I'm standing in the transition area, I have my bike hanging on the rack and have just started to lay out my towel and place my bike shoes, helmet and running shoes and other items on it to speed through the transitions from swim to ride to run. It's still dark out and overcast it was raining on the drive down to Fontana WI which is located on the southwest end of Lake Geneva. I feel drops of rain begin to fall. I was hoping the rain was over and the sun would soon be out and the temps would rise into the seventies. The rain begins to fall harder and I try to place all my items back into my equipmment bag to keep them dry.
I'm nervous already thinking about the swim, it's 6:05 and the rain is pouring down as I quickly put on my shorty wetsuit in an effort to stay warm. It's around 60 degrees out and I'm beginning to shiver. When the rain had started in earnest I joined a bunch of competitors under one of the few large trees in the transition area in a futile effort to stay warm and dry while hoping the rain would stop. After about five minutes I went back to my bike to fetch my wetsuit. 6:10 and my teeth start to chatter, I'm really not that cold so I know it a combination of chill and nervousness. The swim starts at 6:30 with a mass start of 170 swimmers. 6:15 and I head to the beach knowing my transition times are going to be slow because all my gear is in my bag in an effort to keep it dry.
6:20 and it is starting to get light out and I can just make out the buoys that mark the swim course. Staggered all the way out to the last buoy are the flashing lights of the lake patrol boats and in between them are the canoes and kayaks with more lifeguards in them. The last buoy is barely visible 5/8 of a mile out in the lake, it is the halfway point of the swim. It looks a long way out in the dimness. The rain is still falling but lighter now.
6:25 and it's light enough to notice the considerable chop on the lake and my anxiety increases. Everyone I talked to who has done this event before has said how the lake was always smooth as glass for this event. All the competitors move to the edge of the shore on the beach to get ready for the mass start. There are 4 events combined today, the half ironman, olympic, sprint and super sprint all starting in that order. The half iron distance is a mass start with all 170 swimmers hitting the water at the same time while the next three events will enter in waves of 50 every 2 minutes, for the next half hour a total of 1300 swimmers will enter the lake.
6:30 it's still raining but we're off
The Bike
Finding my bike in the transition area is easy as I'm a good 30 minutes behind the main pack. My bike is hanging on the rack with no other bikes around it. I'm stripping from my wetsuit as I make my way to it. I decide not to add any clothing and just wear my tri top and tri shorts. I need to get my bike shoes on, stuff some power bars and gels in my tri top back pockets. I already have some gel packets taped to my aero bars. Even though it's still raining on and off, I decide to wear my sunglasses and after strapping on my bike helmet I head towards the bike out gate. Out of the gate I can mount the bike, clip in my cleats to the pedals and I'm off. Off through the village of Fontana I head knowing that at some point near the edge of town the bike routes split off three different ways for the three different bike distances. I'm anxious to make up time I lost during the swim and almost miss the split. I'm flying through town so fast I could not read the signs fast enough but a red sticker on my helmet denotes I'm doing the half iron route and a route marshall screams at me and points to the turn. I hit the brakes which are severely degraded do to the rain and only had to do a small u-turn to make the split but it wastes time I can't afford.
It only takes me a minute or so to realize I'm now alone and way behind the main pack. It's raining on and off and after about 20 minutes I see a bike ahead. I gain on it quickly only to realize he is fixing a flat and so the thrill of passing my first rider is negated. Finally I start passing riders but I maybe pass 10 the first two hours, at two I start catching the pack and every rider I pass gives me a shot of adrenaline and pushes me to go harder. I do have to mention that this bike course is terrible, the road conditions are very poor 2/3 of it consist of broken up blacktop with lots of pot holes. There was a two mile section on the ILL / WI border that was so bad that there wasn't a smooth section longer than 20 yards and I'm very surprised I didn't have a spill or break a rim or even have a flat. The course turns were poorly marked and several times I was sure I had missed a turn. Somehow I managed to stay on course and at least the last 18 miles were fairly nice roads. As I caught up to the pack I got stronger and passed approx. 40-50 riders as I flew through the last 15 miles along the southern edge of Lake Geneva and into Fontana to the finish of the 56 mile bike portion. My time of 2:58:44 gave me the 40th fastest time on the bike of 170 riders and an average of almost 19 MPH over a wet difficult course.
Coming into the transition area
The run.
The rain has finally stopped as I make my way into the transition area. I toss my bike helmet and hang my bike. Out of my bag come my running shoes, dry socks and a towel. I strip off my bike shoes, dry my feet, put on my socks and shoes, grab my I Pod and hit the Porta Jon on my out. At least I know I'm staying hydrated. I still have some gels and power bars in the back of my tri top. I've been pretty diligent in drinking fluids and having a power bar or gel every 45 minutes. So far no cramping as I head out the "run out gate"
After the ride I'm pumped and start out too fast and quickly I'm gasping for breath. It'shard to go slow at first with everyone cheering you on as you start out. Once the crowd on the sidelines thin out I need to slow way down, catch my breath and then find my pace. You head out of Fontana on Lake Shore Dr.and start a 2 mile climb up to the town of Williams Bay. About af mile out you hit a section called "Killer Hill". It's very steep and I didn't see anyone who ran the whole length of it. In fact I found I could walk it faster than run it. After "Killer Hill" the last mile up hill seems fairly easy in comparison. At the top it flattens out in a loop along the campus of Williams College and into Williams Bay and on to Yerkes observatory and through some neighborhoods back to Lake Shore Dr and then down to Fontana again. Lake St takes you down along the lake to the end of the course and across a timing mat where you turn around to do another loop of the course.
I can tell you now that the first time you head up that hill to Williams Bay, It does not seem so bad, but when you are faced with it again on the second loop it is very daunting indeed. The I pod helps to take your mind off the run but as I started up the hill again I could feel a tightness starting along my ankle and I knew I had a muscle there knotting up. I had to walk a bit and vary my pace till I worked it out as I was so close to finishing this test of endurance and truly wanted to finish this at all costs. But as bad as I wanted to finish, I didn't want to cripple myself for weeks after by forcing through the knot instead of backing off and letting relax on its own.
Finally I made the top of the hill and started in on the flat. Before I made it to Yerkes my legs loosened up and I felt really good. I started to pass runners who had passed me earlier when my ankle knotted up. I wished I felt this good through the first part of the run. I picked up my pace as long as it felt fine and backed off just a bit as I started back down to Fontana.
As I turned on to Lake St, I knew I had it made and as the crowds on the side of the course start to cheer you on you can't help but to put on that last burst of energy and give all that you have left in your tank. I removed my headphones and poured it on as I went those last 300 yards
My run time was 2:06:46 which was okay but I really wanted to do better and have done better. My overall time for the 2.1 mi. swim, 56mi.bike and 13.1 mi run was 6:25:25. After they handed my finishers medal and a bottle of water. I walked for a minute before it really sank in and the emotion of it all hit me. My eyes began to water as I realized how much I really wanted this. At 52 years of age I'm pretty proud of this, I set my mind to this and did it. Over the next few months I toyed with the thought of doing a full Ironman and as the end of the year neared it seemed more and more like a doable thing.
Its the second day of the new year and tomorrow will start with meeting my new swimming coach, for swimming is my weakest link, with the plans of starting from scratch with the basics of swimming and heading towards my new goal of becoming an "Ironman"
I hope this blog will keep me motivated and on track. I don't know if I have what it takes to do the whole 140.6 but I know I'm going to find out.
No comments:
Post a Comment