IM CdA

Being this the Wednesday before Ironman Coeur d'Alene, I thought it might be fun to stroll down memory lane and revisit 2003, the inaugural running of this event. I was there. I raced. I did not do well. It was not fun and neither is this. But for the sake of analysis and learning the lessons of the past (in order to not repeat them), following is my sordid summary.

Michael Lovato won overall that day. I will compare my times to his in order to illustrate graphically how fast he was that day, and conversely, how slow I was.

M. Lovato 50:14 4:49 2:58 8:40 First Overall

K. Lynch 1:18 5:50 4:48 12:06 15/98 AG

Mister Lovato (he was 29 then to my 50) cleaned my clock by almost four hours! I am so humbled I can hardly type. Here is how it happened:

The swim was OK. As most of you know the swim is not my strong (wet)suit. My strategy was, as it is to this day, to conserve as much energy as possible in the water through efficiency and calm. My race has always begun once out of the chop and onto the saddle. And this is part of the problem. Because giving up 28 minutes subconsciously sends a message to the master race controller that if the day is to bring victory, THE TIME IS NOW TO HIT THE GAS. By the time we had completed one of the two 56 mile laps, I was out of fuel and it was nearing 85 degrees. Still I hammered on, knowing (hoping) that a great bike split would allow a few "extended stay" visits at run aid stations to regroup.

As we have since discovered this doesn't work. The damage, due to hydration and GI imbalance cannot be undone by a thirty second walk into and out of a ten meter stretch of fast food tables. By mile five of the run I knew I was in trouble. I was not processing liquid and it was now almost 100 degrees of high desert dry heat. By mile ten I was taking on two defizzed cokes, a Hammer Gel and a handful of pretzels EVERY MILE. Still no processing. I could feel my belly swell under the weight and slugged along the route, doing the finish-time mathematical equations and realizing that I still had a shot at qualifying for Kona if could somehow pick up the pace. There was still 13 miles to go, but it now felt like I was carrying a ripe watermelon with me every painful step of the way. Try some water. Try some Gatorade. Take TWO gels. Slam THREE cokes. ANYTHING TO GET TO THE LINE.

At mile 20 I went into a porta-potty and tried to lose some of the volume. Nothing. I had been drinking like a frat-boy on a Saturday night for two hours, eating everything in sight that contained sugar or salt, and could only sit and thump the melon, trying to induce labor, it seemed.

Bloated, frustrated, tired, hot, weak but determined I set out for the last 10K. And it went from bad to worse. I felt like a beached beluga. There was no grace in this movement. It hurt. I was doing the death march, the Ironman shuffle, slow, no knee lift, bend and broken, nothing left. Done.

My fitness was good that morning. Twelve hours after the start I was a wreck. Nutrition is crucial when going long. Not even the fittest athlete can get through 140 miles under these conditions without a solid fuel strategy. Did I learn some lessons that long hot day 8 years ago? Here is an excellent video of Michael discussing his nutrition strat for racing Kona. (Editors note: DO NOT TRY ANYTHING NEW ON RACE DAY.)

Learn I did. Two months later at Ironman Canada, I went 45 minutes faster and took a fifth in age group. Still one slot away from Kona, but progress.

I wish all my pals, and everyone lining up for Sunday's start the very best of luck. Have a solid plan. Stick with it. Finish strong.

My long range plans are to return to the IM circuit next year when I age up and give this silly Kona thing one more try.

Maybe with a better fuel strategy I can cut the gap between Mr Lovato's time and mine enough to finally run down Alii Dr. with a race number instead of a media badge.

Pic is me on the run. 2004. Not too pretty. Michael had already had a beer and a burger by this time.