IMKY Perspective: the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

During Ironman there are highs and lows; joyous moments, things that go smoothly, tough breaks, and challenging obstacles. With over 2,000 people participating in this event, there are a lot of stories that played out that day representing triumph and tragedy. Below are a few that I heard about.

When doing Ironman, tremendous amounts of preparation and planning are obviously required. Throw in factors beyond your control, and it can certainly get interesting. For some, maybe it just wasn’t their day. For others, there may have been issued with planning and preparation. For others, bad luck. We all were battling the elements. Although it was probably ~96 degrees, it didn't seem worse to me than the excessive heat we had in Kansas City over the summer. Heat does slow me down, but there are tactics you can use to deal with it (practicing hydration in those conditions, use of cold water sponges, bandana to hold ice in reserve, etc).

I was thankful to hear others’ experiences; to celebrate the good things and to learn from the obstacles that people faced. The perspective you get from others’ stories is interesting, and things can look very different in retrospect. There was a lot of cramping, vomiting, and equipment failures going on out there. I was very fortunate that day that the worst thing that happened to me was heat rash!

~~ A few anecdotes from iamtri ~~

“I had a very tough day on the bike: 4 flats and chain mishap. I was out of spares and crushed on the side of the road. Another rider who was also suffering, took the time to give me a spare tube and an extra CO2 cartridge. I can not thank you enough. Because of your kindness, I am able to call myself an Ironman finisher. I so hope that you are out there and read this, as I am tearing up as write this. THANK YOU!“

“A participant broke the pedal on his bike around mile 60. Mechanics came to help but it took about an hour and they couldn't fix it, the pedal was simply snapped off the crank. Another participant biking by heard what was going on and said that he was really struggling and knew he wouldn't finish so he GAVE HIS BIKE TO A STRANGER and said take it and finish this thing! (I just got chills typing this.) I watched the guy come in at 16:30 with a huge smile on his face.”

“I finished the bike and made it to mile 8 on the run when I had an allergic reaction and had to go to the ER. It has been 2 days and I still have hives on my face, neck and chest! Just wondering if anyone else had any medical problems, I made a doctors appt but still have never had an allergic reaction to anything. The doctor thought I got stung by a bee because of my symptoms but I still have hives!”

“Somehow I got a UTI at mile 30 on the bike! I haven't had one in 10 years! Needless to say, I had to stop at every porta potty on the bike AND run course. It made for a horrible feeling all day. Every time I tried to drink or eat something with sodium, I felt a horrible burning sensation.”

“It was a dreadful dreadful day. I got into the water around 7:05 AM and had a pretty decent swim (1:28). I felt great on the bike the first 50 miles (came through the 56 mile mark in 3:15). Then the wheels came off. I was so dehydrated that I cramped up every hill from mile 60-100. I literally had to walk my bike up every hill. It was terrible. I've never cramped like that ever. I didn't have water from miles 75-105. Luckily there were residents helping out with water. I finished the bike in 8:12. I had nothing left. I hit the last 10 miles of flats at about an 8mph pace.

I tried to run the 1st mile and cramped right away. So walked the first few, then tried to run and immediately cramped and fell over. I could not run at all. I stumbled for the next 10 miles when I then collapsed in pain. Somehow I got back up and met my friends at mile 14. No idea how, but I then managed a half limp/walk for the rest of the way... All I could think when I crossed the finish line was how stupid I was for pushing myself so hard. It was so dangerous out there. I saw multiple people passing out and not being able to move.”