Ironman 2006… The Race Story…

Part 1, before the race….

I have to say, this day was, by and far, better than I could have anticipated. I found I was incredibly calm and controlled throughout the week, leading me to either feel like I wasn’t excited enough, or I was so in control of my nerves that I was just right for a great day.
In the morning Pascal, Dominique and I rose at 3:45am to start getting prepared for the day. My goal was to have breakfast as soon as possible and allow my body to absorb the calories, and then gently get ready. I had packed everything the night before, so very little thought needed to be put into my preparations. Pascal went off to Denny’s for his grand slam breakfast…. Something I think I won’t ever do before a race.

I ate a bagel with peanut butter, a bowl of oatmeal, and a banana. I had eaten pretty steadily throughout the week leading up so I didn’t see much need to over-indulge. I was going to be eating plenty during the day, according to my plan.
We left the room and were offered a ride to the start by someone from the Tri Club. As we were driving away, I realized I had left my prefilled water bottles in the room… Ooops. We had to go back. Dominique realized this as well, so I wasn’t alone.

We got to the transition area, and speedily passed through the body marking and check in areas. I was still pretty relaxed. I went to my bike to pump up the tires to 105 psi. That’s usually my standard. Others go to 120 but I figured that would be good enough and I would be okay, as the day looked to be a warm one, and I wanted to make sure my tires didn’t expand due to the heat.
I lent my pump out to some other racers. In situations like these, it’s best to get as much good karma as you can.

We regrouped and met back at the Peach at 6:20am, to find our coach and get some last words in, and meet up with other people. Many of the folks I thought would meet us there were nowhere to be found, so that was somewhat disappointing, but I put it in the back of my mind and just focused on the race itself.

Dean gave us a little pep talk, and threw in some gems for the race like remembering to thank people along the way, and to enjoy each moment. I’ll take those with me for this race, for sure.
We got into our wetsuits, and headed down to the water. 2500 people going in at the same time is a little nerve-rattling, so I decided to get a quick warmup in before. Good to get the heart rate going and calm down, getting a feel for the water as well. Also, I did this same routine in Osoyoos and, given my time there, I wasn’t going to mess with success.

I thought about the swim, about the day, and about what I wanted to get out of this. Mostly, I was just happy to be here. There had been a lot of reasons to quit along the way, and I had not allowed them to permeate into my life. I had fought through the cast and, while not at 100%, I was good enough to start. My practice swim on Thursday had affirmed that, as well as my swim the day before. I could not be more ready for this. I stared out to the first turn… Man, that’s a long ways away.

Then the nerves hit…

I calmed down, realized my goggles were all fogging up, and cleaned them out. It was a beautiful, clear day, and this was going to be a wonderful swim start. No wind, a beautiful sunrise, and no complaints.

6:59am… We’re one minute away from the start. You can feel the anticipation mounting. I tried to crack a joke, “how far do we have to swim again?”… Corny I know…

At 6:59, you can’t do anything more other than start. That’s it, the clock gets going, and your time doesn’t stop until you cross the line. So, anything along the way is either making you quicker or slowing you down….

We’re all the same at 6:59. Nobody has beat us out of the starting gate, nobody has had a better swim, bike, or run. We’re all equal. We all have a story that will be individual, unique, and special. We all are Ironman athletes. Getting to start this race is a unique and special moment, and something we should all be grateful for the opportunity to do. There is so much in the world that is terrible and destructive, and we have the luxury of doing something positive, spending our energy on something so self-fulfilling. Maybe, just maybe, the positive energy and vibes from such an event can spread through the spectators, the volunteers, and the athletes to the world outside, and we can make the world better by becoming better…

7am… The Canon goes BOOOM….
(tomorrow the swim).