Bill's IMAZ Race Report

IRONMAN ARIZONA APRIL 2008
by Bill Crews

Friday, April 11, 2008
Today we started the day by having breakfast. I had yogurt and grapefruit. We then went to our room to get ready for a swim in Tempe Town Lake. The swim started at 8:00 a.m. We arrived a little early. It still amazes me all the different sizes and shapes of people who do endurance events. You could tell that some of the people were a little nervous. We put our wetsuits on, then checked our bag at the Gatorade Bag Check and headed toward the water. I had promised D-S that I would keep an eye on her, so we got in together.

The water was a cool 65 degrees. That officially is the coldest water I have swam in. At first I could not put my face into the water. However, after about 100 yards, I was comfortable in the cold. We went out about 500 yards from the swim exit. I kept sighting on Dana-Sue during this time. Then we turned back toward the exit. Dana-Sue told me to go on ahead. I was able to get into a rhythm heading back. It felt really good.

We headed back to the hotel to change. It was then that I shaved my legs. The last time I shaved my legs was for the State Championship in swimming in El Paso. So this felt a bit strange. After had finished showering, we headed off to Target for a few necessities. Then we had lunch at California Pizza. After lunch, we headed back to the hotel to change the batteries in our bike computers. We then took the bikes on a quick three mile spin to make sure everything worked correctly. My bike felt smoother than it has in weeks.

After the bike, we headed off to the expo to do some more shopping. Jon and Jill met up with us about 2:30 p.m. They had just arrived from Denver. They checked in, did some shopping, then we all headed over to Iron Prayer. This event is sponsored by FCA Endurance. It was truly inspirational as we heard several testimonies. This may actually be where it hit me that this is so much bigger than just 140.6 miles and me. A key phrase that I think I will carry with me on race day is LGLG- Let go and Let God. After all, He is in charge of it all.

After Iron Prayer, we went to the athlete banquet. This is where I finally met Frank Farrar face to face. He is such an awesome person. I look forward to getting to know him better. After dinner, we met up with Mark Teft from The Woodlands. We talked for quite a while. I found it amusing that he was registered as part of the Colombian team. After dinner we walked back to our hotel for a good night’s sleep.

Saturday, April 12, 2008
We got up this morning and had a little breakfast. We then headed to the Athlete Village and transition area to check in our bikes and transition bags. After this, we took it easy. I got my haircut. Then we ate some pasta and headed back to the hotel to rest. All during the day, Dana-Sue was extremely tired. This worried me quite a bit knowing the immensity of what was ahead. We went to bed early, but I did not sleep much as I became more nervous about race day.

Saturday, April 13
At 3:45 the alarm went off for me to go get Dana-Sue some coffee. I made my way downstairs where the lobby was beginning to fill with triathletes. I ordered a triple mocha and poured D-S a cup of coffee. Back in the room, we got dressed in our tri suits. I chose to wear my TNT suit. This was a good choice as the cheers I received on the bike helped me make it through the roughest ride of my life. We left the hotel at 5:00 to head over to transition. Once we arrived at the race site, we dropped off our special needs bags. These bags are placed at the half-way point on the bike and on the run. You can put anything in there you think you might need at that point. With my luck with flats, I put an extra tube and CO2 cartridge and some medical tape for my legs just in case an injury from a few weeks ago flared up. Next we went to our bikes to air up the tires and put on our wetsuits. Then we sat together and waited for our turn to get in the water for the start of the race. It was a beautiful morning.

Once the officials let us walk down to the water, I stood on the dock and waited until I was ready to get in. once the pros started at 6:45 I jumped in the water and swam about 100 yards to where I intended to start the race. I knew that I would not see Dana-Sue again until sometime on the bike, so I said a quick prayer for her swim. The last open water swim she did, she cramped up bad and I did not want that happening to her again. with about five minutes before the start of the race, we sang the national anthem. This started my emotions flowing. I realized that I was about to start the biggest race of my life. Once the cannon sounded, it was a mad dash of swimmers starting a 2.4 mile swim. For once I did not have trouble staying on course. I was able to stay close to the buoys. A couple of times my legs felt like they were going to cramp. This was just a reminder for me to pray for Dana-Sue. It was such a relief to turn at the last buoy and see the exit ramp for the swim.

Once out of the water, I looked at my watch and saw 1:18. That was pretty much what I expected. I knew at that moment that I could do this. Going in to T1, they had people there to pull your wetsuit off. Once that was done, I headed to pick up my T1 bag and went into the changing tent. I sat down and started pulling out my items one at a time. I put on my shoes, socks, race number, helmet and sunglasses. And off I went to get covered in sun screen. I then had to run to the complete other end of transition to get my bike.

Once on my bike, I just soaked in the noise of the crowd and the shouts of “Go Team” as I headed out of Tempe Beach Park. The adrenaline was really pumping. Then it hit me. I was headed up hill into the wind. I was going at a blazing 14 mph. I knew it was going to be a real long day if that was all the speed I could get. All week long the weather forecast called for heat with little to no wind. Here it was hot with heavy wind. One lesson I learned also, was drive the course. It was up hill the first 18 miles. A turn around never looked as good as the turn around on the Beeline Highway. I averaged between 12 and 13 mph on the first 18 miles. Then came the down hill with the wind at my back. I flew down the hill hitting 30 mph at times. I will admit the miles 18-36 were the most fun on the bike. Then I started back up the hill into the wind. Somewhere halfway up the hill, both my tendonitis in my Achilles and my calf injury started acting up. I had to stop twice and get off the bike to stretch out. I started longing for my special needs bag which had Advil and athletic tape in it.

Once again, at the turnaround, I started flying down the hill. This time I stopped for my special needs bag. I had not had a flat, so all I took was the Advil and the tape. As I sat down to put the tape on my leg, it must have blown away because the tape was now no where to be seen. What that meant was I was about to have to do 56 more miles with my tendonitis flaring up. I jumped back on my bike and continued downhill, thanking God that I only had to make one more trip up the hill. The really good thing about the bike course was that on each of the loops I saw Dana-Sue. She was only five miles behind me and looking really good. Her fear had been making the bike cutoff. I knew that she was going to make it just by the fact of where she was in relation to me.

As for the third loop, the wind actually let up a little so going up was a little easier than the second loop. I coasted down the hill, not pushing myself as I had plenty of time and the goal was to finish injury free. I was so happy to pull back into Tempe Beach Park and hand my bike off. I ran to get my T2 bag and headed into the changing tent. As I walked in, it looked like a war zone. There were men lying on the ground and sitting in chairs with their heads hung low. The heat had already taken its toll on many.

I picked a chair that was away from most of the people. Someone brought me water and sat and talked to me as I slowly poured out the contents of my T2 bag. This bag contained more Advil, my running socks, shoes and Luke’s running shirt. I took off my tri top and put on my running shoes. I took the Advil and then left the tent.

The run consisted of three loops. I began the first loop at 4:30 p.m. in the Arizona heat. At least it wasn’t windy. First stop was at the first aid station to get water and chicken broth. I knew I had 7 ½ hours to finish. I also knew Dana-Sue wasn’t far behind me. I had left word with one of the volunteers in transition to tell her I was just ahead of her. I took my time the first few miles seeing if she would catch up. I finally saw her when I was at about mile 7 and she was at mile 4.5. I asked if she wanted me to wait. She told me to go on ahead. I kept going and kept a 15 minute mile pace. I knew that was a pace that I could keep comfortably and still finish before midnight. I kept watching for Dana-Sue, but would not see her again until after I had finished.

During the run, I talked to many people. It became a social time going from aid station to aid station. I was amazed at the number of people who were doubled over vomiting on the run course. The heat and wind took its toll on the athletes. For all three loops I maintained between 13 and 15 minute miles. Once I saw the 25 mile marker, a burst of energy filled me. I actually started jogging fast. Emotions once again flooded me as I turned the corner and saw the finish chute. I actually started crying as Mike Riley said, “41-year-old Bill Crews from The Woodlands, You are an Ironman.” I did it. I finished the biggest race I’ve ever been in. All I can say is “Glory to God” for giving me the strength to endure to the finish.