Miracle Kids 2 and Pigman Half
Ironman Wisconsin is right around the corner – September 13th to be precise. Pigman Half is a great tune-up race for Ironman Wisconsin and is possitioned at a perfect time. I did this race in 2007 and managed a 2nd place behind super star David Thompson (well behind by the way). This year I knew that the field was stacked and everyone is simply faster all the way around than 2007 at every race. Add to the competition severe weather condidtions and you have yourself an unforgettable race!
Prior to Pigman, I raced with my buddy Shane Swenson at the 2nd Miracle Kids at Lake Ann in Chanhasen. The course was extremely hilly and Shane had a new hand cycle that was deadly fast, especially on the downhills. This kid is fearless and made me run; scratch that, SPRINT on the downhills. Although I wanted to do a few openers to get ready for Sunday’s Pigman half, a couple of those downhills put me a bit on the rivet trying to keep up. Shane always amazes me with his grit and determination. Although Shane was hesitant to do the swim, we hit the water happily and made it through the course without incident. Shane always starts out totally psyched and ripping it (much like I do) and then begins to get a tad redish, bead up with a bit of sweat, and begin to quiet down and concentrate on the task at hand. That’s the typical protocol, but on this day you could hear screams of pure glee as he ripped down the hills in his new race hand cycle machine. I took it upon myself to adopt this scream of glee at Pigman and found myself yelling ‘yippee’ as I hit a downhill tail wind section and clocked 46 mph. Try screaming with glee during a race – it’s invigorating and can get you totally psyched up. You’ll pick up the pace quite a bit and simply enjoy the race more. Lesson learned – thanks Shane! The run (Shane does this in his race wheelchair) was also hilly with plenty of grass, wood chips and gravel. This was a bit more challenging, but again Shane proved to be strong. Prior to the start of the race, all the kids (about 800 of them) have a procession that stops at an outdoor stage. Several people talk about Miracle Kids, hand out fundraiser awards, and much more. It gets a bit long for young kids but it is very important. At one point things were in transition between speakers and Shane yells out a big ‘AHHHH’ immediately followed by ‘sorry’ for breaking the silence. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been in a position where I wanted to just scream ‘AHHHH’ and NOT appologize. It was completely hilarious and representative of what all around were feeling at that very moment. Maybe I’ll adopt Shane’s ‘AHHH’ as well…. Shane finished up strong and not long after my nephew, Adam (who also raced and smoked his last year’s finish – everyone missed him at the finish line as he came in so fast) found us. We all chatted and congratulated each other on a fine race and then Jennie and I headed out for the drive down to Cedar Rapids.
Pigman. The most brutal conditions I have ever raced in. Downpouring right before the start. A bit of chop and high winds during the swim. Brutal winds and wet roads for the bike. Clouds parting, sun high and humidity through the roof on the run. You hear stories about the wind at Hawi in Hawaii, but this was as bad if not worse for the ENTIRE race, not just a small section as in Hawaii. The rain let up a bit right when we started the swim. I had a fantastic start swimming on David Thompson’s feet for the first 500. After that he decided to start racing and dropped me like I was sea turtle trying to swim with a tuna. But sea turles are more graceful so I got that going for me! I got out on the bike very smoothly and started out super easy. You climb out of the park and the transition from the swim to bike is a long uphill grind, so I thought it best to keep the heart rate in check and pick things up after climbing out of the park. I immediately hit a head wind after leaving the park but found I was staying on top of a solid gear and was steadily moving up. I only had to pass 5 people to get to 2nd position on the road and managed to catch all but David Thompson before the turn around. The wind was brutal and I choked up on the aero bars quite a bit, sat way back in the saddle, and tried to hold the most steady possition that I could while staying as relaxed as possible. The wind was not steady but was gusting from all over the place. You would be lured into thinking you had a tail wind or head wind and then suddenly get blasted from the side. There were several crashes from getting blown of the course and many a mangled wheel from getting blown into potholes. At about 3 miles to go it would be my turn of bad luck. I was beginning to think of the run and taking in a gel and water when ‘BAM’, my front wheel hit a hole that went down to China. Completely my fault – I wasn’t paying attention, got too relaxed and put my front end into the hole. My tire blew and my spair case launched from my bike even though it was well strapped. I had to stop, walk back and pick up the spare tube, co2, etc, which was sprawled all over the road. Since HED loans me wheels, I didn’t want to break it by riding in on a flat. So I decided to take the time to change the tube as this was ultimately a training race (althoug I really wanted to score a top 5). I changed the tube and gingerly aired it up and ‘BANG’ the new tube blew. Upon proper inspection I discovered that the tire had ripped open and the wheel got buggered up. I put the wheel back on the bike and road in very carefully the last few miles. In running the math, I lost 13 minutes plus another 2 in transition as I walked in, sat down and then got my head together to get out on the run. I caught up to Mo Mouw and we ran together for the first 3 miles or so and chatted away. I decided to get a harder ‘workout’ in and picked things up for the remainder of the run. Mo had an acute foot issue soon after I picked things up and wasn’t able to finish. I thought I was just awesome at running as I couldn’t hear Mo’s footsteps behind me and upon looking back couldn’t see him anywhere. But no, I’m an average runner after all! At any rate, I finished 12th overall and was happy that I have yet to quit a triathlon. I only wish that I hadn’t allowed my head to get the better of me momentarily after I blew up my front wheel. In the great words of Winnie The Poo, ‘Never ever ever never ever give up’.
All in all it was a fantastic weekend. Shane rocked the house again, my nephew is continuing with his triathlon racing, Pigman was epic for myself and so many others, and I had some quality time with Jennie. Props to Sarah Viamonte for getting the card stamped on her first half. Sarah is over the hump in regards to recovering from a stress fracture and Pigman was a solidifying test. Her speed will definitely be improving quickly and she’ll be smoking it at Duathlon worlds in September. Lessons learned, experiences had, life is good!
Jeremy Sartain