First of all, I’d like to dedicate Ironman #11 to Dr. John Watt for his contributions to science, so I could survive a hot day in Boulder County and see the finish line before the 17-hour mark.
After a disappointing day in New Zealand this March, Paul (my coach) started the guinea pig program with me – a combination of Russian Sprints and Leg Presses became my new friends and with all the other workouts caused a nice bump in my fitness. With two weeks of no travel before race day, I felt “fit and fresh” heading into race weekend.
Race weekend in Boulder is always special, as I get to see friends all over town that are racing, cheering and volunteering. I also was asked by Ironman’s Dave Christen if I could speak on the “40 Years of Dreams” Panel celebrating 40 years of Ironman – even though I have not raced the World Championships in Kona yet, they wanted the perspective of a “dreamer”, who is chasing his dream via a Legacy Slot – a program established in honor of John Collins, who “invented” this crazy Ironman 40 years ago on the shores of Oahu. At that time, everyone could toe the start line and the person that finished first was an “Ironman” – to continue that side of Ironman the Legacy Program has been established to give everybody a chance to toe that magical line.
Sunday morning was warm, but nowhere close to the heat that would arrive over the next hours. After some last good byes and a good luck kiss from Esra, I felt good heading into the water for what was going to be a long day in the office and chase that Legacy dream.
Swim / 2.4 miles / 1:20:33 / 2:05 (100m) – not my fastest swim, but I felt calm and relaxed, sighting of the buoys and swimming a relatively straight line. As I got closer to the boat ramp, I started to prepare for the exit, as last year I severely cramped on the ramp and was flopping in the water for more than 5 minutes. I saw the guy next to me stand up and could see the concrete of the exit ramp, so I figured I would stand up, too. Well, the guy must have been quite a bit taller than me, as I barely was able to breathe above the water line – but no cramps – yay me.
T1 / 13:11 – moved through transition and changed into “proper” bike gear. Before the race I decided I wanted to be comfortable on a hot day, so instead of my tri suit, I packed a Bib Short / Bike Jersey and for later my Run Shorts / T-Shirt.
Bike / 112 miles / 7:13:03 / 15.52 mph – as predicted it got hot – 95F / 35C in the shade made this bike ride not about speed, but about “keeping a cool head” / body and trying to get to the run in as good of a shape as possible.
My plan was to stop at every aid station and apply the scientific principles by Dr. John Watt – more commonly known as Evaporative Air Conditioning – dousing my body and head in cold water, which in turn would keep my body cool while riding. Generally, it worked well, but after a few minutes my clothes were dry again. Around mid-day, a nice wind joined the party – unfortunately for those of us still on the course, it was a headwind on the uphill sections, which is never really welcome. All in all, I made it to the bike to run transition in good spirits to change and start the run.
T2 / 19:44 – changing again from a biker to a runner took some extra time, but in retrospect it was worth it.
Run / 26.2 miles / 7:44:11 / 17:43 (mile) – I was actually looking forward to the run to test my theory that I could push my “mental block” aside and really open with a strong run. Thinking about the day, I think I actually did that – even though the final time does not reflect that. I was able to run in a controlled fashion when the course allowed for it (mainly the shaded areas) and recover in others (when the sun was burning down on me).
I also found out that Dr. Watt’s principles work well when having a certain speed, but do not work as well on the run, due to its slower nature. As the day turned to night, it got cooler, but my body was not willing to run for longer stretches anymore. This is different from past races, where I never really had run legs to start with (which I’m sure now was my monkey brain taking over).
My personal Super Sherpa showed up everywhere on the course and cheered me on. I’m sure she was worried, as a lot of athletes were sitting on the side lines in the shade being attended to by the medial team.
Finish Line / 140.6 / 16:50:12– while objectively this was dangerously close to the 17-hour mark (New Zealand in March was equally close at 16:45), I feel that I executed well with the cards we got dealt on this day. With the heat of the day, Ironman Boulder had a high DNF (Did Not Finish) rate and I can happily say I glad to have survived the day with a smile on my face.
Final thoughts on Ironman #11 – what a day – Tim Brosious and the whole Ironman Team around him did an amazing job putting on this 5thedition of Ironman Boulder – from traffic management to heat management everything was top notch and made us athletes safe and well taken care of.
To Paul “Guinea Pig Wrangler” Buick – my coach and personal slave driver – thank you for challenging and pushing me while keeping up with my ever-changing travel plans.
I also want to thank all the familiar faces who yelled at me, hugged me and cheered me on – you definitely made me want to move forward towards the finish line.
Last but not least – my Super Sherpa – thank you having my back at all times, which allows me to train and race in this crazy sport. Without your support and love I don’t think I would be able to do this. I’m looking forward to our next adventure together in a few weeks.
