Steelhead 1/2 Ironman Race Report

Monday, August 2

Good morning.

STEELHEAD 1/2 IRONMAN RACE REPORT

How on Earth did I get here?

INTRODUCTION:

It all started after I watched the 2009 Ford Ironman World Championship in Kona Hawaii. That is when I decided to enter the lottery for a spot in the World Championships.

After I entered the lottery I decided to start training last December. My thought was, what if I find out on April 15 that I got that spot. I would not have enough time to train for a full Ironman. Therefore, I went and bought a decent road bike and a Cycleops indoor trainer. I also joined XSport Fitness to use their pool. My triathlon life started December 2009.

Another thought occured to me. What, if after all this training, you find out you do not get that Kona spot. Why waste all this training? So, I decided to enter some triathlon events. Namely, Bigfoot, Steelhead 1/2 Ironman and Chicago Triathlon.

A TRIATHLETE IS BORN!

STEELHEAD 1/2 IRONMAN

How did I get here? Lots of hard work. Also, I thank all those individuals who gave me advice to get me to this point. You all know who you are and I thank you from the bottom of my heart. THANK YOU!

Lets get to the event.

I drove to Benton Harbor, MI Friday morning. My first stop was athlete check in. There was a long line to check in and go through the whole process. This is where you get your wrist band.


The wrist band allows you access to the event venue, etc. You also get your goody bag which actually is a nice sturdy useful bag. I like it. After meandering your way around the various lines to pick up your timing chip, etc. it's time to do a little shopping at the expo.

The expo was small and I only bought a Steelhead 1/2 IM Hat and some stickers.

After the expo it was time to make the drive to the event venue.

The venue was on the beach at Jean Kloch park. This is where you bring your bike to the transition area.

There are sooo many bikes that will be stationed here. Mine is the white one. The newbie. This is just the beginning. There will be rows and rows of beautiful high end triathlon bikes.

As I stood there I could hear the other tri bikes whispering about my little road bike. "Who is that?" "Not sure, looks fast though." They were intimidated.

As I walk along and rack my bike I have to say that the importance of the event is starting to hit me. Chills race down my spine. This race has a big time event feel to it. The athletes I see are in amazing shape. They are a happy and healthy bunch. Talk about bike shopping. My God, if you ever wanted to see awesome tri bikes just go to an Ironman event. Simply amazing.

After the bike is racked I walked around a bit and then headed to my hotel in New Buffalo, MI. I stayed at the Four Winds Casino. It was 25 miles from the event and one of the few hotels that would allow a one night stay.

I checked in and went to the room. After freshening up a little I went and walked through the casino to the Timbers Restaurant and had a pizza. I am always amazed watching all the casino patrons sitting in front of their slot machines like they are in a trance. I don't even know how 95% of the slot machines work any more. There are so many different games. I did not play. After dinner it was off to the room to get organized for the 1/2 Ironman.

Participating in a triathlon requires organization. You have various things you need and you will use them in a certain order, etc. You must be prepared for any contingency. I'm not going to cover all of that. Just know that there is a lot of thinking about this.

After getting organized I went to bed. My alarm was set for 3 am.

Good morning. Lets get that coffee brewing. Yes, I brought my own coffee machine again. I'm just sitting on the bed with my coffee and computer, killing time. The weather doesn't look good. Hopefully we will get this in. I shower and put on my Chicago Tri Club triathlon suit and pack the car and head for the event.

At this point I am really getting excited.

The rain was coming down as we all prepared in the very dim lighting in the transition area. This is the time when you pump your tires full of air, lay out your bike shoes, socks, running shoes, fill water bottles with Ironman Perform Energy Drink, position your helmet on the aero bars, make sure you have all your nutrition to consume on the bike, etc. You want this to be as organized as possible so you can be as swift as possible in transitioning from swim to bike and bike to run.

For this event I decided to position my stuff in a plastic bag so they would not get soaked in the rain. When I was organized it was time to don the wet suit. Once I had the suit on it was time to walk the 1.2 mile to the swim start.

I ended up walking with another guy in my age group. He had a lot more experience than me and I learned a lot on that walk. After the event I saw him. I could not find his name on the results page. Was he an Angel?

I asked him about the swim start. This has always been my biggest question. Where should I position myself within my group? I told him my swim goal time and he said, be in the 1st or 2nd row. So, that is what I did. Once we arrived at the swim start we talked a bit. My heart was beating just a bit faster. But, for the most part I was calm.

There were all different swim cap colors on heads all over the place. Grey, yellow, ours were white. Each age group has it's own color. The rain was still coming down.

Wave 1 was male pros. Wave 2 was female pros. Wave 3 was 55-59 age group men and women.

Finally, we were called. WAVE 4 PLEASE ENTER THE SWIM START. THREE MINUTES TIL THE HORN.

I position myself and look around at the other men in my age group. The look on their faces said it all.

THIRTY SECONDS...HOLY CRAP!....5 4 3 2 1...HORN

THE SWIM

I was in the first row and took off. When the water was crotch high I dove in and started swimming. The water was 76 degrees. Two degrees below the wet suit legal limit. I swam hard at first to get a good start. This was very anaerobic and after a couple minutes I could feel my lungs saying, "slow down." The water deepened the further I went and soon the lake bottom was gone.

After slowing down a bit I finally got my wind back. I was a little concerned at first. But, I just relaxed and was fine. There was no contact with me on this swim start. None. I was wondering if I was on course. I was. Just no contact. I guess that Angel I met was right.

It was an enjoyable swim and I sighted frequently to stay on course. Every time I would look ahead all I would see are the arms of other swimmers in the air getting ready for another plunge into the dark water. I just focused on the orange bouy's and stayed on course.

It was not long before I saw feet kicking in front of me. Must avoid and swim around, which I did. I'm not sure how many people I passed. But, I focused on my technique and breathing and staying relaxed. Finally I see the green bouy's which meant the finish was coming up. I slowly veared to the right and saw, SWIM EXIT. I swam harder and passed more athletes. Once My finger tips touched the sand I stood up and began my exit.

As I did this I was also slowly taking my wet suit off. I went under the swim exit sign and realized I had a 150 yard climb up the loose, deep sand beach. This was like running in deep snow. It was also a workout. Finally at the top I crossed the timing mat and made my 100 yard trek to my transition spot.

My swim time, actual swimming, was faster than my results suggest because your swim time includes that beach climb.

SWIM TIME: 38:18:00

Now I am running on the pavement to my bike. When I get there I move as fast as I can to remove my wet suit and put on my bike helmet, glasses, bib number and shoes. Then I run through transition to the bike mount area. Then, I am off.

TRANSITION 1 TIME: 3:59

THE BIKE

The bike went well. Basically, you just keep pedaling. I constantly am watching my cadence and speed. The legs felt fresh. I was soaking wet because of the rain. The roads were wet and there was no way to avoid water. So what!

After a while the sky started to clear which was nice.

You must be careful when biking to avoid any penalties. That's right, you can receive time penalties in triathlon for illegal drafting on the bike. You must stay 4 bike lengths behind the rider in front of you unless you are passing. Then when you decide to pass you better get that done in a certain amount of time or else you could be charged with drafting time penalty. Three penalties in the event and you are done.

Up and down the rolling hills we went. I have a lot of respect for the female athletes that passed me on the bike. They are really strong. I got "chicked" often.

My bike strategy was to go as fast as possible while allowing me a good bike to run transition. I was not sure what that effort level was because this was my first race at this distance. I just remember my first Bigfoot Olympic tri and how my upper hamstring areas felt after the bike. I did not want that to happen again.

Every now and then I would stand up on the pedals and do a little stretch.

The crowd support was nice.

The miles clicked away and finally I was pulling into the bike finish shute. I dismount and my hammys and legs allowed me to run with no pain or problems. I run to my transition spot and quickly change into my running shoes and hat and take off.

BIKE TIME: 2:46:52

TRANSITION 2 TIME: 2:57

THE RUN

Hey, I can run. Good. Time to suck it up. Churn those legs and let them adjust from the bike. Thank you Mr. Brick workout.

I passed people from the get go. As I passed other athletes they would say, "nice job." Every one is so supportive. We all share the same sport and we all appreciate the hard work it took us all to get here. You could say it's respect for each other.

By now the sun was out and it felt hot and humid. This was to my advantage because I do well in those conditions. I just kept chugging along. As I passed one older gentleman he said, "hey Chicago." I slow a bit and I say, "me?" He says, "how old are you?" I say, "50." He says, "good, you are not in my age group." He was 60 years old. I kept moving. A lot of spectators would call me Chicago because of my Chicago Triathlon Club tri suit. "Keep it up Chicago, looking good."

There were a couple steep hills to deal with. I drank gatorade every chance I could. I would think, "this is harder than I thought."

SHUT UP LEGS!

I was still passing a lot of runners. I was monitoring my pace with my Garmin. The pace was decent considering I just biked 56 miles. I had several sub 8 minute miles.

I only had two hamstring cramps to deal with on my right leg. I had to stop twice and stretch for about 20 seconds each time.

Finally, there is a 1/2 mile to go and I realize I am really gonna do this. I'm really gonna make it! I run thru the crowd lining the last 200 yards and hear my name. "Here comes Randy Egge." I run over the timing mat and stop. A volunteer hands me a Gatorade and I say, not yet. I bend over to catch my breath and stretch the hamstrings again. I stand up and take the Gatorade and start walking.

I DID IT! I AM 1/2 OF AN IRONMAN.

Got the finishers shirt and medal.

What an experience.

RUN TIME: 1:45:54, PACE 8:06 AVERAGE

I basically came in 18th place in my age group.

After the race I just walked around to keep the legs moving. They were sore and tired. Still are today. Not marathon sore but still a very respectable sore. Enough to let you know that you just had one hell of a time.

TOTAL FINISHING TIME: 5:18:00

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How did I get here?

I took a chance. I took a chance to believe in myself. It all starts with the thought/idea to do something. Then, action. I had always watched the Ironman World Championships on TV. I always thought it would be cool to do a triathlon.

I finally had the confidence in myself to take that leap of faith. After I registered for the Kona lottery the wheels were turning. The engine had started. I was off on another life dream and journey.

My goodnes, please. Whoever you are that is reading this, never be afraid to take that chance, That leap of faith to accomplish one of your life dreams. Just do it. You won't believe what you may become. Just open that door, walk inside and see who you really are.

You are a star!

Next up for me is the Chicago Triathlon, Aug. 29. Can't wait.


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" Beyond the very extreme of fatigue and distress, we may find amounts of ease and power we never dreamed ourselves to own, sources of strength never taxed at all because we never push through the obstruction."

* It takes courage to push yourself to places that you have never been before... to test your limits... to break through barriers. And the day came when the risk it took to remain tight inside the bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.” - Anais Nin