Ironman Part 2 – St. George Utah

Getting into an Ironman event is pretty straight forward….I would compare it to getting concert tickets to the Rolling Stones on their Farewell tour. To get a slot, you have to pick your location, be on Active.com when registration opens at 10:30 am (the year before the race) and click the button as fast as you can.

Once the slot is reserved, simply train 12-20 hours a week for a year then hope the stars align so arrive at race day with no injuries, personal issues, or work problems a year later.  For these reasons, I picked Ironman St. George as my backup race for Ironman Wisconsin last September.

When Ironman opened its newest event in St. George Utah, I assumed the race would be a perfect backup for Wisconsin because it was relatively close to Los Angeles and was 7 months after.  Once I got through Ironman Wisconsin September, I changed my plans for Ironman St. George.  The new goal for Ironman Part 2 was to put together a good race after the Boston Marathon two weeks before.   Little did I know that by the time race day came, I would be satisfied to finish a grueling Ironman in which 27% would drop out.

Ironman St. George on May 1^st was different from Ironman Wisconsin for several reasons.  First of all, Winter training stinks.  No knock on the folks who train in snow and sub-zero temperatures, but training in Los Angeles was tough for me this winter.   The biggest issue was not the cold but how late the sun rises and how short the days are.  For Ironman Wisconsin, I could train for 3 hours in the morning and be at work by 9am.  Winter will not allow this comfort.   Daylight and weather I can deal with, but injuries need time to heal.

I went into Ironman St. George both undertrained and over-whelmed.  Many Ironman athletes have some type of injury come race day.   Besides my back and calf, I added a new injury to my list this year…my left knee.  The first knee issue started in January after I read “Born to Run” (great book).  The book advocates running bare foot.  Although I deferred barefoot running to grizzly mountain men, I did go out and by a pair of Newtons (supposedly the next best thing).  The shoe company and my coach said to slowly build into the fancy shoes…running once per week for a couple miles.  When the Newtons greatly alleviated in my calf pain, I threw caution to the wind and used them as my everyday running shoe.  Because of this unwise decision, my running struggled for 2 months with no runs over 3-4 miles until I stopped running completely for 3 weeks in March to let the tibia heal.   Because of this issue, I decided both the Boston Marathon and Ironman St. George were not going to happen but I kept training anyway.

After Boston was deferred to 2011, I started biking and swimming to keep my fitness up.  With more power, my biking improved and I considered swimming and biking Ironman St. George as a long training day (btw…Ironman has no refunds).  By this time in late March, my running was up to 40 minutes and I was happy to be training in all 3 modalities again.  Little did I know that a new injury would stop all my biking and running for the 3 weeks leading up till race day.

On a training ride Easter weekend, I incurred my second left knee injury when I pounded a hill in Palm Desert.  I knew the moment I hurt it.  I was supposed to take the hill hard, but I completely overdid it.  The knee hurt every time I extended my foot forward so I had difficulty running too.   I struggled with knee pain until April 13^th when I finally stopped running and biking all together.

Under doctor’s advice, I focused on swimming for the 3 weeks leading up to Ironman St. George with no biking or running.  My doctor was confident I would be able to complete the Ironman but I wouldn’t be breaking any records.  I was concerned at my lack of running in 2010 but hoped my overall fitness would pull me through.  With my legs rested and my bike seat moved, I hopped in the SUV and drove with my extended Ironman family to St. George Utah.

A quick 5.5 hour drive from Los Angeles on Thursday morning and we arrived in St. George by noon.  The red rocks for St. George were beautiful.  Although the food left something to be desired, the people were very nice and the accommodations were acceptable.  Logistics were a nightmare.  The starting line was 25 minutes from the finish line and the finish line was 15 minutes from our host hotel.  If you decide to do this Ironman, be sure to have a car and give yourself plenty of time to check in all your gear and find your way around.  After getting our bearings on Thursday, we decided to check out the swim and drive the bike course Friday.

Sand Hallow reservoir was not easy to find on the Friday before the race.  When we arrived to see what the swim would be like, it was 40 degrees outside and the water was supposedly 55 degrees.  I am usually comfortable in cold water, but this water was freezing.  We put on our wetsuits and decided to swim out 500 meters to a rock and back.  When I first got in, my body was in shock from the cold.  I swam about 100 meters before I could manage sticking my face in for the first time.   My face was instantly numb from the ice cold water.  Once I got to the rock, I felt ok.  We then jumped back in and started the swim back to shore.  As I got closer to shore, I started to get more comfortable in the water, but slower.   When I exited the water, there were 6 people talking to me.  I don’t know what they were saying and I couldn’t really see.  I was dizzy and couldn’t talk with a frozen jaw.  By the time I got to the car, I couldn’t feel my feet.  I knew something would need to change before race day if I was going to swim 2.4 miles in this lake.

After 30 minutes of driving around, I found a scuba shop which had booties on order but was sold out of neoprene caps.  I knew I needed something for my head, so I opted for a full scuba hood (very warm).  Once I confirmed the hood was race legal, I was confident I would be able to manage the swim.  With new gear in tow, we set out to drive the bike course.

The bike course was beautiful but daunting.  The two loop course would claim anyone who pushed the first lap to hard.   My coach said the bike was tough but the run was going to be ridiculous.  The amount of climbing in the race probably made it one of the most difficult Ironman.  Since I had not trained on the bike or run for 3 weeks, my race plan was to take it easy on the bike, hope the knee held up, and save something for the last half of the marathon.

I was slightly panicked the night before the race at the prospect of getting into the cold water at Sand Hallow Reservoir.  Since the swim was nowhere near the finish, all the participants had to board a bus at the finish line by 5:30 am then wait at the swim start in the cold before the 7 am start.  I woke up at 3am, ate my obligatory 600-800 calories and felt slightly better about getting in the water.   We were dropped off at the start and boarded a bus for the reservoir.

With 2,300 participants, race morning is always exciting.  Everyone is pacing around and going through their pre-race rituals.  All I could think about was the swim and how cold the water was.  On our way down to the starting line, I saw a lot of neoprene caps but I think I was the only person with a scuba hood tucked into my wetsuit.  I felt confident the hood was a good call and quite fashion forward….

In Wisconsin, everyone was in the water 15 minutes before the water start.  In St. George, everyone was waiting till the last minute before getting in the freezing water.  With 2 minutes to go, I jumped in and found a spot in the back away from the washing machine of the race start.  I forgot to wait my usual 10 seconds after the gun because I never heard the gun…I just saw everyone swimming.  I had not tested the scuba hood in the water yet so was concerned I might not be able to turn my head properly.  It was quite the opposite.  As I started out, the first thing I noticed was that my neck was not rubbing on the wetsuit and my head was warm.  As I pushed forward, my shoulders hurt and I was having a hard time getting into a rhythm.  About 5 minutes into the swim, I took a foot to the eye and my goggles almost flew off.  I composed myself and got back to swimming.

The first half of the swim was spent trying to get into a rhythm.  I noticed everyone’s form was screwed up.  I couldn’t get people out of my way.  People were swimming erratically…I assume trying to escape the cold.  I would try to swim by the buoys but would get stuck, kicked, or kneed.  When I swam on the outside, I felt like I was adding a lot of meters to the swim and was slowing down.  Halfway through the swim I finally got my rhythm and began to pump it out.

The second half of the swim felt great.  I had a strong rhythm and for several hundred meters only breathed every 5 strokes.  I pounded my way into the finish and exited the swim refreshed, warm enough, and ready for whatever was next.  The volunteers stripped me of my wetsuit and I made my way up to transition.

Although my core, feet, and head were comfortable, my hands were numb and frozen.  I had a difficult time putting my socks and shoes on.  The volunteers were busy and I had a hard time getting my gear on.  To make matters worse, my transition bag ripped, they had no spare bags in transition, and I had to hunt down tape to fix the bag.   Transition was a disaster but I made it out relatively comfortable which was better than most.

As I exited transition, I felt pretty good on the bike.  I looked around me and everyone was numb.  I tried to say hi to a couple people, but all they could do was look at me while their teeth chattered.  I stuck to my plan and paced myself for the long day ahead.

In Wisconsin, my biggest mistake was nutrition.  I ate too many “Chocolate Outrage” Gu Gel Packs and Tropical Fruit Cytomax.  For this race, I trained exclusively with mini cliff bars and Mocha Flavored Perpetuem which kept me happy and fresh.  Over the course of the bike, I had 5 bottles of Perpetuem, several water bottles from the aid stations, 7 mini cliff bars, 5 half power bars, and lots of bananas.  I spent the entire bike in Z2 in the flats and a comfortable Z3 on the hills (couldn’t get any lower).   On the first lap, I watched as hundreds of people passed me.  I made several pit stops from over-hydrating.  I had no knee pain and was really enjoying the day.  I knew I had more to give, but I held back for the second lap.

As the second lap started, I noticed that I was passing people without pushing harder.  I saw trucks driving by with stacks of bikes from people who had dropped out.  Since this was the longest ride I had in a while, I was surprised that by hour 4 my legs really warmed up and I was pushing a faster speed at the same heart rate.  I only made 1 pit stop on the second loop.  I felt good and was happy that my knee had no pain.

At the end of the 112 mile bike, the race planners threw in a quarter mile hill that really breaks the spirit.  I ran into a guy I knew from LA who was completing his first Ironman.  We talked for a bit.  He mentioned a friend of his dropped out from cramping during the swim.  The moment he said “cramp” my left groin muscle immediately cramped up.  I struggled to make it up that small hill but did it without stopping.  I entered transition happy and ready to run.

Transition was easy this time.  I felt good putting my shoes on.  My biggest concern was sunscreen.  I had no knee pain during the bike so assumed my knee was fine.  I was ready to pass a lot of people on the marathon.  The second I stepped out of transition, my enthusiasm was crushed by familiar knee pain that had set me back all year.  I decided to walk the first mile and try again….no luck.  I saw my coach at mile 2 and told him about my knee.  I thought about dropping out at this point.  I figured nobody would think less of me for saving my knee.  My coach’s first words were “Have a nice walk!”.  Walking didn’t bother me at this point.  I looked at my watch and realized that I could likely walk the marathon in 6 hours.

Since St. George isn’t known for its nightlife, I decided to give the day to completing Ironman.  I saw both my buddies on the marathon course and they were struggling like me.  As I mixed in walking and painful running, I saw a couple guys with slings on from broken collar bones.  How could I stop now when I felt good and the end was in sight?  Though boring and painful, I trudged on.

At mile 4, I found an EMT and asked him for some Advil.  He offered one pack, I took two.  I was drinking one Gatorade and one water per aid station.  I ate every banana I could find to avoid cramps.  At mile 6 I tested the knee and this time the pain was manageable.  I decided to run.

Miles 6-20 were glorious.  For the first time all day, I was pushing up the heart rate and enjoying the run.  The knee pain was manageable.  At mile 13 I took more Advil.  I found a running style that, though slow, was working for me.  I passed hundreds of people and nobody was passing me.  My dreams of finishing before 9:30 pm were crushed when I took the last turn at mile 20.

As I came around the bend, I was hammered by a new pain on the inside of my left knee which I had never felt before.  As hard as I tried, I couldn’t run more than 2 steps without tremendous pain shooting up the inside of my leg.  Worse yet, every step was making the pain worse.  I started at mile 20 with a good walk, by mile 22 it was a slow walk, and at mile 24 it was a pathetic limp.  Each step was bringing me more pain but one step closer to the finish line and   My spirits were high, I just couldn’t walk anymore.  Since this was a new pain, I wasn’t too worried about permanent damage, but I was concerned that I might not make it to the end.  Because of the long day, and lack of running prior to the race, when I stopped to feel the knee pain the rest of my legs started to cramp up.  I immediately began eating more bananas and drinking chicken broth.  I hoped for the finish line to come before my legs were done.

With the finish line in site, everyone I had passed was now passing me.  It was humbling to be so close the finish yet unable to run.  I had a big smile on my face but couldn’t run one step.  As I got close to the finish shoot, I tried one last time to run out the last 100 yards….I couldn’t run one step.    Everyone at the finish was very supportive.  I crossed the finish line 15 hours and 20 minutes after I started and asked for the medical tent.

It’s a good thing the finish came when it did because I could not walk any more.  I took 800 mg of ibuprofen and hobbled to the car.  Thankfully my left knee was the problem so I could drive with the right leg.  I drove around until I found someone from the race crew.  They were very helpful.  I was allowed to drive to the bike pickup where someone loaded my bike and transition gear.

A couple things you should know before trying to run a marathon after not running more than a few miles in 4 months.  Be prepared for a lot of blisters, I have 7 that range in size from a dime to a quarter.  You will have a lot of leg pain as well.  I can barely walk but that is to be expected.

Was it worth it?  My family and I sacrificed a lot so that I could compete.  I finally decided that if I stood a good chance of finishing, I would try.  Attempting an Ironman with so little running before is not a great idea.  I made a personal decision to try after talking to my doctor.  I knew that it would be hard to walk for a few days after the race with so much pounding.  In the end, it all worked out and I learned something for the next race.



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