St George Ironman

Over the weekend I raced, arguably, the toughest Ironman course in the world, Ironman St George. For the past 6 months I have dedicated myself and sacrificed a lot of time to prepare for this race. On my biggest weeks I trained just over 18 hours. This meant a lot time away from family, friends, and work.

The Ironman consists of a 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike, and a 26.2 mile run.  St George would be my 5^th Ironman. This is no ordinary Ironman though, if you can even call an Ironman ordinary. St George boasts a bike course with over 6000’ of gain and a run course with over 3000’ gain. Also, add in the variable heat and wind and you have the makings for a very tough day.  I knew it was going to be by far the hardest Ironman that I have done, and I trained accordingly.

The one thing that I was most excited for, was having my family and friends there to support and watch me race.  They had been such a big part of getting me to race day. They as well sacrificed time away and were willing to pick up my slack in the line. This was their race too.

About two weeks out I started watching the weather forecast, hoping for moderate temperatures. We, in Utah and Salt Lake County, had been experiencing an unseasonal wet and cold spring. In fact, I had only trained in 50-degree temperatures. So, I was extra worried about hot weather on race day.

As race day approached the weather forecast was calling for the hottest day of the year, 90 degrees with 15-25 MPH winds from the west. Making an already tough course every more challenging.

We met as a team the night before race day for dinner. Amy and Cody had made up some cool shirts for the support team to wear. The shirts had a picture of me and said “Team Machine”. Machine is a nickname that some of my friends made up and I thought it was awesome that they took the time to make shirts for the crew. We talked about the race and my goal times for each discipline. We talked about the best place for the crew to spectate, and I started to get some race nerves.

Race morning always seems to come so early. My alarm clock went off at 0400 giving 30 minutes to get ready and out the door.  I collected all my stuff and headed out the door with Ammie Black who was volunteering at the spectator’s bus station.  I made a game time decision to switch out my front wheel due to the predicted 25 mph cross wind. I got to the race start with plenty of time to set everything up, and felt ready to go by 0645 when the Pro athletes started. I gave my hugs and kisses and made my way to the 62-degree water. The ambient temperature was already at 58-degrees, as the race announcer gave us last minute advice to stay hydrated.

The cannon shot off and 1900 swimmers started to fight for position. The swim can be pretty intimidating and down right scary. I got out of the water 8 minutes slower than my predicted time, with a swim split of 1:18!. I had a so so transition and off I went on the bike. I took the first loop pretty conservative knowing that the run in the heat of the day was going to be rough. My bike split was ten minutes faster than my predicted time, with a bike split of 5:42. 

And then came the heat… the run was hot, 93+ degrees…. hot. I have raced in heat before and I knew to stay wet. At each aid station I would pour water over my head and back. I took the first loop easy just to see how I would do in the heat. I walk a few of the stepper hill sections and ran all the rest. I came in with a run split of 3:52, which is right were I thought I'd be.

I got to see my support crew at mile 3, 10, 16, and 23 on the run and it truly lifted my spirit, I actually got goose bumps as I would run by them. As I ran on I thought to myself how blessed I was to have such a great support team, and how that related to life in general. When you’re tired and struggling along life’s road, and feel like giving up or slowing down, the number one thing to get you going are your fans. My fans got me through that race, and my personal victory was their victory as well.

Team Machine crossed the finishline at 11:02:11. Out of the 1825 athletes that started the bike only 1275 started the run. It was hot hard race and I’m ready for my next challenge.

A big thanks to my team: Amy, Mercedes, Ryan, Kai, Zoe, Lucy, Mom, Dad, Chris, Amy, Karsten, Kade, Kirsten, Cody, Nicholle, Duncan, Abby, Kylee, Ammie, Jason, Maria, Telos, and friends/family back home following my race.