Ironman Chattanooga 2017 Race Report

On September 24, Team FX Multisport had 11 athletes toe the line at Ironman Chattanooga. The Ironman race consists of a 2.4 miles swim in the Tennessee River, 112 miles of cycling through the Chattanooga Valley followed by a 26.2 marathon through the scenic city. This is THE longest Ironman race with 144.6 miles to complete.

So many things can prevent an athlete from making it to the starting line during their training journey. Most athletes train for at least 1 year for this 1 day event that lasts up to 17 hours. Many of our athletes fought personal battles during their training. From 4 am training rides, overcoming fears, learning new skills, to 7 hour bicycle rides that leave you burnt & chafed in all sorts of uncomfortable areas, one feels the entire spectrum of emotions in this sport.

The elusive Ironman Finisher Chute

Marsha unexpectedly lost her beloved father earlier in the season then developed strep throat the day before the race! Jeff was diagnosed with Prostate Cancer & juggled chemotherapy with his training. Kem suffered a broken hand from a cycling accident & still managed to train through it with the help of his Coach James. Getting to the starting line of the race, is the real journey.

Numerous things can go wrong on race day. There are bike crashes, drafting violations, flat tires, losing bottles & nutrition, cramping, dehydration, illness & muscle strains, all part of the process. The journey that each athlete experiences is unique to their own. It reveals character, builds confidence, requires perseverance, dedication, passion, trust and teaches one the important lesson of learning to go with the flow. Shawn broke 2 toes exiting the swim & continued on with the entire race!

Marsha with a 2 hour PR!

Sometimes the day doesn't go as we hope. Ironman does not define WHO we are, It is something we do but in the process we discover who we are, and that is priceless.

Here is a race report from Mary Kelly. It was such a pleasure to coach her & her husband Doug this season.

Ironman Chattanooga 2017

September 24, 2017

I am an Ironman (again)! On Sunday, September 24

th

, I crossed the finish line of my 3

rd

Ironman

in 13:54, which is a PR of over an hour. What a day, and what a journey this year! I am going to

restate something that I am most proud of...my husband, Doug, and I have crossed each full IM

finish line together. In 2015 we were dating; 2016 we were engaged; 2017 we were finally

married! Surprisingly enough we don’t want to kill each other during these long, stressful (but

very fun) days.

Ironman Chattanooga 2017

September 24, 2017

I am an Ironman (again)! On Sunday, September 24th, I crossed the finish line of my 3rd Ironman in 13:54, which is a PR of over an hour. What a day, and what a journey this year! I am going to restate something that I am most proud of…my husband, Doug, and I have crossed each full IM finish line together. In 2015 we were dating; 2016 we were engaged; 2017 we were finally married! Surprisingly enough we don’t want to kill each other during these long, stressful (but very fun) days.

Pre-Ironman

Thursday before IM, I met Doug at the IM village to quickly check in over lunch. We were given our backpacks (which are way cooler than the last 2 years) and all our race goodies. I grabbed a name shirt for each of us and some Little Debbie snacks on my way out. I felt like such a good triathlete as I ate my oatmeal cream pie on the way back to work (← that was sarcasm)! That night we ate dinner with a good number of our FX Multisport family. It was great to relax and laugh about the long year of training we have all had this year. It’s also nice to hang out with these wonderful people while we aren’t wearing spandex and covered in sweat and who knows what else.

All day Friday I was at work watching the clock to see when I could finally go home. The day passed fairly quickly, and that evening we went to another dinner with the Base Performance team. I have been lucky enough to be on the race team this year. It’s a fun group of people who are very welcoming and encouraging. I strongly suggest anyone interested look at joining that team!

Friday evening I packed all of my transition bags with the help of my trusty checklist. I’m a type-A planner, but what triathlete isn’t? We went to bed fairly early that evening; IM was quickly approaching!

Saturday morning rolled around, and I took our dogs to the vet for boarding. I’m pretty sure they couldn’t make it all day Sunday without going outside, and I didn’t want my parents to feel obligated to let them out for us. I went out to the barn to see my horse after dropping my sweet puppies off (and feeling guilty when the oldest looked back at me like I was abandoning her). Seeing my horse is probably my favorite relaxation place on this earth. No watches, no stats to track, just quiet peace (usually) and happiness! For some reason as soon as 10 am rolled around, the time bike/gear check-in started, I felt like I was running behind and my stress level went up. I quickly checked my gear bags one more time, we loaded the bikes on the car, and off we went back to the IM village.

Bike and gear check-in went smoothly and quickly. Boy, was it getting warm! The heat made me a little stressed about race day, but I have no control over the weather so I tried not to think about it. Doug and I had a light lunch, and then went back to our house to be lazy for the remainder of IM eve. My right heel had been hurting some the last few days, plantar fasciitis coming back, so I iced my foot and hoped for a good day on my feet on Sunday.

Race Day

Bright and early at 4 am, the alarm sounded and we rolled out of bed. Everything was already set out. Clothes, special needs, breakfast, bike nutrition. 20 minutes later we were out the door and arrived at transition right when it was opening, or a little before apparently since we had to wait in line! We dropped of our special needs bags, and then off to the bikes we went to pump up the tires and drop off nutrition. We had planned to meet our favorite training partner, Marsha, to ride over to the swim start together, but somehow we all missed each other. Doug went ahead a few buses before me because I was waiting on Marsha, but when she didn’t show, I went on to the swim start. I maybe sat on the bus stress-sweating because I didn’t want to sit at the swim start by myself and all of the other erratic thoughts one has due to pre-race nerves. Luckily I found my husband and Marsha by walking the line once I got there! Whew, what a relief! We all laid down and tried to get some rest as we waited for the swim start. Time passed quickly, and then BAM race time! I struggled into my swim skin, put my cap and goggles on, and then we started moving quickly to the dock. A hug from Marsha and a kiss from Doug, and then it became go time!

The Swim

Swimming has always been a “just get through it” thing for me. I’m definitely not fast, but not the slowest either. Just kind of average. I settled in fairly quickly. My normal plan is to breathe 5 times on each side (10 total) and then sight. I also try to guess how many strokes it will take to get to the next landmark. The island, 100 strokes. The next bridge, 150. Usually I’m wrong, but it helps to pass the time.

It seemed like the swim was flying by. In no time, we were passing the Boathouse and then the rowing center. I assumed the current was flowing fairly well that day. The bridges came up quickly, and next thing you know it was time to turn left for the swim exit. My official swim time for the 2.4 miles was 1:01:01. Much better than my planned time of 1:10. Up the ramp, grabbed my bike bag, and in to the change tent I went! I swam in what I would wear on the bike, but I did make sure to slow down to make sure I had everything (from chamois cream to a snack) before heading out again. T1 took less than 7 minutes; once again better than the 10 minutes I had planned.

The Bike

I settled in quickly for a long time of riding 116 miles on Milo, my Cervelo PC3/awesome wedding present for Doug. Every 7 minutes I was sipping on my combination of Skratch Labs pineapple and watermelon Base aminos mix. I was eating Larabars along the way. Time felt like it was passing fairly quickly. I wanted to keep my heart rate in zone 2 for the majority of lap 1, which is around a 17 mph average for me. Doug and I caught up with Marsha, and little training group settled in for a good bike ride! The rollers down 193 felt easy; I think all that climbing up Lookout Mountain has been a big help this year. Very quickly we were turning onto Hog Jowl, and then cruising through Chickamauga to Special Needs. I ate my pb&j, grabbed my Snickers bar for later, slapped on some more chamois cream, and off we went to finish lap one and cruise through lap two.

I felt great on the bike. I knew I was keeping my pace and effort in check. Nothing major really happened during lap two. I continued to eat and drink, and at each aid station I was grabbing a bottle of water to spray all over my head, neck, and shoulders to keep cool during the bike ride. We quickly hit the end of lap two, and turned right to head back to town…woohoo! For some reason on the way back to town right before St. Elmo, I was extremely uncomfortable on the bike. Aero felt awful, sitting up felt awful. I think my lady bits were considering jumping off my body at this point. I toughed out the last few miles, and rolled back in to transition for a bike time of 6:44, again better than my planned time of 7 hours.

After handing off my bike to the awesome volunteers, I was handed my run bag by an adorable little girl, and back to the changing tent I went! I changed completely for the run. It’s refreshing to wear loose clothes that aren’t drenched in sweat at this point. I put some more lube on and stopped by the sunscreen tent (no chafing and no sunburn happened to be a goal for me this year) made for another 7 minute transition, again ahead of the planned 10 minute transition I had written down. Off to the run we went!

The Run

I like to run. I am actually trying to run every day this year. Yes, I did run the day after IM, and it wasn’t really that bad! But the IM marathon is potentially my nemesis, my enemy. I have yet to have a good IM run, and this year wasn’t really much of an exception. We saw Robyn very early on in the run (hi Coach!) which was a nice boost. At this point I was feeling pretty good, and I was looking forward to the last leg of the race. I was grabbing ice at each aid station to put in my 70.3 Worlds finisher hat (← shameless proud of myself for that race plug) and in my sports bra to keep cool. I was sipping water and some Gatorade at each aid station. We slowly made our way down Amnicola (my least favorite part of the course). My plan was similar to the bike; take the first loop very conservatively.

Unfortunately at some point, my stomach decided it hated me. This has happened every year. Nutrition fails me, and I’m shaking my fist at my run right now. I have had some great training runs this year; I have felt strong and optimistic, but once again the IM marathon said NO to me. Doug and I kept moving. Walking as needed and running when I felt able. We got to see our TRIbe friends, Connie and Sam, and Marsha’s husband on the first loop, and each time was a little boost of energy! We had friends on Barton Avenue partying in the front yard who took pictures and yelled for us. I was a little envious of them at the time. Through the golf course and back up and over Barton. There were tons of supporters which was awesome! Once we got to the Walking Bridge, we saw 2 of our very good friends, Ashley and Daniel. More photos, and Ashley even ran across the bridge with us!

We stopped at special needs, where I grabbed some peppermints and a few jolly ranchers. I felt tired, but all we had left was a half marathon. I had just posted time I was very proud of 2 weeks ago; I wanted so bad to have anything similar on race day. Nope. Mama Bear, aka Coach Robyn, told us that the race really starts at mile 15. Guess what…I started throwing up at mile 14.5! Guess I didn’t fuel correctly after all! Anyhow, a great volunteer brought me ice and some cold water, and essentially said I was nuts if I didn’t finish because we had more than enough time to finish the second lap. For the record, not finishing was never an option!

Lap 2 passed slowly. Eventually we left Amnicola, and got to witness a gorgeous sunset on the Riverwalk! It was getting dark out, and the temperature was finally dropping. My parents were at the top of Battery to cheer us on. It was a relief to see them! We crossed over Veterans’ to finish out the last few miles of our run. I was trying to do math the entire second loop to figure out how much time we had for the remaining miles because I wanted to finish under 14 hours SO BAD. Eventually we had 45 minutes to do the last 5k. I could do that in my sleep, right?! We saw Connie again on the Walking Bridge, and she walked across it with us. She is such a strong and inspiring person! When we started down Riverfront towards the finish, she was still yelling for us from the bridge. The finish line lights came on, and people started crowding the chute. I made sure to high five as many people as I could (especially the kids). Doug and I grabbed hands and raised them together as we crossed out 3rd full IM finish line together! It was incredible! Mike Reilly said both of our names, and even mentioned we were an Iron couple finishing together :D

Our total run time was 5:54, which was slower than my planned time of 5:40. But who cares!!! We still finished under 14 hours (13:54:27 to be exact).

IM Reflections

I am so proud! Sunday was over an hour better than my original PR. I am so proud of Doug for having a great day! I am also grateful that he stuck with me even though I bet he could have done much better. The next time we attempt a full, it will most likely be every Ironman for himself/herself so he can see how good he can do. I am lucky to have such a great training partner/husband/Ironmate in him.

To Marsha, you are amazing! Thank you for training with us and congrats on a great race! To the rest of the FX team, thank you to each of you. I believe we have a great group of people on the team, and I can’t wait to get to know each of you even more! The volunteers and the crowds were awesome Sunday. I truly think it was an amazing day!

That being said, I am looking forward to taking a break from the full distance to focus on getting faster at the 70.3 distance! I am excited by the year that I had (the Chatt 70.3, Costa Rica 70.3, Worlds 70.3, and IMChoo), and I am encouraged for next seasons of triathlon! I will be stronger and faster (hello climbing up mountains more and masters swim and speed sessions), and I will figure out nutrition! I am not done with fulls forever, but I am proud of being and Ironman x3!

Ironman Chattanooga 2017

September 24, 2017

I am an Ironman (again)! On Sunday, September 24

th

, I crossed the finish line of my 3

rd

Ironman

in 13:54, which is a PR of over an hour. What a day, and what a journey this year! I am going to

restate something that I am most proud of...my husband, Doug, and I have crossed each full IM

finish line together. In 2015 we were dating; 2016 we were engaged; 2017 we were finally

married! Surprisingly enough we don’t want to kill each other during these long, stressful (but

very fun) days.

Ironman 70.3 World Championship Chattanooga Race Report

IM 70.3 WC & My 1st WC Race!

September 9 2017

Chattanooga hosted the Ironman 70.3 Womens Triathlon World Championship and I had the privilege to race in my own hometown championship race. Something else that is special about this race is it was the 1st time that they separated the men from the women to race on different days

Ever since completing the race, I have received lots of questions about what actually took place, so this race report is a way of answering those questions, for those who are curious, interested or may care.
If you are familiar with what this race is about, skip to the race report, for those who want to know more about it, read on.

     What is a 70.3 triathlon? It is also termed a "half-ironman". So, you may hear the race refereed to by  both terms because they are the same thing. Consisting of a 1.2 miles swim (this one took place in the Tennessee River), at 56 mile bike ride (this one climbed up Lookout Mountain) followed by a half marathon or 13.1 miles of running.
It's also a race, where athletes are competing to complete the race in the fastest time. The fastest women in my age group are finishing the 70.3 miles in under 5 hours.


     If you want to compete in a World Championship race, one must "qualify". That means racing a qualifying race during said season and placing in the to 1-4 of your age group. My qualifying race was Augusta last September. I hadn't ever cared about racing worlds until they announced it was happening in my home town. At that point I said "hell yeah I wanna do it!" So I worked my butt off, persevered, set my sights on the goal & made the podium after just a few months of hard training.

This would never be possible without the love and support from my husband Stephen and my family. Please know how much I love you ALL from the bottom of my heart.

Here's how it all played out

The pre-race festivities were beyond what I imagined. From the welcome dinner on Thursday night to the Parade of Nations, Chattanooga was alive with vibrant energy and color. Chattanooga hosted over 4500 athletes from 91 different countries. Even the Prince of Bahrain was here.


We rented a condo overlooking the race expo & transition so I was as close as possible. With a view of the river, we were able to walk just a few yards to get anywhere we needed to go. Logistically it was perfect. The weather was amazing with low humidity, clear skies and temperatures in the 50-70 range.

Day before the race:

     Bike and transition bags had to be checked in. Nothing in transition so all our gear had to be in bags. This includes helmet, shoes, anything needed for biking or running.
    This is the most stressful part of the process for me. If you forget something, then you are forced to race without it. Preparation for this step happens weeks before to make sure you don't miss anything.
    Once this arduous task was completed, Stephen & I relaxed on the balcony, had a light supper and then I went to bed early & thankfully had a good night sleep.

Race Morning

I woke up energized & ready! Loadebar for breakfast!!! 
After a brief warm up & filling of the water bottles on my bike, I gathered round with friends & shared in the warm positive energy & excitement of the day. This was one of the best feelings in the world! I was about to race a world championship race, here at home with the best of the best in the sport!!!

The Swim

Due to water temperature, much to our delight, the officials announced it was wet-suit legal.
The 40-44 women (my AG) was the first to start. Over 220 of us gathered on the dock awaiting the gun to go off. With a rolling start, 10 ladies dove into the water every 7 seconds. It was a smooth process & I was easily able to find my stroke without fighting for it. At the first turn buoy, I made the mistake of swimming wide, planning to avoid the upstream current by swimming close to shore. Because of the caliber of race, TVA had turned off the flow, so this tactic ended up hurting me. When I realized the pack of swimmers was moving faster than I was, I swam hard to get back to the pack. Once there, the swim went perfectly. No problems. No kicks to the face or elevated HR, no near drowning experiences. It was text book perfect. I was too warm in the wet-suit. There is NO DOUBT that I lost a few minutes to that wide turn.
Swim time: 37:05 & 98th in division.


  T-1 went smooth, the set-suit strippers had me stripped down & I was flying towards my bike in just a few seconds. 

The Bike

 Riding my bike is one of my all time favorite things to do. Maybe that is why this was such a frustration portion of the race for me. Just wait, it's coming...
We hit the 4 mile climb up Lookout Mountain via Ochs Highway at mile 5 on the bike. The climb went well, in fact I hit a PR on it. The ride across Lula Lake was spectacular! We had a tail wind & I was able to hit my numbers no problem. I even got PRs on all the smaller climbs along the way. Everything felt great, nutrition was dialed in, head was in the game, legs were cooperating...until it wasn't.
The descent where we came down the mountain via hwy 136 (PR'd that too) was congested at the bottom due to a semi-truck blocking the road! That means 20-30 women on time trial bikes riding at apx 40-50 mph had to slam on their brakes to avoid him. When the truck stopped at the stop sign at the bottom of the hill, we all had to stop too. GRRRRRR...

Whatever good vibes had been flowing came to a screeching halt and I was hit in the face with a bag of negative emotions. "How did this happen?!?" Once the truck was merrily on his way he left behind a pack of hungry cougars in his wake, teeth grinding, venom spitting, eyes glaring, literal growling taking place. If you can imagine 25 of the most competitive, aggressive, confident & fit women riding together jockeying for position, this was THAT!
Gone was the sweet purr of the happy place on the bike with tail winds & target wattage. Over the next 4-20 miles we had to find a rhythm, maintain pace & wattage without surging or drafting. No small task. But a perfect race would be too boring. I surged ahead several times until I finally found a spot on the road I could claim comfortably the rest of the ride.

Even though the marshal's did an excellent job of controlling drafting. There was drafting happening. To avoid the drafting, I found myself having to slow down A LOT on this portion of the road. There was a head wind, it was getting hot and I couldn't maintain my goal wattage without being in the draft zone of the girls ahead of me & trying to pass them would cost me burning matches that I did not want to burn at this point. So I settled in at a less than desired power & rationalized it by telling myself that "You'll just have a better run now". I REALLY wished a marshal had driven by during those last 30 miles. Oh well. It was a low point both mentally & physically of the day, but as with all low points, you just manage what you can, control what you can control & keep going.
The ride finished safely and during the ride I moved up 40 spots to 58th.
Bike Time 2:57:43. Avg 19 MPH.

T-2 was uneventful. Volunteers were helpful in directing traffic. Visor, shoes & racebelt on & out the chute.

Run

Running through the cheering crowds is a highlight of any race. During the 1st mile I checked my Garmin pace to assure I didn't over cook it, took in water, let Coach know I was feeling awesome, slapped a few hands & then focused on the task ahead. The course was 2 laps around Chattanooga including 3 hills, Battery Place, Barton Avenue & Young St. Hitting each hill twice for a total of 6 brutal hills makes it the most challenging run course ever. My plan was to run the 1st lap at a conservative pace of 8 min mile, then as long as I felt good, pick the pace up on the 2nd lap. Water at every aid station, one in the mouth & one on the body to stay cool. I took in 3 energy gels, one at mile 3, 6 & 9. Everything went smoothly. I didn't even trip & bust my face or my ass on the Walnut street bridge (it happens!!)

I have nothing to report except that the plan was executed exactly as I had hoped. The volunteers were superb, I was able to see fellow Chattanooga Triathlon Club athletes, FX Multisport Athletes, my mom & dad, and the powerful TCGA energy wall at the finish line. Having my husband Stephen medal me at the finish line was the perfect ending to my race & made it extra special!
Run Time: 1:41 with an avg pace of 7:47 for 13.1 miles & ran up 22 spots into division rank 36


Final time: 5:22:51 
I feel good about this race for my 1st attempt at a World Championship Race. Thanks to my Coach Slayer for getting me ready. It's been a good year!

Special thanks to the volunteers that made this day possible! Especially: the folks that I remember specifically having a hand in my day.
David Storm
Jack McClarty
Jamie Ann Phillips
Deleslyn Mitchell
Dustin Flemming
Brian Weihn
Nathan Lawyer


My only regret is that I didn't get to meet Mark Allen or Dave Scott. But hopefully I will accomplish this in Kona in 1 month.

Hopefullly Sunday's race was inspiring to the locals and my message is aligned with the Ironman slogan, "ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE!"

Thanks to sponsors East Ridge Bicycles for all my Cervelo & cycling needs. Also to
Glace Cryotherapy, Sisu Sauna, Loadebar, Base Performance for helping to get me through this season.

Race Week 70.3 Ironman World Championship

                                

Make it Sacred

 Its Sunday morning, 6 days Ironman 70.3 World Championships in Chattanooga. Tapering leaves me with a little extra time for contemplation allowing me to tap into my creative flow. Maybe that is why I've been more open and aware. Without getting to woo-woo on you, let me explain. 
    A wise person recently told that if I am going to share with people,  share what makes me tick, what I'm about. The premise is that people don't want to hear or read boring stuff like what I had for breakfast or what my heart rate was on that group ride. Normally, I try to speak less, share less and show less, as I know that very few really care, people are just curious and usually not for the right reasons. The world is already cluttered with enough noise and blah blah blahs and I certainly do NOT want to be part of the problem. Which is why I share this message...

   One of my favorite quotes is from Mahatma Gandhi 

"Be the change you wish to see in the world". 

For the most part, I try to live by this principle. So If I want to see less garbage, then I need to create less garbage.

   However, a few synchronicities that I can not ignore, have brought me here, typing this blog post. The color blue; the color of our 5th chakra; the throat chakra is everywhere I look this weekend. This is the chakra of expression & communication. 

   Blue is also the color of the Mdot on the Aquarium, the sky in the background, the color of my nails, pants, fleece, the book I'm reading, the Orb ball I'm rolling my tired muscles out on, the color of my jeep, the Camelback water bottle I'm drinking from, the place mat on which I eat....and many other things in my surroundings. Coincidence? Maybe. Maybe we just like the color blue.
                                       
  But then last night I had a dream that something (Ill spare you the details) was stuck in my throat, making it impossible to talk. It was so vivid. I couldn't cry for help, but there wasn't any distress. I just could not use my voice.
   So I woke up this morning and meditated on it. It's time  to say something, to express myself & to let the world hear my voice. Judge me? Check yourself.

   Let's GO! 

It's Race week !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The race is the pot of gold at the end of a very big vibrant rainbow that comes after the storm! The storm being everything we go through to get here.

Gratitude

1. I would like to express my gratitude. Thank you family! Stephen (my husband) for supporting my dreams, for encouraging me and for being my "biggest fan". I definately would not be doing this (racing 70.3 World Championships & Ironman World Championships in Hawaii) without you having my back. My children (2 daughters ages 21 & 14) for putting up with Mom's crazy training schedule, showing up to  school functions sweaty & not wearing the latest fashionable styles but in running or cycling attire because I just finished training. Also, I know there's never any fun food in the house because we are "eating clean". Trust me, one day you will thank me. My friends & extended family, thank you for believing in me. I love you all.
2.  Health. Seems basic huh? Well let me tell you, it's not. Every breath is a gift. Every step is a blessing. Do not take one day of life for granted. I thank God every day for the health and ability to do the things that I love to do. Run, Bike, Swim (well not so much swim but you know) Hike, Play, Yoga. It is all a gift! And I give thanks. Every morning, during meditation and prayer my vow has been to make this journey towards my goal sacred. Every bike ride has a purpose, every run has soul, if not, I just don't do it. My passion pours into every workout that I do. If Im not feeling it, its a message that I'm am not aligned with what is being asked. Either physically or mentally. This journey has been a daily process of assessment and listening to my body. It's not been an easy process for my coach Slayer, but he's gone with the flow right along with me & we term the process "Organic". It works. 
3. Brings me to my 3rd point of gratitude. Thankful for an BA coach Slayer. Our coach/athlete relationship has gotten me double qualified in a couple of months after chasing my dream for over 10 years. He's been available, knowledgeable, intuitive and motivating the entire time. The workouts he gives me would make most people run & hide, but I love them and I love him, (in a very platonic sort of way) and I am blessed to be a part of the TriCoachGeorgia Team.
4.  My FX MULTISPORT TEAM!!! I love my athletes. I love to watch them grow stronger. Their confidence and abilities expanding every week. It's what makes me tick! As a coach, my purpose is to help these trusting souls achieve their dreams and when I see them crushing their workouts & races, that is the money shot. So thank you TEAM for trusting me and working hard to bring your dreams to fruition.

So that is what I have to say today. I am grateful for the opportunity to race WORLDS this week. It's an honor to represent you all who have helped me get here as well as myself. I will give it everything I have to do my best. Looking forward to high-fives and hugs at the finish line!

Happy Trails, Coach Robyn

aka KO

Difficult Roads Lead to Beautiful Destinations

David Wade has been working with me as a dedicated triathlete for a few years. His long story is amazing and one we can hopefully share one day. Today though, we share his story of the Extreme Alaskaman Triathlon. David has been training hard for this race since last fall. His weekly training consisted of cold open water swims in the Tennessee River all winter foll owed up with century rides up mountains like Lookout Mountain, Raccoon Mountain, Signal Mountain and finishing off the week with 4-6 hour run/hikes on the trail systems on those same mountains the next day with hill repeats.

On top of this, David works full time as the President of a very busy company and his schedule and stress level is top level. Despite his busy lifestyle with work and family, David found his balance.

David never missed a workout. Not many people would even think of doing this kind of training, but he embraced the challenge with a spark in his eye & a smile on his face. I am extremely impressed with his attitude and work ethic. Through all of this, he raised money for Cure Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy association to help find a cure for his friends child who is affected by the disease.

Here is his race report.

Alaskaman Extreme Triathlon

The most insane and incredible thing I have ever done!    

Of course the journey started months before we left but heading to the airport I felt well trained and confident. Our flight out of Chattanooga was delayed  three hours causing us to miss our first connection.  Fortunately, we arrived in time to snag the last flight of the day to Seattle after a zone 4 run across the concourse.  While we made it to Seattle, our luggage did not.  The following morning we made it to Alaska without luggage.  Our luggage finally caught up with us the following morning.   Evidently my bike did not travel too well either as one of my base bar shifters was not working.  After a couple of hours repairing wiring, all was good.   Ready for race day.

Race day I was up at 2:00 a.m., ate, and headed to T1 to set up.   T1 was a simple setup as I had placed all my bike stuff in two large plastic bags to start dry in case it rained.  Good thing as it was low fifties with light rain.  At 3:30 we loaded buses for the swim start.  We were in the water by 4:20 a.m. awaiting the start.  Light level was low with fog.  All I could see was three lights in the distance.  The race director instructed us to spot off the left light then turn right as we approached shore.  It was a deep water mass start but cleared quickly. The water temperature was 55° at the start but cooled as expected throughout the swim.   We swam past three points where glacier run off was filling the bay, each dropping the temperature more.  By 45 minutes into the swim it was down below 49°. My training had paid off as I was dealing with the cold pretty well.  It was a little unnerving that all I could see was the three lights, not buildings, other swimmers, support boats, or even the shore.  I had no perception of how far I had swam or how far I had left to swim.   I kept swimming.  Finally, I started to see a building.  I knew then that I must have made it most of the way across and was within a half mile or so.  I could now see the shore, a kayak and another swimmer.  This was a good feeling as before it felt as if I was the only one left in the dark expanse trying to reach the light in the distance.  The water started to get rougher.  It seemed like I was swimming awfully hard but getting nowhere.  Later, I found out that those of us that took longer than an hour on the swim were fighting the  tide and a constant stream of fishing boats leaving out for the day.   Finally, I saw the exit buoy and knew that I had made it.  It took me 1:49 to swim the 2.85 miles across the bay, the toughest swim I had ever done.  I was glad to be out of the water.

One of the best things about the extreme triathlon is having your own support.  My son Justin was knee deep in 49° water to help me out.  The almost two hours in cold water had taken a toll on me, but I was out and on to transition.  There was no red carpet to run on and no changing tents.  O well, changed anyhow.  Would not have been smart to remain in the cold wet clothes.  Out of transition and onto the bike.  A long transition 20:40.

Once on the bike panic struck.  My bike would not shift, not the front or rear, nothing.  Off the bike, I removed my battery as I have Di2 shifters.  I knew I had charged it the night before so what could be wrong   I pulled the battery, wiped the contacts and reinstalled.  I was thrilled it worked.  Lesson for the future always test on race morning even if all you do is charge the battery.  Off on the bike course. It was raining and I was still cold from the swim, but the cold did not last as the climbing started early on the course.  Around mile 20 my stomach started to hurt.  At mile 25 I was in the woods.  At least I was prepared.  I saw my support crew at mile 30 ready with nutrition and hydration. I passed without stopped only yelling for them to find immodium and more toliet paper.  At mile 40 my support was waiting with fuel, immodium, and toilet paper.  After a stop in the restroom, I was on my way again.  Mile 50 was my last trip to the woods.  I remembered from the elevation map that mile 58 was pretty much the end of climbs, followed by a long downhill with the last 30 flat.   My memory and a false flat led to a frustrating 10 miles as the end of the climb was really at mile 68.  Instead it was ten miles of around a one percent grade that looked more like a slight downhill to me.   At mile 70, came a fast downhill.  At mile 78 I turned south toward Portage Glacier and slowed to 13 mph fighting a strong head wind.   At Portage Glacier, we turned north.  This time I had a strong tailwind. Instead of 13 mph i was now easily hitting 26+ on the same flat road.   I kept the tail wind most of the remainder of the ride. This was absolutely the most beautiful ride you can imagine.  The bike leg was 6:59 with 4698 feet of elevation gain.  Not the bike split I expected, but considering my issues I will take.  Today was all about pace and nutrition for me, with the main goal of the day to save enough energy for the mountain climbs.

Pulled into T2, I was ready to get off the bike.  Someone handed me my bag and off I was into T2.  Again no changing tents.  Changed anyhow.  Loaded up my backpack with 100 ounces of water and I was off  - T2 12:29.

The first fourteen miles of the run was along a path with woods on one side and water on the other.  My main goal for this section was  to keep a easy pace and maintain my nutrition plan as I knew I needed to go into mile 20 in good shape.   For most of the run I was alone with nature.  I managed my plan and reached mile 14.7 feeling good.  In all a pretty uneventful section 673’ elevation gain 14.7 miles.

One of the great things about this race is that your support joins the last section.  At mile 14.7 my son Justin and my son-in-law Nathan joined.  It was great to have company.  Mile 14 - 20 was an out and back on the nordic trail with 577’ of elevation gain. An amazing run through tall evergreens.  

I arrived at mile 20 feeling good.  I swapped my run shoes for trail shoes and headed to the medical check in.  My backpack was getting pretty light, so I stopped to fill up before heading up the mountain.  After 50 yards, the trail turned straight up.  The first half mile or so was brutal.  It was so steep that my ankles could not bend that much, so I was forced to use the side step approach.  When it flattened to a reasonable 15° grade, I was thankful.  Took a quick fuel stop and headed on up.  The rest of the first trip up was this same pattern, brutal steep for a half mile or so followed by an more reasonable 10° - 15° grade.  The views were amazing with lush green plants, clear  glacier fed lakes and snow.  As we approached the top, we transversed snow bowls and a freshly melted stream.  No way to avoid just plunging through the cold water.   It was freezing but actually did not feel that bad as I was burning up.  My heart rate was zone 2 - 3 just to keep moving.  Having Justin and Nathan with me was great.  Justin made sure that I stayed on nutrition schedule, and Nathan kept me from falling backwards more than once.  We saw the Alaskaman flags and knew that we were almost up the first climb.   When we reached the top, it felt like we were on top of the world.  

After several meters across a narrow ridge with steep drop offs on both sides with gorgeous views, we started the descent.  We decided to make up all the time we could on the descent to leave as much time as possible for the second trip up.  Shortly after we started the descent, the trail took us very close to the finish line.  It was exhilarating.  It felt like we were flying down the mountain.  We passed several walking.  The views were stunning, but we dared not stop for but a second to fuel and take a quick look.  There was definitely no autopilot on this mountain either up or down.  Each foot placement counted.  About three fourths of the way down, the mountain patrol told us to keep our eyes peeled.  There was a bear just ahead of us.  We looked around  as much as we could without risk of a major tumble but did not see the bear.  We did see several bear and a few moose later in the week.  As we took the final turn of the decent, I heard my family cheering.  After a few high fives, we were on our way up the final two miles.

It was a little before nine when we started the final leg.  For the first time all day, I was not worried about a cutoff time.  I took the first half mile or so to let my heart rate slow to low zone 2.  By this time my legs were heavy, my back was hurting from carrying the heavy pack, but I knew I would make it.  I kept eating and drinking.   I had stayed on my nutrition plan, and it was paying off    All in all I felt good going into the final mile up the mountain.  Of course, the last mile was the toughest with over 1,000’ of elevation gain.  We spotted the tram station.  Just below it we saw a couple of racers ascending what looked to be ridiculously steep slope.  A few minutes later I would find that to be true.  I knew from reading about the course there were several switchbacks near the finish.  The switchbacks were crazy, often 15” - 20” step ups.  Not easy any day, but the last mile of an insane iron distance race was really crazy. I remember one particular step my leg said “no”.   I feel quite sure that I would have ended up a good ways down the mountain if Nathan and Justin did not catch me.  I caught my breath and a quick sip and was climbing again.  A quarter mile from the finish I heard my granddaughters yelling, “Go Papa.”  I looked up to see my gang cheering.  It was way different than the typical Ironman running the red carpet through screaming crowds.  Instead of hearing crowds of folks cheering as I approached and the announcer called my name, I could distinctly hear the voices of each and every one that I care most about, all my kids, their spouses, my grandkids and my wife.  The 27.5 mile run with 6,015’ of elevation gain had taken me 8:24 to complete.

Crossing the finish line with Justin and Nathan was incredible.  There was no one there to catch me or put a medal around my neck when I crossed the finish line.  My family was immediately there with me ten feet from the finish with sweaty hugs from all.  After family hugs,I looked up to see the Crawfords and their son Mackenzie, my young friend with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy.   Mack was sitting in his wheel chair with his Alaskaman hat on cheering for me.  I was humbled and reminded just how blessed I am.  I noticed the effort it took him to give me a high five was as much effort as each step up the mountain was for me.  I am thankful for the experience of completing Alaskaman but even more thankful that God utilized it to remind me of my many blessings.

What an incredible experience!  An experience only possible with the help of several folks.  My support team was amazing.   Coach Robyn’s training plan had me well prepared for the challenge. A huge number of others contributed in some way to my success.   I am thankful for each and every one of these.   

Our bodies may be strong, but it is the mind and heart that are strongest.

Fun facts:  Inaugural Alaskaman Extreme Triathlon

307 Registered

198 Started

157 Finished

My Overall Time 17:41

My Overall Finish 134

Second Oldest to Finish

Median Male Finisher Age 44

Median Female Finisher Age 39

Finishing Time Percentages:

• 11 Hours - 1%
• 12 Hours - 4%
• 13 Hours - 8%
• 14 Hours - 13%
• 15 Hours - 16%
• 16 Hours - 21%
• 17 Hours - 27%
• 18 Hours - 10%