This IRONMAN was like nothing I have ever experienced before. For the first time in 15 finishes, I got to race alongside my brother Mike. We decided to do this race together to celebrate my brother's 40th birthday. In addition, leading into the race we spent one weekend a month training together. The miles, sweat, tears, and memories we got to experience are some of the best moments of my life and I will cherish this experience forever!
Pre-race
This race, I had a much different mental state than my prior races. I was so excited for the day and not concerned at all about time, speed, or pace so the normal pre-race nerves never really occurred. If it weren't for a terrible mattress at the hotel, I would have slept like a baby. Everything went to plan, got my bike and gear dropped off the day before the race, ate a good meal (chicken, rice, black beans and green beans), and got in bed before 9 pm.
Race Day
The alarm rang at 4:00 am and the coffee button was pushed. We had breakfast around 4:30 am, which consisted of a bowl of oatmeal with fruit, peanut butter and granola and a cup of coffee. We were walking out of the door to walk down to transition by 5:00 am. A slight difference in this race was my swim gear. I decided to wear a speedo under my wetsuit since I knew I'd have a little bit of extra time in T1 to change while I waited for Mike. That sure made getting the wetsuit on and off a lot easier. After arriving at transition, I set up my hydration on my bike, pumped my tires and met my family at the exit to head for the swim start.
Swim: 2.4 miles
1:03:32, 1:35/100m
With the conditions as ideal as they were and the amount of time I spent in the pool rehabbing my knee, my brother and I agreed that we would do our own swim and meet in T1 to start the day together.
This was my fastest IMFL swim I have ever had. I felt smooth, strong and totally relaxed the entire time. Some days your stroke just glides and this was the case on Saturday. We lined up near the front of the swim corral and the first loop was clear and smooth. On the second loop, I dealt with some congestion as I caught the people who started later and were on their first wave.
I exited the water on my second loop and took my time getting my Bike Gear bag and changing in T1. I rinsed off under the fresh water showers, changed into my tri kit, packed my pockets, put on sunscreen, ate a stinger waffle and found my bike and waited for Mike to head out on the 112-mile bike. Mikes goal was to swim around 1:30 and he came in 2 minutes under that.
Bike: 112 miles
5:58:31, 18.74 mph
For the next twenty miles Mike road a little higher than his goal and got ahead of me by about a minute. I waited for him when I caught back up, while he served his 5 minutes.
After mile 50, we switched back and forth every ten miles and chugged along steadily. And wouldn't you know it, again, Mike got dinged for the second time for drafting around mile 80. This really frazzled him and the mental side of racing really kicked in. He was having to fight the internal demons and find a way to keep moving forward.
We made it back to transition and Mike again, had to head to the penalty tent. I personally didn't mind as now I got to take my sweet time in T2. However, Mike had to deal with the emotions of disappointment, added time to our race and fear of DQ.
Run: 26.2 miles
4:44:20, 10:46/mi
The first few minutes onto the run course was an emotional moment for Mike and I. We dealt with the bike penalties and put them behind us and focused on the 26 miles ahead. We got to see the family in the first half mile of the run course and this helped to turn things around.
We had a goal of maintaining a 4-minute run and 1-minute walk for the first loop. And that is just what we did. Our pace was consistent and steady. My main goal was keeping my brother's heart rate below 160 bpm. So at every aid station, I was grabbing ice and water and stuffing it down the back of his tri kit and making sure he stayed cool.
By the time we started the second loop, the sun had started to sink on the horizon and the temperatures started becoming really pleasant. From then on, it wasn't about keeping HR down, it was about pushing through the fatigue and trying to maintain that same 4:1 ratio. Besides a sock change and a couple extra walk breaks, my brother pushed and maintained that goal. He fought through some mental struggles and fatigue but never quit. He kept his drive and we clicked off mile by mile.
The final 2 miles we decided to really take in the finish and walked extra, talked about the day and enjoyed every last step we had to go.
We approach the finish shoot and saw that finish line and both of us had smiles as big as one can get. We again conquered a day of testing our endurance. As we got close both of us flipped our feet up over our heads and finished with a cartwheel and a shot of fireball (we carried this the entire run).
Mike - 12:33:19
Sandy - 12:33:22
Experiencing this race with my brother is an experience I will always remember. It was one of the best days of my life and I am so thankful for the day we got to spend together.
Offseason has begun! My goal for the next month is to rest my knee and enjoy life! Sweets, a few bad meal choices, craft beer and staying out late having fun! 2018 season will be here before I know it. I'm putting it out there.....goal is to try to hit the sub-5 hour mark for the 70.3 distance. My running is my weakness and I plan to focus on that during the winter. Thanks for reading!
