"Your nuts!" is what I heard when informing people that I was about to try an iron distance triathlon. I have never swam 2.4 miles, never mountain biked 112 miles, never ran 26.2 miles. Each feat is monumental one its own, so why combine the three in a single event? It really makes no sense but it makes perfect sense. Why not? Throughout the world, there are men and women who, for various reasons, push their mental and physical abilities to the limit. I heard an extreme sports junkie say, "I feel most alive when I face death." I believe many of our extreme athletes possess the same spirit of great adventures like Lewis & Clark, Christopher Columbus, George Malory, and even the Apostle Paul. Each of these persons moved beyond the norm of the day, set seemingly unattainable goals, and went out on a mission.
The course
People finish iron distances all the time without much trouble. Here's the kicker--its on dirt. Of the 101 competitors who have attempted it in the last 6 yrs, only 60 have finished. The average time is 21:17. The fastest time is 15:54. All you traditional tri folks throw away your aero bars and skinny tires. Bring those fat tires and get ready for relentless climbing. Many have riding organized centuries advertising 100 miles with 10,000+ elevation gain. Try 112 miles with about 16,000 feet of climbing. Forget sections that you can rest on, even the downhills force you to use more than you want. Get careless, and you will wash out in the turns or endo over a pothole. I love the show, "Survivorman." When talking about fires, Les states, "Get enough wood that you will think will last through the night, THEN DOUBLE IT." Same goes for the ride, take one of your longest, hardest rides you have done and double it. Then tackle on a trail marathon with about 4,000 climbing. Forget the sun, you better have some good lights and lots of food.
56 MILE BIKE LOOP. DON'T FORGET TO DO IT 2X
13.1 MILE TRAIL LOOP
Preparation
How do you even begin to prepare for such an event. I am not a pro athlete. I am an average guy with somewhat of an average life. I am a United Methodist pastor and a dad. My schedule does not allow for me to have a consistent program. Basically, I would try to go as far as I can when I can. I remember leaving one summer morning at 6am for a 115 mile road ride. Oh yeah, and it was raining. This was the only day I would have for the next week, so off I went. About 9 hrs later, I arrived home wet and cold. It rained all day. The best thing for mental toughness is the treadmill. During the summer, I have my son, Seth, majority of the time. I would arise about 6am and walk/run on the treadmill for 3 hrs. Yeah, now that is nuts. The times I was able to hit the trails, I was in Heaven. There were trees, wildlife, and scenery. It made running so much easier.
I knew that I was in better form than ever before. I knocked of a whopping 6 minutes off my time on a local road hillclimb 43:03 (606, Rose st. Clifton Forge). I also placed 4th overall with a time of 19:11 in the annual Mill Mountain Mtb Hillclimb shaving 6 minutes off last year's time. I hooked up with the fast Wed nite rides and finally made it to Hardee's with the lead group. I knew I was riding stronger and runner further than ever. But could I sustain a 22-24 hr event?
I finished the 1/2 offroad tri two years ago in 9:24 and felt totally depleted. Prior to that race I watched "Kill Bill 2." It was all about finishing the task. This year I read the book, "Ultramarathon Man, Confessions of an All Night Runner," by Dean Karnazes. Now this dude is nuts. His longest run to date is 226 miles. I read and learned all about the difficulties of finishing a long distant event. I wanted to be prepared for the walls that I would have to break through. Dean spoke about running with your heart. That is all I know to do. I do not have great physical abilities but do possess tenacity and a heart.
Nutrition
I learned through experience that I crave real food after 6 hrs. Not even the best energy bar satisfies at this point. I want sandwiches, pizza, Mexican food, and pasta. I use to have difficulties with muscle cramping and found Hammer E-caps to work great with me. Along with their Anti-Fatigue pills, Heed, and bars, I supplemented my food with the real thing. I estimated about 400 cals per hr needed. below is a list of food consumed.
E-caps-60
Anti-fatigue caps-20
Morning breakfast milkshake- 800
Chicken and rice- 700
Heed-1000
Hammer gel- 3 flasks-1200
Burrito-2-500
Hammer bars-2-440
fruit Bars- 500
Turkey sandwich-2-560
Digorno cheese pizza-1-1900 (I only ate about 1/2)800
Sara Lee's frozen Poundcake-1-1800 (moist and don't need much fluids to wash it down)
Regina's (church member) Peanut Butter Pie-about 1/4. 500
Coke-2-240
BBQ--2- 500 (only hot meal. it was great)
Bananas and cookies at checkpoints - 250
TOTAL CALORIES 9790
Oh yeah, don't forget that all this is taken in on the go. No picnics here.
THE RACE
Arise about 4:30 Am. Eat and head to the race. Man at the stuff to unload and organize. It's important to organize stuff in such a way not to lose much time in the transitions. Wetsuit on and off to the beach. The gun goes off and we start swimming. I wanted to quit in the first hundred yards. I started thinking, "Why didn't you do the duathlon? Why swim? Besides it's only about .5% of the race." I showed signs of panic attacks which are very rare for me. I was uneasy and fighting the swim. After about 3/4 mile, I calmed down and got into a comfortable rhythm. Upon the completion of the first lap, 41 minutes, I noticed the other swimmers waiting. Fog had moved in, delaying the 2nd lap until it cleared. Ah man, I finally got comfortable swimming. Now I would get cold and stiff. Worse, I had to go to the bathroom. I know you are thinking, "hey, it's water, just let it go." I AM NOT TALKING #1. Oh yeah, I had to go but didn't want to lose time if they started without me. So I hung in there and we were off swimming again. Felt great on the 2nd lap and did it in about 41 minutes.
The first transition went smooth. Changed into my bike gear, loaded my fuel, and hopped on the bike. A few miles into the bike, I was quickly reminded that I needed to find a bathroom or bush. Always carry those individual wipes with you on long events. You never know when they might come in handy. My goal for the race was to complete one lap at a time. I set my heart rate at 65-70% and completed the first lap in 5:42. Wow, that is about 1/2 hr faster than I thought I would do it in and that was with a 10 minute delay to change a flat. I felt good so off to the 2nd lap.
Riders were all over the place. Many pushing their bikes uphill. The biggest dangers were the trucks, dogs, and logs. Hunters were cruising the fireroads looking for their dogs as they prepare for bear season. Then there were the fire-wood cutters. I heard this loud sound like a boulder rolling down a hill to look up and see a huge 100lb+ log rolling down the hill into the road. I felt like the little frog in Frogger dodging obstacles.
I arrived at the 80 mile mark and realized I would be able to finish the 2nd leg of the bike. That felt great. I began to count down the climbs, 5-4-3-2-1. Yeah baby, now a 9 mile descent to the TA. I road the last hr in the dark so my descent was a little slower than normal. 2nd lap time 5:52. WOW, total time at 13:26. That's almost 2 hrs faster than I anticipated. Boy was I pumped and felt great. "I think I'll try a lap of the run" I said to myself.
Changed gear and replenished my fuel. The hot BBQ sandwich hit the spot. With a drink in one hand and pizza in the other, I hit the trails. I said to self, "Self, you feel good, how about trying to run?" So I started running. I ran all the flats and downs. Walked briskly up the climbs. I am very familiar with the trails but have never done them at night. Mile 2-3-4 markers shined brightly along the path. There were also the mile 15-16-17 markers reflecting the miles to come. That only energized me. For some reason, I knew I could finish when I got off the bike. I looked forward to those double digit markers.
I reached the to of the climb, about mile 6 in 1:36. No way, that is what I do it in when I am just running. I am super motivated at this point. As I passed the mile 20 marker near the top I said, "Mile 20, I'll be back." I started running downhill and felt great. The miles ticked away like they were nothing. Entered the TA for a first lap of 2:59. Grabbed some more food and fluids and took off. I am going to finish and finish better than anticipated. I could already taste the finish. As I calculated the remaining time, I realized I might break 20 hrs! That was like a shot of jet fuel, but still had 3 hrs to go and anything could happen. I had to keep eating, keep drinking and watching my steps.
The mileage continued to tick off. I saw the 20 marker again, hit it and said, "20, you don't want none of me, I kicked your butt." Checked in at the Overlook and started down. I continued to feel great, hitting the markers as I passed and shouting sarcastically at them. The finish was in sight. I hollowed for the crew at the finish line to wake up. Crossed the line with a 2nd lap in 3:06 with a total time of 20:05. No worries, there is the deduction of time from the fog delay
total time 19:48:54
5th place
POST RACE
I was so pumped. Yes, it was about 3am, but I had more energy than when I started. I was alive, well and conquered one of the toughest triathlons out there. And, I did it easy. Well, it wasn't easy but I never hit the walls or had any difficulty during the event. I thought there would be points where I had to drag my body forward. The race went smoother than anticipated. Actually, I wanted to hike back to the Overlook and view the sunrise but thought better of it. So I hung out for a few hrs cheering others as they finished.
As I drove home, I reflected upon the Scripture I found strength in during my training and the event, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me" (Philippians 4:13). So I want to close with the One who gave me the strength to complete the task-Christ. I am not sure what Everest size task awaits you. You may be looking for strength to share your faith with someone. Maybe you feel led into some type of ministry which you feel incapable of doing. Maybe you are trying to kick a habit that holds you captive. Maybe your fears are blocking the light of hope from shining through. Whatever it may be, remember from where and who your strength comes from. Remember that we are "more than conquerors through him who loved us" (Romans 8:37).
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PEACE!
REMEMBER "RIDE HARD FOR THE END IS NEAR!"
