May 23, 2010
Ryan Moll
Auburn Triathlon “Worlds Toughest Half”
Distances:
1.2 Mile Swim
56 Mile Ride
13.1 Mile Run
Total: 70.3 Miles
Friday May 21, 2010
On Friday morning, the sun was shining in
I made it to
After checking the water temps, I pulled out the Trek Madone and got it ready for my planned route. I was going to ride from the T1 transition to Railhead Park (T2) which was an 8 mile climb away. The ride was very peaceful climbing up
I returned to the car at the lake and met Lilly Carrico and her sister who was also competing in her first half iron distance triathlon. Lilly is from the LA area and this was also her first 70.3 race and like me, she was very excited for the big event. We instantly became friends and sparked up some good conversation about what to expect the day of the event and how to handle the transitions etc. She was going to head off for a swim and I was heading off to check out the rest of the bike course. Our paths would cross again soon.
After tossing the bike into the truck and checking into the hotel, I met up with Joe Luigi for a pre-race burrito dinner and then we ventured out to drive the bike course….in a hail storm. Yes, HAIL. When driving with Joe, words that came out of my mouth were “Holy $&%# when does it stop climbing” and “I’m %$#&ing dead Joe.” We took about 2 hours driving the course learning every climb, curve, aid stops and the one and only descent. God shined down on us a bit by sending a double rainbow for a little peace.
Saturday May 22, 2010
I woke up feeling good! I did some stretching and ate a monstrous breakfast at Denny’s before driving down to the lake for a warm-up swim. The water was a warm 63 degrees and very clean. I played around in the water for about 20 minutes, just enough to get some confidence for the following morning. It was the right thing to do. Vito sent a text that he was 20 minutes out and I rushed back to the hotel to meet him for lunch. A nice greasy cheeseburger was on the menu before we headed off to registration. Note to self…it would be smart to avoid the greasy cheeseburger the day before the event.
Registration was pretty confusing for a newbie like myself. We had to get race numbers, timing chips, t-shirts and a trash bag to put all of our T1 and T2 stuff in. I made the mistake of only grabbing one trash bag as I assumed it was for the wetsuit only. I had to run back later that night for the second bag.
After registration, we stuck around for Brad’s mandatory meeting where he went over the details of each portion of the race, what we should expect, where we had to be and what time we had to be there. The cutoffs were semi-generous…we needed to be finished with the ride by noon and done with out second lap of the run by 2pm for a 3:15pm finish. Nikki finally graced us with her presence with her TNT friends, all super calm as she is a 2x Ironman finisher. Brad (Race organizer) rambled on about how there are really only 2 significant climbs on the bike course and the run was generally flat. Brad is a liar!
I dropped Vito off at his truck so he could check-in at his hotel and I was off to set up my T2 bag. Fuel Belt, shoes, visor, 2 cans of V8, 1 bottle of Ensure and 2 Hammer Bars. Lilly and I decided to walk part of the run course to see what we were getting ourselves into the next day. We met under the overpass and were greeted with some broken glass on the road and graffiti on home made skateboard ramps. This course definitely has a unique touch to it. We proceeded down the hill in the opposite way we would be running to the turn where the run would actually take us downhill. There were several jabs at the fact that the run would be a steady incline to the finish of each lap. We made it down to the gravel road in the park and decided to turn around, we had seen enough of the madness and I needed to meet up with Vito and Manny for dinner.
The Auburn Brewing company was packed and we ended up eating around 7pm. The pre-race meal was an assortment of meats, cheeses and bread. I wanted to keep it light while keeping the sodium intake up to help absorb some of the hydration that I had been dumping into my system the entire day. Once dinner was done, it was off to the hotel to pump the bike tires, double check the T1 bag, triple check the T1 bag, load the car, quadruple check my checklist, set the alarm, read the Bible and pop an Ambien.
RACE DAY
May 23, 2010
My alarm was set for 3:45am in order to get to the finish for the ride to the swim start by 5:30am. I woke up in a completely euphoric state-of-mind at 1:45am. My eyes opened and I was so comfortable and suddenly a switch went off in my head and I remember what day it was. Falling back to sleep was simply not an option but I remembered something I learned that nervous energy is still energy that is being spent so I tried to keep myself as calm as possible and laid in bed until around 3:20am. Coffee and pre-race meal included 32oz water, 2 multi-vitamins, 1 bagel with a ton of Peanut Butter and one banana. Food was consumed, teeth were brushed and I was off to
Words cannot describe how cold the ride from
Swim (38:26)
I felt super confident for the swim mainly because of the sprint tri I finished a week earlier. I knew that as long as I kept calm and just ‘did my thing’ it would go smoothly and I would be relatively fast. What I wasn’t fully prepared for was Brad’s version of a seated swim start. I was in the first group to go out which was Male 45 and younger. That being said, I was lined up in the water with about 300-400 of my new best friends, all filled with anticipation and hungry to finish the swim. The gun went off and all 400 people decided to wait for a period of time that we thought was 10 seconds or so before moving forward. In reality, it took us about 3 seconds to start and I felt like a fish in a hatchery trying to fight for my food. People were bumping into each other, tons of chop in the water and no one could see more than 3 feet in front of them due to the fog.
By the time I got to the first buoy the crowd had thinned out and it was smooth swimming. I focused on my rhythm and breathing and just kept on moving. I laughed to myself a few times because I couldn’t believe that I had actually started the ½ iron distance. What was I thinking?!
The first lap took 18 minutes and thankfully the sun had started to poke out for the second lap of the course. I exited the water and crossed the mat in 38 minutes so I was on target for my equal timed laps (the start was around 50 yards from the shore and the mat was about 50 yards out of the water). Now off to T1 to get the wetsuit off and start my day of climbing.
Transition 1(5:52):
After the swim, I walked to my bike and Vito was done with the swim and nearly on his bike. He had his shoes on and was ready to go. We said Good Luck to each other and he was off (I didn’t see Vito until mile 40 but Manny passed me at mile 10). I stripped the suit pretty quickly and was ready to start putting clothes on but I couldn’t decide if I wanted arm warmers, leg warmers and the vest. A nice older lady told me I didn’t need the warmers because of the amount of climbing. Hastily, I took her advice and went out in my Tri suit and vest. I popped a salt-stick and was off.
Ride (4:17):
I made a rookie mistake of trying to fly out of T1 and hit the rolling section for the first few miles way too fast. I remember telling Vito to chill on the bike for the first 20 minutes to let your body warm up and get the muscles used to moving when he did the
The fist climb was rather fun for me. I kept a good rhythm and kept my heart rate down despite the fact that I was freezing cold, I was excited to be on the bike and on my way. In the first 6 miles, I was passed by probably 50 people which I had to keep telling myself was OK and to race my own race at the pace I knew I could handle for 56 grueling miles. I took a gel and some water on the climb to make sure I was keeping hydrated and that I had calories. By the time I got to Railhead I had started to warm up and was mentally in a very good place, then the real hills started.
We wiggled our way through town and I crushed the ‘wall of death’ climb that is over 18% but only about 300 yards long. After crossing over highway 49, there was another long sustained climb that took us out to the first aid station at mile 13. I was beat by that point already simply because my legs were blocks of ice and I had climbed for probably 12 of the 13 miles. I looked at my computer and started counting down….43 miles to go! I’m almost there.
After the first Aid Station, things were a blur thanks to the fact that I had to pee again really bad and whenever I would look at the road, I would be looking uphill so I found a smooth pace in a gear where I could spin and just plugged away. My goal was to get to the campground because I knew there was a long descent followed by a 1.6 mile climb out which would also mark the halfway point. After what seemed like a continuous climb, I saw a competitor walking the other direction, his crank-set was no longer on his bike and he seemed really frustrated. I felt bad for him; I hope he made it back to Railhead before dark.
At last I was at the bottom of the campground and at mile 28, the halfway mark. I stopped to use the restroom and got a few odd looks from the redneck folks that were hanging out at the river and I started my climb back out. I thought that 1.6 miles would be short and sweet but it felt like eternity clawing my way up the hill. The herd had really thinned out at that point and I saw some folks really starting to struggle. I saw Nikki going into the campground loop when I was pulling out. I yelled at her and don’t think she recognized me. People were motoring slowly up the climb to another short climb back out to the third Aid Station. We were then rewarded by what they said would be a smooth descent. Again, I think Brad is a beast and perhaps delusional on what he considers a descent and what is a real descent. Yes, we went downhill but then went back up, then down a little more then up a little more etc. I supposed that we must have dropped altitude but it sure didn’t feel like it.
The out and back came rather quickly, this is where the riders would take a frontage road out 2.5 miles up and 2.5 miles back down. As soon as I made the right turn onto the frontage road I was greeted with an awesome headwind. When I headed out, I saw Vito coming the other way, he was about 4 miles ahead of me at that point and he was hammering with his head down looking strong. I climbed what was probably a 3% grade at around 11 miles per hour cussing the entire time and wondering when the beating would end. 3 climbs later, I hit the turn around point and headed back. That is where the smiles hit my face. I knew there was just one climb left and then I would blast my way to the bike finish and grab shoes at T2. I took it easy on the descent and coasted through the lights thanks to the CHP folks keeping the cars under control.
I checked my watch and it was 11:00am and I had 9 miles to go. Life was good! Then I hit the “Lemond Walked” hill which is 12% for .5 miles. Under normal circumstances this would not be a problem but my legs were shot, my lungs were shot and I was exhausted. I took a gel, drank some water and hammered my way up at a very fast 4.5 mph haha. I was passed by two riders about half way up but once that climb was behind me, I had a renewed confidence that the worst was behind me. I really started hammering the hell out of the rest of the ride at speeds in the upper 20’s and probably passed 15-20 people like they were standing still. I cruised back into town and dismounted the bike with a huge smile….it was done and I made the cutoff!
Transition 2:
I needed to pee real badly but didn’t stop; I needed to get on the run because I knew that was where it would be tough. I quickly racked the bike and couldn’t get the damn transition trash bag off of the rack. I ended up ripping a hole in it like it was a Piñata and started my routine. Threw the shoes on and tossed my cycling gloves, helmet and vest into the bag. I put the fuel belt on and slammed 10oz of water with another Salt Stick. I was ready to go and ran to the run mats while slamming a V8 (thank you Jay) to relieve the cramps.
Run (3:09):
I ran out of the transition area and onto the course and surprisingly felt really strong. There were some great volunteers on the course cheering and yelling which really helped push me to move faster. The beginning of the run was a steep uphill and then a single track trail along some sort of irrigation thing for a little over a mile. I ran the entire time to the first Aid Station and was greeted by more fun volunteers who all said I was doing great and wished me good luck on my second loop. I smiled, laughed and told them it was my first loop of a very long run and that they’d have the pleasure of seeing me two more times that afternoon. They laughed and handed me some water. I ran downhill to the sharp turn and kept going, I felt surprisingly good! I ran through the second Aid Station because my strategy was to run the descents and walk the ascents. I made it all the way out to the turn around and started to run uphill to the third Aid Station. That is where the legs started to say mean things to me. I walked a bit and saw Troy Soares who I met at the Morgan Hill Sprint Tri the week before.
Lap 2 started pretty strong for a little less than a mile and then I started to cramp a bit, I was exhausted. I got to the Aid Station and they remembered me and wished me good luck on Lap #2. I think
The last lap was a tough one. I did what I knew I had to do, I took in fluids, took in salt and shortened my gate a little to be able to maintain a little speed and not toast my hams much more than they already were. I had consumed some cola on the second lap that wasn’t agreeing with my stomach at all and I wasn’t sure what to do. I needed some solid food in my system so I ate a Hammer Bar and I took more salt. The cramping increased but there wasn’t much I could do, there was NO WAY I was going to stop this far into the day. I knew I had drunk too much water and my electrolytes were being blown out of my body before they even had a chance to be absorbed by my muscles. I had to keep moving forward.
Finally, the bottom of the hill and all I needed to do was walk up 2+ miles to the finish. It was a long limp up the hill and the SCT Team at the Aid Station kept me going with their humor and encouragement. I walked to the overpass and hit the grass. The finish line was in sight, I could hear the announcer and it was the home stretch.
The Finish:
I began to get a lump in my throat as I started to job to the finish. I was making my final few hundred feet of the long 70+ mile course. I heard the announcer say “Congratulations Ryan Moll from
I crossed the line in 8 hours 10 min exhausted and broken down but not destroyed. I felt so empowered as a volunteer took my timing chip and handed me my Finishers Medal. A rush of memories came into my head. I remembered back to my first Tour de Cure century ride in 2006 when my parents came out to the start. I leaned over from the bike and told my mother I was doing this for her and that all of the people there that day were riding for her and for other people who had diabetes. Just 4 short years after my introduction to endurance sports, I had just completed an Ironman 70.3.
Throughout the tough points in the race on Sunday May 23, 2010, I was reminded why I train, what makes me want to go on long painful rides when my friends are sitting at the beach or going to the movies, why I endure the pain of a long run, what keeps me pressing on when I want to sit down and give up. It is my mother who has had diabetes for over 46 years and my father for whom I do this for.
Another milestone had been met with 15 weeks to go until the 2010 Louisville Ironman!
Donations to the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation for the 2010 Louisville Ironman can be made here:
| Statistics: |
| Swim: 38 minutes 26 seconds |
| Pace: 32:02 mile |
| |
| Bike: 4 hours 17 minutes |
| Pace: 4:36 mile |
| |
| Run: 3 hours 9 minutes |
| Pace: 14:26 mile |
| |
| Total: 8 hours 10 minutes |
| |
| Nutrition: |
| 8,800 calories burned |
| 2,570 calories consumed |
| |
| Swim: |
| 1 Hammer Gel |
| 1 Salt-stick |
| Total |
| Total Sodium: 245 mg |
| |
| Ride: |
| 3 Bottles Ensure |
| 4 E-Gel |
| 3 Hammer Gel |
| 1 Hammer Bar |
| 7 Salt Stick |
| 48oz water |
| Total |
| Total Sodium: 3,128 mg |
| |
| Run: |
| 1 V8 |
| 2 E-Gel |
| 2 Hammer Gel |
| 1 Hammer Bar |
| 5 Salt Stick |
| 40oz water |
| 3 oz cola |
| 8oz Cytomax |
| Total |
| Total Sodium: 1,833 mg |
