The Iron Geek

My personal journey of going from an overweight IT leader to an Ironman.

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12 posts tagged Ironman

Post Ironman Blues

I spent 18 months of my life mentally and physically preparing for a single day: November 5th, 2011 - Ironman Florida.

6 days a week of physical strain (up to 30 hours a week) and mental fatigue.  This was in addition to an already stressful work life and family dynamic (I have 3 kids six and under). For the lack of sleep and sore muscles, I was mentally in an awesome place.  Training and working towards my goal made me feel good and definitely improved my disposition.

The actual day of Ironman Florida was EPIC.  One that I will remember for the rest of my life.

But after the race, I was so physically and emotionally drained it impacted me in a way that I did not expect.  I felt like I aged a whole year that day.  I felt both “complete” and “empty” at the same time.  This goal that had haunted me for so long was checked off the bucket list.  I was left to ponder what was next and found myself headed in no particular direction.

About a week after Ironman, I was heading 180 degrees from where I had been.  I ate anything that I wanted, started drinking “like the old days” and really enjoyed the food that comes with the holidays.  Fast food came back in my life (my sweet mistress).

I started putting on weight, but didn’t think much of it.  I stopped working out completely.   The weight kept pilling on.  Soon I found myself 25 pounds heavier than race day and wearing the pants I had recently put in the attic.  I stopped looking at Tumblr at all.  

I ran a 15K in February where I almost DNF’d after realizing just how out of shape I was.  Then in March, when I should have been running in the NOLA marathon, I found myself huffing and puffing unable to do a 3 mile trail run with my brother-in-law.

All this just pushed me further and further away from training.  I didn’t want to think about.  Didn’t want to be consumed by it.  Didn’t want to deal with the fact that I had lost a lot of what I had worked so hard to achieve.  I was totally in a downward spiral.

That changed this morning.  This morning I laced up my new running shoes and ran out the front door.  It may have only been 2.5 miles of low-and-slow work, but I was running. And while I am pretty sore, I feel good.  I’m mentally in a good place and that is what matters.

I signed up for the Chicago marathon in October.  I’ve got just under 6 months to whip my sorry ass back into shape.  Hopefully I can use this blog and the Tumblr community like I did before: to keep my honest and on track.

And I think I’m going to get that Ironman tattoo…

My 140.6 Mile Journey

“They say that finishing an Ironman is a life-changing experience.  I really hope that they weren’t referring to losing a pinky toe, because I’m not sure mine is going to make it through the day and that would suck.”

This is the conversation that I am having with myself as I plod through the dark and deserted streets of Panama City Beach.  I am competing in my first Ironman Triathlon.  It’s just after 9:00 p.m. and I have been propelling myself forward for more than fourteen hours.  I am exhausted and my body is breaking down.  What started out as aches and pains has evolved into a full-on civil war between my mind and my body.  My mind is winning, and my body is paying the price.

I try to keep myself focused on the task at hand.  I must keep moving.  I must finish what I started.  Today is the culmination of eighteen months of training and preparation.  It’s not about an event, it’s about my life. 

I am not the same person I was two years ago. 

That person couldn’t run a hundred yards without being winded.  That person couldn’t do a lap in the pool without stopping.  That person carried around fifty-five more pounds.  That person drank too much beer and ate way too much fast food.  That person couldn’t keep up with his kids when they were playing. 

That person couldn’t commit to this type of goal and see it through.

That person wasn’t the real ME.  This is ME.  This journey has proven that I am still here.

Unfortunately, none of that is any consolation to my feet, which are damaged goods.  They feel as if they have been beaten with a hammer, especially my left pinky toe.  Every step sends a jarring pain up my leg.  And in a cruel twist of cosmic irony, it hurts more to walk than it does to run.

But when I run, I am slammed with the realization of how exhausted I am.  There is just no more gas in the tank.  I make a mental commitment that the next person that casually mentions that they are “exhausted” will get a full-on beat-down from me on principal alone. “You don’t know what exhausted is,” I think to myself.

Snapping out of this negative mental place, I think about my day.

I have survived a 2.4 mile swim with 2500 of my “closest” friends through a jellyfish-filled ocean.  I have endured the never-ending winds on my 112 mile bike, and I have been running, walking and shuffling for just over 23 miles.  “Just over 3 more miles to go,” I say to myself.

“Then you can call yourself an Ironman.”

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The Road To Florida…

On this Saturday, November 5th, I will compete in my first Ironman Triathlon.  I will swim 2.4 miles, ride my bike for 112 more and then slug it out on a 26.2 mile marathon. All in less than 17 hours.

I will do this.  

I will take it down.

The last 18 months have been an epic journey.  When I started out, I could barely run 100 yards or swim even the length of a pool.  I’m not going to lie, I am nervous about this event.  It’s hard to believe that something I have worked for so long for is only a few days away (We leave for Florida in the morning).  

But as my coach recently reminded me, I have accomplished every goal that I have set out for myself:

  • Complete a 5K (check)
  • Complete a 10K (check)
  • Complete a 13.1 Half Marathon (check)
  • Complete a Marathon (check)
  • Complete a Sprint Triathlon (check)
  • Complete an Olympic Triathlon (check)
  • Complete an Ironman 70.3 (check)
  • Complete an Ironman (Saturday, November 5th, 2011)

This goal will be no different.  Because I am ready.  I am focused.  I will take it down.

For those interested, you can track my progress online at www.ironman.com.  I am Bib# 1336.  On race day (the race starts at 7:00 am Central Time) they will offer an athlete tracker that will provide you with my split times as well as a live video stream of the finish line (for those who are up that late).

I am really going to need all the good vibes that you can send my way on race day.  Any you can spare, please send my way.  =)

Update: Free NOLA Marathon Race Fees And Lodging

I have reserved a room for the winner at the JW Marriott hotel (one of the HQ hotels for the race) for March 3rd, 2012 for one night.  I will be staying there as well.

This is getting exciting!

Future Ironmen: Chance for free NOLA Marathon and Lodging

I have been doing a lot of reflecting recently about the last 18 month Ironman journey.  One of the things that I want to do is give back more to this awesome Tumblr/Fitblr community.

To that end, I would like to make the following offer, available to anyone training for their first Ironman:

I am going to give away race entry fees and lodging expenses for one person at the New Orleans Rock and Roll Marathon on March 4th, 2012.

If you feel that the NOLA full marathon would be a good stepping stone on your Ironman journey, I urge you to participate.  

It seems like there are going to be a lot of other Fitblrs who will be attending (including myself).  I am very, very thankful for being part of this great community.

There is no catch. No fine print. Just one Fitblr giving back to another.  Paying it forward with hopes that one day you can return the benefit to someone else.

To qualify for consideration:

  1. Make sure you follow my blog, Iron Geek
  2. Reblog this post with a write-up that explains why you should be the recipient of this gift by no later than 11:00 pm eastern time this evening (so we can register using the SAINTS discount).
  3. Please include in your write-up why you are on your Ironman journey and include any details about your IM race if you have already signed up.

That’s it.  I will communicate with winner via their “Ask” page and then by email.  I will work with you to complete the online registration and make a pre-paid hotel reservation in your name at a hotel of my choice (or whatever it takes to make that work.  I’ve never done anything like this before, so we may have to work through it together.)

EDIT: I will pay for one hotel room for one night stay.  You can share the room if you like, and additional nights would be at your own costs.

EDIT2: I have reserved two rooms (one for myself) at the JW Marriott New Orleans (one of the Headquarters Hotels for the race) for March 3rd for one night.

Please pass this along to others that you feel might be interested.

kswiss-triathlon:

We are already have Kona withdrawals. All that adrenaline and energy from the Ironman world championships gets addicting. We have been watching this race day video to take us back to those exciting moments. We’re so proud of our athletes! 

I so want to go next year!

Source kswiss-triathlon

Get Fast: Counting Down

getfast:

This is probably going to be my last article before racing Ironman Canada on Sunday, August 28, so I thought it’d be a good chance for me to talk about race planning and visualization.

Parents, coaches and mentors have long been telling me to visualize winning, but it wasn’t until I started…

Source getfast

An Ironman starts by swimming 2.4 miles…

I did something this morning that I didn’t know was even possible until it happened.  I swam 2.4 miles.

I. Swam. Two-Point-Four. Miles.

Holy Friggin Crap!

It took me 1 hour, 34 minutes and 37 seconds to swim 3,850 meters in the pool.  In that roughly 95 minutes, I conquered my biggest fear when it comes to completing an Ironman.  The swim.  

I now know that I can do it, and I can do it well within the cut-off time (2:20).  I now have just under 14 weeks to make it smoother and to make it faster.

I’m still in shock that I did it.  Absolute disbelief.  My longest swim before this morning was 1,000 yards.    I told my swim coach that my goal was to come in under 2:00 and he told me that “I think you’ll be surprised at your time.”  He was right.  Boohyah!

It took me about 1,000m just to settle in to a consistent breathing pattern, where I didn’t feel like I needed more air.  After that it was just lap, after lap, after lap, after lap. (158 lengths of the pool to be exact).  All this while I am coming down with a cold.

My shoulders and neck are sore, but it was totally worth it.

=)

I needed a little dose of this tonight. 

The post was accidentally deleted before, just putting it back on my blog.

Ironman Jason

I snapped this picture from my computer as I watched my friend Jason (@ironman_jason) cross the finish line at Ironman Arizona last night.  

I had been tracking him online, monitoring his split times, from the Ironman.com web site all day, and I was lucky enought to tune in and here the announcer say “Jason Maddox, you are an IRONMAN!”  Isn’t technology great?

Jason and I started our Ironman training program at the same time earlier this year.  It was actually Jason who recommended that I read Don’ Fink’s book, Be Iron Fit.  I eventually hired Don as my triathlon coach.  Jason used the program from Don’s book to create his entire training program.  

And while my training program left the track a few months ago, Jason’s culminated last night with a 11:52:53 finish.  He finished in the top 25% of the over 2,700 competitors in the event, including passing 281 people on the bike leg.  Awesome!

Talk about inspiring!  Jason worked his butt off for about 30 weeks to get ready for the race.  When we both started, we were doing the same workouts (we started with 30 min runs), by the end of it, he was peeling off 125 mile bike rides followed by an hour run.  

I often think about Ironman by the distances.  It’s not often I think about the time.  12-17 hours of propelling your own body.  Start just after dawn and finish in the dark.  That is what really put it in perspective for me, watching the finishers come across the line in the dark.  I hadn’t thought about it being “an entire day”.  Damn.

And me with less than 50 weeks to get ready to do the same thing.  Doh!

Congrats Jason!

Fortune Favors The Bold

“Go Big or Go Home.”  That has always been my motto.  It’s time to put that to the test.  Last night I registered to compete in the 2011 Florida Ironman.

November 5th, 2011: 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike and 26.2 mile run

As many of you know I have fallen off of the wagon recently, sidelined by injuries, increased stress at work, and a family life that includes expecting a new baby boy any day.  I have also fallen into my own trappings of staying up late and not eating healthy.

Here are the 5 keys to success (in order of importance) in competing in the Florida Ironman:

  1. Go to bed before 10:00
  2. Stop drinking soda (even diet/zero)
  3. Stop eating fast food
  4. Keep up with workout schedule
  5. Stop drinking alcohol

I believe that I can do these things, I can post a solid time in Florida next year.  The number one issue I have is staying up late.  When that happens, I am too tired to work out the next day, and my whole day gets off track (and I’m cranky).

The exception will be in managing the sleep time (or lack of it) for our new little baby which should be arriving some time in the next 30 days.  This will obviously impact the sleeping schedule, but I am committed to working around it.

238.4 lbs - My weight this morning.  I had been posting my weight on the site, but had stopped due to a lack of progress.  I am going to start again, in hopes that it keeps me focus on my goals.

Only 362 days left to train.

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