Ironman Boulder 2017 – a quick lesson in self sabotage
As many of you know, the company I work for got acquired at the beginning of the year and as a result the weeks leading up to IM Boulder were more stressful than usual. Thankfully I took vacation from the middle of race week, so I could rest and recover in order to have a great day.
Well – you know what they say about best-laid plans of mice and men. In the days leading up the race I did not watch my hydration and slowly worked myself towards that state, where you don’t know it (yet), but you are de-hydrated. I also skipped my usual pedicure to remove the callus under my feet, as blisters are no fun during a 26.2 mile run. To top it off, I had something bad to eat on Saturday and my stomach did not appreciate it at all.
The last 12 hours before race start were no fun – I was restless, moody and had no patience. I couldn’t even get the tattoo race numbers to get to stick to my skin and mentally exploded. After no sleep, I decided to get up at 2am, shower and try the numbers again. Surprisingly this time they stuck like they should have the night before. With the stomach still queasy, I decided to play it safe and only had a dry bagel.
Boulder is unique in that you have split transitions and have to take a bus to the swim venue. Esra thankfully drove and I tried to get some rest. We talked about the day and I promised her, that I would not do anything stupid, that could endanger my health. It’s only a triathlon after all.
Once at the reservoir I saw quite a few people I knew and before long, I was in the water swimming. My swims in Boulder are typically longer and I was happy to see a good time when I got to the ramp. However – in line with the day – the race had different plans. As a volunteer tried to lift me upright, my leg full on cramped and I fell on my butt back into the water. It took nearly five minutes to get the cramp to release, while I’m flopping like a gold fish in the choppy waters of the exit ramp.
The new bike course is three laps with a few hills in the process. I was actually doing well on the first laps, not burning too many matches in the process and riding conservatively. However, due to my (de-)hydrated status, I started to feel my digestive tract to tighten up. Like in the past, it was manifested in side stitches in the lower abdominal area. All the water on the bike course could not help me to shake this. I knew that the run following the bike would be challenging, but figured I have enough time to put together a decent Ironman.
The run was a little of a blur. I set off trudging at 18 min/mile pace – as Dave Downey put in the athlete briefing – DQDSKMF (Don’t Quit, Don't Stop, Keep Moving Forward). I tried to increase my hydration status and get back some kind of control of my intestines, but if the past was any indication, this would take a long time.
About 8 miles into the marathon, I felt “movement” – usually a good sign and I was happy to hve this early in the run. In New Zealand last year, it happened at mile 20 and my legs were toast by then. I even could start running and increase my pace – “now we are getting somewhere” I thought. Unfortunately, this newfound happiness did not last for long, as I my legs cramped on the uphill of one of the underpasses on the course. Stopped dead in my tracks it took a while to stretch the cramp out and recover, but as a result, it was walk or slowly run for the rest of the race in order to keep up the target pace of +/- 18 min/miles. Even though I started to get blisters under my feet, I know that this pace would get me through the finish line before the 17-hour marker.
And with that, after 16 hours 39 minutes and 12 seconds, I crossed the Ironman Boulder Finish Line for the fourth time and made it my ninth Ironman finish since I started this crazy sport. As many of you know one of my goals is to start at the Ironman Hawaii World Championships some day and it takes 12 finishes to be accepted into the Legacy Program, which provides you with that opportunity.
While I have no official sponsors, I want to thank the guys at Colorado Multisport – great friends and always there to help, the team at Cuore of Switzerland for making a kick-ass tri suit and Matt Dixon and purplepatch fitness for continuously making me a better athlete.
When you out there for this long, you have a lot of time to think and I realized I’m very lucky to have an amazing family and friends that are there for me during training and races. A special thank you to my personal Sherpa, best friend and love of my life – I know you must have been concerned more than once before and on race day, but you talked me up, smiled and made sure the day was a little brighter. Thank you.
As many of you know, the company I work for got acquired at the beginning of the year and as a result the weeks leading up to IM Boulder were more stressful than usual. Thankfully I took vacation from the middle of race week, so I could rest and recover in order to have a great day.
Well – you know what they say about best-laid plans of mice and men. In the days leading up the race I did not watch my hydration and slowly worked myself towards that state, where you don’t know it (yet), but you are de-hydrated. I also skipped my usual pedicure to remove the callus under my feet, as blisters are no fun during a 26.2 mile run. To top it off, I had something bad to eat on Saturday and my stomach did not appreciate it at all.
The last 12 hours before race start were no fun – I was restless, moody and had no patience. I couldn’t even get the tattoo race numbers to get to stick to my skin and mentally exploded. After no sleep, I decided to get up at 2am, shower and try the numbers again. Surprisingly this time they stuck like they should have the night before. With the stomach still queasy, I decided to play it safe and only had a dry bagel.
Boulder is unique in that you have split transitions and have to take a bus to the swim venue. Esra thankfully drove and I tried to get some rest. We talked about the day and I promised her, that I would not do anything stupid, that could endanger my health. It’s only a triathlon after all.
Once at the reservoir I saw quite a few people I knew and before long, I was in the water swimming. My swims in Boulder are typically longer and I was happy to see a good time when I got to the ramp. However – in line with the day – the race had different plans. As a volunteer tried to lift me upright, my leg full on cramped and I fell on my butt back into the water. It took nearly five minutes to get the cramp to release, while I’m flopping like a gold fish in the choppy waters of the exit ramp.
The new bike course is three laps with a few hills in the process. I was actually doing well on the first laps, not burning too many matches in the process and riding conservatively. However, due to my (de-)hydrated status, I started to feel my digestive tract to tighten up. Like in the past, it was manifested in side stitches in the lower abdominal area. All the water on the bike course could not help me to shake this. I knew that the run following the bike would be challenging, but figured I have enough time to put together a decent Ironman.
The run was a little of a blur. I set off trudging at 18 min/mile pace – as Dave Downey put in the athlete briefing – DQDSKMF (Don’t Quit, Don't Stop, Keep Moving Forward). I tried to increase my hydration status and get back some kind of control of my intestines, but if the past was any indication, this would take a long time.
About 8 miles into the marathon, I felt “movement” – usually a good sign and I was happy to hve this early in the run. In New Zealand last year, it happened at mile 20 and my legs were toast by then. I even could start running and increase my pace – “now we are getting somewhere” I thought. Unfortunately, this newfound happiness did not last for long, as I my legs cramped on the uphill of one of the underpasses on the course. Stopped dead in my tracks it took a while to stretch the cramp out and recover, but as a result, it was walk or slowly run for the rest of the race in order to keep up the target pace of +/- 18 min/miles. Even though I started to get blisters under my feet, I know that this pace would get me through the finish line before the 17-hour marker.
And with that, after 16 hours 39 minutes and 12 seconds, I crossed the Ironman Boulder Finish Line for the fourth time and made it my ninth Ironman finish since I started this crazy sport. As many of you know one of my goals is to start at the Ironman Hawaii World Championships some day and it takes 12 finishes to be accepted into the Legacy Program, which provides you with that opportunity.
While I have no official sponsors, I want to thank the guys at Colorado Multisport – great friends and always there to help, the team at Cuore of Switzerland for making a kick-ass tri suit and Matt Dixon and purplepatch fitness for continuously making me a better athlete.
When you out there for this long, you have a lot of time to think and I realized I’m very lucky to have an amazing family and friends that are there for me during training and races. A special thank you to my personal Sherpa, best friend and love of my life – I know you must have been concerned more than once before and on race day, but you talked me up, smiled and made sure the day was a little brighter. Thank you.
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