By Jennifer Partin
Brett is now home from Australia and these are his words and thoughts that he shared in an e-mail to friends that he sent out this morning.
"OK, most of ya’ll know I didn’t make it to that Ironman finish line this past weekend.
Here’s why…..
I flew out Sunday night to Perth (30 hour trip). Met up with my friend Des from Osan and the Tri Travel group we were part of. I’ve never been to a race as part of a big group like that, I usually do my own thing but this was awesome. Tri Travel arranged all our transportation to and from the hotel to the race site for registration, had group swim sessions with the Pros, a couple of group runs and also took us out on the bike course for familiarization and to talk about a couple of important sections we needed to be aware of.They arranged a question and answer session with Jason Shortis and Mitch Anderson, two of the Pros that have won IMWA in the past and were racing in this event. So the whole week leading up to the race was perfect, I was feeling strong, eating well and didn’t get sunburnt (which is good for me). Oh yeah, and I didn’t stick my thumb in my front spokes while riding either (Jeff will understand this).
So the night before the race, I ate a good dinner and was in bed by 7PM. Tossed and turned till 1:30AM before I fell asleep. The alarm sounded at 2:30AM. 1 HOUR of sleep!! I was pissed, but nothing I could do but get up and get the day going and not think about how tired I was. Ate a good breakfast, and headed to the race with the Tri Travel team at 4:00AM. Checked in, got marked and packed my Bento box with food for the bike, then awaited the start. We watched the Pros take off 15 minutes before the Age Groupers, man those guys/gals can swim. The IMWA swim was one loop out around the Busselton jetty, 1.9K. They had the age groupers split up into 4 groups according to predicted swim times. I was in the second group. The gun went off and it was on. I had a pretty good swim, mostly open water not fighting for position too many times. I ended up swimming 1:09 (a PR for me). I felt I could’ve went faster which is good in an Ironman. Headed to the T1 tent and left in 5 minutes, not too bad either.
The bike start was fast. Everyone trying to sort themselves out into position. The official drink for the race was High-5, an Australian energy drink similar to Cytomax. I took my two bottles of Cytomax on my bike and figured I’d drink the High-5 towards the end of the bike when I ran out of my drink. Well, that plan went was out right from the start because my two bottle were HOT about 5 miles into the bike from the rising temps. So I chucked my two bottles of Cytomax and got some High-5. The first of three laps on the bike, I came in at 1:44. I was trying for 1:50 minute laps which would give me a 5:30 bike split. A 1:44 was a 5:15 split, so I was going too hard on the first lap, so I backed up a bit on the second and came in at 3:36 for the two laps. If I came in at 3:40 for two laps that would be a 5:30 split so I was only 4 minutes ahead. Not bad. About 5 miles into the final lap I ran out of energy. My stomach was full and bloated. I’m guessing High-5 didn’t do its job. It doesn’t taste bad, but I’m not used to it, so that was a mistake. I should’ve drank my Cytomax even if it was warm. I also took two salt tablet up to this point as well, as the temps were rising. So I think I hit the wall on the third lap from a combination of things, lack of sleep, drinking an unfamiliar energy drink and taking salt. I read when you take salt tablets, it makes your body retain liquids. Again, I didn’t practice this in training, so I really shouldn’t have taken these. It was HOT and I always bonk in the heat, so I thought I’d take some salt. NOT. The third lap was horrible. I couldn’t stay aero. The course is flat and windy, so staying aero is the only way to ride and when I kept getting up, I’d slow down by a couple of MPH. I ended up with a 5:52 bike. That third lap was 25 minutes slower than my first two. Not good. But, I thought hey I got just over 7 hours on the race clock, that’s plenty of time to finish.
Or so I thought.
T2 was full of people. I sat down and the staff was putting sunblock on everyone and helping them with the bags, etc. 3-4 people stopped by me and asked if I was OK because I was so white (from all the salt on my face and bike shorts). T2 was 10 minutes, very slow compared to IM Japan where I spent 3 minutes. Oh well, let’s start this run and see how I feel. I grabbed some water (no more High-5 for me) and head out. I started to run and couldn’t. So I walked and walked and walked. I had to pee at the first aid station which is a good sign. I ran a little, but walked a lot more. It was HOT at this point, 35c. My stomach was still full and taking a gel or banana or anything wasn’t happening. I really needed to throw up but couldn’t. My walk was getting slower and slower. I started the second lap of the run with absolutely no energy. I needed electrolytes but my body was shutting down. Nothing was going in and I couldn’t empty my stomach. Near the end of the second lap, I was in the worst shape of my life. I was all over the path, barely walking. I bent over to try and throw up and fell over against a tree. Luckily I was just past an aid station and medical station, and two ladies rushed over and picked me up and dragged me over to their tent. The next thing I remember was lying down on a cot in the shade. Not sure if I passed out or I just don’t remember those few seconds or minutes. They made me drink some water and then I threw up…..a lot. I was covered in salt and my back hurt on both sides. One of the ladies said that was a sign my kidneys were shutting down and recommended I not continue. Like hell. I got back up and fell right over. It was over for me. They called the loser cruiser and they came and got me. They gave some kind of drink like Pedialite or something for kids and I drank all of that on the ride back to the race site and felt a lot better, but it was too late, I was already out of the race. I keep thinking that maybe I should have just laid there a bit longer and then I could’ve continued. But I also think that maybe this was God’s way of saving me from something worse. I was in no shape to do another 11 miles. I could’ve passed out without any race staff around and really been in a world of hurt. All I can do is take away the positives. Hey at least I got this DNF out of the way.
So not a good day.
Over all, I learned a lot about myself and Ironman. Although I’ve done two races before and know what it takes to get to that line. Without rest and getting the right fuels you are used to taking, getting to that line is much, much tougher. I also learned I can go faster than I thought I could. I always think of myself as a middle of the pack kind of guy. My swim wasn’t great but it wasn’t bad either. The best one yet for me and there is lots of room for improvement. My next race I hope to go under 1:05. The start of my bike was awesome. I was riding really well and going fast but not hard. I realized I can ride just as fast as some of the people who finish high up in the rankings. I WAS riding with them and matching their pace. A 5:15 bike split surely is not out of the question. I might be able to go well under 5:15, who knows. I also have to figure out a way to go to sleep on race night, whether it is taking some kind of sleep aid or something. Not going to sleep is a crappy way to start Ironman day believe me. And one last thing, never rely on the race’s drinks and gels unless you’re used to it. I have a weak stomach and need to stick to what I train with at all costs.
Thanks to all of you that were tracking and following me. I appreciate the online cheering section on my wife’s Facebook page too. I have a few photos I can have her post out there soon.
Ironman Japan 2010, here I come…..time for some redemption!"
Brett
