2006 Mighty Montack
This is yet another race story about a HALF IRONMAN or 70.3 Mile race, hope you enjoy the story. I thought about including a few unknown fact about racing most people won't talk about but if you ask me I will tell you. Like what happens if you get sick or have to go to the bathroom.
As you train and plan for your races, the goal is simply to be prepared, but how does one prepare for a Hurricane. Out of 700 athletes only 386 completed race. 5 am we (John and Dan fellow racers) woke from a restless sleep, poor Dan he only got 1 hour worth of sleep. I could have used another 15 min, then another 10 min the 5 min more. I forced my self out of bed taking a mental assessment of how I am feeling and what the day holds. My mind even flash on the end of race and how good I will feel. Got to the kitchen it was still dark outside the wind was howling and rain was pouring. At first I thought would the race be cancelled, maybe I shouldn't do the race then just do the race the rain will let up and it will be a great day. Event though it did look like it.
Growing up in Jamaica Hurricanes aren't nothing new to me and this really wasn't a hurricane just lost of rain. It just seemed like one. Had some food joke around with my race mates and drove out the race site. Picked up my bike, since it was raining we let some air out of the tires to make them a little softer for more traction. The race site was crazy everyone running around in the rain while the race director was making the announcement, 'if you are not comfortable with your bike handling skills DON'T DO THE RACE'. His announcement echoed and squeaked in my ear, it most have been the concern in his voice. No one was really smiling nor joking around it was cold as welled we all looked and felt like shivering wet dogs caught in the rain.
It was time to start the race, the swim as usual hard and fast. Feet flying, kicking and arms swinging eager to find clear water. The first 1/4 is most frantic things smooth out after that until we got the turns. To take the shortest course possible everyone tries to swim as close to the turn markers as possible, this can be a frantic place to be, the splashing and the anxiety are both very high. It's a good place to get your goggles knocked off or a get a bloody nose. More than a half mile out it was time to turn back to land. This is were the rain becomes and issue, it was so much rain it was impossible to see the swim exit. Luckily someone was taking pictures with a flash and we used that as point to sight on to guide us back to land. It was hard going but we made to our soaked bikes.
Thank god we let some air out to tires, the bike felt stable and easy going. The was still coming down and we were racing on open roads which meant cars were only a few feet away from us. Most drivers looked out for us, some on the other hand saw us as a bother. Which reminds me of a picture I saw in a magazine of a farmer in Wisconsin driving his giant harvesting tractor, during a race intentionally blocking the roads because the thought very little of someone doing a 140 mile race. The cars flying, the rain stinging in your face while riding down hill at extreme speeds makes the rain feel like pellets blasting your face. It was dangerous and I felt it, during the race I vomited twice. I felt better and lighter afterwards. The cold was also invading, some handled it better than others. All you could do is keep moving as fast as you can to stay warm and get out of the race.
After about 3 hours it was time to hit the run, the was rain letting up by this time. Normally the thoughts of "what the hell I am I doing", "this is crazy" and " what I am trying prove" hits; you because you just finished a long swim, a very long bike and now a long run as fast as you can manage. Time for the meds at this point, once you start running the pain really starts and the questions start when is my body going to shut down, what mile I am going to hit the wall and die. The ultimate gamble, how hard to push so you have some left for the finish. The rain on the run was actually our friend because it kept things cool. Still had to drink water during the race, despite the rain it's possible to dehydrate. Before you know it the miles start to tick away the pain starts numb away. The finish is close even if you have 10 miles left and if the pain is still with you, it means you are still alive. When the pain ends and you start to feel too good, that's not a good sign. It means your body is about to shut down or hit he wall, the bluff in the poker game. Where you try to fake your way to a win, but like the house the race wins. I started feeling the signs of my body shutting down. Not in my legs nor my chest or lower back, but in my eyes. It was getting hard to see not sure what it could have been. I got some sport drink and started to feel better. I was feeling good because I was feeling pain and I didn't want to stop running. Mile 8 came and went, then mile 9 at mile 10 I started to feel excited miles 11 and 12 my excitement grew. I was planning for a relaxed finish. Got the race finish line and heard the rain soaked crowd cheering and taking pictures. A fellow competitor says to me lets have a strong finish. Started to pick up the pace then my old swim coach says "catch the competitor ahead of you". I wasn't planning to but I did on his command, ended up with a fast finish. Which made me think maybe I don't have the killer instinct anymore...
Every race I do it does change me inside and out, each race in it own way. This race taught me you can't stop the rain, no one is to blame and you can't close the door. You have to keep moving with a positive attitude no matter what. The struggle and pain you feel is good because it means you are still alive and you still have room to bargain. Life is good we have to live with pain and all. My advice to anyone is if you have plans to run and it start rain, go and run in the rain, when you are done you will see how worth it was.
As you train and plan for your races, the goal is simply to be prepared, but how does one prepare for a Hurricane. Out of 700 athletes only 386 completed race. 5 am we (John and Dan fellow racers) woke from a restless sleep, poor Dan he only got 1 hour worth of sleep. I could have used another 15 min, then another 10 min the 5 min more. I forced my self out of bed taking a mental assessment of how I am feeling and what the day holds. My mind even flash on the end of race and how good I will feel. Got to the kitchen it was still dark outside the wind was howling and rain was pouring. At first I thought would the race be cancelled, maybe I shouldn't do the race then just do the race the rain will let up and it will be a great day. Event though it did look like it.
Growing up in Jamaica Hurricanes aren't nothing new to me and this really wasn't a hurricane just lost of rain. It just seemed like one. Had some food joke around with my race mates and drove out the race site. Picked up my bike, since it was raining we let some air out of the tires to make them a little softer for more traction. The race site was crazy everyone running around in the rain while the race director was making the announcement, 'if you are not comfortable with your bike handling skills DON'T DO THE RACE'. His announcement echoed and squeaked in my ear, it most have been the concern in his voice. No one was really smiling nor joking around it was cold as welled we all looked and felt like shivering wet dogs caught in the rain.
Thank god we let some air out to tires, the bike felt stable and easy going. The was still coming down and we were racing on open roads which meant cars were only a few feet away from us. Most drivers looked out for us, some on the other hand saw us as a bother. Which reminds me of a picture I saw in a magazine of a farmer in Wisconsin driving his giant harvesting tractor, during a race intentionally blocking the roads because the thought very little of someone doing a 140 mile race. The cars flying, the rain stinging in your face while riding down hill at extreme speeds makes the rain feel like pellets blasting your face. It was dangerous and I felt it, during the race I vomited twice. I felt better and lighter afterwards. The cold was also invading, some handled it better than others. All you could do is keep moving as fast as you can to stay warm and get out of the race.
After about 3 hours it was time to hit the run, the was rain letting up by this time. Normally the thoughts of "what the hell I am I doing", "this is crazy" and " what I am trying prove" hits; you because you just finished a long swim, a very long bike and now a long run as fast as you can manage. Time for the meds at this point, once you start running the pain really starts and the questions start when is my body going to shut down, what mile I am going to hit the wall and die. The ultimate gamble, how hard to push so you have some left for the finish. The rain on the run was actually our friend because it kept things cool. Still had to drink water during the race, despite the rain it's possible to dehydrate. Before you know it the miles start to tick away the pain starts numb away. The finish is close even if you have 10 miles left and if the pain is still with you, it means you are still alive. When the pain ends and you start to feel too good, that's not a good sign. It means your body is about to shut down or hit he wall, the bluff in the poker game. Where you try to fake your way to a win, but like the house the race wins. I started feeling the signs of my body shutting down. Not in my legs nor my chest or lower back, but in my eyes. It was getting hard to see not sure what it could have been. I got some sport drink and started to feel better. I was feeling good because I was feeling pain and I didn't want to stop running. Mile 8 came and went, then mile 9 at mile 10 I started to feel excited miles 11 and 12 my excitement grew. I was planning for a relaxed finish. Got the race finish line and heard the rain soaked crowd cheering and taking pictures. A fellow competitor says to me lets have a strong finish. Started to pick up the pace then my old swim coach says "catch the competitor ahead of you". I wasn't planning to but I did on his command, ended up with a fast finish. Which made me think maybe I don't have the killer instinct anymore...
Every race I do it does change me inside and out, each race in it own way. This race taught me you can't stop the rain, no one is to blame and you can't close the door. You have to keep moving with a positive attitude no matter what. The struggle and pain you feel is good because it means you are still alive and you still have room to bargain. Life is good we have to live with pain and all. My advice to anyone is if you have plans to run and it start rain, go and run in the rain, when you are done you will see how worth it was.