Iron Men

Saturday, during that pile of crap called a football game, Marc and I had an interesting experience. We met Ironman Scott Rigsby. There were two Ironmen in the same room - and we weren't at a race!

Scott is a UGA grad and a double leg amputee. When he was 18, he was in a pretty terrible traffic accident. One leg was immediately amputated, and he lost the other one later due to complications from the accident.

And y'all, he runs marathons. And competes in Ironman triathalons. I have both legs and could only compete in couch sitting and internet surfing.

He is an inspiring man and I was so glad we got a chance to talk with him.

Ironman Race Report from Marc

So I've had a lot questions and requests to tell about my Ironman experience. Sorry it has taken so long, work has been a little more hectic than usual.
I went up to Louisville a couple of days before the race. This was a good and bad decision. It was great to get away from everything that didn't have to do with my race but it was also bad in the sense that all I could do was wait and think about the race.
The Friday before the race, the race officials had a portion of the swim course open, so I went down and swam a mile to get a realistic idea of what to expect with the current of the Ohio River.(really didn't think it was that bad….the water stunk a little…that's about it though)
Later that afternoon, I went to the athlete briefing meeting. I think this might have been the only moment during the whole weekend where I was a little nervous. There were easily over a 1000 triathletes in the room and I just happened to sit right in the middle of a group who all had already completed at least one Ironman. I did however feel a little more at ease with myself after speaking with one person who had never even done a triathlon before and was planning to wear cut off sweatpants for the whole race. Another triathlete leaned over to me and said "there are always a few who have to learn the hard way"!

Race MorningThe morning of the race went pretty smoothly. I woke up at 3:30am and started to prep for my day. I was at the race site by 5 and checked my bike one last time and then headed towards the water start. Louisville's start is different from every other Ironman. Because the start area is so narrow, it is not a mass start. Instead we all lined up basically single file and waited to jump in. Once you're in, you go! So you don't get to experience the hysteria of a mass start, which really was perfectly fine with me. I have done many mass starts, some have gone really well and others, it looks like you got in a fight. While standing in line, I talked with the triathletes around me. This helped with any anxious feelings I might have had. I was just ready to go! I had spent a solid ten months (really more) training for this one day. Enough talk, enough waiting, LET'S GO!

The SwimI hit the water about 45 minutes after the race officially started. It went extremely well. The first third was up stream and I really felt like that was my warm-up. It was strange to start a triathlon so spread out and I moved past a good number of swimmers early on. At the turn around is where I caught some turbulence. It was congested for about a quarter of a mile and I took a kick to the side of the head and another to my "manhood" (if you know what I mean) but other than that I was able to maneuver pretty easily through the next two thirds of the swim. I have said from day one, that I just wanted to finish the race within 17 hours. So I set my pace/goals at a slower time than I normally would for a shorter race; I just wanted to finish. So I had expected or planned for my swim to be around 1 hour and 30 minutes and if I could get it around 1 hour, 20 minutes, even better. I came out of the water at 1 hour and 13 minutes.

The BikeI had gone into the race expecting the bike course to suck. Anytime you hear the cute little term "rolling hills" in reference to the bike course…..It's going to suck! The first 10 miles were dead flat and then the course got challenging. Basically, we went out for 25 miles and then had this 2 loop ride that was 30 miles each and then back in to finish at 112 miles. I knew it was going to be hot and humid, so I had done some research and decided to wear a long sleeve heat gear shirt (with a tri jersey on top). Many ask "why would I do this"? a.) it helped keep the sun off of me, b.) It wicked sweat off of me, and c.) At every aid station, I would pour cold water on me, keeping the shirt wet and me cooler.
Early into the bike portion, maybe at mile 15, there was a REALLY BAD wreck. This is exactly how I saw it. I was flying down hill when I was directed to slow down. I then see a cycle shoe in the road, then about 10 feet away…part of a cycling jersey, another 10 feet away….the rider in the ditch (being attended too), another 20 feet away from…..the rider's bike! I estimated at the speed I was going before I was told to slow down, they were probably going between 35-40 mph when they wrecked. It was by far the worst carnage I have seen on a bike in my years of riding. After seeing that, all I could think about was how horrible that must be, to spend a year training for this one day and you are done literally 2 hours into it. I'm not sure how I would have handled it.
40 miles into the race, I became aware that I was not going to have a very fast bike time. It seemed that I needed to prepare myself to be done in 7 hours, 30 minutes or even in 8 hours. While that really didn't make me feel all that great, I just kept with my plan. Drink when I need to drink, eat when I need to eat, endurolytes when I need endurolytes and just keep pedaling! I only had one bad experience on the bike. While going uphill around mile 70, I switched my bottom and top gears too quickly at the same time and my chain popped off. OOOOOOOOOOOOOOH SSSSHHHHH********$*$*$*$@*TTTTTTTT, I thought….actually I said it too! I had to get off my bike, fix the chain and then because I was going uphill, I had to basically push myself uphill like I was on a skateboard before I could get my shoes clipped back into my bike. I lost a solid 5 to 10 minutes because of that stupid hill!
The last 30 miles, I was starting to see the toll the race was taking on people. I saw a handful of people sitting on the side of the road, trying to get some shade as they worked out the cramps in their legs. I was just glad I hadn't got to that point. I had a little cramping in my thighs but nothing that was serious enough to make me stop. I was very excited when I got to mile 102 because the last 10 miles coming were the same flat 10 miles I started out on. I also knew that I was going to make it to the run. It's funny; I have never IN MY LIFE been so excited to run 26.2 miles as that afternoon when I finished the bike portion of the race! OOOH, and to my surprise, I ended up coming in at 6 hours and 55 minutes.

The Run
I took my time in the transition area from the bike to the run. I knew I was ahead of my pace and had more than enough time to finish within 17 hours. When I headed out, I had a solid 8 hours, 30 minutes to finish the marathon. So I decided that as long as I kept a 15 minute mile pace, I would be fine.
At mile 3, I finally got my legs back from the wobbly state they were in and decided that at every mile marker I would walk for 3 minutes (and chew on ice), then I would have to finish the mile within the next 12 minutes so I could keep a 15 minute mile pace. This became some kind of game for me and it really helped the miles move along and I actually ended up averaging 12 minute miles for the whole marathon.
Because of the heat and the challenging bike course, I expected the marathon to be rough. While it wasn't the most pleasant experience of my life, it really wasn't all that bad. My calves cramped up a bit a certain points of the race but I stayed with my nutrition plan and that seemed to be a major factor in my success. I had also planned to take off my heat gear shirt after the bike portion of the race but it worked so well that I decided to keep it on for the run. So at every mile, I poured ice water on myself and I also wore a glove on my left hand, which I put ice in to help keep my body cool. I'm positive it looked weird but it worked.
Just like the bike, I saw people on the run who were having a rough time with the heat. Part of the run course was an out and back, so while I was at mile 13, the guy across the street from me was at mile 20. Unfortunately, this poor guy was done! He was sprawled out on the side of the road with EMT's frantically working on him, trying to get fluids into him. I became extremely cautious at this point. I mean, that guy was 6 miles away from finishing. SIX MILES!!! And he was not only done but was on his way to the hospital. I did not want that to happen to me. I would rub my face to make sure I was sweating after every mile from that point on. I kept pushing forward and before I knew it, I was at mile 25. At this point, I knew I was going to finish. I don't really remember everything I thought about during that last mile. I do remember thinking about my Nanny and how proud she would have been of me and how I wish I could have told her about it. (I also had Nanny's name on the back of my hand the whole weekend I was in Louisville and it finally came off around mile 100 of the bike) I thought about seeing Mary for the first time and calling my parents to let my dad know that I finished. After that I really don't remember too much else. I think I just wanted to soak it all in. I came in and really didn't know what to do, so at the finish line I did the strong man pose. I mean, I did just do an Ironman. Mary said that when I came in, the announcer said "And here comes Marc LaMotte from Athens, Georgia. Home of the Bulldogs. Go Dawgs! Marc, YOU ARE NOW AN IRONMAN"! I didn't hear it, I didn't have too. I knew what I had just accomplished.
I saw Mary almost immediately as I finished. She ran up to me with tears in her eyes. I asked why she was crying and she responded by saying how proud she was of me. I supposedly then responded with "well good, cause I'm not ever getting a PhD"! NOW, she says I said it. I have no recollection of it but maybe I was a little delirious, so maybe I did. Either way, it's kind of funny!

Thoughts on being an Ironman
"I feel like the Ironman race was a very unique and humbling experience"!

You know, I really thought I would cross the line of the Ironman and just be cocky about it. "YEAH, I'm a Mo' Fo'ing IRONMAN"! It hasn't happened that way. If anything, I have had the opposite reaction. With the realization of how far I really went on that day… the year of training, the actual distance of the race, the heat, the challenges and the issues I saw that others had. I am just very grateful that I was able to finish. Now, it has been somewhat amusing to see my wife brag about me but then again, I guess someone needs to do it!hehe Ironman has been a very unique and humbling experience. I'm very proud of what I've accomplished but I don't think you will see me trying to brag about it anytime soon.

In my last post, I stated that I read that less than 1% percent of the world's population will ever complete an Ironman. That averages out to something like less than one person in every 2 million people. That statistic is so ridiculous, who can really wrap their mind around it.

So here is what I think it comes down too….and this may be the one time you will hear(or read) me say it.

My name is Marc LaMotte and I am an Ironman!

This weekend, our tailgate had an Ironman theme to celebrate Marc's race. Since the Ironman triathlon doesn't make party-ware, we had to rely on Ironman the movie plate, cups, napkins, pinatas, tattoos, etc. Marc's boss made these great necklaces that his co-worker Liz is modeling.

They say "I know an Ironman named Marc." And to continue the theme, I made an m-dot cake! (and the cake was made with beer, going with Marc's current theme of NOT training so much)

We have the absolute best friends.

Ironman Photos

He Swam.

He Biked. (And the one picture they took on the bike is the one where he is eating!)

He Ran.

He Finished!

He Did It!

2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike, 26.2 mile run in 14 hours, 9 minutes!!! (Ignore the time on the clock - it's the overall race clock and Marc started later than the pros.)

Marc will comment more later, but the swim was fine, the bike was rough, and the run wasn't so bad!

T minus and counting til Ironman

Marc posted this today on his myspace page. With his permission, I want to share it with you.

T minus and counting til Ironman

So here I am, less than 10 days away from the Louisville Ironman. I have spent the past 10 months training for this one day, one race, one experience. A 1.2 mile swim, 112 mile bike and then to finish it off, a 26.2 mile run. All in under 17 hours.

You may ask "how did I get to this point?"

Last year, I trained for a half iron triathlon. At the time, I said I would only do a half mainly because lets face it....Im 5'10, 200+ lbs and while Im definitely no "tubs mcgee"(like that name, dont ya?), my body shape is the human equivalent of a bulldog. 70.3 mile races were not made for me. Football was more of my battleground for athletic endeavors. Plus my years of sports have definitely caught up with me at an earlier age than what I had hoped. After years of contact sports, I have 5 ruptured discs in my upper back and bad case of plantar faciitis in my left foot (which I will have surgery when this race is done). So a full ironman would be a great achievement but I was trying to be honest about the reality of who and what I am. So the half was more than enough and would be a GREAT accomplishment. Needless to say, my half went pretty well and while talking to another triathlete after the race, I knew that I had to go for the full Ironman.

The training is the difficult part.

I've learned alot about myself and others around me this past year. I have truly learned that I can accomplish anything. The race will be difficult, I generally expect that and I will deal with those situations as they come. I will grit my teeth and I will keep moving forward just like my mother and father have always taught me. As my dad used to say when I was growing up (and really still does to this day) "Pain isnt that bad. Just rub some dirt on it and you'll be fine".

The training is what is the difficult part of an ironman. I have swam, rode and ran so many miles in my training that I couldnt even give you a realistic estimate of how far I've actually gone. I have gotten up at 3:45 on so many mornings(so I could get a long distance run in before work) that 7:00am is really sleeping in for me now. Every morning I have gotten up and done what I needed to do so I can succeed for this one day. Many a mornings, I have questioned why this is a good idea but somewhere deep down, I knew that this is what I needed to do. "I DO LOVE A CHALLENGE!"

It hasnt all been training.

I also had two very important things happen in my life this year while training for Ironman this year.

First, I got married. YEAH, I was shocked too! Actually, I think I knew from the first time I met Mary that she was the one. I just had to get her to believe that as well!hehe She deserves so much for dealing with my crazy training schedule. Most mornings, I would do my best to get to the alarm before it woke her and while I did a pretty good job (and the fact that she could sleep through a dumptruck crashing into a nitroglycerin plant) there were definitely mornings where she was awakend. She also has been very aware on how difficult it has been on my body to train for this event and has always been willing to help, from getting me ice to soak in to giving me a back rub late at night. She is definitely an IRONSPOUSE!

The second event that happend this year just recently happend a few weeks back. My Nanny passed away. She definitely had a big part with raising me the first 10 years of my life and when she passed away I was crushed. Just about anything in life and especially training for a race really seems pointless when you lose a loved one that you cared for so much. I know how much my Nanny loved me though and she always was amazed at the fact that I was preparing for Ironman. The last time I saw her and was telling her about my training, she just shook her head like I was crazy and said that "I was her first grandchild, her baby boy and that I could do anything". While it still hurts to know that she is gone. I would never stop my training. She wouldn't have wanted that and actually I'm pretty sure I would some how get in trouble for it!

If I could go back to last year...

Once again, here I am...T-MINUS AND COUNTING. As the days count down, I have been trying to go over in my mind how the race should go, I've also gotten to reflect on the past year. The question usually comes up, "If I could go back to the when I decided to do Ironman, would I not do it"? Believe it or not, "NO". This has been the journey that I think every person who lines up for the Ironman gets. The year hasnt always been easy. There were times where I not only questioned the process of Ironman but I think life questioned the process of Ironman. But Ive stayed dedicated and done what I need to do. I found out how much I love my wife and my family(and how much they love me to deal with all of it). And last, I have to admit, I have really enjoyed seeing how amazed people are about what a goofy guy from Pensacola can accomplish if he puts his mind too it.

I once read that "less than one out of every two million people will do an ironman". While this statistic is amazing and will be great to be a part of, I feel blessed to have gone through this experience. There has been nothing like it in my life thus far and Im not sure I will ever have again. I just hope that the people who are close to me realize that none of it would have happend unless I didnt have their support. When I toe the line on August 31st, 2008, I tri for not only myself but especially for them!

I swim. I bike. I run. I will be an Ironman.

What training for an Ironman will do to you. . .

Every night Marc stretches his sore back and neck, ices his sore knees and sends shockwaves to his calves and feet.

Ironman Louisville

In 16 days Marc will compete in his Ironman Triathlon. He has been training for a year for this one day, where he will swim 2.4 miles, ride his bike for 112 miles and then run a full marathon distance - 26.2 miles. He will go on one more long bike ride this weekend, and then he will start to taper off his training. Marc has been working so hard to achieve this goal, and I am excited that it is so close. He will leave for Kentucky on Thursday and will miss the first UGA football game. I am hoping to catch a flight Sunday morning to Louisville, and while I will miss the start of the race, I'll be there for the finish!

My Iron Man

As a training run for his full iron man in the fall, Marc competed in a half iron man triathlon last week. That means he swam 1.2 miles . . .

. . .and then he rode his bike for 56 miles. . .

. . .and then he ran 13.1 miles.

I am so proud of Marc, but sometimes I do think he is a little crazy.