As the title of the post gives away the ending, yes I did complete the race and can officially call myself an Ironman but as I discovered in completing my first marathon, it is about the journey not the destination that made the day so special and carried me to the finish line. This will seem odd but the race really was not that hard because it was such a great experience. Truly one of the best days of my life so on to the details.......
3:30 am
The worst part about endurance racing is the early start times which means you are up two hours before the butt crack of dawn just to get everything organized and to the race site on time. In some ways this may be the most challenging portion of the day. After a night of little to no sleep the iPhone alarm went off at 3:30 with the "Happy" song, enjoyed some coffee and a few slices of cold pizza as pre-race breakfast, gathered our gear, and headed down to the vans to meet the other EST folks for our shuttle to the race site. So far the only thing not going right is the lack of a proper poo, that is critical on any big training day but especially on the morning of your first Ironman. Let's hope that does not come back to haunt me later in the day.
As the van makes its way through Zurich, we can see people on their way home from the bars. It makes you wonder which group of people are more disturbed. We arrive at the race venue in plenty of time but still dark and no headlamp, rookie mistake. Something I typically bring to races in the states but it did not make the packing list. I make it to my bike, take off the plastic cover, find a pump and fill the tires with air, bottles and nutrition in place, go find Jen and assist her with her bike.
Rain the night before so the transition area will be muddy, not good for speed play cleats and pedals and you have to wear your shoes out of the transition tent if not on the bike. Will worry about that later, need to get on the wesuit and head down to the swim start for a bit of warm up.
Jen and I help each other with the wesuits, swim for a bit and say our goodbyes as she is going off in the first wave while I am in the slow group. I find some of the other guys in the EST group which helps to keep me relaxed as we make some small talk before the start. Pros go off which means start time for me is 10 minutes away, lets get this thing going!!! Jen's wave goes off but I have no idea where she is at, just say a little prayer she is off to a good start and holding her own in the "washing machine". Time for my wave to move to the beach and there is the horn, I wade into the water realizing I can't stay all the way to the rear if I want to swim my goal time of 1:30 (secretly hoping for 1:25).
Swim
The swim start was actually not that bad, a bit of stop and go and bumping around but not as worse as I had imagined. I experienced a bit of my typical panic about 200 yards into the swim thinking I could not swim the entire distance but was able to give myself a bit of a pep talk, calmed down and focused on swimming one stroke after the other, singing the Happy song in my head. Sighting was the easiest of any race I have done and the water was clear with overcast skies. First turn was jammed up but that was to be expected. Nearly halfway through and I reach the Australian exit where you run over a small island before back into the water for the rest of the race. It was a bit jumbled getting to the island but some nice volunteers were there to pull you out and up the ramp while you ran through a crowd of folks cheering you on. Checked my watch and I was at 44 minutes, darn I think to myself, slower in the water than I expected but need to stick to the strategy of keeping the swim as a warm up for the rest of the race. Back to the first buoy before nearing the last leg of the swim. After I make the turn and head towards the original second buoy I run into some significant chop as the winds had picked up. It really didn't bother me but would clearly impact my swim time. Last leg and now I am sighting to the island and swim exit, under the bridge and there it is. Check my watch and I am at 1:34, slower than my goal time but within range and nothing to panic about. (I would find out later that most folks in the EST group including Jen would experience slower than normal swim times due to the choppy water).
T1
One thing we had been told by our fellow teammates and coach is that the volunteers would be a huge assist in stripping off your wetsuit, getting your gear bag and helping you through transition. I don't know what it is like at other European Ironman events but that is clearly not the case in Zurich. T1 seemed like total chaos, naked people everywhere searching for their bags on the racks and in the tent. I finally found some room on a bench and focused on getting in some nutrition, hydration, and setting myself up for a good bike ride. First I look for the note Jen left me in my transition bag which makes me happy and something to look forward to at the end of the bike. My goal was 10 minutes in T1, not to be in a rush but enough time to eat, change, and get out the door for the next portion of the race. (Funny how you still have 11 plus hours to go and that thought never crosses your mind, just get me to the bike).
Bike
As I expected the transition area is a bit muddy so I do my best to avoid the mud and protect my cleats, hoping that I can easily clip in the pedals on the bike. Out of transition, fire up the garmin, and off I go, only 112 miles to go around Lake Zurich and the beautiful Swiss countryside. The first 30 kilometers of the bike are along the lake and flat so some folks are really hammering but my strategy is to conserve energy and ride conservatively, saving the legs for the run. I also have my stops planned out on the course along with meeting Ken at Heartbreak Hill for my special needs bag. At Zurich, there are no official special needs bags on the race course, just areas where external parties can hand you gear. The route of the bike course was all new to me which I actually liked, it kept me focused on just enjoying the new sights along the way. Flat section done and now heading towards the big, long climb called the Beast. Fortunately I am a decent climber and passed several riders on the way up before hitting the long downhills where I think all of them passed me again. Kept checking out the race bibs of the riders to see their names and country of origin. Funny how it seemed every German dude was name Wolfgang or Klaus while every Italian was named Mario. Coming back into the city I feel really slow seeing all of the other riders into their second lap. I make it to Heartbreak Hill and enjoy winding through a narrow path of spectators before I hear someone yelling my name. It is Ken Glah from EST running after me with my special needs bag. Ken is an accomplished former pro triathlete who finished third at Kona one year, pretty cool. I ask him how Jen is doing and he confirms she is fine and out in front of me. Now to finish the first loop and one more loop including the climb up the Beast. I look at my first split and really want to finish the bike in 6:30 (my goal time was 6:45). I become a bit impatient and start to hammer the flat section, tossing out my strategy to stay conservative. Seeing all of the riders in front of me kind of threw me off my plan and I was hoping it would not come back to haunt me on the run. I think I enjoyed the second loop more than the first as I looked for familiar sights and spectators. The "USA" chant through a small village was pretty cool along with seeing the dairy cows grazing in the fields as they serenaded you with real cow bells, not those cheesy little bells everyone uses at a cross race ;). Climb complete and now for the big downhill, what do I see in front of me but someone in the road motioning at me to slow down and an ambulance on the side of the road. I slow down checking to make sure it is not Jen. All I see is some bike laying on the road and medics attending to someone in the back of the rig. At this point I lose a contact which always seems to happen in a big race. At first I worry this is going to impact the rest of my race. Then I tell myself I will not need 20/20 vision for the run and to suck it up. I also worry that while I have been eating and drinking all along on the bike I may not be eating enough so I used a flat section to slow down a bit and eat an entire Cliff bar. That nutrition really seemed to revive me. On to Heartbreak one last time and the start of the run, fewer spectators at this point at Heartbreak but still happy to see those who stayed out on the course to cheer us on. The worst part about the last few miles of the bike course was seeing all of the competitors already on the run course. I panic a bit thinking I may finish last if I finish at all and hoping if necessary I can walk a marathon in under 8 hours with a cutoff time of 16 hours. (Note Zurich is not the standard 17 hour cutoff time for unexplained reasons). Check my garmin and my bike time is around 6:29, that works and now I am back on track with my goal time. One thing that surprises me is that at no point during the bike am I feeling uncomfortable. I attribute that to the several sections of climbing and rolling hills that force you to move in and out of the aero bars.
T2
Roll into the bike exit and the transition area wondering just how my legs are going to feel. Just then I hear the announcement of the first finisher and I still have a marathon to run, how did he do that? After racking the bike I make my way to the rack with my run gear and I can't find it. Fortunately there are not that many left and a kind volunteer helps me find it. Some other racer must have grabbed it by accident and place it back in the wrong spot on the rack. Really happy I did not have to run in my bike shoes. Same drill as the first transition but with less nakidity, read the note from Jen, eat some food, hydrate, take some advil, and lace up the shoes. Check my watch and I am well under my goal time of 10 minutes and 8:23 for total race time. Let's see what my legs have left.
Run
This is it, 26.2 miles to go, four loops, and I am an Ironman but you really can't think about it as running a marathon. My plan is to focus on a slow, consistent pace, walk the few hills and aid stations and enjoy it. If I can get through two laps in good shape I know I can finish, even if I need to walk. I start off the run and am really surprised how good my legs feel, I may be able to complete this after all. On the run course there are several sections where you see competitors running the opposite way. About two miles into the run I see Jens' smiling face and I am instantly recharged, it is like I am Popeye and I just finished a can of spinach. She is about five minutes ahead of me and looking great. Next comes the one real hill on the race course which is short and through a park, better to walk and enjoy the shrubbery. After the hill you reach the point where they give you the first of four colored armbands to designate where you are at on the run course. Really looking forward to getting the pink armband that designates you are on the last lap.
Around the lake and I see Jen again, she is holding on to that five minute lead. Back to the start/finish area and the course takes you right by the finish line. At this point it might as well be 100 miles away. Start the second lap, telling myself to keep the pace in check and find I am still feeling really good. My first lap was approximately 1:05 which is great but hopefully not too fast. Now that I know the loop I start breaking it down into different sections of sights to give me something to look forward to along the way, the park that reminds me of Prince William forest, the Indian with the proper British accent telling me I am doing brilliantly, the stereo which only seems to play AC/DC, the building that reminds me of my favorite London neighborhood, the 80's music DJ, the brass band, and the other faces of spectators along the way. Some of the other competitors are good entertainment dressed as Spiderman or other inappropriate race day gear. Even the dude blowing chow on the side of the course provided a brief respite from thinking about how far I had left to go.
Second lap done and it takes me about 1:10 so my pace is generally consistent. Now for the third lap and my legs are starting to feel a bit tired. My hamstrings are cramping a bit so I take in some chicken broth, salt, coke, anything I think will help me get through the lap. More Advil, more fuel and water at the aid stations, just get through this lap and one more to go. Hear some little kid yell "schnell, schnell" as I run by and think of Hogan's Heros and my good friend Jim. I am getting slower, my legs hurt, more walking through the aid stations. See all of the familiar sites and near the end of the third lap. I see other racers finishing and it hits me, I am going to do this! Tears well up in my eyes as I think about the road I have traveled to get this far so no time for pain, enjoy this last bit of the race and make the most of it. I check my watch and realize breaking 13 hours is not out of the realm of possibility, do I have it in me?
With about five miles to go I catch Jen, she has slowed down and tells me her legs are really hurting. I give her some advil and she tell me to go on. I check my watch and realize I do not have enough left in the tank to finish in under 13 hours but I can finish the race with Jen. She thinks that is a bad idea and encourages me to go on. We come into the arm band section and shout for the pink ones, almost as good as getting that finisher medal. For the next two miles I would begin to pull away from her and she would catch up so we finally decide to just run together. Good thing for me because Jen is now getting stronger and with two miles to go I am struggling. Now I tell her to go on but she is having none of that so walks with me a bit while I catch a twenty second wind. Jen is doing every thing she can to encourage me and get my mind off of how bad I am feeling. About a mile and a half to go and I realize Jen does not want to finish behind one of the other women competitors on the course that passed us while I took my walk break. Time to dig a little deeper and run hard into the finish. Surprisingly I find a bit of energy and we are headed for home with spectators encouraging us along the way. We can hear the announcer at the finish line and come around the corner where we can see the crowds in the stands cheering for us like we are the first to cross the line. With about 100 yards left I attempt to jump up and ring this stupid bell and my hamstrings instantly lock up. Fortunately I do not take a tumble and recover enough as we take the turn that leads us to the finish line and bypass the turn that takes you out on the course. I am slapping hands as we run down the finishing chute and the announcer is out on the course ready to say those magic words. He announces Jen is an Ironman and I think he is going to forget to announce my name. I was ready to grab the microphone from his hand and make the announcement myself when I realize he is just having some fun with me. Then it hits me, Jen and I are going to cross the finish line together and become Ironman together. Finishing together is the perfect ending to the race, it is ironic and symbolic in many ways that are only known to me and her. Some volunteer places a medal around my neck and I give Jen a hug and kiss. Ich bin ein Ironman!!!
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Official Times
Swim 1:34:46
T1 9:59
Bike 6:29:10
T2 7:23
Run 4:47:34
Total 13:08:52
Post Race
Wow, I did it and I actually feel great. We spot a beer stand at the end of chute, probably the cruelest joke in the race as they hand me a free non-alcoholic beer. Gong!! It was horrible. Into the finisher tent for our tshirt and some food. Gong!!! The lamest slice of pizza I have ever seen, it looked like bad frozen pizza you would only eat after a night of drinking in college or completing and Ironman. At least there was free cola which tasted delicious. We grab our post race gear and head to the changing tents for more naked people. Jen and I meet up outside of the changing tents and make our way past the line of naked men waiting to shower, this may have been the highlight of Jen's race day experience. Grab the bikes out of transition, see a few folks still out on the course, drop them off at Tri Bike Transport (they make it so easy), and grab a shuttle ride back to the hotel. We are starving so we walk down to kabob shop near our hotel and pick up some chicken and falafel kababs and two beers from the hotel bar. I actually thought I would hit the bed and crash but it was not to be, I don't think I slept a wink still high on adrenaline from the race.
Final Thoughts
Completing Ironman Zurich was one of the greatest days of my life. Not just the race but the entire journey. I could not have even conceived it, let alone finish it without Jen or Coach T.
Zurich is a great venue, bike check in, lack of wet suit strippers, and volunteers in transition are the few negatives to this event. The course is great, well supported with spectators, and the city and surrounding countryside is fantastic. Don't fool yourself thinking the bike course is flat, there is some serious climbing once you get away from the lake. The weather, it was perfect for me with overcast skies most of the day and temps in the 70's with reasonable dew points.
Will I do another Ironman? I really do not know but we will keep racing but with more of a focus on Xterra mountain bike tris or shorter distance road tris.. Maybe a 50 miler for my 50th birth year, we will see.
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