My Twelve Days of Ironman

In honor of the holidays I thought a recap of all my IMs to the verse of The 12 Days of Christmas would be fun. I’ve had it go wrong in just about every way imaginable with a few successes along the way.

On my first day at Ironman it was a fine day indeed…
California, May ’01, 13:15
With only the expectation and apprehension of finishing I conquered what I once couldn’t fathom. To this day I’m envious of folks taking their first shot at the distance.

On my second day at Ironman all I could do was sneeze…
5430 Iron Distance August ’01, DNF
With a head cold my second crack at the distance was much less than expected. I rolled off the bike into the grass at mile 70 and stepped off the course. I have several other abrupt ends to a race and they all haunt me. If I could only go back and exorcise those demons.

On my third day at Ironman I struggled with a breeze…
Utah, June ’02, 5:51
A freak wind storm hit just as the race started turning Utah Lake into angry waters. The race was stopped and a shortened version of the event was conducted. I made some good friends that day but in terms of a race performance there isn’t much I remember.

On my fourth day at Ironman I saw what might be…
Wisconsin, September ’02, 12:27
After a solid swim start and great ride I came up short on the run. A scenario I have repeated many times since but it was oh so close. If I could just get the run sorted out Kona would be in play.

On my fifth day at Ironman the heat gave no reprieve…
Coeur d’Alene, June ’03, 13:31
Who knew I could swim? After clocking sub 30min on the first lap I lost nothing on the second and cracked an hour out of the water. Though it was early in the day I felt a huge sense of accomplishment. The ride and run didn’t go as well as the heat crippled me. One of the many walking wounded I resorted to hiding in port-a-potties to keep from being pulled off the course.

On my sixth day of Ironman I lost my head to speed…
Ultramax, September ’03, 13:41
I’ve been accused of going out too hard on the bike many times. This time I did. Riding back from the turnaround I had moved into 7th overall and was taking time out of the leader. My detonation at mile 90 probably could have been seen from space. It was a struggle to leave T2 but with one foot in front of the other well it to the dark of night I knocked out all 26.2 miles.

On my seventh day of Ironman I ate beyond my needs…
Canada, August ’04, 11:34
Another strong swim and ride. I even had a great start to the run with the first two miles at 7:30 pace. The ticking time bomb in my gut was due to the over indulgence of gels without near enough water. By the run turnaround I was walking trying to soothe a very upset stomach. After a glorious pit stop at mile 18 the rest of the run was wickedly fast.

On my eighth day of Ironman the race went better than I could foresee…
Florida, November ’04, 10:50
Things didn’t start well with a poorly timed dive right into a sand bar and subsequent trampling at the beginning of the swim. The wheels were spinning on the ride but the slow start put me well into the masses and staying out of the illegal draft zones was challenging. At mile 80 I surged past hundreds of folks to clear all of the packs and kept the hammer down into T2 with a 5:08 ride. The run was slow but it was a run. This was the first time I actually ran every step of the marathon clocking 4:32.

On my ninth day of Ironman I found out about IVs…
Arizona, April ’05, 11:22
I quit my job and spent several weeks in Australia at Epic Camp during the winter in prep for this race. The early season event still left me lacking cycling form. It was a windy day but not hot. I didn’t worry much about electrolytes drinking mostly water. This mistake came into play on the last part of the run. I was dizzy, my vision was distorted and my fingers went numb. I stumbled into the finish and was in the med tent straight away. It took two full IV bags before they could get a blood pressure reading. I’ve always avoided the med tent and IVs, never again. The macho stance of toughing it out is silly when an IV is such a huge help in recovery.

On my tenth day at Ironman I was stung by two bees…
Lake Placid, July ’05, 12:12
This race ranks second only to Canada on my list of favorites. The swim is as fast as they come with a yellow guide wire strung out just below the entire course. I came out of the water in 57 minutes and didn’t look back. Bee number one got me heading out of town. My allergy meds were still at full strength so it was only a minor irritation. The second one got me late into the ride and caused a fair bit of swelling and discomfort. It was enough to throw me off my nutrition plan and once on the run the fuel gauge was heading towards empty in a hurry. I made it through the first lap then had to resort to walking, taking in as much gel as I could to get to the finish.

On my eleventh day of Ironman I learned there are never any guarantees…
Louisville, August ’07, 15:39
For a lot of reasons I wasn’t really into this one but still thought I could sneak it in on limited training by taking it easy. The swim was fine but 30 miles into the ride I was already tired. I made my life even more difficult by not tuning up the bike. My bottom bracket was rusty and shot with far from smooth performance. The last ten miles on the ride back into town were grueling and I was well into the latter stages of bonking as I rolled into T2. I ran the first mile out of transition and a few others along the way but for the majority of the day I was shuffling along at a snail’s pace with the terrifying thought of not finishing haunting me. It took 8:07 to finish the marathon and was a mental battle every step of the way.

On my twelfth day of Ironman I’ll be headed to Tempe…
Arizona, November ’08, TBD
I can’t wait to toe the line for this race. It will be the first time I repeat a course and there will be a strong contingent of Boulderites in on the fun.


Enjoy the holidays and best wishes for next year,

Straw