Ironman Hawaii...The Run and The FINISH

Heat, Heat, and more Heat.

When the temperature gets too hot and other race directors cancel marathons...Ironman continues!

It was a rough day on the bike and seeing that "Bike In" sign was relief. I handed my bike to a catcher, ran the 1/4 mile through transition, grabbed my transition bag and ran into the tent to emerge as my alter ego...WHITE HOT!

Run Plan: Stay Cool (as cool as running in a hot, humid, environment on and through lava fields allows), force the nutritional plan (failed in Louisville), Stay cool, and stay relaxed. Ha! I had planned on running through the aid stations until the ice station, then stop, fill up with ice, and run until the final water station and grab 2-3 waters.

The first mile was the mile of heaven and hell. The sound of the crowd, at least 3-5 people deep the entire first mile, motivates a strong first mile. I wasn't feeling it. I thought if the next 25 feel like this..."I may not finish!" The first aid station comes and it works perfect, 3 cups of ice, a gatorade, and 2 waters, maybe this won't suck too bad...

Question: How does 3 cups of ice melt in less than 1 mile?

Answer: It is hot as a mutha......!

So the first 5 miles down Ali'i Dr are pretty good. I handled the hills well, even paced, "Hey! I'm actually RACING!"

I go through the turn around at mile 5 going back to Kona with a positive attitude...At least my left leg is getting its chance to be sunburned now. It is hot!

Mile 10 is the killer, the run up Palani is a serious hill. At this point I was still racing. I was being passed every now and then and as long as their pace wasn't too ridiculous, I would try and hang with them until I felt I was doing too much damage to myself. I WAS EVEN PASSING PEOPLE WHO WENT OUT TOO HARD!!! Ironman was claiming its victims.

Did I mention it was hot? Well I thought it was hot until I turned onto the Queen K Hwy. I didn't realize at the time that at least Ali'i Dr. has some areas of shade. The Queen K is a perfectly black moonscape with no shade and it was radiating the heat straight up from the road. When the heat from the road makes your kneecaps so hot that you forget about the pain in your legs...it's hot!

At this point I'm still racing (I'm going the distance...I'm going for speed) and I'm picking off those that went too hard, succumbed to the heat, or just slower runners (yes there are some people who are able to run slower than me). But the downfall is beginning. I'm experiencing some dizziness and a little hyperventilation...heat! I start walking the entire aid station from the first water station to the last. I grabbed 2 waters, drink 1 pour 1, grab gatorade, grab coke, sponges and ice and stuff those anywhere they go (yes even there) more gatorade and more water to drink and pour. Its a cruel game. The more you walk the better you feel, but walking only extends the misery. How much pain do I want? I'm losing the race! Am I really racing at this point? How much longer can I keep this up...Hey there goes Chris Lieto in 2nd just behind Craig Alexander...Who gives a shit because I am way too hot.

That was the crap going through my mind preceding the biggest expolsion I ever had while racing. Looking back at the randomness of the thoughts and the questioning of myself and motivtions, I should have known the big POP was coming...but I didn't.

I turned left into the Natural Energy Lab. Private property with no media or spectator acess. 2 miles out and 2 miles back, the first 3/4 and last 3/4 of a mile are downhill and uphill respectively. Did I mention the heat and this was going into the hottest part of the day? I pass Ain Alar-Juhanson, last year's fastest pro bike split, I tell Ain to run with me but he is cooked. They say that the Energy Lab is where the race really begins. It is where mine ended.

Halfway back up the hill, running uphill with a tailwind in a lava field in the hottest part of the day...I POPPED! CRACKED! BONKED! BLEW! SHATTERED! EXPLODED! ERUPTED! (fitting considering I'm on a volcanic island, surrounded by volcanoes, on a lava field)

I didn't even see it coming. First it was the questioning and random thoughts before coming into the energy lab. Then at the turn around in the energy lab I got a side stitch. I've never gotten a side stitch (for the record...they hurt) and it was forcing me to alter my breathing pattern and literally bend my body to alleviate the pain. I stopped...NO DON'T STOP...I stopped! I bent over and put my hands on my knees. I looked around, there was no shade...ANYWHERE!

ARGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!! FUC*ing Sh!T!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WHAT THE FU^& AM I DOING HERE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

6 minutes. My Garmin shows me stopped for 6 minutes. 6 minutes of yelling therapy? Pain relief? Cooling? Why stop for 6 minutes in the hottest part of the course? That was seriously the closest I have ever come to throwing in the towel. I was done. I didn't want to run the 6 miles back into town. I had lost it...my motivation had been cooked out of me. But just as Ironman can be a bitch...If I quit, I've still got to get to the top of this freakin' hill.

At the top of the hill is Ironman's motivational signs with music and a DJ. As I pass through it (running...errr...plodding) the motivational girls says, "Nice Job 1341...keep it up, looking strong!"

In my head I am erupting again, screaming at the top of my lungs, "Shut the F*&^ UP! LOOKING F*&^ING STRONG? LOOK AT ME! I'M A F(*&ING MESS AND YOU WANT TO TELL ME NICE JOB! JUST SHUT THE F*&^ UP YOU MORON!"

Yeah, there were some anger issues coming out of the Energy Lab.

The next few miles were pretty uneventful and fairly slow. I saw Mark and Marit...Sorry I wasn't in a chatty mood ;-)

I got passed and passed a few back...It got quite. Everyone on their way back to Kona held their heads a little lower because the Energy Lab had taken its toll.

Mile 24, maybe 24.5...The final hill! I can see the waterfront. I can hear the finishline. I AM GOING TO MAKE IT! The run down Palani hill is much better than running up. Now the crowds are immense. 10 deep lining the whole course to the finish. If ever I was going to run a 5 minute mile, this would be it...but I had popped several miles back and was just happy to be finishing...

The final 1/2 mile down Ali'i Dr is miraculous. It is everything I ever wanted from Ironman. I was beaten and bruised, my ego had been blown out 6 miles earlier (truthfully it was gone by mile 40 on the bike). I wasn't winning the Ironman but the crowd didn't seem to know that; at that moment, I WAS THE CHAMPION! When my feet hit the carpet for the final 100 meters to the finish I was invincible. It was the closest to crying as I will ever come due to a race.

Next Lesson! Don't bend over immediately after finishing an Ironman.

Ummm, where did everyone go?

40 minutes later after leaving medical I felt like a champ. I ate, took some pictures, waited for transition to open to get my bike, and then went to Outback for protein and beer.

That's it!

It's over!

That was the Ironman World Championship on October 10th, 2009 for racer #1341