Well another IMC and this year was full of weather surprises. Leading up to IMC had been hot and dry..............race day was cold and wet so many people had issues with the cold. Congrats to all finishers:
Dave Willms
OK here is my race report for IMC 2010.
This was my first ironman. I signed up last year in a moment of inspiration having never done a triathlon or marathon or really any kind of competitive endurance race. I did a couple of half irons during the year that gave me a bit of confidence for the IMC.
The swim was crazy with all the people. I didn't get punched in the face or anything but there was a lot of contact. I did a lot more drafting than I had previously and barely sighted at all. I lucked out and followed people who were going in a straight line. I was starving by the end of it so I think I would have a bigger breakfast next time. I ended up with about perfectly double my half iron times. I guess I just have one speed in the water. Too bad it's not super fast.
The bike was pretty rough. I got a flat right away and I think my tire was just slightly low for the rest of the ride. Looking at it after you can see a big hole in it so I'm amazed that it lasted through the rest of the race. Richter pass was no problem and maybe my favorite part of the ride. On the out and back I got stung by a bee who left it's stinger in my knee which was really annoying for about 20 k. There was a little bit of rain and a ridiculous headwind on the flats before yellow lake. I was barely making 19km/hr on the flats. The hill was actually a relief because the wind was less of an issue. I also had to make a few digestive pit stops after the out and back. I definitely should not have eaten a giant cheese cake the night before! it just looked so delicious. A lot of small things added up and became frustrating and my bike time was almost an hour slower that I was gunning for.
The run was what I was most worried about. Coming out of transition was a pretty emotional moment, facing down the prospect of my first marathon. It turned out pretty good though. The weather improved and I just ran it steady. I walked just a few steps each aid station in order to drink smoothly. My stomach was still complaining a bit at the beginning but I started to feel better after about 10 k. My wife Megan and her parents and my parents and a bunch of our friends came out and watched. They made shirts and rude signs a had a great time drinking wine and yelling. Seeing them at the run turnaround was pretty encouraging. Overall my run was about half an hour faster than what I thought I'd do it in. I felt like I was taking it easy for the first half and the last 5 miles or so felt like they were getting steadily harder.
swim 1:14:34, bike 6:38:36, run 4:03:42, total 12:13:14
transitions were about 8 minutes each.
I would have liked to get it done under 12 hours but overall this was a great experience. A challenge met.
-Dave
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