Hot and windy! 74 degree water, 90+ degrees, bright sun, 20+ winds.
I was warm during the (seemed long) swim, which I think led to being behind the hydration 8 ball just starting the bike. Couldn’t keep up with fluids, even while drinking a aero bottle + between aid stations. Stomach shut down on 2nd lap, cramps started at mile 70 or 80. Struggled just to get to T2.
Made an effort on the run, trying to get some fluids in. Debilitating cramps stopped me in my tracks after mile 3. Just about crawled to the mile 4 aid station. Sat down and tried to get some fluids in to enable me to continue. Cramps wouldn’t subside. Tried to walk, just made it to the other end of the aid station. Sat back down, and tried drinking more. Started to feel natious. Ended up puking up everything I had drank and decided to throw in the towel. Got a ride to Medical and a liter of fluids. I was 10 lbs. under pre-race weight. Very disappointing to not finish, but I just couldn’t see the point in punishing my body just for a disappointing finish.
Meanwhile, Cheryl was also suffering in the heat and winds on the bike. She took a break at mile 65, and saw many, many people off their bikes just lying at the side of the road. She continued to the aid station at 70 and took another break. Aid station looked like a MASH unit, with people getting medical attention and ambulances hauling people away. They were calling for more ambulances in Mt. Horeb. She talked herself into continuing. She felt better for a few miles, but then the legs just weren’t there. She stopped at the next aid station and did some soul searching also, and decided to take the SAG wagon back along with many others. During the ride, she heard the call for medical assistance for me over the radio and she was able to meet up at the Medical tent. She was only 6lbs. under weight so wasn’t given an IV, but the excellent medical staff did a great job getting both of us back on our feet.
Huge props for everyone who finished. Special props to Iron Virgins Billy, the BD of BD’s Mongolian BBQ for an excellent first IM under the toughest conditions. Team Mongo teammate Nikki also had a fantastic first IM, finishing 5th in her age group, and is looking at a possible Kona slot!
Tremendous job done by all the race personnel and volunteers under extremely demanding conditions.
Was there to watch and couldn’t believe the conditions. Terrible. Congratulations to the finishers and god bless those who didn’t. Can’t blame you one bit. Now I’ve got to sign up for next year at 10 tomorrow morning. What am I thinking?
i don’t mean to pick on you specifically, but why are there so many similar references to this? i thought it was smimming, biking and running (or engaging in your hobby) with your friends on a day off from work. this is (although arguable by the Lavendar room enrollees, I’m sure) why people engage in war, so that we can “play” on our off days.
again, I aologize if this is seen as a dig at you, personally, I’ve just seen a bunch of statements like this recently.
**this is (although arguable by the Lavendar room enrollees, I’m sure) why people engage in war, so that we can “play” on our off days. **
I think the term is loosely applied to describe any struggle nowadays. It’s doesn’t bother me that it’s used thusly, and I’m a retired military guy who’s been in a few shoot 'em ups.
i can’t imagine how tough that must have been for you…and everyone else who dnf’d. a good…however unfortunate…example of how the beast can wreak havoc with the best laid plans. its nothing you did or failed to do in advance.
Glad to hear that you and Cheryl are okay. I figured something must have gone seriously wrong when your first run split never showed up, and she did not finish the bike.
I think that the hardest thing I ever did in sports was DNF a marathon once because of a knee injury. It was also probably the smartest thing I ever did in sports.
Everyone that fought the IMWI event gets, mad props, kudos, or whatever over-used, cliche term for “respect” you prefer.
As I mentioned before, the previous day I did the LGET in Fontana … and everyone was talking about how hard IMWI was going to be, and how many DNF’s were coming. Heck, it gave us struglers some solace on the run. “AT least we’re not doing IMWI” we could think.
Eric, congrats on making the “right” decision and keeping your body intact to “fight another day”. I learned the hard way at Ironman LP 2003 that if you health is on the line, it is better to pack it in than being stubborn and still fight to the finish. To this day, I have some lingering health issues associated with that day. You made the right move.
Quick question about the swim…did you use Long Sleeve or Short Sleeve wetsuit. I am becoming increasingly convinced that for any Ironman distance race above say 66 or so, you are better off being a bit colder and going short sleeve than cooking in a long sleeve and losing 2L of sweat and electrolytes out of the chute. All my Ironmans where I have gone with the sleeveless have been reasonably good (for me) whereas the ones with Long Sleeves have ended in lots of stomach and cramping issues, unless of course the air temp was also down in the low 60’s.
Sorry that you day had to end in such an unfortunate way. Wow 10 Lbs underweight, that is a lot of liquid to be down and only part way through the bike. Howwver, you made the wise deceison not to carry on.
The following is not meant to be a personal critic, but hopefully will help others:
I have seen this before at IMC, particularly when it’s very hot and really windy. The wind deceives you into thinking it’s cooler while at the same time dehydrating you even quicker! It’s so important to get on the water replenishment right away once you get on the bike.
For someone who swims say, 1:30, takes a 5 min T1 and then takes about 20 minutes to settle into the bike before getting into the hydration/nutrition program - keep in mind that you are now nearly two hours into the race and already HEAVILY dipping into your bodies reserves of water and carbohydrates.
While I’m sure it was a tough moment when you had to call it a day, it can sometimes be the absolute right thing to do. That might sound like it goes against the Ironman ethos, but alot of very good athletes (and by reputation I know you are one of them) have been done in by that course and the heat these last few years. I had my first DNF at the distance on the bike there in 2003. Didn’t like stepping off…but it was the right thing at the time. Guess all we can do is learn from it, work at it and try again. Maybe we’ll see you there next September.
I went with my full sleeve T1. I should have brought my old sleeveless Promotion. I felt warm in the swim, and was letting water in every so often. I was swimming easier than in the past, and drafting for part of the first lap and all of the 2nd.
I really think that WTC/GTG/IMNA should go with the ITU levels of 68 and 72 for wetsuits. I think overheating/dehydration is more of a danger at 78 degrees than hypothermia is at 72.
Fleck, I did make it though the bike, but running just wasn’t working. I was a little surprised at the 10 lbs. I felt pretty good except for the severe cramping all over, especially in my legs. I was also getting nautious trying to drink. When I threw up, I knew it wasn’t going to happen.
You are right about the heat and wind. Your skin stays dry, so you don’t have that feeling of sweat pouring off you to let you know you are losing fluids. The conditions reminded me of Kona, and unfortunately the results were even worse. Now I know that is was probably dehydration that shut my gut down there also.
See my reply to Dev about the swim and feeling warm. I thought that is was going to be an issue, so I intentionally took it easy, and made sure I finished my aero bottle of HEED before the 1st aid station. I still think I was in a hole from the beginning and never recovered.
Eric, IMNA will never lower the wetsuit cutoff as they don’t want anyone to drown (ie built in lifejackets). My recommendation to all is to just use short sleeve for Ironman unless it is above 70 or in the rare case where water temp is let’s say 74/75 but air temp is 45. Even then, it would be a toss up. We really underestimate the impact of dehydration due to long sleeve wetsuits.
