<Stan>

Odyssey’s Off-Road Half IRON Triathlon

Douthat State Park, Clifton Forge, Virginia

September 9, 2006

Preparation

After months of training the final taper week before the race was here. On Tuesday, four days before the race, I started taking Hammer Nutrition’s Race Day Boost to help prevent the cramping that I’d experienced at the Rocky Gap triathlon. Interesting stuff, but by using it, along with Hammer’s Endurance product I managed to compete the triathlon without any signs of cramps.

Race Day, 4:15 AM

The alarm goes off. I’d slept well and felt rested and ready to go after having my fruit/yogurt and egg white breakfast. After taking care of a couple last minute details the nutrition stuff and the two Camelbaks were ready, one for the ride, one for the run. The nutrition mix in the 24 ounce bottles was still frozen and looked OK, but I noticed that the higher concentrated mix in the “Fuel Belt” bottles for the run had separated. They’d been in the cooler on ice so I gave them a shaking and they seemed to mix together again. The clock said five forty-five, it was time to head to the race venue.

Odyssey had ten different off-road races (triathlons, duathlons and marathons) happening at the same time and on the same course with a total of about 80 participants. The race venue had plenty of room for the transition area so we were able to spread out our transition stuff more than normal. There were showers and restrooms close by to providing an opportunity to “freshen up” during the race if wanted.

About 6:15 AM, Scott and I prepared for a warm-up run. At this point I learned lesson #1, remember to bring something to wear during warm-up, I was wearing a fleece and long pants, not good warm-up gear so I had to drag out the race stuff. Scott and I took off for the run and quickly realized we were in the dark, leaving the race venue lighting behind. Lesson #2, have a light ready to use during the early hours of the morning.

“Let’s be careful Ritchie, now’s not the time to twist an ankle!” was going through my mind as we ran in the dark. All went well and we finished the run with our heart rate elevated. I took the time to get my running gear ready and then prepared to take off on the bike for a warm-up making sure it was ready for the day ahead.

With the run and bike warm-up behind me I prepared for the swim. Quickly I realized I’d not allowed enough time to methodically prepare for the swim. I was just starting to get the wetsuit on when the race organizer started calling for all racers to report to the beach. I took my time getting ready to make sure I didn’t forget anything and off to the beach I went with my wife, my faithful supporter, by my side.

Surprisingly I had no pre-race jitters. I pulled on my goggles and learned lesson #3, consider your lens color before you’re ready to start the race. I had my tinted goggles, the clear ones were back in the car. Even though the clear lenses would have helped as it was hazy and the sun wasn’t up yet, there was no time to retrieve them, I’d have to make due. I walked out into the lake and swam a few hundred feet and all seemed ready to go. I got back to the shore, checked in with the volunteer and joined Scott to ask God’s blessing on our day. It’s only by His strength that we’d be able to do what was ahead of us.

Three – two – one – go, and we were off, I purposed to join in with the crowd and received my share of flailing arms, kicks and knocks but I kept swimming. By the time we got to the first buoy the crowd was clearing so we pretty much stayed out of each other’s way. It was around the second buoy that I realized there were still a number of racers swimming around me. This was different, at previous races I was trailing off the back on my own after the first few hundred feet. In fact, for the first time I actually swam into a couple of swimmers in front of me. Wow, I’m staying with the pack, albeit the slow pack, but nothing wrong with that.

As we were heading to the first turn, I realized I was passing other racers. Again, this was a new experience. I rounded the turn and took a quick moment to site the next buoy. “Got it”, now let’s get back to swimming. I had passed all the swimmers around me so I was leading. I kept checking the buoy to make sure I was swimming straight and things were going well.

On one of my strokes, I heard someone shouting so decided I’d better take a quick moment to check my bearings. “Opps, I’m not sighting the buoy, that’s a red boat near the shore….” Ugh, OK, find the buoy and start heading in the right direction. Instead of doing a straight line from one buoy to the other, I took the scenic route! That’s OK, the swim was going well and I still had plenty of energy.

By the time I reached the next buoy the racers I had passed earlier had now passed me. So I had someone to follow again. We were now on the back side of the lake and the longest leg of the swim. I was able to catch up and pass the group again by the time we reach the next buoy. Being in front again I took a moment to find the buoy and noticed another swimmer a bit ahead of me. “OK, I’ll follow the yellow cap.” This was a good idea, but soon I found out that we’d both missed the small buoy off to the right in the corner of the lake. We made the direction change and by the time we got to the buoy, we met up with the swimmers I had passed a couple times already.

We were nearing the end of the swim and I was determined to keep up with the group. I got to the last shore point ahead of the group and turned in heading toward the finish. It seemed like it took forever to swim to the beach and my wife lovingly informed me that if I’d come straight in, it wouldn’t have taken so long. I guess I like the scenic routes, but I succeeded in finishing the swim with the group and in good time!

I met my first goal of the day by swimming the entire 1.2 miles without taking a rest. I felt real good coming out of the water and was ready to transition to the bike. Later I found out I’d met my second goal by completing the swim in less than an hour. The swim seemed to go past quickly and I completed the lap just shy of 47 minutes. Awesome!

I methodically completed the transition from wetsuit to bike being careful to remember everything. This was going to be a long bike ride and I’d need all I’d planned to have. I quickly changed into biking shorts and a dry jersey, pulled on my shoes, gloves and helmet and fastened the Mule Camelbak on my back. I had everything I’d need for the next six hours in my Camelbak, five bottles of frozen nutrition, a hundred ounces of water, a couple of gels, tools, tubes, and patch kits. It was a load on the back, but with no stocked aid stations, we had to be self sufficient.

As I took off on the bike, the legs felt really good and I had to concentrate on taking it easy. The first six or so miles was a steady climb on pavement and switched to gravel fire service roads. The first of two aid stations was at mile 13 which was the turning point for the first leg of the bike course. With 7,500 feet of vertical gain over the 56 mile course, it seemed like we were climbing constantly. None of the climbs were steep, but it sure seemed like we did the same incline five times! It was very satisfying to reach mile marker 30, the half way point, it’s good for the mind to think there are less miles ahead then what’s behind.

Eventually the terrain all started looking the same and the mind started playing games with me. Riding between mile markers 45 and 50 I found myself thinking, “I’ve gone more than 5 miles, where is the marker, I must have missed a turn, I’m going in the wrong direction!” Ultimately I was able to keep my focus and sure enough mile marker 50 popped into view and the final decent to the transition area was before me. When I turned onto the paved road, knowing there was only a couple of miles left to go, I broke out in song singing the “Halleluiah” chorus. I’m sure I generated some strange looks from the locals!

Just before reaching the transition area, I passed my faithful cheerleader, Donna, shouting words of encouragement! Another leg of this journey was behind me. It took six hours to navigate the 56 miles of biking. With my face feeling like a salt block, I knew a shower would help prepare me for the next challenge. The shower did feel good and it wasn’t long before I was ready to tackle the run.

I started the run with my four fuel belt bottles filled with concentrated nutrition and about 70 ounces of water in my Camelbak. I had a couple extra bandanas to use as sweat bands when needed and some energy bars and gels. Running with this much weight on my back was a challenge during training, but after the bike ride, it felt good to just be in a different position and the weight didn’t seem to be that big of a deal.

I took off out of the transition area heading down the trail beside the lake. There were four sets of stairs to negotiate. When I came to the first set of stairs, I recalled that yesterday I questioned how many steps to take in one stride. Well today that wasn’t an issue, I didn’t dare take anymore than one step at a time, if I’d tried more I’d likely have lost my balance and rolled to the bottom.

When I finished climbing the third set of steps I saw my honey setting beside the trail waiting to take my picture. It was such a breath of fresh air to see my wife and hear her encouragement. I stopped long enough to give her a kiss and say “I love you!”, a very memorable moment. Then I was off down the last set of stairs and past the end of the lake.

After a short distance back on the paved road the course turned into the campground and onto the trail. The next couple of miles of gentle rolling trail was welcomed and very pretty as it ran beside the lake, but the challenge was looming before me. Before seeing mile marker 6 there was 1,700+ feet of altitude gain. By the time I reached the end of the lake the trail took a right turn and the assent began.

With the climbing part coming soon I decided to take on some nutrition. I popped the bottle out of the fuel belt and took a swig. Oh no, something wasn’t right, the mix tasted really bad! Sure enough, it had turned, and immediately my stomach started to complain. This wasn’t good; I had a lot of work ahead of me! Quickly I considered my options and narrowed them down to returning to the transition area and mix up a new batch of nutrition, or just keep going and rely upon the HammerBar and two gels that I’d packed as backup to get me through the run. I decided to use the bar and gels on the way up the mountain when I’d need the most nutrition and hope that I’d have enough energy left to complete the last half down the mountain. With that challenge behind me I refocused on the run.

I was prepared for the climb to be a mind game. I just had to keep focused on moving one foot in front of the other. Sometimes the distance between the strides was relatively normal, but other times it was barely noticeable. I realized that on this type of climb the difference between “running” and “walking” was all in your mind. I remember thinking “I’m running, but I could probably walk faster!”

Miles don’t click past very fast when you’re switch backing up a mountain. There were some beautiful vistas but the continuous upward direction impacted how much they could be enjoyed. Somewhere between mile marker 5 and 6, the top of the mountain became visible. At this point I was getting tired and really had to focus on reaching the summit where I could sign in at the checkpoint and start heading down. Mile marker 6 came into view and the course arrow was pointing down the mountain. My first thought was “Someone must have changed the arrow, I haven’t reached the top yet!” Having satisfied myself that the arrows were right, I thought, “It’s just a brief reprieve; the trail will head back up soon. Well, the trail didn’t head back up, mile 6 was the summit and the checkpoint was about a half mile down the trail.

I came to the checkpoint, signed in and added a bit of water to my Camelbak. Then I took a few moments to rest, taking in the beauty of the area and reading the historical information signs. It was time to put on a new sweat band and head down the trail. Running down the trail was a welcome change, the mile markers were passing quicker and the body was cooling down. I started to assess my physical condition at about mile marker 9. I was feeling good, my energy level was holding well and the leg action was still brisk, looks like all systems are go!

As I passed mile 10 I thought “when I see mile 11, I’ll be setting a new personal record for the longest distance I’ve ever run.” I reflected on where I’d come from. In 1998 I was overweight at 250+ pounds and not interested in doing anything physical or sports related. Now, eight years later, here I am completing a significant endurance event, swimming, biking and running for over ten hours straight. Emotions started to take over and tears welled up in my eyes as I contemplated what the Lord had done in my life. Quickly I realized that running on a trail with tears clouding your vision is a bad combination. I’d have to save the emotions for later!!

Shortly after mile 11 the trail bottomed out in the valley and started to gently climb again. The legs really complained about the climbing but with only two miles to go I stayed focused on reaching the end. The last aid station was at mile 12 and then a mile up hill to the finish!

I remember hearing the cheers as I came into view of the finish. It was a very special moment, running down the final decent to the finish line. The cheers were coming from the racers, the volunteers, the Odyssey staff, my good friend Scott and most of all my dear wife who’d put up with so much over the past six months as I trained for this very moment! I’d done it, I’d completed the race! Goal number three was met; I finished the race completing all the disciplines, I swam the swim, I rode the ride, I ran the run. One of the volunteers said my time was 10:33. Not bad, only a little past my goal.

I felt surprisingly well, not that I’d be willing to start it all over again, but I was able to walk around and talk coherently. First order of business was a shower and it felt good. After that Ronny, the race coordinator, passed me my certificate and it indicated a 10 hour and 23 minute finish time, it was ten minutes shorter then previously indicated. Awesome, that meant I met goal number four, completing the race within ten and a half hours. Final results placed me 14th out of 22 men and 15th out of 27 racers overall.

What an experience, what a journey! I learned so much in six months. I learned to condition the body so it would swim, bike and run properly. To condition the mind so it would keep the body going no matter how hard the going gets. I learned that sometimes what it takes to keep going is the drive to make one more forward movement, not being concerned about the next movement, but focusing on the finish. Not much different then day-to-day life!

I started this journey a mountain biker with little running experience and no knowledge of how to swim properly. Progressing along the journey I came to the point when the new disciplines became fun instead of work. For running it was during an hour run in the orchards one afternoon in pouring rain. I thoroughly enjoyed the experience and from that point on I can say I enjoy running. It took a little longer with the swimming, I’m not a good fish, and breathing was my challenge, but it too was conquered. Three weeks before this race I was finally able to complete 2100+ yards in the pool without resting or stopping. Since then I’ve looked forward to swimming and the swim was my favorite leg of this triathlon.

I’m looking forward to repeating this race next year with the goal of dropping at least an hour off the finish time. It was a great experience, all I expected and more. A few days before the race I sent an email to Coach Kevin, whose guidance and wisdom has been so vital in this journey, sharing my anxiety:

“I'm experiencing a range of emotions for this race. I usually take a race in stride, but this one is different. I feel comfortable with my training and physical condition. You've done a great job of getting me to where I'm at. The past three weeks have cemented my confidence in swimming. I wasn't sure I would get to the point of saying "I like to swim", but it's happened just like it did with running. I find myself thinking, "I've never done a race that involves ten plus hours of constant exertion, will I be able to do it?" "Do I have my nutrition right?" "What if I space out and forget the important things during transition?"

Coach Kevin’s response was just what I needed, helping me to refocus on where my strength comes from:

“I can sense your excitement and anxiety! What an awesome feeling. I know that it may not feel that way, but it is so natural. You are on the edge of a huge athletic accomplishment and there should be some fear. That is good – you respect the distance and monumental task ahead of you. But you are right – your body knows what to do. You have trained it and it is ready. You are way ahead of most athletes, who are so focused on race day and cannot see beyond it, or have an un-healthy perspective of its place in their lives. As men of faith, we both realize that it is for God’s glory that we can race. He has given you the desire and resources to set high goals and dream. There lies the difference, to Glorify God! I encourage you to experience this event in His presence. You’re going to have an incredible journey on race day. It is the kind of stuff that makes the journey of life so incredible.”

“As your coach – it is awesome to have an athlete that gets the greater picture. I am excited for you not just to achieve your goal, but also to see you celebrate life with passion. You just don’t see that very often and for that I am very grateful. You see – most people expect a coach to teach and encourage their athletes, but I receive just as much encouragement and teachable moments from my athletes. Something that I continue to learn in my “Spiritual Formation” is that God is always teaching us and showing us His Glory. Our culture does a great job of getting people to focusing on the “me” or “I”. But God’s design is for us to experience Him and realize that He is the one we need. The only way to really experience that is to be broken. The more I grow and develop my faith, the more I realize my brokenness and need for Christ. It is in the brokenness that I have been set free. All this rambling just to say that you “Stan” are a huge encouragement to me, your coach and brother in Christ. Nothing can change that and I am sure that your passion for life is a witness to many people in your life, a passion that comes from Christ! Please know that I will be praying for you during your event! You’re going to have an incredible day!”

I did experience an incredible day! Yes, I was the one that completed the race, but I couldn’t have done it without the encouragement of others. Donna, my dear wife “shared” me with my training and put up with so much as I prepared, “1-4-3”. Scott, a great friend who, one more time, stretched my comfort zone! Thanks Scott! Coach Kevin who took a “newbie” and patiently educated, guided and encouraged him into an “endurance athlete” (no small feat Coach!). And so many who shared the enthusiasm of the challenge as I shared my excitement and goals with you, I truly have received a great blessing from you all!