The KodaFit Blog

So I’m lying in the dentist’s chair last Thursday afternoon, and flipped through the channels to ESPN.   I don’t usually follow too much in the sports world, but I have been interested in the World Cup.  So I checked out the scores and all of that, and then find myself watching a story about an epic 11 hour long tennis match.

Before I continue…  My apologies to any tennis fans who I may offend by saying what needs to be said.

The commentator is going on and on about how this 11 hour tennis game has gone on longer than some baseball games, and is the longest in the sports world today.

“Oh really!” think I to myself…  “You guys have never heard of a little event called…

THE IRONMAN!!

But wait…  It turns out that this 11 hour long tennis match was actually spread out over 3 days!  Which means that these guys got to take breaks and actually get a full nights sleep in the midst of the 11 hour match.  And not just 1 night of sleep, but 2!!

And then after every couple of serves, they go over an sit in a chair, under an umbrella, wipe the sweat from their brows with a towel, and suck down on water and other beverages of their choice.

I’m sure they game took a toll on their bodies, and I’m sure there was a mental aspect to playing the same game for 3 days straight, but to say it’s the longest most grueling game in sports history…  I don’t think so!

In other news…  I’m horribly behind on my race reports, but to summarize the past two races:

The Shark Attack Triathlon was 2 weeks ago.  It was a pool sprint and the weather was cool and wet.  I had some challenges on race day, but ended up winning my age group!!

The Lunatic Triathlon was last Friday night.  It was a blast, although in hind sight, driving back from Price, Utah after the race was not the best idea.  I got home at 4am, and am still feeling the effects.  I felt like I did well.  It was reversed, so we ran first, and I felt good.  Wasn’t my fastest 5k ever, but I felt solid throughout, despite the uphill nature of the course, my recent 10 pound weight gain, and I believe it was at a little more altitude than I am used to.

T1 was quick and speedy and it was out onto the bike course.  It was dark, and a little hairy, but I passed a bunch of bikes, and only got passed by one.

T2 was insanely fast!  I came in with my feet out of my shoes, dropped the bike, my helmet, grabbed my goggles and sprinted to the pool.  I was 21st at that point.

The pool swim was worse than open water, as far as legs, arms and aquatic battles go.  They had us swim up and down the same lane, and oft-times I would pass someone as someone else was passing a swimmer in the opposite direction.  I’ll have to share the story of my ass being grabbed repeatedly as well.

I emerged 13th overall and 5th in my age group.  Actually there were only two age groups.  Over 30 and under 30.  Had it been traditional USAT age groupings, I would have gotten 2nd, and only been beaten by this guy -> Dane Rauschenberg Mr. 52 marathons in 52 weeks!

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112 miles is a freaking long way to bike, but along the journey there are things to distract you.  Southern Utah has phenomenal scenery, and when I was in awe of that, the volunteers provided more motivation and support than you could shake a stick at.

Also along the way were signs of motivation and encouragement to other athletes.  Perhaps my favorite was at the top of a particularly steep hill, shortly before ‘The Wall’ between Gunlock and Veyo.  I think it was addressed to a specific athlete or athletes, and if memory serves correctly, it may have been the Puerto Rican contingent.

140.6 because 140.7 would just be crazy

Another sign was photographed by my brother and his wife along the run course.  I don’t recall seeing it, but to be fair I was so caught up in the atmosphere, and the hordes of supporters and volunteers, that I don’t remember reading much at all during that segment.

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Sometimes when you train for long distance events, your equipment and body can experience a fair number of failures.  I was pretty lucky leading up to Ironman, but I’ll attribute that to not training as much as I probably should have.  The race itself was a different issue however.  I don’t think this is typical, but following is a list of casualties which happened during the race.

•  Goggles - I have a pair of blank tinted Speedo Vanquisher racing goggles.  Somewhere between the swim exit and grabbing my T1 bag, I dropped them.  There were a couple of pairs in the Lost and Found the next day, and I think I found mine - probably need to mark them somehow!
• Bike Computer Magnet - There is a small magnet which is attached to the spoke on my front wheel, it is used by the computer to measure my speed.  It cracked about a year ago, but the super glue I applied seemed to work.  Around mile 12 of the bike, I heard something in my spokes…  shortly there after the speed showed 0 and I noticed the magnet was gone.  Coincidentally, I had powered up the Garmin just a minute before, so I just used that instead.
• Garmin Speed Sensor - Fortunately I only need this for indoor riding, and with summer approaching, I’m hoping I have 8 months or so to replace it.  I heard something get caught in my back spokes shortly after the bike segment began, but I only noticed when loading my bike up for the long drive home.  There is a little arm on the sensor which comes out to measure speed - from another magnet.  It had been completely ripped off, leaving a couple of small wire dangling.
• Aero Bar Spring - I have a road bike, and I use clip on aero bars.  The set I have is spring loaded, so that the pads pop up when you’re not using them, allowing you additional places to hold on and steer the bike.  Around the middle of the bike segment, my right hand pad wouldn’t pop…  Turns out the spring had broken.
• Pound of Flesh - Something is up with my wetsuit closure…  I think it may be linked to excess skin on my neck, and unusual muscle formation on my upper back (or bad posture), but somehow the scratchy side of the velcro from my wet suit neck closure ended up against my neck.  It worked through a think layer of Body Glide, a large waterproof bandaid (I was prepared!!) and then proceeded to scratch the hell out of the back of my neck.  2 weeks later, and I still have part of the resultant scab…  And when persperation flowed over it on the bike and run segments…  Ai Chi Wow Wa!!!

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Michael Mackrory of Syracuse Utah, you are an IronMan!!!

I heard those words shortly after 10:30 last night from the infamous Mike Reilly, the voice of IronMan.

It and the 16 hours prior will remain in my mind for years to come.

There wasn’t much in the way of negative thinking during the day, and perhaps my biggest fear was wishing the experience away and not savoring every minute.

I enjoyed it all though, and when I wasn’t, all it took was a glance down to my wrist and seeing the IronMan logo on the band, to remind myself where I was.

It was a tough course.  The bike was hard, and there was a wicked headwind for most of it, but in reality, it wasn’t quite as tough as the Silverman half last year.  The run however was an entirely different animal.  HOLY COW!!!

But as they say, “If it was easy, everyone would do it!”

Huge thanks to all the family who made it to watch me in person, and to all those who followed along on Twitter, Facebook, and through my online tracker.  I suspect there may have been 20-30 people at least who watched it all and followed my progress.  Thank-you, thank-you, thank-you!!!

I’ll try and put together a full report soon - along with all the other race reports, I’ve been procrastinating!!

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They showed that video at the start of the Athlete’s dinner last night. I got goose bumps.

This will likely be my last post before the race tomorrow. There are so many mixed emotions right now, and most of them are good. I realized last night that this is a very personal thing, and while I wouldn’t have gotten here without the support of others, it’s an experience that I can only partially share. There is something deep which I share with those making the same attempt tomorrow, and if all goes well, something even deeper I will share those who have taken this journey before.

I would however like to share what I can…

I’ve gotten myself a Shadow for the race tomorrow, it’s a small GPS device with a cellular transponder. During most of the bike and all of the run tomorrow, this should enable you to track me.

The url is:

http://www.TrackMyAthlete.com/vemap.aspx?name=044136

or for Smart Phones…

http://www.TrackMyAthlete.com/pda.aspx?name=044136

There are also maps and that kind of thing available on http://ironmanstgeorge.com and likely on ironman.com as well.

My bib number is 853.

I have no idea what my times will be, but if I had to make a guess:

Start at 7am.

Swim 1:20-1:30

T1 - No longer than 10 minutes, and I’m aiming for 5

Bike 7:30-8

T2 - No longer than 10 minutes, and I really want this one to be 5 - Just want to keep moving at this point

Run - 5:00

So with that in mind, I should be out of the water on on my bike at about 8:30 MDT.

I should be getting off the bike, sometime between 4 and 4:30, and hopefully finishing between 9 and 10.

But that said, it’s going to be a long day, and while I want to push myself, I want to make sure I soak it all in at every possible point in the race.

Finally, some thanks. There are many who need it, and I will no doubt forget some, so if you are a regular reader, friend on Facebook or friend in real life and I don’t mention you, please know that your spirit will be out there with me, and I truly, truly appreciate your support on this journey.

First my incredible wife and kids. Ann, Brody, Ella, Lillian, Kynan and Bronwyn. I couldn’t have done it without you, and as I wear your names on my chest for the last 5 or so hours, I’ll be looking down frequently for inspiration from you. Team Mako!!

My extended family, Bill and LeeAnn, Phil and Laura, Breck, Danelle, Andrew, Evan, Carli, Jason, Justin, and Rick. You guys rock.

My immediate family, Sean and Lisa, who will either be shuttling me to the start at 4am, or watching 5 grumpy kids so my wife can!

And the rest of my extended family who have sent well wishes and luck.

Brent - the guy who dragged me off the couch 3 years ago, and got me started on this journey. And Taleen, Kalena and Bryce who have let me borrow their dad.

Chris, the infamous xt4. Your video’s of your first IronMan have provided infinite motivation and inspiration to me and my family. I can’t thank you enough. When I start to enter a dark place, my middle fingers will curl into my thumb, my outer fingers will extend and a simple… Pick it Up and Set it Down will spur me forward.

And the rest of the online team… Stef, Shirley, Aaron, James and many others, including those who lurk!

My workout buddies at work, foremost among whom is Kay! And also Dodie, Mike, Dave, KDS, Christine and Letty.

My workout buddy at home, Kevin, and his wife Kaylene and kids Gavin and Hailey for sharing their Dad.

My fellow Sharks, Polly, Steve, Leslie, Jadin, Chuck, Kris, Di, Kelly, Karie, Josh, Bill, Cindi, Sandi, Sue and there are countless more I could list off.

And last but by no means least my new NUT crew, led by the Blonde Runner Lora. She’s the one responsible for killing most of the funky hops, wiggles and other weird parts of my running style, but making me far more efficient in the process.

I couldn’t have done this without any of you.

Thanks

Mike “Mako” Mackrory!
Aspiring Ironman #853

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There is a large banner in the lobby of my hotel, welcoming IronMan St. George,  the town has banners with the M-Dot symbol on them, and as we drove in, there were groups of cyclists and runners everywhere.

And that’s when the second wave of terror hit!  I don’t feel ready to be here and for as long as I’ve idolized those who complete this challenge, I feel unworthy to be among them.

I think I have it under control though!  I’ve trained to be here, I’ve been planning this for years, and each of these people whom I’ve idolized for so long had to start where I am right now.  I’m still a little concerned about my lack of cycling training, but I know I can go the distance, and I think I have the swim and run taken care of.  I’m not here to break records, I’m simply here to finish, even if it takes 17 hours.

The weather right now is a little scary.  We were passed on the way down by a car with a sweet Cervelo P3C on the roof…  And the bike was taking a serious lean to the left with the cross winds.  I’m hoping the wind gets through with all it has to do by Saturday, although, the way it is right now, perhaps a wee tail wind on the uphills won’t be a bad thing!

OK, back to the matter at hand…  My head is shaved, and my legs are smooth.  We have a stack of T-shirts for friends and family (They’re super low budget ones, but that’s what  happens when you procrastinate!  The chain is lubed and tomorrow I’m going to check in…

Time is running short!

The funny thing is that once it’s over, I suspect race day will be over too quickly, and this moment I’ve been looking forward to for years will be gone.

But more on that tomorrow.  In case you can’t tell from the above, my mind is shredded!

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Today started earlier than it should have.  I had everything packed and was ready for a quick swim before heading into work.  On arriving at the pool, I stripped down and soon discovered that my towel was likely still sitting right next to the spot where I packed my bag last night…  Long story, short…  I got to work nice and early.

Not much has changed since yesterday, still getting nervous about Saturday, but hopefully once I have everything packed tonight, and we head down to St. George, I can relax a little and enjoy the experience.

For anyone interested in following my progress…

I believe the IronMan site will have updates online as to my time at various checkpoints throughout the race.  I’m not sure if that will be on IronMan.com or IronManStGeorge.com, or both.  I’ll be wearing bib# 853.

I also have a small tracking device being shipped to my hotel, and hopefully I’ll have a url for you on Thursday. It’s a GPS devise with cellular upload, and with the exception of the swim and about a 10 mile section on the bike loop, you should be able to follow me in real time online. So, when I blow up on the run, you can tell, and send some positive energy my way!

I’m also hoping to give my sweet wife access to my twitter and facebook accounts, so updates might be available there as well.

Let the last day at work for a week begin!!

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Exactly 5 days from now, I’m hoping to be pretty close to dragging myself up onto the boat ramp at Sand Hollow Reservoir and beginning a 112 mile ride on my bike.

As of last night, my bike is prepped and my wetsuit still fits.  Tonight’s mission will be the acquisition of reflective tape, and hopefully getting all my gear together in one place.

5 days isn’t much time at all, especially when I’ve been registered for this day for well over a year now.

Nothing more I can do at this point, just trying to stay healthy, hydrated, and not completely freak out!!!

I’ll have more updates during the week, including how you can track me on race day if you would like to share in my pain!

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I woke up this morning with a bit of anxiety.  My approach to most races is to try and put them out of my mind.  If the race isn’t too big, usually I’m pretty successful at this, which inevitaby leads to running around on race morning, like a mad-man, trying to make sure I have everything.

I don’t think I’ll have this problem with IronMan in May.  I’m already far more stressed out about it that I have ever been for a race, and the plan right now is to arrive in St. George 3 or 4 days in advance of the race.

I woke up dreaming about the race this morning, particularly about getting my bike and my special needs bags checked in.  The situation I found myself in was one where my race bike was somewhere else.  I think this is a subliminal message from myself that I need a dedicated race bike, since right now, my training, road, time-trial and race bike are all the same machine….

With the bike somewhere else, I was trying to still get it checked in, and I couldn’t find my id either.  It was a weird dream.

At that point I woke up.

It’s my day off work.  My day to sleep in.  It was a little before 5:30am.

If dreams mean anything, perhaps I’m worried that I’m not going to be ready for the race.

And so with that, I hopped out of bed, brushed the old chompers, grabbed my swim bag and headed off to the pool.

2700 yards, dodging the old ladies doing aerobics and I’m ready to start the day!

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Ben Greenfield is the guy I purchased my IronMan training plan from. So far so good, although if I blow it in St. George, I need to state that…

• I started on the plan late, since I already needed to be on week 15 of the plan when I purchased it.
• I haven’t been the most diligent follower of the plan because… Well, simply because life get’s in the way sometimes.

But that aside it’s appears to be an excellent plan, and I’ll likely plan on using it for my next Iron Distance race, assuming I survive this one. Perhaps Silverman in 2012!

I bring this up because, yesterday, Ben sent out a link to an article he wrote, entitled - 6 Things They Don’t Tell You About IronMan. You can read the article here, and I’ve posted a summary below. Most of the points need explaining though!

1) The Volunteers Don’t Have Built-In Auto-Banana Releasing Switches.

2) For The First 5 Miles of the Bike, Drafting Rules Don’t Really Count.  out.

3) All Your Pacing Rules Get Broken In Transition.

4) Your Special Needs Bag Isn’t Always At The HalfWay Point.

5) Wetsuit Strippers Aren’t Necessarily The Fastest Way to Go.

6) Don’t Plan on Seeing Your Expensive Tubular Again.

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