Ironman 2007
On Sunday August 26th I had the opportunity to compete in my 3rd Ironman Canada Triathlon in Penticton B.C. An Ironman consists of a 4km swim, 180km bike and then a full marathon (42km) run. This was the 25th anniversary of this event and therefore they allowed more than the usual amount of athletes. In fact, there were 2,588 people who started the race. This is the largest Ironman mass swim start in history. To say there was standing room only on the beach before the starting cannon went off would be an understatement.
Normally the swim can get very rough and congested. Try to imagine nearly 2600 people all swimming at the same time. However, the swim this year was relatively uneventful. Other than the occasional arm in the face, and kick from the swimmer in front of me, I managed to get through the swim without any major collisions or panic attacks like I have had in previous races.
The highlight of the swim leg was seeing an underwater diver, known as a “frogman” staring up at me from the bottom of the lake and clapping his hands underwater. There are 26 Ironmans around the world, but Ironman Canada has the reputation for having the best spectators and fans. I was impressed that the volunteer divers who were there to ensure our safety on the swim cheered us on with the same enthusiasm and excitement as the ten thousand spectators who lined the streets of Penticton to watch us ride our bikes and run.
The only problem that I encountered on the swim was that I did not have my goggles adjusted properly and they kept filling with water. I had to keep stopping to fix them. My left eye was sore for an hour after I got out of the water from all the water that my goggles kept taking in. Try keeping your eyes open underwater for an hour and you will have idea as to my discomfort!
I got out of the water in 1 hour 17 minutes, which was a few minutes slower than I wanted, but not enough to throw me off my game plan. Having done the race twice before, I have learned that a few minutes here and there are nothing in the big scheme of things in an Ironman. I have also learned the hard way in other races that if I spent anytime worrying about my swim time, it could get in the way of the rest of my race. So I quickly turned my focus to the bike.
In my previous two Ironmans, I went way too hard on the bike and then paid the price dearly on the run, or should I say walk! My goal this year was to ride at a pace that left my legs fresh enough to run a 4:10 (4 hours, ten minutes) marathon.
The first 65km on the bike were very easy and my average speed was well above 35km/hr. This is faster than I would normally ride but it felt easy. I happen to notice a flag blowing in the wind. The flag was blowing very hard in the same direction as I was traveling. I knew when we made the turn to head back to Penticton that things would not be so easy, as we would then be riding into the wind. Once again, this was an understatement. When we made the turn to head back, it was like you ran into a wall. The wind was much stronger than it was the previous two years. This made it a tough grind for the next 4 hours.
But I am happy to stay I followed my game plan on the bike to a tee. I watched as many riders passed me on the 14km mountain climb, known as Richter Pass. However, by the time I hit the last mountain climb, Yellow Lake, I was passing many riders, who had made the rookie mistake of going too hard in the early going while their legs felt fresh.
I also followed my nutrition plan precisely. I had 2 bottles of Gatorade, 3 Power gels, and 2 salt tables every hour.
I finished the bike in 5 hours and 45 minutes which was bang on with my goal. However without wind I think I would have gone 5:35. My average speed for this 180km bike ride was just over 31 kph.
I knew when I started the run I had paced it right. My legs felt great. I remember getting off the bike last year and thinking “oh my, my legs are tired, how am I going to run a marathon?” Not this year. I felt great running out of town.
My game plan was to make it to the halfway part of the run in 2 hours. I actually made it there in 1:57. Then I planned on running 2:10 back. But when I hit the halfway part of the run, my legs still felt strong. I was able to hold the same pace until about mile 19. At that point I started to really hurt and my pace slowed considerably. However, because I was able to run at a faster pace earlier on, I built up a nice buffer. I ran a 2:04 for the second half of the run, which gave me a total run time of 4:01, ten minutes faster than what I was hoping for.
Like I did on the bike, I followed my game plan of 3 power gels, 2 Gatorades, and 2 salt tables every hour.
It was a different experience running the entire marathon. I passed hundreds of people and enjoyed the day so much more. Running an entire marathon when you have gone too hard on the bike is painful. This year the pain did not start until the last 6 miles of the run. I told myself “you can handle one hour of pain, just keep moving”.
There is nothing to really compare the feeling of crossing the finish line of an Ironman. It’s not just the feeling of tremendous accomplishment for the day, but for the entire year of training required to prepare. All the 8 hour Saturday workouts followed by 3 hour runs the next day, all the early morning swims in the middle of winter when the last thing you want to do is jump in a pool, all come together in a few glorious minutes as you run past ten thousand people along Lakeside Dr. in Penticton and then over the finish line as the announcer screams, “Jason Greenlees, You Are An Ironman!!!”
My total time was 11:13:15. Two minutes faster than my goal. It was a great day and one that I will remember forever.
