So who doesn’t want to do a half Ironman triathlon on their birthday?
When I was planning out the triathlon season back in March, I thought a half Ironman was an aggressive goal. Then I saw the SC Half was on my 35th birthday and had no choice. It had to be done. Nick and I talked it over and agreed. It had to be done. Probably a little wacko for a couple of newbies, but why not.
Enough of the intros and onto the action… Saturday morning the 27th, we loaded up the van (Nick and I and the wives) and started heading south. We stopped in Fort Mill, SC (right across the border and where my folks live) to drop off the girls and then swing out to the ASC Greenway to watch our good friend and chiropractor, Matt Hennessey, complete his first marathon. Matt opted for a trail marathon as his first, which was really cool. Except for the fact that the previous three days had been the hardest collective three days of rainfall we have had in about a year.
We received a call from his wife, Laura, saying that things were going much slower than expected and to take our time getting out there. Then we got another call about an hour later saying that, well, things were still going slow. Long story short, the marathon took Matt longer than planned, but we did get to see him motor across the finish line. Covered from head to toe in mud, soaking wet. It was a sight to see. Matt’s first marathon was technically an ultramarathon, as they directions got the field off course and added a couple of miles. We were and still are very proud of him.
Back into the van and off to Greenwood, SC, which is a small town in the northwest corner of SC, about a 2.5-hour drive from Charlotte. The direct route to Greenwood involved about 40 miles of interstate and the rest were two lane country roads out in the sticks. My only worry was this trip was happening in the middle of the little gasoline crisis we were having here in the southeastern states. We did end up coming across some gas near I-26 in SC. I’ve never filled the van that full. It was literally topped off to the gas can. We put like 115 miles on the van before the needle moved off the ‘F’.
We went straight to the race site to do packet pickup and scope out the venue/course. The race was at Greenwood State Park and it was fantastic. The swim was sort of an out and back point to point in Lake Greenwood. The bike was on very good two lane country roads with little to no traffic and the run two loops that were partially in the park and along roads near the park. Nick and I met a few of the folks from FCA Endurance. This would be our first race sporting the team colors. I can’t say enough about the whole setting at GSP. When you picture a perfect place for a race, this is it. Well, maybe Hawaii. Or Turks and Caicos. Anyway, it was nice.
Back in the van and off to the hotel to check in then find some dinner. We ended up at a local Italian place with a bunch of friends also there to do the race, including Brandon Whiteside, Peter Viola and Paul and Heather Simica. Allyson and I have another friend, Leigh-Ann Mueller, that was doing her first race as a pro. More on that later. We sacked down some carbs, laughed a bunch and headed back to the hotel.
I can’t remember what time we set the alarm for, but it was early. I think it was in the 4 o’clocks range. Getting ready was fairly uneventful until I went to slip on my brand new Team FCA Endurance triathlon jersey. I bought a medium and it was a little tight, which was fine. I like my jerseys to be tight. Shows off my gut, err, six pack. I got it over my head, reached up to pull it on and the seam in the front covering my gut ripped. Of course, I didn’t bring another jersey because ‘hey, why do I need another jersey? I mean, this one is brand new.’
So began the frantic hunt for something to patch it up. I ended up safety pinning it from the inside and it didn’t look too terribly bad. Of course it was covered on the swim with the wetsuit. You can’t see my gut on the bike. So it was pretty much the run to contend with. And if I would get off my duff and actually get rid of my gut, I wouldn’t have to be worried about it. Maybe I can do that this year – get rid of the gut. Or maybe not. I hate doing anything ab related. Except the giant exercise ball, but it reminds of childbirth.
The race instructions asked that everyone be in the park by 6:30 am. We got there at like 6:25 and ended up parking a really, really long ways away. I threw my stuff on my back, jump on the bike and rode to the transition area, stopping off at the state park welcome center for pit stop #2. Got to the TA and it was buzzing, as always. The TA before a race is one of my favorite things about triathlon. It’s dark. There is typically great music blasting over the PA. Everyone is giddy about the race. It’s great. My TA spot was great. On an end, close to the swim finish. Easy spectator access for Allyson. Close to Nick and Brandon. I felt like a pro. Not really.
I waited through two long lines in the TA – one for chip pickup and the other for a first time event for me, which was the weigh-in. Apparently on the longer distance races, they weigh you before the race, write it on your number bib, and then weigh you as you cross the finish line to make sure you are within range of acceptable weight loss. If not, it’s off to the medical tent for you, maybe for an IV. Or a stuff crust pizza. Or both.
Once we got everything setup, it was a short quarter mile walk or so over to the swim start, and also pitstop #3. Now this is probably the worst thing about triathlon – the porta pots. These things get very ugly in a very short period of time. It’s not pretty. Enduring the pre-race porta pot is actually the fourth discipline in triathlon. I’ve actually considered a pay-by-use porta pot service for triathlon and marathon events. Pay a few bucks, guaranteed clean pot. I think people would pay for this. I would. If you’d used one of these at an event, you would.
The setting at the swim start was glorious. Nick and I were in the last/novice wave, so we had a little time to take it all in. The sun was rising over the lake. Dew on the grass. Just glorious. We prayed with our wives, put our wetsuits on and headed out to do a little warm up swim. Now that I think about it, putting on a wetsuit is the fifth discipline in triathlon. They come off much easier than they go on. I’ve also learned that wetsuits find any unflattering or protruding part of your body and highlight it for you. Thanks, wetsuit.
The water temp was great. I think around 72 degrees or so. We had about a minute from when we got in the water to the sound of the horn. I hit my first snag about a hundred yards in. My right goggle was taking on water. I had to stop and tread, fix the leak and proceed. It threw me off a little, but not the end of the world. Also the way the course was set up, on the first leg every time I breathed to the right (I breathe every three strokes) I was staring directly into the sun. So I started closing my eyes each time I turned right to breathe. Also had to do this on the last leg, except it was to the left.
Overall, I felt the swim went great. The traffic was not too bad. I had a handful of run-ins in the water, but nothing major. I didn’t kick anyone’s goggles off. I accidentally grabbed a few feet and legs as I was stroking by, but nothing out of the ordinary. I had to stop one other time and clear out my goggles. I’d worn those same goggles dozens of times and never took on water. Crazy. Got to the boat ramp exit, climbed up and saw one of the officials with a clipboard point at me and yell ‘first novice out of the water,’ so that was good I suppose.
Got to the TA and it went really good. Allyson was cheering over my shoulder. The wetsuit came off very easy. All of the bike gear went on easy. All in all, couldn’t have been happier with T1. Nick had a great swim and was not far behind me at all. The only bad thing about my TA spot was I had a looooong trot to the bike start line. The clip clop to the bike start in your bike shoes can be a slow, frustrating, humiliating experience. Good thing everyone around you is in the same boat, so it’s not so bad.
Onto the bike and off for a 56 mile ride through the SC countryside. I had set in my mind to not go out too fast, which I didn’t. I took my time settling in, taking in some fuel and getting comfortable. I was going to be on this bike or the next three hours, so the more I eased in, the better. I felt really good though getting on the bike. This is not always the case. In fact, most of the time it is not the case. I noticed around mile 2 that my bike compy was not working properly. I had taken my magnet sensor off my wheels and put then on my friend Robert’s Mavic Cosmic Elites he let me borrow. I thought it would work itself out, but it didn’t. I was doing this ride sans a speedometer or odometer. The timer was working, but that was it.
I also started worrying because I was passing folks. And not old ladies, but guys that looked like they knew what they were doing. I thought I had to be going too fast, though had no clue (see previous paragraph.) I was also expecting Nick to go zooming by me at any time, especially given how close he was coming out of the water. We ended up meeting up around mile 9 or so. We talked briefly, and he passed. I was feeling so good I decided to keep my required USAT three bike length buffer and stick with him for a little while. Long story short – we proceeded to do that for the next 44 miles or so. It was just like one of our long training rides. And it was a blast. Looking back, that time with him on the bike was probably the highlight of the day. We traded off setting the pace. We were passing a lot of folks on really expensive bikes. It was a ton of fun.
Past that, the ride was kind of uneventful. Saw a few flat tires. The water handoffs were uneventful. A few spectators here and there, but nothing eventful. Around mile 53, I stepped on the pedals and led a sprint to the finish. The last couple of miles we were riding past runners who where on the other side of the road. We zoomed into the park and off the bike in 2:43:27. Now I was going to be ecstatic if somehow I could come off the bike in anything less than 3 hours, so needless to say I was a little happy. T2 went great as well. Slipped on the sleds and off for the run. The first four miles went great. Around mile 5, I started having some pretty major pain in my lower back. I’ve had this pain before on a number of occasions, so it wasn’t a shocker. I saw Allyson at the halfway turnaround and was in quite a bit of pain. I also started having some pretty serious IT band pain. By mile 7ish, I was walking through the water stops to ease the pain in both places. The run course was interesting too in that half of it was 100% shaded and cool and the other half was 100% not shaded and we were baking on an asphalt road. And it had warmed up significantly.
I saw all of my buddies on the run course on a few occasions, which was nice. We all got to encourage each other, have some laughs, and press on. I made the last turn back into the park and to the finish. I had been reduced to a painful, shuffling jog, but at this point I was committed to running through the pain to the finish. Everything was fine until about a quarter of a mile out when I saw Allyson. I had Hillsong’s ‘Mighty to Save’ going through my head for the previous couple of miles. I saw her and the tears started flowing. The tears were a combination of elation, disbelief, shock, pain, amazement, denial, anxiety, worship, love, hate (hating the pain), peace, relief, disappointment it was almost over, joy it was almost over, all at one time.
The finish looped around the base of a hill in front of the lake by the swim start. Then, to add insult to injury, the last 50 yards to the finish line was a straight uphill climb, where Allyson was waiting. My goal for this race was 5 hours and 30 minutes. I crossed in 5:13:13. Giant hug from my wife, congrats from our friend Leigh-Ann (who finished 2nd overall last year as an age grouper and returned this year as a pro and finished second to a girl with rockets strapped to her.) I jumped on the scale and I had dropped 1.5 pounds over he 70.3 miles. Not bad. I actually felt a little water logged.Then it was off to the medical tent. I couldn’t breathe due to the severe back pain that had ensued around mile 5. All of the other vitals were great, just couldn’t breathe. I think we/the medical staff determined it was muscle tightness and cramping causing the problem. They helped me rub it out and get comfortable, then it was off to the massage table. This was the first post-race massage I had received, and it was just short of ecstasy. I can’t remember the masseuse’s name, but at that moment, she was my best friend in the whole world..
We hung out and ate, rested, then Nick and I collected our 1st and 2nd novice awards. We then loaded up the van to head home. We got to the TA to load up the bikes and mine was completely covered with bees. I hit a bump on the road and Gatorade flew out of my aero bottle and onto the bike. The bees were having a feast on the sugar. The ride home was fun and painful. We stopped at Sonic and slugged a post-race meal. Did we watch a movie in the van? Seems like we watched a movie, but the pain and fatigue was slightly distracting.
The half Ironman experience will go down as one of my personal favorites of all time. It has definitely become my favorite of the triathlon distances. I’m looking forward to many more of them to come, quite possibly a repeat visit to Greenwood next year, although the race date was changed to October 4th. The M-dot event in Augusta is on September 28th. Hmm.
Official results - 1st place novice, 103rd of 415.
I owe big thanks to my friend Nick for being a great friend and training partner and for his support as we achieved much in our first triathlon season. More importantly, I owe an even bigger thanks to my wife and biggest supporter, Allyson, who endured the long training sessions, traveling to races, helping make financial sacrifices to see my dreams come to fruition. On to marathon season, Jacksonville on 12/21 and Myrtle Beach on 2/14/09. Then the Virginia Creeper on 3/29/09. Fingers crossed trying to qualify for Boston.
