You are an IRONMAN!!!

IRONMAN Arizona 2013 Race Recap

Nearly three (3) months have passed since IMAZ and I have finally found enough time to capture my thoughts and put them in writing.

In short, this was one of the most amazing experiences of my life, ranking up their with climbing the Grand Teton in 2008 and Mount Rainier in 2010.  The commitment required to achieve such a goal is unlike any other and looking back, I'm not quite sure how I did it.

The final six (6) weeks of training were very daunting and took a severe amount of emotional fortitude to complete.  When I began my taper, I woke early on Saturday morning to get ready for my ride and as I sat on the couch mentally preparing, I suddenly burst into tears envisioning myself crossing the finish line.  This wasn't just watery eyes...I literally balled my eyes out and I couldn't stop.  I knew my training was over and there was nothing else I could do.  The anxiety from the previous eleven (11) months finally became reality and was completely overwhelming.

The week before we left (don't ask how) but I dropped my phone in the toilet (completely sober) and I didn't receive a replacement until after the race.  Looking back, this was a blessing in disguise as it allowed me to free my mind of all things work and be undistracted while in AZ.  One forgets how pleasant life was pre-cell phones.  

Kylie and I flew to Phoenix on Thursday and headed straight to Ironman Village for packet pickup and to get my bike from @TriBikeTransport.  We then headed to check-in at the hotel and wait for my Mom and Dad to arrive.  We grabbed dinner that night at Casey Moore's Oyster House and went to bed early.

Friday morning we took a family jog to the Ironman Village to meet up with Kat and Sean (@averagetriguy) who got in that morning.  We attended the athlete briefing that afternoon at which time I realized I had forgotten my goggles (Yikes!).  A little panic set in as I really love my TYR Special Ops but I gingerly walked over to the Aqua Sphere tent and picked up a pair of Kaimans which I've used in the passed. So much for the whole "don't wear new goggles on race day!"  

That night, we went to dinner at Four Peaks Brewery which is one of the local favorites.  In addition to great beer, their food is exceptionally good as well.  Sean and I were about the only ones wearing athlete bracelets and indulging in the beer selection (ie. carb-loading).

Saturday morning Sean and I went for a short bike ride on the course and then made our way down to Tempe Town Lake for the practice swim at 9:00 AM.  The water was a little chilly at first but felt great after a couple strokes.  

Kylie, Kat and my parents went and hiked up the Cholla trail to the top of Camelback Mountain.  Kylie was talking a good game leading up to the hike, but I think she got a little more than she bargained for!  I was jealous as I love hiking and climbing, but I took advantage of the alone time to lay in the hotel bed and begin my mental preparation.  

We all met up for dinner around 4:30 PM at Oregano's Pizza Bistro.  We timed it perfectly with only about a 10 minute wait.  Come 5:00 PM the parking lot was full of people on the wait list.  This was one of the best pre-race dinners I have ever had.  The servings were enormous and the food was terrific.  

Race morning, Kylie was kind enough to wake up with me and drive me to Ironman Village so I didn't have the added anxiety of waiting on the shuttle.  I was probably in the first 100 people into transition.  I hate waiting in line and feeling rushed.

SWIM

Based on my research, my plan was to start the swim in the middle of the pack towards the outside (right).  I met up with Sean and Jason Weaver (@WEAVEstrong) in the corral and we entered the water together.  To our surprise, we swam unencumbered straight up the the front starting line maybe 15 meters from the inside buoy.  This was a little nerve wrecking, but I managed to tread water without hitting anyone so it wasn't as crowded as I imagined.  When the gun went off, my fight or flight instinct kicked in and it was a true test of survival of the fittest.  The first 1,000 meters or so was brutal with constant contact with others on every stroke...arms, legs, kicking, punching, etc... 

I maintained the inside line all the way out, but I took the second left turn way too wide and found myself swimming all by myself.  Things slow down considerably when you get out of the draft.  As I was nearing the finish, I took a heal to my left eye socket and wasn't sure if I would ever be able to remove my goggles as it felt like they were permanently suctioned to my face!  

I came out of the water in 01:13:09 at a 1:53/100 meter pace which was just ahead of where I wanted to be.  My Garmin 910XT showed the swim to be 2.6 miles so I may have finished a little sooner had I not drifted off course at the 2nd turn.

T1 
Exiting the water, my wetsuit was stripped by fellow DFW triathletes @BLuebTris and @HeidiRuns. I then ran and grabbed my transition bag, found a chair and began putting on my arm sleeves, shoes and helmet.  As I bent over to put on my shoes, my nose started dripping blood from one of the shots I had taken during the swim.  I then jumped into one of the port-a-johns but forgot to lock the door and to my surprise had another guy step in and join me which was a little awkward, but hey, we're all friends out here!  Time spent in T1 was 00:07:45.

BIKE

The bike course was three (3) out-and-back loops which were relatively flat with a slight up hill on the way out and downhill on the way back to town.  I found a good groove on the way out on the first lap.  

I kept my distance due to my fear of drafting penalties, but there were actual pelotons that looked like a Saturday group ride.  On my way back into town on the first lap, I was holding +30 MPH most the way back into town. 


The 2nd lap was rather uneventful although I did see Sean at special needs

around mile 60.  I was riding faster than I had planned, however, my heart rate was exactly where I needed it to be.  The wind progressively picked up throughout the ride and on the 3rd lap I could only maintain 24 MPH back down the hill into town.  Sean caught me around the century mark and we rode the rest of the way together.  I finished the bike in 05:23:10 at 20.79 MPH which was :28 minutes and over 1.5 MPH faster than I had planned.  I was thinking to myself that this was going to make for an interesting run!


T2
In T2, I took my time and learned from my training.  I sat in the tent, caught my breath, changed shoes, applied sunscreen, ate some Goldfish and sipped on some water.  I was by no means in a hurry to go run a marathon.  I threw on some bright green calf sleeves and headband so I would be easy to spot out on the course.  Time spent in T2 00:09:43 exactly as planned!

RUN
Surprisingly, I felt good when I stood up and began running out of T2.  I wasn't pushing it and just let my legs do the work with a quick turnover.  I caught Sean just after the first aid station around mile 1.5 as he was cramping in the beginning of the run.  I managed to run with him until mile 7 when I started to slow a bit.  My plan was to walk every aid station and Sean didn't take it quite as literally as I did.  I took a splash of water, Powerade and Coke at nearly every aid station.  I ran with a gel flask too and took a pull every 45-60 minutes.  I also ate a Bonk Breaker every hour or so.

The run was extremely spectator friendly as I was able to see Kylie, my parents and Kat eight (8) times on the run.  Now I wouldn't say it was easy for them as they had to scurry back and forth across the Mill Ave bridge a handful of times, but there are no words to express how it felt to see them.  Their strategy was to be spaced out so I didn't see them all at once.  I can honestly say that I teared up each and every time I ran past them.  As the daughter of a football coach, Kylie has a certain amount of conviction in her voice when cheering...there's a little bit of "good job honey :)" and a lot of "get you A$$ moving!"

As the run continued, the sun began to set and temperature began to drop.  To my surprise, I was able to maintain my composure throughout the run and avoid the emotional roller coaster you ofter read and hear about.  This run was like no other in that I was able to do just that....run!

Nearing mile 22 on the 2nd loop, I began running up what was the only "hill" on the entire course.  I was the only person running up the hill as all others were walking.  As I neared the top of the hill, I caught up to Jean who is a below the knee amputee running on her prosthetic.  I met Jean and her husband waiting in line for our rental cars and she too is a first timer.  I ran along side of her introducing myself as the guy from the rental car place.  I gave her some words of encouragement and told her she looked great.  Seeing her really put things into perspective.  Needless to say, Jean finished in an amazing 14:49:13.

It wasn't until I came down the hill at mile 23 and I saw my dad that it finally

set in.  My Dad yelled out "YOU GOT THIS!!!" and that was enough to set me over the edge.  I yelled out a couple expletives, burst into tears and gave him the biggest hug of my life!  I was 3 miles from achieving the goal that I had set exactly one (1) year ago to the day.  I then saw my Mom followed by Kylie and that kept the tears flowing.

As I ran the closing miles, I just kept repeating my mantra in my head..."you are an IRONMAN...you are an IRONMAN!"

On the final stretch up to the finishers chute, I had to pick up the pace to pass a girl in front of me so I could have the chute to myself and all but guarantee that Mike Reilly would announce my name.  Sure enough, my plan worked and as I neared the finish line I heard:

"Eric Bunner's our next winner...come on Eric...all for you buddy...from Prosper, TX...first timer...Eric...you are an IRONMAN!"  

To my surprise, I crossed the finish line and was able to remain upright.  I had envisioned myself crawling across the finish line at midnight, but instead I ran across the line finishing in 11:30:13 shattering my goal time by :52 minutes!

I finished the run in 04:36:26 at a 10:33 min/mile pace which I could never have predicted.  I figured my run split would've been well over 5:00 considering I've only ran one other marathon in 4:21 at the Dallas Marathon in December 2012.

It wasn't long after I crossed until I saw Kylie and my parents racing to come find me.  We all embraced in a tearful hug sharing our thoughts of the moment.  Being able to share that moment with Kylie and my parents was one that I will cherish forever.  The only thing that would've made it better were if Avery and Kirby were there to share in this moment as well, however, I'm glad we made the decision to leave them behind as this would've been way too overwhelming for them.

We eventually made our way over to find Kat and Sean who finished in 10:53:27 setting a new PR by :10 minutes.  After checking my bike back in to @TriBikeTransport and picking up my transition bags, we made our way down Mill Ave for some dinner and celebratory drinks.

In my previous blog, I mentioned my friend/coworker Taylor Shultz who was involved in a horrific accident back on September 13th when a blunt steel object flew through the windshield and hit Taylor in the head.  Taylor has undergone multiple surgeries and was just recently transferred from Houston back home to San Antonio and remains in a full-time rehab clinic.  Taylor ran cross-country in college and I often reached out to him to discuss the mental/physical challenges of long distance running.  Taylor once told me that running is the ultimate test in integrity as YOU are the only person that knows how hard you are pushing yourself.  When you go on solo bike rides and runs for 4-6 hours, you have a lot of time to think and reflect.  Often times, when things got hard or I wanted to quit I would think of Taylor and the fight that he has put forth.  I haven't told anyone this until now, but race morning, I wrote Taylor's initials "ZTS" on the inside of my forearm in permanent marker. I continually glanced at his initials throughout the day and I'm convinced that he is a big reason as to why I performed so well.  Thanks T!  

In the end, I'm just a guy who swam, rode and ran a long distance and in some ways not deserving of the title Ironman.  To me, Taylor is the true Ironman!  When placed in his situation, many of us would've given up and quit but Taylor is a pugilist who continues to fight to regain his life every single day.  As of this post, Taylor is doing amazing in his rehab and is able to spend more and more time with his wife and daughters.  He is a true miracle!

As I began to reflect on Monday morning, I kind of felt let down with how easy (relative term) the race was compared to what I had psyched myself out for it to be.  Honestly, I can say that completing IMAZ was easier than completing Wildflower (half Ironman) earlier that year in May.  Given, I aborted my nutrition/hydration plan and completely bonked causing me to walk nearly the entire run.  It is the lessons learned from our failures like Wildflower which ultimately lead to our successes!

I also learned to trust your training.  I struggled through the final long runs (16, 18, 20 milers) of my training often times doubting myself and second guessing my decision to attempt this whole Ironman thing.  It wasn't until I did my Big Day Training on October 11th when I took the day off of work to complete a 4,000 meter swim, followed by a 100 mile TT bike ride and a 10k run.  This day alone was the largest confidence booster and the moment I finally felt achieving my goal was possible.

The next day, my parents went to meet our Uncle Ronnie and Aunt Donna for lunch while we went bar hopping throughout Tempe.  

The week of Thanksgiving, I forever emblazoned my Ironman achievement with an M-dot tattoo on the back of my right calf thanks to Jon at Cat Tattoo in Addison.  Call it cliche if you want, but as the saying goes...pain is temporary, Ironman is forever!

Post-Ironman Depression
My plan was to take the two (2) weeks following IMAZ completely off to recover (ie. honeymoon).  With each passing week, I struggled to find motivation to do anything and the excuses are easier to come by.  My alarm still goes off every morning at 3:53 AM, but I hit snooze for an hour or just turn it off.  My eating habits have been that bad, but when you're not working out 15 hours/week the weight tends to stick which has me up 12 lbs above my race weight!  

I find myself sad, tired, easily agitated, etc...all at once and unfortunately, I'm not the only one who's noticed.  The problem is that I can't snap out of it.

Here I am almost three (3) months later and all I've managed to accomplish are a couple CrossFit WOD's, a couple masters swims, one (1) trainer ride and a single 3-mile run.

Yeah, yeah....poor me!

Conclusion
When I did my first sprint triathlon in August 2010, I never could've imagined ever finishing an Ironman.  In closing, I want to thank everyone for their support and encouragement along the way...friends, family, Skanska coworkers, neighbors, Frisco Masters, the Tri Shop, Richardson Bike Mart, Dr. Ron Tribendis at Performance Chiropractic and Sports Medicine and the list goes on.  

A special thank you goes out to my Mom and Dad for joining us in Tempe and cheering me on throughout the day.  For it was their upbringing that taught me about goal setting, hard work, dedication, will power, sacrifice, temptation, accountability, etc...of which all of these qualities were put to the test.  From high school sports to driving 2-4 hours every weekend to my college football games, my parents have always been there to cheer me on!

The BIGGEST thank you of all goes out to my wife Kylie, since without her none of this would've been possible.  She's the one who gave me the idea this was even possible.  She's the one that got me registered online for a race which sold out in :45 seconds.  She's the one that got the kids ready every single morning as I left the house at 4:30 AM.  She's the one who allowed her husband to train every Saturday and Sunday morning, sometimes well into the afternoon.  She's the one who reminded me to stay positive and gave me encouragement throughout my training. She's the one who put up with a grumpy, fatigued, absent, etc...husband/father.  

I saw a shirt once that read "Behind every IRONMAN is a woman of STEEL!" and this couldn't be more true.  Thanks babe!

I'm not exactly sure what the next chapter or challenge will be, but it will definitely be hard to top this.  My 2014 season will consist of a handful or more local sprints and Olympics.  I'd like to find a mid season half Ironman, but am having a hard time deciding.  I have the Form Follows Fitness 5k coming up February 22nd followed by the St. Patrick's Triathlon (sprint) on March 16th. Hopefully, these will get the taste back in my mouth.


Oh yeah, we are expecting our third child in late August which will definitely be a game changer!