Login
Reston Area Triathletes RATS.net Logo

Race Result

Racer: Corey McDaniel
Race: Great Floridian Iron-Distance
Date: Saturday, October 25, 2003
Location: Clermont, FL
Race Type: Triathlon - Ironman
Age Group: Male 30 - 34
Time: 16:05:36
Overall Place: 349
Age Group Place: 58
Comment: First Ironman



Race Report:



Full race report and pict links here:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/trirats/message/4729

October 25, 2003 - Clermont, Florida
MAIN RESULTS PAGE

Swim Swim Trn1 Trans Bike Bike Bike Cum Cum Trn2 Trans Run Run Pace Finish
Place Name Age City/State Plc Time Plc #1 Plc Time Rate Plc Time Plc #2 Plc Time /mile Time


349 COREY MCDANIEL 33 LAS CRUCES NM 437 1:40:22 447 14:41 396 7:56:26 14.1 404 09:51:28 425 19:16 276 5:54:52 13:33 16:05:36


Perhaps the longest IM RR/novel ever written? I am dedicating all of
my excessive details to all of the Iron "virgins" out there
who need a story that proves that almost "anyone can do an
Ironman".

:)

SHORT

Clydesdale M 33

Total = 16 hours 5 minutes 36 seconds (11:35 p.m.)
(Goal = finish before midnight)

Swim = 1:40:22
(Goal = 1 hour 40 minutes)
Bike = 7:56:26
(Goal = 8 hours)
Run = 5:54:52
(Goal = 6 hours)

Wt. week before race = 208 (carb starved)
Wt. pre-race weigh-in = 216 (carb/fluid loaded)
Wt. after race weigh-in = 214 (stayed well hydrated!)
Wt. week after race = 207 (back to normal)

Hear Rate = 147 average (stayed near there most of the day)

Nutrition = drank water and Gatorade at every bike stop (~20
bottles), ate sparingly – mostly sugar and some crackers, took
nearly 2 salt tabs per hour, at least 2 waters at every run stop (got
sick of yellow gatorade).

PRELUDE

Please forgive me for this late Great Floridian RR overlap with IM
FL. I have several reasons/excuses - but the bottom line is that it
has taken me longer than expected for my first IM to soak in. I can
also blame a hectic schedule – but I suspect I'll receive
little sympathy from this group.

This is a RR for anyone who ever thought about doing an Ironman but
didn't because they feared that (1) they were not yet in good
enough shape, (2) that it would take way too much time to train, and
(3) that most likely they would not finish anyway. That had been my
frame of mind since I was in college, back in the day, when I could
run a 3:30 marathon and was at least 20 lbs below Clydesdale
consideration. Perhaps the reason it has taken so long for this
accomplishment to settle in for me is that I was not convinced that
any of those three fears were untrue until – well, maybe not
until AFTER I crossed the finish line!

It was while running the Kona marathon this summer that I decided I
would put those fears behind me and register for an Ironman.
Sometimes I'd promise myself a milkshake (or two) if I could
finish a long training run, in Kona I promised myself that if I
finished healthy I would commit myself to attempting to finish an
Ironman this year. For me it was all about conquering those 3 fears
– regardless of whether I finished or not – I was going to
give it a try and stop obsessing about whether I was or was not able
to do it – the only way to know for sure was to get out there and try.

Because this was a personal challenge, I decided early on to not tell
any of my non-training friends or family that I was even going to
attempt an Ironman, so as not to have to deal with all of the added
pressures. I was going to believe that I could overcome the 3 fears
– and if I was wrong I didn't want to have to explain that to
anybody else.

TRAINING

After finishing Kona in a leisurely ~5:22:21 I knew that I could
finish a marathon any day of the week as long as I paced myself. My
only running goal was to run enough not to lose my long distance
ability, primarily I'd run 4 miles home from work a couple days a
week, and TRY to squeeze in a long run on the weekends.

Swimming has always been easy for me as long as I go at a reasonable
pace. The one bonus of being a heavier triathlete is that I
don't really even need the wetsuit for warmth or floatation, I
cruise along the top of the water like a tug boat :) I've never
had any trouble swimming a mile in less than ~35 minutes even if I
haven't trained in a long while. I swam 2.5 miles 2 months before
GFT just to prove to myself that I could, then I didn't really train
again.

Biking was my real challenge due to my weight and lack of
experience. My training partner Kristine, riding on her hybrid, was
my inspiration to get out and put my ridiculously expensive cycling
equipment to some use.

I slacked some weeks entirely, and others (especially closer to the
race) I was semi-disciplined. So, as the poster boy for under
training, and keeping in mind that I did pick up my training near the
end - my cumulative mileages from July thru October (including
5 "prep" triathlons) were only:

Swim = 14 miles (less than 1 mile per week)
Bike = 682 miles (3 centuries)
Run = 191 miles (less than 12 miles per week)

I am almost embarrassed to share these totals, but perhaps this will
help others feel better about their own training?

EQUIPMENT

DeSoto Wetsuit (thanks Stv for the rec.)
Speedo "future universe" goggles
Ear plugs from CVS
Trek 5200 – USPS design
All the expensive accessories Revolutions suggested
New Balance 2200 shoes (NB is best for wide 4E feet)

PRE-RACE

Flew to Orlando early Friday morning with my girlfriend/coach
Marsha. Trying not to make too big of a deal out of the race, I
didn't take any extra time off from work, which made for a hectic
(though manageable) day. Drove first to our Disney area hotel (where
all the hotels are located) about 15 minutes from Clermont.
Assembled my bike (I fly with my hard shell case – always tricky
getting airport folk to not charge extra!) and headed off for bike
check-in, race briefing, and goodie bag shopping. I was really
looking forward to gouging myself on carby foods in the 2 days
leading up to the race, but I was disappointed to find that my low
carb training regimen actually made carbs less enjoyable – so
although I did put on a couple pounds that I knew I would lose during
the race – I did not overload – and I mostly focused on
drinking lots of water until early Friday afternoon.

First stopped at the Expo for registration held at the USAT national
training. Niiiiice equipment – apparently some of the Olympic
folks train here – along with many lucky local triathletes. My
first IM race briefing – hundreds of folks listening and many of
us Iron "virgins" looking nervously around at everyone else,
wondering what we're going to forget next. By the time the
briefing was over it was nearly 4 p.m., barely enough to drive the
course before dark. Tried to connect with other RATs –
couldn't connect with one Steve – the other Stv was repairing a last
minute flat - and Aaron and his gang were still taking care of
registration. This was the first time I've driven a bike course
before hand, I found it very helpful during the race since I could
actually envision that there was an eventual end to the course.

Hit a local grocery store to fill up my "special needs" bags
– this was a first for me as well – how cool to be able to go
into a store and buy anything you want with NO guilt! I bought candy
corn, resses pieces, peanut butter crackers, doritos, and anything
else that I thought I might be craving on race day. Turns out all I
ever ate were 2 bags of resses pieces on the bike and one small bag
of doritos at the half bike stop. Everything else was at the running
stations – so my "special" bags turned out to not be very
special. By the time we got back to the hotel and finished packing
the bags it was almost 9 p.m. I was wanting to get to bed ASAP.
Really didn't eat dinner, started feeling really nervous for the
first time and lost my appetite, just munched on some portable carbs
and got to bed before 10.

Woke up race morning at 4 a.m. feeling a bit better, Marsha was
executing her coachly duties by helping me get everything together so
we could get out of the hotel only 45 minutes behind schedule.
Arrived at race site still nervous, trying to frantically drop off
all my special need bags, pump up my tires and save time for one last
visit to the portojohn (which was not to be). I was able to pop 2
salt tabs in my mouth as the race began, kissed Marsha, and headed
off to swim 2.4 miles.

Finally… the race (I know, its about time)

SWIM

Largely uneventful (although I did forget my earplugs), calm tea-
colored water, warm (especially in my long sleeve wetsuit). Only got
hit a few times, although someone did kick my heart rate monitor
– so I recorded no data for my first loop. I took it nice and
easy, finishing the first lap in a relaxed 50 minutes, walked through
the transition, kissed Marsha, and then finished the second lap in
about the same time.

T1

Casually walked to the changing tent (another first), took my time
putting on my bike clothes and headed out feeling no ill effects from
the swim – as I had hoped. Seemed to have dozens of things to
remember (glasses, HR monitor, etc.) and only forgot one – sunscreen
(yikes!)

BIKE

Headed out of T1 in less than 2 hours, right on schedule, and feeling
as good as could be expected. My goal was to average 15 mph, which I
did exactly, so again everything went as expected. Course was mostly
flat, only one big hill which many folks walked, I was feeling good
enough to ride up the first time – but on the second 56 mile loop
I played it safe and tied not to kill myself too much before the run.
112 miles in less than 8 hours was the fastest I'd ever ridden
that long – I suspected I could do it – but in training there
was never any reason to push myself so hard. I finished feeling as
good as I had finished any of my previous 100+ mile rides. At the
half way point I grabbed the resses pieces out of my goodie bag and
covered myself in sun screen before any burning had set in. I also
kissed Marsha at the half way point, but had to be careful since some
other guy got penalized 5 minutes earlier for receiving sunscreen
from his wife – if the judges knew how much assistance just
seeing Marsha was providing me, they would have docked me 10 minutes
(like I would have cared). Every station on the bike had water and
gatorade every ~10 miles or so, I loaded up at every stop, mostly
finishing the bottles between stops, keeping myself very hydrated.
I've read dozens of IM RRs and the predominant problem for most seems
to stem from not being able to keep down enough fluids.

T2

I always kinda knew I could get this far – I knew I could swim,
and I had done enough long rides to know it wouldn't kill me
– but having met all my goals so far I still had no way to gauge what
would happen if I now tried to run a marathon. Well, only one way
to find out! Leisurely changed into my running clothes, loaded up
with body glide and more water – kissed Marsha - and set out for the
unknown. It was 5:30 p.m., the sun was setting, and it finally
occurred to me... "you're about to run how far???"

RUN

I really had no frame of reference for running 26 miles after biking
all day long. I decided to simply not think about what I was doing
– and just do it (sorry Nike). I liked that I wasn't the only
person out there, however, as darkness soon descended, the loneliness
factor kicked in – until – I reached the 3 loops around the
lake at mile 5. It was the week before Halloween, a new moon
(meaning no moon in the sky at all), so complete darkness was only
occasionally intermingled with an occasional house with spook house
decorations. The aid stations were at every mile – so since I kept
running the whole time, they were never more than ~12 minutes apart.
I walked every station, taking in enormous amounts of water (which
turned out to be just enough). I was surprised when at mile 3 I
suddenly started running faster, and my hear rate started to come
down – I guess you could call it a second wind – I can't explain it,
but I suddenly had my legs back, and they stayed with me for the
entire run. My heart rate stayed around 150 while I ran, and dropped
to ~130 at each aid station before I'd get started again. Many
others, in fact possibly most, were not as lucky. I passed dozens of
runners and walkers without being passed myself more than a few times
(I guess that's one advantage to finishing at the back of the bike
pack).

Possibly the coolest "first" for me were the glow stick
necklaces – especially while running in the pitch black –
looking behind you to see all these bobbling glow rings chasing after
you in the night! I was having a good time – on my first lap I saw a
RAT banner as I entered the transition area which was really nice –
then I saw something even more supportive – Marsha was manning the
goodie bag station as a volunteer! She wasn't too disappointed when I
told her I didn't need my goodie bag as I stole a kiss instead. On my
second lap when I approached the RAT poster I was more alert –
and this time I saw Stv wearing (of course) his yellow RAT shirt.
Stopped to say hi, asked him half-jokingly (I should have known
better) if he had won the half IM – only to learn later that he
nearly did if not for a silly penalty for losing his swim cap. At
that point the perma-grin was beginning to form on my face. By the
time I was approaching the last aid station – where the workers
had constructed a pirate ship and were all dressed in pirate garb –
it first dawned on me that I was actually going to FINISH an Ironman.
It was a very surreal feeling – I had always wanted to do this
– but I never thought I could overcome my fears – and suddenly I was
about to overcome all three of them.

I was not in great shape and I had not trained 30 hours per week
– yet I was going to finish an Ironman. What did that mean to me? I
had no freak'n clue! I had never before allowed myself to think
about what finishing would mean to me – now, 15 minutes from the
finish line – my mind was blank – I could not put it into
perspective. I finally resolved to myself that maybe it would come
to me later – which is why I have taken so long to write the RR
– but unfortunately, I still can not put into words what it means to
have finished my first IM. Maybe someday it will come to me – but for
now I am simply happy that I am healthy and that I was able to share
this experience after the fact with my family (especially my ultra-
competitive "virgin" brothers). I crossed the finish line
with a huge smile on my face – grabbed a bottle of water – and (of
course) kissed Marsha. Went by the aid station to weigh-in mostly
because I was sure I had GAINED about 10 lbs from all the water I
drank – turns out I only lost 2 lbs during the race – so that was one
more thing to feel good about after burning some 10,000 calories.

PROLOGUE

The first question I faced, and I think most Iron "virgins"
face is "will you do another one?" Well, I had already registered
for IM CDA next June, and this past weekend I registered for IM
Florida next November (before it sold out all 2200 spots in less than
24 hours) – so I guess I'm hooked. I think I've proven that it is
possible to finish an IM without much training and in less than prime
physical condition. Next time around I HOPE to be much better
prepared, and I hope to be able to whittle away at my finishing times
in each of my big races next year.

THANKS

I want to express a special thanks to Marsha my "coach",
Kristine my cycling partner, Anne my Kona running partner (and Under
Armour rep), Erin my swimming partner, Gary my Ironman mentor, and
all of the GFT volunteers (now I see why so many folks suggest GFT at
the best first-time IM). I would also like to thank Stv and the RATs
for all of the information you guys share on-line, and I look forward
to meeting more of you soon. I am especially pleased to learn that
Stv will finally be doing an IM this year so that he can stop posting
all of his victory RRs ending with "but I've never done an IM."

Yahoo groups doesn't allow picture posting so I have no idea what
most of the group looks like, but here are the links to my pictures
from GFT so some of you can recognize me at the next event. Please
feel free to send me comments/suggestions to cmcdanie at mcdanielta
dot com.

Out of the swim:
http://www.asiorders.com/view_user_photo.asp?EVENTID=3754&ID=5695731
On the bike:
http://www.asiorders.com/view_user_photo.asp?
EVENTID=3754&ID=5695122&FROM=photos&BIB=409
Crossing the finish line (BIG SMILE):
http://www.asiorders.com/view_user_photo.asp?
EVENTID=3754&ID=5698847&FROM=photos&BIB=409
At the finish line with Marsha:
http://www.asiorders.com/view_user_photo.asp?EVENTID=3754&ID=5693373

See y'all soon - Corey