Exhausted but Exhilarated on
Alii Drive

By FRED GOSS

There really is
no way to describe Ironman World Championship in Kona. You just have to be there. It is the pinnacle of triathlon. Some 45,000 people do an Ironman race each year; only 1,800 qualify for Kona.

In the week before the race, Kona is totally focused
on the Ironman. Everywhere you look, you see fit-looking athletes of all ages from all over the world biking, running or swimming. The hundreds of stores in the town are selling every Ironman-logo product imaginable. The town is full of tourists, but the Ironmen are the stars.

We arrived on the Big Island on Wednesday. My whole family came with us, including our three grandkids, our daughter and her husband, my brother and Nancy’s sister. We stayed south of town at the Sheraton Keauhou. Absolutely the fanciest place we have ever stayed. Our room overlooked the ocean. The pool meandered through the hotel. You could actually do a decent swim; but it was also very kid-friendly. I would have preferred to arrive several days earlier so I could have acclimated better, but it worked better for all of us to travel together. It was hot and humid, but the weather wasn’t as bad as I’d heard it had been previous years. Or so I thought.

My main focus in the two days before the race was to rest up and get ready. I had several friends at Kona but only saw two briefly. Wednesday, I registered and went to the athletes’ meeting; Thursday, I swam with Nancy in the harbor and did a short bike ride on the Queen Ka’ahumanu highway; Friday, I took my bike and transition bags to the start and did some shopping with Nancy. Other than that, I spent most of the time at the hotel resting or hanging out at the pool with family.

Saturday, I got up at 0345 and had my usual pre-race meal of an energy drink. I did my race visualization and some stretching. By 5 am I was headed into town. My son in law drove me and fellow athlete and funny man Dick Nordquest to the start. This was to be Dick’s 55th Ironman and 20th at Kona.

The race is centered at the pier in Kona, which is more compact than it appears on television. Prerace organization is meticulous with enough volunteers to assist each athlete. We went through body marking and then headed to the bike racks to put my bottles and nutritionals on my bike. I saw my friends Kevin Purcell and David Kerr briefly. As I was waiting around and just soaking up the atmosphere in the early dawn, Dick was sneaking around trying to “adjust” my bike.

After the pros took off at 0645, the age groupers entered the water. This would be my first IM swim without a wetsuit. The water temperature felt like the low 80’s with swells from the west; we would swim 1.2 miles south to the turnaround boat then back.

At 0700 sharp, the cannon went off and we were on our way! I bided my time at the back of the pack and drafted as much as I could all the way out and back. I got punched and kicked a few times. My goggles fogged up about halfway to the turnaround so I had difficulty seeing marker buoys but there were hundreds of swimmers in front of me to follow as well as course monitors on surf boards. I was careful not to swallow any sea water. After the turnaround I picked up the pace and began passing people. I was moderately tired when I got to the swim exit but felt I’d done a strong swim. I was surprised that it took me 1:40. That was 20 minutes longer than my slowest IM swim to date. I guess a wetsuit does make a difference! I found out later that most of the field swam slowly, probably because of the swells. No big deal. My only goal was to finish! Still, it was somewhat surprising to find only a handful of bikes left in the racks.

After seven minutes in the transition area, I headed out on the bike! My family was there to cheer me on at the start gate. I was so excited that my heart rate had climbed to over 80%!! I settled down and got back to my target HR. I still had about 111 miles to go!! After a long loop through town, we headed north to Hawi through the lava fields along Queen K Highway. It was overcast and the temperature was in the mid to high 80’s but the dreaded winds were absent. (Some years they get up to 60 miles an hour! I have had friends blown off their bikes!). But this being the Ironman World Championship, the weather had to get us somehow: this year it was the humidity. I kept my HR at 75-78% and made sure I was taking in more water than I had in my last two Ironmen so I would not be dehydrated on the run. After 30 miles or so we turned off the Queen K and began the climb to Hawi. It was fairly easy going with no serious climbs; mostly long rollers. About half way to Hawi we had a 15 minute downpour. My feet got soaked and that proved to be my downfall later, though the rain felt refreshing at the time.

About 15 miles from Hawi, I saw the first pros heading back to Kona, followed by the main pack of age groupers. At that point I realized just how far behind I was. I finally made it to Hawi, an old Hawaiian village with a cute little business area where the turnaround is located.

Coming back from Hawi, the road is downhill. I did some quick calculations and figured that at the pace I was going – 25 mph – I just might catch that pack I’d seen going the other way. But this is Kona and reality quickly returned. After twenty minutes or so of downhill, the rollers resumed. Around mile 70, the humidity hit me. I had been keeping my HR at 75-78% but now it began to drop. The soles of my feet began to burn as well, making it difficult to keep steady pressure on the pedals. As I slowed down, many of the riders I had passed began passing me. I would have liked to keep up, but I still had a marathon to “run.”

The last 40 miles seemed to take forever. My feet were burning, my legs were getting tired, and more people were passing me. When I finally got back on the Queen K headed back to town, I saw the lead pros on the run, already headed to the finish. I kept on cranking the pedals and finally reached the short downhill leading back to the transition area. Time on the bike: 6:42:30. I handed my bike to a volunteer and walked to pick up my run bag. My feet were very tender but the long walk made my legs feel better.

After putting on my shoes and hat, I headed out again. Only 26.2 miles to go!! My family was still there to cheer me on. That really lifted my spirits. My coach and I had decided I’d run as much as I could, even if it meant taking only baby steps. In my last few IMs I’ve let fatigue affect me mentally. We did some training after Ironman Canada to deal with this and I felt prepared to take on this run. I ran as soon as I crossed the run start. I was totally surprised how quickly my legs came around. My feet were very tender and perhaps even blistered, but I wanted to give it a go anyway. But a mile later I became nauseated and threw up twice. It was the killer humidity. (After the race, I met Natasha Badman – she has won this race six times – and she said this was the worst humidity she had seen.) Our perfect weather in Oakland did not prepare me for this!

From that point on I walked most of the way. Whenever I ran, my legs felt great, but soon the humidity would get me and I would start to feel queasy again. After a 10-mile loop down Alii Drive and back through town, we headed back out onto the Queen K and those lovely lava fields. Just before the turn to run uphill to the highway, my family was there cheering once again.

It started getting dark around 6 pm and I still had a long way to go. Walk …jog…walk…jog. I was slowly approaching the last turnaround waaaay out by the airport. My feet were killing me, but whenever I ran, my legs felt great. By now my mental fortitude was pretty much gone. I though of all the people who were pulling for me, many of whom I’d never met before. Just knowing that my family and all my Ironman friends – and Nancy’s friends on the Oprah website – were pulling for me and concerned about my well-being was comforting. I finally made the turnaround in the Energy Lab at mile 18 and began the long slog back to the finish.

It was VERY dark now on the Queen K. I could see traffic lights in the distance and was trying to figure out which ones signaled Palani Drive which meant I had only a couple of miles to go. At long last, there they were!! I just wanted to get this over with. I started running three or four miles out. As I turned toward the final mile, my cheering section was there once again. I was feeling better now but my feet were on fire.

For years I have heard about crossing the finish line on Alii Drive. And here I was, headed for my very first finish on the same course that has created some of the greatest legends in triathlon. I kept looking behind me to make sure on one was gaining on me. At last, I made the final turn onto Alii. It was dark along this part of the course but there were hundreds of people milling about, many of them athletes who had finished long ago and were headed back to wherever they were staying. And then an amazing thing happened. These folks stood aside as I came by and started applauding! The people on the sidewalks were cheering!

Then I hit the flood lights just before the finish. The crowds in the stands started cheering! For me! I felt a big smile spread across my face. I saw the finish line. I was going to make it! I had run the Course of Legend in 14:58:10. I was now truly an Ironman.

Fred Goss is a 62-year old attorney, specializing in civil litigation and trial work. He completed his first Ironman in 2000 at IM California and has since done eight more, including Kona. He qualified for the IM World Championship with a 2nd place finish in his age group at Ironman Canada. Fred has been doing marathons for 30+ years and triathlons since 1982. He has been his own swimming coach, aided by TI books and DVDs.

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