Beat Your Heat - The Run

Photo taken by Bill Baumeyer

 

As I entered the transition tent it appeared to be more like a scene from MASH than an over-sized changing room.  Half the competitors sitting down were packed with ice.  Big ice bags on their necks and heads, many slouched over looking like they’d been there for a while.  I grabbed the first seat that was open and a couple glasses of water from a volunteer and started pulling out my socks (pink), shoes and hat.  As I was changing I started talking to the guy next to me who was wearing about 5 different bags of ice in his tri top, in his shorts and around his head and neck.  I tried to encourage him by telling him he had tons of time, just get out there and start walking.  He just kept shaking his head and saying he couldn’t.  I repeated my message a couple more time until I was all changed.

I came out of the tent and stepped in the direct sun for the first time since getting off the bike, it was hot.  I stopped by the volunteers lubing athletes up with sunscreen.  I turned my back to the woman and said “put it everywhere you see skin”.  She got my shoulders and neck and then to my surprised reached around front and got my exposed belly.  Protected from the sun and partially felt up, I started running.

The run started on the edge of the channel that was part of the swim.  It was lined with spectators and again I saw David and Brandon and stopped for a quick chat.  I headed out on the path and was quickly confused; I approached a construction type sign that marked the end of the nice paved path we were on.  We were directed around it on to a beat up grassy path.  As I started running on the grass I noticed runners coming at me and taking a hard left up what looked like a grass embankment.  I followed those in front of me and just kept moving.  About 100 yards up the grass I made a 180 degree turn back and eventually up the grassy embankment.  I remember looking at the run route and elevation chart and there was one hill on the run, that grassy stretch was it.  At the top of the “hill” I started weaving through some parking lots and I reached Mile 1.  I started to have some dry heaving and before I knew it, I was puking.  Pure water, 3 to 5 good pushes worth.  The competitors that passed were nice enough to ask if I was doing alright, I could only answer, between puking, “I’m not sure yet!”  The puking stopped and I started walking and picked it back up to running. 

It didn’t take long for the sweat to start pouring.  In the sun it could only be described as hot as hell.  The run course did offer some reprieve as it joined up with one of the many paths that were tucked away from the road in the trees.  There was a good mix with stretches of pure sunlight and shade.  I adopted the plan of power walking in the sun and running in the shade.  It served me well as running in the sun quickly made me feel like lying down.  The shaded path was filled with a number of well-placed humor.  When I’d come out of the sun and feel like crap it was a nice pick-me-up to see a sign of the super hero Iron Man with some competitor’s face phtoshopped in.   Another favorite coming out of one of the wooded path stretch was “If this was easy, it’d be your mom!”  Apologies to all the mother’s, but it was funny.  Of course the sign that stood out the most "Puke and Rally!"

Most of the run was through the residential part of town.  I remember one older woman sitting in her lawn chair all three laps who thanked me for coming each time I passed, it was very nice but I wasn’t sure how to respond.  Residence set up some water hoses, sprinklers and there were plenty of kids with squirt guns happy to shoot me.  What I thought about during this first lap of the run is how it no longer felt like a race.  Athletes are pretty spaced out and your pace is more or less determined already so if someone flies by there isn’t much there to pick it up and push them back.  It really became a personal fight at that time.  It was a mix of joy knowing that I’d finish if I stayed smart, wondering what my actual finish time would be, wanting to run faster and thinking about what it will feel like to finish and be done. 

I was debating how I felt about the three loop run, and then at about mile 5 there was a sign that said “Mile 13, now your race starts.”  It was refreshing to know that one loop from there, I’d be half way.  Each aid station I went through I executed a similar routine as I did on the bike: drink a little Ironman Perform, some ice water, and then start dumping everything cold on my head.  I kept moving through the stations but took my time to get fluids and try and stay cool.  Something I had packed in my run transition bag was a small towel from the Door County Half Iron the previous year.  That was a hot day in July and they had ice cold towels; I grabbed one early on in the run that day and tucked it around my neck and in to my tri top.  The towel worked just like soaking my arm sleeves on the bike, it retained some water and helped keep my head cool.  Each aid station had a kiddie pool of ice water that was loaded with sponges, I’d drop my towel in and wrap my neck.   

Those first 5 – 6 miles were the worst of the run, which provided the biggest smack in the face reality of how hot it was.  As it often goes in races when you start to get down maybe reaching your lowest point and then you start seeing some familiar faces.  I arrived in Houston on Wednesday and was invited to come to a meet and great at a local bike shop, Shama Cycles.  The owner Philip has worked with Brandon, whom I mentioned from my swim, on helping him get a good fit on his tandem.  Philip was nice enough to open up his shop to CDifferent and allow a number of guides who have raced and trained with Brandon as well as other local athletes to meet another visually impaired athlete who was competing in Ironman Texas, Rachel Weeks.  Rachel has Usher Syndrome, which means she was competing to become the first visually and hearing impaired athlete to ever complete an Ironman.  At Shama, Rachel and I had the opportunity to talk about our experiences racing and guiding as well as meet and talk to a great group of athletes, some of whom were also competing and volunteering at IMTX.  While going to and from the Shama meet and great David and Brandon gave us a quick tour of some of the places that they had trained.  Brandon was discussing his stardom in the Houston area referring to the many interviews he’s done and the people he’s talked to.  His stardom was only confirmed as I ran; I wore my CDifferent tri-kit which across my shoulders on the back says “Blind Athlete Support”, athletes like Brandon, Rod and Rachel have tops that say “Blind Athlete”.  There were three things I heard over and over while running:  1 – “where’s your blind athlete?”  To which I would respond “Not this race unfortunately”.  As I got asked this more and more often I began responding “I had him at the swim. . . “  2- “Go CDifferent!” and 3 – “Where’s Brandon?”, to which I would respond “he’s got CapTex next week” referring to the Capital of Texas Triathlon which is a USA Paratriathlon Champsionship Race. 

Sam Lopez (doing IMTX next year) and I, photo by Ignacio Marquez (multi IM finisher) - met both at Shama

Although the faces that recognized me were new and I didn’t remember all their names right away, having them cheer me on at that point in the run was great.  As I looped back in by the channel, on the opposite side as the run start, the crowd was denser and my excitement was jumping again.  The walk-way was packed on each side with just a narrow enough gap between the spectators to run side-by-side with another competitor.  There was one fan holding a big sign that only allowed you to see his bare legs and arms, the sign said “If you don’t smile, I’m dropping my sign”, I gave him the biggest dumb fake smile I could, then I realized he was standing next to an Ironman photographer:

 

The best part about this section of the run: the crowd, the worst part, hearing Mike Reilly welcome finishers to the end of the race.  There’s a literal fork in the run course, turn right – run ¼ mile and YOU ARE AN IRONMAN!!, turn left – run 17 more miles.