Race Goals
Considering I hadn’t run since May and was on crutches for a
couple weeks in July unable to walk because of a sacral stress fracture and
annular tear of a degenerative disk my goals for this race were as follows: (1)
Finish, (2) Enjoy every second by having a smile on my face for all 140.6
miles, (3) Not be on crutches after the race so I could enjoy running around on
the beach with my kids for our post-race 1 week vacation.
Going into the race, I felt almost 100% on the swim and bike
but I had no idea how my back would do for the marathon. One day in late August I came to the
realization that I had a very high probability of having to walk the
marathon. I accepted this reality and
just focused on running. Luckily, all of
the treatment, stretching and strength training paid off in the final weeks
before the race. I felt like I could do
a little running but definitely not more than a few minutes at a time. That’s okay…I have no time goals - just enjoy
the day and don’t do anymore harm to my already jacked back and hip.
Pre-race
Woke up at 2:00am for 1.5x Naked Juice Protein
Smoothies. Back to bed until 4:00am
alarm. Breakfast: rice cereal with
almond milk, honey and banana; black coffee.
Finished ½ of Naked Juice Protein Smoothie at 5am on way to transition.
Our condo was a little over 1 mile to the race start so I
decided I would take a shuttle that was running north on Ali’I Drive for
athletes. After waiting a good 10
minutes I took up an offer for a ride from a local dude driving an old pickup
truck. So I climbed in this tiny pickup
along with 3 Germans and an Australian journalist writing for Triathlon
Australia. What a weird way to start the
day.
I went through all the checkpoints once I arrived at the
race start: drop special needs bags, body marking, drop pre-swim bag, apply
sunscreen and Vaseline, pump tires, load feed bottle on aerobar cage, porto
visit. After all that I hung out in
front of the ABC Store at the King Kamehameha Hotel for the National Anthem and
pro start. Took a gel at 6:40 and made my
way to the water.
Swim (Estimate:
1:02-1:08; Actual: 1:06:19)
Got in water around 6:50 and swam out to my spot – about 20m
left of the floating Ford Edge and about 5 rows back. When asked their swim time, everyone around
me was in the high-60s to mid-70s range.
I kept working my way up but it became obvious after the cannon went off
that I didn’t get quite where I wanted to be.
The cannon blasted, I took a few strokes and I immediately
thought of how long (but enjoyable) this day is going to be. “You’re in Kona!” I kept reminding
myself. The swim was pretty
uneventful. Yes, there was the typically
contact in the first 500m and the last 300m but I’m never really bothered by it. I took one good heel to the right goggle lens
which I thought for sure would result in a black eye (it didn’t) but other than
that it was just matter of getting it done.
I made the turnaround headed back to the pier in 32:30 – a
little slow especially since I knew the current coming back in might slow me
down a bit. I struggled to follow a
draft. I really need to work on this if
I want my swim to improve.
The nice thing about this swim is the clear water and all
the entertainment in front of your eyes to take your mind off every
stroke. I saw a plethora of colorful
fish, dolphins, divers with cameras and amazing corral.
T1 (Estimate:
4:00; Actual: 4:45)
I’m usually very focused on finding “free time” in
transitions but I really didn’t feel the need for this race. I took my time to make sure everything was
done right, thanked the volunteers, got sunscreen and moseyed out of the
changing tent and out to my bike.
Bike (Estimate:
5:20-5:35; Actual: 5:20:25)
The crowds coming out of transition were impressive. I reminded myself not to get caught up in the
excitement and just ride comfortably getting the HR down until I got out of
town and on the Queen K (about 5 miles).
Once on the Queen K I started executing my plan of pushing slightly
higher watts than normal Ironman effort (.73IF vs .70 IF) in order to get to
the turnaround at Hawi as soon as possible to beat the winds that typically
build as the day goes on. I had a few
tight spots and minor cramps in my legs (mainly quads) during the first
hour. They worked themselves out and
found that my legs were now feeling great.
.73IF felt like nothing. My
intention was to back it down to goal race watts (.70 IF or ~210 watts) on the
~18 mile climb from Kawaihae to Hawi but I kept the intensity up knowing that
I’ll have some good recovery on the long descent after making the turnaround. Plus, I knew I would be doing a lot of
walking during the marathon anyway due to the back/hip injury I’ve been nursing
all season so why not go for it? Just
before I got to the start of the climb I was flying down a descent, hit a gap
in the road and launched my feed bottle from my aerobars. I made the smart decision to go back to get
it. I kept telling myself all week that
one little lapse in judgment on this course will result in big problems so I
didn’t even give it a second thought.
Every aid station was the same protocol: grab a water bottle
and dump 1/3 on my left arm cooler, 1/3 on my right arm cooler and 1/3 in my
helmet, face and neck, then grab another water bottle and take a big gulp, one
last spray in the face and dump the rest in my Speedfil. Even with all the fluids I was taking in I
never peed on the bike – somehow I got away with this big error in execution.
The winds started picking up about 5 miles from the
turnaround but nothing like they were earlier in the week. At the turnaround I grabbed my special needs
bag. I threw the Red Bull and Larabar in
my jersey pocket and tore into my Milky Way bar like a lunatic. It was the best damn candy bar I’d ever
tasted!
I was flying past people on the descent. Once I got back to the Queen K I hammered the
Red Bull, tucked myself tight into the aerobars and began passing people who
had passed me early in the race like they were standing still. I couldn’t believe it. Either they were slowing down, I was more
aero or both. I was seeing a lot of
puking, stopping and laying on the side of the road all down the Queen K. The only spot of bother I had on the bike was
a very painful middle toe/ball of foot.
I kept loosening the strap on my shoe but it really never got better
until I got off the bike.
As I approached the airport (~15-20 miles from transition),
I realized I had a good chance of going sub-5:20. Once I figured this out I started to push the
effort a bit more. I flew into
transition trying to hit this new goal.
According to my watch I made it, but the official time put me in 25
seconds late.
This ride went by so fast.
It was the best I felt all year coming off any bike ride. I felt like going for another 112.
T2 (Estimate:
3:00; Actual: 3:31)
Once again, slow and deliberate. Massive amount of sunscreen but it wasn’t
enough on my shoulder blades and top of thighs.
Run (Estimate:
4:30-6:00; Actual: 4:38:00)
And so I began what I expected to be the world of the
unknown. Due to the lack of run training
since May to allow my sacral stress fracture and a torn degenerative disk to
heal I had no goals – only to cover the 26.2 miles in whatever way
possible. My hope a couple weeks before
the race was to do a run/walk approach of 5 minutes running/2 minutes
walking. I had found that anything
beyond this run time would cause major pain in my right hip and back that would
not get better unless I totally stopped.
And I did not want to be on crutches again, especially with 1 week of
beach time with the kids after the race.
I was feeling decent coming out of transition, 100% better
than at Madison last year. I knew that
the first 10 miles of the marathon course were fairly easy (flat and good
crowds to keep you distracted from the voices in your head) although very hot
due to the lack of wind on this section.
So I decided to attempt an 8 minute run/2 minute walk until I got to
Palani hill and the climb to the Queen K for the final 16 miles at which point
I would aim for a 5 minute run/2 minute walk.
I also noticed coming out of T1 that I had a nice little hot spot
starting to form on my big toe. I knew
my feet were likely going to be bloody stumps at the end of this one.
Andrea, the kids and my parents were standing on Ali’I
outside of our condo (the 2 mile and 8 mile marks). I took the time to stop, give the kids a kiss
and have them snap a few photos.
The fatigue definitely started setting in on the Palani Rd
climb up to the Queen K. Somehow,
though, I kept up with the 8/2 approach.
The first minute of each run interval was tough to get moving again but
once running I found it manageable to keep going until the 8 minute mark. When it got tough I had to remind myself,
“You’re in Kona!”
I swear the Queen K just kept pitching up and up until the
Energy Lab. I finally peed around mile
14 and again around mile 18. I was
really focused on getting as much fluid in me as possible at each aid
station. Around mile 16 I started with
the Coke and some chicken broth at mile 18 as I started feeling some sloshing
going on downstairs. This fixed it. I really never had any GI problems all day
(probably a result of my slow marathon pace).
It seemed like a constant climb the whole way out. Once I entered the Natural Energy Lab I knew
the toughest part mentally was behind me, until I realized that the turnaround
was way off in the distance (maybe 1 mile or so into the Energy Lab). Reports I heard after the race were that the
pavement temperature registered at 131 degrees.
No wonder I had major blisters on the bottoms of my feet. And now I know why the Energy Lab is so
talked about during this event.
After I finally came out of the Energy Lab I had an easier
time wrapping my head around the distance left to cover. The only things that distracted my mind from the
pain and discomfort was (1) what I’m going to eat after the race and (2) the
constant math of how long it would take me if I walked the rest of the way or
averaged a 12:00 mile, an 11:00 mile, a 10:00, a 9:00, etc., etc.
The clouds started to build which offered some welcomed
respite from the intense sun. The
sunglasses came off around mile 22 then the run/walk turned into all run at
mile 24. One more climb! I got to the top of Palani and the Queen K
and started running as fast as mile legs would allow after 139 miles. I felt like I was sprinting but I don’t think
I ever got below an 8:00 mile.
I made the final turn onto Ali’I where I heard my wife and
mom screaming my name. Then under the
famed Banyan tree. Now I could see the
finish. I didn’t want this last 400m to
end. I entered the finish chute, slapped
high fives and stopped for a brief second just before the ramp to take it all
in. I crossed the finish with my arms in
the air to celebrate my marathon effort that exceeded my expectations – no way
did I think I’d be able to run as much as I did. After spending more than a week on crutches
just a couple months prior I couldn’t believe what my body (or mind) just
allowed me to do.
Post-race celebration was at Lava Java with Andrea, the
kids, and my parents for a cinnamon roll and pizza. A couple brownies and some ice cream were
piled in back at the condo.
I can’t wait to get back to this race the “real” way. Until then, it’s time to give the body a
break to complete the healing process while enjoying time with the kids and
unhealthy food!
