I
Imken
Guest
2004 Ironman New Zealand is history, a shadow in my memory
not to be forgotten easily.
I went there knowing that I was a bit soft compared to my 5
previous IM races. I evaluated the known competition and in
reality did predict that I had a chance of being on the
podium in second place behind Richard Clark. That prediction
was based on all things going precisely as planned, no
mechanicals, no body injury, good nutrition on the course,
just a good near perfect race.
Well, things did go wrong, very wrong and I suffered through
the day, not intent on a podium finish but intent on
completing what I had began.
Race morning was cold, very cold. Air temp was a chilly 34
degrees. Water temp checking in at 58 degrees out at the
start line off shore. A thermometer near the shore indicated
60 but in 30 feet of water it dipped two more chilling
degrees. Wet suit or not that is cold for this Hawaiian.
I stood there looking at the surreal conditions, fog
generated by evaporating water enveloped the surface to a
height of two to three feet. The buoys obscured from sight
by the early morning twilight and fog when eyes were at
water level. Surface of the water was a steel black,
rippleless out to where it disappeared into the "Lord of the
Ring"setting. The upper bodies of those in support kayaks
could be seen but the kayaks were vague or invisible in the
floating cloud of condensation.
I was chilled not only from the air and water temp but
also because I was running a fever of 101 from a bad chest
congestion , flu or both. Both my eyes were pink and
oozing fluid from the illness or contamination from a
couple previous swims. I did not look nor feel like an
"Ironman". I told myself it was not smart to start, I
should drop out now but that was not in my plan. I came to
New Zealand to do an Ironman. I did not come to quit
before starting, I would go until I could not. I took a
400 yard warm up swim to adjust to the cold shock. I heard
it announced that we were 5 minutes from "GO". A count
down began , reached a point where the announcer said 1
minute to go. Immediately with no other warning and with
the word 1 minute still in the air the Canon was fired.
Big surprise for many, I was 100 meters back behind the
main group just heading that way.
So What, I was not in any condition to really care as the
flu was overpowering my will to do anything fast. I swam
easily and tried to get a good glide, slowly working my way
from near last to about mid pack. Navigation was a breeze as
the bottom was 30 feet down but easily seen. Wave patterns
in the sandy bottom were like lines on the bottom of the
pool making looking up necessary only every 5 minutes or so.
Had enough elbow room in Lake Taupo for the 1400 starters
and only took one serious hit. The person responsible
apologized. I joined a group which was a comfortable pace
and stuck there till my cramped legs, numb feet and fevered
body felt a bottom I could stand on. Passed my chip over the
mat and into T1 at
1:16:21, 8 minutes slower than my training times. My
position was 827th out of the water and second in
age group.
Time did not matter, I had my feet on solid ground. We had
an extra special needs bag at the swim exit because the swim
course had been changed do to high water. The 600 meter
segment down the river had been cut and the course extended
along the lake shore. The special needs bag carried my extra
running shoes for the added 600 meter run down a road
littered with gravel and little nuts from the gum trees
lining it. Well, what else could go wrong? My special needs
bag could not be found. I waited two minutes and then
elected to go bare foot to T1. It was slow but it gave me
time to get my thoughts organized and some of the flu
fuzziness out of my head. The water vapor from the swim
helped loosen up the crud in my congested chest and I was
able to unload a little along the path.
I had positioned a nice warm long sleeve polypro jersey in
T1 at the advice of Alison Cunningham just in case it was
cold. That was a life saver. T1 was slow but all too soon I
was making my way onto the highway with the bike. The course
through town was a bit hairy and narrow. Crowds lined the
course and people were darting across in front. I just
slowed to a nice safe speed for survival. My fever clouded
brain did not need a panic reaction to maneuver around an
unexpected obstacle. About a mile out the course turns left
up a moderate hill lined with spectators, toward the back
country and I could see nothing but black clouds covering
that zone. I was dreading a long day in the saddle in rainy
40 degree weather feeling as I
did. A little luck came along and I hit no rain, just some
very wet roads and slippery white lines. By the time
I had traveled 20 miles the clouds were blowing off
and a little sun was coming along slightly warming
the way. I had expected a great deal more bunching up
but to my surprise the bike course supported the
numbers quite well. I came up behind a few packs but
in reality seen very little drafting situations.
Riding on the left hand side of the road is a bit
challenging on fast outside corners or when utilizing
aid stations. We had a tail wind on the way out
boosting my speed to 40 MPH on the gradual down hill
out to the forest. I knew this would be a toughie on
the way back and we had to do it twice as the course
is two laps. Nothing on the course is very
challenging, all hills are gradual and the rout is
well marked, policed and not too technical. But don't
get the idea this is a flat course as it is not. You
will feel the grades as they are long and wear on you
when bucking into the stiff wind of the second lap.
I had planned on using the race drink, gel and bars with the
exception of 5 ounces of GU I had in a gel bottle.. That was
a mistake. The supplied product was not at all to my liking,
none of it set well with me. I have been a major advocate of
bringing your own stuff and relearned that lesson. I
basically did the entire bike segment with the 5 ounces of
GU and my first two bottles of my favorite drink. When that
was gone I lived on water only, hoping to replenish with
bananas on the run.
Normally I excel on the bike but this day it was not to be.
I simply could not get enough oxygen into my lungs with my
chest so congested. I would normally race with a 150 hr but
I could only muster 130 so just settled into that zone.
While on the second lap I had thoughts of dropping after the
bike. I was feeling very bad, dizzy for awhile, head aching,
chest burning, chilled through from being cold and ill.
Wiser persons would have dropped but for me quit is the
foulest of four letter words and one to avoid.
It took 6.14:48 to get through the bike. I had planned on
5:35 to 5:45 so was well off schedule. It was not
important, I just wanted to finish, knowing full well that
winning was out before the start. When I got off the bike I
was 557th so did manage to recover a few places, still
second in age group.
Generally I dread ending the bike as it means I will have to
run. Today I was very pleased to enter T2 and start my
stroll to the line.
The sun was now in full force so I stripped the polypro and
went with only the skin suit, unzipped it to the waist and
trotted off with a banana in hand. I took 4 grams of vitamin
C hoping for some miracle. The lack of food intake on the
bike was taking its toll. My HR would only get to 115. 30
minutes after a couple bananas and the "C" it climbed to 130
BPM. This run is also everything but flat. It is 26.2 miles
of rolling hills mostly along the highway leading south. It
was not very interesting once away from the lake shore. If I
were to change anything on this Ironman course it would be
to add more lake shore miles. Perhaps there is much more
there to enjoy if I had not been coughing crud and aching
with fever. I have never worn socks before but I had them on
to keep my feet warm on the bike. At the 14 miles mark I
could feel a nasty blister between my toes where the damp
sock had done its damage. I saw a nice piece of lawn and sat
down in a shaded little corner of someone's yard. Removed
the sock and was off again. I could muster no more than a ¼
mile jog then a 1/8 mile walk. I just alternated like that
till near the finish where I could hear the announcer giving
finish times. Damn, it was still a mile away and I heard him
say 12.51 for the person just finishing. Damn, I did not
want to go into the 13 hour mark no matter how bad I felt. I
pushed as hard as I could and when I entered the very long
finish shoot I could see the clock click over to 13 hours.
It was a long day, one that I will remember, one that I
hope to never repeat but it was a satisfying moment when I
passed under the clock. I went to NZ to reclaim my Ironman
Status after a 6 year break. I overcame not only the
distance but additional adversity. This was not a fun race
but a race to complete what you set out to do, a challenge
to the inner self, the pain of illness on top of all the
normal race stress to the old body. I was still burning
with fever, my chest clogged and my head ached but it was
done. The line was behind me. I was the oldest competitor
in the race, finished 714th overall, second in age group
behind Richard Clark, though more than an hour behind my
schedule at 13 hr and 53 seconds.
Race support was excellent, plenty of aid stations all the
way through, all manned by people wanting to help. The
course was well marshaled with no chance of taking a wrong
turn. Thousand of spectators were present to keep you
motivated with lots of cheering, most cheered you by name.
I would highly recommend this race to anyone wanting to be
an Ironman. I plan on returning to challenge it while
healthy and fit.
Ken
"Quit is a four letter word" it is not in the Iron
vocabulary.
not to be forgotten easily.
I went there knowing that I was a bit soft compared to my 5
previous IM races. I evaluated the known competition and in
reality did predict that I had a chance of being on the
podium in second place behind Richard Clark. That prediction
was based on all things going precisely as planned, no
mechanicals, no body injury, good nutrition on the course,
just a good near perfect race.
Well, things did go wrong, very wrong and I suffered through
the day, not intent on a podium finish but intent on
completing what I had began.
Race morning was cold, very cold. Air temp was a chilly 34
degrees. Water temp checking in at 58 degrees out at the
start line off shore. A thermometer near the shore indicated
60 but in 30 feet of water it dipped two more chilling
degrees. Wet suit or not that is cold for this Hawaiian.
I stood there looking at the surreal conditions, fog
generated by evaporating water enveloped the surface to a
height of two to three feet. The buoys obscured from sight
by the early morning twilight and fog when eyes were at
water level. Surface of the water was a steel black,
rippleless out to where it disappeared into the "Lord of the
Ring"setting. The upper bodies of those in support kayaks
could be seen but the kayaks were vague or invisible in the
floating cloud of condensation.
I was chilled not only from the air and water temp but
also because I was running a fever of 101 from a bad chest
congestion , flu or both. Both my eyes were pink and
oozing fluid from the illness or contamination from a
couple previous swims. I did not look nor feel like an
"Ironman". I told myself it was not smart to start, I
should drop out now but that was not in my plan. I came to
New Zealand to do an Ironman. I did not come to quit
before starting, I would go until I could not. I took a
400 yard warm up swim to adjust to the cold shock. I heard
it announced that we were 5 minutes from "GO". A count
down began , reached a point where the announcer said 1
minute to go. Immediately with no other warning and with
the word 1 minute still in the air the Canon was fired.
Big surprise for many, I was 100 meters back behind the
main group just heading that way.
So What, I was not in any condition to really care as the
flu was overpowering my will to do anything fast. I swam
easily and tried to get a good glide, slowly working my way
from near last to about mid pack. Navigation was a breeze as
the bottom was 30 feet down but easily seen. Wave patterns
in the sandy bottom were like lines on the bottom of the
pool making looking up necessary only every 5 minutes or so.
Had enough elbow room in Lake Taupo for the 1400 starters
and only took one serious hit. The person responsible
apologized. I joined a group which was a comfortable pace
and stuck there till my cramped legs, numb feet and fevered
body felt a bottom I could stand on. Passed my chip over the
mat and into T1 at
1:16:21, 8 minutes slower than my training times. My
position was 827th out of the water and second in
age group.
Time did not matter, I had my feet on solid ground. We had
an extra special needs bag at the swim exit because the swim
course had been changed do to high water. The 600 meter
segment down the river had been cut and the course extended
along the lake shore. The special needs bag carried my extra
running shoes for the added 600 meter run down a road
littered with gravel and little nuts from the gum trees
lining it. Well, what else could go wrong? My special needs
bag could not be found. I waited two minutes and then
elected to go bare foot to T1. It was slow but it gave me
time to get my thoughts organized and some of the flu
fuzziness out of my head. The water vapor from the swim
helped loosen up the crud in my congested chest and I was
able to unload a little along the path.
I had positioned a nice warm long sleeve polypro jersey in
T1 at the advice of Alison Cunningham just in case it was
cold. That was a life saver. T1 was slow but all too soon I
was making my way onto the highway with the bike. The course
through town was a bit hairy and narrow. Crowds lined the
course and people were darting across in front. I just
slowed to a nice safe speed for survival. My fever clouded
brain did not need a panic reaction to maneuver around an
unexpected obstacle. About a mile out the course turns left
up a moderate hill lined with spectators, toward the back
country and I could see nothing but black clouds covering
that zone. I was dreading a long day in the saddle in rainy
40 degree weather feeling as I
did. A little luck came along and I hit no rain, just some
very wet roads and slippery white lines. By the time
I had traveled 20 miles the clouds were blowing off
and a little sun was coming along slightly warming
the way. I had expected a great deal more bunching up
but to my surprise the bike course supported the
numbers quite well. I came up behind a few packs but
in reality seen very little drafting situations.
Riding on the left hand side of the road is a bit
challenging on fast outside corners or when utilizing
aid stations. We had a tail wind on the way out
boosting my speed to 40 MPH on the gradual down hill
out to the forest. I knew this would be a toughie on
the way back and we had to do it twice as the course
is two laps. Nothing on the course is very
challenging, all hills are gradual and the rout is
well marked, policed and not too technical. But don't
get the idea this is a flat course as it is not. You
will feel the grades as they are long and wear on you
when bucking into the stiff wind of the second lap.
I had planned on using the race drink, gel and bars with the
exception of 5 ounces of GU I had in a gel bottle.. That was
a mistake. The supplied product was not at all to my liking,
none of it set well with me. I have been a major advocate of
bringing your own stuff and relearned that lesson. I
basically did the entire bike segment with the 5 ounces of
GU and my first two bottles of my favorite drink. When that
was gone I lived on water only, hoping to replenish with
bananas on the run.
Normally I excel on the bike but this day it was not to be.
I simply could not get enough oxygen into my lungs with my
chest so congested. I would normally race with a 150 hr but
I could only muster 130 so just settled into that zone.
While on the second lap I had thoughts of dropping after the
bike. I was feeling very bad, dizzy for awhile, head aching,
chest burning, chilled through from being cold and ill.
Wiser persons would have dropped but for me quit is the
foulest of four letter words and one to avoid.
It took 6.14:48 to get through the bike. I had planned on
5:35 to 5:45 so was well off schedule. It was not
important, I just wanted to finish, knowing full well that
winning was out before the start. When I got off the bike I
was 557th so did manage to recover a few places, still
second in age group.
Generally I dread ending the bike as it means I will have to
run. Today I was very pleased to enter T2 and start my
stroll to the line.
The sun was now in full force so I stripped the polypro and
went with only the skin suit, unzipped it to the waist and
trotted off with a banana in hand. I took 4 grams of vitamin
C hoping for some miracle. The lack of food intake on the
bike was taking its toll. My HR would only get to 115. 30
minutes after a couple bananas and the "C" it climbed to 130
BPM. This run is also everything but flat. It is 26.2 miles
of rolling hills mostly along the highway leading south. It
was not very interesting once away from the lake shore. If I
were to change anything on this Ironman course it would be
to add more lake shore miles. Perhaps there is much more
there to enjoy if I had not been coughing crud and aching
with fever. I have never worn socks before but I had them on
to keep my feet warm on the bike. At the 14 miles mark I
could feel a nasty blister between my toes where the damp
sock had done its damage. I saw a nice piece of lawn and sat
down in a shaded little corner of someone's yard. Removed
the sock and was off again. I could muster no more than a ¼
mile jog then a 1/8 mile walk. I just alternated like that
till near the finish where I could hear the announcer giving
finish times. Damn, it was still a mile away and I heard him
say 12.51 for the person just finishing. Damn, I did not
want to go into the 13 hour mark no matter how bad I felt. I
pushed as hard as I could and when I entered the very long
finish shoot I could see the clock click over to 13 hours.
It was a long day, one that I will remember, one that I
hope to never repeat but it was a satisfying moment when I
passed under the clock. I went to NZ to reclaim my Ironman
Status after a 6 year break. I overcame not only the
distance but additional adversity. This was not a fun race
but a race to complete what you set out to do, a challenge
to the inner self, the pain of illness on top of all the
normal race stress to the old body. I was still burning
with fever, my chest clogged and my head ached but it was
done. The line was behind me. I was the oldest competitor
in the race, finished 714th overall, second in age group
behind Richard Clark, though more than an hour behind my
schedule at 13 hr and 53 seconds.
Race support was excellent, plenty of aid stations all the
way through, all manned by people wanting to help. The
course was well marshaled with no chance of taking a wrong
turn. Thousand of spectators were present to keep you
motivated with lots of cheering, most cheered you by name.
I would highly recommend this race to anyone wanting to be
an Ironman. I plan on returning to challenge it while
healthy and fit.
Ken
"Quit is a four letter word" it is not in the Iron
vocabulary.
