Race report Ironman Hawaii

Hi Guys,

since yesterday I'm back in the country and what can I say ... it was absolutely brilliant. The island and the race are exactly as I imagined. I am really very grateful that I was able to experience that.

If you look back on the day in retrospect, it turns out to be how much I really enjoyed it. The pain is quickly forgotten, what remains for me is that great feeling of having been there that day.
Of course, I was really excited before the start, half the night I couldn't sleep at all and was happy when I arrived at the pier early before the start and could take care of everything without falling into the typical pre-start stress.

What did I plan to do? First of all, I really wanted to finish, even if it meant going the marathon or waiting 20 minutes for bike support. Arriving was the top priority! That's why I planned to hold back, especially at the beginning, and choose a more conservative racing strategy.

Swim:
I watched the start of the professionals, including the American national anthem, and then the age groups started to swim. Originally I wanted to stay as far to the left as possible and thus stay out of the crowd. Suddenly I was surrounded by other athletes everywhere and could only orientate myself halfway to the left because buoys and boats were in the way. For about 10 minutes I kicked as hard as I could and tried to place myself in the front third. Sometimes a bit of panic broke out because people had to hold on to others so that they wouldn't go under, and then of course they in turn dragged them down with them. Endless minutes later, the starting gun was fired. And immediately I was in the middle of the action!

Especially at the beginning I couldn't move sideways or forwards and was surrounded by thousands of arms and feet. From my originally planned swimming position on the far left, I was at least 500 swimmers away. Only after a few minutes was I able to loosen myself a little and swim into calmer "fairway". For the first time, I enjoyed the swimming part by looking at the reef, fish, and turtles below. I found myself in my comfort pace and looked around for feet to swim with from time to time. Before the start we took the shuttle to the pier and during this trip "Dancing Queen" from ABBA played. Now I inevitably had this catchy tune in me and kept humming the melody of "Dancing Queen" to me, a miracle that it didn't drive away the animals below me 🙂

When we had left the sheltered bay, I suddenly noticed how the swell intensified. The whole thing was supported by passing boats and flying helicopters that further stirred up the water. I have to admit that I am not a weatherproof old fur seal and slowly but I felt a bit nauseous. In order not to burden my fellow swimmers with my breakfast, I kept it to myself. But if the swim had been 100 meters further, at some point I would have had to throw up on the swimming cap next to me.

The turning point was marked by a chic, white sailing yacht. Fortunately ... I had the feeling that I had been swimming for hours. After this point the field slowly loosened and I even got a lot of space to swim. Probably half the field had already overtaken me 🙂 The way back was, except that I got worse and worse, quite uneventful and after what felt like an hour and a half I finally saw the pier in front of me. I was really happy when I finally had ground under my feet again. After a short stay in the showers, the salt water should be washed away, I took my changing bag and ran into the tent. All hell was going on there! There was no thought of helpers and free seats, so I stood somewhere in the corner and changed. Now it was all the long way to my bike in the far corner of the transition area and when I got there, I immediately noticed that most of the bikes on my AK were already gone. When I saw my swimming time, I was a bit disappointed at first (1:09). I had never swum so slowly before! Anyway, I wanted to enjoy the race a bit too ...

To go biking:
I swung myself on my seat and started cycling quietly. At first, even in town, a lot of people shot past me. That should sort out later ...
The first 10km go through Kailua and then finally up on the Queen K. Highway. The sun was already burning and the tail wind felt good. I had a lot of fun !! I ate a small breakfast and started collecting some of the runaways again. Although I overtook larger groups in the beginning, I have to say that everyone I saw cycled very fairly. Everyone kept their distance and obeyed the overtaking rules. I have to admit that I had a lot of respect for the competition judges! Everything I had heard before, even for throwing away banana peel, you got a 4 minute penalty.

The time up to the ascent of Hawi (km 70) flew by and suddenly it got really tough! The wind was now coming from the front and the side and I had uphill! sometimes problems keeping my bike steady. Real gusts came at regular intervals that almost tore the front handlebars away. So I fought my way up to Hawi at a snail's pace. When I got there, I was pretty battered at first. Phew ..
The coolest thing, of course, was when the first pros came towards me. And if I saw there as the leader, Sindballe, who shot at me like an oiled lightning bolt!

The turning point is at km 95 and so far I had a 34 cut and was satisfied with myself and the world because now there was mainly headwind, but it also went downhill. And at the beginning it went down the mountain with 70 things and a lot of tail wind, oh yeah 🙂
The gusty wind was still blowing, my shoulders were already hurting badly because I was holding onto the aerobars and hoping that I would not be thrown off course. Suddenly, 30 meters in front of me, an overtaking cyclist slammed into his neighbor when he was hit by a gust. Both crashed and for one it looked like the race was over. I was just able to drive past and was now really scared when I overtook.

Unfortunately the descent was over faster than expected and from now on I had constant headwind. Now I wanted to slowly accelerate and make good time with the others! Somehow it didn't work, I couldn't press the pedal and my pulse slowly but surely dropped. I don't know what it was, but I think a mix of many factors was responsible. I still had a lot of respect for running and wasn't ready to go on 100% inside, maybe the drive to Hawi had cost me crucial grains after all and maybe I hadn't eaten a little. In any case, I felt really flat on the way back !! My motivation sank in the basement and I longed for the second transition area! In retrospect, it is clear to me that I lost too much time in this section of the race and I think my "sub 10" time was lost.

After endless miles I finally came back to Kailua. I needed 5:31, madness, I've never been so slow! Judging by my heart rate values, I should now be able to tackle the marathon rested. On the contrary, I felt really flat and doubted that I would be able to "run" the entire marathon.

To run:
So I started to trot once and after a few minutes I felt much better again. I found a good rhythm and enjoyed the race again. The first 15 kilometers go straight through the town along Ali Drive and there were also a lot of spectators here. Except for a short break from walking due to a stitch (it was probably the ice-cold drinks 🙂 everything went very well. As a precaution, I cooled myself down at every refreshment station with ice and sponges and drank as much as I could. I was often overtaken in these places because I myself wanted to refuel properly and therefore the refreshment stations went, but that would pay off later. A lot of athletes just burst away in the last part of the marathon, although I thought that the people here in Hawaii would act a little smarter, even some professionals ran one more 4 hour marathon.

I was so impressed by my great running strategy that I sometimes got a headache because I had stored a little too much ice in my hat. I not only poured ice into my hat, but also into the front and back of the jersey and even the sensitive male areas I provided enough cooling, which caused some female viewers to applaud the scene 🙂
So motivated we went back to the highway, towards the much-feared “Energy Lab”! Anyone who imagines a mysterious grotto with the Hawaiian oracle underneath, or a lonely stretch of desert in the middle of glowing magma, is wrong here. There are just a few solar collectors installed, hence the name, and it goes 2km in and 2km out again.
What was impressive though was the temperature! Over 40 degrees and the air was standing, I thought I was burning! Even my breath felt hot. When it went back to the highway, it was only 11km to the finish line. Instead of accelerating again as planned, I decided to just keep running and not lose any pace. I succeeded more or less and came closer and closer to the legendary goal ...

The last 2km go back down into town and here I got a cramp in a competition for the first time in my life. Otherwise I always boasted that I was completely resistant to cramps. But here I got a bad cramp in my bum while walking down the "Palani Road", that it was a real pleasure. With my face contorted with pain, I walked the last few meters and the audience probably thought that I was about to collapse my heart, so I bared my teeth. Nonetheless, I enjoyed the run into the finish channel, the happy face of my girlfriend (until now I only had good races when she was there) and the voice of Mike Reily: "You are an Ironman" !!!

My running time was 3:25 hours, under difficult conditions and breaks at the refreshment stations I'm happy with it. I would have liked to have gone a little faster while cycling and I wasn't quite as happy with swimming either ... but hey, it's Hawaii and anything can happen. I am glad that I made it to the finish!

What a day! I will never forget that in my life.

Mahalo

krelli