ironman race report

if anyone is curious - I completed the Ironman today. It was a blustery cool morning and the lake was covered in white caps as the swim began. The conditions were so bad in fact that they gave the option to opt out of the swim if you wanted and to just complete the bike and run. I went for the swim, and the water wasn't as bad as it appeared - what was a little crazy was the 2,300 people all jumping in the water at the same time. For the first 30 minutes I was constantly running into people and having people swim up my back. Four time my goggles were kicked off. After that the pack loosened up and I was finally able to get in a groove. After drinking half the lake I managed to finish in 1 hour 13 minutes. Off the wetsuit strippers, who rip the wetsuit off of you and I jumped onto the bike.

Chad and I had driven the course earlier in the week and what a beautiful scenic course. Winding through the low mountains and hugging up against a golf course and two lakes. Amidst all the beauty were some significant hills which made for a challenging course. The first 80 miles or so felt great then all of sudden my legs stopped moving as quickly. The next 15 miles or so were slow and difficult, especially as both of my inner thighs began cramping. After downing a bunch of fluids they finally loosened up again and I was able to push the pedals a little harder. Finished the bike in 5 hours 39 minutes.

Onto the run, which I had planned on walking because of knee injury. So that's how I started. I walked the first mile and a half and after watching people run by and having the spectators say "Walking is good, looking good Adam" something inside, ego perhaps, or this internal drive I have kicked in, and I said forget it. As long as my knee doesn't get worse I'm just going to run. So I did and after about 5 miles, this guy, Michael, pulls up next to me and starts talking to me. So we started chatting and ended up running the rest of the marathon together. He himself was nursing a knee injury so we'd run until we hit an aid station walk through the aid station, drinking chicken broth, gatorade and water and then pick up and run again. It was pretty brutal on my legs - I haven't run in over 2 months but there is something inside that just takes over. I look ahead body relaxed and will myself forward. I can't really explain it. Anyway had it not been for Michael, a 24 year old sports trainer from Fresno, I'm not sure I would have made it running the whole thing though. Thank you Michael.

I ended up finishing the race in 12 hours 8 minutes and 23 seconds which I'm happy about. After finishing, I was and still am bubbling with energy. As sick and twisted as it sounds this stuff feeds something inside me. Of course I'm curious what I would have had, had my knee been healthy and had I been able to train for the marathon. Hmmmm....next year??