My first Ironman, Ironman Canada, was about finishing. The race was an unknown quantity. I was fairly confident that I could finish the event because I had done the proper training but I had no idea what to expect.
My second Ironman, Great Floridian Triathlon, was about recapturing the ecstasy of the finish. I wanted the finish line “high” that I felt at Canada.
Vineman Full in 1998 was different. I wanted to go faster. At the time, the Vineman Full was still a Hawaii Ironman Qualifier – there were 25 precious slots to be given away to the top athletes in each group. There were two slots in my age group (25-29).
I remember a conversation I had with local Ironman athlete David Cascio in early 2008. He asked me if I thought I could qualify for Hawaii. “I don’t know,” I replied. “Based on last year’s times, I’ll have to go under 9:30.” In the back of my mind that became my goal – I wanted to break 9:30. I would need to drop 44 minutes off of my time at Ironman Canada.
What changed from 1997?
Probably the biggest thing I did differently was to make my training my #1 priority – at the expense of my job and my marriage. I followed the training plan that Phil and I used the prior year. A few weeks before the race, I picked up Troy Jacobson as my coach. Although he did not coach me for my build, he taught me about tapering aggressively, which I quickly learned is absolutely critical to a strong race.
I lost Phil as my training partner, which hurt me, but I was able to train with other athletes in the Reston area who were also entering on the Ironman scene – David Cascio, Jim Desrosiers, Hope Hall to name a few. I had training partners for some of the longer workouts plus continued to work out with Phil whenever possible.
The other thing that I had going for me was more “time in the saddle.” This was my fourth year in the sport and I was becoming a stronger cyclist. Phil could no longer casually drop me on hilly rides like he could when we were training for Canada. My stronger biking was evident at Vineman when I biked a 5:05 split on a technical and somewhat hilly course.
I executed my race well.
Halfway through the bike, I passed the lead group coming back on and out and back portion of the course. I was only five minutes back on the leaders. They looked surprised when they saw me.
One the run, I moved as high as 3rd place, trading places with the 3rd place runner as I passed him, watched him then accelerate past me then fade back as he could not sustain. I realized then how important mental focus and pacing are – I needed to run my own race and not worry about others. I could also psyche other athletes out by appearing more relaxed and comfortable as I casually asked them, “Hey, how’s it going?” then kept going past them.
I held onto 3rd place for a few miles before I was run down by a 39 year old athlete with about 5 miles ago. I was passed again with less than a mile to go but I let him go.
I squeezed in just under 9:30 in a time of 9:29 to secure 5th place overall, second in my age group to overall winner Peter Kotland and earning the right to take a Hawaii slot. At the awards ceremony, I declined the slot – I was not ready for Hawaii yet.
You can read more about my experiences at Vineman in my book, Full Time and Sub-Nine
This article is #3 in a series. Be sure to read the first two articles:
The series will be continued with race #4: Great Floridian in October 1999.
Live life richly and boldly!
David
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David B. Glover
Writer, Athlete, Coach and Race Director
Author of Full Time and Sub-Nine
Blog: www.davidglover.net
Business Website: www.enduranceworks.net
The Beyer Project: www.beyerproject.com
©2009 David B. Glover
Whether you're training to win a triathlon, training to finish or just need inspiration from my life journey as a cancer survivor, Navy officer and sub-nine hour Ironman triathlete, my book will inspire you to chase your dreams and live life richly and boldly.