Since family is a key focus for him and many triathletes, the Walt Disney Half IRONMAN was a great destination race. Because I was there with him, I offered to take on some parenting duties to help him out. Pre-race was always hectic one way or another; so when Zouheir was busy tending to his bike or equipment, I would take care of the girls. Then, when it came time to eat we would take turns so that the little one always had attention.
Taking care of the girls was great because it kept my mind occupied. It also kept me from thinking about the hard race ahead. I noticed that when I was around the kids I was always in a clear, calm state; opposed to the races where I am alone and cycling through a million thoughts. Despite how hectic things may have appeared I felt relaxed. I believe the energy from the kids was refreshing and joyful and really helped me to stay focused.
Come race morning, we would check-in, get our body marking and tackle all kinds of last minute race tasks. We also learned about the race course and all the little ins and outs to be expected. All this with kids in tow and looking after their needs as well. We didn't really have a moment to say "Holy Shit! It's going to be hot as hell today and this run is going to be a challenge." Oh yes, around young kids..... I had to watch my language. OOps.
My friend, veteran of many marathons, who says that the day after a sub 2:40 near pro level time, that he has never felt sore; did make one statement before the race. He said," how crazy it is going to be when we get off our bikes after riding 56miles and then having to run a half marathon another 13.1 miles?". Because of who this comment was coming from I began to really think about the race now. But for some reason I didn't get nervous or worked up. Maybe the girls were a good distraction for what was ahead.
Before you know it, It was time to race. We lined up at the waters edge preparing for the 1.2 mile swim. The horn went off and we all ran into the water jockeying for a good position. I was looking for a swimmer that was a little faster than me so I could draft off them. Someone had the same idea with me, but instead of swimming on my feet behind me, he decided to swim on my hip. As I tried to swim away from him he would follow to the point where I couldn't swim in a straight line. I had the urge to take off his goggles so he would leave me alone. Despite having this leach on my hip, I finished the swim, but not as fast as I wanted to.
Because of my slow swim, the urgency to make up the time on the bike was really high. Immediately I started riding like a bat out of hell, where another racer, who was more seasoned than me, said, "this isn't sprint, this is a 70.3 mile race KID!". I wasn't insulted, I actually appreciated his comment, but I kept riding like a mad man. On mile 12, I was settling into the bike, even at this pace. All of a sudden my handle bars came loose and turned 90 degrees with the front wheel surprisingly remaining somewhat straight. Damn! My bike was coming apart! I stopped and quickly got off the bike to fix it. I didn't have time to process what had just happened. I just had to fix it and move on.
We were in rural Florida, which reminded me of where I grew up near the military base my Dad was stationed at. That area near the base is where I consider myself to be from and where I spent most of my formative years as a child. So I really felt at home here. Until my front tire ran over a snake! The day seems to keep getting better, huh? I didn't know what kind of a snake it was and I didn't want to got back and find out. Five minutes later I saw a bird of pray swoop down and pick up another snake in it's claws. At that point I knew I was in the wild!
At the half way point of my ride, I noticed I was at a good pace but not enough to make up for a slow swim. Man, I should have knocked off that guy's goggles! We started heading back the way we came towards the start of the 13 mile run. Around this time sun was coming out. The heat was quickly building and on the bike I couldn't seem to get enough water. I was beginning to feel dehydrated.
My fast pace quickly lowered to correct pace I should have been riding when I had started. By the end of the ride I was paying for the high effort earlier. Now it was time to run. The one thing Zouheir said before the race had just become very real. This is just crazy. After covering over 50miles, it is now time to run 13 miles. This just didn't seem right. The strange thing is that this wasn't my first race at this distance, but I think the sun was getting to me. The heat felt like soup and there wasn't any ice on the race course, only what seemed to be warm water to drink. But I continued to push forward with a positive attitude.
Before I knew it the miles melted away and the finish was insight. Zouheir saw his family. The girls joined him, held is hand, and crossed the finish line with him. I followed shortly behind him crossing the finish line.We found some cool water to drink and a shady place to sit. The only place we could find was near a smelly bathroom. It really did't matter at this point. We just needed the shade. We both were hot messes, sitting in the dirt. We didn't have the energy to talk to one another so we communicated with body language, using small movements and hand jesters. We were pretty much alone due to the smell of where we were sitting. We wanted to move but just couldn't at that point. The oldest girl said," Andrew, can we play soccer now? you promised". I could help but smile, I mustered a few words and said," In a little while baby, we will play".
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