Thursday, July 16.
One week. A week from today is travel day. In one week’s time I will be in Lake Placid, NY. Exactly what I'll be doing a week from today I’m not really sure. I may be going for an easy run or a short ride or a maybe a practice swim. I could be doing none of the three. I may just be hanging out with Rica and my 8yr old son Noah at the bed and breakfast we booked. Perhaps talking to my friend John as he assures me for the thousandth time, everything will be okay.
One thing is for sure. A week from today I’ll be thinking about what is ahead of me. Sunday July 26th to be exact. That is the day I'm slated to do my first Ironman triathlon. All the training I've done for the past year will come down to this day. Simply put, it's the one event I've been looking forward to and fearing at the same time. In case you’re not familiar with the Ironman, it is the monster of all triathlons. The distances in each event are insane and yet this race has allured me in a way I cannot explain. Here's a quick break down. Swim for 2.4 miles, bike for 112 miles and run an official 26.2 mile marathon. You do it all in one day. All athletes have 17hrs to finish the race and that is my one and only goal, to finish. No specific overall time goal, no division placement goal. Just finish under 17hrs.
Five years ago was when I first truly understood what this race was about. I saw a broadcast of the 2004 Ironman World Championship in Hawaii. Norman Stadler from Germany won the race. I remember thinking, "that is crazy, these people are absolutely nuts!" never thinking I'd end up one of those crazy people. I've always been active, keeping my fitness level in a competitive level and try to stay healthy. At that time I was only running 5ks and 10ks. My bike rides were more or less leisure rides and I had zero full marathon credits. That didn't happen until later that year. My swimming? Virtually non-existent. As a matter of fact, my swimming didn't come into play until I took lessons at the Western YMCA in 2006. I remember arriving for my first private swimming session and I was the only adult in the water. I was surrounded by classes of kids between the ages of 8 to 10-year old’s. Their parents, instead of watching their own kids, were watching me. Yes, a little embarrassing but you know what? So be it. If I were their means of entertainment so be it. I was there for a reason. After a couple of sessions, I learned to block the stares out.
So, fast forward five years later. After dozens of 5ks, 10ks, a couple of thousand miles on the bike, a few half-marathons, four full marathons, a couple of small sprint Tri's and seven private swimming lessons later, it's Ironman week.
Thursday, July 23rd.
Travel day. We arrived in Lake Placid around 5pm. We went straight to Mirror Lake and my friend John (three-time Ironman finisher) and I decided a test of the waters was the plan, so we geared up for a practice swim. The race officials had already set up the buoys for the race. An out and back loop measuring 1.2 miles which is half of the official swim distance. A quick change into our wetsuits, swim caps on, goggles on and into the water we went side by side.
I looked over to John and my first question to him was "How deep is this thing"?
In a sort of cynical tone, he answered back, "Who cares?”
Okay, I deserved that sort of cynical tone of a response. He's right. Who cares? 10ft or 100ft, it didn't matter. Maybe it was anxiety that made me asked that question. We swam one loop and I felt very strong and comfortable in the water. Overall the practice swim went well. Just got to do this loop twice. No problem I thought.
Friday, July 24th.
Athlete registration day. We went to Lake Placid High School to register. I was pretty impressed with how organized process was. The first line is where they check your name off the list. I guess it's their way of making sure you actually showed up to do this thing. The next line is where I picked up my race packet. Inside the packet was my official bib number (812), my swim cap, swim to bike bag and bike to run bag. This is also where you get your athlete's bracelet. A volunteer named Diane put the blue bracelet around my wrist. She tells me the bracelet stays on until Monday, the day after the race. I looked at the bracelet she put on me and printed on was "Ironman 2009". Wow. This is it. I’m one step closer. This identifies me as an official competitor and gives you access to areas off limits to the public like the transition area and what a sight the transition area was. 2,500 bikes on racks. Impressive.
The third line is where you fill out and sign a medical disclosure form. To me it's the form you sign that basically states, "I will not hold any Ironman delegates responsible in case my lifeless body is discovered on the side of the road around mile 88 of the bike portion.”
The fourth and final line is where you step on a scale for a pre-race weigh in.
Saturday, July 25th.
I call this day simply the day before. Okay, more like the day before I face madness head on. We got ready for a short bike ride to check out part of the marathon course. Nice and easy ride except even before we left the parking lot I had a small mishap. A miscommunication with an SUV coming from the other direction and next thing I know I'm down on the pavement. This CANNOT be a good omen I thought. All is well. All I got was a bruised right elbow with a bit of gravel. Shake it off. More importantly the bike was fine. Overall the ride went well. We only rode for 12 miles. The rest of the day the plan was an early pasta dinner and hit the sack by 9:30pm. The dinner plan went well but the in bed by 9:30 plan not so well. Let's just say nerves, anxiety, fear and the thought of all that pain I’m about to endure kept me awake a little later. To be honest, I'm not exactly sure what time I ended up sleeping.
Sunday, July 26th.
Today, I will become an IRONMAN. 3:45am wake up. After breakfast we headed into town. At 5am the transition area opened. The first order of business was body marking. Volunteers are everywhere marking your body with your bib#. I had 812 on my right thigh and both arms. My age they wrote on the back of my calf.
I headed into transition to do a last-minute check of the bike. Tire pressure good. My bento box had my stack of Powerbar gels, sports jellybeans and the beef jerky my wife Rica place in a Ziploc bag for me. A peek in my swim to bike bag. Helmet, check. Cycling shoes, check. Next, I checked my bike to run bag. Shoes, check. Shorts, check. I'm good to go. This is it.
Around 6:30am we made our way towards Mirror Lake. Rain started to descend. Didn't matter I thought. The swim is first and we're going to get wet anyway. We found temporary shelter by way of a Blue Seventy tent. Fitting since both my and John's wetsuit are Blue Seventy brand. I spread body glide all over my body specially all around my neck and shoulders knowing those parts are going to do most of the moving in the water.
6:45am. Fifteen minutes to go. This is it. I've must said "this is it" in my head a dozen times during race morning. I turned to give Rica a long hug. I didn't say it in words but I meant for my hug to say, "thank you for all your support. Thank you for helping me get here. I'm about to achieve my goal and I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for your support. All the sacrifices and long training days is about to pay off. ".
Noah, my little buddy. Such a trooper for understanding that he is about to have one of the longest days of his life waiting for dad. A hug for him as well. "Stay with mom all the time. I'll see you later".
Swim
As we approached the water, all athletes had to walk across timing mat to official activate your chip so they know you are in there. This is it. Holy crap. This is it. So it begins. I'm about to go into what I call the mouth of madness. I felt pretty calm once we got into the water. We found a starting spot. 2,500 plus people about to partake in a mass swim start. I heard someone described the start of an Ironman race as swimming and wrestling.
Here were my thoughts before the start. Stay focus. Concentrate. Race your own race. Don't worry about anybody else. Remember the goal is to finish. Seventeen hours. You've got all day. And then one last thought. How deep is this thing?
A muffled voice came over the speaker system. I guess it was the race director wishing all of us good luck. I couldn’t make sup what he was saying. He was then followed by someone who sang the National Anthem. The countdown continues. One minute to go. The crowd is already roaring. Thirty seconds. Take a deep breath. Fifteen seconds. Here we go...it's coming.....3.....2......1.......PANIC!!!
Holy crap! That's exactly what I did. I panicked! Believe me this was NOT part of the plan. Splashes all around me. Bodies rubbing up against me. Chaos! Absolute mayhem. I heard John's voice say "just relax". Too late! My eyes were bulging, wide as binocular lenses, goggle steamed up and I was hyperventilating. Holy shit! Holy shit! I hadn't even reached the official start line yet and I'm already in trouble. It felt like all my muscles lost power. All forward progress ceased. My brain non-functional. I was frozen still... in 70 degree water!
I mean hearing about the swim start I expected this to happen and you try to prepare yourself for it but when you're actually in it, the game is totally different. I couldn't hear or see anything. My goggles fogged up from the shock, steam coming out of my eyes! I do however remember seeing John swim away. I thought "Oh no, he's gone. I'm on my own". But it was never part of the plan for us to stay together during the swim or any part of the race. Get over it. Get a hold of yourself. Relax. Man up. Whatever. At some point I said to myself get your ass in gear! Do it. You are in the Ironman! Want to be one? Swim!! It's that way! Straight ahead! Follow the splashes!! 2.4 miles! Go get it! Suddenly it felt my brain wake up. It felt like an electrical charge struck my brain down to my toes and baby I was off! My breathing went from hyperventilating to regulated. I swam and I swam and I swam some ass off. Within several minutes I got into my rhythm and things started to settle. I can do this. I WILL DO THIS! This is what I've trained for. I finished the first swim loop in 48:24. Before re-entering the water for the second loop a quick glance at the shore I saw Rica and Noah. I held up number one with my finger as to say one more. One more loop and I got this. Second loop done in 55:02. Total swim time 1:43:26.
Bike
I was so stoked after surviving the swim. After all, it was my worse demon. My fear. There is nothing like facing your fears and beating it. What a great feeling. On the way to T1 I was happy to see my great friend Carol, John, Denise and my goddaughter Tia. So grateful they came all this way to support me. I picked up my swim to bike bag and put on my gear. Helmet, gloves, sunglasses, cycling shorts, cycling shoes and sun block. Lots and lots of sun block. 112 miles here I come. At the start of the bike I was collected. I remembered my friend John told the first few miles of the bike course was all downhill. It was a beautiful and long ride down from town. Mountains on your left and the river on your right. The scenery was breathtaking. The downhill had to be at least seven miles. On the way down I looked at my cyclometer and saw I was at 41 MPH. Better slow down. My bike is an entry level bike and may not be able to hold up all that speed. I can only imagine what could possibly happen so I started tapping the brakes lightly to kill some of the speed.
Now I knew with all the training I've done on the bike that downhill usually means uphill is coming. Let me tell you Adirondack mountain means hills. None of which were really that steep but there was a lot of long gradual inclines. By mile 35 I was a little tired but not concerned. Then the sun decided to stay out for a while. A sunny day is always nice but when you're on a bike for over 100 miles it beats you down. The last three miles of the first bike loop ends by you going up a series of hills the locals named baby bear, momma bear and papa bear. Once you reach papa bear you make a right turn that continues to climb. Tough. It was great to see Rica, Noah and John's wife Tammy on papa bear. Tammy, I could hear screaming "C'mon Vic. Get up this hill"! First loop (56 miles) of the bike done in 4:06:27.
Start of the second loop I was pretty tired but it was nice to know I now knew what to expect of the course after just completing the first loop. My main enemy at this point was the heat. It was hot. I kept hydrated as much as I could, picking up fresh bottles of Gatorade and water from the aid stations. I took my gels, sports beans and ate the packed beef jerky. By mile 70 I was faltering. It was taking everything ounce of energy to keep going. It was hard but I knew it would be. I thought of a hundred reasons to quit. The neck pain, the shoulder pain, my back hurt, my chest hurt, my forearms hurt, my legs were screaming, the heat was relentless and man those hills. Even though I thought of a hundred reasons to quit I thought of two hundred not to. You are in the Ironman! You just beat the swim. That was your biggest foe! Make this happen. Not too many people get the chance to experience this race. It's so difficult to get in. Make it count. You have so many people thinking of you and supporting you. Don't you want a good story to tell? You've worked so hard to get here. This is testing your mental and physical toughness. To the extreme. Fight it. Beat it. Yes, what is part of the day is all the pain, the suffering and even the self-doubt but what will NOT be part of the day is failure. I will not fail out here. That will not happen. Nothing will take this from me.
Mile 108 the bear hills were coming again. I was spent. The cut off for the bike in order to be allowed to run the marathon is 5:30pm. With four miles to go the time was 5:11. The last few miles I gave it all and more. I was up from the saddle making every pedal count. I crossed the finish of the second bike loop at 5:26pm. Four minutes to spare. Total bike time 8:28:11.
Marathon
Two down. One to go. At T2 I grabbed my "bike to run" bag and changed into my marathon gear. Just 26.2 mile to go and I am done this thing. Being as tired as I was, I looked forward to the run. This was my event. I survived the swim. Just completed the bike portion, okay barely, but no matter. Enjoy it now and run with pride and expectations of becoming an Ironman. The nice thing about the run was for the first time all day you finally get the chance to talk to other athletes. Although it was a little discouraging to hear someone say they are on their second loop of the run while I was on my first. I had to remind myself not to worry about anyone else's race except mine. I will get there too. Time was on my side. Barring a cramp or twisting an ankle, I will get there. Around mile five, I heard someone call my name and say "Vic, you're doing it buddy". It was John. Seeing him out in the marathon course gave me a boost. It was nice to see him.
I met and ran with Robert from Virginia for a good 5 miles. We headed back into town together as he was finishing his race and I still had one more loop to go. I was envious but encouraged that it was the home stretch for me. 13.1 miles remaining. Even though my thought was man I have to go out there again adrenaline kicked in and I went for it. Before heading out again to kill that last 13 miles I saw Rica. She said to me "You are going to be an Ironman". I gave her a hug and headed out. It was already dark so official handed out glow sticks.
My diet during the run consisted of gels, orange slices, bananas, pretzels and lots of chicken broth. I stayed hydrated with water and cola. With 6 miles to go I met Dan from Montreal. On his shirt it said "Iron Friar". Turns out he was a Franciscan friar so I respectably referred to him as Fr. Dan. I asked him how many is this for him. He said it was his 11th Ironman. I ran into Rachel who I remember meeting during the bike. She and I were doing our first. She was hanging in there.
10:30pm. 2 miles to go. I can hear the crowd in the oval just going crazy. Music was blaring. I couldn't wait to get in there. I could not wait to be called an Ironman. Two miles separated from getting that title. These last two miles were the best two miles of the race. The best two miles I've ever ran. I could not wipe the smile off my face and why should I?
Out in the street someone yelled "Vic, I've got a beer waiting for you baby". I replied back "Keep it cold for me. Let me just cross the line and I'll be right back". Another guy held a sign right in front of my face and it said “NOW YOU HAVE BRAGGING RIGHTS FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE!”
As I made my way down into the oval towards the finish a volunteer said "200 yards"! As I entered the oval I made sure my moment was mine. I made sure there was enough gap between the person in front and the person behind me. The crowd was just electric! Goosebumps.
As I crossed that finished line I heard it. I heard Mike Reilly say "VIC AGUILAR, YOU ARE AN IRONMAN"! I felt no pain. Just relief, proud and joy. I also found the answer to my question How deep is this thing? It had nothing to do with the depth of the water in Mirror Lake. Dig deep enough and you will accomplish anything you set your mind to. You just have to believe it.
This journey would have been more difficult to achieve without the help of everyone who helped me train by keeping me company and pushing me. Thinking about all the support and well wishes I received helped me great deal.
Thank you.
