First Timer's 70.3 recap for the Timberman Half Ironman

First Timer’s Timberman 70.3 race recap

Grab a cup of coffee or put aside a few minutes because this is going to take a while.

We had been staying at the Gunstock Mountain Campground for the past few days in our travel trailer. The mattresses that these Campers come with were NOT built for comfort.  Anyway, the day started even earlier than most training days. I got to admit, I enjoy those long training sessions.  So, the alarm was set for 4:41am but I didn’t need either of the two that I set.  I was wide awake by 3:00am.  I stayed in bed a while thinking about how today was going to go.  I knew what my goals where and how to accomplish this.  Hell, I’ve been training since last November when I registered for Timberman 70.3.   My goals for swim/bike/run where 40ish/3:45ish/2:20ish.  I was really hoping to finish in less than 7 hours.  More on that later, lets not get ahead of ourselves.  I got out of bed around 4:15am and started to get ready.  My transition bag was carefully packed the night before and I am certain that I hadn’t forgotten anything.

In my bag in addition to all my gear, I packed 3 packs of GU chomps, 2 GU’s, 2 bananas and 2 Power Bars.  This is the stuff I trained with so I was really confident that I would be ‘good to go’ for the race. 

Around 4:45am I had already had my coffee.  I grabbed the bagel I set out the night before, put some peanut butter on it, grabbed my gear bag and off I went to grab the shuttle at the top of Gunstock Mountain.    It is still dark out this time of year and I enjoyed the solitude of the walk.  For a minute I thought perhaps I’m heading out a bit too early but my doubts were quickly reversed as I saw car load after car load pouring into the lot.  It reminded me of the movie Field of Dreams; appropriately so.  I boarded the bus and the driver took a wrong turn into a parking lot.  OK, no big deal, she turned around and off we went. 

It was about a 15 minute bus ride to the transition area which this time was passed with some nervous conversation with a few athletes adjacent to me.  I couldn’t believe that this day had finally come.  Had I trained hard enough? Can I do this?  And I got this! NO matter what, I am going to finish, I don’t care if I have to crawl over that finish line!  It seemed like a healthy bit of doubt, and confidence. 

I arrived in transition a little after 5am and saw that my bike was on the rack the opposite way from which I put it on there.  I must have put it on backwards and the volunteers probably fixed it.  I got my transition area ready and headed out to watch the sun rise over Lake Winnipesauke.

  It was a perfect day for a race.  The air temperature was about 56 degrees and I was taking everything in.  I went back to transition and walked around a bit. I ate a banana and I walked to see if the Pro’s had arrived yet.  I saw the only pro I recognized as Andy Potts.  He was putting together his transition area.  He had an air of confidence about him.  He just looked relaxed and ready to go.

I milled about for a while then at around 6:20am I went back to transition to grab my wetsuit, cap and goggles.  I had my cell phone on me and got a text from my wife telling me that she would be there as soon as she could with our 2 rambunctious boys (ages 2 and 5).  I knew she wouldn’t be there for the start but that was not a big deal.  She was having her own race trying to get the boys ready.  Transition would close for all athletes at 6:45am and I didn’t want to push the time.  I put my phone on airplane mode and put it in my bag underneath my bike seat.  I always carry my phone with me; so I figured why change today?  I also took off my sweats, put them in my “morning bag” which was given to us at registration and brought it to the nice volunteers who placed it with all the others at the morning bag tent. 

I watched the Pro’s start at 7am and I was getting pretty amped up.  I knew my parents were coming up from the Worcester, MA area and I started looking for them.  Their day started about the same time as mine and they had a 2 ½ hour drive ahead of them.  My parents have always supported me in my endeavors and I already knew that they weren’t going to miss this.

My race started at 07:45am.  About 4 minutes before our start we made our way into the water to the first Buoys.    My goal for the swim was to be somewhere around 40 minutes.  I had just bought new Swim goggles and used them once.  I always have problems with sighting usually due to my goggles fogging up.  The horn went off and I started.  I swam well.  I was really happy with my breathing and sighting and my swim goggles were awesome.  I stayed a bit more reserved because I knew I was in for a long day.  I made the first turn. The water was 69 degrees which was perfect for this event.  The lake was also awesomely clear.  It is by far the best lake I have swam in.  I continued the swim and looked at my watch a few times.  I stuck to the buoys and didn’t really get pushed around much by the other athletes.   I got to the point where I could exit the water and looked at my watch.  I was at 46 ish minutes.   I said to myself; “Good job, nice swim, now keep it going”. I ran to the wetsuit strippers and they were awesome.  I also got to see my parents for the first time at this point and was so happy that they were at my race.

 

I went into transition (T1) and got ready for the bike.  I was feeling fantastic.  I knew everything was going as I had planned.

  I ran to bike out with a lot of energy and hopped on the bike. As I biked out of the shoot I got to see my wife and kids and it gave me an extra boost.  My kids looked so happy to see me.  

Now, Timberman’s bike course is really hard.  Right out of the gate you start climbing elevation.  The first climb lasts about a mile and I averaged about 12mph.  I was happy with the climb.  I continued on, and my plan was to eat my GU Chomps every 15 minutes.   I would alternate water and Gatorade.  Initially, I told myself to take it easy for the first 15 miles because these are the toughest miles on the course.  That being said I know I averaged better than 20mph which is by far the best I have ever biked.  Mile 14 was a long and big hill.   I saw several bikers actually get off of their bikes and walk up the hill.  Just after that  is the 1st aid station.  I skipped it as I had plenty of water.  I was still eating my chomps on schedule and was feeling really well.  I made it to mile 28 and the turnaround point.  This is the strongest and best I have felt all morning. 

I was on the return trip and I didn’t know it yet but my body was starting to break down.  I wasn’t following my nutrition plan.  I was so into the race I forgot to eat my bananas and Power bars.  This stuff is essential in this type of race. This is a rookie mistake which I will pay dearly for in the hours to come.  For now, my mind is realizing what my body is not telling me but I need more food. 

I start to fatigue around mile 33 ish.   I notice that all the people I was passing (I had to have passed at least three or four hundred riders)  where starting to leap in front of me.  Before the only athletes that were passing me were the strongest age groupers that started after me.   I continued on until I hit mile 50.  When I saw that mile marker sign I was instantly refreshed.  I pedaled hard the last 6 miles and back into the transition area.  My first 30 miles I averaged almost 20MPH and on the last 26 miles I only averaged 15MPH. 

I biked into transition and looked at my watch and knew I was having an awesome race.  I was in at 4:04 ish.  I racked my bike, changed my shoes, hit the head and off on the run I went.  I again skipped my power bars and banana’s that I had so carefully packed the night before.  My plan was to eat a GU then drink some water which I did at the 1st aid station (which is in the initial run shoot).  I looked at my watch and saw that I was at about an 11:18 mile. I wasn’t concerned yet.  I wanted to average a 9:30 mile.  This would put me at the finish line in about 2:20 and I would finish well under 6 ½ hours.  Seriously, this was awesome!

I was just shy of ¾ of a mile into my run when I realized my mistake.  I hadn’t taken in any banana’s or power bars.  I became EXTREMELY nauseous.  I can’t tell you how disappointed I was that I made such a dumb mistake.  NOW, I couldn’t eat ANYTHING.  The 1st aid station was ¾ of a mile into the run.  I just passed it and couldn’t take anything.  I got to see a High School Friend of mine (Lindsey Knox Lerit) who I visited the day before. Lindsey was just finishing her first lap.  If you know Lindsey you KNOW she is an infectiously positive person.  She came over to me, told me I looked great and that she would see me on the next lap.  I knew she was just trying to keep my mind in a good place because I looked and felt like hell.  I looked at my watch and realized I was “jogging” a plus 13 minute mile.  I went through the next aid station and tried to eat some pretzels, drink some water and took two sponges.  At these events they hand out water soaked sponges to help keep your cool.  The temperature was about 80 degrees and it was also pretty humid. Those sponges were like a little piece of heaven.

I knew at this point that it was now about SURVIVING the run.  I knew that my half marathon would be my worst time ever. My legs were starting to hurt.  I was not winded at all but my body wouldn’t do what I was asking it to do.   The volunteers were simply amazing.  They were full of energy and cheering us through.  The other athletes were also trying to cheer each other on. All the athletes I passed on the bike were now passing me like I wasn’t even moving.   I said just “keep going”. You need to make it to the turn around.   At the turn around I said make it to the second lap.  This was probably the most difficult part of my race.  These 3.3 ish miles back to the second turn around.  It was demoralizing knowing that other athletes were on their second lap and going much faster than I.  As I was finishing my first lap I saw Lindsey again. She gave me a high five and AGAIN told me “you look great” keep going.

I made the turn for the second lap and one of the volunteers told me “I'd say that you look good but I’d be lying”.  That made me chuckle.  We all have our names below our numbers on our BIB and I was receiving a lot of support from the onlookers, other racers and volunteers.  I saw a woman named Kelly.  I jogged and walked with her for a bit.  I wasn’t sure if my nausea was getting better or if I was just getting used to it.  I could see that the field of athletes on the run was much thinner than when I started.  I kept saying “just keep going” “you can do it”.  I wouldn’t allow any negative thought to enter my brain.  I remembered seeing a sign on the bike course that said “If your brain can believe it your body can achieve it”.   This would be my motto to the end of the race.  I made the turn and knew that I only had about a 5k left.  I ran with another age grouper that I had met in the starting area(I think his name was Kyung).  We chatted a bit as we walked.  Before I knew it I was at mile 12.  I felt a renewed energy because I knew I was almost done.  The battery on my Garmin finally died. I made the final left turn towards the finishers shoot.   I can’t tell you how happy I was!  I saw my Dad again and my mom (whom I didn’t see) was able to snap a picture with her smart phone. 

Just before I crossed the finish line I heard the announcers’ voice say my name. He said that I was completing my first half Ironman.  I raised up my arms as if I was Andy Potts who won the race.  The feeling of finishing this race was absolutely amazing!

I have learned a lot from this.  I am no longer a 70.3 virgin.  I will make smarter nutrition decisions in order to help me finish at a better time and so I don’t “bonk” on the run.  I have learned that you can finish anything with the proper mind set.  Although I set this goal it was never about me.  If it wasn’t for my friend Stu I would have never have had a bike to train on.  If it wasn’t for John at the Fairbanks Center and the WAM (Worcester Area Masters) coaches, I wouldn’t have had the skills to finish the swim.  Of course all the support from my friends and family is overwhelming.  Finally, we raised a lot of money for the Myocarditis Foundation in the memory of Devin Kravitz.  Thank you all for being a part of this journey.

BTW. My final time was 7 hours 23 minutes 12 seconds.

Nathan