Ironman Kentucky Race Report by Ed Dillon

Sep 22, 2009

It is hard to imagine that just over 2 years ago I wasn't able to run one block without losing my breath and having to walk. It is hard to imagine that just over 2 years ago I weighed 45 pounds more than I do today. And it is hard to imagine that if you had said to me in 2 years you will complete an Ironman triathlon I would have thought you were nuts.

You see two years ago I was all those things, I was what I like to call, a professional couch potato, my weight had crept up to 230 pounds and I was horribly out of shape. I had never done any kind of endurance event and certainly never done a triathlon before. At my sister's suggestion I signed up for the Niagara Give It a Try race in the summer of 2007.

I would go on to do four more Give It a Try races in 2007, and then would do every single race in the 2008 summer through the Subaru and HSBC triathlon series. The longest race in 2008 was the Bracebridge ½ Iron distance, where I was so happy to be finishing that I literally jumped for joy in the air. You may have seen that photo floating this summer.

I was given an incredible gift in the “off season” last year, when a friend of mine paid for my entry to the Louisville Ironman race. At work one day I received the e-mail confirmation and was surprised to see my name listed as an entrant. We had talked about me possible doing an Ironman race in a few years, I was thinking when I was 40 as that would give me several more years to train, etc... After all I still considered myself a beginner when it came to the world of triathlons.

So 2009 turned into something completely different than what I had originally planned for, as I wanted to do a lot of shorter distance events and try and improve my run and swim speed. Well that plan went out the window and it turned into a long and sometimes lonely training regime of swims, bike rides, and my favourite the late night runs.

I had set goals for myself over the summer to see just what I would be able to accomplish over the course of the year, all the while having Kentucky in the back of my head as the ultimate race for the year. A few training things stand out in mind, the day before the Muskoka Long Course race I did a 155km bike ride from Mississauga to Cambridge and back and then raced the next day.

The day before the Peterborough ½ Iron race I did a 2km swim, 90km bike and a 10km run on the Saturday and then the Peterborough ½ on the Sunday. The fact that I was able to finish that hilly run on Sunday without walking was a great boost to confidence. And the few races after that I worked on a pace that I thought I would be able to maintain over a 13 to 15 hour day. The Bracebridge ½ Iron race was a good example of that, and learning how to deal with a bike problem as well, which would turn out to be quite handy in Kentucky.

As for the Ironman race itself, it was quite the experience for me. In so many wonderful ways, now even two weeks later I still don't think that it has quite set in to what I really accomplished. My sister, dad and I drove down to Kentucky on the Thursday before the race, as I was required to check in on the Friday, and turn in my Bike and gear bags on the Saturday. I was amazed and impressed on how well run this type of event was. With over 2900 paid athletes, of which about 2450 would actually show up for the race there was a lot of people to process throughout the various days. I can honestly say that I didn't have to spend more than 15 to complete the registration process and gather all of the equipment that I would need for Sunday, and about the same to drop off my bike and walk through the transition area on the Saturday. All of the volunteers were very helpful and very knowledgeable which was great!

I arrived to the transition area at 5am on Sunday to already see it alive with people, what a site it was to see all those bikes lined up waiting to go. After dropping off my bottles I walked over to the swim start which was about a mile away from the transition area. The start of this swim is a time trial start with 3 to 4 athletes going off every few seconds. And the line for the swim start seemed to stretch forever down the road. The professional athletes went off at 6:50am and when the cannon sounded for the 2nd time at 7:00am the line started moving. It took me about 10 minutes to get down to the dock and start my swim.

The swim itself I knew that I would have no problems with. Even though it was a non wetsuit swim, and I had been swimming in my wetsuit for the better part of 2 years, I had done a few long swim without the wetsuit and felt very comfortable with the distance. At my pace I was able to cover the 2.4 miles in just over an hour and a half, all freestyle, all without having to stop, which was great, although looking back at the video my sister shot it looks like I was swimming at a snail's pace, and could have gone under at any moment!

But it was out of the water and into a giant tent filled with other racers. The tent itself was an interested experience, normally during a triathlon you wear the same suit for all three disciplines, the tent allowed me to change into proper bike gear and then again in proper run gear later in the day. So up next was the 112 mile bike ride. I hadn't ridden this distance in one go before. The longest I had ridden was 170km but that ride was broken up into a morning and afternoon ride, and the 155km ride to Cambridge and back also had about an hour layover in between.

Today there would be no stopping, and I was off. Settling into my 26 to 28 kph pace was easy enough and the bike course started (and thankfully) finished flat. The first major test was about a mile decent into a valley followed by a mile climb up the other side and when you got to the top you had to turn around again do it all over. I had never descended that far before and it was a lot of fun just to lean back, and hold on as the bike had a life of its own. The climb up the other side will always be remember for the great spectator that dressed up as the Devil, complete with pitch fork cheering every on as they rode up the mountain. Just like the Tour de France. It was awesome!

This bike course was a looped one and passed through the town of La Grange twice where a majority of the spectators gathered to watch and cheer. Riding through this two mile stretch was fantastic and there were so many people cheering everyone on. I had been given a Canadian bike jersey to wear which turned out to be a perfect idea as I got many, many “Go Canada” cheers while riding, other riders would pass and ask where from Canada I was from, and I even had a few people sing the national anthem as they went by.

After riding for 115km my back tire, at least one of the spokes decided it had had enough for the day and broke. At first I couldn't figure out what the problem was as I had never had a broken spoke before, I originally thought I had blown a tire. Well this would be worse, the broken spoke, as I continued to ride started to warp the rim of the tire and with each rotation it was rubbing against the back brakes causing me to lose and momentum I had built up while riding on flats and slowing me down while going down hills. I couldn't begin to guess how much more effort it took to continue to pedal the bike.

I'd like to think it was a blessing in disguise as it certainly took my mind off my sore butt, aching legs and blistering feet that I has developing. Not to mention just the sorest shoulders and back I have ever felt in my life. Being 6 feet 5 inches is not the best for a long day on the bike. But as I continued to push along I started to count the km down to the finish, and when I got to the last hill I knew that it was all downhill and flat back to transition.

I have never been so happy to get off my bike in my life, and I know from looking at the pictures I felt as low as I was looking. I slowly walked back to transition with my head hung low and my shoulders slumped down. I was not happy, I was in pain and I couldn't quite fathom the idea of now having to run a marathon. The only time I ever thought about quitting was when the bike tire broke, as I knew at that point I was given an excuse if I wanted it. Broken bike, call it a day. But when I got off the bike I knew, no matter what else happened that day I was going to cross that finish line!

So out of the bike clothes and into the fresh shorts and run jersey, I got the chance to rest my sore feet for a few minutes and I felt better. I continued to walk back out of transition to the edge of the road and then started to run. I was actually surprised that when I started to run I actually could, and nothing on me really hurt at that moment.

I would end of running the first 5 miles before I took my first break as I planned to walk the aid station of the course so I could refuel and recover. That plan worked great for the first half of the marathon, although each time I stopped to walk it would take a bit longer to start running again. Then it switched over to walking more than I was running. Each time I stopped running I would get light headed and a little dizzy. I knew I wanted to finish, and if walking was how I was going to get there then so be it!

I met this fantastic woman named Suzan who would walk with me for the last 12 miles of the marathon and talked about everything under the sun. It took my mind off how sore and tight everything was getting. The worst part of the run/walk was the blisters I could feel forming on the bottom of my feet and could feel squishing between my toes as I walked. But this wonderful lady walked with me, talking and taking my mind off any pain that I was going through and made the last 3 hours of my day an enjoyable one instead of a battle against my own head as I walked towards the finish.

We both were able to run that last half mile across the finish line and I jumped for joy once again at the prospect of crossing the finish line and being called an Ironman. It was such a wonderful experience, mere words cannot really capture what it was like. I still can't believe I finish, I do not care at all that it took over 15 hours. I know what I need to do differently for the next time I want to do an Ironman race as I will certainly be trying this again. I want the next race to be a swim, bike, and run!!

Ed Dillon

PS – Having trained for the better of the year on this race I haven't been able to participate in nearly as many club activities as I wanted to when I joined early this year. Now that this race is done I plan on making myself more visible over the coming year and look forward to meeting a whole lot more “Falcons” in the months to come.