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| June 28, 2009 | Shawn O'Connell's Ironman CDA Blog | | I had raced IM AZ in 2006 and afterward immediately proclaimed to the world that I had absolutely no interest in ever racing that distance again. I was done... stick a fork in it… check it off the list… whatever… NEVER AGAIN! Well, as time passed and I thought about the many mistakes I had made training, I knew things could have been different. Then, after watching Marc, Lewis, Jeff, and co. race in Coeur d’Alene in 2008, I once again got the Ironman bug after a three year hiatus. So this past week, with my good buddy Brad aka “I know how to pace myself” Stocker, I took a shot at my second ironman. My goals for the day: 1) Have fun and finish 2) 10 Hrs ( :55- :57 / 5:15 – 5:25 / 3:30 – 3:40 add a few minutes for transitions) 3) Have fun and finish.
The weeks leading up to the race I had felt good. The taper seemed to be going well and I was happy with the process. I was also excited that my parents and sisters made the trip out from Minnesota for a little vacation and provided awesome support. Weather reports for race day changed by the hour ranging from sunny and 75 degree to raining and 50 degrees with strong winds. It was difficult to prepare and make decisions on clothing, nutrition, etc. and it wasn’t until the actual race morning that the weather reports could be trusted… cloudy and 50 degrees changing to rain and 60 degrees by mid afternoon with strong winds coming off the lake. As it turns out the rain did hold off until 4:00 pm but we would never see 60 degrees. Once the rain hit is would be 50 degrees with wind chills in the mid 40’s and getting colder.
Minutes prior to the gun, staring out into the chop, I reminded myself of the work that had been done and I ran through my race plan. A little small talk with a guy next to me to settle the nerves and I was ready to go. To my surprise, especially considering the distance of the event, it was a MAD dash off the beach. For a good 90 seconds I was in a full sprint just trying to get away from the chaos. Once clear of the mass of flinging arms and near the front I settled into my pace. Managing the waves and finding good feet were the new objectives. The conditions that morning on Lake Coeur d’Alene were as rough as I’ve ever experienced in a race. While this provided a great challenge it also presented an opportunity to gain time on weaker swimmers. Following a fierce battle with the angry seas through the first 1000 yards it turned out to be rather enjoyable riding the surf into the beach. I was through the first lap in 27:14 and felt great. Unfortunately, having just swum away from a small group, I headed out for the second lap solo. More of the same on lap two (rough out and body surfing in) and I was in around 56:30. Perfect... the hours of pace work with Lewis in the pool had paid off and I was into transition on schedule despite the conditions. To top it off I crossed under the swim to bike banner and over the timing mat in 59:59… once second ahead of schedule. I had a small chuckle with myself as I jumped my bike.
In my opinion Coeur d’Alene is a superior course compared to Arizona. Unlike the exposed desert roads’ leading to Fountain Hills, CDA’s course has a nice mix of rollers, challenging climbs, long descents, curvy downhills, wide roads, narrow roads, streets lined with tall pine trees, and tons of people cheering. I’ve never been a big fan of blasting out of the gates. I know that others prefer to go out strong and get into the race as soon as possible but experience has taught me that a more controlled warm up early on the bike has almost always proven to be a better approach… regardless of the distance. So for the first few miles I avoided my aero bars and made sure my back and hip flexors were well warmed up. Once out of town and 5 miles into the bike I decided it was time to go. For the next 56 miles everything went as planned. I stayed on top of my nutrition going through my first bottle of INFINIT and a Cliff bar while grabbing a few banana cuts along the way to top it off at roughly 1200 calories. I was through in 2:37. Lap two began with a short conversation to remind myself to stay relaxed and treat it as no more than a regular Saturday training ride with Marc, Lewis, BH and the boys. Through the special needs zone for more INFINIT, a short porta-potty and I was back out for more fun. Again, all was going well and I really beginning to enjoy the race. At mile 95 the inevitable finally came and I went through my first rough stretch. The hills seemed taller, the wind blew harder, and the bikers rolled on by. Up to this point, as I would later learn, I had been 3rd in my age group out of the water and 1st in the age group to the 39 mile turnaround. But there wasn’t much I could do as I labored over my gears and watched my age group ride away from me. I managed to work through my troubles by empting the remainder of my calories and taking all that was offered at aid stations. By the time I rolled into T2 I was in 12th place in my age group with a bike split of 5:23. More importantly though the extra calories had kicked in and I was looking forward to the run. Lesson learned… keep eating!!
As the skies began to darken with rain looming, I decided to keep my arm warmers with me on the run…a wise choice. Just happy now to be off the bike I rolled through the first mile in 7:53. Prior to the race I was hoping that I would find someone to run with to help pace the miles and distract my thoughts about how difficult it actually is to run 26 miles off the bike. Into the second mile I thought that I had found that person. We ran stride for stride and it felt good. We opened a small conversation and exchanged marathon expectations. As we ran through mile two in 7:23 he informed me that he was planning on running a 3:20 marathon. At that point I made a decision to let him go and pull in the reins, it’s a decision that I’m still second guessing. For the next couple of miles I settled into my eight minute goal pace. At mile 5 I endured my next challenge… bloating. It became so hard to run that I was forced into the porta-potty (enough said) for my first of five visits. I was through the first check point at 7 ½ miles with an 8:15 pace. Not bad considering my “issues”. Also at that point I was joined together with fellow Tri-Scottsdale Kona Qualifier John P as he ran up to me. I thanked him for the encouraging words but wasn’t in a position to hold pace. Miles 10 though 13 were really tough as I began to bonk. Shuffling back into town I was in no mood to head out for more but knew quitting wasn’t an option. At the mile 13 aid station I made the decision to EAT!! I downed cookies, bananas, chicken broth, orange slices, pretzels, and washed it all down with a few Gatorades. At this point I felt that one of two things were going to happen… either I was going to be walking and puking for the next few miles or getting my legs back and actually begin to run again. Luckily by mile 15 I was feeling better and thinking about salvaging what was left of the race and possibly running a 3:45. While I was able to get the nutrition under control the bloating continued to come and go. So for the remaining 10 miles it was run a little, walk a little, and fight off the chill as the rain and wind whipped off the lake. With a couple blocks to go I began to hear the famous cry of “You are an Ironman” and was relieved that the misery was almost over. Down through Main Street and across the line in 10:34… I was once again an ironman!
Although a bit disappointed with the second half of the run and a good 30 minutes off my 10 hour goal time, I am more than satisfied with my efforts and my swim and bike. I need to thank everyone at Tri-Scottsdale for their support especially Marc, Lewis, BH, Jeff, and Brad. Additionally I would like to express much gratitude to Michele Clancy my massage therapist, my chiropractor Rebecca Carlson, to Travis McMaster for providing support in more ways than I can name, and to my family for making the long trip across the prairie. The ironman is an enormous endeavor that is made possible with the help of others and I’m very appreciative. Cheers, Shawn.
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09.27.11 TriScottsdale Represents at Nathan's Tempe Tri 40 TriScottsdale members participated in the race. 28 scored team points (top 10 in category) with 18 podiums including 3 age group winners and 3 overall winners! Great team effort and repre... More>>
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