IMLP 2014 by Derek Bushey

Well for those who already know, it wasn’t quite the race I planned. In the end, I finished my first Ironman and that is all that matters! Sorry for the length but it was quite the day.

The day started with some questions on the weather. It wasn’t a matter of whether or not we were going to get hit, but when and how bad. How many times did we say “it could happen at Placid”? Well, it was time to find out. The morning was cool out but I knew it would be fine once I got moving so I wasn’t too worried about that.

Woke up early, had breakfast, and headed up to transition with Wayne, Paul, and Russ. Maria was nice enough to get up early and give us a lift most of the way. Thanks Maria! Went to transition and dropped off any last minute items in my run bag, and bottles on the bike. There were so many bikes in there. I’ve seen it the last couple years, but actually being inside the oval on race morning is an incredible feeling. My adrenaline was already started to amp me up! With the race bags and bike all set, we headed up to the swim start. We dropped of our special needs bags and decided to swing by Brant and Patti’s condo (much nicer to use a real bathroom than a porta potty). With that business done, we put our wetsuits on half way and headed to the beach.

One last group photo of the racers and it was time to line up.

Swim:
Well finally it was time to start. They began filing us into the water right at 6:30, 10 minutes after the pro men went off. They did it in waves and gave small gaps between groups so it wasn’t a log jam. This really did feel like a great way to start the swim. Much safer than the mass start that used to happen. Once I entered the water, I realized that people really don’t line up like they should. I ended up catch quite a few people in front of me and got caught by a few that were behind me. By the time we got to the few buoy, it had settled down a little. There was still some fighting through the crowds (including getting punched, kicked, and pushed) but I was able to settle into a pace I was comfortable with. The second loop around had me thinking “Do I really have to do this again?” Oh well, whatever it takes! Part way out to the first turn buoy for the second time, I could feel something hit my hand. I looked on the next breath and it was pouring out! Great, this is going to make for an interesting bike ride. Focus on the swim, have to get that done first! The second loop was a lot better as it spread out pretty good by that point. Finished my swim, came out of the water, and who was standing on the beach? Jill! She always seems to be everywhere on the race course! I had also just managed to finish my swim before lightning struck the beach (yep, I said lightning).

T1:
Well now that the swim was over, I booked it to transition. Had to get the bike going as I knew that was much better than my swim and I could make up some time here. Don’t get me wrong, I had no illusions about getting an AG spot, but I thought I could improve my standing here. Grabbed my bag off the rack, went into the changing tent and threw on my biking gear. While in the process of getting my riding shoes on, we heard the biggest crash of thunder. The entire tent started cheering. What else can you do at this point? We were going to have to earn that metal today. Now that everything was done, I threw my swimming gear in the bag, handed it off to the volunteer and took off for the bike.

Bike:
It was raining pretty good right at the start of the bike. Fortunately, I can handle the cold pretty well so that wasn’t an issue. However, I knew the long downhill was going to be a bit dicey. It definitely was. The rain picked up so hard that it felt like getting hit with hail! Passed Paul H on the way down because he was smart and taking it a little easier. That and my brakes just weren’t working as they were so wet. I was hitting both and still moving 30+. The really worrisome part was the fact that I couldn’t see any potholes that might have been in the road. Fortunately, I made it all the way down and got onto the flats. That was fun. Was able to push a pretty solid pace into the out and back then hit the start of those wonderful hills (by wonderful I mean those $&##$*%&#&* hills). There were some good signs out there that made it interesting. Also had plenty of chances to perfect peeing on the bike. Saw Rich Conroy after the second out and back and just tried to keep him in site. The guy was cruising! The bears were everything I was told. It was like being at the Tour de France with tons of people on the road pushing you up. Saw so many Cyclonauts there which made it even more fun. Of course Jill was among them.

Lap 2 was a lot more fun. By this time the rain had stopped for quite a while and the roads started to dry. The downhill was a lot more fun because I was able to push the pace. Didn’t see Conroy anymore as I had stopped at special needs and he got away from me. Once I hit the main out and back the second time, I saw Wheels who was also looking great. Seemed like everything was coming together for him. Not bad after just recently crashing on the bike. Nothing too interesting on the rest of the second loop except for the group by the campground near Whiteface. A couple guys wearing some of those banana hammocks you see on the Tour. Saw a cop ride by as I was getting close and he just shook his head at them. Wayne managed to catch me by this point and I was just trying to keep him in site. Managed to finish at basically the same time as Wayne into T2.

T2:
Rode into transition, stopped, and tried to dismount. For some reason my leg didn’t want to go over the top of my bike. Can’t image why that would me. Once I finally got off the bike, I headed over to grab my bag for the run. Went into the changing tent and saw a little more of Wayne than I’d intended. People weren’t kidding when they said there was a trough in there too. I was changed quick and got out of there on to the run.

Run:
Everything was going just as I’d planned. Started the run a little quick with about an 8:00 pace for the first mile. Realized that was way too fast and backed it down. The second mile was 8:30. Still a little too fast so I slowed a little more to a pace of roughly 8:50-9:00. This is right where I wanted to me. Did this for the entire first loop except for the hills when my HR would climb. Saw a lot of Nauts out there all looking like they were crushing it. I didn’t want to get caught up with them because I knew that would end badly so I just kept looking at my watch and holding my pace. Finished the first loop and just thought to myself “only 13.1 more miles and I’m done!” Got going on the second loops and still felt good. Ran by the campground and saw everyone there. That was a great thrill to see everyone out there. As I was pacing the horse farm I saw a lot of people starting to walk. Figured this was not a good sign but I still felt alright so maybe they just pushed it too hard. Went down the hill toward the turn onto the out and back then started to feel a bit fatigued by nothing I haven’t felt before in training. Backed it down a little to try to hold that steady pace. Was almost at the turn around and I knew I was in trouble. The pace started to fall fast. I hit the turn around and just said to myself that I only had to go a few more miles. Famous last words.

I couldn’t go anymore and had to walk. Decided I’d just walk for a bit and try to loosen up a little. Once I hit the aid station, I grabbed some fluids, popped a gel and decided to run again. I made it 10 feet. I couldn’t believe it. I was so close and everything was starting to fall apart. I’d done this so many times before in training. How could this be happening now? A couple Nauts ran by me either heading to the turn or going by me. I don’t know why but I started getting a little choked up seeing them and realizing the state I was in. A couple walked with me for a bit to see if I needed anything or to offer some words of encouragement. I told them I was good. I didn’t want to mess with their races and wanted to get them going. Finally walked my way back to the main road and went up the hill. As I got close to the campground, I really started to fall apart. I took some deep breaths knowing I would be seeing a lot of friends and they would be seeing me at my worst. Once I got there, a couple walked up to me and I lost it. I’m not sure if it was embarrassment at my stat, the fact that I was letting people down (I know this isn’t true but it’s hard not to think it at this time), or the fact that I had expected so much more. I was in full blown tears. Went by the Econo Lodge, saw some more Nauts and was crying even harder. After getting past this point I was able to get a better emotional state. I started walking down the small hill toward the next aid station and I was stuck. I couldn’t walk anymore. The aid station was 20 feet away and I couldn’t make it. I had 3 miles to the finish and I couldn’t make it. I was bent over at the waste trying to empty my stomach. Lida and Lisa stopped by on their way out on their second loop. Apparently I looked like death. Finally, I was able to get going again and made it to the aid station. I grabbed some coke and walked the long walk up the Subway hill. At this point, Joe, Bill, and Jim C had joined me and were pushing me up the hill. I was very thankful they were there. They got me up the hill to Mirror Lake Drive. I only had 2 miles to go. I started up the hill to the last out and back but had to stop every few feet. I was close to passing out. This was not going to happen. I made it past the aid station to a DJ tent and hurled. This helped my stomach. I finally made the turnaround after 45 minutes. That’s right. 1 mile in 45 minutes.

Only 1 mile to go. Now it got ugly. I was stopping even more frequently than the previous mile. All I could think was I was going to collapse 1 mile from the finish. I dry heaved a few more times every couple stops. Jim C came to check on me and found me in rough shape. I had so many people trying to push me to the finish. I wanted it so bad but I didn’t think I’d make it. I was a couple hundred yards from the turn and I had to sit down. Multiple Nauts had passed checking in. Russ was lucky enough to catch me when I was down. He stopped to check in and then went to finish his race. Apparently when he went to the aid station, he told George Harrick (who had been working there) about my state. George had the volunteer director call an ambulance. I saw the ambulance go by not realizing it had been for me. Fortunately, they were looking for a downed racer but by this point I was up and walking again. After the ambulance passed, I was again bent over trying to hurl up anything that was in my stomach. The ambulance passed twice more but each time I was walking so they never knew I was the racer they were looking for. Finally I get to the downhill toward heading to the oval and again I have to stop. The crowd started cheering loud to get me moving. With much effort, I’m able to get down the hill and into the oval. Jim is sticking with me on the side to get me there. At this point people are passing me left and right but the crowd is just chanting trying to get me there. I finally round the corner and see the finish. I looked like the saddest person ever but it was finally in sight. The crowd was so loud I thought my ears were going to bleed. I wanted to raise my arms but couldn’t. I just shuffled across the line and gave a weak raise with one arm. I had finally done it.

The medics raced over to me and got me into the tent. I was there for somewhere between 30 and 45 minutes before I was finally released. At one point, I opened my eyes and Jill was there. She really is everywhere on the course! It wasn’t the race I wanted but I’m still glad I did it. I’m gratefully to everyone who was there to get me to the end. I’ve never been so low at a race or suffered so much. If all of you hadn’t been there, I would never had made that line. Thank you all for what you gave me on that day.