The day started very early. I awoke at 4:30 thinking that I’ll be able to beat many of the athletes to the transition and get in line for the time trial start that is unique to this Ironman. Well, that didn’t work out too well, because about 1500 other athletes had the same idea. I still like the idea of the time trial start, but WTC still has some work to iron out all the logistics of pulling it off. Unlike all the other Ironman races, instead of having 17 hours to finish the race, I only had 16 hours and 40 minutes.
Swim
The swim started off great. The water temperature was in the low-mid 80’s and there was a small current to swim against for the first 1/3 of a mile. Around the turn buoy I kept my swimming normal, stroke, stroke, breath, repeat, then repeat again with a sighting. When you sight and see the swimmer in front of you walking, it’s time to take a different look. Apparently a sand bar was created by a river entering into the Ohio River and we had a nice 20 yard walk incorporated into our swim. It would have been nice if WTC would have put an aid station there. The swim continued and I exited at 1:37. I was hoping for a sub 90-minute swim, but I was still pleased at the outcome.
Bike
The bike started out with a climb out to LeGrange, and after driving the course the day before the hill looked slighted smaller on Sunday, which was good news to start the bike. The ride out to the Legrange loop ended up taking me 1:45, with a 27 minute out and back on a side road. This happened to be the most fun I’ve had on a bike in a long time, what an awesome downhill to get your heart pumping! If you break up the Legrange loop as 4 sections (south, east, north & west) the south and north were definitely the hilliest, while the east and west provided good portions to get into the aerobars and fly. It was an amazing feeling riding through the Timex checkpoint in Legrange and hearing the crowds going crazy. Another portion of the bike course provided horses galloping in their field along side the riders. This was a fantastic bike course, and my time proved my delight as I was able to beat my previous time by over 15 minutes and an average of over 16.5 mph. Or it must have been the rear disk.
Run
0-13 miles: The run course started off great. I completed the first mile in 8 minutes and the following two in 7:15 each. The preceding miles averaged around 8:30, but I felt strong and in control. The run course was not the greatest course visually, but the crowds at the turn around provided great support.
14-20 miles: This is where it all fell apart. At the turn around I knew something was wrong, and at the port-o-john at mile 15 the liquids from the past 6 miles came back up. After a 5 minute rest in the grass, 2 miles of walking, and 3 miles of a slow waddle. I found the joy of watered down Sam’s Cola.
20-26 miles: “Mind over matter”, “don’t look at anyone”, “head up, eyes forward”. These were my thoughts as I rounded the turn around and made my way back to Fourth Street Live. Watered down Sam’s Cola was the only thing staying down in my stomach with the assistance of short quick breaths. But I had to beat my Coeur d’Alene time and I had to keep a pace of 11-minute miles to do so for this segment.
26 – 26.2 mile: I got to run along side with my dad. What a great experience to share with him. I think he was more delighted to run than I’ve seen him in a long time. It was only a short period, about 100 meters, but it’s something I’ll remember forever. At the 100 meters to go mark, I saw Kara and Steve Covert. I stopped to say thanks to them, and everything cramped up from the waist down. A glance at my watch and I noticed I only had 4 minutes to cross the finish line to beat my time from last year. But with every step, my calves tightened harder and harder. The crowd and Fourth Street Live is a motivation and one of the best finishing lines of any Ironman, and it held true that day. The crowd was LOUD! The cheers were loud and I hobbled across at 13:33:47, beating my time by 2 minutes!
I raised my arms in triumph, then my legs stopped working. Then all that watered down Sam’s Cola worked its way up one more time with my last sip of Gatorade. One IV bag at the medical tent and I was back on my feet.
Thanks
My first thanks goes to my coach, Jon Hastings. He’s the engine that makes this work. I’m not a pro triathlete, so this is just a hobby for me. The daily grind of Corporate America, the stress of training and living in New York could not have been possible without him. We have a lot of work to do next year, and I have a lot of thinking to do before I even decide to do another Ironman, but I am looking forward to our offseason.
Volunteers, from start to finish, this race could not happen with you guys. Even the lady at the end of the race that unknowingly did the Heimlich on me which kept forcing any nutrition I had in me back up, or the doctor at the medical tent who was from Michigan and must have gotten joy out of sticking me 10 different times because I was from Ohio State trying to get the IV into me, you guys were all great.
Steve Covert, he made the journey to Louisville to watch and cheer me on. Every voice in the crowd was quiet when I heard Steve yell my name. You have no idea the lift you get when you hear your name being cheered by someone you know.
Mrs. Jacobson, even though she wasn’t here physically, her 8 voicemails on my cell phone cheering me on brighten my long day at the hotel afterwards. There’s always next time!
My parents, they always seem to be so amazed every time I do one of these races. And before each one they ask the same question: “why exactly are you doing this?” I still have no answer except for it’s the same reason women have more than one child. The most memorable 100 yards of the race was when I got to run with my dad. This was better than the finish line and the sadness to WTC’s exclusion of the true support staff of each athlete at the finish line.
Kara, I can’t say enough about how much it means to have her as a part of my team. She is my masseuse, cook, motivational support, psychologist, coach, trainer, training partner and life partner. She’s the one that is there 24/7 for me, not only because the law says that she has to be, but because she wants to be. I’ve talked to other racers about doing an Ironman and they ask what does it take to do one? My answer every time: “An understanding wife or fiancée.” I love you and thank you. And I have no regret in skipping the Ironman in 2010 for a better cause, our wedding.