Ironman Tahoe Race Day

I set the alarm on my phone for 4:40 AM, but it was a futile effort as I was waking up every hour anyway. At 4:39 I turned my phone off to skip the alarm, and rolled out of bed. I checked the temperature at Kings Beach. 34 degrees with 32 degrees expected at the 7AM start. This should be fun.

It had snowed the night before and there were pictures all over Facebook of the snow on the ground in T2. It was expected to melt but it struck fear in the hearts of all of us!

I immediately grubbed down two Cliff Bars and drank a full glass of water. This would start my system off with 500 quality calories and some hydration. I was hoping for a little extra help to have my race-day port-a-potty release so I swallowed about ½ a cup of coffee. I layered up my clothes, grabbed my special needs bags, and loaded up in the car to head down to the start line.

My stomach was tied up in knots. Like a soldier heading off to war, the fear of the unknown was playing tricks on my mind and it took a lot to stay sane. The cold temperatures were not helping anything. It was so cold I could barely feel my fingers under my gloves.

We made it to the starting area and transition, and I b-lined it to the port-o-potty. Ahhh…magic. I was three pounds lighter and ready to race!

Pumping up my tires in transition

My partner in crime

From there I went to my bike and dried it off from Saturday’s rain. I pumped up my tires, loaded up my nutrition and went to find the body marking people. For the next day, I would be number ‘1500’ in the sea of athletes that paid to suffer in the elements.

The hardest part of the morning was stripping down in below freezing temperatures to put on my wetsuit. I was shivering through my bones. I was looking forward to the 62-degree water as a chance to warm up!

"Can we start already?"

I made a last minute decision to wear a neoprene cap, said a prayer, kissed Julie and I made my way to the start line.

I was surrounded my 2500 other anxious athletes and my toes were frozen on the cold ground. I looked down and they were purple.

‘Don’t think about it Tim” I said to myself to try to ease the pain.

BOOM!

The cannon went off the mad rush into the water was on. No turning back now!

Mad rush into the water

 The flood of athletes hit the water like a school of rubbery fish about to eat dinner. Surrounding us on all sides were the snowcapped peaks of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Steam rose from the water into the freezing air as the lake greeted us with open arms. My feet started to thaw and I eased into my stroke.

Snow covered peaks

The water was refreshing. Lake Tahoe is the most amazing water I’ve ever swam in. Crystal-clear and drinkable I could see the bottom in the shadow of the pack of swimmers. I held my ground as swimmers swam next to me and over me. I kicked extra hard when someone came in my space. This was my space. Nice and easy Tim. Find your water.

2.4 Mile Swim Loop

Stroke, stroke, stroke; try to sight the buoy through the fog; stroke, stroke, stroke. I closed each buoy down one at a time, occasionally taking the time to look at the amazing mountains jetting out of the water. I was able to find my space in drones of athletes. I saw more people than I could count holding onto the kayaks as they struggled to breathe in the altitude. I was thanking God I lived and trained in Colorado. Altitude was a non-issue for me.

Swim exit

I could have gone harder on the swim, but I was happy to stay comfortable and swim easy. It would be a long day.

An hour and thirty minutes later, I exited the water into the freezing air. This swim went much better than Ironman Canada. I was five minutes slower, but I never was winded and I felt fresh the entire time.

Looking for my transition bag

Running up the freezing sand, I was excited to get on the bike. I found my transition bag and stripped off my wetsuit. It did not come off easily even with the volunteer’s help just due to the cold temperature. I headed into the change tent.

Running into the change tent

The changing tent was the biggest mess of chaos you have ever seen. Imagine a 30x20 room packed full of people standing around as if they are waiting for their favorite band to come on stage. There was no room to move anywhere. The ground was littered with towels, wetsuits, goggles, helmets and gloves. It was a disaster and I had nowhere to move. I saw a guy get up off the ground and push his way out of the tent and I quickly claimed his 2x2 space to dump out my transition bag. It would be a miracle if I didn’t lose anything on this change.

I put on a dry race kit, some warm socks, arm warmers, full fingered gloves, my helmet, sunglasses, and bike shoes. I took in a GU, threw my wetsuit and goggles in my transition bag and pushed my way out of the crowd into the freezing air.

I handed my transition bag to a volunteer and ran out to my bike. The change took almost 15 minutes, which was ridiculous. I had no control over it though. There was no way to beat the rush. The changing tent mess was unfortunate.

I was so happy to be reunited with my bike. “The Machine” as she is nicknamed and I have spent so many hours together this year, that it is difficult to explain our bond. She has been with me through tons of races and carried me through my first Ironman. I knew she was ready to fly.

 

112 Mile Bike Course

I hit the mount line, and decided to power out the first 25 miles. I would have time to back it off later, but I needed to warm up. Fly is what I did. I passed at least 500 people on the run from Kings beach into Truckee. Seriously, I stopped counting at 370. The sound of my carbon wheels spinning and the rhythmic breath in my chest put me in the meditative zone I knew too well. I found my groove at about mile 20, and backed the power off a bit to pace it for the remaining 90 miles.

Small climb along Lake Tahoe

I literally flew past Squaw and through Truckee and prepared to hit the first lap through the hills.

I made the turn onto Schaffer Mill Road. I could not pre-ride this section of the course as it was closed to traffic leading up to the race. I knew it had some climbing, but it was much more than I expected. I watched my computer as I powered through the undulating climb. 10-11-12-13-14% grade. I was passing people and my speed was a mere 6 miles/hour. One guy asked me when it would end. I knew that once we got to Northstar there would be a short downhill section before we had to head up over the 2.5-mile Brockway Pass climb.

Northstar finally came, and I just hoped my legs would hold up for the next climb ahead. I was still on lap one, and did not want to blow it up this early.

Climbing up Brockway

I flew down the descent and began my grind up Brockway. Julie told me to count how many people I passed going up the hill so I started counting away mostly as a way to keep my mind occupied through the pain. I finally saw the summit ahead and I had passed 47 people. “Three more Tim and you can break 50”. I powered ahead to pass another large group of riders. I had passed 57 people on the road on that climb. Number of riders that passed me – zero.

I flew down the descent into Kings Beach being careful not to let the wind get a hold of my front wheel. I feathered the brakes from time to time just to stay safe. I have seen one too many gnarly crashes in races from people being dumb. For the few seconds you may gain on a downhiill, it is not worth the risk of crashing.

It was finally lap two. After the first lap, I decided it would be a good idea to ride steady tempo for lap two. This would mean giving up a little speed, but it would hopefully save my legs for the marathon. I powered away at 22-25MPH on the stretch back to Truckee. I took it easy on the gradual climbs this time and just powered ahead on the flats. I was feeling great and I was looking forward to shedding my jacket at the clothing drop. The temperature was in the low 50’s now, and I was ready to shed some weight.

Before the clothing drop, I hit special needs and grabbed my nutrition. Julie had thrown a photo of Micah in my bag and a little note from him. One of my favorite things about Ironman is the little special needs notes I get from Julie. It makes me smile!

Cruising back to Truckee

I powered ahead from there for another few miles and dropped my jacket at the clothing drop. Speeding from there into Truckee was just as fun the second time!

My family was on the Truckee main street this time. They were all clad in blue shirts and ringing cowbells. They had made signs and everything! I was so pumped as I went by!

The second lap of climbing did not feel as bad as I had expected it to be. I cruised easy up the climbs, still passing people and encouraging them to keep going. I actually felt good considering I was 90 miles in and on the steep grades.

The last 22 miles of the bike feel like a blur. I did not think about much. My legs hurt but I tried to hold tempo and push through. It would be over soon. The climb into Squaw hurt, but drones of spectators were there to cheer me on. I wound up finishing the bike course in 6:20, which was slower than I would have liked, but with just under 8,000 feet of climbing, I was in the top 10% of all finishers. I had crushed it.

I came into T2 and it was a much different scene than T1. I had gained a ton of time on the bike and the transition tent was empty. I changed out of my bike gear, threw on my shorts, socks, shoes, shirt, visor and sunglasses and headed out. The whole change only took seven minutes. Some volunteers loaded me up with sunscreen and I was on my way.

My stomach at this point was cramping horribly. My wobbly legs hurt, and my stomach was crushing me. I tried to find a good rhythm and just get through it. I ran almost 4 miles before walking a bit to calm down my stomach and not puke. I felt like stopping every step but slowly the abs loosened up and I found my cadence.

26.2 Mile Run Course

The run to the first turn was just less than 10 miles. I kept telling myself to make it feel easy for the first 10. Even with walking the aid stations, I was holding close to a 9:45 pace. I ditched my nutrition and decided to try some broth at the aid stations to loosen my stomach more. I was able to run, but the cramps were still there. I paced behind a few athletes that were running steady and it took my mind off things for a while.

The run to Tahoe City

I hit the turn in Tahoe City and knew that I was only 16 miles away from finishing. Some people think that sounds crazy, but mentally I was visualizing my training runs. I had run 16 miles in training several times on tired legs. Each mile I visualized a shorter and shorter training run. Before I knew it, I was close to the Turn 2 at Squaw. Julie and the family support crew were there tailgating and drinking beers cheering as I ran past. It pumped me up and I cruised through the Village and back out for the remaining 8-miles.

I took two Aleve at the special needs station and they kicked in big time. I felt better than I had all day and started cranking out 8:00 miles. I still walked the aid stations and hills, but I was clocking out a great pace.

I passed my friend Sarah at mile 19 and closed down on Seth around mile 20. Both were running well and I was happy I still had it in my legs to cruise on.

The last 10K was a blur. I started to mist up in emotion as I passed through Mile 25. The last mile I was so pumped up. I was cheering and smiling all the way to the finish. The roar of the crowd at Squaw was incredible. I high-fived the thousands of fans all the way down the chute.

The finishing chute

There is nothing like finishing an Ironman. I had finished in 12:29 and it was still light out. My body shook with excitement as I looked around for my family. Apparently, I had flown through the finish so fast that they missed any photo opps. Oh well. I almost cried when I saw Julie. Ironman number two was every bit as sweet as number one.

The finish

Ironman Tahoe turned out to be one of the most difficult races on the Ironman circuit with the pros almost 1 hour slower than their average finishing times. The bike course had crushed the field. The average athlete finishing time was 14:10.

I would not have been able to do any of this without the support of my beautiful wife. It takes a lot to train for an event like this, and she was amazing the entire time. I love Ironman. I know I will not be able to do a race every year, but it makes it that much sweeter when I am able to race.

Finisher's Medal

I will spend the next week having a few beers and relaxing in Truckee. It was all worth it.