Race Morning
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.
SWIM
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.
Props to: Aqua Sphere Metallic Titanium Goggles, Coach Bill Troy’s M&W pool sessions
T1
Once I found my bike (thankfully didn’t have to do much hunting) I was glad that the area wasn’t too muddy. I opened the blue bike bag to get out my socks, bike shoes, FLT arm sleeves, helmet, glasses and stroopwaffles. Everything got put on, the bike was grabbed and I made my way out of Chankanaab Park to find the bike exit. I crossed the timing mat, hit “lap” again, hopped on my bike and began the long journey of Leg 2 of Ironman Cozumel.
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.
Props to: Jim’s Bicycles, Tune Cycle & Bicycle Generation for supplies, service and advice, Infinit and Gu Stroopwaffle, TriBike Transport
T2
I could have done without the puddles in the garage, but dealt with it as puddles seemed par for the day. I was quite glad to be able to take off the soaking wet bike shoes and socks for dryer run socks and sneakers. I also decided to change out of my tri top for the American tank top and figured out a way of wrapping the Augusta towel around myself to swap the tri shorts for running shorts. I placed my gels in the pockets of my run shorts, strapped the race belt, grabbed my cap and light, and headed out for the long, last jog.
RUN
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.
Props to: Hoka Rincon, WoB Coconut Creek Run Club & Runner’s Depot Coral Springs Run Club, Gu Liquid Energy
OVERALL
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.
Props to: my wife, Cozumel, my wife, my training plan (I wrote), my wife, Dr Troy Weidlich & Calvin Hicks for fixing us on a regular basis, Blue Angel Resort for a relaxing stay and good bar/restaurant,and to Mother Nature for not killing me or my mood.
