Brian Schmitz, you’re an Ironman! Those words are few; but for me they represent the culmination of more than a year of so many life-changing happenings. It was on July 20, 2008, at Ironman USA Lake Placid, that I realized my goal of completing an Ironman triathlon.
My reasons for doing an Ironman were simple. I wanted to prove that an adventure racer–who was NOT born from triathlon–could complete one of the toughest triathlons around. But, more importantly, I wanted to share with my family what I love most: endurance racing. My family constantly hears me talk wildly about my adventure racing; but I’ve always felt they never really understood or appreciated what goes into adventure racing or the other running and cycling racing I do. Inviting them to come watch an adventure race, I realized, would be difficult (we all know the reasons). But, having them watch a triathlon seemed easy. Three sports: swim, bike, and run; one day and one central location on which all three sports converge to be watched: a transition area.
The choice of triathlon was easy: Ironman USA Lake Placid. Ironman is the longest triathlon distance out there. Lake Placid is one of the toughest courses on the circuit and it’s in New York, a place in which most of my family grew up and now lives.
What made this choice difficult, though, was the timing. This race would follow Primal Quest Montana by a little over two weeks. Yikes!! I wrestled with this decision and eventually decided the timing was actually right for both. Yea, I most likely wouldn’t be at my best and healthiest for Ironman due to being worked-over at Primal Quest. So, because of that, I decided early on that my goal for Ironman would be simple and realistic: finish the race and have a great time with the family. And I did both and relished every moment of it!
The year leading up to race day was packed with training and prep for both Ironman and Primal Quest. My training strategy for both was to layer an intense Ironman training regimen under lots of skills development for Primal Quest. This essentially meant during each week I was doing bricks and two-a-days of swimming, cycling, and running Monday through Thursday. The weekends were both long workouts, races and/or Primal Quest skills training (whitewater kayaking and swimming, riverboarding, ropes and climbing, first aid, navigation). I also added a couple of shorter triathlon races for a good measure. This routine started late last summer, continued through the winter (with a little downtime in early winter) and the spring. The winter months were the toughest. That’s when my base was built. That meant long, slow workouts. I was typically training close to 25 hours a week then. Add 40+ hours of work and a strict sleep plan of at least 7-8 hours every night and one is left with little free time. Good times!
As Ironman’s race day approached, I was just finishing Primal Quest. The Dirty Avocados had an absolutely super time at Primal Quest. We had two teams compete and both did very well! And I had an amazing time. But I also suffered some and was pretty beat-up afterwards. My only real problem, though, was my feet–they were shredded with blisters. Luckily nothing else was broken, torn, or pulled. And that was my hope. All along, my hope for completing Ironman relied on me finishing Primal Quest unbroken. And I was; at least I felt and seemed unbroken.
Ironman weekend started with hanging out with my family. And it was super. Mom, Dad, my sister, niece, nephew, aunts, and cousins were all there to support me. This was a first for me. And I loved it! Ironman weekend also included prepping my gear for race day. This meant checking my swim, bike, run and special needs gear and bags into the transition area. By the way, the transition area was the old Olympic oval from the 1932 and 1980 Olympics. Awesome!! Overall, I was very impressed with the Ironman set-up. There’s a system and process (and rule!) for everything. There are also tons of the nicest volunteers around. It was after seeing all of this that I realized the pile of change I spent on this race might actually be worth it.
Race day started very early. I was up at 4AM. Pre-race activities included getting to the transition area, tending to last minute gear needs (pumping tires, stashing food on my bike, and having my number and age painted all over my hairless body). As the 7AM start approached, I made my way down to the Lake. It was then that the biggest factor of the race reared its ugly head. It started to rain. Ugh! It started then and did not end until late that night. Seriously. It rained (mostly down-poured!) the ENTIRE day. More good times.
If you’ve never seen a deep-water Ironman swim start, go to YouTube and check it out. It’s unbelievable! First, you’re anxiously treading water in the middle of a sea of faceless men and women who are also twitching like caged animals. Then a canon fires and suddenly more than 2,300 pairs of arms and legs thrash like there’s no tomorrow! As I struggle to avoid kicks to the face and pulls on my legs, I’m swum over and under. I’m pushed, pulled, dragged, hit, and yelled at as this adventure racer struggles to survive in what seems like certain doom! Freaked out, I finally get some of my own water. But the start has me skittish and I slowly swim my way up and around the 2.4 mile course (it should be noted, I really swam close to 3 miles!). Given all of this, my swim was super slow; but I survived and finished it. I have never, ever, been so relieved to have completed something in my life! I finally moved my mountain. I completed an Ironman swim. Now I had to tackle 112 miles of soggy Adirondack Mountain roads!
The transition from the swim to bike was interesting. As I hobbled from the water (like a drunken sailor!), my wetsuit was “peeled” from my body. Basically, I drop the top half of my suit and then drop to the ground and before I look up a volunteer has grabbed my suit and has stripped it off my body in one motion. I’m then thrown my suit and shoved toward the transition area. I run–stubbing and cutting my big toe, by the way–and I’m then given my swim-to-bike bag. I quickly suit up, grab my bike, and ride off into a monsoon. The descents were fast, steep, and soo sketchy given the flooded roads. The flats were pleasant and dreamy. And the climbs were painfully delicious! I complete two 56-mile loops before I return to the transition once again.
As I suit up for the marathon, my mind is heavy with one thought: my IT band is starting to kill. Not good news given what still lies in front of me. As I tick off the first few miles, my IT band continues to quell my pace. Finally, by the half marathon, my IT band has a chokehold over my knee and I can barely run. Luckily, I stashed a brace in my special-needs bag, which I met at the half. That helped; but only for a bit. I finally gave in and starting walking late in the marathon. My spirits were still very high. Race time and place was, for once, not a priority. I was there to have fun, finish, and make my family proud. And I was tracking that perfectly!
As I closed in on the Village of Lake Placid, with crowds cheering me on, I was NOT going to walk. I picked up the pace and painfully ran to the Olympic oval and entered the finish runway soo pumped I shouted and motioned to the crowd. I then heard those words. Brian Schmitz, you’re an Ironman!
Those words are few; but for me they represent the opportunity to share a special part of my life with my family. They represent the dedication and commitment I give to everything I do. They represent me moving my mountain by completing what seemed to be impossible: 2.4 miles of open water swimming.
Those words also represent me now returning to where my heart is. My heart is with adventure racing. I learned many things about myself while training for this event. One of those things is that I love adventure racing more than any sport out there. Now that I’ve put Ironman behind me, I look forward to focusing further on the sport I truly love.
P.S., Thanks to everyone who supported me during the last year: my family and friends, and my Dirty Avocados teammates.
P.P.S., Here’s a video recap of the race: http://www.nasports.com/index.php?dir=RaceVids/imusa&vidname=RaceVid-2008-LP-high&playtype=mov&w=480&h=400
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