Iron News Man, FINALLY! - November 23, 2009
Iron News Man!
I didn’t cry. I screamed when I crossed the finish line at Ironman Arizona. It was a guttural, primal, scream and man did it feel good! All the hard work, all the sacrifices paid off in that instant when the announcer proclaimed, “Chris Schauble, YOU are an Ironman!” My finish time was 12:51:18... beating my goal of 13 hours.
There are so many things to talk about, so many emotions to share. To cover all the topics in one blog would be troublesome. What I’ve decided to do is simply discuss my race on Sunday. Future blogs this week will tackle the journey, what I’ve learned, and my new goals (which keep me sane :).
I slept solidly for about four hours the night before the race. I knew it would be the case. I never sleep well before a race and Ironman was no different. I made the most of my early rise Sunday morning (at roughly 2:30am). I triple checked my Special Needs Bags, which I still had to drop off that morning. Ironically, on this day, they would not be needed.
I also hopped on Twitter and updated my status a few times. Let me just say right now that the “Tweeps” were HUGE for me race weekend. Sure I had some of my closest friends sending me text messages and wishing me the best, which was great! However, the people who “Follow” me on twitter went above and beyond! The outpouring of support was amazing. For that, thank you!
I stayed at the Embassy Suites in Tempe, just a few miles from the Ironman Arizona venue. The hotel had a special Ironman athletes breakfast at 4:30 in the morning. I took full advantage with a breakfast that consisted of an English muffin with peanut butter on top, a banana, and some yogurt. No coffee (a staple for me), orange juice was my drink. I also stashed an extra banana to down just before the race.
After breakfast I caught the hotel shuttle to the race venue, neighboring Arizona State University along Tempe Town Lake. I went straight to the transition area to fill-up my bike’s water bottles with Gatorade (we had dropped our bikes off the day before along with gear bags). Then it was the typical triathlon routine: body marking and putting on my wetsuit.
As I walked from the transition area to Tempe Town Lake for the swim start of Ironman Arizona, a woman next to me said, “Don’t wait to get in the water. Once you get close, get in. Waiting too long to test the 63-degree water will have you rushing to the strict 7am start.” It was solid advice, which I followed.
I’ve never been the fastest swimmer. I would describe myself as average at best. On this day, compared with my fellow Ironman competitors, I was far below average. I finished the 2.4-mile swim in 1:33 minutes. That’s AWFUL! It’s also five minutes slower than I had projected. One thought dominated as I headed into transition, live in the moment. The swim was over, and there was nothing I could do about it.
Ironman has a team of people ready to pull your wetsuit off after the swim. That was great! No other triathlon that I’ve competed in has that. Still, my transition from bike to swim time was average at best. Admittedly, doing a complete clothing change and putting on the bike gear adds time. The good thing is I felt good and had plenty of energy in the tank. I would need it!
The 112-mile bike is the longest part of the Ironman day. Heading into it, I had fears of a flat or some mechanical problem ruining my goal of finishing in 13 hours. I put aside those fears and got going.
The predicted high temperature was 74. It felt great out there once you left the streetlights of Tempe and could open it up along the Beeline Highway. We had been told to expect little wind. Maybe I misinterpreted that to mean no wind. There was certainly a bit of it heading out the uphill portion to the turn around 20-miles out. On the flip side, coming back downhill into Tempe was made even easier. My slowest speed of the day was 11 miles per hour. My fastest speed was 36. My average came out to 17.7. Along the way, I passed 84 people who had beaten me in the swim. Good feeling.
The second transition went much better than the first. I was almost twice as fast changing into my run gear. I expected as much because all I had to do is change shoes and hats. I was still happy and energetic! That impressed even me and served as a good sign heading into the run.
The Ironman Arizona run is a three-loop course (nearly nine miles per loop). I approached it as if it I was almost done with the entire race. Of the three portions, the run is also my best part. I traditionally run my marathons between 3:40 and 3:49. I ran a 4:44.
The first loop I told myself this is new, let’s see how it looks and feels. Basically I distracted myself. The crowd was also amazingly supportive. The second loop I told myself only one loop to go and you’re done. The third loop I told myself, “You’re done, go actualize the finish.” I also struck-up a conversation with other athletes running a similar pace. Again, the distraction worked.
Sprinting down the chute the Ironman finish will be one of the most memorable moments in my life! Words truly cannot explain how I feel. The successful completion of this journey has been a slow burn. I find myself thinking, wow, I really did it. That guy who couldn’t run around the block without getting winded or his knees hurting finished an Ironman. Pretty cool. Pretty cool.
If I can do it, anyone can do it. Maybe your Ironman is a degree, or learning another language. Whatever your dream is, with determination, it’s possible. I don’t think it anymore. Thanks to Ironman, I know it!
I NEED to give special thanks to some special people. To my Running Coach Craig Moss and Trainer Jordan Yuam who have both been with me since I weighed 252… you kept me on the right path and helped me change my life! To Triathlon Coach Jason Healey, thank you for saving me from mistakes that would have doomed my Ironman Journey. Your knowledge gave me the confidence to compete and then complete what many consider one of the toughest physical challenges on earth. Rich Cruse, your images made my journey spring to life. I cannot imagine a better photographer anywhere! To my wife Katrina and our beautiful two sets of twin girls… you were my rocks! Without your love and support, allowing me to be selfish with my time in order to train, none of this could have happened! It was OUR journey!
