My Ironman China ’09 experience

2.6 miles in the water, 112 mi on my bike, and 14 miles in 110+ degree heat was all my body could take before I blacked out and all my muscles cramped up.  While I didn’t finish my first attempt at an Ironman triathlon, I can happily say that I didn’t leave anything out there in the end.  I put in the miles in on the road on both the bike and running, but I don’t think I was prepared for the searing heat and humidity that followed a day of torrential rains and thunderstorms.  Ironman Live put the high at 113 degrees.  I was preparing myself for temperatures in the high 80s and low 90s, but in the end I was one of almost 1/3 of the participants that didn’t finish.

Race day started out really well, especially considering the day before there was plenty of thunder, lightning, and rain coming down in sheets.  I donned a Zoot wetsuit Tim Marr let me borrow since the pros weren’t allowed to wear wetsuits.   We dove into the Nandu River which had one of the strongest currents I have ever swam with.  The current was so strong, that the course was slightly shortened so we could run up the shore on part of the course instead of fighting the current.  the wetsuit, which made me look a bit like batman, was like a double-edged sword.  While the suit allowed me to float really high in the water and swim pretty fast, the water temperature was not so cold to really warrant the wetsuit, and it got pretty hot in it.  About 1/4 of the way through the swim I really started baking in the suit.  We had two laps of the swim course, and had to run a couple hundred meters between the two loops.  The wetsuit was very heavy and the water inside felt like it was boiling.  On the second lap, I didn’t have many people to follow, but was able to sight pretty well.  When we got to the portion of the second lap where we were fighting the current I just stretched out my stroke as much as I could.  I felt like I was barely moving against the current, but finally came 10th out of the water.  I pulled off the wetsuit as quickly as I could and moved to the bike.

The sky was clear and the sun was already beating down hard 1 hour into the race.  The course was cleared and the roads were smooth.  Except for a strong headwind and the warmth it was pretty good conditions.  The only problem was it kept getting hotter.  I had my nutrition all planned out from the many rides I did on Oahu, but none of them prepared me for the conditions on the road.  I went through my water and bike nutrition (Hammer Sustained Energy and Performance) by the end of the first of two 60 mile laps.  I felt good going into the 2nd lap, but quickly noticed something was wrong when my quads started cramping shortly into the 2nd lap.  I was concerned that I was going through my nutrition too fast or drinking too much water, but realized I was probably getting dehydrated when I still didn’t have to go to the bathroom 4 hours into the race.  I was also getting really hot on the road, and the breeze was not welcome, because it felt like a blast of hot air instead of a cool breeze.  Around the 100km mark I started questioning whether I would even be able to finish the bike.  I kept telling myself to make it to the next aid station or the next town.  Fortunately the volunteers were dousing those of us that stopped at the aid stations with cold water.  The water helped temporarily, but the sun quickly evaporated water or sweat; even the water in my water bottles was hot shortly after being filled.  On the second lap I was one person just fall off his bike for no apparent reason and a girl crying on the side of the road; I felt like doing both, but I told myself that at a minimum I wouldn’t take the ambulance into the 2nd transition area.

Battered and feeling beaten, I rode into T2, but seriously questioned whether I could leave the tent.  I was dizzy and my body temperature felt dangerously high.  I contemplated so many times whether I could go on or whether I should just quit, but kept thinking of all the time, energy and resources that I’d put into preparing for this.  If there was anything left in the tank, I would give it a go or pass out in the process.  I arrived in T2 around 3 o’clock and the sun was brutal, so I decided to lay down for a few minutes and let my body cool off.  Around 4 I tried getting up, but my abs and quads started cramping so I got some more liquids and food in me.  I laid down again, and woke up around 5.  I can hardly imagine how many people rotated through transition while I was out, but it didn’t matter.  I felt better, but not great.  I strapped on my fuel belt, put on my hat, and started my death march.  Jogging, much less running wasn’t really an option.  I stuffed as much ice down my suit as possible as often as possible.  I tried jogging a few time, but that just brought on muscle cramps.  I knew the course would be hot, and I knew a lot of people were going to be walking, but I was amazed by the number of pros and strong athletes that were walking as well.  The heat seemed to claim even the strongest of the athletes, but too many, including myself, finishing is finishing, no matter how you get there.  I did my best to walk/jog because I knew how long just walking would take.  I stuck ice cold sponges in every part of my suit and tried to continue consuming liquids and food to keep myself hydrated an moving.

I finally made it past the half way mark of the run and was confident that I would be able to finish.  So badly, I wanted to cross the finish line and be declared an Ironman.  I kept walking/jogging, but felt like I had something in my left shoe.  I didn’t know what it was, but my foot was really bothering me.  I took of my shoe and just moving my muscles in different ways seemed to disagree with my body as my abs started cramping up so bad I could hardly stand up.  I gave myself a second to stand up, but when I finally straightened out I got a horribly dizzy feeling.  That’s when everything started spinning, I couldn’t feel my legs, and I slowly blacked out.  I remember it pretty vivdly to.  It was just like a movie.  Everything felt like it was getting dark from the outside of my eyes to the inside, like a fade out effect.  I tried to fight it, but I had no control.  I don’t know how long I was out.  To me, it only felt like a few seconds, but it must have been longer than that because there were about 5 people crowded over me when I came too.  I wanted to get up, but the race marshall wouldn’t let me get up quite yet.  An ambulance was called for me, even though at that point I didn’t want to take it.  I tried to get up to see if I could just walk, but that’s when I realized the race was over for me.  My legs were cramping and I couldn’t stand on my own.  Things got worse when I tried to get in the ambulance.  Lifting my legs seemed caused a horrible response throughout my body as what seemed like every muscle in my cramped up from the arch of my foot to my neck.  The pain was excruciating.  What made things worse was the people helping kept trying to lift me into the ambulance, causing even more muscles to cramp.  I laid on the ground for at least 15 minutes before my quads started loosening up.  I tried lifting myself on the guerney that was brought to the ground and my triceps and biceps started cramping as well.  Talk about leaving everthing out there.  I didn’t think I would ever get to that point, and I never had before.  I can honestly say that I pushed my body to the brink and over, with nothing left to give.

I was brought to the finish line where there was medical support and took a good hour before I even attempted to stand on my own again.  I was finally brought to a massage area via a wheelchair and was worked on for a good half hour.  When the massage was finally done I was able to stand on my own two feet again, albeit not sturdily.  In the end, a little over 200 of the 380 competitors were able to finish, and I’m sure everyone has their own story.  Some of the pros put it best when they said that when you’re out there you’re facing your own personal battle to take your next step, get to the top of the next hill, or finish.  I don’t regret for a second trying to

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~ by mattcamp on April 21, 2009.