Elephant Man Half Ironman Race Report

This weekend I had the opportunity to participate in my first ever Half-Ironman event at Elephant Butte, NM and to say the race was tough would be an understatement! Let’s start from the beginning. The last time I participated in a race at Elephant Butte, it was a little disorganized, not enough volunteers, and both racers and the race directors lost their cool. I was worried that this weekend might be more of the same, but I couldn’t have been more wrong. The race director, Kori, and the rest of her volunteers did a tremendous job. They had over 250 volunteers and at every aid station there must have been at least five people getting you water, Gatorade, or GU. Everyone was very nice and all of them shouted words of encouragement. The course was well marked and at every single turn there was a volunteer to point you in the right direction. The overall organization was great and is reason enough to do this race again. Now for the race.

All season I have had trouble with anxiety and open water swims. I’m not a bad swimmer, but I just can’t seem to get it going in open water. The water temperature was 74 degrees and we were allowed to wear wetsuits, so I put mine on and headed to the beach for a little warm up. I swam about 200 meters to get the blood pumping and made sure my goggles didn’t leak. Everything was good to go and it was time for the start. There were a total of 63 athletes participating in the 70.3 race and we all started the swim at the same time. Most open water swims I get kicked around and swam over a few times, but this race I avoided any trouble and settled into a nice pace. Spotting wasn’t an issue because I managed to swim next to a couple other swimmers the entire race and I just followed them. I of course checked every now and then to make sure we were going in the right direction, but it is amazing how much better it is to simply spot the swimmer in front of you and not have to worry about looking for the buoys. I finished the swim in roughly 40 minutes and felt relieved to have it out of the way.

Now I was ready for the bike and was hoping to make up some ground on people who had swam faster than me. The bike course was tough and had four pretty big climbs. I was riding my disk for the first time and wasn’t sure what to expect, but I didn’t have any issues with it and it seemed to work fine. The first 20 miles went fast and I caught at least 10 people at that point. I was trying not to go out to fast and save a little energy for the run and my body felt good at this point. I was taking in plenty of fluids and also a GU now and then. The next 15 miles on the bike had a mild head wind and one big climb. I have to admit that I did start to feel a little fatigue in my legs at this point, but after 35 miles and a few tough climbs I figured it was normal. The final 20 miles of the bike was super fast! I caught my second wind and the legs really loosened up. There is one final climb before the final 10 miles and I was able to power up it no problem until I got to the very top. I veered a little too close to the shoulder and my rear tire caught some gravel and went out from under me. I wasn’t going very fast so the bike was fine, but I did manage to get scraped up a little bit. I didn’t really lose much time, maybe 45 seconds at the most. I wanted to get to the bike transition and start the run at 3 hours and 45 minutes and sure enough I was out on the run at 3:44.

At this point of the race I am tired, but not like a zombie, more like someone who has just swam 1.2 miles and rode 56. I had a good frame of mind and so far had hit all my target times. I was certain I would be able to hit my goal time of 5:45. The run for both the 70.3 and the Olympic distance is brutal! Not really more than a ¼ of a mile flat spot at any one time. I started the run with the intention of going out a little slow in order to get my legs going after such a hard ride. Little did I know that the first mile would be my fastest! I completed the first mile in 9 minutes and thought there was something wrong with my watch! I was expecting to see somewhere around 8 minutes. I’m not sure what it was, but after the first mile my legs, body, and mind were toast! I wasn’t cramping and my breathing was fine, but my legs just would not move. I tried everything from the old man shuffle, to walking, to stretching, even slapping myself in the face a few times to get them going but it was no use. I had 12 miles to go and was running on four flat tires. I can’t really explain how bad it felt to know that all the months of training still hadn’t prepared me for the race, but I was determined not to quit and somehow finish the race. The next 12 miles consisted of a little jogging and lots of walking. I’m embarrassed to admit this, but I actually walked an entire two mile stretch!! TWO MILES! Yes, I was THAT Guy! Good grief. I was being passed by people that I had a two mile lead on at the start of the run portion. It was a very frustrating and humbling experience and showed me that I need to keep putting in the many hours of training. I finished the race in 6 hours and 30 minutes. A whole 45 minutes longer than what I wanted to, but I’m thankful for surviving without an real injuries and can live to fight another day.

On a positive note several of my friends were there and did an outstanding job! Gretchen rocked the Olympic course along with Rob, Mark, and Juan. And Art crushed the Half Ironman course with a time of 5:47! I also saw my good friend Cody, who despite being in a bicycle accident two weeks ago, participated in the Half Ironman and had a strong finish and a time a little over 6 hours. Cody’s endurance was hitting on all cylinders and had a very good run portion of the race.

Not sure what races I have left in me this season if any. I probably won’t be racing again until February, but you can count on me training hard through the winter and hopefully have a stronger base for future 70.3’s. No more being that guy!