I personally
like to look at numbers. I picked out the month of September and feel like it
was the most important month while getting ready for the 140.6. Here is a
quick glance at what kind of training I did to be prepared for the race. This
was also the biggest training month of my life:
September 2013, 30 days, no days off:
Swim 13 miles, 11 workouts, 1.2 miles average per workout;
Bike 733 miles, 18 workouts, 40.7 miles average per workout;
Run 200 miles, 26 workouts, 7.7 miles average per workout;
Core fitness, 8 workouts, 30 min each;
Longest swim 2.2 miles;
Longest bike 100.1 miles;
Longest run 26.2 miles;
Total workouts, 63 workouts;
Total time spent working out- 77 hours, 18 hours per week
average, 2.6 hours per day average.
I watched my first Ironman when I was in my late teens and was in awe of what the men and women were physically and mentally able to do. The more I watched, the more I had a desire to do the same one day. Fast-forward many years and I began training for my first marathon through Fleet Feet Sports Huntsville. I couldn’t understand why I had such trouble breathing; I assumed I was just out of shape. Two years ago I found out that I had exercise-induced asthma. After trying different inhaled steroids, I still wasn’t much better. Then last year I found out that I’m allergic to all grasses and most trees. I take four medications daily and a rescue inhaler as needed. This has not stopped me from reaching my goals.