The Aftermath: Part 1

As I mentioned in my race report, I had some difficulty with math during the marathon – and now I’m having some difficulty with math of a different kind: aftermath. However, the last week has brought plenty more good than bad (relating to Ironman, triathlon and my efforts for LIFEcycle).

First I’ll get the bad bits of the aftermath out of the way, and my next blog will focus on the positives

Bad: My left shin, a mysterious sun rash and PIDS

Good: Pride, membership, cancer treatment (all in my next/final Ironing The Man blog post – probably in a few days… things got pretty backed up at work while I was in Lake Placid)

Shin: Starting late in the day on the Tuesday following the Ironman, my lower left shin began to hurt. It may have hurt before then, but so did everything else, so I didn’t notice. Wednesday morning, when all my other muscles seemed to be doing okay, my left shin was the only pain still reminding me of my triumph (luckily, there were plenty of positive things still reminding me, too: my wife telling me repeatedly how proud she was, all the “likes” and comments I was getting on Facebook, my finisher tee, which I wore for the second time that day). By the end of the day, after I took my compression socks off, I really felt it.

It was a little swollen, not too bad, but it felt like somebody had hit me in the shin with baseball bat. Now a full week later, the pain is still there. The silver lining is that at least this is making sure I take plenty of time away from running! I’m just hoping it isn’t a stress fracture, but I plan on getting an x-ray soon, if the pain persists.

Burn: I don’t remember if I mentioned this before, but I got some sort of sunburn, sun rash, sun allergy or some similar type of thing on my outer left calf. It was pretty nasty looking. It didn’t look like an actual sunburn, and it hasn’t blistered, but it gives me concern about being in the sun all day – at least this concern came after the race! I’m going to the doctor on Wednesday to get it checked out (I snapped a few photos, since it’ll be gone by then, but don’t worry – I won’t share them here).

PIDS: Post Ironman Depression Syndrome. This is the term used for a general feeling of let-down following an Ironman race. For nine months I had one date circled on my calendar. I was both counting down to it, in terms of when it would arrive, and up to it in terms of miles logged and hours trained. I planned my life’s schedule around training sessions and fitting in an extra race here or there. For months I thought about what I was eating, how I was sitting – I even changed the position I sleep in because of shoulder trouble (though later found out that wasn’t training-related). And in the blink of an eye (relatively speaking – because it was probably more 10,000 blinks) it’s all over.

Completing the Ironman is, and probably will remain, my single greatest physical achievement. It will certainly be one of the most memorable days of my life. Crossing the finish line will most likely be among my life’s top 10 greatest moments. But, it’s over.

Thinking about some other things that were a long time in the making, they all were counting to a new beginning… The longest of which was 9 years for undergrad – but graduation was the beginning of my career. I was engaged to the most amazing woman in the world and for 15 months we planned our wedding. When that momentous day came and went, I was left with a bride. It takes a fetus about the same amount of time to become a baby as it takes to train for a first Ironman (no political commentary, please – I’m just talking about time from conception to birth), but at the end of that countdown is a lifetime of parenthood.

Finishing an Ironman is an awesome feeling, but being finished with an Ironman is an entirely different story.

It is unlikely that I will participate in a full Ironman again – and certainly not any time soon. It just takes too much away from a person. This I’m not sure I want to give up again. But still, I am left with a feeling of loss. Most mornings, I have still woken up at 4:30 am, but with nothing to do. I have no interest in riding yet, not more than around camp. I can’t run. I swam yesterday, but casually and only for 20 minutes… Did those hundreds of hours over the past nine months really only add up to 15:55:08? Now what?

I am able to answer the questions and dispel the negative feelings each time they come up. But it is still too bad they have to flutter about… If there was a way to better capture the moment – the day of the race, or even the days leading up to it – that would be pretty cool. Pictures help. This blog helps – I wish I had been more active with it earlier in the process. Your comments help. My wife’s smile helps – and knowing that I’ll be around her more this coming winter, spring and next summer… that’s pretty nice too!

The man has been Ironed!

In a phrase: I am an Ironman!

In a word: Ouch!

It took me nearly 16 hours to finish the 140.6 miles, but that’s okay, because they give you 17! Here is my review, of the race and my performance.

When I got the transition area in the morning, I heard the water temperature was 77 degrees. This meant it would be a wetsuit optional swim – meaning if you opt to where one, you cannot win an award or qualify for the Ironman World Championship, in Kona. With no risk of that becoming an issue, the decision was easy! I set up my stuff, put on my wetsuit, kissed Dani goodbye for the day and walked down to the water.

This was my first triathlon with a mass start – and if I have any say in the matter, it will also be my last. That’s a bit drastic, actually. I would still probably do another mass start race, but with all else being equal, I would choose a different race over one with a mass start. For those who don’t know what I’m talking about, triathlons have two types of starts: wave, or mass. In a wave start, athletes are divided into various sub-groups (most typically by age groups), and each group begins separately, usually with a 3-minute gap. In a mass start, everybody begins at the same time – and in this case, that meant 2,500 people, all in the water together, starting to swim at the same time.

For nearly the entire first lap (1.2 miles) I was getting kicked, elbowed, stuck behind slower people – and, to be honest, kicking, elbowing and slowing down others. This wasn’t as bad for the second lap, because getting out of the water to run across the timing mat (so they can be sure everybody does both laps), spread out the crowd a bit, but at the first turn of the second lap, more bunches formed.

I got out of the water after completing the 2.4 mile course, a wetsuit peeler helped me yank it off and I headed into transition. I grabbed my bike gear back and went into the changing tent. I’ve also never done a tri with a change tent before – maybe it’s just limited to full distance events – but this was quite the scene (to avoid). I grabbed my bike and ran to the bike start arch.

The bike course was amazing! I had heard a lot about the hills, but they weren’t too bad. I had done a lot of hill training, and actually competed in early June in an event that was half as long, with a few hundred feet more in total ascent than this route. With the biggest hills at the end, though, it was a challenge the second time around – after more than 100 miles, any hill is.

After completing the 112-mile, two-loop course, I pulled back into transition where a helpful volunteer grabbed my bike from me to re-rack it, saving a minute or two. I just liked the convenience of it, but I’m sure for the elite age-groupers, or people trying to hit a specific time goal, this is valuable time savings. I grabbed my run gear bag and headed back into the changing tent. I took some time to stretch and get some nutrients in. I also lathered up with a bit more sunscreen (I had stopped at a few aid stations and gotten spray-on tanning lotion, but I don’t trust that stuff).

And back to the mention of hills… I hadn’t heard much about the hills on the run course, and they were brutal! Up until just before I finished the first loop of the run course, I was close to my planned pace for everything… The swim was expected to take me 1:20, it took 1:19. The bike was expected at 7:11, it took about 7:40, I was only a few minutes off on transitions, and the first 12 miles of the run were at 10:40, with an expected 10:45… Then, the hills started to take their toll.

I made a critical mental mistake going down the steepest, longest hill, the second time around, at about mile 14. I was running down it, which was a mistake to begin with, and when I realized halfway down that this was a mistake, I decided to switch to walking – adding to the criticality (made that word up, I think). Slowing down like that, and transitioning to a walk was deadly on my quads. From that point on I was alternating running and walking… very heavily favoring walking. Even running from there on I couldn’t break 12:30/mile (and wasn’t trying to).

Adding to this issue was stomach (or lack there of) trouble. My main source of fuel during the run was supposed to be gel (90 cal/serving of a simple carb mix, in syrup form). About halfway through, I could no longer tolerate eating it, because of the way it was making me feel. I had to stick to water, sports drinks, and after the sun started to set, chicken broth.

Speaking of the sun starting to set – it got cold! I had one of the reflective heat blankets wrapped around me while I walked, and I’d crumble it up and stick it in my pocket when I jogged.

With all my blood concentrating on keeping my legs going, it was getting difficult to do math – however there was only a brief point when I questioned whether or not I’d be able to finish in time if I needed to walk at the current pace for the rest of the race. I got very concerned when my math had me finished around 2:30 am, with a midnight cutoff… however, that’s because I was using the 26.2 total miles, rather than the 8 or so miles I actually had left at that point. I realized my error pretty quickly, and other than that, never let doubt of finishing creep into my head.

I knew I would finish, and 15:55 after the gun went off, I crossed the finish line and became an Ironman!

Ironplan Lake Placid

Ironman Lake Placid is here... one day away... 24 hours from now, I'll most likely be somewhere around the out-and-back of the bike course, my second time around the loop. My nerves haven't really started... I expect them to pretty soon. I'm taking it easy today, sitting around the hotel room in the AC, feet up, sipping sports drink, spending time with my bride. Probably head to the pool in a bit, then an early dinner with Dani and my in-laws. I got a good night sleep last night, because I don't really expect to sleep too much tonight - although I certainly hope I can. I am planning to lay down by 8:30.

Here is my race plan for tomorrow. Primarily it focuses on what I'll be eating/drinking and when. Nutrition, for all triathletes is a huge component of the race, but because of my gastric bypass surgery (I don't use my stomach to digest food), this makes nutrition planning even more vital for me - and it also makes it more of a challenge to get right. Not in the plan are the Sour Patch Kids that I bought Thursday morning, and have been waiting for... Monday.

As for the pacing and times... If anything comes up that would slow me down, that's fine. If the swim is slower than planned, I won't make up for it later in the race. Regardless of what happens before any given part of the plan, I will not try to go faster. If I need to adjust the pace slower to keep going forward, for any number of reasons, I will. If I finish in the planned time, awesome... If I finish 10 minutes or 3 hours later... still awesome - so long as I finish!

I look forward to telling you all about the race, but not before Monday!

Ironman FAQ

I've been getting a lot of questions about my participation in the Ironman, so I figured - "Hey, why not use this as an opportunity to actually write another blog post." I thought this would be a good idea, since it will increase my number of posts by 33%!

So, without further ado...

What is an Ironman?: The Ironman is the most popular "brand" of long course triathlon. All triathlons consist of swimming, biking and running - in that order - and the "full distance" is 140.6 miles. It breaks out to 2.4 miles swimming, 112 miles biking, and 26.2 miles running.

Why Lake Placid?: The timing of the event and the proximity to my house made this the ideal choice. It's the only one in reasonable driving distance. While it would be cool to fly to Australia or somewhere, to do one, participating in one that I can drive to is expensive enough without airline tickets and the extra $100+ to fly with a bicycle.

What's the training like?: I started training at the end of November - one week after deciding to participate. In the beginning, I was training for about 8-10 hours per week, and after a couple months that increased to 12 hours per week. The last couple months have been closer to 15 hours. I typically swam twice, biked three-four times and ran three-four times. Throughout the winter I primarily trained for the bike by going to Spin classes (double sessions once per week), and I ran outside at least once each week.

Why are you doing this?: I am doing this to prove to myself that I have the will power and ability to accomplish something that only a few years ago was less than unimaginable. Also, I am doing this to raise money for local cancer treatment and raise awareness for LIFEcycle's mission to promote healthy active living and support local healthcare. By racing an Ironman, I hope to generate interest from my friends, family and others, and hopefully they will learn more about LIFEcycle and decide to make a contribution in support of my significant efforts. Contributions can be made here (http://www.firstgiving.com/trijacob) or here (http://www.active.com/donate/RRR11/JACOBandDANI)

What's your goal?: My goal is to finish. Therefore, my only time goal is 16:59:59 (you are required to complete the course in less than 17 hours). However, my race plan has me expecting to finish somewhere around 13.5 hours, or 8:30 pm -- but that's just a guideline. It is unlikely to be any faster, and pretty likely to be a little (or possibly a lot - which is okay by me) slower.

How can I keep track of your progress?: There are a few ways to follow the race. The most accurate way to see my progress is via the Ironman website, where they will post split times throughout each leg of the race. For this athlete tracker, you can enter my name, or bib #995.

You can also watch the race at www.ironmanlive.com. I am guessing that I will finish sometime around 8:30 pm. If you are lucky enough to be friends with my wife on Facebook, she is usually awesome and posts updates on my progress... She's always awesome - but only usually posts those updates :) You can use that to follow, and/or use it to gauge when to tune in to ironmanlive.com.

Are you insane?: "We all go a little crazy sometimes." ...and Sunday night, my quote of choice from the same movie will most likely be, "I'm feelin' a little woozy, here." First person to name that movie wins a prize!

Do those compression socks/tights really work?: Will the Red Sox go to the World Series?... I believe so, but the answer is still uncertain.

I’m Here to Finish

 I have been in training for Ironman Lake Placid (2.4 miles swimming, 112 miles biking, 26.2 miles running - in less than 17 hours) for the past nine months. During that time, I swam approximately 210,000 meters (130.5 miles); I spent 11,996 minutes on my bike (3,199 miles); and I ran roughly 712 miles. I trained for an average of 12.2 hours each week. That meant about seven hours less sleep than I was used to and five fewer hours of “free time” with my wife than if I wasn’t training to accomplish something that less than 0.002% of the world’s population will try to do – and for good reason!

I encountered a few problems during my training. There was my IT Band Syndrome, but with regular stretching and some PT treatment, it was quickly brought under control. Then there was the issue of beginning a new job mid-training, which has a significant commute – cutting into training time. Weaving through all that was some upper back/neck pain. Initially I assumed this was related to training, as it actually began last summer while I was near the end of training for my first 70.3 – but I finally had an MRI and found out that I have some sort of arthritis in my spine – awesome!

My guess is that the struggles I went through are pretty common for people training for an Ironman. I can’t imagine many age groupers make it through what rounds to a year’s worth of heavy training without needing some minor repairs or tune-ups.

I used to think it was all just hot air when people said things like “I learned a lot about myself during the process,” and “it’s an honor just to be competing,” but then again, I also used to be 100 pounds overweight and my idea of a triathlon was snack, couch, TV.

I have, in fact, learned a lot about myself physically, but more so, mentally. I found that I do in fact have will power. I never thought I had any; or at least not much of it. But, during the past nine months I’ve accomplished things I never would have thought possible. I finished my second 70.3 race, with a smile. I nearly ran a sub-6 minute mile (and the attempts at that will resume once I recover from the madness that will commence shortly after dawn on Sunday). I came in fifth in my age group at a sprint (less than 2 minutes shy of the podium), running my fastest 5K ever (including road races without that pesky swim-bike). I ran in the snowy mountains of upstate New York while my family slept in a warm condo. I biked through rain while my friends gathered at brunch. I went to bed, some nights, earlier than I used to eat dinner. I woke up earlier than I used to go to bed. I’ve raised more than $1,500 for local cancer treatment, through LIFEcycle (you can donate on my personal fundraising page).  I miraculously cut candy out of my diet (a few days a week, anyway – I had to pick my battles!). And the biggest miracle of all - I managed to remain a good enough husband to still have a wife!

Speaking of miracles, when I finish the race, it’ll be at quite a fitting venue: the Lake Placid Olympic Center, where “Great moments are born from great opportunities. And that’s what [I] have here tonight, boys. That’s what [I’ve] earned here tonight!” Sunday will be my great moment, born from the great opportunity I earned by making it through training.

I look ahead to Sunday, knowing that I am truly lucky to have made it this far. I still have another 140.6 to go to reach the end, but just toeing the line is a miracle for me. I am honored to compete… I am ready to race… I’m here to finish.