IRONTEDD’s big adventure
As many of you know this crazy idea started years ago. I have told folks there was a little Ironman growing inside of me, right behind my pancreas and he kept getting bigger and bigger. Well, this year he became full sized. This is the story of how one almost 40 year old guy became an IRONMAN.
First and foremost, thank you to my unbelievable wife and family who for my 39th birthday gave me a year of “relatively guilt free training.” It sounded like permission to me so off I went. Thanks to Rusty and Neil for the rides and runs and keeping me company along the way. Thanks to Ron for putting up with me on the long rides. I really enjoyed them. Thanks to my folks for coming out and supporting me and helping Anne. Thanks to all the babysitters for the Tuesday nights so I could ride. Thanks to Mason and Kate for going along for the ride. You may not know what a great day this was for me, but sharing it with you was something I will never forget. Thanks to Anne for the best gift of all, I couldn’t have done this without you.
PRERACE
Thursday
Painted the Mdot on the car, painted “Honk if you do 140.6” on the car, buckled the girls into their seats and set off for Louisville. How was I feeling? Scary calm. Sure I was excited about what was coming up, but it was days away and didn’t even feel like much more than another long Saturday training ride. That would change.
Friday
Met Ron for the Gatorade swim down by the original swim. Now it is starting to feel more exciting. It is all there, just like in Hawaii..the big gatorade bottle, the excitement in the air, the lean and tan bodies all looking fitter and in better shape than me. Ron needed a 40 min swim and I needed to just swim some so we lined up. Swim out to the first buoy, turn right, go up 3 buoys, swim back, those were our instructions for the half mile warm up swim. We watch the first group hop in and swim to the buoy….where are they going? All but one are being rapidly swept down the river toward the bridge, one is holding even but not progressing….Out go the kayakers and the rescue boats to get that group. New plan…stay close to shore. In we go and up stream we fly. The water is great. Very much like SC ocean water, 85 degrees and brownish. I can see my hand with my arm fully extended..Not nearly as gross as I expected. Swim up river is slow, but I am making progress. I hit the turn and fly back to the start. I pick my ferry line 20-30 yards up from the finish to ferry across and hit the stairs just right, NOPE not even close, I miss the stairs by 10 yards and have to swim upstream to get out. Not hard, just missed. 30 minute swim and it felt good. Back to the hotel for a quick shower and to get the family to head to the am athletes briefing, register and do some shopping….
Saturday
Ron and I meet up with Carole, the nurse from New York for a quick easy ride on River Road to get out the nerves and do a last bike check. We have to have the bikes turned in by 5pm today with transition bags. Final check….Ride is windy but flat and we have a great time. Ron and I stopped to watch a cricket match on the way back. That game still cracks me up as I know nothing about it. Everything checks out on the bike so it is back to the room to do the final pack and just hang and rest a bit. Girlies are out with my folks at the KY Derby museum. They had a horse, Kate was happy.
Packing the bags was another one of those “NO TURNING BACK” moments. The anticipation was building. Seemed simple enough…put all you need for the bike in one bag and all you need for the run in another…Why did I have to pack each bag 5 times? How did I still forget to put my nutrition in? Guess I got what was needed though….Take the bikes and the bags to transition and am met by my transition host, Dianne. She walks me to where my bike goes, helps me hang my bags and then walks me through transition as if I was coming through on race day. That was really cool. Starting to really feel it now. Getting a little apprehensive. Anne and the girls call it grumpy, but I knew it was nerves.
Off for Pizza and then the girls head to Grammas and Papaws hotel room for the night. I sleep horrible. I go to bed about 9:30 and toss and turn all night. To be expected I suppose. I wake up at 4:15 have a pop tart and some juice to start the day like I trained them. Anne and I meet Dad at 5:15 and we go pick up Ron.
THE RACE
Dad and Anne drop us off at transition so Ron and I can get body marked and our bikes ready. The lady who body marks me actually asks me if I am a pro. God bless her. She has no idea how good that made me feel.
Nutrition in the bento box on the bike, air in the tires, a couple of quick snapshots and we off we go to the start. The modified start is ¾ of a mile up the road and will be a time trial start instead of the typical Ironman mass start. Lots of negatives being heard about this type of start. Matters not to me, I still have to swim the entire distance. We talked about missing the traditional mass start and how that is something we feared and wanted to conquer, but in the end this was just as good. We get in line and wait for the start. Ron and I are so far around the corner we can’t see the water. We sit and wait for about 30 minutes for our start. Boom, there go the pros…I am so nervous, my stomach is a wreck. THIS THING IS ON!
SWIM – 1:08:42 1:48/100 average
22 minutes after 7 - I hit the water. Doesn’t feel like much current, but I focus on long full strokes. Reach and follow through. Sighting is easy as the line of trees is right next to us. Lots of people in the water, but it doesn’t feel crowded. I bump and get bumped a bit, but nothing major. Starting to get in the groove and the tummy is relaxing. Focus on the moment and staying relaxed with efficient strokes. I check my watch at the top of the turn (about ¾ of a mile) and see 30 minutes, seems slow, but I know I am going upstream and the current will help me out in a sec. I make the turn, sight on the buildings downtown and focus on long strokes. 15 minutes later, I am back where we started..Oh yea, gotta love the current. Only concerns on the swim were about losing my chip when I did the breast stroke to sight and peeing, but Anne says I can’t mention that in the race report…OUT OF THE WATER IN 1:08. 388th place out of 2175
T1 – 0:05:53
This is a long transition. Out of the water, up the ramp, across the bridge, down the stairs, get you bag and into the tent. This was a pretty easy transition for me. Lots of help in the tent, actually had a volunteer helping pull down my jersey while I was putting on my shoes. Thinking to myself, long day, don’t need to rush this, slow is smooth and smooth is fast. Out of the tent and over to get the bike.
Anne and Dad are spotted even with my bike rack row and cheering me on. You really have no idea how awesome that is until you experience it. YES, I forget to go get sunscreen….I have the “tan” to prove it…then we have a long hike with a bike to the mounting area and then finally we are off.
BIKE – 6:28:02 – 17.32mph average
The bike was great for the first 60 miles. Remembering what everything you read said, go easy for the 1st 30 miles. Easy on this course as the first 15 are flat and somewhat shady. I concentrate on easy spinning and beginning my nutrition. Gatorade every 15 minutes, Gu on the 30 minutes and PB&J on the 60 minutes. Tick tock like clock work. I take a new cold Gatorade at every aid station. Man that makes a world of difference. Cold is good. The spur of the course is the toughest challenge. Long screaming downhill, long watershed type climb up..Turn around and do it again backwards…Still in the 1st 30 miles so I am focused on spinning my small chain ring and not blowing up my legs. Seems to be working. Onto the LaGrange loop. Wow, lots of short hills, but this is like riding in Greenville. No big deal. We are getting ready to turn into LaGrange when we get passed by the pros. Guy behind me says..”wow, they are like 45 MILES ahead of us.” Not good for the head. Luckily we head into LaGrange and it is jammed with folks. What a boost of energy..There they are…I see Anne cheering like crazy with her sign. Feeling great through town….Other side of town, head wind and more hills. Still feeling good and just aero down and go. Nutrition is still right on track and I am feeling good, but dang this is a long loop. Left turn a
nd the wind is behind us and I feel 100% better. Soon enough, the turn for the second loop starts again. Mentally, this is tough. I know what is waiting for me, where the hills are and how windy it is. But I also know I am 45 miles from the finish and the last 15 are flat with a tail wind AND I get to see the family again. Second loop was uneventful except for the nutrition. I just couldn’t eat another dang sandwich. So just Gu and Gatorade. In LaGrange I toss the girls a water bottle and they get it. Man that is a good feeling to see folks cheering for you. I see my family and the Jerina’s. By the end of the second loop, before the flat part, my back/shoulders are cramping and I am struggling to stay on the aero bars. I ride the last bit in, spinning and sitting upright. For the most part the ride was perfect. I was truly in the moment almost the entire way and not worried about much of anything. The course was beautiful and it was not nearly as hot as I anticipated. Back into town…..2 down, 1 to go.
T2 – 14:45
I was shocked to be in there almost 15 minutes, but I was having trouble focusing on even small tasks and the order in which to do them. In shorter races it was much easier, shoes on, hat on, go…I had a full change of clothes here. I guess I got a little lost. I had a volunteer put biofreeze all over my back to help loosen me up. BEST DECISION of the day. Finally out of the tent and over to sunscreen. Didn’t forget again. Then out to the street for the weird mile one loop.
RUN – 6:02:40 – 13:50/mile
My first mile was at 9:50 on my watch, dang, felt like the mile on the track..good sign, felt easy and I knew if I could keep 11 minute miles I was golden. Weird feeling in my right shoe. Stop, take off the shoe now so you don’t get blisters. Nothing in the shoe, nothing in the sock. Oh well, off I go again. I am walking the aid stations and running between them…Still on pace or pretty dang close. Mile 6, Ron catches me. He looks strong and is doing really awesome. I am not feeling great, a little sloshy in the tummy. If the tummy/digestion is a problem, slow down and walk, let blood go to the tummy and it will get better. I walk mile 7 – 8. I am slowing down. My feet are starting to hurt a lot but t
he tummy is feeling better. I am run walking now, the pace has slowed. My feet are killing me..they are sliding in my shoes left to right and hot spots are appearing. Not good. I check my times now and can still hit 13 hours if I can run some..I pick up the pace a bit and make it to the turn around. It is cruel. Right up beside the finish shoot then turn right away from it for the next loop…so close you could see the finish line..Mile 15 I can’t run any more. I make the decision to walk it in as fast as I can…the feet hurt 50 times more when I run than when I walk. I have made a great effort, but 13 hours will elude me today. I will run the last mile however. No matter how hard it is…
It is getting darker and darker and the miles seem to get farther and farther apart. Sign on the side of the road says if you are going through hell right now…..Keep GOING…how appropriate. The fans are great, the folks at the aid stations are great. Mile 19 fans on the side of the road comment on my “halo” the glow ring they gave us. I say at this point, I’ll take any help I can get. These 3 folks all stand up and start screaming…”GO 702, YOU CAN DO THIS….ALMOST THERE…BE THE IRONMAN…GO GO GO….” I wave and trot on down the road…30 second pass and I hear them again…”702 GO …..YOU GOT IT…DON’T GIVE UP” I raise my arms, Rocky style and they Cheer again. Don’t know who you guys were, but thank you. I needed that right then more than you will ever know….Miles 22, Mile 23, Mile 24…Mile 25…
THE FINISH – 14:00:02
I am running the last mile no matter what. It hurts, I am late, but I am going to run this thing in. Turn the corner left, one block then right..and WHAM…lights, 8000 fans, the noise, the energy, pain is gone, feeling awesome, the finish line is just up the hill. I am going to be an IRONMAN in 45 seconds….don’t get to close to the guy in front of you…let him get his picture clean..no one behind you….Go for the line…200 yards before the line I see Dad and Anne on the fence cheering. I AM GOING TO BE AN IRONMAN…..Cross the line and flex like the HULK. OH YEAH……I AM AN IRONMAN.
Funny thing, my reason for doing this, the driving force the ONE reason was to hear the Mike Reilly (the ironman announcer) say, “Tedd Garner, YOU ARE AN IRONMAN”….I never heard it. Folks who watched it say they heard it, but I never did. And it doesn’t matter. IRONMAN before I am 40. What a great thing.
As many of you know this crazy idea started years ago. I have told folks there was a little Ironman growing inside of me, right behind my pancreas and he kept getting bigger and bigger. Well, this year he became full sized. This is the story of how one almost 40 year old guy became an IRONMAN.
First and foremost, thank you to my unbelievable wife and family who for my 39th birthday gave me a year of “relatively guilt free training.” It sounded like permission to me so off I went. Thanks to Rusty and Neil for the rides and runs and keeping me company along the way. Thanks to Ron for putting up with me on the long rides. I really enjoyed them. Thanks to my folks for coming out and supporting me and helping Anne. Thanks to all the babysitters for the Tuesday nights so I could ride. Thanks to Mason and Kate for going along for the ride. You may not know what a great day this was for me, but sharing it with you was something I will never forget. Thanks to Anne for the best gift of all, I couldn’t have done this without you.
PRERACE
Thursday
Painted the Mdot on the car, painted “Honk if you do 140.6” on the car, buckled the girls into their seats and set off for Louisville. How was I feeling? Scary calm. Sure I was excited about what was coming up, but it was days away and didn’t even feel like much more than another long Saturday training ride. That would change.
Friday
Met Ron for the Gatorade swim down by the original swim. Now it is starting to feel more exciting. It is all there, just like in Hawaii..the big gatorade bottle, the excitement in the air, the lean and tan bodies all looking fitter and in better shape than me. Ron needed a 40 min swim and I needed to just swim some so we lined up. Swim out to the first buoy, turn right, go up 3 buoys, swim back, those were our instructions for the half mile warm up swim. We watch the first group hop in and swim to the buoy….where are they going? All but one are being rapidly swept down the river toward the bridge, one is holding even but not progressing….Out go the kayakers and the rescue boats to get that group. New plan…stay close to shore. In we go and up stream we fly. The water is great. Very much like SC ocean water, 85 degrees and brownish. I can see my hand with my arm fully extended..Not nearly as gross as I expected. Swim up river is slow, but I am making progress. I hit the turn and fly back to the start. I pick my ferry line 20-30 yards up from the finish to ferry across and hit the stairs just right, NOPE not even close, I miss the stairs by 10 yards and have to swim upstream to get out. Not hard, just missed. 30 minute swim and it felt good. Back to the hotel for a quick shower and to get the family to head to the am athletes briefing, register and do some shopping….
Saturday
Ron and I meet up with Carole, the nurse from New York for a quick easy ride on River Road to get out the nerves and do a last bike check. We have to have the bikes turned in by 5pm today with transition bags. Final check….Ride is windy but flat and we have a great time. Ron and I stopped to watch a cricket match on the way back. That game still cracks me up as I know nothing about it. Everything checks out on the bike so it is back to the room to do the final pack and just hang and rest a bit. Girlies are out with my folks at the KY Derby museum. They had a horse, Kate was happy.
Packing the bags was another one of those “NO TURNING BACK” moments. The anticipation was building. Seemed simple enough…put all you need for the bike in one bag and all you need for the run in another…Why did I have to pack each bag 5 times? How did I still forget to put my nutrition in? Guess I got what was needed though….Take the bikes and the bags to transition and am met by my transition host, Dianne. She walks me to where my bike goes, helps me hang my bags and then walks me through transition as if I was coming through on race day. That was really cool. Starting to really feel it now. Getting a little apprehensive. Anne and the girls call it grumpy, but I knew it was nerves.
Off for Pizza and then the girls head to Grammas and Papaws hotel room for the night. I sleep horrible. I go to bed about 9:30 and toss and turn all night. To be expected I suppose. I wake up at 4:15 have a pop tart and some juice to start the day like I trained them. Anne and I meet Dad at 5:15 and we go pick up Ron.
THE RACE
Dad and Anne drop us off at transition so Ron and I can get body marked and our bikes ready. The lady who body marks me actually asks me if I am a pro. God bless her. She has no idea how good that made me feel.
Nutrition in the bento box on the bike, air in the tires, a couple of quick snapshots and we off we go to the start. The modified start is ¾ of a mile up the road and will be a time trial start instead of the typical Ironman mass start. Lots of negatives being heard about this type of start. Matters not to me, I still have to swim the entire distance. We talked about missing the traditional mass start and how that is something we feared and wanted to conquer, but in the end this was just as good. We get in line and wait for the start. Ron and I are so far around the corner we can’t see the water. We sit and wait for about 30 minutes for our start. Boom, there go the pros…I am so nervous, my stomach is a wreck. THIS THING IS ON!SWIM – 1:08:42 1:48/100 average
22 minutes after 7 - I hit the water. Doesn’t feel like much current, but I focus on long full strokes. Reach and follow through. Sighting is easy as the line of trees is right next to us. Lots of people in the water, but it doesn’t feel crowded. I bump and get bumped a bit, but nothing major. Starting to get in the groove and the tummy is relaxing. Focus on the moment and staying relaxed with efficient strokes. I check my watch at the top of the turn (about ¾ of a mile) and see 30 minutes, seems slow, but I know I am going upstream and the current will help me out in a sec. I make the turn, sight on the buildings downtown and focus on long strokes. 15 minutes later, I am back where we started..Oh yea, gotta love the current. Only concerns on the swim were about losing my chip when I did the breast stroke to sight and peeing, but Anne says I can’t mention that in the race report…OUT OF THE WATER IN 1:08. 388th place out of 2175
T1 – 0:05:53
This is a long transition. Out of the water, up the ramp, across the bridge, down the stairs, get you bag and into the tent. This was a pretty easy transition for me. Lots of help in the tent, actually had a volunteer helping pull down my jersey while I was putting on my shoes. Thinking to myself, long day, don’t need to rush this, slow is smooth and smooth is fast. Out of the tent and over to get the bike.
Anne and Dad are spotted even with my bike rack row and cheering me on. You really have no idea how awesome that is until you experience it. YES, I forget to go get sunscreen….I have the “tan” to prove it…then we have a long hike with a bike to the mounting area and then finally we are off.BIKE – 6:28:02 – 17.32mph average
The bike was great for the first 60 miles. Remembering what everything you read said, go easy for the 1st 30 miles. Easy on this course as the first 15 are flat and somewhat shady. I concentrate on easy spinning and beginning my nutrition. Gatorade every 15 minutes, Gu on the 30 minutes and PB&J on the 60 minutes. Tick tock like clock work. I take a new cold Gatorade at every aid station. Man that makes a world of difference. Cold is good. The spur of the course is the toughest challenge. Long screaming downhill, long watershed type climb up..Turn around and do it again backwards…Still in the 1st 30 miles so I am focused on spinning my small chain ring and not blowing up my legs. Seems to be working. Onto the LaGrange loop. Wow, lots of short hills, but this is like riding in Greenville. No big deal. We are getting ready to turn into LaGrange when we get passed by the pros. Guy behind me says..”wow, they are like 45 MILES ahead of us.” Not good for the head. Luckily we head into LaGrange and it is jammed with folks. What a boost of energy..There they are…I see Anne cheering like crazy with her sign. Feeling great through town….Other side of town, head wind and more hills. Still feeling good and just aero down and go. Nutrition is still right on track and I am feeling good, but dang this is a long loop. Left turn a
nd the wind is behind us and I feel 100% better. Soon enough, the turn for the second loop starts again. Mentally, this is tough. I know what is waiting for me, where the hills are and how windy it is. But I also know I am 45 miles from the finish and the last 15 are flat with a tail wind AND I get to see the family again. Second loop was uneventful except for the nutrition. I just couldn’t eat another dang sandwich. So just Gu and Gatorade. In LaGrange I toss the girls a water bottle and they get it. Man that is a good feeling to see folks cheering for you. I see my family and the Jerina’s. By the end of the second loop, before the flat part, my back/shoulders are cramping and I am struggling to stay on the aero bars. I ride the last bit in, spinning and sitting upright. For the most part the ride was perfect. I was truly in the moment almost the entire way and not worried about much of anything. The course was beautiful and it was not nearly as hot as I anticipated. Back into town…..2 down, 1 to go.T2 – 14:45
I was shocked to be in there almost 15 minutes, but I was having trouble focusing on even small tasks and the order in which to do them. In shorter races it was much easier, shoes on, hat on, go…I had a full change of clothes here. I guess I got a little lost. I had a volunteer put biofreeze all over my back to help loosen me up. BEST DECISION of the day. Finally out of the tent and over to sunscreen. Didn’t forget again. Then out to the street for the weird mile one loop.RUN – 6:02:40 – 13:50/mile
My first mile was at 9:50 on my watch, dang, felt like the mile on the track..good sign, felt easy and I knew if I could keep 11 minute miles I was golden. Weird feeling in my right shoe. Stop, take off the shoe now so you don’t get blisters. Nothing in the shoe, nothing in the sock. Oh well, off I go again. I am walking the aid stations and running between them…Still on pace or pretty dang close. Mile 6, Ron catches me. He looks strong and is doing really awesome. I am not feeling great, a little sloshy in the tummy. If the tummy/digestion is a problem, slow down and walk, let blood go to the tummy and it will get better. I walk mile 7 – 8. I am slowing down. My feet are starting to hurt a lot but t
he tummy is feeling better. I am run walking now, the pace has slowed. My feet are killing me..they are sliding in my shoes left to right and hot spots are appearing. Not good. I check my times now and can still hit 13 hours if I can run some..I pick up the pace a bit and make it to the turn around. It is cruel. Right up beside the finish shoot then turn right away from it for the next loop…so close you could see the finish line..Mile 15 I can’t run any more. I make the decision to walk it in as fast as I can…the feet hurt 50 times more when I run than when I walk. I have made a great effort, but 13 hours will elude me today. I will run the last mile however. No matter how hard it is…It is getting darker and darker and the miles seem to get farther and farther apart. Sign on the side of the road says if you are going through hell right now…..Keep GOING…how appropriate. The fans are great, the folks at the aid stations are great. Mile 19 fans on the side of the road comment on my “halo” the glow ring they gave us. I say at this point, I’ll take any help I can get. These 3 folks all stand up and start screaming…”GO 702, YOU CAN DO THIS….ALMOST THERE…BE THE IRONMAN…GO GO GO….” I wave and trot on down the road…30 second pass and I hear them again…”702 GO …..YOU GOT IT…DON’T GIVE UP” I raise my arms, Rocky style and they Cheer again. Don’t know who you guys were, but thank you. I needed that right then more than you will ever know….Miles 22, Mile 23, Mile 24…Mile 25…
THE FINISH – 14:00:02
I am running the last mile no matter what. It hurts, I am late, but I am going to run this thing in. Turn the corner left, one block then right..and WHAM…lights, 8000 fans, the noise, the energy, pain is gone, feeling awesome, the finish line is just up the hill. I am going to be an IRONMAN in 45 seconds….don’t get to close to the guy in front of you…let him get his picture clean..no one behind you….Go for the line…200 yards before the line I see Dad and Anne on the fence cheering. I AM GOING TO BE AN IRONMAN…..Cross the line and flex like the HULK. OH YEAH……I AM AN IRONMAN.
Funny thing, my reason for doing this, the driving force the ONE reason was to hear the Mike Reilly (the ironman announcer) say, “Tedd Garner, YOU ARE AN IRONMAN”….I never heard it. Folks who watched it say they heard it, but I never did. And it doesn’t matter. IRONMAN before I am 40. What a great thing.
