Prairie Man 70.3 Half Iron Race Report

I will preface my report with a recap of the past 3 months leading up to this race, then you can truly understand how much this race meant to me. 13 weeks ago, I was on an operating table being cut open from one side of my body to the other to remove 11 pounds of excess skin I had been lugging around since my significant weight loss. I was cut at the waist from one hip to the other with an extended "Tummy Tuck", Chest Reconstruction via Male Mastopexy, Hernia Repair, and Pubic Lift. This MAJOR Surgery had me down for the count and was restricted / banned from excercise for 8 weeks. Recovery was slow, but the off time was worth the wait! This means I went from doing nothing to prepairing for a Half Iron Triathlon in 4 weeks! I trained my butt off and got myself ready for this race. My mind was in a GREAT place, and I was feeling awesome. My surgery WAS WORTH IT!!! Now, on to the race...

The alarm rings at 3am, I JUMP out of bed and begin thinking through my race preperation, being sure to have all of my items needed for the race, my strategy, nutrition, etc... After double and triple checking everything I set out at 4:30am to drive to the race. It was a balmy 82 degrees PLUS Humidity at 5:30am, and we all knew we were all in for a "Doozey". The water temperature was reported at 88* so obviously, wetsuits were NOT allowed. There was a SPRINT Triathlon at this race too, and they started before we did at 7am. After getting transition set up, picking up my timing chip, and taking a quick warm up swim in the lake, I made my way to the shore to watch the start of the Sprint. As I find some grass to stand on, my feet start "Stinging". I look down... YEP, an ant hill!!! I got chewed on and my foot was red, blistered and on fire. I dust off the ants, make my way to the water, and all is well. I AM AWAKE NOW!!!! As the Sprint starts, the race director, Jack Weiss, begins to prep us for the race. I was totally filled with excitement! During the race breifing, a cool dude makes his way through the crowd and asks me if I was "That Guy" in Competitor Magazine that had lost all that weight... I said, yeah, that's me... He went on to tell me what an inspiration I was to him and he told me how he clipped that article out and shared it with his fellow employees the day after he got the magazine. That was so awesome. (He said he recognized my big leg tattoo, that's how he figured it was me)

As the breifing ends, I thank my new found friend for his kind words, and then we began lining up. I was in the 3rd wave out of 4 and was filled with anticipation. My goal was to swim an easy, smooth pace, conserve for the bike and run, have a strong bike, and get through the run. As I make my way into the water to start, the race director yells "30 Seconds to go"!!! It then hits me that I JUST had MAJOR Surgery and this was going to be an epic day, regardless of my time. Then.... "10 Seconds!!!" ... "3,2,1..." BANGGGGG and we are off!!! It's on...

The swim was smooth, uneventful, and VERY pleasant. I did not push my pace, but I did not slack either. My total swim time was 40:27 for this 1.2 mile swim, which is pretty slow for me, but judging from the swim splits posted across the board, I believe the course was a little long. The TOP finishers barely broke 30 minutes (which is RARE) and I had the FASTEST swim split in my division. I make my way out of the water, and have a pretty good jaunt to my bike across pavement riddled with nagging gravel that enjoyed embeding itself in my foot! I get all my preperations for the bike dialed in and head out...

The bike course was relatively flat with a few rollers and some "false flats", it kind of reminded me of Ironman Orlando 70.3's bike course, except for the fact that this one had 4 loops. My goal was to negative split each loop, which I believe I did. My goal was to have an overall average on the bike between 20-21 MPH, which I DID!!!! 20.5MPH to be exact, and after 2:44:59 on my bike through this 56 mile ride, I could not be happier! By this time the heat had really picked up, around 95 degrees plus humidity, which basically told me I was in for a world of hurt on this run!!! Back into transition, put on the running swag and head out.

The run... oh boy... THE RUN... This might also be known as the "walk of the living dead"! As I leave transition and begin to run, it becomes VERY appearent that my core temperature was red lining, and I HAD to get it down. The most brutal part of this 13.1 mile run you might ask? The 3.5 mile out and back (7 miles total) across a black asphalt dam, with NO shade at all!!! BRUTAL!!! INHUMAN!!! DOWN RIGHT NASTYYYYY!!! So, me being the genius that I am, and being the bald-headed man I am, put 2 + 2 together and somehow came up with the brilliant plan to wear a visor on the run instead of the hat. I knew my newly aquired tan line on my head would make for an interesting topic for discussion at the presentation I was to give to 50 of my colleagues the next day, so I had to find a resolution. I found a towel on the ground at about mile 2. I pick it up, slap it on my head, put my visor over it, and "Ta Dah" problem solved! It turns out they used towels instead of sponges here and thankfully there was an aid station at every mile marker!!! Even with stuffing my front and back with ice and towel and dousing my head with cold water, and shoving ice under my towel / hat, I could NOT cool down... The pace began to slow, but I HAD to stop at every station to re-ice and hydrate, otherwise I would have probably killed over! I kept a slow and steady pace between aid stations and was only reduced to a walk 2 times between aid stations. EVERYONE looked like they were about to meet their maker... The FASTEST run split was over 7 minute p/mile average, which is not super fast for a race like this. This was a suffer fest, but I was game and hung in there! I was so thankful to sense the finish line. The heat index had to be around 105+ and it was truly a struggle to finish. As I round the final turn, I hear the music, see the finish and try to finish with whatever I had left. I got through this run in 2:52:43, which is about the slowest time I have ever posted on a run at 13 minute miles, but I could not be more proud. Looking at the run splits across the board, EVERYONE struggled and the times DO NOT LIE, they were all slow. It was flat out, a BRUTAL finish to a GREAT race, but I could not be happier.

Throughout my entire journey, I have found the GREATEST satisfaction in the races or training sessions that I just felt like QUITING, but didn't. This was no exception! At mile 2 of the run, I rounded a corner and saw my car in the distance and truly thought about just packing it in and heading home, I won't lie, but... I DIDN'T!!!! And, I am so thankful that I did not. While my run time was not what I hoped it would be, my TOTAL time was good enough to win 2nd place in my division! WHAT??? Yup, Like I said, a TOTAL suffer fest for everyone. So, that just goes to show you, all you can do is your best, which can vary from day-to-day depending on elements, health, conditions, terrain, etc... And then hold your head high knowing you gave it your all at the end. At the end of the day, I know I tried my best, had a solid swim, an excellent bike, and a run that was not fast, but almost equally as gratifying as running a 1:40 half marathon in 60 degree weather! I am so grateful to live the life I do. I am the luckiest man in the world to have such a wonderful wife that loves, supports, and encourages me, and always pushes me to be the best! For my wonderful kids who I love more than any words could express, and for the watchful eye my Heavenly Father always has on me. I will be the first to EVER admit that the things I have done along this journey, I have not done alone, and I could not have done it with ALL of you! The strength to get me through races, training, and life DOES NOT come from the strength in my muscles, joints, or tendons, it comes from the strength in my heart, the fighting will I have to never be 400 pounds again, and for the simple fact that I touch peoples hearts when I show them ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE!!! As I reached the finishing line, a young man who was a VERY solid Triathlete leaned over to remove my timing chip, after doing so, he stood up, looked me in the eye, and said "You are that guy who lost a ton of weight aren't you?" I said yes bro, I am, he told me I was his hero... I choked back a few tears, reflected on who I am, what I have done, and then proceeded to remove all my running garb from my body as I made my way to the lake to sit a soak in the "Cool" 88 degree water... It truly felt like an Ice Bath!!!

In closing, a simple line from one of my favorite movies "What we do in life ECHOES through Eternity". Thank you all for your friendship, love, support, encouragement... Every mile I run, I carry every kind word with me in my heart...

Your Friend,
Dan