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Thursday, August 1, 2013

Ironman Zurich


As I stood on the bank of the Zurichsee at 6:58 Sunday 28.July probably lots should have been racing through my mind like “how did you get here?” or “will I survive this?”  Honestly it was a beautiful morning and though I was surrounded by stunt doubles for Brad Pitt and Angeline Jolie, men and women with amazingly sculpted bodies, and the tension of the start as everyone anticipated the beginning, I felt really calm.
Beautiful morning. Calm before the storm

When I was 5 in the year 1976 across the US and on an island in the Pacific a group of athletes were deciding who was more fit the swimmer, biker, or runner.  There were three challenging races held each year on Oahu, a 2.4 mile swim, a 112 mile bike, and a marathon.  These athletes decided to test themselves by doing all three in one day.  It was decreed that whoever could do them all would be an Ironman.

I think 11 of the 15 who started it completed and the Ironman triathlon was born.  It quickly grew into a famous race and spawned a group of professional athletes.  In my childhood I had never really heard of a triathlon (except for the Ironman.)  I had grown up on Bruce Jennings on my Wheaties box, who was the decathlon champion, 10 track and field events, and dubbed the world’s greatest athlete. 

The idea of combining sports is quite cool and had been around for a long time.  The biathlon is a combination cross country ski and shooting, the pentathlon is 5 events that a 19th century soldier would need to be skilled at: shooting, swimming, fencing, equestrianism, and cross country running.  It seems that triathlons had been done as early as 1920 but never really made it big until the Ironman started.

Somewhere in the 80’s a triathlon craze hit the world.  While most of the other multisport contests had events that most ordinary people did not do, nearly everyone swims, bikes and runs.  Of course the Ironman distance is pretty unattainable without a lot of training and effort but race organizers started creating smaller more reasonable triathlons.  The sprint is 0.5km swim, 20km bike, and 5 km run.  The Olympic distance is 1.5km swim, 40km bike, and a 10 km run.  I find it strange that the Olympics use this quite short triathlon, I would not be surprised if TV coverage had something to do with it.  Then there is the half Ironman, half the distances, and the full Ironman.

Me in local race.  The woman in blue is Nicole Spirig.  The 2012 London Gold medalist in triathlon.  She lives in the same town as me.  She beat me in this race.
Two years ago I had been swept up in this craze.  I am not sure what started it other than it seemed cool.  I had moved to Switzerland and had met people who were doing bike and running races and started doing them too.  I seemed like a good value to get to do three sports at once so I tried it one and was hooked.  Of course if you are doing triathlons then the Ironman is the Holy Grail.  I had noticed that there was one in Zurich every year and since that is a mere 3 hour car drive was psyched to give it a try.  After Christmas I started thinking about it but was unsure.

Ronnie Schildknecht winning Zurich Ironman for the 7th time in a row.
Most athletes follow some kind of training plan.  You can get elaborate plans of the web for marathons and Ironmans.  I am not big into training but I do need to have some way of convincing myself that something is doable.  Over spring break I went to Chile to go backpack in Patagonia.  By luck the Santiago marathon was on the last day of my spring break.  I decided to do it.  My friend Eric, who lived in Santiago and was a colleage of my dad who is now living there, wanted to do a marathon.  It was his first one.  I decided that I would do it with him.  I had run two before at 3:33 and 3:43 but the long Swiss winter had been very snowy which meant lots of skiing but no running.  My training was 8 days of 20+ km a day backpacking.  I did the race with Eric at his pace and it took us 4:12.  Though running 26.2 miles is always painful I was able to do it fairly easily with no real training.  This convinced me that I could do the Ironman.

Finished Santiago Marathon with Eric and Neil

I signed up for the Zurich event and proceeded to not train.  School ended and I was on summer vacation, which means that I spent nearly every day running or biking.  This was how I was going to get in shape.  I focused mostly on the bike because that is what I like to do the most.  One day I put my flip flops, a shirt and shorts in my bike jersey pocket and rode across Switzerland in three days.  Each day I would do the length of the Ironman bike.  When I traveled with my mom and sister I would run in the afternoon while in Zermatt and the Bernese Oberland. 

Mom and Sister and Me in Zermatt
The summer flew by and before I knew it I was packing up my bike and gear into the Green Gremlin, my car, which I am convinced is the worst car in Switzerland.  The Swiss have a rigorous inspection every two years and if your car isn’t in great shape it is not allowed to be driven.  On the Swiss motorways nearly every car looks shiny and new and I think in the 4 years I have lived here I can count on one hand the number of cars broken down on the side of the road.  Somehow my car passes even though it has been run into twice (huge dents on side), has duck tape on the bumper, and is always dirty from being parked under trees. 

Green Gremlin buried in snow this winter.
Back to 28.July.  I am standing on the bank of the lake.  It is an open water swim and basically swims across the lake and then parallel to the far shore and back across and repeats for a second lap.  Confession time.  I had not at all trained for the swim.  In fact I had literally swam 4 times this year.  Twice in the pool in the winter and once in another Olympic triathlon I did in the summer.  Last year I had done a half ironman and completed the swim okay so I wasn’t too worried.  Since it was very hot, it was actually the hottest weekend in Zurich in 10 years, it was a non wetsuit swim.  Most triathletes prefer the wetsuits.  They have extra buoyancy and swim times are always faster with them than without. 
Wetsuits, great for swim but near impossible to get on and off

I started in the back because I am such a slow swimmer that I do want to be run over by the faster swimmers.  There were about 3000 athletes that day and even with starting in the back I was still in a pack.  It was a mass start so we literally all started at once.  It was a wrestling match for the first 10 minutes, banging into other simmers, kicking people in the face, being kicked in the face, swimming over top of others, absolute chaos.  At some point I managed to get myself far to the outside of the pack and then started slowly cruising.   

Swimming rush hour.  Pic from actual race.
Probably about halfway across the lake I had a panic attack.  The adrenaline of the beginning along with the underwater fighting had unnerved me.  The realization of swimming 2.4 miles without any training struck me as about the most foolish thing that anyone could do.  If you can’t finish the bike you hop on a train, the run you call a cab, the swim I believe you drown.  That thought had me debating whether I should turn around and swim for the shore.

Pushed that button.
I settled down though and rested and off I went free styling.  I was in a group of about 10 and being near others helped ease my worry.  The first lap went by and I felt okay and was had my confidence return.  About halfway through the second lap I was miserable.  My awkward swimming style ahd been reduced to only breathing on the left side and I am sure that I was doing some type of weird sideways stroke with my right arm barely getting out of the water.  My goggles were squeezing my head and I had a dull ache which turned into a intense ache around my eyes from the pressure.  Water had gotten into my swim cap and I could feel it go down my ear each time I turned my head.  It was pretty much torture.  Everyone now and then I would tread water and look up to get my bearing.  I would see the next buoy and the sad trail of about 20 other swimmers who were moving about my speed. 

Halfway point of swim you run across this island.
2.4 miles is a long way to swim.  As I approached the exit 2 hours and 23 minutes after I had started the feeling a pain and dizziness overpowered any joy I felt at completed it.  I heard the announcer saying as I exited the water something about the last swimmers and a lot of people were clapping and cheering, obviously out of sympathy and charity.  Ironman’s are pretty snazzy events and the swim exit was the main staging area so there were plenty of people to witness my struggle.  So add humiliation to pain and dizziness.  I grabbed my bike gear changed into it.  In the transition area there had been 3000 bikes and now there where about 10.  It did make it easy to find my bike.  I pushed it out to the road and jumped on and off I went. 
Thankfully swim is over.  Can't believe there is a person behind me.

According to the tracking I was the 1930th athlete to get out of the water.  I am not sure if there were really 3000 athletes as they said since there were not a 1000 swimmers still out in the water?  I was psyched to be on the bike, It was my favorite activity of the three, and over the first few km I was slightly proud of my swim.  I had done the free style the entire time and aside from stopping to get my bearings and during my panic attack had never had to rest.  Being last has the great advantage of getting to pass lots of people.  The bike was going well.  The course was flat for awhile then had a pretty steep and hilly section.  I love riding up steep while others suffered I sort of enjoyed it. 
Me enjoying climb.  Friend, Ian Nelson, suffering.

The bike was two 90km loops.  About halfway through the first loop I discovered two big challenges of the race.  The first was peeing.  It was momentum breaking to come to a stop get off the bike and pee so I was holding it in.  I should have just succumbed to the first feeling of need.  I am not sure what I was thinking that I would go all day without peeing.  Finally at the 30 km when I thought my bladder would explode I stopped.  After that I quickly realized how thirsty and hungry I had become.  I had been exercising for nearly 3.5 hours and had gone through my one bottle of water on the bike.  Luckily the first feed station came soon and volunteer handed me a bottle of Power bar athletic drink and I grabbed a Power gummy (this whole race was sponsored by Powerbar.)  Eating proved unfun.  My stomach was not very happy with me.  I am sure the many liters of Zurichsee water along with the constant churning on the bike was the culprit.  I knew I had to eat and devoured the gummy and drank all of the drink in 1 minute.  While I was sated the next feed station wasn’t for another 30 km and there were 2 big climbs between me and it.
Eating on the run or in this case bike.

I got to the feed station dehydrated and famished.  I needed a new system so I grabbed a water from a volunteer.  Held it in my teeth and grabbed a Powerade.  The I got a pack of gummies and two Powerbar and stuffed them into my jersey pocket.  I rode slowly and drank all of the water and poured the other bottle into the one on my bike.  I ate a gummy, unwrapped the Powerbars and wrapped them raw around my handle bars, a trick I had heard about, for eating later.  Then you get to take all of the trash and throw it to the side of the road, as long as you do it within the feed zone.  Psyched that I had now a system and having passed about 100 riders confidence returned. 
The bike transition area.

I passed the staging area and had one 10km section left of the first bike.  It was mostly flat with one challenging short climb called Heartbreak Hill.  Here was the coolest part of the race.  The amount of fans at the race was amazing.  On this one section people lined up Dutchman corner style ( the iconic hairpin curve on the Alp d’Huez where the fans go crazy) and literally the fans were so close there was just enough room for you on your bike.  They lean out in front of you and just before they reach you pull back all the time cheering you on.  Again my climbing legs were with me so I put on as much of a show as I could by powering up the top of Heartbreak Hill.  It was pretty awesome.  What I didn’t know was that the race leader, Swiss triathlete Ronnie Schildknecht was about 5 minutes behind me finishing his second lap.  He zoomed by me a few minutes later and was off to the run as I started my second lap. 
Coolest part of race.

This is pretty much the sequence of emotions that I felt on each of the three events.  First eighth, wow this isn’t so bad I am going to do well.  One quarter, this is pretty challenging but I feel okay.  Three eighth, Oh my god I can’t believe I am not even at halfway yet, this is going to take forever.  Halfway, okay halfway done I just need to keep it up.  Five eighth, wow my, choose two:head, back, face, butt, toe, knee, quad, calf, shoulder, eyebrow, really hurts.  Three quarters, I wish this was finished, I can’t wait for the next event it is going to be so much better.  Seven eighth, the pain in my go back to five eighth selection is unbearable it is all I can think about.  Finished, whew! that wasn’t so bad really.
Sine Curve seems to graph emotions quite well.

The second lap of the bike was much more challenging.   I didn’t have that excited energy that the first lap had provided.  Plus it was getting really hot and I was struggling to stay hydrated.  The best part was that fans that lived on the side of the course often where armed with garden hoses which they gladly doused you down with or without request.  I think I managed to cope with the heat fairly well.  I saw plenty of riders though abandoned the race to the shade or walking up some of the bigger hills.  Everything was smooth except for my butt which was aching from sitting on the tiny saddle in tri shorts which have almost no padding on them and my left toe mega ached.
On the tri-bike.

The only real exciting moment came on the one steep downhill descent.  After the climbing section there was a very steep, 15% grade, hill that you zoomed down.  I was going around 70 km an hour when I hit a bee right in the center of my forehead between my helmet and my glasses.  The sheer impact was enough to hurt is was literally smashed into my forehead like it was a windshield.  It did manage to sting me and I felt like I had just been shot.  I pulled the bee out then got the stinger out all at 70km/hr.  It was painful but luckily after a few kilometers my triathlon pain overcame the bee sting and it was quickly forgotten.   
If only bees were this fun.

Heartbreak Hill was a ghost of its former glory as I pedaled up the second time.  I dropped down and 3 km later had finished the bike.  I was now 1577 having gained almost 400 places.  I parked the bike and grabbed my running gear and off I went to run a marathon.  The run was four 10 km (plus a little) loops.  Almost immediately I got to the first marker and it said 1km / 11.1km / 21.2 km /32.km.  Somehow this sign was really disheartening.  I had so long to go.  Luckily the run was much better supplied then the bike.  Every 3 km there was a feed station.  I hadn’t eaten too much on the bike and was psyched to get plenty of food.  I had been exercising for 9 hour now without a break.  Also at each feed zone you could get a sponge a use it to cool down.  Of course the first 10k went well but soon it became very challenging.
The run.

The way they kept track of your progress was that at the start of every lap you got a colored scrunchie that you wore on your arm.  The first lap was blue, then green, followed by yellow, and at last red.  I was so envious of people who went running by with more colors then me.  I also delighted when I saw that I was catching up with someone who had my color(s).  A lot people were ahead of me and the run really rubs it in your face.  As I scurried around with my lowly single blue arm bad it seemed that everyone already had multiple colors on their arms.  Also doing a loop four times really ingrained the course into my mind.  There was the section that I hated, the one on the far side of the lake where you ran on gravel.  There was the dark tunnel as you crossed under the main street.  The pedestrian bridge which seemed plenty high enough if I needed to end my suffering.  The only small hill in the park I looked forward to just so I could use slightly different muscles as I ran.
Two scrunchie down.

Through all the pain and suffering at this point I knew that I was going to finish.  My goal was never to stop running, it was amazing how many people had to walk, and to try and keep a reasonable pace, the definition of reasonable dramatically changed each lap.  Once again the fans were great.  So many lined up to see this event, obviously most were friends and family of athletes.  My name was on the bib so people as greeted you with your name which is pretty cool.  I would always at least try and weakly smile back in acknowledgement but that was not always so easy.  I did feel that I had some groupies.  Doing 4 laps you pass the same groups and while I am sure they cheered every runner it did feel sort of special when they cheered me each time.  It was like they were invested in me.  I am sure my pace quickened a hair at each of these encounters.
Fans

While there was food a plenty a new wrinkle had developed in my eating.  When I was in college on a bet I had eaten two large pizzas.  I remember halfway through the second pizza the taste of it revolted me and it was sickening to eat.  I had gotten this way with the Powerbar family.  The taste disgusted me.  On my second lapped I gagged on a powerbar and spit it out revolted by the taste of it.  I am sure that it is normal for your body to freak out.  I had seen at least 4 other runners bent over vomiting on the course.  I was really hungry though.  As a last measure I grabbed some banana pieces and ate those with a glass of water.  This did it.  For the rest of the race good old banana was my fuel.  It was delicious, palatable, and did the trick. 
Famous churches of Zurich in view.

I remember the thrill of getting the red scrunchie for the last lap.  I wanted to show it off to everyone I was so excited.  I tried to speed up for the last 10k and my spirit was high knowing the end was near.  The last lap was done more than 12 hours after the start.  It was getting dark and the number of racers was drastically reduced.  Every lap went by the finish line and on the penultimate one for me about 10 runners I was in a pack with peeled off to the finish as they were done.  I remember running by myself for about a kilometer feeling like the last man on earth.  It was clear there were still plenty of athletes left as I did the last lap.  The cutoff time for the event was 11pm, 16 hours after the event began.  I passed some walkers with only two scrunchies on their arms and felt pity for them.  Part of me was proud that they were going to attempt to finish no matter what but I thought to myself if I was reduced to walking then I probably would have given up.  I felt that I wanted to complete this in style.
So happy 4 scrunchies.  The end is near.
 It is amazing how well I felt those last few kilometers.  I could run fast again.  The pains I had didn’t seem that bad.  There were about 4 of us who finished at the same time.  There were still a lot of fans at the finish line and cheerleaders.  Usually I sprint hard at the finish but I slowed to an easy jog 100 meters away.  I don’t usually show too much emotion but I was jumping up and down waving my arms in the air screaming with joy.  It was a very emotional moment.  I crossed the finish line.  There I was given my medal.  Usually I hate medals for races because I don’t really want them and I have to carry this metal chunk around with me not wanting to throw it away but upset that now I would have to keep it somewhere and deal with it.  Again I was really sentimental this time and I gladly had it put around my neck.  I have a feeling that I am going to be hanging on to this one for awhile.  Then they wrap you in Mylar (essentially aluminum foil) to keep you warm.
Hooray
   I was aching and sore but didn’t feel awful.  I went to go get some food.  Not feeling awful soon changed.  I had two cups of Powerbar recovery drink and my stomach just cut loose.  I hurried to the toilet.  Sitting down I had a huge diarrhea attack and felt the energy leave my body.  After that I quickly realized that my legs were so stiff that I couldn’t get off the toilet.  So there I was on the commode, my tri pants around my ankles, wrapped in aluminum foil, stuck on the toilet.  I am sure it looked hilarious and with much effort I righted myself.  I went to the recovery tent and luckily they had some mats.  I laid down on one and had seizures of shivers and fell asleep for about 10 minutes.  I slowly woke up and managed to stand and go get my street clothes.  It was a Herculean task to go collect my bike and gear and go with the trains back to my hotel but I managed and that was it.
Hercules
 Will I do another one?  Yes.  My final time was 13 hours 26 minutes and 27 seconds.  My place was 1375.  I had done a half Ironman in 4 hours 59 minutes so I was hopeful to do this full in under 12, I even secretly hoped for under 11, but obviously that didn’t happen.  Maybe I will actually train and try to do it correctly.  I did have a good time and through all of the pain and suffering I never really regretted it.  I was happy to never stop moving and swam the freestyle through the whole swim, was always going on the bike, and never stopped jogging.  It was a cool experience and the crowds were great as was the venue.  I am recovering quickly.  I have to because tomorrow is 1.August Swiss national day and I running the Aigle to Bernuse mountain half marathon here in my town that happens every 1.August J  Too much fun!
 Dedication:  I have enjoyed dedicating these posts.  This one goes out to my mom and dad.  They both tracked me from the States and Chile as I did the event.  Knowing that they were watching gave me strength as I competed.  I love them both very much.

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