Iron Baby Review
Saturday, December 17, 2005 at 1:43PM This is the review about my self-supported Ironman (2.4 mi swim, 112 mi. bike, 26.2 mi. run) with pictures, as best as I can provide. It's called the Iron Baby because I had to skip an actual sanctioned Ironman-distance race last year due to the birth of my son, so I did one on my own. Twice makes it a tradition!
Results - Total time without the transitions is 15:32:00. Transitions were insanely long because I had to drive long distances and unpack/pack my bike. Since I did this event on my own, I was able to document it pretty extensively. I've attached lots of photos. Click on them to see them enlarged.
First, here's the weather conditions for the day. I started at 5:30 am, finished around 10:30 pm. The predicted 5 mph winds max didn't quite turn out to be true (14 mph!) Sensible temps at start and finish were 37 and 35 degrees, respectively.
The swim was in an outdoor pool (Bryan Aquatic Center). I swam at a very casual effort, covering nearly twice the distance of swim practice in the same amount of time. I measured the distance one 500 yard effort at a time. Distance: 4225 yds. Time: 1:05:27. I wish I was that good at biking and running. My watch has the ability to store workouts and recall them later, which is a very neat function.
The bike ride was very cold, but I had great equipment. Most often, I was wearing a long-sleeve UnderArmor shirt under a cycling jersy, cycling tights, fleece gloves, armwarmers, plastic bags as windproof socks, and a skullcap. On rare occasion, I put on a cycling jacket, but that was just a tad too warm. Here are some photos of the bike cockpit and the bike at halfway point (you can see my mp3 player hanging off my bento box) Check out the two-tone grip tape, it's all the rage ;) -
I finished the bike in 7:30:03, but actually spent 6:59:06 moving. I stopped by my truck several times to refuel and pick up/shed clothing. Moving average was 16.0 mph. I had to cross a deep and muddy gully six times because a bridge was out. Here are pictures of my ghetto windproof socks, the mud and leaves stuck to the bottoms of my shoes (NOT very aero), and of my bike computer's results. I find myself riding in crazy places a lot and prefer the Eggbeater pedals and cleats because absolutely nothing stops them from engaging -
I used Cody as a moving aid station on the run since I was only coming by the house every three miles. He was good for about half the run, but then he got bored and I was having to drag him some, which is not good. I ditched him and went on with just the Garmin 201. The Garmin was incredibly useful, allowing me to go anywhere and even letting me know that my pace on my last mile would allow me to walk to the finish line and still make the run in under seven hours. This is the time where I had serious ups and downs. I would feel great for a while, then absolutely terrible, then great again. Since I was walking a lot, I had time to read all the great comments that the Zentri Army was posting to help motivate me. This really helped when it started raining at mile 15. Comet's "finish strong" comment is what helped me the most. And I did!
I suffered a nasty bought of hypothermia after finishing, which included me violently wretching and howling on the living room floor and Emily dragging me into the hot shower where I stayed for 20 minutes and even ate a bowl of hot soup while under the water stream. Sorry, no pictures of that. I took plenty of audio during the event, especially as I was on the "run" (walk). I'll publish that as the next show as soon as I'm able.
This has been a wildly successful demo of how technology can assist one person and also how technology can bring together so many people from around the world. I'm pretty sure nobody's done a self-supported Ironman, documented it on a blog as it was happening, and was receiving feedback from spectators, all while being alone. Might be one of the coldest Ironman events ever as well. I want to thank the Zentri Army for all of their support before and during; it was invaluable. Other important items and fuels include: Garmin forerunner, Danger Sidekick for allowing me to post and read posts on the fly, Clif Bar and Harvest Cheddar Sun Chips on the run (yum!), Cody the Moving Aid Station, Emily, sleep, and ibuprofin. Let's do it again next year!
Reader Comments (19)
That's awesome! And, you did it in less than ideal conditions (the cold)!
Big props... big props! w00t!!!!
You should be able to conquer the Arizona Ironman no problem!!!
You totally rock man!! Running in the cold, hypothermia, etc. Wow. Way to lead the way.
Brett - you are the man! Congrats on your awesome job - it's very inspiring! Cody looks cool!
What music kept you going on the bike?
I listened to a bunch of podcasts on the bike, mostly talk. I found the blabbing kept me pretty entertained. I also had MIA and Chevelle for music if I needed it. At the end of the bike, I wanted to finish strong, so I put on the Chevelle and it really drove me home hard. It's very heavy and has some great endurance lyrics like "send the pain below" and "seeing red". I ran without audio distraction for most of the 26.2, but eventually uploaded some updated podcasts and Nine Inch Nails' all time best - Pretty Hate Machine. Between that and Chevelle, I think a person can find the willpower to chew through an aero wheelset. Very motivating.
I'm starting to put together the audio today for a show. I'm going to include at least one clip from Cav reviewing a half IM as well.
HOLY CRAP! Man, you did it again! Scary about the cold afterward, but way to stick it out man. Most people would have packed it in with those temps!
What an inspiration...Damn!
CRAZY COOL!!!!
You ARE an Ironman! That's awesome!!!! You'll have to come up with a ZenTri Finishers shirt...after all, isn't that one of the main motivators. A "Finisher" shirt?
I have so much respect for you...your ability to train, organize, RECORD and go this distance shows true dedication to the sport.
I can't wait to hear the audio!
OK, this post was great. It's been great going through your Ironman "with you" this year; I think it's great that you'll make it a yearly deal (maybe November next year to avoid the cold--ha ha).
Well, a few podcasts ago, you challenged us to a Virtual Triathlon, so I just wanted to report that today I did a 2.4 mile swim (1:11) and then a 90-minute bike. I was going to do the run, but I got back home to my "transition" point and decided that I was just too cold (rode the bike with temps in the 40s today in Seattle, immediately after the swim in the pool). So next weekend, I'll tackle all 3 legs to verify that I've improved).
The swim went great, though! I'd never done 2.4 miles at once before. I have been swimming on a swim team since I was six, so this was just a great way to spend an hour. The pool I swim at is surrounded by large windows, so I just enjoyed the red and green trees outside during my breaths; I also enjoyed the sun streaming into the pool area--great way to spend a Sunday afternoon. When I got a little bored or fatigued, I just switched to backstroke or breaststroke for a little bit and took my breather that way. The bike was great because I discovered by my camelback has a slot where I can put my iPod Shuffle, so that was a fun discovery. I listened to podcasts and enjoyed the mountain scenery.
Thanks for inspiring all of us--and great job on the podcast and Ironman...very cool stuff that you blogged your way through the day on Friday...really fun to be a part of...great pics, too, enjoyed those and your story a lot,
Heidi
YOU ROCK!!!!!! I love the self supported no holds barred attitude. AWESOME, now go into work next week and look at all those sad people that just do not get it!!!!
Brilliant, loved the podcast, you are my inspiration to keep on going, well done mate !!!
GOOD LORD!!! My jaw is hanging open... this is totally amazing. CONGRATULATIONS BIG TIME!!!
Congratulations. What an incredible thing to do on your own.
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Brett,
What a varsity performance! Ironman in 30degree weather. About the hypothermia, how low did you go?
I was involuntarily groaning on every exhale and beginning to shake terribly. Teeth were chattering even though I had been inside for 10 minutes, and was getting worse by the second. I knew what was happenning, but couldn't get up off the floor.
Emily forced me to stand up and moving fom my warm spot on the carpet made me shriek like a little girl. I wouldn't move another inch until she threw a blanket over me for the 20 ft trip to the hot shower. Like I said, I had to stay in the shower for a loooooong time to warm up. For the next few days, even a slight breeze would make me extremely uncomfortable and send my teeth to chattering. Kind of odd how it had a lasting effect on me like that.
I was lucky that I had a hot shower within feet of me when I needed it. It definitely cured me and I would have been in big trouble without it.
I just found your site and downloaded this audio and I have to say you are SO inspiring and I'm so PROUD of you!!
I will definitely be reading your backlogs, and am inspired to be as detailed as you are about my triathlon experiences (doing my first one this summer....!).
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