My first ironman. Awesome experience. For those who are interested, here’s my story.
I’m sort of your everyman triathlete: family, job, blah blah. I managed to average about 10.25 hrs/week of training in the 20 weeks prior to my taper, swimming 2-3 times per week and, after the Boston Marathon in April, focusing mostly on bike endurance. It was a wet spring, and I didn’t get in all the riding I had hoped, but I did do a few time trials and 5 or 6 80+ mile rides at pretty slow speeds. There were moments in my training where I was actually calculating what I would have to do to make the bike cut-off. Did a half-IM in early June and DNF’d on a hot day with serious nutrition issues. Needless to say, I was not 100% confident going into my first IM race.
Pre-race week was enjoyable. Travel with wife and 2 year old daughter to Austria was smooth, with a small hiccup on bike transport, but the bike arrived the day after I did. The city of Klagenfurt is very welcoming to IM competitors, and most hotels go out of their way to accommodate the needs of the athletes. The race expo is right next to a nice public beach, so it was a very family friendly place to spend time.
On race day, the hotels have a 4:15 breakfast, and at 5:00 athletes are shuttled to the race start. As always, the energy at the start area was amazing: helicopters, hot air balloons, thumping music . . . .
THE SWIM
The gun went off, and as a slow swimmer and first-timer I was happy to sit at the back of the pack on the swim. At one point I was actually in last place as I waded in slowly, just taking in the scene. Despite my belated start, I managed to find a crowd of swimmers, and the first part of my swim was pretty eratic as I searched for space. Lots of treading water at the first turn, but it opened up a bit after that. To my surprise, I had some difficulty finding the shortest route to the next buoys. Even heading back to the beach on the first loop was tough with the sun in my eyes. Nonetheless, I tried to stay relaxed and told myself that this was probably the easiest part of the day. Hit the beach, saw my wife, jumped up and down like an idiot, and jumped back in. Second loop was better. The swim ends in a canal with fans lining the sides. Cool.
1st swim leg: 44:10
2nd swim leg: 42:47
Total swim time: 1:26:47
I swim like an anchor. A great swim for me would be sub 1:20, but sub 1:30 is okay and I was having fun.
T1: 6:01
Uneventful transition. Just happy to be out of the water.
THE BIKE
Given my training, my primary bike goals were to avoid cramping through pace control and nutrition, get through the hills (three loop course with some decent climbs), and set up the run. The course begins with a flat 20k along the lake, so it’s easy to find a nice rhythm and let your heart rate settle in. For the first 10 minutes on the bike, neither my bike computer nor my HR monitor were working. The bike computer was my fault (flipped the front wheel around on race morning – not sure why – race day brain fart). I decided that no computer was a blessing, as I wouldn’t be tempted to focus on speed. I was relieved, though, when the HRM started to register, since that and perceived effort were to be my principal guides. Zone 4 for me ends at around 150 bpm, and I spent the first 20k around 140.
The bike course is beautiful. You start with the lake on your right, then turn toward the hills. The back side of the course has great views of what I think are the southern-most alps. As you being the first of several small climbs, the atmosphere is TDF-like as spectators close in on either side. This is a nice touch by the race organizers, as they have shuttled spectators from the start area to this tiny little town to watch the bikers.
First loop was an exercise in holding back, relaxing, and enjoying.
Lap 1: 2:04:48
Second lap I still wanted to be conservative, but let myself push a bit more. Got lapped by the leaders early on lap 2. Those guys (you guys, whatever) are unreal.
Lap 2: 2:07:43
Third lap I was happy that I was feeling good, but still aware that I had to make it through the hills one more time. Didn’t really let loose until the final 10 miles or so. Came flying into town feeling great, but my time shows that I was starting to tire on the climbs.
Lap 3: 2:11:37
Total bike time: 6:24:08
In my heart of hearts, I would have liked to have been closer to 6 hours, but throughout the bike I did what I thought felt right at the time and won’t second guess those decisions now.
T2: 5:56
Tried to take my time in T2. I was pretty stiff coming off my bike, and had no idea what the run would bring. Still, my spirits were high, the weather was staying reasonably cool, and I was looking forward to stretching my legs a bit.
THE RUN
This was the big surprise of the day. The run is my strength, but I’ve had plenty of events where heat or nutrition or fitness have kept me from actually running. The first 30 minutes felt okay, and although I knew I was passing people I had no idea of my pace. Gatorade and Gu were giving me some nausea, but that usually passed with a little walking. I walked each aid station and really tried to let the water/fuel settle before running again. After 13k I realized two things: 1) I didn’t know how many kilometers are in a marathon, and 2) despite my ignorance, I thought I had a chance at sub-12. Upon completing the first of two loops I saw the sign in transition indicating that the run was 42k. I was pretty pumped at this point, as I was running pretty comfortably, and knew that absent a disaster, I was headed for a sub 4 hour marathon.
Lap 1: 1:46:38
Lap 2 was more of the same. I tried switching from Gatorade to Pepsi, but this seemed to cause some cramping, so I went back to Gatorade. Still walked every rest stop (rest stops were every 2k). With 10k to go, I was feeling surprisingly good, and was really starting to move up in the field. One more loop around through the downtown and I was headed for home. Came into the finishers shoot still running, fists pumping, and very, very happy.
Lap 2: 1:53:52
Total run time: 3:40:31
Total IM time: 11:43:33
This was one of “those days” where everything lines up right: weather, health, planning, food . . . . It’s the kind of day you hope for when you’re putting in the training hours, sacrificing time with family etc. Because of the time commitment that IM requires, I won’t do another one for probably many years. Given that fact, and in light of the sacrifice and energy that my wife and family contributed to this effort, I’m thrilled and relieved that I had, by my own definition, a good day.
Thanks to all on this board for your advice and humor. Although my seat is probably too high and my bike room no doubt needs new wallpaper, what I learned on ST played a big part in making my journey a success.
Cheers,
Chris
My swimming sucks ass too.