Race Report
On Sunday September 12, 2021 I participated in the Ironman Atlantic City 70.3, as part of a relay. My cousin wanted to do an IM event, but just wanted to do the run portion. So I said we can put a relay together. We signed up for 2020. Which was cancelled. This year we made it.
Things started out as usual, a late start to get to Atlantic City. No matter how much I plan to leave at a certain time, when driving, time always seems to slip away. So we wound up getting into AC around 8:30 pm. Then dealt with a long process to try to check in.
We went to an early pre-race dinner Saturday night. A great time, great food. But there was a slight interruption at the end. I was on the phone talking to a friend about something, when it felt like my left quad ripped and started incredible cramps/spasms. It could have been the chemotherapy I am on or perhaps sitting too long. I am going with a combination. I went to the floor and then the right leg joined in. Scared people for sure. People were wondering if I would, or should, racethe next day.
Back at the room I called my friend back to let them know I was okay. Mixed a small bottle of Gatorade with a large bottle of water and drank it all. Set my alarm, a little bit later than I would normally since I was doing a relay. Went to sleep. Despite my setting the alarm for about 5AM, I did my usual. Not much sleep and was up around 4AM.
RACE DAY:
Had a couple of muffins and coffee. Texted my brother to let him know I was awake earlier than expected. Since he was doing the full 70.3 solo, he had to get to the course earlier than me. Told him I would see him at Bader Field. Then I had my usual delay. No matter what I do, or how well I lay things out, I always think I missed something. LOL. Mixed my Hammer drinks, grabbed a Lyft and off to Bader Field. Got there around 5:45 and had WAY more time than I needed.
Passed by the West Point Triathlon Team and wished them good luck. I got a semi quizzical look, and quickly added "I am friends with your coach " and they smiled.
I went to the swim start to see if I could find the swimmer for my relay, but did not see him. Found my brother and we hung out a bit, but once the anthem played and the swimmers started into the water, I went back to my bike rack to wait for Peter.
The race start time was moved to 6:45. I knew the swimmer planned on seeding himself towards the front 25% of swimmers. I did not know when he got into the water. But I did know I was looking at completing my leg within 5-1/2 hours from the time he started. So to err on the side of caution, I went with him getting in right away at 6:45, which meant I had a 12:15 PM completion time in my mind to avoid a DNF.
As I waited at the bike rack, I struck up a conversation with the two cyclists waiting for their swimmers. Both really nice. First 70.3 for each. Was a great way to pass the time.
Then swimmers started coming out of the water. Was a bit shocked when the first ones showed up. Really fast. Then I started hearing about how bad the swim was - the tide was exceptionally low. People were looking like Woodstock '94 attendees and getting cut up on things in the water. I saw someone I knew run by and I yelled out words of encouragement. He gave a quick glance - I guess he may not have expected someone in transition yelling out his name.
The swimmer came over to the rack, I took the chip from him, put it on and took my bike off the rack.
I did the half run thing, in my bike cleats, to get to the mount/dismount line. I heard someone cheer for me from beyond the barricade and looked. There was a slight delay is seeing/hearing/processing. I realized who it was as I passed by - I tried to acknowledge her but not sure how well I did.
Then it started, my breathing turned to garbage. I wasn't going that fast to get to the mount/dismount line. Didn't matter, started coughing and choking. My heart was beating way too fast. And I only had about 58 miles to go.
I got on the bike and got my cleats into the pedals pretty quickly. I had a couple of races where it took almost a mile to get them set. Still have no idea how those happened. It is not that hard ;)
I tried to keep things slow and easy to get to the start of the route. My breathing, though not ideal, started to be controlled. I was getting settled in. I heard the beep as I crossed the timing mat and started my Garmin. I was executing my plan. I planned on a couple of miles to warm up. On good days I could be fine within 5 minutes and a mile or so. On bad days, it could take a half-hour. It turned out to be more towards a bad day.
By 15 minutes in I started thinking I should just stop. Breathing was bad. Legs were bad. Everything was bad. Then I reminded myself of the goal. No DNF. I needed to go at least a half-hour - I can usually keep going once I get past the first 30 minutes.
About 5 minutes later I started thinking I had a good run since I started doing triathlons. Maybe it was time to go out gracefully. I watched the other cyclists, and kept on thinking I had no right being on the course doing what I was doing. Imposter syndrome kicked in big time. I have been faking all of this. Then there was this part of my mind - "Your cousin. Their first IM 70.3 You need to just finish, not matter how slow, just no DNF."
I hit a section where the wind was not bad. My average MPH for the ride ticked back up. I wanted to hit my pace from 2018, or better.
I held my pace, and then got into the pattern. Drops in speed where the winds were tougher, a bit better speeds in certain sections. Unfortunately the wind slowed me down more than helped on most sections. When the wind was going my way, I tried to get the most I could out of it. I hit 24 MPH at points – some wind and going downhill helps a lot ;). But it was not enough to offset everything else. By 20 miles in, I had a sense of I was not going to best my 2018 pace. But I was not THAT far off.
Then the next few miles took forever. I was doing a lot of math. 28 miles is 1/2 way through the 56 miles. At my pace, when will I reach 28 miles? Will I be fast enough to not DNF? My legs were not cooperating. The chemo did a number. Total bricks. And to top it off, my right foot cramped. I was careful not to push too hard - each time I tried going a bit harder, my legs were there threatening me - "Go on, try it. I dare you. Push a bit more and I will end your day." The flashes of spasms and shooting pain made it clear. My legs were not joking around.
And then it was back to "Well 23 miles is respectable. You have Stage IV Cancer. No one will blame you if you tap out now." But then I went back to counting miles mode - "If I can make 28 miles, then I am half-way done."
The faster cyclists started passing me on their second loop. While the first loop was okay, the second loop was a lot worse. People not calling out they were passing. Incredibly tight passes almost clipping tires. Passing on the right. Cyclists jostling and basically acting like a--holes. No other word really would accurately describe what I was seeing. I expected them to go down in a heap in front of me.
Then the lowest part of the race. A guy passed me and spit. Caught it all over my arm. I am not a small target to see. He was front and left of me, he just passed me, and looked at me before he spit. Seemed intentional. I tried to wash off my arm with water. I was not mad. I wish I was. Instead I was completely defeated. I wanted to stop. Came real close to doing so. But I kept pedaling.
A short time after I got spit on, I heard my brother call out. He had caught up to me at around the 30 mile mark. (I started the bike about 30 minutes before he did.) He asked how I was doing. I said "My legs are f--ked, they are solid blocks." Usually I am laughing and joking on the bike and run as I go through the miles. He saw I was off.
Then things changed. Though there were many cyclists that were still acting recklessly, there were many who asked me how I was doing. This included some that were obviously fast (the wheels were dead giveaways). Though there were not as many conversations as normal (for me) on the bike ride, there was one woman I spoke with a couple of minutes. She noticed my jersey and iTRI4aCure. She mentioned her sister is dealing with cancer.
I hit sections of town where there were crowds of people were cheering and ringing cowbells. There is nothing quite like that. It is an amazing feeling when you are beat up, tired, feeling like you can't do this. A burst of energy. I made sure not to let down while going through these sections.
I hit a ramp and two women, in volunteer shirts, were laughing, applauding and speaking to every rider. They were awesome. Yelling out "Only good looking people can make it up the ramp." I replied "Okay I will turn around." They laughed. (Quick aside here - the volunteers and everyone else supporting the race - including the police and EMS - were great. Normally I call out more thank yous than I was able to muster this race as I tried to get through the race. It was a lot more nods or slight waving of a hand this time. So here is another thank you for everything.)
Then I realized I did not have too far to go - maybe 16 miles? A couple of tough parts on the course left, but was starting to think I could make it. I just had to keep going.
It was around time I saw a guy sitting down on the side of the road. Orange jersey. I asked him if he was okay or needed help. He replied he was okay, just tired. I was happy to see him pass me a bit later on.
At mile 43 my Garmin 520 gave me a low battery warning. Not sure how. It was fully charged when I left my room that morning and I did not turn it on until I got my bike off the rack. I kept my fingers crossed - I had watches on my hand so I had back-ups for general time, but relied on the mounted device.
Then back to the math. I was watching my average MPH continue to drop. How fast did I need to go to make sure I was done by 12:15pm? Then I was at 50 miles. I started singing silly songs - in my head.. My own earworms. Some with words that were not appropriate to say in public. Some that would make me seem like a tall 5 year old spewing silliness. Thought of friends. Family. Baseball. Boulders. Music. The support I get from all of them. And that I am still here doing this no matter how slow I go. A bunch of bits and pieces darted through my mind as I pedaled. It kept me moving.
I saw my average MPH drop to 13 MPH. I think it touched 12.8. I did not want it to go below 13 MPH. I also knew I was close enough to the end to push my legs a bit more. In all my races I try to push it at the end. When I looked at my splits after the race, my previous 10 miles was 12.03 MPH. I closed the last 8 miles at 13.55 MPH and pushed my average back to 13.1 MPH.
I pulled into the long mile ride from the end of the route to the dismount line, and heard people cheering me on - my wife and cousins. I got off the bike, did the bike cleat run to the bike rack, racked the bike and gave my chip to my cousin. It was 12:01PM and I knew no DNF today. I cheered her on as she headed out.
There was a runner waiting for a cyclist to come in - one of the cyclists I had spoken to earlier. Turns out she was chatting with my cousin. My cousin filled her in on my cancer and what I do. She said I am warrior. I gave her a iTRI4aCure bracelet and told her I would be cheering her on and cheer her at the finish line. I cheered her as she headed out. And my cousin and I waited for her at the finish line so I could get her a couple of photos and to cheer her as she finished.
At the end of the day, I hit my main goal. No DNF. But the chemo does slow me. I have it every day. No days off. The first 7 days of every 21 day cycle are the toughest. The last 14 days, with only one drug, is easier. The timing was not optimal for the race.
Today I am 5 days into the first week of a cycle. Yesterday was tough. Today not as bad. With that being said, as I go through each round of the drug trials, I think I am getting a hang of how it is affecting me. I think I can get better on working on my training. I should be on a couch on oxygen. I am almost 7 years into this, where only 10% make it 5 years.
So of course that means I am tentatively putting together plans for various races, in my head, including a 70.3 relay next fall. May be looking for relay members. And of course, I will plan to try to do a 70.3 next year. Solo.
@itri4acure
