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Beach 2 Battleship: how to do an ironman with a broken wheel

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At Wrightsville Beach before the 2012 PPD Beach 2 Battleship

This past weekend, my roughly three-year journey to go from absolutely no racing experience to completing a full 140.6-mile iron distance triathlon came to an end in downtown Wilmington, N.C. when I crossed the finish line of the 2012 PPD Beach 2 Battleship.

It was in some ways both the hardest and the most amazing day of my life and while my finishing time of 14 hours 38 minutes and 1 second was way slower than I was expecting as anybody who has survived an iron will tell you anytime across that finish line that counts is a good time.

I also learned some valuable lessons and have many people to thank for getting me every step of the 140.6 miles to the finish line, not the least of which is the organizing company that puts on the type of races that every triathlete should get a taste of if they get a chance to see what a well organized race is capable of being.

The Beach 2 Battleship is the second race I’ve done where the organizing company, Setup Events, has been involved. They made a point in the pre-race meeting of saying how the folks running the show, in particular Race Director Jeremy Davis, have raced the distance before and know what the average triathlete needs.

That has clearly shown in every detail of the race from the blog where triathletes could discuss and answer each others questions to the thought put into choosing the locations and choosing a date to maximize the incoming tide and make the one-way 2.4 mile swim lightning fast. My one hour swim time for that leg will likely stand as my permanent personal record and had me flying out of the water and onto the bike.

I spent months training for my first iron and trying to plan every detail and Davis thought of an took care of potential issues I hadn’t even fathomed. It is as well run and as smooth of a race as could possibly be held taking all the stress off the athlete so they can just focus on chewing up the distance.

I have to offer a special thank you to the volunteers, in particular one crafty volunteer at the bike special needs stop located at mile 55 of the 112 mile bike course who saved my race. I owe you man. After two hours of smooth biking right at my planned pace of 17 miles per hour I started to feel like the bike was fighting me and it was hard to pedal. At first I chalked it up to the headwinds we faced all day long on the bike but when I got to special needs I found that the back wheel of my beloved bicycle “Francine” had become bent somehow and was rubbing against my back brake pads.

The quick thinking volunteers helped me hold my bike up and remove the back brake pads and then when one of my spokes snapped the guy dug out of piece of yellow duct tape and helped my tape the spoke together. Although the bike was wobbly, had no back brakes and I had to keep stopping and checking the duct tape the repairs were enough to get me to the end of the bike so I could chew up the grueling marathon run. I never got his name but to that volunteer thank you.

On the two-loop marathon run course the volunteers and the other runners struggling just as hard as I was to run and at most points as the race wore on struggling just to keep walking were what kept me going. I have been in some very poorly planned and poorly stocked races where the aid stations had next to nothing (Last Year’s Palm Beach Marathon running out of water comes to mind) so it was a wonderful feeling to see every aid station fully stocked with water, HEED, Hammer Gel, bananas, oranges, cookies, Cliff Bars, salt pills, cola and chicken broth. Seriously it was like a buffet line and I never asked for something and was told they had run out. Thank you.

Finally, even though it was late at night and all the best triathletes had long since finished, when I came down that last hill (Wilmington is nowhere near as pancake flat as advertised) as I ran the last couple of miles to the finish even though it was past 10 p.m. and I’d long since given up on my time goals the crowd lining the street was still huge and still cheering loudly for me and the feeling when the announcer called my name as I crossed the finish line was everything I thought it would be and worth the last six months or so of grueling training in the summer Florida heat.

Afterwards, Setup Events supreme planning and having volunteers who actually knew what they were doing made finding my girlfriend Jackie and my parents, getting all four of my transition and special needs bags back and getting my bike back out of the Wilmington Convention Center such as breeze that by 11 p.m. I was eating pizza.

To Jeremy Davis and Setup Events and all the volunteers thank you so much. All I can say is if you are looking to do your first full iron, DO THIS RACE. I don’t care that it is not held by the officially branded ironman company. The condition of the race is worth more than the m-dot label. It is worth the drive to Wilmington as the weather conditions and the course are perfect. Next year’s Beach 2 Battleship is Oct. 26, 2013 and registration opens next week on Nov. 1.

Setup Events is also coming to Florida for the first time in January to hold the Bone Island Triathlon full iron and half iron races in Key West on Jan. 12, 2013. After my two experiences with Setup Events I highly recommend doing the Bone Island as well. Everything from the conditions to the planning is likely to make it one of the most enjoyable races in Florida and I hope it becomes a regular thing. Anybody looking to do their first half iron or full iron should check this race in Key West out.

Just leave me a spot in the half iron.

I plan to spend the next year focusing on getting faster at shorter distances and I am not sure when or if I will have the desire to put my body through that much pain again. However, to all the people who got me to the start line and got me through it, my girlfriend, my family, South Florida Runs, Crossfit Delray Beach, Doghouse Cycling, On Your Mark Performance Cycling and Rachael Wood Coaching thank you. If ever decide to go through that distance again I know I will need every one of you and I know I will be doing it in Wilmington again.


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