Who wants to go to Kona anyway?

Well, the race is over and it did not go the way I had planned. Although I followed my plans, race and nutrition, I did not have the race I was hoping for. I missed my goal times in the water, the bike, and the run. That being said, I set a PR for my overall time and there was A LOT of
adversity for me to overcome.

When we awoke at 4:00, there was the all too familiar sound of rain pounding on the window...not a good sign, apparently the weather forecasters in Europe are much more on top of their game than the Portland, Oregon folks. I ate my wonderful plate of spaghetti which is my new favorite pre-workout meal. However, I think I should try a different sauce, since the tomato sauce kind of came up a little during the swim.

The swim was a deep water start with about 2,200 of my closest friends all speaking different languages. It was without a doubt the cleanest, easiest swim start in my experience. I did the first lap in about 28 minutes which was just about where I wanted to be, since now that I was warm, I might be able to get it down to a 27 minute lap. Well, that was the plan, but that is where it all started to unravel. As I dove back in the water, my goggles got a little messed up and a little bit of water got in my right eye. This only irritated my cyst on my eyelid, so now my eyelid was actually rubbing on the inside of my goggle, not a big deal, just VERY annoying. At about the first buoy the wheels started coming off. People started passing me left and right, I had to do something. The next person who passed me, I jumped in right behind him and drafted my way to the finish line. While swimming the only thought going through my head was this dude is nowhere near the swimmer I am, but today he sure is much better. I finished with a fairly respectful time of 1:00:01 (a personal PR, but I was shooting for a 55:00).

Now on to the bike. All I have to say is that the Europeans sure know how to ride bikes...holy crap are they FAST. I went out with the plan of eating bananas, taking one water and one Power Bar drink at each aid station...easily done. I also went out planning on cruising at 22-24 MPH knowing that is a good pace for me that I can hold for hours without too much complaining. As I was going at my pace, rider after rider flew past me like I was standing still. Unlike the old Jim, I let them go with the mantra of ride your race, and they will come back on the run. I had heard of the hill known as The Beast and it sounds scary, but it really did not have any teeth. Again, unlike the old Jim, I just put it in a fairly easy gear and made my way to the top...I did not attack the hill at all. Then came the hill that I had not put any thought into what so ever. They call it "Heartbreak Hill." Holy crap, is that aptly named. It is a hill that climbs 85 meters in about 1/2 km. What does that equate to, steeper than CRAP. According to my dad, it is about a 20% grade. First lap of the bike is now over, and I am feeling good, other than being freezing cold...I could not feel any of my fingers or my toes...I am so glad I spent way too much money on a jacket for the race. First lap was completed in about 2:45...right on pace. Then, just like the swim, the wheels started to come off on the second lap. I started slowing down on the ups and maybe even a little on the flats...carrying a 21-23 MPH pace. I also had to pee...a first in my Ironman career. I could not go on the bike, so I had to get off and use a bush. I pushed and pushed and noting but PAIN would come out. Finally some pee came, but with a ton of pain (little did I know, but this was a BAD sign for later in the race). As I approached the hills on the bike, for the first time since I have been riding, I was not excited about going up, I just wanted off the bike. The second time up Heartbreak Hill was AWESOME the crowd was at least five people deep, screaming, ringing bells, banging drums, etc., etc., etc. There was about five feet of clearance to ride your bike between the fans. They would stand in your way and move right at the last second...picture the Alpe d'Huez climb in the Tour de France...the greatest experience I have ever had on a hill climb. Remember, it was very cold and raining, otherwise there would have been many more people up there. After 5:51:54 I was finally off my bike and on to the run course. I had very LOW expectations, since the last bit of my bike was such a struggle.

I put on my running shoes and to my surprise, my legs felt GREAT. On the first lap, I ran about 8:34s and felt awesome. Everything was going great with a first lap of about 53 minutes, and my legs feeling great, I was starting to believe that I would be able to run a 4 hour marathon...a great accomplishment for me. Keeping about the same pace on lap two and still feeling great, I knew that the 4 hour mark was mine. Around mile 10 I really started having some weird pains in my back and bladder area. I peeled off to pee in the trees. The horrible pain I talked about on the bike came back, but MUCH worse. Finally as the pee came, it did not look right. Last time it was clear, this time, it looked like diluted cherry Kool-Aid. About a 1/2 mile later, I saw Heather. I asked her to call my dad and see what it means if there is blood in your pee. She called him and the directions from my personal doctor were to STOP...it is not worth it. I decided I would not quit, but I would just walk the rest. At the second turnaround, I saw my parents, and I don't remember ever seeing such concern on their faces. I told them that I did not fly over here not to finish and I told them I would walk. Well, that lasted a few minutes, until I started doing the math in my head. I figured if walked fast--(I was walking at a 12 minute mile--not fast, but for those of you who have ever walked with me, you know that is about twice as fast as my normal pace) until 2:45 of the marathon, and I am about to run 8:30s from there on out, I might still be able to get that illustrious 4 hour marathon. Well, the pain in my kidneys was too much for me to handle at that fast of a pace, so I settled for a slower pace and I walked through every aid station and drank water to try and flush out my bloody kidneys.

I did finish the race with a 4:38:44 marathon and an overall time of 11:37:19, both of those being PRs. Although I am incredible proud of myself for the race I ran under the conditions, it only makes me hungrier for more...does anyone want to take a road trip up to Penticton, Canada for the 2009 edition?

Thanks to everyone who was cheering me on, and I am sorry I did not give you all a great excuse to go to Kona, but like I said, these Europeans are FAST, so even if I had the race of my life, I probably would not have made it. I can't wait to see you all in August.

Jim