Ironman South Africa 2008 – Race report

What a great experience. Thank you to everyone who sent messages of good-luck and congratulations. It means a lot to know that I have so many great friends who were thinking about me.

Here is my race report. I intended it to be short and sweet but it ended up being long a drawn out.

Build up and training

I did my first Ironman in Coeur d”Alene in 2006 and after that I swore that I would never do something that crazy ever again. Being my first Ironman it was certainly a day that will live in my memory forever, but it was a very tough day, I really suffered on the run and it left me wondering if I could 1) do better, and 2) actually enjoy the day and enjoy the experience.

About 14 months ago, Theresa, my amazing wife, told me that she was in full support of me entering the 2008 Ironman in South Africa. Having been through this with me once before, she knew the impact that training for one of these things has on our family life. She also agreed, knowing that I would be making the trip to South Africa alone and that she and our two boys, Matthew and Gregory, would not get the reward of a nice vacation to the beach in South Africa. She has been incredible and there is absolutely no way that I could ever have come close to doing this and to achieving my goals without her support.

The next step was to meet with Pete Alfino. In March 07 we had lunch and I asked Pete if he would train me again. Pete got me through Ironman Coeur d’Alene and I knew that he knew my capabilities, as well as my strengths and weaknesses, better than anyone. I explained my motivations for doing another one and I asked him if he thought it was possible for me to break 11 hours. He didn’t hesitate. He told me that I had the ability and that if I put in the effort and followed his plan that I could do it. He told me that he would put together an interim plan (April 07 to September 07) to work on my weakness and that full Ironman training would begin on October 07.

From April to September primarily worked on strengthening my cycling and trying to improve my swim technique and my efficiency in the water. The only race that I did in 07 was the Harvest Moon Half Ironman (in September ), and we did not make this an “A” race. So the summer was very relaxing and it really allowed me to focus on my cycling and swimming. On October 1st I started on Pete’s Ironman program and followed it religiously. I am the type of person who likes to have a plan and I like to be held accountable. I know that this doesn’t work for everyone, but without Pete I don’t think that I would have done nearly that same amount, type or intensity of training, and there is no way that I would have been able to get myself in the same shape and condition that I was for this race.

Pre race

I arrived in South Africa a week before the race. My mom and dad live in Kenton-on-Sea which is very beautiful small town about and hour and a half from Port Elizabeth (PE). I spent Monday and Tuesday with them and did nothing except eat, sleep, relax and get over my jetlag. On Wednesday we drove back to PE and checked into our hotel which was about a mile from race central. It was perfect. Just close enough so that I could walk to the beach and do some test swims but far enough away that I wasn’t immersed in all the pre race hype.

The weather in Port Elizabeth had been pretty good for the 3 days leading up to the race. I was able to do some light training and it felt very good to be able to swim in the ocean instead of a pool, and to have the warm African sun on my back instead of the cold snowy Colorado weather that I had been training through for the last 6 months. I felt very relaxed and confident and I knew that there was nothing else that I could have done to get prepared for this race.

The only little hiccup was that on the first day in Port Elizabeth I scratched the back of my right heal on some rough concrete steps that lead down to the beach. I didn’t think much of it, however on the day before the race I noticed that I had a split in the skin. I wasn’t too worried, however it did prompt me to get some big heal sized band-aids from my mom which I through into my special needs bags and also into my swim-bike and bike-run bags. Other than this I felt rested and ready to go.

Race day
After a typically restless night I got up a 4am, ate, showered, dressed and got down to the transition area at about 6am. It had rained a little overnight and there were some scary looking dark clouds hovering around. At 6:40 they herded us over the timing mats down the same rough concrete steps to the beach. On the second to last step I did it again. I scraped the back on my right heal against the step, but this time I ripped off some skin. I couldn’t believe it. Here I was minutes from the start and there was blood poring from my right heal. The only thing that I could think to do was to pull the remaining loose skin off and to sink my heal deep into the beach sand and hope that I could stop the blood flow. I was furious with myself, but there was nothing that I could do about it.

The swim
The cannon went off and we charged into the ocean. With the typical chaos of an Ironman start my heal was forgotten and I started concentrating of not getting punched or hit. It was very crowded for the first three quarters of the first loop, but then it eventually thinned out and I started finding a little bit of open water. I hit the beach in about 31 minutes and headed back out for the second loop. The sea was very calm and it was wonderful to swim in. My second loop should have been faster than my first but for some reason (I must have taken the scenic route) it took me longer and I finished the swim in 1 hr 5 minutes. I was happy with my time and headed to T-1.

T-1
Found my ”swim to bike” bag and headed to the changing tent. I took off my wet suit (no wet suit strippers in South Africa), and immediately started attending to my heal. Thank God that my mom had given me the large band-aids. I put the band-aid on, put my socks on and prayed that it would not bleed during the bike. I had decided to bike in cycling shorts, not triathlon shorts, and so I had done the swim in a Speedo (under my wet suit). Another interesting deal was that they had female volunteers in the changing tents. Oh well, I got naked, changed handed my bag to a volunteer and ran off to get my bike. As I got to my bike I noticed that I still had my swim goggles in my hand. Sometimes I really wonder where my mind is. I stuffed the goggles into my bike jersey and after 6 minutes I was on my way.

The Bike
The bike is a three loop course. Gradual uphill for the first 10 miles or so with a few short steep bits, then some gentle rollers before making its way back down to the coast line for a final sweep along the rugged beautiful ocean back to T-1. It is a spectacular course. Fairly rough roads, but spectacular.

About 5 minutes into the bike it started raining. It was a gentle rain, but after 30 minutes my shoes, socks and feet were soaked. I was a little worried about what was happening to my heal, but it wasn’t bothering me. I felt something brush my leg but I couldn’t figure out what it was so I ignored it and kept going. After an hour I reached down to get by “Gel-bottle” and it was gone. It had come loose and had fallen off my bike. I had 500 calories in the bottle and it was an important
part of my nutrition plan for the bike ride.

The rain stopped, the sun came out and the notoriously heavy PE winds remained fairly calm. I felt strong on the bike and really enjoyed the course. At one point a monkey ran out from the bush and crossed the road in front of me – pretty cool. I tried to keep things smooth and maintain a fairly constant pace. At the end of the second loop I stopped for my special needs bag. I took two Hammer Gels and an extra bottle of Perpetuem that I had packed. I also had packed a marmite sandwich (tastes like vegemite) and quickly ate it while I was stopped. I felt better for stopping and adding some much needed nutrition. I felt great on the third loop and was able to finish the bike in 5 hrs 33 minutes. This time included about 4 minutes for stopping (three “potty breaks” and my stop for my special needs bag. I was very happy with my bike split and my legs felt fresh. All the training had paid off

T-2
T-2 was fairly uneventful. I grabbed my “bike to run” bag and headed to the changing tents. The band-aid on my heal had stayed firm and there was no need to put a new one on. I changed from my bike clothes into running shorts, shirt, fresh socks and my flap hat and headed out for the run. Took me just under 5 minutes

The run
The run is also a three loop course. It is pretty flat and it does a figure eight up and down Marine Drive. The crowds were huge and the atmosphere was fantastic. One of the biggest changes that Pete made to my training was on “pacing for the marathon”. I did all of my long training runs by running for 9 minutes and walking for 1 minute. As running is my strength I was very skeptical of this plan, but I tried it and to my surprise I discovered that my long training runs were far mare enjoyable, and that I was also a lot less fatigued. I discovered that when you take walk breaks you have the ability to use slightly different muscles than when you are running and you also tend to take in more fluids and nutrition.

When I headed out on the run I felt great, however at the first aid station (which was approximately 9 minutes into my run) I stopped running and forced myself to walk for a minute. It was actually fairly comical. Guys that I had passed when I was running patted me on the back when they saw me walking and told me to stay strong. The crowds yelled encouragement and when they saw me start running again they would cheer and yell things like “that’s the spirit”, “never say die”, “way to start running”. I never altered from my strategy and kept running for 9 or 10 minutes and then walking for 1. I could feel the pain in my right heal but it never deteriorated, and other than a blood soaked band-aid and sock at the end, it ended up not being a problem. After two loops I was ahead of my planned pace and I felt pretty strong.

Just after I started the third loop I went from feeling great to feeling spent, done, wasted, and exhausted. It came at me from out of nowhere. It also hit me in the only section of the course that is fairly remote. No aid station for about 3 miles. I really struggled and started having negative thoughts. My walk breaks could not come fast enough and I dreaded the end of my one minute break when I would have to start running again. I made it to an aid station where they were handing out Power Bars. I had trained using Power Gels but never Power Bars, but I was desperate for any kind of solid nutrition so I walked for almost 2 minutes and ate the whole thing. I immediately felt better and started picking up the pace again. .After that, I made a point of eating something solid at every aid station. They serve cold boiled potatoes which worked great. I think I ate 4 of them in the last 8 miles. I also ate another Power Bar and I took a Power Gels as well.

Finally the long day started coming to an end. I heard the music for the finish line and started picking up the pace. What a great feeling it was to hit the finishing shoot. My folks had been out on the run course all day which was very motivating for me and when I saw them as I entered the finishing shoot the goosebumps, adrenaline and emotions overcame me. I yelled all the way down the last 75 meters. The announcer called my name. “Here comes Jonathan Nixon from the United States. He is a two time Ironman , but now he can call himself and African Ironman” The sun was still up (which was one of my pre race goals). and I crossed the finishing line in 10 hours , 41 minutes and 25 seconds.

What a great feeling. I had achieved every one of my goals.
• I had made it to the start line,
• I had made it to the finish line,
• I had finished before the sun went down,
• I had run a sub 4 hour marathon (3:51),
• I had broken 11 hours,
• I had enjoyed the entire day,
• and I had got to share the experience with my mom and dad.

Thanks

To Pete Alfino. You did a phenomenal job of getting me prepared for this race. There is no way I could have had the day I did without you.

To all my friends, co-workers and colleagues in Denver. Thanks for all the e-mails, calls, and words of good wishes.

To my mom and dad. Thanks for sharing this day with me. Thanks for being out on the course all day and for giving me so much motivation to keep on going. Doing this with you was very special for me.

To Theresa, Matthew and Gregory. Thank you for letting me follow my dream. Thank you for giving me the freedom to do all the training, and to make this a once in a life time experience that I will talk about until I am an old man.