(For Robin's race report see... http://bangladeshmartzes.blogspot.com/2009/04/ironman-china-703-race-report.html)
Whether it was swimming like a salmon up stream in the strong current of the Nandu River, enduring a stiff headwind and slight up-hill climb for the first 20 miles of the bike, or battling the +42C heat and humidity of the brutal mid-day sun, Ironman China 70.3 was race a of survival. Out of the over 200 participants that started the swim only 130 or a little over 60% crossed the finish line. For me this was one, if not the, hardest things I've completed enduring for over 7.5 hours in the elements. To put this into perspective, this took more than 2.5 hours longer than my previous 70.3, of course that race was under much better race conditions.
There were many points during the 70.3 that I seriously contemplated dropping out. However, I had many positive and motivational thoughts to keep me going. On the swim, I decided that I would continue to swim even though at some points it seemed like I wasn’t making any progress because of the current. Note that the Ironman China website describes the swim, which was changed from last year, as “a sheltered swim course in the clean, slow moving waters.” Needless to say, this was a major understatement. When I finally stood up out of the water, both my legs started to cramp up from the extra hard kicking that I used through/against the current. This of course was not a good sign since I needed to get on the bike and ride 90k, and then run 21k.
There were many points during the 70.3 that I seriously contemplated dropping out. However, I had many positive and motivational thoughts to keep me going. On the swim, I decided that I would continue to swim even though at some points it seemed like I wasn’t making any progress because of the current. Note that the Ironman China website describes the swim, which was changed from last year, as “a sheltered swim course in the clean, slow moving waters.” Needless to say, this was a major understatement. When I finally stood up out of the water, both my legs started to cramp up from the extra hard kicking that I used through/against the current. This of course was not a good sign since I needed to get on the bike and ride 90k, and then run 21k.
After the extended swim in the endless pool where I probably swam long enough to cover 600 meters more than the required distance, I walked into T1 and again thought about dropping out. But then I remembered all the trouble that we and others went through for us to bring our tri bikes to Dhaka. To give you a sense of what it took, I had researched and bought a durable hard, double travel bike case and had it shipped to my dad where our tri bikes were being stored. My dad then took our bikes and the travel case to have the bikes broken down and packed in the case. He even bought Robin two new rims for her bike when the bike shop found a crack in her front rim. He then paid to have them shipped to where we would be staying in Dallas. We then carted the bikes/case back from Dallas to Houston (back of Honda Odyssey), from Houston to Dhaka (on two long-haul BA flights) and then from Dhaka to Kuala Lumpur to Haikou (on two Air Asia flights). Not to mention the fact that we had to pay excess baggage charges for the over-weight bike case, which of course had two bikes. When I thought about all this during my walk to T1, I realized that I had to get on the bike and ride hoping that this would help loosen up the leg cramps.
After spending nearly 10 minutes in T1 carefully pulling on socks and putting on bike shoes in such a way to avoid cramping, I walked to my lone bike (there were maybe 10-20 bikes left out of 600 that started both distances that morning) and walked out the TA. I got on my bike and started to ride, unfortunately I wasn’t able to ride very hard trying to keep my heart rate (HR) low and to avoid my legs cramping. The first 20 miles were in a headwind and slightly up hill, two negative forces which slowed me down. A number of 140.6 triathletes cruised by me on their second lap. While no 70.3 participants passed me, not many were behind me to pass. I was able pass a handful of 70.3ers on this stretch despite the wind pushing against me either as a stiff headwind or crosswind. Despite these challenges, I kept positive thoughts like “you're on an open road with a wonderful surface, enjoy it because you can’t do this in Dhaka!”
As I chugged along at a slow to moderate pace, the wind continued to whistle by me. About the time I started to get in a rhythm, I was brought back to reality. The grassy median that the divided 4-lane highway was roped off with pink police-like tape to keep our lanes closed to traffic. Well one of the pieces of tape had broken free and started whipping wildly in the wind just as I was rolling over it. However, instead of running over it as I had planned, it got caught up in my front wheel casing, cranks, and rear derailleur. I went another 10 feet or so before my bike came to a grinding halt.
I got off my bike to assess the situation and concluded pretty quickly it was just fubarred. Just then two bike course marshals stopped to ask if I was okay and assisted me with untangling it. After a couple of minutes of trying to untangle the mess, I realized that it would be much simpler to take the wheels off and get the tape off. This speeded things up. In the end, I probably was on the side of the road for 5-7 minutes, which was much longer than any time penalty. I realized that the handful of people I had passed, had now passed me back.
Soon after this unplanned pit stop, I came up to a km marker and thought I feel like I should be halfway. However, the sign read 30km mark or 1/3rd the course in about 1:16. At this rate I would finish the bike course nearly 1 hour slower than my Eagleman bike time. Once I got to the midway point, the course changed took us through some small villages. While the road quality wasn’t as nice as the tarmac on the highway, this was offset by the wonderful villagers who came out to cheer us on. Also, it was during this stretch of 10-15km that we were able to climb some short yet welcome hills, which forced me out of the saddle and allowed me to ride in a different position than aero bars. After a rather nice descent, we headed back towards Haikou on the wonderful highway; however, this time the wind was either at our backs or neutral at worst. Once I accepted the fact that my biked time was going to be a PW for me, I just tried to enjoy it as much as possible. I even stopped for a couple of minutes at an Aid Station to fill up my bottle with Gatorade. Things were going okay until I reached the 85km mark, and my left quad started to cramp up so I slowed down even more. Eventually, I made it back to the TA and took another 10 minutes or so in T2 to carefully change my socks and shoes and replenish my nutrition.
I then walked through the TA and embarked on the 13.1km slog. I started out running, but quickly realized that something wasn’t right when my HR shot up to 160, and I should say I wasn’t running very fast to justify this. So I started walking till my HR came down to 130. After walking for about five minutes, I started running (at best maybe 10 minutes pace); however, my HR shot back up again only after about two minutes. I continued this run-walk-run approach for the first few klicks before I realized I really needed to get my corps temperature under control. At the next Aid Station, I loaded up with cold sponges and chunks of ice blocks in my shirt. This seemed to work as my HR didn’t spike up when I started to run, really jog. It was a little after the 5km mark that both my legs started to cramp up. So back to the run-walk-run approach I’d been using. However, I noticed that when I walked I still had the cramps and when I ran they didn’t get worse, at least not yet. I then focused on a new strategy, run to the next Aid Station, which were about 1.5-2km apart, stop and load up on Gatorade, ice and sponges.
I should mention something about the run course here. They designed it so that you ran out 5km, turned around and ran back 5km to the TA, and passed it at the 10km mark. While this made managing logistics (e.g., Aid Stations and Medical Tent) easier for the race organizers and volunteers, this really tested whether you wanted to continue on with the run. For the people doing the 140.6, they had to pass the TA three times as they had to complete two loops of the course. Imagine having to run by your bike and keep the idea out of your mind that you could just stop, pick up your bike and things and jump on the bus back to the hotel. For me, I had to fight the urge to stop running and again drop out. Even though I wasn’t even to the halfway point, I started saying the mantra “just get to the finish line” when I started to see the TA and began to run by it. Fortunately, my mind and will prevailed, and I ran past the TA only stopping at the Aid Station to refill my shirt with ice and cold sponges, as well as get more Gatorade. I think it was about this time that I started dowsing my head and face with cold water.
I have to say that the second half of the run is a bit of a blur. I just slogged along from one Aid Station to the next. There were points later in the race where I saw Robin, who I’d been chasing the minute we stepped into the water. The last few km were designed, again to torture us with out and backs. While it was nice to see Robin a few times and have an idea how many minutes I was behind her, it’s very unsettling to know be within sight and earshot of the finish only to have to turn around and run away from it. The last five km were definitely the most difficult part of the race. I was drained from being out the sun, and the cramping in my legs was getting worse. Even though my gait probably looked more painful for the spectators to watch, I get going. However, just as I felt that I was getting closer to the finish and could even hear them announcing finishers, my bubble burst when one of the course volunteers said, “you’re almost there, just ONE MORE KILOMETER.” This coupled with the fact that I heard Robin’s name being announced at the finished really took what little steam I had left in my engines. As many endurance athletes are familiar with the idea of hitting the wall, this was the most profound of the many walls that I’d hit that day. At this point, I thought let’s walk for a few minutes. This little respite was just enough to allow me to run the last little bit and cross the finish line!
I look back on the day and am amazed that I was able to overcome the physical and psychological challenges that confronted me. It also made me realize that our training in Dhaka either would need to be adjusted or the distance and race conditions we do are reduced. At the end of the day, I’m satisfied with the accomplishment of being 124 out of the 130 to finish the race.
My Quick Stats:
Swim: 01:13:34, 155 out of 162 who finished the swim
T1: 8:05
Bike: 03:26:11, 112 out of 160 who finished the bike
T2: 10:00
Run: 02:39:55, 82 out of 130 who finished the run
Overall: 07:37:44, 124 out of 130 who finished the 70.3
