Douthat 1/2 Offroad Ironman
September 2005
September 2005
This is last year's event. I hope to do the full iron next year. I estimate about 20-21 hrs.
Anyway, to keep a little fitness up I decided to do the 1/2 offroad ironman at Douthat park (1.2 swim, 56 bike w/ 7k climbing, 13.1 run w/ 1800 ft climb). I really don't like swimming or running but needed something to shoot for. My goals were quite simple. Don't drown, don't get injured, have fun, finish the course, have a good bike ride. The total course covers about 9000 feet of climbing. It seemed like I was even swimming uphill. Prerace started with lots of carbs and Kill Bill Vol. 2 for mental toughness and a lesson on finishing the job. Alarm goes off at 4 AM and I thought about sleeping in. Made it to the park by 5 to set up the transition area. Unlike one RCO member (not to mention names but Ron--just kidden Ron. I love reading your race reports. wish I could have the result you get) I was the first to arrive. Got everything ready and had too much time to think about what I forgot. Maybe there is wisdom in showing up late.
Time to put the wetsuit on. That ought to be an event itself. After a local preacher had the prayer and then listening to the great Jimmy Hendrix play the star spangle banner, the horn was off and we hit the water.
Hey, thats me in the yellow cap
I didn't drown.
I don't have the exact times yet but these are close. After fighting off several large catfish, I finished near the back with a 39 min time. Those orange buoys were almost impossible to see in the fog. General rule: don't follow the person in front of you. They don't know where they are going either. After peeling the suit off and packing my drinks and fuel for the bike, I took off for the route. Loving to race bikes (although I am not that good) I had to constantly remind myself this is not a bike race. I set a moderate pace and slowly began moving up the field. About 35 miles into the route, I found myself with the leader. I had closed about 10 min. My legs felt great so I picked up the pace a little cause I knew the harder climbs were ahead. Dropped the leader on the hardest climb and continued to the transition area "TA" in front by about 8 min (5:30 bike time).
Spent a couple extra minutes sitting, eating, and drinking. Now off for the run or hike or walk. New territory for me. The only other tri I have ever done was a sprint length and I hated it. Walked the uphills and slow jogged the down. 2 others caught and passed me within the first 5 miles of the run. My legs are screaming to walk but I am through with the uphill and it's mainly downhill from here. 3 miles before the finish I see a bear drinking from a creek and another runner about to catch me. I instructed the bear to persuade my opponent to run the other way but the bear looked to more afraid than I. The 3rd runner quickly passed my on to the finish. I finished 4th overall for the 1/2 ironman category and about 8 min. behind the 3rd place guy. Oh, if had not taken 10 extra min. in the TA eating a peanut butter sandwich. Run about 3:10.
I even made the local paper!
After a total of 9 1/2 hrs, 12 bottles of heavily mixed Gatorade, 2 bottles water, 15 powergels, 8 fruitbars, 1 cliffbar, 1 peanut butter sandwich, I get home in time to watch University of GA beat South Carolina on ESPN. All goals met. I had a great time, finished the course, didn't drown or get injured. The folks at OAR, Outdoor Adventure Racing, http://www.oarevents.com/ did a fantastic job hosting the event.
