The Great Buckeye Challenge Half Ironman

After watching the Ironman World Championship yesterday.  I was inspired to finally share the story of this journey.  For those of you not family with a Half Ironman.  Its a 70.3 mile race that consists of a 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike, and a 13.1 mile half marathon.  

This journey began back in the Spring of 2012.  My dismal performance in the 2012 Cleveland Marathon left me feeling lost.  I was burnt out from training and racing.  Retreating to the world of cycling, I began to find myself again.  I started tagging along with some friends who were training for a Half Ironman that Fall.  After a month, they confronted me with....Your already training for this race.  You might as well sign up and do it.  My intention wasn't to do a race of this distance so soon, but to just get in better shape.  As race day approached, I began to panic about the swim and pulled out of the race.  I promised to return a year later, ready to finish the challenge.  The offseason was spent focusing on swimming and attempting to become more comfortable with that discipline.

The weather this Spring wasn't conducive to early season multi-sport speed.  The races I used to prepare for the Half Ironman this Fall were as follows:

Revolution 3 Knoxville:  DNF

Nordonia Hills Duathlon:  2nd in AG.

Clays Park Triathlon:  1st in AG.

Twinsburg Duathlon:  Qualified for National Duathlon Championship

Munroe Falls Triathlon:  1st in AG.

Huntington Beach Duathlon:  1st in AG.

The rest of the summer was spent focusing on increasing my endurance and perfecting my swim.  I made the decision to compete in the Buckeye Challenge Half Ironman as it was an inland lake swim and I felt more comfortable with this over a Lake Erie swim.  Training had been going perfectly until the morning of August 4th.  I was about 25 miles into a 56 mile ride / 6 mile run brick when I got into a bike wreck.  It was my own fault as I was not wearing cycling gloves on a very humid day.  I hit a bump at 25 mph and my hands slipped off the handle bars.

I finished the 56 mile ride, but didn't run.  You should have seen the weird looks I was getting while riding. 

It was a miracle that I didn't break anything, but my right side was riddled with road rash and I bruised my ribs after landing on a curb.  This was a complete disaster and I wasn't able to swim until a week before my race.  It also hindered my ability to run as it felt like someone was poking me with a knife in my ribs every time my right foot landed.

I thought long and hard about pulling out of this race.  The only real training the month leading up to this race was cycling.  Even that wasn't great, as I was too skiddish to ride my TRI bike and just stuck to my road bike.  I made the decision to finish what I started no matter how much it hurt or how long it would take.

In the days leading up to the race, the nerves began to set in.  It seemed like each day, the forecast became hotter...80's...90's...100.  I increasing became nervous about hydration as I've had cramping issues in the past during hot events.  I spent the days leading up to the race drinking anything I could get my hands on.

Believe it or not...I fit all this in transition. 

My bike set up for the big race. 

Swim
Saying this was the most important part of the day would be putting it lightly.  I've had my issues with swimming and I was beyond nervous.  I wasn't paying attention and left in the wrong wave and even made a wrong turn at some point too.  I was attempting  to focus and push the panic out of my mind.  Stroke, Stroke, Breath..Stroke, Stroke, Breath...Shit this is insane.  Stroke, Stroke, Breath, Fuck! why am I doing this.  I pushed on as my shoulders burned.  I could feel the flutter of feet in front of me and settled in attempting to benefit from the draft.  My nerves calmed a bit as I hugged the shore praying for it to be over.  Finishing the swim in 44:37.  A rush of excitement engulfed me.  I had made it!!!

Transition 1
It was a bit of a run up a hill from the beach to the transition area.  I made my way to my bike.  So excited that it felt like I was floating.  Off with the wetsuit, shoes and helmet on.  It was time to ride.  I opted for a standard road helmet over an aero as I thought the cooling benefits would be more important than aero.

Bike
Full of adrenalin, I monitored my heart rate a lot the first few miles to ensure I didn't go out too hard.  I was one of the first waves and I was coming up on the people racing the sprint and olympic distances.  It wasn't overly hot yet.  Even though the road was rolling a bit, it was smooth as silk.  There was a steady stream of slower riders on the right.  I just kept to the left as I passed one after another.  It was the perfect balance of speed, focus, and barely any effort.  It was cycling nirvana.  After passing through the turning points of the shorter races.  It was just me and the road.  It was a smaller race and there wasn't anyone else in my immediate area.  I could only see the next rider on long straight aways about a half mile ahead.  It was just me, the countryside, and the hum of the wheels cutting through the wind.  Everything was going well until mile 24.  I began to have discomfort in my left hip.  I'd never experienced anything like this and fortunately it went away.  My bike was set up with 3 bottles full of electrolytes and I was burning through it, but still on pace to make it do mile 36.  We had 3 options for a package drop and I selected mile 36.  It was starting to get warm out as mile Garmin temp gage was reading 99 on the road.  I was looking forward to a break as I approached the checkpoint.  I had caught and passed that rider in front of me finally, speeding away to the water stop.  The volunteer were great and found my bag quickly and I refilled my 3 bottles before heading out.  It was a quick right and a climb into a headwind.  I quickly began to worry as I didn't feel right.  My legs just didn't have any power left.  The temp was now reading 105.  I made it through the next 5 miles and the sun was just frying us out on the road.  Cramps in my quads had begun to set it.  I stopped a couple times in hopes that it would work out.  Counting down the miles, I just prayed for it to be over.  Shaking my head and cursing myself...I made it do the finish.

Transition 2
I caught a small 2nd wind as I whipped around the transition to the bike mount.  The road was lined with people who were cheering us on.  I dismounted and made it to my designated spot.  I was shocked at how many bikes were still missing.  Despite all the issues, I was still towards the front of this race.  Cycling shoes off, running shoes on.  It was time to finish this.

Run
I eased slowly into the run.  My legs were full of spasms and the temp was still pegged at 105.  The run was a two loop course that was flat except for 2 climbs up to the turnaround point.  It was primary a bike path with almost no shade.  I clomped along for the first mile and those spasms turned into cramps.  My leg completely locked up.  I just stood there in a panic.  Tears began to well up, was this it?   Am I done?  I made it through the swim, how could this be happening?  After a few minutes the cramp released and I began to walk.  I would the jog and cramps would set in again.  I knew if I was going to finish.  It was going to be a fight and it was going to be harder than anything I had tried before.  It was a walk...jog..cramp..walk...jog...cramp...walk.  I made it through the first loop in what seemed like forever and a day.  I was mostly walking at this point and my garmin was telling me it was a blistering 106.  To this day, I don't know how I made it those last 6.5 miles.  I had cramps at one point or another in my legs, arms, face, and hands.  My legs locked up on several occasions and it was so bad that my foot turned into what felt like a ball.  I just kept shuffling along, refusing to be denied.

Postrace
Certainly, the result wasn't what I expected and it was a small miracle that I even finished.  It was an even bigger miracle that I still finished 2nd in my AG.  Judging by the splits, I had an hour lead at one point.  Sometimes I wonder what may have been if I didn't have issues, but it was never about time.  It was about finishing what I started way back in 2012.  I feel more like a Half Ironman survivor than a finisher.  This was definitely the hardest thing I have ever done.  They always say you don't know what you're limits are until you push them.  I pushed them this day.  Pushed them farther and deeper than I ever imagined were possible.  I'm not sure what the future holds.  I had planned on doing an Ironman in 2014, but I can't imagine doing double what I did this day.  I don't have any desire to do long course triathlons again, but I learned a long time ago to never say never.  Plus, who knows.  I've been known to make some crazy race decisions after drinking a few Christmas Ale during the offseason.

Vermilion Harbor Triathlon

I competed in the Vermilion Harbor Triathlon this past Sunday.  It was my 2nd ever Triathlon and my first Olympic distance.  It consisted of a 1500 yard swim, 26 mile bike, and a 6.2 mile run.  That's double the distance of my first Triathlon and half the distance on my next race on 9/9/12.  I haven't said much about it, but since the Cleveland Marathon.  I've been training for Rev3 Sandusky Half Ironman on 9/9/12.  My plan was to train for the event and compete in a sprint distance as well as a olympic distance.  After surviving the Olympic distance, I would then register for the Rev3 race.  Well, that didn't work out so well as there was a price increase of $50 dollars on 8/1.  So, that kinda forced my hand a bit and I registered.  My worry all along wasn't the bike or the run as I've been able to ride/run that distance since completing the marathon.  My issue is swimming.  I've spent most of the summer in the pool and at the lake improving my swim.  I've made great strides and have come a long way, but still struggle at times.  Going into this race, I was very worried about swimming 1500 yards in race conditions.

This was my first trip to Vermilion and I never realized how far away it is from Stow.  Being roughly 60 miles away, made for a very early Sunday morning.  This race consisted of a variety of events to choose from including sprint and olympic versions of Triathlons, Duathlons, and relays.  My race was scheduled to start last, which was about 45 minutes after the first event.  I arrived extra early to ensure decent parking and a rack spot if necessary.  I made my way to the registration and to my surprise, they were already out of S,M, and L race shirts.  I was very disappointed as I was guaranteed a shirt for pre-registering and I was there 2 hours before the event.  They did say I will get it in the mail, but we'll have to see about that.  Still, very poor in my opinion.  Things continued to go South as I arrived at my assigned rack along with what seemed like the whole race in my row.  We were packed like sardines.  Everyone made the best of it and we worked it all out, but our row was by far the most crowded.  Once getting everything set up.  I tried to relax and finally got the courage to look at the Lake.  For those of you not familiar with Lake Erie.  Its a fickle beast and its truly like a box of chocolates.  You never know what your going to get.

Swim

From the beach the Lake appeared to be as calm as I've seen it in awhile.  The swim itself began on the beach.  From there we would swim out about a hundred yards make a left and swim about 400 yards or so then another left back to the starting area.  The sprint group would make 1 loop and I would make 2 loops.  I was a little nervous as this would be my first "you can't touch the bottom" race.  I was equipped with the security of my wetsuit, but this would be my first can't touch experience since the drowning incident a few years ago.  As I mentioned earlier.  I've come a long way and can easily swim over this distance, but if you compared it to running.  I'm still run/walking.  I need some breaks to calm down and reset.  Well, this wan't going to happen today.  I lined up in the back of my group, which consisted of clydesdales and men in the 30's.  My swim started out pretty good, but the swells were already throwing me off.  Making the left and heading down the backstretch.  I started to panic.  I wasn't ready for these conditions and not touching.  I tried to swim best I could making it to the next turn.  I took this part a little long, ensuring I could touch.  I felt tired and was not looking forward to the next loop.  At this point, I decided to quit.  I wasn't having fun and didn't want to be in the water any more.  After completing the first loop, I deciding to forge on as I didn't want to dnf my first race.  About half way through the 2nd lap.  I freaked!  I was tired.  My stroke was off and I got water instead of air a couple times.  To calm myself, I flipped over and did the backstroke.  I began to settle until someone started to swim of top of me.  I freaked again.  Swimming for my life.  I made the final left and headed back to shallower waters.  I was wore out and grossly underestimated the difference between swimming in an inland lake and swimming in Lake Erie.

Time:  27:49

Before things got crowded.

Transition 1

I managed this much better than races past.  I had no issues this time and even remembered to take off my Garmin before removing my wetsuit.

Time:  1:51

Bike

I went out aggressive on the bike.  I needed to make up for a crap swim and wanted to take advantage of the flat roads.  Or so I thought.  According to the race, this course was 386 feet of climbing.  Well, thats true if you were judging from the low point to the high point.  This course was full of rollers and it involved a lot of climbing.  To make things even more technical.  All the large descents had turns at the bottom.  This was a hard course and it took a lot of concentration.  A few roads were chipped and you had to search around for smooth parts.  Around mile 5, I had a major fail.  I recently purchased a aero helmet on eBay.  It was working out well, but a screw came loose and my sunglass shield separated on on one side.  I quickly move it behind me to save it, but only flapped around.  I had no other choice than unscrew it and toss it into someones yard and spent the next 21 miles riding with no eye protection.  I managed to ride pretty well.  Some riders tried to pass and then would squat right in front.  This was fairly annoying.  Luckily, I caught a second wind and rode away from everyone to the end.

Time:  1:17:12

Transition 2

The ride into transition 2 was really cool as it was a flat road surrounded by townspeople on each side cheering me on.  I had another great transition and even got my socks on with ease.

Run

The plan was to establish a nice endurance pace for the first 3.1 miles.  The route was a little annoying as it was on grass the first few tenths and I was paranoid about twisting an ankle.  I ran the first mile in 8:50 and felt pretty good.  I didn't realize how well I was doing until I started to get passed repeatedly by racers in team uniforms.  They were all really supportive and I continued to clomp along on my 9 minute per mile pace.  It was a fairly flat route and had a ton of water stops.  It was really nice to have.  I didn't have any issues until mile 4 when stomach cramps began to set in.  These cost me a few minutes towards the end.  Once arriving at the last turn, I saw my buddy Alex video taping the finish. As I turned, I almost made a Tosh.O moment as I tripped over a rock.  After recovering from the near disaster, I sprinted to the finish for a time of 2:46:21

Time:  57:48

Summary

This race was insane!  A lot harder than I had expected it be.  My thoughts were that it would be comparable to running a half marathon, but it was harder than that.  I can't say enough good things about Vermillion.  The town support was the best I have ever seen and there were more volunteers here than any race i've done.  It was really nice and allowed us to concentrate on racing.  I was pleased with my overall time.  It was good enough to win my clydesdale group.  Better yet, my time was good enough to beat all the groups that chose to race by weight over age!  The only problem was the swim.  I feel like I dodged a bullet on that one.  Being in open water with out the being able to touch is not fun for me.  That kind of ruined the day for me and I wasn't a happy camper after the race.  I'm not sure what I am going to do about Sandusky now.  I emailed them about doing a shorter event or deferring to next year and they said no.  Hopefully after another 3 weeks of hard swim training.  I'll change my mind, but right now.  I have zero desire to step foot in that lake again.  Its a shame I feel that way because I wish I could celebrate what was a great accomplishment, but I can't get over the fear and panic I felt.

Christmas Ale and my winner's medal!