Race Morning
Before I can go into how the day went, we must turn the clocks back 24 hours to Saturday morning. The day started out as ordinary until …. I went to grab shorts out of the suitcase. Yep, if you’re over 40 you can probably guess what happened next. One of the my worst back seizes in memory. My wife helped by giving me a back massage and also applying some Rock Tape, but even walking was not as easy as breathing. After some breakfast and bed stretching, we loaded the bikes onto the car and headed to the bike check-in. We had gotten parking that was pretty close to the expo/transition, so it was a short walk. At one of the closed side-streets I decided to test how pedaling would go and was pleasantly surprised cycling was possible. We dropped off the bikes, got dinner and prepped for Sunday.
So the alarm went off as programmed and the back was only marginally better. We got dressed, grabbed our bags & nutrition and headed to our pre-paid parking lot. Walking to transition was okay, probably not as fast as I normally stride, but relatively pain-free. It took a little bit to get down to the ground to lay out my towel, shoes (bike & run) and other stuff. And putting on the sleeveless wetsuit was not as easy as it should have been. I only had it waist-high when the announcer indicated that transition was closing.
Swim Leg
So I made my way to the funnel of athletes with volunteers holding signs for expected swim times. I slowly advanced up to the 40 minute sign, pulled up my wetsuit so I could at least get the top secured, made sure to re-attach my timing chip, and then got my Fenix 5S ready to record. From what I remember, it had +60% battery remaining, so plenty to record this (so I thought). After the swim cannon fired for the supes to start their race, we slowly advanced forward to the Choptank River. When I go close the start arch, I heard Dave Ragsdale over the mic ask “And where is David Mioduszewski?” I happened to be on the right side of the corral near him, so I waved until he saw me. Not long after that I was at the human guardrail where everyone had to wait 5 seconds before descending the padded ramp into the water. The water had a slight chill to it throughout the whole swim, but it wasn’t the coldest I’ve been in. I kept pretty straight and close to the buoys as I went, and only 2-3 times did I have to deal with crowds, not including the turns. I did have to pause a few times to de-fog my goggles. The river was pretty murky and it tasted as such … I would recommend taping your mouth shut to prevent this as my throat was irritated afterwards. I got to the swim finish ramp, got out.
T1
Remember how I wrote that I made sure my watch was set up and it had plenty of battery? Walking up the ramp out of the river and heading to the area of wetsuit strippers I went to hit the lap button and noticed the screen was blank. “WTF?” After I got my wetsuit taken off (with a little assistance getting down and up) I walked to my bike attempting to see if it had just turned off somehow – no luck. I had set my main bag off to the side of transition so I tossed my wetsuit on top of it and sat down by my bike to clean my feet & put on my bike shoes, helmet, and glasses. Made my way to the Bike Start arch, swung my leg over my bike and started pedaling.
Bike Leg
The course is okay compared to some other races I’ve done. I can’t tell how fast or slow it is, as my watch didn’t survive the morning. But there weren’t any steep climbs, rolling hills or long descents. The course goes through some neighborhoods, along some roads and then winds through Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge before winding back to the race site. I passed some wheat fields, some more fields, some marsh land, more marsh land, fields, fields, fields. I did spot what looked to be a beaver’s apartment with a mound of tree branches & parts in the marshes. I kept myself as comfortable as I could on the bike; only towards the last few miles did I have to do a standing stretch will coasting. I did stop once for the port-o-potty at the aid station around mile 18. I think the constant pedaling helped to loosen the hips a bit to make getting off and back on the bike a bit easier. I pushed when I could, eased back when I needed to, and took advantage of a tail wind as provided. Overall the bike course was good, well marked and the aid stations seemed to be well run – although I didn’t notice any theming or decorations. After about 56 miles, the bike finish arch came into view which meant a dismount was coming up.
T2
I did have to lean the bike a bit more than normal to swing my right leg over it, but I was able to walk to my spot in transition okay. After racking my bike and getting my helmet, glasses and shoes off, I really felt the tightness standing there. It got the point where I doubted even heading out for the half marathon. But then I thought, “Just get out there.” I put on my socks and Endorphin Pro’s, grabbed my zip lock bag of nutrition, container of generic Motrin, & my race belt with the bib on it, and got out there.
Run Leg
I started walking and that was okay, and kept that up until another racer came up to me whom was slowly jogging. He had a neat Zoot kit (that ended up not being available anymore), so I decided to see how jogging would go. We ended chatting for a few minutes until he had to take a rest walk; I was feeling fine so I kept it up until the first aid station almost a mile into the run. Before getting to that aid station I took off that fully dead Garmin and put in my back pocket with the nutrition bag and Motrin container. For the first loop of two I mostly jogged until each aid station, getting a cup of something (water, Gatorade, or Coke) and adding ice cubes to the 3 small pockets in my top. I only took the generic Motrins twice the first loop, so the remaining pills gave a little shaker noise in the container as I jogged. I didn’t push the pace to go what I had originally planned on running, so the 2hr half marathon was out of the question. Runners passed me, I passed walkers and slower joggers. Being two out-and-back loops I saw my wife a few times in passing (she had a better overall race than I and a PR bike split) so we got to keep tabs on each other. A couple of times my lower back would give a slight “spazz” whenever I think I leaned too much to the side or direction. Other than that, I was fine. The second loop probably went a little bit slower than the first loop (no watch nor can tell time by the sun’s angle) as the temps slowly went up and there was not much shade, but I still kept jogging as much as I could and adding ice to my pockets. There were definitely people from less humid states at the race as a few times I came upon people either hands on the knees or were being tended to by volunteers or medical staff. Eventually, I made it to the split in the run loop where instead of turning right for another loop, I got to turn left for the finish line. I did pick it up a bit here so I could pass a few runners and not have to “share” the finish arch photos. As luck would have it, I heard David Ragsdale call my name as a finisher and I gave him a wave. The race was over … for me, anyway.
Post-Race
Thus, the race was over and the finisher medal was well earned. If you put in the training and aware of what you are capable of, you can accomplish something that might seem improbable. Would I do that race again? Yeah, it was well run, had a lot of helpful volunteers and supplies, and is in a nice area.
What a difference nine years can make. Alarm went off as normal (5am), got dressed as normal, ate a little bread & peanut butter, drank some Monster, and wondered how long the rain was going to last. It was just a light sprinkling but knew it would probably last a while. When we went downstairs, the rain had lessened a bit, so Jess got her rented scooter started – or tried to. For some reason (possibly due to the excessive rain) it wouldn’t turn over. No big deal – we walked the 1/2 mile to one of the host hotels where I hopped on (standing room only left) a big athlete’s only bus and the driver did a half dozen point u-turn to head over to T1 at Chankanaab Park. Got to T1 and it was still not raining, but as transition was in a park, portions were quite muddy, even with the blue carpeting. Handed off my special needs bags (mini cans of Cokes in both only) and headed to my bike. Put my water bottle in the cage on the handle bar holder and two Infinit bottles in their cages (only 1 pre-filled), and then headed off. I did check that the tires were still well filled, and decided it was not needed to add air. The line for the second shuttle to the swim start moved quite well with a line of buses waiting to take us to Marina Fonatur and the swim start. I got there, and after making my way to the find the morning clothes trucks (walking through more mud and water), I then had to take off my Gasparilla jacket and footwear to add to the bag before handing it off and make my way to the starting corals.
I popped into the 1:10 to 1:20 coral as I wasn’t sure how my shoulder would hold up (small spill enroute to bike drop off the day before) or how the current was going. I sat down on one of the “socially distanced” stickers to save on fatigue, while waiting in the now-drizzle which lead to the naming of the pro men and pro women – they got swim warmup, we did not. When the age group rolling start began, it was still drizzling; it interestingly stopped as soon as we rounded the turn and faced the Swim Start arch. Just before the timing mat and pier, there were counters that held racers for 3 seconds each to space out everyone. Walked to the pier, started my Garmin, crossed the mat and entered the water, feet first. Probably the clearest ocean water ever – there were points where the depth looked to be over 10ft but the scuba divers were still clear. I did see fish a few times, just nothing worth reporting (saw some green fish, but no rays, turtles or Arthur Curry). The spacing out of the participants made for a less congested swim start which I liked, just catching up to groups of slower ones, which is good for morale. It didn’t feel as thought the current changed at any point during the long swim, but there definitely were some changes in temps as there were some cold “pools” felt along the way. Glad I went with the metallic titanium goggles as sighting and buoy checking was some what in the direction of the sun and the goggles did not hinder my vision; I am more of a right-side breather, but can do both sides if need be. I knew the end was near as the two thatched huts at the end of piers signified that Chankanaab was approaching. There was a scuba diver laying at the ocean floor just next to the second of two huts, there was no giant red buoy to signify the turn. But seeing volunteers on SUP boards pointing to their right made it quite obvious where to go. Made the turn and the exit stairs came up soon enough, and, even though they were a bit slick, I carefully stepped up them to the pier, hit “lap” on my watch and made my way along the carpeted walkway through the small showers (I did pass my head underneath) and went to find my bike.
Looking back, I was really glad that I did a few century rides leading up to this and that the course was three loops. I got about 12 miles before needing to stop for a #1 – a quick stop and then back on to continued lap #1. All three laps were, of course, more or less the same – in terms of extras, not layout. During all three laps I saw several people dealing with flats, puddles, porto-potty breaks, showers, a wipeout (only 1), puddles, some stray dogs, puddles, serene waves on one side with loud crowds on the other, puddles, minor inclines and declines, some lightning during the 3rd loop, and (guess what) puddles. Some of the puddles were shallow and small, most were a few inches deep, but the doozy was on my third loop: my feet submerged on each downstroke and it lasted a few minutes to get through. The special needs stop that I used at the mid-point was less than stellar: it seemed as though a few dozen people all decided to to stop around the same time, as there was almost no place to prop up my bike (I used a pedal to lean it against a curb) and the direction given in the guide and briefing was not present in reality. I got my bag, drank one of the mini Cokes, placed the second in my bento box and left the crowds – so many people just sitting around, chatting like it was feista. It was great to be able to stay to the right when the third loop ended and I could make my way to the parking garage of the Mega. The showers had thankfully abated after the last lightning strike/storm combo mid-way through the loop. Rolled up to the entrance, hopped off, hit “lap” again, and hopped over a median (carefully so as not to slip and fall) and made my way to my red run bag to hang up my bike.
Much like the bike, I was glad it was three loops. It made the out-and-backs easier to manage as 6 total segments of 4.3 miles with a few aid stations between the turn-arounds. There were also fewer puddles on the run course versus the bike course, although there was a storm drain cover that was overflowing that everyone went around the entire time I was out there. One thing this race did well on the run was have large coolers that they kept filled with ice and water to chill the drinks (important later). The first loop I grabbed Gatorade bottles (chilled), but soon the flavor was too much to stomach after that. I was privy to be able to get one water “pouch” of e-Pure before subsequent aid stations were completely out of them. It was on the return trip of the second that I saw another racer filling a bottle in one of the tubs – that gave me the idea of grabbing a Gatorade from one table, completely emptying it out, only to refill it will with water and ice. During my third loop aid stations started handing out small cups with water, and had run out of Pepsi. For the first two loops I jogged until I hit an aid station – the out portion of the third loop my legs (knees, hips) needed a few extra breaks. One or two times I jogged through the station, but only when I had a bottle in hand and had already consumed a Liquid Energy. I had a gel around mile 22 and dropped the bottle in a garbage a mile or two later. Now the out-and-back can be broken into two parts: the energetic, crowd-supported area near the T2/finish that was about a mile; the quiet, sparse area with a few hotels and sporadic music and crowds. After making that last turn-around, I knew I would have the crowds and music to add fuel. I was looking forward to the drum line that was present the first two loops – they were gone by the return of my 3rd – that was a bummer. In looking at my Garmin stats for the marathon, I actually negative split the last 7 miles (from a 15 pace to sub-10). Much like the bike, it was great to be able to completely veer right for the run finish, as the first loop I didn’t notice the chalk on the ground that indicated lap versus finish and almost grabbed a flag. I pointed to the US flag a volunteer was holding, grabbed it and headed for the finisher chute. Needless to say, the only thing that could have made the finish better (besides the announcer stumbling my last name) was the man-made “hill” I had to climb to cross the finish line – it was cruel and unusual punishment after 13-1/2 hours. It was quite patriotic to wield the American flag across the finish line of a race in another country. During my first two loops I had thought to do the Tony Stark “I am Ironman” snap either at the finish (but the hill killed that) or at the official finish photo, but I didn’t spot that area. Oh, well.
Through all of the issues, both race and otherwise, Cozumel does a good Ironman. Their airport (American Airlines in particular) was grossly understaffed for our leaving, the aid stations hadn’t accounted for the large increase of participants (2,700+ versus their normal 2k), the island’s drainage couldn’t handle the rain, the finisher shirt is cotton, the medal has stickers, and the expo did not have any official gear that I was interested in (did I miss Cozumel bike bottles?) like triathlon tops or shorts (I only saw bike gear). Speaking of the bike portion: I did see race officials each loop and I even saw participants waiting in the penalty tents. That being said, during the first 2 loops I was passed by a few groups as well as people riding side-by-side, chatting it up. The athlete guide, athlete briefing and athlete bib all warned and pledged against drafting. Now, since the bike course was 3 loops, it can be difficult for 1-2 officials to catch everything. Thus, it is on the individual to take it upon themself to either play by the rules, or use assistance with a possibility of getting called out, either by officials or other racers. But the restaurants have great food, shop keepers are friendly and accommodating (got free shots on Monday), volunteers were helpful, and the race went well for me (duh – 2-1/2 hr pr). Definitely one worth recommending for first timers and those looking to pr or get a slot for something bigger.
