Mike's IMCDA 2008 Race Report

[Mike Hedman]

[[just a note - this RR was written originally on my Blackberry to send out to my C Different supporters, so it kind of presupposes knowing what I had been doing the previous week. In a separate post I'll compile my last week mailings as well. Sorry for not doing them here, but access to a computer just wasn't working well at my sister in law's house. I'll post an addendum with some more EN specific stuff: some pix, power numbers, run pace stuff, etc. - mh]]

The day was incredible, simply incredible. There was a rainstorm the night before, but we had sunshine at dawn. The weather stayed very mild through the day.

The swim start of an Ironman is always very exciting. Most triathlons split up the starts by age group, but in Ironman races everyone starts together. I started WAY off to the side, but got mixed up pretty good at the first turn buoy. Overall, the swim went great, and I was out of the water in 1:12:56 minutes.

I started the bike as planned - pretty slow. We call it J.R.A. - just riding along. Around 45 minutes or so into it I started in with my target bike pace, and then stayed there a long, long time. The course is pretty hilly, no monster climbs, but lots and lots of hills that can reall suck it out of you if you try to power up them. But I stayed at basically the same power output on the hills as when I rode on the flatter sections. This, of course, meant that I got passed by a LOT a LOT of people during that bike ride, especially on the uphills. You want numbers? Of the (about) 2000 people that started the race, I was in 604th place after the swim, but for the bike I was 983rd - so that was a lot of people.

One great thing that happened on the bike, which illustrates the spirit of Ironman - at about mile 90 I heard something hit my helmet and go inside. Well, if it's a bee and he stings me my day might be done. So I pulled over, took off my helmet and shook out my hair. As I was doing that the next guy riding by slowed an asked if I was ok. Then a couple seconds later another guy slowed, asked if I needed anything. I "knew" that second guy since we had been riding about the same speed for hours - and he's in my age group - and I'm sure he knew I was in his age group (they write the ages on our calfs in big numbers). So 90 miles into it my direct competitor slowed and offered to help when he saw I was having some kind of problem. There are a lot of great people out there!

Speaking of great people, the spectators and volunteers are the greatest. People all along the course were so incredibly supportive and encouraging. It was great to see my wife Karen and my CdA support crew of Karen's sister and brother in law Laura and Danny and their friend Kevin. Last year we missed each other a few times, but this year worked out a lot better.

Another great fan was Aaron Scheidies, a blind C Different athlete who wasn't racing today. Other C Different spectators would tell him when any of us with the C Different group was coming and he went crazy! On the first lap of the run he took off one of the C Different colored Mardi Gras beads and draped it around my neck, and I ran with it the rest of the day.

I finished the bike in 6:24 - a bit slower than I had hoped, but I was happy with it. I paced on the bike to have a good run.

OK, on to the run...

It all started with the slatherers. That's what the locals call the volunteers who apply sunscreen on the athletes. I've been told that this volunteer position fills up first, hmmm, I wonder why! As I was heading out for the run they asked if I wanted sunscreen, and before I knew it 8 - eight! hands were all over my face, neck, arms, and legs!

The run is a lot more personal than the other disciplines - the course is mostly two out and backs, so you get to see the other athletes, and also the spectators (much easier than at 20mph on the bike!). I had seen some of the C Different people on the bike, but on the run I was able to see and cheer them all.

I came up behind Charlie Plaskon and his guide when they were on a walk break. I walked with him and told him that he inspires me to do my best. Without skipping a beat, he replies: "Well if you're going to do your best you shouldn't be walking here with me!". I laughed and ran on. Charlie ended up finished in 15:33 - pretty great for a 64 year old guy who can't see!

My pacing discipline faltered a bit on the run, and running a bit too fast early on started to catch up with me at around 15 miles. I was very fortunate that around mile 20 I met up with a young guy named Zach who also wanted to break the 12 hour mark. So I would call out paces from my GPS and he would calculate if we were going fast enough given our current distance and pace. He was very encouraging and enthusiastic. While triathlon is a very individual sport, finding a "teammate" late in the run is priceless.

Zach and I made our 12 hour goal with a bit to spare. So after a 4:04 run I ended up with a total time of 11:54:20. Let me tell you - it felt GREAT to cross that finish line!

And more numbers...after the bike I was in 983rd place, but after the run I finished in 353rd place out of 2060. That means that I passed 630 people on the run - Yipes! So this was great proof that my pacing worked well (and also proof that I still have some room to improve on the bike!). Comparing to last year is even better news - I did a 12:36 last year. So I knocked off 42 minutes from last year on this same course, and 10 minutes off my best Ironman time from Vineman the year before!

After soaking in the lake a bit I got bundled up and went back to the finish line with Karen, and was able to give Paula, Heather, Marianne and James a little shout (ok...a BIG SHOUT!) We also saw some of the C Different folks including Richard, who I spent a lot of time with on Thursday was guided by C Different founder Matt Miller, and they finished in 14:36 - a great time!

If you haven't already, please go to http://www.cdifferent.org and sign up for their newsletter. I've been amazed by what I've seen this week, yet this was only one of their events for a busy summer and on through the rest of the year.

Mike

[jrkelley]

Great job!

[Chris G]

nicely done, passing 600 on the run is crazy! Also very impressive that you had the patience to type that whole thing on your blackberry

[gina]

Excellent work Spamman!!

[Linda]

That race sounds picture perfect. Superb execution, way to keep your head on straight the entire day, and way to race to a beautiful PR. Wonderful to read, Mike. I'm truly impressed with your whole day. Big, huge, endless congrats on a great, great race.

[Nemo]

WOW, that's a lot of people to pass on the run! Obviously you really did execute your plan to perfection! Congrats on a great day!

Oh yeah, I second the kudos on typing this on your crackberry! But once you get home you are gonna have to update us with some pics!

[archelon]

great race..thanks for sharing. HEIDI

[Carrie Chavez]

Congratulations Mike!

I watched you all race, all day, online and screamed as you each crossed the line. So inspiring. Your race report got me all choked up...you totally get it as far as I am concerned. You had a plan and stuck to it, you enjoyed the other racers and the volunteers, you realized there are so many great people out there and you were inspired by the C-different athletes. Truly inspirational. Thanks for sharing your story with us.

Hope to meet you some day. I believe you are also in the Bay Area?

Carrie Chavez

[marianne]

Mike, good to finally meet you! and wifey too happy that your race went as planned. thanks for the encouragement m

[TRIumphant One]

Very impressive, Mike. So glad to hear your race went well. Thanks for the great write up.

Casey