Received this story from one of my oldest and favorite clients, Ward Smith, a senior executive with Stanley/Black & Decker. It's all about taking a dare (we've all been there) and ultimately training and competing in a Triathlon. It all started last year on a dare by my good friend and college buddy Tim Kowalewski.
Since last fall, I have been anticipating a race on Sunday June 12 in Cambridge, MD. I guess you could call me a “Tri Newbie”. It is a sport that has fascinated me for several years. As most of you know, I played competitive sports at an early age, all the way through college. The constant strive to get stronger, faster, and return the next season better than the last has been with me for most of my life. Then as all of us know, a new pattern of life begins after school.
Triathlon took a major hold on my life when my college roommate and close friend Curt Straub qualified for the 2009 Ironman World Championships in Kona, an unbelievable feat given his short time in the sport. I was determined to see what drove my friend to the insane level of training. Knowing that a full Ironman was not in the cards, Eagleman 70.3 offered a wonderful challenge in a race that attracts age groupers from all of the country.
Tim and I drove down to the Shore on Saturday morning after loading our equipment up. We traded our thoughts of what each of us was expecting for the race, neither one of us had competed in a race of this distance, but we had spent countless hours on the internet reading all kinds of blogs and websites about race strategy and what to anticipate.
Tri Columbia puts on a first class event. There was a pro open forum talk in the afternoon – defending Women’s 2010 Kona Champion Miranda Carfrae and several other top pros were competing in the race – which gave us regular folks a great insight into the world of professional triathlon. It’s always pretty cool to see people in person who you have read about and seen in magazines. It’s a very unique environment – everyone’s nervous for the early morning start, but there is also an understanding between everyone that the real battle tomorrow lays within the individual and the race course.
Race packets picked up, final check and adjustments on the bikes, and it was off to the transition area to rack our bikes. I knew that the race was big, but it really hit me when you saw how many rows of bikes there were, it went on and on. Off to the Farm to get some dinner and hopefully some sleep.
3:30am came early, needless to say I was pretty pumped to see what the day was going to bring. I had been training for this day for 6 months, now it was here.
The energy and atmosphere in the transition area was your typical race morning feel – experienced racers going through their checklists, first timers trying to remember where their bike was located, guys with nervous chatter, but mostly competitors anticipating a long rewarding day ahead. Once my bag was unpacked, I started to go through all of my race needs and making sure that my equipment was in the right place. I made sure to take the time and get my running shoes on and get a quick 5 min. run, trying to calm the prerace jitters.
It was now ready to get ready for the swim. I made a feeble attempt to put on sun tan lotion, as some of you saw after the race. Somehow, I missed entire areas on my arms that have resulted in the most unique sun burn I have ever gotten, lesson for my next race. Any way, it was onto the water for a practice warm up swim. The water was extremely warm, over 80 degrees this year, no wetsuits for this race. Usually, the swim warm up area is located in the swim exit, a nice way to get familiar of the exit area and the route to the transition area. One very unique aspect of the Eagleman swim is the fact that the end of the swim is a very shallow area, as I would learn later, very tempting to stand up and finish the last 25 yds standing up.
Now came the next challenge – finding my wife, Karen, in the mayhem of all of the friends and family that had come out to support their racer. Tim and I had been bouncing back and forth taking care of our own pre-race rituals; we linked up and made our way to the swim start area. Luckily, I ran into my beautiful and supportive wife, along with close friends Jim and Jess Lears. It meant a lot that Jim and Jess made the effort to come out so early, Jess is 8 months pregnant! They had signs and smiles, exactly what I needed to remind myself to relax and enjoy the present.
While catching up with Jim about the pre-race craziness, guess who we run into – a high school buddy, Jason Quenzer. It was great to catch up with him briefly about what he has been up to these days, his family, and his anticipation of the day. It is always amazing that at events like these, you run into people who you haven’t seen in a long time.
Swim start was at 7:34 am, a kiss goodbye to my wife, and it was time to enter the water. My goal for this day was stay in the present, focus only in my immediate sphere, it’s really easy to get overwhelmed with the totality of the day and of each discipline. It’s a long day, but you have to break it down into the areas that are immediately in front of you, otherwise, you will get overwhelmed.
Open water swimming is a very different animal than training in a pool for 6 months. The black lines on the bottom of the pool to help you go straight are gone, you can’t see 2 inches in front of you in the Choptank River. We trended for only a couple of minutes, but it felt like an eternity. The horn sounded, and off we go. The first leg of a 70.3 is a 1.2 mile swim. The course for Eagleman is a rectangular course, there was minimal chop and very little current.
It took me all the way to the first turn buoy to get my breathing under control. I am not a swimmer, but I kept trying to focus on the present, stay within my sphere. My buddy Curt always reminded me in our phone calls and emails leading up to the race – “just finish the swim.” I figured it was pretty good advice from a guy who competed at Kona, where their swim leg is 2.4 miles.
As I neared the swim exit, I could see other racers starting to stand up – “YES, the swim is almost done.” With only 15 or 20 yards to the shore, I just stood up and walk in the rest of the way, it gave me time to catch my breath. Running up the shore, I saw the signs and heard the familiar voices – Karen, Jess, and Jim cheering and waving the signs. I did my best to acknowledge them, but I tend to more a bit serious when I am competing, but I did crack a smile, and hopefully a little wave – I was already on autopilot…
The Bike course at Eagleman is known to share many characteristics of the Hawaii race, a reason that so many pros come to Cambridge to race. It’s flat, hot, and windy. 56 miles is a long way, but I kept reminding myself the focus of the day – stay in the present, focus on my immediate sphere. A big race like Eagleman attracts talented age-groupers from around the country, and these guys and gals can fly on the bike. I stopped counting on how many people passed me at around 40. It reminded me how much your ego can get you into some trouble, the competitor inside what’s to react and fight. One thing I learned on the bike course – my bladder somehow shrunk to the size of a 10 year old. I made 2 pit stops, which obviously slowed me down, but I knew I need to keep up with my hydration to get ready for the run. The swim and the bike are only preparation for the beginning of the race – the 13.1 run.
My goal for the run – focus on getting to each aid station. The run is a straight out and back with aid stations every mile. It was time to bring you’re A game. Out and back runs are a different breed. For those who are starting the run, you see the guys and gals who are finishing or about to finish. They are more experienced, in better condition, and an immediate reminder of what’s ahead. Nutrition was going to be a big factor in how well the race was going to go. I had maintained my plan on the bike, and now, I was going to keep it simple of the run – Ice, water, and Pepsi. I knew that anything else in stomach could cause problems.
For the first 3 to 4 miles, I did the same thing – ice down the shirt, 2 cups of water, and a half a cup of Pepsi. I was surprised, I was actually feeling pretty good. My pace was slow, about 8:20 to 8:30 pace.
At about mile 5, I saw my good friend Tim up ahead. He is a very strong runner, and I knew the moment I saw him, he was fighting hard. He had been dealing with a hip discomfort and mild foot pain heading into the race. We ran together for several minutes, I asked him how the hip was doing. I could tell he was digging deep. We parted ways, and it was onto the turn around.
There was the infamous snowball stand at the turnaround, very much needed since the entire run is in the open, not shade. The run was half over. More ice, more water and pepsi… It was time to pick the pace up and finish strong. I was determined to have my best run. I have run the Baltimore Half the past 2 years, and I always had a bit of a struggle towards the end of the race.
Mile 10 – the race focus intensified, I was not going to let anyone run past me. It was an emotional journey those last 3 miles. I had set a goal of 5 hrs 30 mins to finish, with around 2 miles to go, my watch read 5:20, it wasn’t going to happen, but that was okay, it was probably more important to just set the goal.
The last 500 ft is quite amazing, lines of people cheering everyone on, there is a slight curve, so the runners never really see the finish line until the very end. I ran as hard I could, voices screaming and cheering, crossing the finish line at 5:35.
I found Karen, my Mom and Bill. It was great to see them and celebrate. It takes some time to gather yourself after such a long race, slow down the heart, cool the body, making sure you don’t cramp up.
Final Results: Swim – 45:24 T1 – 2:18 Bike – 2:55 T2 – 3:29 Run – 1:48
Total – 5:35
Onto the next race and adventure . . .
What dares have you undertaken which delivered this kind of satisfaction?