IM Switzerland 08 – SUPER European Adventure

Ironman Switzerland – July 13, 2008

(sorry it is a bit long)

Just under 1 year ago I decided that I was going to do an Ironman in Europe. My wife Phaedra had never been so I thought if I was going to do one then we could make a vacation out of it. Turns out that 8 others decided to join me on the starting line, Phaedra included.

IM Switzerland takes place in Zurich and we decided to head there the week before and then stay the week after the race. If you have never been to Zurich it is absolutely beautiful and worth visiting. Just make sure you bring a whole lot of money because everything is expensive. To give some perspective on our first day Phaedra and I decided to walk to a cafe and have a light lunch. We had a sandwich, coffee and water each, $65 and 45 minutes later we were on our way. Fortunately we had rented an apartment that we got on Tuesday so could cook our own meals. We rented a car and prior to leaving I went back and forth on getting a GPS for the trip. Getting one that worked in Europe upped the price tag a bit but about 2 hrs before heading to the airport I decided that it would be worth it. It turned out to be one of the best investments as it helped us to find our way with little challenge.

We put our bikes together and went for a 60 minute run on Saturday. On Sunday we got together to ride a loop of the bike course. Since all of us had come with only our race gear it was pretty funny seeing everyone in full race set up cruising along at an easy pace. The course was reasonably well marked and we found our way with a few wrong turns. The bike course is beautiful, the pavement is like glass and the scenery is stunning. It was great to get out on the course to get a real sense of the climbs and descents. This bike course is fast and I was pretty confident I would be able to put in a good bike split.

We packed up and on Monday headed to just south of Luzern to the Bellevue Hotel (http://www.pilatus.ch/news2_detail-n92-i69-sE.html) which was situated at the top of Mt Pilatus at 7000 ft. To get to our hotel we took the worlds oldest and steepest cog railway which climbed up the mountain negotiating 30 to 48% grades. The hotel and the trip up were amazing. When we arrived you could not see 10 feet in front of you so we had lunch in the restaurant and checked into our room. A couple of hours later the clouds lifted and stunningly the world appeared around us. Tuesday we headed back to Zurich got our apartment then the rest of the week was spent doing short rides, runs and swims. I am always a bit concerned renting an apartment based on what I see on the web but our apartment was clean, spacious and close to race site. Thursday we registered and Friday attended the athlete’s meeting. Late Saturday we checked our bikes into transition in the pouring rain, fortunately they provided bike covers.

RACE DAY arrived with more rain. It was somewhere around 12 degrees and pouring rain. Unlike other IMs I have done in this race you set up just like any short distance tri all your gear is in transition. Fortunately I had my waterproof wetsuit bag which I used to keep my bike/running shoes and socks dry. Headed to the swim start, kissed Phaedra goodbye and got into the water.

THE SWIM: Like all IM swims this was crazy. Last year they had 1600 racing and this year over 2200. It seemed like every gap I chose to swim through was a bad choice as it constantly clogged up. At the first turn I came to a complete stop as it seemed 100 swimmers all stopped to chat about how their swim was going. I actually had to swim away from the buoy to go around them and continue on. In this swim you do 1 lap, swim halfway around an island, exit the water run over and then do the 2nd lap. The swim around the island was a gong show. The route was marked with lane ropes (about 3 swim lanes wide) and 2200 of us were to swim in there. It came again to a complete stop and took about 3 minutes to swim 100m. Onto the island and then dive in on the other side, except many seemed scared to enter the water again and came to a stop at the edge of the water. Finally made it back into the water for the 2nd lap which was uneventful until I hit the swim lane again and the exit ramp to transition. Entered transition in 1:10:39 my slowest IM swim and about 10 minutes off where I expected.

T1: Quick run to my bike, take the wetsuit off, put my socks, shoes, raincoat, full fingered gloves, my helmet and I am off in 4:35. Transition is much quicker when you only need to run to your bike and not routed through a maze as in the other IMs I have done.

THE BIKE: Headed out of transition and got into a comfortable groove right from the start. It had warmed up to about 14 degrees but was still raining and was happy with my decision to wear my raincoat and gloves. The first 30k of the ride are fast, mainly flat with slight downhill grades. I was able to hold just under 40kph for this section with a moderate effort. The next 20k are spent in rolling hills as we make our way towards THE BEAST. The beast is a tough 3k climb that ranges between 5-8% grade. My training parter Rick passed me on the flat section but I was able to repass him on the climb. After a slight downhill we then hit the 2nd major climb to Forch which is around 8k and somewhere around 5% grade, not hard just a grinder. Once at the top it is a rocket ride back to Zurich. There are sections on the downhill where the use of aerobars is prohibited and if you use them will lead to a penalty or disqualification. They are steep and you can easily hit 80k without them. It was wet so I was conservative and only hit 65kph, fast enough for me in the wet but I was being passed by others like I was standing still. Hit the flats again and cruised along again for 20k until I hit Heartbreak Hill which is just under 1k but steep. It was like being in the tour, lined with people screaming HOP, HOP Gary, SUPER Gary HOP, HOP and a band blasting polka music. It drove you to climb as fast as possible, absolutely incredible. Down the other side and back by transition to start lap 2 in 2:44:00. I took lap 1 conservatively and my plan was to push harder on lap 2. I was cruising along the flats and slowed to grab a drink when I heard a pop come from my front wheel and it started to wobble. I stopped and realized that I had just broken a spoke, NOT GOOD!! Broke the spoke off and opened my brake as much as possible. Started to ride and it was rubbing pretty good so I stopped and made a couple of more adjustments. I figured I would be OK if another didn’t break. I could not get enough clearance to stop it from rubbing but with the descents coming up they needed to work so I just rode. After about 30k I had managed to wear enough brake pad that it no longer rubbed, thankfully carbon brake pads are very soft. With my front wheel no longer being true descents were challenging as anything over about 35kph put me in a speed wobble. The 2 climbs went well and I felt very strong. On the downhill back towards transition it had started to dry and with my speed limited to 35kph people were passing me at 2 and 3 times my speed so I just stayed to the inside and hoped to reel them back in on the flats. Heartbreak Hill the 2nd time was just as fun as it was dry and there were even more people lining the climb. Down the hill and back to transition in 2:59:02 for a 5:43:02 bike split. I figure that my wheel cost me 15-20 minutes but I was happy just to be able to complete the bike.

T2: Rack the bike, take of jacket and gloves, put on dry shoes and socks and head out on the run in 2:30.

THE RUN: Out of transition and my legs felt great. The run was 4 laps which weaved back and forth for 11k. I was able to catch my training partner Rick who had a great bike at about 8k, had a quick chat and I was on my way. Completed the first lap running 4:50ks but was a bit worried I was running too hard though my HR was in a perfect zone. Backed off a little on Lap 2 and about 4k I saw Bruce (Tara Norton’s husband) and asked him how her race was going. He said she is just up ahead and I should catch her (I did though she was 1 lap ahead). It was pretty sweet catching and passing my coach (and a pro) on the run. Tara was in 5th at that point and I hoped that she would chase me and hopefully move up in the standings. It worked to a point as she ultimately finished in 4th. My goal from that point on was not to let Tara catch me again and she didn’t. Completed Lap 2 running 4:53kms (so much for backing off). Lap 3 I still felt good and my pace was just over 5 min kms. Lap 4 I actually started to feel even better but kept my pace from lap 3. I backed off a bit for the first 6k of the lap as I was afraid that I was still going to blow up. I was also concerned that another training partner Glenn was going to catch me on the run if I did. With 4k left I knew that I was going to keep together and he wouldn’t so pushed for the finish line. Crossed the finish line with a 3:32:11 marathon and a 10:32:59 Ironman for a PB by 55 minutes. It was definitely a roller coaster ride of a day but a truly enjoyable experience. It was a breakthrough for me on the run knowing that I could run a strong marathon and know that I could have run even harder.It was a great day for the majority of our group, 5 of us had significant PBs and Tara finished 4th. Unfortunately 1 of our group was pulled from her bike as she was hypothermic and they would not let her continue, right decision but really did suck. The highlight of my day was the same as in Lake Placid getting to put Phaedra’s finisher’s medal around her neck. It was great to share this experience with 8 friends. Special thanks to my friends and training partners Rick, Sue, Glenn, Fred, Sylvia, Jamie and Pat, Tara for putting together a great training program and ongoing encouragement. Lastly to Phaedra for your love and support throughout this adventure, I am glad that we did it together.