Timberman Half Ironman

The Timberman Half Ironman was a challenging and memorable race, mainly because it was the first time I'd ever done this distance, and didn't know how my body was going to react.  I got through it, but not without hitting a wall - it was a lot harder than I'd expected.

The setting was the scenic Winnipesaukee lake in the foothills of White Mountains in New Hampshire. The beautiful (and not too deep) 1.2 mile swim parallel to the shore line was a major attraction of the race, followed by a scenic but hilly 56 mile bike ride, then a flat 13.1 mile run along the shoreline.

I travelled up with about 20 other Achilles athletes and guides from New York on Friday.  For the HIM, I had some inspiring company:  Ricardo Corral, a powerful amputee handcycler;  Charlie Plakson, aged 70 and nearly blind, who I first saw last year on his way to completing the NYC ironman.  Allan Tyson, who came to Achilles to recover from a TBI from a biking accident, aiming for his second half ironman and a first full IM next year.  And Colleen Alexander, who I met just the day before the race. Colleen has an inspiring story.  She was fully run over by a truck when biking only 2 years ago, spent 5 weeks in a coma with horrific injuries, but made an amazing recovery to compete in her first half ironman post-accident.

Charlie and Greg exit the swim

Some of the Achilles team did a sprint on Saturday, while the rest of us spectated from around the transition area, registered and checked in our bikes, and then carb loaded with a pasta meal and got an early night to make sure we were ready for the next day.

We were up at 4.45 on Sunday, and drove over to the lake with a beautiful vivid pink sunrise as the backdrop.  The swim was from a beach, and even though it was in warm, flat water, I made sure I got my head in for a couple of minutes to get adjusted.  It felt so good being in there, I found myself actually looking forward to the swim, which is also partly a measure of how much my swimming has come on in the last couple of years.

The PC wave went immediately after the female pro's at 7.05 am, and started after wading about 20 metres out from the beach.  It was an exciting moment, waiting just before with the rest of the Achilles athletes, as the announcer introduced us to about 2,200 other athletes waiting on the beach.  And then, with the sound of the horn, we were off.

I quickly lost sight of everyone else in my wave, but the gameplan was to relax and focus on enjoying the swim slowly but steadily.  After about 5 minutes, the fastest swimmers from the next wave were upon me, and even though I got bumped a bit, it was nothing too offputting, as I was overtaken by quite a few waves of different coloured swimming caps.  As long as the goggles and noseclip stayed on, I told myself there would be no panic attacks.

With Handler Melissa - out of the water

After what seemed like a long time in the water (probably just under an hour), I made it back to the beach and was met by my handler Melissa with my crutches to exit out of the water.  From here, to the stripping mat then transition.  My total time for the swim: 1.02.58.

It was a beautiful day for biking, warm but cloudy and not too hot, and I enjoyed climbing up a few hills in the first ten miles or so, before a long flat that took us to turnaround point, about 28 miles in.  There must have been a tailwind for the first 30 miles or so as I was averaging around 20 mph.  My main worry was getting a mechanical or flat and finally having to use my CO2 cartridge but thankfully, there were no issues.  I returned to the bike area feeling great and still with a lot of energy.  My final bike time was: 3.11.31, 17.54 mph average.

Out of transition

Next up was the run, and this was where the wheels started to fall off a bit.   Running out of transition felt a little weird, as always, as your biking leg(s) have to readjust to being running leg(s).  One nice surprise:  I was met by Achilles guide Alice Lim, who had just moved to NH and drove up to support the team.  I told Alice I wasn't in a chatty mood as I panted along trying to get used to the run, but the support was definitely welcome.

Home Stretch!

The run was basically two six mile loops bending along the side of the river and back, and those loops at times felt like they went on FOREVER. One great thing was there were lots of food and drink stations at least every mile or so, and I lost track of the number of drinks of coke, gatorade, water, and orange slices, bananas and gels I had as I went around (at one station I stopped and wolfed down at least 8 orange quarters consecutively).  One great thing about running in a loop is that you'd pass all the other runners in the opposite direction.  There was so much support from the other athletes, plus I saw a few other Achilles friends (Melissa, Allan, Charlie, Colleen) on the run, shouting words of encouragement, which was always a huge boost.

With Alice, who kept me company for 6 miles

For the second loop, I decided I wanted to run it alone.  For me, at that stage, it was purely a mental game, where you're toughing it out in your head.  I've always found when I'm running, I make terrible company getting into the longer distances, when I just want to battle through it by myself (and also get kind of cranky around other people).   So I paused for a couple of minutes with Alice at the start of the second loop, and then set off alone.    The first few miles of the second loop were probably the hardest.  I'd run to each water stop, rest there for a few minutes to catch my breath, then take off for the next one.  At this stage I felt really puffed, my heart was still hammering away, and I really felt like I'd pushed myself to the limit, and there was no way I could do an ironman with this level of fitness.  Gradually I made it to the turnaround point of the second loop, and was then heading back in the direction of the finish line.

From there, I picked up and ran the last 3 miles or so fairly consistently.  It's funny how a simple thing like turning round and facing the finish line can affect you psychologically.  Finally, the last stretch was ahead of me.   It was an amazing feeling to run past some cheering Achilles friends in transition, and then see the finish line come into sight.  When I finally crossed the line, in a total of 7.32.19, I felt as overcome with emotion as any marathon I'd ever done.  The release was pure joy and the realization that about 5 months of training had been rewarded with the new achievement and a half ironman medal.

Timberman was very well organized, from all the volunteers in transition area, to the food stations on the run course, to the delicious plates of pasta we were provided after the race.  After that it was time to head to the van, for our long ride back to NY in the middle of the night.

Over the last couple of months, as training for Timberman had been going well, the idea of one day doing a full ironman had been popping more and more into my head.  From this perspective, Timberman was a bit of a reality check.  If I do another half, or even contemplate doing a full, I would need to improve, by focusing on improving my core strength and by doing longer and harder brick workouts.  I also need to get to be a faster swimmer.   So in a way, Timberman was a humbling experience -  I still have a long way to go.  But at the same time, Timberman was an achievement that I'll savour in the coming years.

Met the winner !  With Melissa and Andy Potts, who won with a time of 3.54..and a really nice chap to boot.