Eric's Drive to Tri

Here's a recap of my unbelievable Ironman experience.

We left wednesday august 26th from Minneapolis to Seattle. The flight was fine, Sophie was well behaved and got into Seattle at about 9:30 am. Got the rental car and packed things up. We ended up getting a Chevy HHR car with Hawaii plates. I'm not sure how you can even get a car from the island to the mainland. There were tons of curious people asking us how the drive from Hawaii was, how long it took etc..
We drove to Vancouver and headed to the Fairmont Hotel in downtown Vancouver. The traffic around the Hotel was a nightmare and it was a nightmare trying to find the hotel parking entrance. A good buddy of mine (Big Al) hooked us up with a room at the Historic Hotel. It was great, way out of our league but we'll take it. We got settled in and went for a walk. We had arranged to meet up with some Timmins people to get a bit to eat and enjoy a cold beverage. We met for dinner at the Elephant and Castle a few blocks from the hotel. It was nice to see some familiar faces. Neil, Saramayas, and Sarah (IM 2008 finisher-13h) showed up.

Thursday August 27th
The next morning we packed things up, grabbed a few coffees at Tim Horton's and hit the road to Penticton. The drive from Vancouver to Penticton was beautiful, especially if you love mountains and curvy roads. When we were about 45km from Penticton we started seeing a few triathletes getting in a last bike ride before the race. This really puts you in race mode. This last stretch of road was also the last part of the bike course. Not too many flat parts, just long climbs and long descents. I knew this was gonna be a challenging bike course but things really started to sink in after seeing everything with my own eyes. We got to the Sandman Hotel in the early afternoon. Our hotel was located about 1km from the main Ironman area. After unpacking we took a walk to the registration tent. I stood in the lineup for about 15 minutes and then got weighed in for the race and got my swim cap, timing chip, and my gear bags.

The city of Penticton is located in a valley and surrounded by mountains. During Ironman week undergoes a transformation. There are welcoming signs everywhere, there was a farmer's market downtown, street dances just about every night. The people in the city were wonderful. Everybody would ask you if you were in town for the race and reminded you of how crazy you where.

After getting my race kit we went to pick up my bike. I had the bike shipped by TriBike transport. It was totally worth the cost (around 250$) and would recommend it to anyone traveling for a big race. It takes a lot of the stress out of traveling. The bike looked in good shape, i was relieved.

Friday August 28th

After breakfast i headed to the swim start area for my last practice swim. I just wanted to go through the motions one last time, put on the wetsuit and have a nice relaxing swim. There were about a couple hundred triathlete there with the same idea. You could also test out the latest and greatest suits from several companies.

The water was a little colder than what i was use to (71.0 deg.) but i didn't mind one bit. Daytime highs were consistently in the mid-90's so a cool swim was just what the doctor ordered.
I had a nice 30-minute out and back swim. I felt really good. They didn't have the official course marked off yet but had buyos lining the shore for about a mile.

That evening was the athletes mandatory meeting and carb loading dinner at the Penticton Convention Center. Things were gonna run pretty late so i went alone and Melanie took care of Sophie as she always does. The convention center was packed with people. They served up salty Pad Thai for dinner....my first pad thai ever. During the dinner the race announcer went through a list of interesting Ironman Canada facts. Here's what i can remember.

- Over 2600 athletes are competing. The youngest competitor was 18yo and oldest was Ironman legend Sister Madonna Buder at 79yo.
-One guy was doing his 66th Ironman race. Unbelievable.
-Someone last over 200lbs training for Ironman Canada. Another lost 150 lbs and quite a few lost 100lbs. I lost about 10 lbs...lol
- About 800 athletes were Iron virgins including me.
- A couple of people had never run a marathon before, so this was going to be there first marathon.
- The most amazing story in my opinion is that for a few athletes this was going to be their first race ever. No other triathlon experience whatsoever. No sprint triathlon, olympic distances...this was gonna be their first one. That is absolutely crazy.

The head referee (some german guy called Hans) then went over some of the rules for the bike course. He was hilarious. "when you make a pass guys, pass with conviction, don't be a girly-man", got quite a few laughs.

Saturday August 29th

One day till the big race. My nerves were really getting to me at this point. All the training hours were gonna be put to the ultimate endurance test in less than 24 hours. I tried to stay off my feet as much as possible. To my amazement i still saw people out there going out for one last run along the lake shore. I went for a quick 20 minute bike ride just to make sure everything was in proper working order.

In the afternoon i started getting all my race gear ready. You get 5 bags for all of your stuff. Dry clothes bag for you race morning warm-up clothing, swim to bike transition bag, bike to run transition bag, bike special needs bag and run special need bags. I spread out all of my thing on the hotel bed and got things organized. I had over 24 gels, 32 endurolyte pills, granola bars, 4 packs of cubes, 5 water bottles...you name is i had it.

The special needs bags are places on the race course so you don't have to carry all of the nutrition items with you. The bike bag was located at the 120km marker and the run special needs bad at the halfway marker of the marathon.

After getting things sorted out, we dropped off the bike and the gear bag to the transition areas.

For dinner i had one last pasta dinner at the Pasta Factory in downtown Penticton.

Sunday August 30th - Ironman Race

I woke up at about 4am and had breakast which consisted of 2 cans of ensure (gross), one bagel, one granola bar, 1 carrot muffing and 1/2 bottle of gatorade. I was a pack of nerves and just couldn't stay still. I told Mel not to get up with me and instead just head to the start line later with Sophie. I knew she was also gonna have a long day with Sophie so it was pointless for them to wake up with me. She did get up to take my before-Ironman picture, gave me a big hug and kiss, told me to have fun and wished me luck. We had arranged for a few meeting spots with approximate times to see me during the day.

I grabbed my bags and headed to the start. The 1km walk to the start was extremely emotional for me. Tears running down my face and the magnitude of the event was setting in. I knew this was gonna be the hardest thing i would ever do, and i knew the pain would be unlike anything i had ever felt before. I was really worried about the heat, it had been so hot in the previous days that i wondered how i would ever get through this day. I reflected on the last 9 months of training and even beyond this. The dream of eventually doing an Ironman started about 4 years ago at the end of my Ph.D. when i purchased my Timex Ironman watch and started running. I thought about the pain i felt after my first marathon in Ottawa where i could barely walk back to the hotel. Luckily my mom was there to help me. I thought about how happy i was when my tri-bike arrived in Newfoundland and my first ever triathlon in Carbonnear. I still remember how scared i was of the 500m swim. I had come a long way in a relatively short period of time.

As i approached the start of the race around 5am, volunteers directed me to the body marking area and special needs bad drop-off. Got my special needs stuff in the correct boxes and got marked up and headed to the transition area to check my bike and get the tires up to the right pressure. One last bathroom break before the line-ups get too long and try to relax. I had everything done by 5:45am and had over 1 hour to sit around and relax. I walked around for a little and all of a sudden i hear someone shouting out my name "Eric". It was Prof. Bob Sica from Western. I was lucky to run into him. He gave me a big hug, asked me about my training, if i had done the long rides and the long runs. I told him yes of course i had. Before leaving he said "remember, no walking, whatever you do, no walking, it's gonna get ugly out there but no walking". I laughed and heading to the flower garden in the transition area. Some older woman next to me asked me how i was doing. I told her i was very nervous. She said this was just another training day, it was nothing more than a long swim, long bike ride than a long run. She told me there were gonna be times when i would great and other times where i would feel awful but just remember that none of those would last. Her favorite part of the race was passing all of these "buff men" on the run.

The pros were about to start so i got a volunteer to help me with my wetsuit then headed to the swim start area. There were thousands of spectators at the start. I looked for Mel and Sophie but no luck, it was too crazy. After Oh Canada we had just a few minutes left. There were over 2600 athletes in the water waiting for the start. Before i knew it we were doing the countdown, 1 minute left, 10 seconds,..., two, one, then the horn went off. Holy shit, time to go. You could feel the undertow from all the swimmers in front of me rushing into the water at the same time. Took a few steps until i was deep enough to start swimming then dove in. The swim was crazy because the crowd never thinned out and i was stuck right in the middle of it. You can easily see someone having a major panic attack out there. I was trying to draft at much as possible, focusing on the feet in front of me, trying to stay right behind them, almost tickling them with every stroke. Whenever i felt someone hitting my legs i would give a stronger kick to shake them off. The first leg of the swim was 1600m out to the large house boat. This were going pretty good, i felt a little tired and soreness in my shoulders but i knew things would get better once i warm up. The first 15-20minutes are always the hardest for me. I remembered Sarah telling me about the scuba-divers near the house boat so i waved to them as i went by. There was quite a bit of congestion at the first turn but i managed to pull through. I was able to stay very close to the bouyos and had a great line for my swim. The second leg was a short 400m and i was going steady. The drafting was awesome, i tried to remember to keep my head down, stay long in the water, follow through with my pull with have a high elbow recovery. It felt like i was covering a lot of distance with each stroke. Got to the second boat house and made the turn for home. Only 1800m left. All of the bouyos had mile markers on them 1.7 miles, 1.8 miles, 2.0... i was almost there.
I could finally see the bottom of the lake but when i spotted i still had ways to go. I swam as hard as i could for the last leg and by the time i stood up in the water and looked at the race clock had 1:10:30. Awesome, one leg done, two to go. I crossed the swim to bike mat under 1:12. This was my strongest swim ever.

I headed through the swim to bike banner and found a group of volunteers called "Peelers" to help me take off my wetsuit. The volunteers are great, they do everything you ask. Unzip, take the arms off, pull the wetsuit down, tell you to lay on the grass and they yeank the wetsuit off in just a few seconds. After i grabbed by swim to bike transition back and headed straight for the change tent. Oh shit, it was packed in there so i changed just outside the tent then headed for the sunscreen station. There were high fives all around. Again volunteers took care of everythings and put a nice think coat of sunscreen all over me. Next i handed out a few high fives with some fellow triathletes and headed to row 10 to retrieve my bike. Mounted the bike and i was off for the 112 mile (180km) bike ride. As i rode through downtown Penticton i spotted Sophie and Mel on the sidewalk and yelled out "love you guys" and i was on my way.

The first 14km as rather flat. I took this opportunity to refuel a little. Had some Heed sportdrink and a granola bar then got settled in on the aero bars for the long ride ahead. I enjoyed every minute of that bike ride through the Okanogan and i couldn't believe i was actually doing the Ironman. There was a nice tail wind at the start and i was averaging around 23 miles/hour. At about the 15km marker is the first climb on the course at McLean Creek Rd. Here's the bike course elevation profile for reference.

I put the bike in the easiest gear and worked my way up the 1km hill. I felt really strong on the climb and passed quite a few riders. There was a nice descent afterward where i relaxed again. My max speed was 45mph (72kph) down the descent and i was on the breaks most of the way down. Some guys were just zooming right by me but i was way too scared to go faster. I was really trying to conserve as much energy as possible because i knew Richter's Pass was coming up. I passed the first checkpoint and my average speed was around 18.0 mph. Perfect.

I handn't previewed the course but i could see the significant climb coming up. WOW, now that's a climb. Nothing like a practiced on in Minnesota but i had to get through it. I had a good rythm going up, doing 100 pedal strokes in the saddle followed by 100 out of the saddle. The climb has a few plateau's along the way so you get to take a few short breaks and refuel. In total i think it's about 11 miles of road to go up. As I approached the top of Richter's i felt like i was in the Tour de France. There are hundreds of cheering spectators near the top and they leave just enough room for a couple of bikes to go through at a time. I was so relieved when i reached the top that i coasted to the bottom and enjoyed the ride the amazing montain views. There are some rolling hills on the way down that were also challenging but i was doing pretty good at this point.

The next part of the course is the long climb of Yellow Lake (see profile above). This was the most challenging part of the course. A steady 35 mile climb to the top of Yellow Lake in a head wind. There are aid stations every 10 miles in Ironman bike courses and i took advantage of everyone of them. I would toss out my old gatorade and water bottles and get new colder ones every 10 miles. I even took a bathroom break at one point to get off the bike and stretch my legs a little.

My speed really dropped in this section and i started to feel the effects of the 85 degree heat. I seen quite a flew riders repairing flat tires on the side of the road. When i got my special needs bike bag at the 75 miles marker i was so disappointed. I had only packed more gels and cube and i just couldn't stomach consuming anymore of these. Suck it up buttercup, this is the Ironman i told myself.

As I approached the top of Yellow Lake i started to see some of the suffering the bike course. I few riders just sitting on the side head between their knees, another guy was walking up the hill carrying his bike on his shoulders. I felt really weak near the top.

The last 20km appear downhill from the profile but it's so misleading. There is one stretch where you can hit speeds of 35mph but for the most part the headwind really limits your speed and you have to work very hard to maintain 17-18mph. I couldn't wait to get off my bike. As you first hit the bottom of the hill you see the sign for Penticton city center 5km and it seems to take ages to get to bike finish. You head toward downtown and there's a section of the course that is shared with the run course. I was almost home. I got to the transition, dismounted the bike and say my friend Sarah, she was volunteering at this year's event. I grabbed by bike-to-run transition bag and i went back into the change tent where another volunteer helped me change into my run clothes. Hat, shoes, run belt, fresh socks and i was out of the tent. Sarah was there and directed me to the sunscreen table where another volunteer covered me in a fresh layer of sunscreen. Sarah asked me how i felt and told her i felt good. I was happy to be off the bike. I had completed 2 legs of the race, 114.4 miles completed and only 26.2 to go. Before heading out for the long out and back there is a 1 mile loop along Lakeshore blvd. The legs were surprisingly strong. Soon after exiting the transition i spotted Sophie and Melanie and heard her yell out "Way to go babe, you look great".

It's a great feeling to see people you love on the course cheering you on. She also yelled out "....house", but i didn't know what she talking about. I made the turn for Lakeshore and headed toward the beach for the short 1 mile loop. First water stop was located along this stretch, grabbed a quick drink and was on my way. A few steps after the water stop i was looking down at the street and seen my name there. Mel has made a sign for me.

After the race she asked me if i saw the sign. I asked why she yelled out "..house" and she told me to look for the sign located in front of a house we liked on Lakeshore.

I got to see Sophie and Mel one more time before heading out of town. This is where things would get extremely hard.

The water stops are fully stocked with water, gatorade, Pepsi, ice, sponges, powerbar, gels, grapes, oranges, bananas and pretzels. In my fuel belt i had extra gels and endurolyte pills for electrolyte replacement. At the second water stop i was started to overheat and grabbed a couple of cold sponges. I put one in my shirt and one under my hat and every minute i would squeeze them to help me cool off. The goal was to do 6 minutes of running and 1 minute of walking (6 and 1's) and repeat for as long as i could. By mile 4 i had dropped to 3 and 1's and i started taking ice to put down my top. I crossed the 5 mile marker in about 55 minutes...not bad 11 minutes/mile. By mile 6 things started falling apart rather quickly. My throat was getting really sore and i had a real bad chill across my body. I just couldn't run anymore. Holy shit, still 20 miles to go. I was getting worse and worse with every step, i was feeling light headed. I would run my hand across my shoulder to wipe off the sweat and my shoulders felt really cold. I couldn't figure things out. I was drinking all the time, taking my salt replacement tablets, why was my body shutting down? I was still able to walk at a pretty fast pace. Big strides, good pace, but even so it would still take me 6 more hours to finish if i have to walk the rest the race. At every mile marker i tried something different, gatorade no luck, grapes didn't work, pretzels no luck...nothing was working for me. By mile 8 i was completely drained and could barely speak. There was a moment where i thought i wouldn't finish the race. I got passed by a lot of people but still kept walking. I kept asking people around me if they were cold, if it was cold outside. Everyone said no. I really had to focusing on putting one foot in front of the other. The goal was to finish. Even some of the top triathletes who were nearly done the marathon were suffering. I seen some pros sitting on the road with their heads between their legs. A few running looked really fresh. Even some guy in a tiger suit was all smiles at he ran effortlessly. At the half-way point i looked at the watch and I was at 11 hours and 15 minutes into my race. I continued to walk, and started talking to other people along the way. I met this older woman Vicky the second half of the run. She was struggling along with me. She told me she'd done Ironman Arizona earlier this year in 12:30 but was having a really tough time today. We walked for about a mile together and she asked how much longer it would take to finish the race and this walk pace. I told her about 2.5 hours and she told me she couldn't walk for another 2.5 hours. We decided to try to do a walk and run for a little bit. We agree to try to run for 32 steps and then walk 8. Time to start...we did the first 32 steps together and but by the time we started walking we decided to extend it to 16 steps... 8 just wasn't enough. i think i was only able to to 3 sets then i told her to continue without me. I didn't have the strength to go on like this. I kept walking for a little while and stopped at a bathroom but it was occupied. I didn't want to stop for too long but i really severe stomach issues and really had to go, there was no way i was making it to the next one. It felt like i was waiting for ages and i got in there and i really had to focus not to pass out. I made it, but for the next 500m my legs really started to cramp. With about 6 miles to go i decided to try some Pepsi instead of the usual water and gatorade i'd previous been on. I knew i'd get a small sugar kick but wasn't sure how long it would last so i waited as long as possible before i tried the Pepsi. That ended up being the best thing to ever happen to me. Within a few minutes i was able to resume a run/walk and started passing a bunch of people. I eventually passed Vicky again and all i remember her saying was "Man, Look at you go".

Vicky at the finish

I advised her to try the Pepsi. Keep in mind blazzing speed for me at the end of an Ironman is running at a 11 min/mile pace. I was still doing quite a bit of walking but my stomach was feeling much better. The amount of suffering endured on that marathon course is scary. I remember doing a walk break with a girl called Stacey. Once it was time to start running again, her legs wouldn't move and she was screaming at her legs, "why won't you run, why won't you run, c'mon please move".
At this point i knew i would finish and i started to calculate my finishing time. I had under 6 miles to go and wanted to make it to the finish under 14 hours. If i could average 14.0 min/mile pace i would make it. There was a large group of us hoping to make the 14.0 hour cutoff. As you'd pass someone you tell them 14.0 hours, c'mon buddy you can do it. Just follow me, i'll bring you home. To stay motivated we would have madatory "No-walking zones". Eventually you were too weak to lead and you'd fall back a little but someone would pass you and you knew you had to pick it up to make 14 hours.

With 3 miles to go, i met this guy Jeff from Michigan. He told me his wife was probably really worried because he told her that his run would be no more than 5hours. In the Ironman there are no guarantees. We were getting back into the city of Penticton and there were orange cones lining the streets. We had a good system, trying to run for two cones and then walk for one. We looked at our watches and new we had to pick it up. 3 miles in 45 minutes. If you're a runner that seems so slow and believe me it is. But every step is a challenge at this point. I had some severe cramping in my calves. Even from where we were we could hear the cheering crowds at the finish. With 2 miles to go Jeff was unable to continue at my pace and I kept up the running.

Finally the home stretch, 1 mile to go. Even though it was dark out there were so many people still there cheering you on to the finish. I saw Mel at the corner and heard her yell out my name. I wanted to finish strong and i tried to pick up the pace but my calves would cramp up immediately and i had to be very careful. I got to the turnaround down Lakeshore and I heard someone yell out "Go Eric" again. Less than 1km to go.

As you approach the finish, you see the big screen, the lights, i made sure no one was behind me. I wanted to cherish every moment of the last 100m and make sure no one else was around me when i cross the finish. This was my moment. Two guys were in front of me and i let them finish and then I had the main floor to myself. I then crossed the finish and heard the announcer yell out "Eric Meloche from Edina, Minnesota, you are an Ironman". What an amazing emotional feeling. Just typing this out brings tears to my eyes.

Shortly after crossing the finish, 2 volunteers grabbed my arms and essentially hauled me away. They kept talking to me so i wouldn't pass out. I remember the girl saying "That was an emotional finish for you, Are any family members here with you?" They gave me a thermal blanket and the minute that thing went over my shoulders i began to sweat. It just wouldn't stop either, it was like someone had just poured a bucket of water over me. They guided me to the finisher photo area and within a minute i was very light headed and nauseus and was about to throw up. I asked them to lean me up against the fence and then i tried to throw up 3 times but nothing was coming out my stomach was empty. A nurse came rushing to my attention and i remember her not being very sympathetic to my situation. She looked at me right in the eyes and said "Eric, listen to me, you can't lay down here, you need to walk and get to the medical tent". The tone of her voice scared me.
She asked me when was the last time i ate something, i couldn't remember. I told her i thought i had a piece of orange at mile 20. They gave me some gatorade and i felt much better.
The medical tent at Ironman is the scariest thing i've ever seen. There are 2 section, one with about 50 seats and another room with beds. I was in the room with seats and it was packed. Once i was feeling a little better i started looking around, looking at the empty looks on peoples faces. We all looked like we were about to die. Eyes wide open, no response to anything. Every now and then you'd hear a doctor or nurse yell you "He's got that look, hurry get him a bed, hurry".
The volunteers in the medical tent were amazing and attended to all my needs. I asked for food and someone went off and got me a slice of pizza and chicken broth. I asked if someone could go gather all my gear from the transition area and within a few minutes they came back with all my stuff. Even once i was discharged from the tent i asked if someone could walk with me to where i was suppose to meet with Sophie and Melanie and someone volunteered to walk with me.

I was talking to one girl sitting beside me in the medical tent. The nurse had removed her shoes and socks and exposed the biggest blisters i'd had ever seen. I asked her how she could possible run and she didn't know how she did it.

Just before leaving the tent i was sitting on my chair and this guy sits down a few seats away from me. It was my Iron friend Jeff. I asked him if he made in under 14 hours. He just looked at me and smiled. I don't think he remembered me. Within one minute he fell off his chair and was throwing up all over the place. We was rushed to other room and i didn't see him again.

Jeff did make our 14 cutoff...attaboy!!

I eventually found Melanie and Sophie and we slowly made out way back to the hotel. I got a big salty french fry on the way back and savoured bite of it. The race was televised on local TV so we stayed up till midnight to see the last runners come through the finish line.

The most amazing finish came with less than 5 minutes to go before the 17 hour midnight cutoff when 79 year old Sister Madonna Buder finish the Ironman and set a new world record as the oldest person to ever complete an Ironman. Attagirl!!

Ironman was a defining moment in my life. There is no greater accomplishment in life than finishing an Ironman.

Time to take some time off, the goal is to rest for one month then slowly get back to the pool, get on the bike and start running again.

Eric's Drive to Tri

Monday, December 12, 2011

and so it begins....

Tuesday, September 8, 2009

Where do I go from here?

Monday, September 7, 2009

Ironman Canada 2009 video

Thursday, September 3, 2009

I'm an Ironman!!!

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Some final thoughts before race day

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Congrats Mel on completing your first ever triathlon!!

Wednesday, July 29, 2009

One month do go

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