#2363 - Final Thoughts

Taken by my wife at the finish line.

Final thoughts on Ironman. I completed the event in the top third of the field, and am happy with that. It was a long and painful day, especially running the marathon after putting out so much effort on the 112-mile bike route. I struggled with every mile, and they seemed to get longer and longer as the race wore on. In the end, I was happy to cross the finish line, to see my wife and five-year old son waiting for me, along with a few thousand other people.

The best part for me is that my triathlon season is finally over. My next scheduled work out is some time in... January. I've spent countless hours training for this season, lately putting in 4-6 hours a day. I'm burnt out and need a break. I hear a set of bagpipes calling me along with their friend, a pint of Guinness.

On a side note:

Jeff posted a comment about Ironman saying, "That's crazy, I could never do that". Sorry buddy but I have to disagree with you. With a certain amount of training anyone can complete the event. Sure you may not win the race, but winning is really a relative thing anyways. Your only opponent is not the girl or guy ahead of you on the bike course, but rather it's the little, nagging voice in your head that is telling you, "This is crazy, I can never do this".

#2363 - Part II

A worn bike rack sticker marks the location of a previous racer in an Ironman past. I wonder how Tod did?

Fifteen hours before race start, athletes begin to disappear from the streets. No longer are they jetting about on their bikes or running the last few miles. Training is over, it's time to rest, to prepare for the mental and physical challenge that is most rapidly approaching. Most are shrinking within themselves, looking for moments of peace and tranquility.

The Ironman roadies are working to transform Louisville's Fourth Street into the the race's finishing line. Streets are closed off, tents, flags, lights, carpets, music, all worthy of a Hollywood movie production. I looked at the worn carpet that marks the finishing line and couldn't help but wonder how many people have struggled to cross over it. How many people have spent months and months of their lives working and training; countless solo miles, following the endless black line in the pool, all to just arrive at this very same place?

A quiet night tonight. 0430 will come early enough.

#2363

I'm bib number 2363, out of some 2,500 triathletes that have arrived at the shores of the Ohio river here in Louisville, Kentucky. In addition to the racers there are almost 3,000 people volunteering to help out with the race, and an untold number of family members, well-wishers, merchants, and the just plan curious. In total Ironman is a huge spectacle that begins days before the starting gun goes off.

An athlete gives his bike a nervous final check-out.

24-hours before the race begins the city streets and hotels are filled with lycra-clad athletes doing their final tune-ups. Some of the best aero-dynamic carbon fiber that money can buy is zipping up and down the roads, propelled by lean, tan athletes that have poured their heart, soul and wallet into the last several months of training. I joked with one of the locals that, "Yup, Ironman has come to town, and you won't find a single hairy leg for five miles around".

I'm nervous, but then again I've always been that way before any athletic event. I used to be just as anxious before I took my "every six month" Army physical fitness test back when I was serving. I know that once I get into the water and find my stroke that it will become just another long training day for me, albeit with 2,500 of my closest friends.

More to follow.

Practice swim in the Ohio river. I opted not to do this as the conditions of the river are "questionable". It's not complicated... just follow the big orange buoys.

I Can Smell A Battlefield

Serenity next to the river.

I spent the weekend in Knoxville visiting my family. On the way back to Bloomington I decided to stop off at Louisville and take a look at the venue to the Ironman Louisville triathlon coming up in August of this year. Ironman Louisville will be my biggest race this year, and I wanted to "walk the ground" as it were. Strolling along the river-side swim exit I was reminded of George C Scott's line in the movie Patton, "I can smell a battlefield". I tried to envision the endless rows of bikes lined up on the shore; tens of thousands of spectators, volunteers, and athletes; lights; blaring music; the finishing line; the spectacle that is Ironman. I'm sure that on race day I won't even recognize the serene environment that I strolled through today.

Speed Freaks

Cervelo P2. My new triathlon bike for the '09 season.

I "aged-up" this year, which means in triathlon parlance that I'll be racing in the next higher age bracket, in my case against 45-49 year old men. This is something that athletes oddly enough look forward to, unlike birthdays. In the back of their minds their still 44-years old and racing against all of those old men and women, "I'll certainly do well". Yea, right!

The fact of the matter is that older athletes are doing better and better every year, putting up times that in years past would have swept the event regardless of age. Here are the qualifying times this year for the 45-49 year old age group, times necessary just to get into the Hawaii Ironman Championships; where the best Ironman triathletes in the world are swimming 2.2 miles, biking 112 miles, and running 26.2 miles:

At Ironman Arizona you needed less than 9 hours and 54 seconds.
Ironman Wisconsin: 10:36
Ironman Western Australia: 9:05!
Ironman Australia 10:47 (10.05 for 50-54 year olds!)

Men and women have been competing in these events for decades now, and are currently on the cutting edge of state of the art athletic training techniques. They know exactly what they're doing, and are amazingly consistent year after year in their performances. Some experienced racers are putting up their lifetime fastest times well past the age of fifty!

As Lance Armstrong returns to the Tour de France this year at the tender age of 37, I wouldn't be so quick to relegate him to the back of the peloton.