RACE POSTCARD

13 Hours Later ...

2007-04-16T19:04:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the delay. As Jennifer speculated, I've been sleeping. Two naps today and I suspect bed will come early tonight.

It's hard to know where to start. Yesterday was an amazing and difficult day. I could not be more pleased with the effort and time, especially under the conditions (more on that later).

We were asked to arrive on site by 5 a.m. as I did. They had parking for us in a garage right next door so it was easy to get to, especially since the bike and most of the gear had been turned in the day before. I had a couple of items to put in the Swim-To-Bike bag and Bike-To-Run bag and turn in my special needs bags that were to be waiting for me around the half-way point of the bike and swim.

After some more tinkering and finding a bathroom, it was time to go to the swim start. Nobody was too anxious to get in the water as we all found a place to sit. Finally, the race director said, "You all are pissing me off. Get off my dock!" So that's what we did and plunged into 68 degree Tempe Lake. We had to swim about 150 yards to where the start was. My mentor on this race, Tommy Oakman, told me to find a place on the bank to sit and wait there. There was no reason burning energy treading water. What a great piece of advice! I sat there as long as I could and then found a place among the hordes.

Nothing can prepare you for a mass start of over 2,000 swimmers. All of my experiences have been with wave starts of no more than 100 or so. This was pure chaos. Whoever said swimming was a noncontact sport should try this. I can't count the number of times I was kicked, pulled and shoved. After about 700 yards it quieted down and I was able to find some clear water.

As we approached the turnaround it got crowded again and it all started again. It really didn't let up for the second leg. I don't know if people were getting tired or just couldn't swim straight but I was doing battle the whole way home. We essentially swam from one set of bridges to another and I swear the bridge we were aiming for on the way home was not getting closer. Finally, I saw the last buoy indicating a hard left turn and the final stretch to the stairs. They had people there to help us out and then our wet suits off us. I just laid on my back and they yanked it off. Good thing I was wearing a one piece race suit underneath.

Most ran to the area where our transition bags were located; I walked. I figured what's the hurry. I found my bag and went to the changing tent. As my T1 time indicates, I took my time. Drying off, getting something to drink and eat and then getting all my bike stuff on. I then found my bike and headed off on what was going to be an incredibly difficult ride.

It was a three-loop course having us come back to the start area twice before finishing. The challenge was the wind. I've figured out that we had it into us directly for at least 51 of the 112 miles. Estimates on the sustained wind were above 25 mph with the gusts reaching over 40. We had a nice stretch where we were with it and could cruise but then we would turn around right into its teeth. The last eight miles were the toughest as it was blowing the hardest we had seen all day right into our faces. A stretch I had gone 23 mph on the way out was now pushing me to almost a standstill at 9 mph. Even the pros complained about.

All that and I have to say that was the best bike leg I've ever had. I had never rode over 100 miles before and I felt great the whole day. My drinking and eating plan worked perfectly and I felt good when I got back to T2. I'm really proud of that time, although I'm sure you IM veterans must have wondered what I was doing out there for that amount of time. Without the wind, I think I would have been under 6 hours.

T2 was much the same as the first transition, but less crowded. I took my time but was moving a little quicker than before. Then it was time to run. I can't believe how fast the first ten miles went. I felt really good sticking to my Galloway plan of 4 minutes running and one minute walking. At mile 14, it all went to hell. My stomach started to revolt from all the Gatorade I drank and other things I had eaten and went into lock down. I tried various combinations of water, soda, pretzels but nothing worked. I only took small sips of water and a couple of small cups of chicken stock for the rest of the way. No solids. I'm still not back to normal.

I felt a little better around the 20 mile mark and after mixing running and walking to mile 24 I resolved to run the final 2.2 to the finish. Except a small hill I had forgot about, I stuck to that and rounded the final corner to the finish line. It was an amazing feeling running down that stretch with probably 1,000 people on either side cheering for you.

The words I heard next were probably the greatest in my life behind hearing the doctor say my daughter was healthy and had all ten of fingers and toes. To hear the famous IM announcer say my name, where I was from and that I was an Ironman is something I will always remember.

It was then into the awaiting arms of the volunteers to made sure I was ok, gave me my finishers medal, hat and t-shirt and then one personally escorted me to the food tent and I was done. 13 hours 32 minutes. I said earlier that I would be pleased with around 13 hours and I am more than pleased now.

I know I said this earlier but I must restate how amazing the volunteers were yesterday. Together with most the amazing organization I have ever witnessed, thousands of cheering spectators along all the course, it was just incredible. There were over 3,000 volunteers making our lives a little more bearable out there. Everything we needed, we got. I never heard a complaint or sour word, just words of encouragement and just wanting to help. I think I will remember the volunteers long after I have forgotten the race.

There is a long list of people to thank for making this experience possible:

Lisa and Niki for putting up with the hum of the trainer in the living room every Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday
My mom, for staying at the race site from 5 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. and treating me with kit gloves today.
Tommy Oakman for his amazing training schedule and advice
Tony Camblor for his bike tools, posts on this blog and really nice voice mail after the race
And the rest of my family and friends who have, in one way or another, inspired me and help me attain this goal.

Thanks to you who have read this and made comments or sent me emails.

This has been an experience of a lifetime and while I might regret saying this now, one I don't plan on ever repeating.

Take care,

Greg

Ironman Eve

2007-04-14T09:34:00.000-07:00

Hello Everybody! I missed my post yesterday because of the late meeting at the race site.

Yesterday was pretty uneventful, except for the bike shakedown which revealed (1) the bike tech had put one of my aerobars on wrong so everything was off center and (2) I couldn't shift into the one gear I really need on Sunday. Thank god I borrowed a #5 wrench from Tony C. and then my friend's dad still had his bike stand and figured out the problem with the derailur (sp ?) very quickly.

Everything is golden now and the bags are packed. One last recheck and then they and the bike go into the car. T1 and T2 bags and the bike must be checked in by 3 p.m.

We walked around the race site to get my mom familiar with the layout so she will know where to camp for the day. The meeting was pretty cool considering it was a meeting. They had a pretaped instruction video on the big screen that explained how things will go. There are so many details that I've pretty much decided to be a lemming and follow the person in front of me.

The USA Triathlon guy was pretty hard core explaining the myriad of penalties we can incur and how we have to serve our sentences. I'm not sure how we are supposed to maintain a four bike separation with 2400 bikes on a three-loop course but I will either figure it out or get penalized. Sitting out a four-minute penalty for drafting might actually feel pretty good at the end of the day.

The weather is still perfect; they were calling for wind tomorrow earlier in the week but that may have changed. Nothing I can do about it if it hasn't.

The IM web site, www.ironmanarizona.com, will have live updates on all the athletes tomorrow. My number is 1619 if you feel like checking. I'm told you can view the finish via live streaming but that would require you to be up around midnight EDT. My mom will also have my cell phone, 828-400-5868, if you want to check in that way.

For obvious reasons, I won't be posting tomorrow but will whenever I get up Monday. I hope to have plenty of pictures, too.

Have a great Sunday.

Welcome to Ironman

2007-04-12T19:03:00.000-07:00

Well, reality set in today. This was my first exposure to that which is the phenomenon of Ironman. While only a small number of the total field was at the site today, I was very aware of of how fit everybody is. The question that hit me first was, do I belong here? I seem to ask that question at all races and usually the results prove that I do. The second question was, have I bitten off more than I can chew? It seemed that everybody I talked to was an IM veteran, full of confidence and faith in their conditioning. Me? Not so much at the moment.

Today was the first day we could swim in Tempe Lake. It wasn't as cold as I expected. Of course, the wet suit helped. It is very green. Apparently, they have had an algae problem this winter and while it wasn't slimy, you could barely see your hands in front. It's also not a lake like we think of; more like a wide channel. It will be interesting to see 2,100 people in it at one time.

After the swim it was time to check in. It was pretty much like a marathon check-in except with more details. The funniest episode of the trip thus far happened here. One of the volunteers, seeing I was from North Carolina, asked me to say something. After I told her that I spent half of my life in Arizona and only been in North Carolina for 17 years, she said that I sounded like I was from there. Evidently, I talk more Southern than I thought.

The event manager in me eyed the process a little critically. There was a huge bottle neck at the point where we were to get weighed and then go get our packets. One would think that a group that does this as often as North American Sports does, this would not happen. Regardless, the people were very nice and explained what I was supposed to do with all the race numbers in my envelope. Now, I have to pack the bags correctly and get them to the right Budget truck on either Friday or Saturday.

I drove a good portion of the bike route. The guy at the bike shop who said there were some hills has never been to our neck of the woods. All I saw was flat. If the wind is up, which it was today, it will be a bitch because there is nothing to break it along the entire route. Desert in every direction you look. I even had a tumble weed cross my path today. Please pray for a calm day.

Tomorrow morning I get to check out my bike and make sure it is working correctly. Nothing else on the schedule except a mandatory meeting tomorrow night in Tempe.

I took a few pictures but realized this morning I forgot the cable to the computer. A stop at Best Buy is on the docket to correct that. Hopefully, I can add some pictures to this in the next few days.

Props for the day: (1) a belated one to my father-in-law who got up very early yesterday to take me to the airport (2) the volunteers who staff this race and every other one we particpate in. Nothing would happen without them. Please thank them the next time you participate.

Have a great Friday and be safe.

Back in the Desert Again

2007-04-11T19:09:00.000-07:00

Greetings from the Valley of the Sun. After a rainy drive to Charlotte, 4 hours on the plane and few stressful moments when my bike did not come down the luggage shoot, all is well.

The bike was assembled without much incident although they discovered one of my aero bars has a slight crack. They gave me three slip ties and told me to tie it to the bars if it snaps during the race. Just what I want to think about for six hours.

It all starts tomorrow: My first experience at the athlete village and a swim in the lake. I want to run a little and even get on the bike but their is a smog warning and I don't want to chance getting clogged up. Hopefully, I can get out Friday.

The weather looks good for the race. Highs around 83 with some wind. As long as it is a tail wind, I'm good.

I hope to take some pictures for sharing tomorrow. We'll see if I can figure out how to work the camera and then download the pictures.

Props for the Day: (1) Dave at Motion Makers for finding my seat post clamp at the last moment and making the effort to find me and (2) Kelsey for getting home from surgery at Duke and now being taller than her Mom. Hang in there.

Have a great Thursday!

Introduction

2007-04-06T09:49:00.000-07:00

On Wednesday, April 11 I start my journey to Phoenix for Ironman Arizona. This blog is a diary of that experience. I hope to describe most of my experiences so friends and family can keep up with this craziness.

The actual journey started over a year ago when I decided to try Ironman. Arizona made the most sense since it was home for over 20 years and my mom still lived there. I could see her for a while and compete on familiar territory. Plus it is flat. Flat is good when there are 140.6 miles to travel.

I figured the swim would be no problem but the bike and run were going to be difficult. Since I had run a marathon a year earlier, and struggled mightily, I decided this was the place to start and then planned to run two in 2006. The Knoxville race in March sucked as bad as my first one in New Orleans but the second on the Outer Banks in November was encouraging.

The bike leg had always been my weakest leg since I had so little experience on one until I took up triathlon. I dedicated 2006 to getting better on the bike and I did. I took over 30 minutes off my previous PR at the Duke Half Ironman so I felt the 112 miles on the Ironman leg was a least possible.

One of the challenges of training for this race, at least for people in areas of the country who have cold winters, is getting enough miles on the bike during the key training months of January through March. The only option is an indoor trainer which is where I spent many, many hours. Thank God for the NFL and dvd players.

My next post will be on April 11. Be safe!