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My Ironman Experience

Triathlon Preface

I got into triathlons after running a marathon and a couple half marathons and a friend of a friend (Suby) saw on Facebook that I was doing a lot of training. March 2010 he asked me if I wanted to do a tri with him and we could train together since he knew a bit about biking and swimming and I had some experience running. So I registered for a Sprint distance. With one month of pretending to swim and getting a road bike at the very last minute I switched to the Olympic distance which is twice as long as a Sprint. I cramped in the water and vomited in T1 of that race and still finished in 3 hours, my goal. After that I thought I would try for a half Ironman - SOMA. That was a bust since Tempe dam broke. I didn't do that race and instead just signed up for Ironman.

Early 2011 I did a couple more Olympic distances and a 70.3 half Ironman that was really a duathlon since Tempe Town Lake was unsafe to swim in because possible E-Coli from street run-off after a pre-race rain of 1.5". At that point I decided I needed more coaching to make my Ironman dream possible. So I joined Racelab after riding in one of their open training sessions for the half Ironman. That was the best decision I made to be successful at Ironman. Not only was the coaching good but my teammates are great and I learned so much about the sport. My nickname was "Slow and Sexy" as I was not fast and of course I joke about being attractive. I did one more Olympic and a half Ironman (SOMA) in the fall for training races.

The training was not easy and it almost seemed that it was more difficult than the actual race from all the long training sessions in the desert heat day after day. I gave up 95% of my social life, no drinking, no dating, no traveling and just focused on work and training. In the end these were all small sacrifices to make.

Race Results

The 2.4 Mile swim

Ironman starts out as a mass start swim with 2,600 people jockeying for position and space in Tempe Town Lake. It is quite a battle in the water. Just imagine how difficult it would be to swim 2.4 miles and keep a consistent stroke, breathing and rhythm. Now imagine how difficult it would be if you can barely see your own hands in the water, you get kicked in face by people who are swimming around you, they are grabbing your feet or arms, they push you around sometimes climb over you. This happens basically the whole swim portion. Water temp was 61 degrees and I wore a full wetsuit, some chose to wear a neoprene hood and boots as well but with my NoDak background I had no issues with the cold water.

I made an initial mistake in the rush to get in the water, I forgot to put my goggles over my eyes and a contact got lodged under my eyelid, I thought I had lost it. I didn’t panic though since I put extra contacts in my transition bags. I was able to float and get it corrected before the start of the race.

I was able to start fairly close to the front of the pack and felt good in the swim. The crowd slowed me down a few times but it was to be expected. My previous triathlon experience taught me to fight in the water: if people are grabbing at your feet you kick harder to get them to leave you alone, if they swim to close you to just move if you can or push them to the side. The other issue in swimming is sighting the buoys that define the course. I have had the tendency to get off course a little and I did get inside the course at one point during the race but it was not too bad and was able to correct it fairly quickly.

At the mid-point turn around someone got hurt or had some issues because everyone around me were stopped and I quite to see what was going on. I heard people yelling to the support canoes to help someone. I couldn’t see who was having issues and saw that there was enough support out there and got back to swimming. When finishing the swim you need to get the blood back to your feet since you have been basically swimming with your arms for an hour and use very little kick. Still getting out of the water it is a bit dizzying. They have wetsuit strippers that help you take off your wetsuit quickly, always helpful.

I finished with a time of 1:28 which was I was planning on doing in 1:30.

Transition 1 (T1)

Switching from swim gear to bike gear for Ironman is different from shorter races. In shorter races whatever I would wear underneath my wetsuit is what I would wear the rest of the race. In Ironman I wanted to be completely dry and comfortable so I took my time to change to dry clothes and put on sunblock and get some water.

The 112 Mile Bike

The bike ride was very smooth, no surprises. The Bee Line had shifting winds. In the morning it was a headwind out to Fountain Hills on the first loop with a fast tail wind and downhill combination. The second and third loop it pushed us up the hill but had become stronger against us on the way back to Tempe. I only stopped for a few minutes for nutrition reinforcements at our halfway point (special needs bags). My savior on the third lap was the beef jerky I had in my special needs bags, it helps settle my stomach that was full of energy gummies, stinger waffers, EFS drink (carbs and electrolytes), and energy gels. My goal was 425 calories an hour of food on the bike.

There was a lot of drafting and packs which is illegal but really mostly enforced on the pros apparently. I did my best to stay in race position to reduce drag but it difficult to do that for 6+ hours. I kept cool with my arm sleeves and watering my body with spare water from the aid stations. I was well hydrated so I did not stop for bathroom breaks. I know it seems disgusting and frankly it is but I saved at least 30 minutes by urinating in my bike shorts and rinsing of with extra water.

I finished the bike in 6 hours 28 minutes. Garmin stats from Bike.

Transition 2 (T2)

Bike to run transition wasn't fast for me but it was fine. I changed into my comfortable running shorts, a fresh pair of compressions socks that were not full of water / urine, barely broken in running shoes, band-aided my nipples, used the bathroom and ran out. I did make one mistake in T2 when I took some extra strenth 5-hour energy that caused my heart rate to jump which is bad when you goal is to race at a low heart rate.

The 26.2 Mile Run

This is where the race really starts. Like I said my heart rate was a bit high initially but I settled in and ran my own race. I kept an easy pace for the first 16 miles drinking water and electrolyte at the aid stations. They had one Dr. Hoys pain relief station that I utilized once on each of the 3 loops. I didn't eat much on the run as I was planning but I had plenty of food on the bike to sustain my run. It was great to see a few of my Racelab teammates running the course and cheering them on.

The fans on the run were unbelievable. Since our names were on our bibs everyone was cheering "Keep it up Keith", "Looking good", "I'd hit that", "Looking Strong" it was great motivation. Running around Tempe Town Lake and Papago Park was absolutely gorgeous at night as well, sort of a surreal experience. I settled in and made a couple friends in the end running the same pace as me. I eventually ditched them and ran pretty hard the last 2 miles.

The last 2 miles I was in a little pain but I pushed it all aside and fed off all the athletes around me who were in pain, walking and limping their way. I expected to have several issues with the run that I experience in training but they did not crop up at all. Normally after 4 miles my IT band would tighten and cause knee pain but it did not happen at all during the marathon. I was very happy for that as it would have been a major struggle to run the final 22 miles in such pain. Coming up on the crowd it was insane, everyone cheering as I sprinted by I felt strong and was completely focused on making a strong and happy finish.

I should have slowed down and enjoyed crossing the finishing line a bit more but it was still great. My coach (Bettina) was at the end to give me my Ironman finisher medal. I really appreciated my teammate support and the friends who cheered me on from the sidelines as well as on Facebook. Special thanks to Heather, Jenn, Robbie, Emily, Angie, Tammy and Elaine for being the at the race, taking pictures and driving me to and from the race. Props to Krysta for volunteering and helping me out when my car malfunctioned before the race. I want to thank Suby especially for getting me into the sport and being my bike gear sponsor, he donated me some of his old equipment and bought me an aero helmet for the race.

Post Race

I felt much better after the race than I imagined, I was tired and my stomach was completely destroyed from all the sugars, carbs and electrolytes I consumed during the race. I was a little sore on Monday and Tuesday though it was no worse than after some of the training. I did do some damage to some soft tissue in my left shin that is slowly healing. Overall my body handled the race exceptionally. I had a great time training with all my teammates, the long rides with Jim, Rob and Patti. Trying to keep up with Jason and Jake in track. Of course not sinking completely at swim with Denise. I know I could not have accomplished it without the coaching from Racelab (Bettina, Gus and Johann). They prepared me physically and mentally. My race strategy was near perfect for me to run my race and complete my goal to finish the Ironman happy and strong.

What's next?? Maybe get married and have kids... wait that sounds like what everyone else does so definitely not that. First there will be a garage sell of a lot of of Ironman gear, though I will still continue to Olympic distance triathlons but I am done with extreme races. I am going to finish remodeling my condo, travel and enjoy life's other aspects. The next extreme  goal will most likely to be to climb a big mountain so next year there will be mountaineering courses and in a couple years to find a rock worth climbing. Who's in?

My Ironman Mantra Song

This is the song I had in my head the whole race. I came into the race focused and prepared. I knew already how the race ended in my mind, with me finishing strong. The song does have a mortality theme but I gave it a more positive role of strength, fate and faith.

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