IMLP 2011 Race Report(James/Geert)
Mile 0.0: I’m nervous. No, let me correct that, I’m anxious. I would be nervous if I hadn’t trained all year for this one race, but I did. I went through rain and snow storms in Chicago to do my long swims at 6am before meetings, I ran in Chapultepec Park in Mexico City in the middle of night just to get my long run in; some people call that a death-wish, I just told them that my IM-wish was bigger. I got into hypothermia in Fresno after jumping in a hotel pool, only to find out that Californians don’t heat their pools during winter but still consider them swimmable. I discovered all new corners of Connecticut and Massachusetts on the bike (man we live in a beautiful place). I was trained, but anxious now to do the actual race. Tom (i.e. DeLuca) and I worked out the swim strategy: start as far on the right shore as possible, front rows, and swim straight to the boat-house. Most people that start on the right end up veering left pretty quickly just to end up in the masses anyway, so going straight was a tactic to avoid the crowds. I had practiced this, sighted it, but now that there was more and more swim caps crowding in around me at the start line, I wasn’t too sure about the plan anymore. The canon goes off.
Mile 0.1: blblblblbupblupbslapbangslapslapblulpblblblbup. Get your feet out off my face. Take that. I’m gonna hit you where it hurts. Auw. Get out of my way! Auw. Bupblupbslapbangslapslapblulpblblblbup.
Mile 0.2:Uh, hello? Where is everybody? Did I go off course? No, I’m still heading straight for the boat-house and the kayakers are on my right. This is great. My biggest fear for IMLP had been the 3000 people swimming around me, and I’m not sure whether I just got more used to swimming with people around me, or whether it was really that quiet, but it felt like I was swimming all alone.
Mile 0.5: Veering a little more to the middle as distance between the buoys and the shore becomes narrower I thought it would get more crowded, but it didn’t. I have people around me, but they are all keeping their distance and swimming a steady pace like I am. This is perfect. Making a wide turn to head back and swimming as comfortable as ever. I am double-sided breathing and I never even once have to switch to single-sided, or stop for that matter.
Mile 1.2:Keep thinking about Tom’s advice: don’t get out of the first loop and start running to head back in. Slow down and walk easily in the water as far as you can walk and then slowly start swimming back into your pace. I had practiced this too, just not with a lot of people around me having different plans. Worked like a charm though – eased into the second loop and had a delightful second loop. I may be exaggerating that a little, but after freaking out for a year about the Lake Placid swim this was such a weight of my shoulders. I was a bad swimmer last year, and had decided in October to just stop swimming as usual for 2 months and start the Total Immersion program, just from the book (couldn’t afford the training camps). For 2 months, I did not do 1 normal swim-stroke. I just floated, balanced, sweet spotted, fished, skated, underswitched and did whatever else they wanted me to do, but I did not swim. And then in December I did my first swim-stroke and it felt amazing. I just gradually built distance afterwards, but made sure never to relaps into the old habits. I knew this wasn’t going to make me a fast swimmer, but it did make me a better swimmer. I can highly recommend the program to anybody struggling with the swimming part.
Mile 2.4:I probably did a bit more than 2.4 miles with the little detour I took, but came out of the water at 1:21, which is faster than I expected since my half IM time is always around 40 minutes. I was happy I survived the swim, and then got the cherry on the cake: a personal stripping session by Tara from the Biggest Loser. She handled my wetsuit expertly.
Mile 2.5:Got to kiss Mellie in T1 where she was directing the crowds in front of the change tents. Lifted my spirits right away. Seeing her do IMLP last year was an inspiration. I couldn’t have done this without her moral and practical support all year. Thank you honey, I love you (sorry everybody else). That changing tent was pure mayhem. I couldn’t wait to get on my bike but had to because there were about 500 people in front of me trying to clip in. Hurry up! On that little downhill I heard a lot of people screaming my name, but I had to look down at the road – thank you for the screams, I may not have acknowledged them but they felt great.
Mile 15:Come on, really? Stomach cramps again? I had suffered through most of Mooseman with severe stomach cramps that almost crippled me, but I thought I had eliminated all the possible causes this time – no more protein in my race nutrition, eat over 1000 (mostly liquid) calories before the race, eat right away coming out of the water, control electrolytes and CarboPro. Anyway, I was teetering on a cramp but it never really came.
Mile 23:Amy (Warrington) and I have been constantly biking in each others neighborhood, switching leads every few miles. She asks me how I’m doing and I tell her about the stomach cramps. She tells me to breathe deeply and breathe out through the nose to relax the muscles. Immediate positive effect; I still had that teetering feeling all throughout the bike and run, but never really cramped. Thank you Amy!
Mile 30: Bike chain gets thrown off by the front derailleur on the uphill at Jay. It blocks and I can’t shift it back on. Have to get off and work it back on. I don’t know what happened there; I had checked all my gears multiple times in the days before the race and never had an issue. Must have been something stupid that got the front derailleur off balance during transport. The bike was in top shape thanks to Brian and the gang at New England Bicycle. They have supported me all year with last minute orders, tune-ups and advice. Many thanks NEB. You guys rock!
Mile 58.4:Man it’s hot after that long climb back into town. Or is that the sight of Jim, Ryan and Paulito that just gave me hot-flashes? That was wrong in so many ways, and I can’t stop laughing all the way up the papas. Ben Fish is handing me my special needs bag and tells me I look great. Liar. Thanks Ben, it worked anyway. Ah, cold bottles of CarboPro that I had put in 3gallon ZipLock bags filled with ice in the special needs bag. Another brilliant piece of advice from Tom and Mellie.
Mile 70:My chain got thrown off again a few miles ago, but I shifted it back on without problem. Now it gets thrown off a third time and gets blocked really bad. I get off and put it back on, but as I start biking again something feels wrong – my rear wheel is rubbing. Amy passes me again and tells me to check it out before I start the big descent to Keene. I stop and find both my rear brake pads rubbing on the wheel. They must have gotten hit by the chain on the last throw-off. I spend a couple of minutes re-adjusting the brakes and testing them out, and finally get them back in order, but I am starting to get a bit nervous about my bike.
Mile 92:Flat. COME ON! This is my bad karma year for flats – 2 on Lake Placid training weekend in June, a couple during the Wednesday night rides this season, and now a flat on the out-and-back of IMLP. Stay calm. Well, my bike time is ruined anyway by now, but I can still do this if nothing else bad happens to the bike. It’s a nervous last 20 miles back into town, but I make it.
Mile 114.4:Much calmer in T2. I should have put sunscreen in my T2 bag too. Oh well.
Mile 116:I pass the Econolodge and all the Nauts are lined up, high-fiving me and cheering me on. It’s like a jolt of energy being pumped into you – makes all the difference.
Mile 116.5:I have barely passed the Econolodge and start feeling nauseous a few hundred yards further on. Uh oh. A large quantity of liquids leave my body in a projectile fashion on the side of the road with accompanying heaving sounds. Other athletes are telling me to hang in there and to get it back together. My mind goes very dark for a second knowing that I still have a full marathon ahead of me, but somehow I switch from an ‘emotional’ state to a ‘mechanical’ state. I know that if I walk fast, I have enough time to walk the entire marathon if I need to, and I can’t swallow anything right now, but I know that if I can get at least some sugar in me, I can keep burning fat and produce energy – I need coca cola. It’s weird how the mind works. I start running a little and walk through the first aid station on River Rd, I get my cola and it’s the best cola I ever had. I throw ice down my shirt.
Mile 121:I’m on a regimen of cola, orange slices and ice down the shirt now at every aid station. I run in between. I don’t feel great, but I can feel that I’m gradually improving. An inspirational message for me. I can do this, and yes, the pride will be forever. Thank you messenger. The idea of heading back into town and seeing everybody is making me run better again.
Mile 127: Back in town and the atmosphere is just electric now. Thousands of people are going crazy and are raising my spirits. I see Mike on the last mile of his second loop – damn! That’s amazing. I head back out and get a last Nauts cheering shower before heading on River Rd. This is where I realize what an incredible job Tom did to get me ready for this – I have never in my life even run more than 13 miles, and now I am in the race, have swum 2.4 miles and biked 112 miles AND did a half marathon, and I’m still going. Aside from my stomach issues, none of my orthopedic issues have acted up – the hernia, the achilles tendonitis, the shoulder. I can’t even feel any of them right now. As I start to realize that it’s actually going to happen – I will finish this thing – I’m starting to get this floatie feeling in my legs. I also start choking up from time to time; a lot of people have supported me throughout the year and are watching me, not just here in Placid but also on the computer, and I know this has been an Ironman for them too. I am proud that I will finally be able to show them that it was worth it.
Miles 139 – 140: The last two miles in town are indescribable. I’m ecstatic. This is the moment. I’m high-fiving every kid and every adult that sticks out their hands. Crowds go crazy as I come into the oval and start the last hundred yards towards the finish. I know they’ve been cheering for 3000 other athletes, but for a moment I feel like this is all for me. I see Mellie in the stands with a few other Nauts and realize that we did it – we’re both Ironman now. Mike Reilly doesn’t call my name; he probably can’t pronounce it and gave up. I don’t care; I AM an Ironman. Thank you everybody, all of you, for the advice, the support, and just being there and making this possible.