Oh, where do I start this? With the stress of travel to a foreign country (visas, passports, airline tickets, baggage fees, customs and immigration, etc.) the idea of my first Ironman at a “destination” may have not been the wisest. However, even with all of the travel issues and then to top off the whole experience to have our rental house burglarized the very first night, the whole trip turned out to be loads of fun. I of course speak for myself on this regard, because I was not one of those who lost their passport and visa along with a bunch of cash. Fortunately, Tricia and I only lost my work computer, her cell phone, and my Livestrong Oakleys (that really bums me out now).
Team Brazil (eight of us in the house and one couple on their own) made the best of the entire situation and decided not to let the break-in ruin the trip or our collective Ironman experience. So the next day we put together bikes, went for short runs and bike rides, simply enjoying the Florianopolis weather. We even had time to hit the water and for one of us it was the first time in open water!
When we hit the expo for athlete check-in was the first time in Brazil that the emotional butterflies flew up in my throat and eyes. We walked by the finishing chute and all I could think about was “that’s what you’ve been training for over the past 30 weeks”. Not really sure how everyone else was feeling, but Tricia could see it in my eyes and the way I was acting at that point. I got some video of us all checking in together and it was great to hook up with Derek and Carol. It was the first time we all knew all of us had made it to Brazil and we’re there to race an Ironman.
The traditional Ironman dinner was on Friday night and of course we had to participate. I piled my plate high with spaghetti, salad and chicken breasts; then I went back another plate of penne pasta and fish! Had to carb load for Sunday’s adventure! They didn’t have much in the way of entertainment, just everyone fighting to take pictures on stage under the Ironman logo!
Just relaxed on Saturday and tried to keep the nerves from winding up and thus causing everyone in the house the need to kill me! Think I held it together pretty well and no one really complained that I know about! Tricia and I went for a walk on the beach while enjoying time alone. Honestly I was surprisingly calm and enjoyed a decent sleep before waking up at 3:30 am. We didn’t have to get up early, but of course this is when my brain engaged in all those evil thoughts of failure and things that I have no control over.
We left the house at 5:30 or so, got over to the start without any major issues. Got the bikes all pumped up and our water bottles filled. Oh … there were some SERIOUS “butt bottles” the night before. If you’ve never experienced a “butt bottle” just take your plastic water bottle and don’t clean it for a day or two after putting protein drink in it. Tricia had one and Karen had one, we tried hard to clean them for use but that was a losing battle. My recommendation if you ever have one of these is to just throw it away and buy a new one! And yes, it smells like butt!
I could have paid for the trip with my bike pump if I rented it out to everyone who asked to borrow it! In fact it got to the point where they were closing the transition area and people were walking up asking to use it. If I wasn’t a butthead to the last person who asked, I would have been late to the start. Randy and Asa (our drivers / sherpas for the day) were yelling at me to get my drop off bag and pump to them. They were both waiting for me while their significant other was walking over to the starting line. That moment was the only real stressful moment for me, I didn’t want to be a jerk but simply had to say “no” and get my stuff to them. Darn it I had an Ironman to race!
Tricia and I walked to the start together; it’s the strongest relationships that help you get through the stressful moments and I know I was using her whether she knew it or not. Everytime I looked at my wife she was smiling at me with the confidence I needed to start this thing. We ended up running into Steve and Patricia in the crowd at the start. Steve and I hung out in the back as planned, each of us running our minds over everything that was said and all our training up to this point. We even struck a couple of yoga poses and said the three yoga om sounds for relaxation.
Even with the count down quickly approaching I was strangely calm. Standing there with 2,000 other wet suit clad people, all with their own look of wonderment, worry, excitement or otherwise look of WTF; I was strangely calm. I had envisioned standing on the beach like this with Steve next to me and Tricia just in front (that’s where she’s always been), I knew right then I could do this thing without any major trouble.
The horn blows and off we walked to the water. Yeap, that’s right, we walked into the surf! I lost Tricia almost immediately and lost Steve just as we were entering the surf, but I wasn’t worried about them. I was more concerned about not getting kicked in the face and making sure I could sight the first buoy. There were so many people around me (we started off in the middle of the group, but in the back) that I didn’t have to sight the buoy myself. I would see others sighting and watched them swimming straight away and knew I was on course. Ended up sighting the buoy about half way from the shore and used others around me to stay tracking true. Hit the buoy, made the turn and headed back to shore making sure the sailboat in the middle of the “M” was on my right. I ended up getting off track to the right as I hit the shore for the first turn around.
Cramped as I stood up in the surf but was able to work it out so I could run thru the check area and head back out for the second leg of the swim. I got thru the surf the second time no problems, but could see someone was headed directly for me; obviously coming in on their first leg. We collided head on like bumper cars. I just made sure there was no blood from my head and I still had my goggles. Before I knew it I was at the second buoy and headed back to the swim exit. Sighting the exit was much easier than the first leg. They didn’t have much of anything showing for the first leg, just a bunch of people on shore directing everyone!
Got the cramps worked out on the second leg and got out of the water at one hour and 24 minutes! (1:24) I was totally stoked at that point! I estimated 1:45 on the swim, so getting out 20 minutes ahead of my time was a good thing. AND I had fun doing it! Stopped in the slow trickling shower thingie to get the salt water off me before getting to the “strippers” set up outside the transition tent. By the time I got to the strippers they had it all down and stripped my so fast I didn’t know what hit me.
In the transition tent I ran into the same guy who gave us our pre-race tour. He was a riot and totally cool. Spoke perfect English and during the tour told us that we (Don and I) couldn’t go into the women’s changing area but they could go into ours! I had told him to make sure there was some hotties in the men’s changing area when I hit the transition. So when I saw him my first comment was, “Hey, where’s the girls?” I was laughing hard and trying to change. I don’t remember what he told me but it was funny. He got me a coke and water as I was changing to my bike gear, which was much appreciated! That salt water sucks as an energy drink!
I grabbed some water melon as I went out to the bike, rounded the corner of the transition tent and to my total surprise the bike transition area looked EMPTY! It really surprised me how empty the place looked when I made the transition. All of Team Brazil was racked together and knew that Don, Karen, Carol and Derek’s bikes would be gone, but was really surprised to see Tricia’s still in the rack! I turned on my Garmin and grabbed the bike then headed down the row to the exit, when I heard my name. Tricia had just come out of the transition tent. She ran over and kissed me as I told her to grab her bike and “let’s go!” Started the feeding timer on the bike and immediately started stuffing food and my nutrition crap down my throat. Every 15 minutes I either drank electrolytes or ate protein or other nutrition. Tricia and I rode out together and wanted to ride side by side, but that is not a proper pass and we would get carded for a penalty if we rode that way.
We rode the first 60 mile loop within a quarter mile of each other. I would pass her or she would pass me, but we could always see each other. That was good for me, I knew I didn’t want to push the bike and it helped me to stay on a pacing rate instead of pushing along. There were only really two sets of hills along the loop, so we would see the fronts and backs of those hills twice. From reading race reports I expected bigger hills, but they were really nothing compared to the hills we rode in training. I passed a BUNCH of people on those hills and wasn’t pushing it hard at all.
Looking at my Garmin report for the ride, my average heart rate was 145 (78% of max) and max’d at 175 (95% of max). The chart shows I was well below 150 for 90% of the ride, so I was calm, cool and collected. Steve and Bob should be proud of me, several girls passed me and I didn’t go chasing them down! Got to see everyone on Team Brazil on the bike. The loops and out / backs afforded great opportunities to see each other and to cheer from the bike. There weren’t very many people out on the bike course cheering you on. Mostly young kids out messing around and I would drift over close and throw my hand out for a bike “high five” as I rode by. One set of boys was watching for me for another slap on my second loop!
I stopped both opportunities at the special needs bike area and grabbed more fuel the first stop. Tricia hit the bathroom and I got out slightly ahead of her after that first stop. She caught back up and passed me in the tunnel. On the second stop I was looking for my extra lube and Tricia wanted one of my extra bars. When I got there, rummaged thru my bag looking for that damn lube … argh nothing. I knew I put it in there!! I dropped a Chocolate Mint Clif Bar under her bag, used the bathroom then hit the road. Tricia was coming into the special needs as I was heading out. She later thanked me a lot for that “dropped” bar. I was more worried about getting DQ’d for giving her “outside” assistance. Not sure if that would have violated the rules, but I still wondered about it.
On the way back on my second loop, I saw Karen and yelled to her “I think I’m going to ride back to the start and go run a marathon”! She laughed at me and I’m sure was saying I was crazy to be talking that way. But I felt really good! The fueling was working and my pace was just right where I wasn’t hurt, but just a little tired. I lost Tricia at the start of the hills on the second loop and when the wind picked up. We bucked a 12-15 mph head wind out on the second loop. I would stay down on the aerobars into the wind and then sit up as tall as I could with the wind at my back. At one point I looked down and was cruising along at 24 mph with me sitting high on the bike.
Everyone I pass must have laughed at me cause I had Cyclops with me in my back pocket. He’s been with me on every training ride and was with me in Austin. I’m just glad he didn’t get stolen! Couple of girls in the transition took pictures of him as I passed by, so hopefully he will show up somewhere on the internet!
Coming into T2 I was feeling pretty good and again ran into our tour guide. He was still kidding around and said to me, “Now you just need to do a cool down run, real easy!” Got thru the transition without any heck-ups and my only thought as I hit the course was get this first 14 mile loop out of the way. As with my training, I went out fast 10:07 & 10:46 for the first two miles. I noticed my pace and smacked myself upside the head. My goal was to hold 12:00 for the entire marathon. I knew there were hills coming and they were pretty steep. Didn’t want to blow myself up on those hills.
I was ahead of Tricia and Steve coming out of T2 and knew both of them were faster runners. But I wasn’t really racing them, just doing my own thing. Finally saw Tricia on the first out & back section and then on the long out & back in the cool neighborhood. I got a loving kiss as she closed in on me. Finally saw Steve on that same out & back. Ran into everyone on Team Brazil, except for Don during the marathon. He was too far ahead and turns out going too darn fast for us to ever see each other. Seeing everyone during the run really helped my keep moving. I hit those hills and I have to say thanks to Don for making me do all those trail runs. I was the only person running up those hills when I got to them. Just put my head down, set a shorter stride and keep the same rhyme. I was so happy that I could continue to “run” up those hills at this point in the race.
There were more cheering parties along the run route and they really kept me up beat. Coming into the finish area after that first loop I was wondering how they would know what lap you were on. I was directed down the “return” chute and ran by the finish to a station where they would give you a fluffy wrist band. The first one I got was white, indicating I had completed the 14 mile loop. After getting that white band I was thinking, “Okay just 2 easy 6 mile loops to go”. THEN IT HIT ME! There were athletes running by me with orange wrist bands.
As I went down towards the chute entry area (about ½ mile from the finish), I noticed everyone on the finishing side had one of those orange wrist bands. “Eureka! I WANT ONE OF THOSE ORANGE BANDS!” That thought really motivated me to get that first 6 mile loop completed. Steve was closing in on me and when we passed on one of the out & backs he said, “Don’t slow down, I’m coming!” So those two thoughts were pushing the idea of walking out of my head. As with the bike, I stopped every opportunity at the special needs area on the run.
Karen gave me the idea of taking ibuprofen on the run, so I had six 100 mg tablets in a little baggie. I took two on every stop and really think that helped keep the swelling down and kept me going on the run. As I came thru on the second loop with Steve right behind me, I made my stop. I saw Steve passing me and yelled to him, “Hey you can’t pass me when I’m in the pits! It’s a violation of the rules!” He responded, “Come on you big goober, stop screwing around!” That really cracked me up and for the next two miles I was laughing to myself. Not sure why but the “goober” comment really made my night.
I could see Steve just ahead of me and figured he would just keep getting further away. So I started concentrating on my pacing and fueling along with positive thoughts. Somewhere along that second loop I realized that all that training was actually working! I know I was already high on the excitement of just doing the Ironman, but that thought was so comforting that I know I was the only one smiling in the dark with thoughts of finishing and I still had 10 miles to go!
At this point I was doing math in my head and trying to figure my finishing time. I was holding a solid 12 minute mile including the special needs stops and slowing thru the aid stations. With 10 miles to go that was 120 minutes or 2 hours, my watch time showed 11:55 … “Heck I might be able to break 14 hours!” All I need to do is hold this easy pace for the next 2 hours. My heart rate was always between 135-140 so I know I was in “my zone” for endurance. Okay … positive thoughts, positive thoughts!
Steve headed into the “blue room” at the short out & back and I yelled at him to stop messing around and get going. Now I was ahead of him again and I wanted to push to stay ahead. I honestly had to fight thoughts of pushing the run with 8 miles to go to stay ahead. If I had gone for it at that point I knew I would blow up somewhere on the course. Again just like the bike, I held back and just cruised along.
Getting that damn orange wrist band made my night! Coming around with orange on my wrist told me and others that I only had one more loop to complete. I was “proud” to be wearing orange at that point – ha! I finally passed Derek with 3 miles to go. He had to walk the entire marathon, so his plan was to push the swim and bike hard. That’s how much of a lead he had built, he really smoked the swim and run. (He swam it under an hour and average 20 mph on the bike! Imagine what he would have done if he could have ran the marathon!)
As I passed him he snapped pictures and told me that Steve was walking due to a bum knee. That kind of depressed me, as I was expecting Steve to pass me any moment up to that point. I was pulling for everyone in Team Brazil to finish strong and within their own plan and race. As I headed to the split area where they directed us to the finishing side or looping side, I made sure that damn orange wrist band was clearly seen to the volunteers. The last aid station had run out of everything except water and coke by the time I came thru, but they had all lined so you ran thru the middle of the group as they did a modified wave for you. It was really cool!
By the time I was running down the finishing side of the run, there were all kinds of people walking, talking, taking their bikes and others in the damn way! I was running down the finishing side of the street dodging everyone. The one thought was “if someone gets in my way, I’m running their ass down!” The last mile I pushed my pace and maxed out my heart rate. I sprinted the last 200 meters down the finishing line. I didn’t see anyone as I went down the finishing area but felt FANTASTIC! Tricia had finished about 25 minutes ahead of me and was getting water when I came in. As soon as I saw her I told her, “I want to do another Ironman!”
We both went to the food area, got water and some fruit. Then to the med tent for a massage and rest. That felt great to be rubbed down after the race. Everyone in Team Brazil finished without any major problems. I want to thank everyone on Team Brazil. Derek and Carol for keeping me competitive during my training. Karen for inspiring me with your perseverance and endurance! Patricia for helping me change my redneck eating ways and teaching me that being vegetarian isn’t necessarily a bad thing . Steve, my yogi buddy, for keeping my OCD in check and providing the needed humor along the way to my finish. Don for always pushing my training to limits I didn’t know I had and teach me how to push thru those limits. Randy and Asa for taking care of all of us by being the sherpas and transportation directors. And finally, Tricia … my rock and the real reason I had to get this done. She always kept me where I needed to be, designed my training schedule, slapped me when I needed it, pushed me out of bed to do the day’s training and showed me the love that I needed.
My numbers as I have figured them out based on my Garmins and watch. (The timing company for this event SUCKs, enough said!)
Swim 1:24:09 1:58/100yd pace
T1 0:19:51
Bike 6:29:27 17.19 mph pace
T2 0:22:49
Run 5:13:31 11:55/mi pace
Total 13:49:47 (not official)
