Ironman Boulder

This past Sunday marked the second annual Ironman Boulder and what was supposed to be my fifth Ironman race.  However, this race would be unlike any other I have ever done as I had teamed up with +Dennis Vanderheiden and his organization, Athletes in Tandem, to pull David Gallaway, a 52 year old man with cerebral palsy, through the 140.6 mile race.

But to get the entire story, I need to back up to last September.  That was when I made the decision to register for Ironman Boulder.  My intentions were to train hard with the other northern Colorado triathletes who were going to compete (there were plenty of them!) and try to PR.  Unfortunately, just a few weeks after registering, I was notified that I had been tagged for a year long mobilization with the Navy that was supposed to start this past June in Djibouti, Africa.  Thinking that I wouldn't be around to race this summer, my training took a back seat to everything else that was going on and by the time my orders were cancelled in May, I knew my original plan was no longer possible.

T1 Setup

That's when I contacted Dennis and he told me he had an athlete in mind he could pair me up with for the Ironman.  In preparation for this past weekend, I pulled another AiT athlete, Zack, at several of the +Green Events Horsetooth Tri Training events where we would swim 1500m and then run a 5k.  I also pulled Zack at the Carter Lake Crossing, a 3 mile swim event in Loveland.  Because of these events, I went into Sunday's race confident I could make it through the swim and the run, but was really nervous about making the bike cutoff as the race would be the first time I would pull the trailer behind the bike.

Friday

Due to commitments with work, I wasn't able to make it down to Boulder to register until late Friday afternoon.  By the time I finally arrived at the Ironman Village, Dennis and his athlete, PJ, and David were all waiting for me in the registration tent.  That process went quickly and then Dennis gave me the raft for the swim and the bike and run trailers to check in the next day.  Then it was off to the hotel to TRY to get a good night's sleep.  I say try because the room my parents and I got only had one bed and a pull-out couch...guess who got the pull-out!

Thanks Patrick Ray for helping Dennis
and I get everything ready

Saturday

Saturday morning, I got up relatively early and headed down to Boulder Reservoir to get in a quick ride and check in my bike and trailer.  As soon as I started my ride, I knew my concerns about making the bike cutoff were warranted.  I could feel the drag and extra weight up every little incline...and David wasn't even in it!  However, I told myself to take it out slow the next day and I would be able to get through it just fine.  I then checked in my bike/trailer and headed over to T2 to check in my run gear and run stroller.

Later that afternoon, my parents and I headed over to +Jonathan Mason's In-Laws house who allowed all the MP Multisport athletes to gather there for a pre-race dinner.  After plenty of food and drink, it was back to the hotel to get to bed early...I got the bed that night!

Sunday

Sunday morning came way too fast and before I knew it, it was time to meet Dennis, PJ, and David at the shuttle pick-up at 5am.  Unfortunately, PJ and David arrived a bit late so by the time we got to the reservoir, Dennis and I were running around like crazy to make sure we had everything ready to go. Luckily, my parents and +Patrick Ray were there to assist with the logistics and we finally got everything ready to go right as the gun was going off.

Rafts ready to go

Swim:  Because we were so late getting everything ready, Dennis, PJ, David and I had to start in the very back and were pretty much the last athletes to enter the water.  This made for a frustrating swim as it's pretty difficult to maneuver through a crowd of 3,000+ swimmers while towing a raft.  There were a few times we had to stop to let people untangle themselves from the ropes.  But it was pretty cool passing people the entire 2.4 miles.  As we exited the water, Patrick and Jessica (David's caretaker) were there to meet us and transfer David from the raft to the bike trailer and I was off to the change tent to get ready for the bike.

Swim Finish

Off on the swim...

Trying to find David!

T1:  Here is where the trouble started.  As I exited the change tent, I looked around and couldn't find David so I assumed he was waiting at the bike rack.  However, when I got to my bike, he wasn't there either.  I then ran to the bike exit and waited a few minutes but again, he didn't show up.  I then decide to run up the hill to the bike mount line to see if he was up there.  Again, he was nowhere to be seen.  Then about 20 minutes later, I finally found Patrick and he called me back down to transition, where I finally got David and the trailer hooked to my bike.

Beautiful Bike Ride

Bike:  As we started out on the bike, I settled into a pretty easy pace and just focused on spinning at a high cadence and trying not to push too hard on the hills.  I also knew the heat would play a major factor during the day so I tried to hydrate and eat a lot during the early miles.  I can't even begin to describe how great the volunteers, spectators and other athletes treated us.  We were cheered on by just about everyone who went by us and I looked back a few times to see David with a big smile on his face.  He also kept himself entertained by playing with the plastic on the side of the trailer.  Before long it was time to stop at Aid Station 3 where we were supposed to meet Jessica so she could feed David.  Unfortunately, she couldn't make it there due to the traffic and road closures.  So after a quick phone call, we decided just to meet at the next aid station.  When we finally met up, it was nice to get off the bike for a minute to stretch my legs and back and Dennis even provided David and I with vests dipped in ice water to help keep us cool (best idea ever!).  Back on the road, we started our second loop of the bike course but the heat and extra weight from the trailer were taking their toll.  At the next aid station, I stopped to get some food and ate a banana and had a quick chat with one of the great volunteers.  However, as soon as we started riding again, I knew things were not good.  I got really nauseous and just a few minutes later the banana came right back up.  I rode a bit further but realized that I wasn't going to be able to keep any food down and that chances were slim that we would make the bike cutoff, so I pulled over and called it a day.

It was definitely a huge disappointment that I couldn't get David to the finish but the fact that he was still smiling when he was being lifted out of the trailer made me feel a bit better (although he may have just been happy to finally be getting out of the trailer!).  I've even started looking at other races I can do with David so that he can finally cross that finish line.  Sunday was a tough day but it was also a good learning experience and I am very happy to have been a part of it.  While neither Dennis nor I were able to finish this past weekend, you can bet we will both be out there again and I would encourage anyone who is interested to contact Dennis to see how you can help.  Until next time, Work Hard, Don't Stop!

Still happy even though we didn't make it

My 2 biggest supporters