10/17/2022
Kona 2022 - Still processing, going through the post race withdrawal, trying to find answers for myself and the words to describe the experience....
UPDATE:
The days leading up to the race always go by quickly. Suddenly, it’s race morning.
It’s 5:10, Giovanni and I walk from our stay, and we get to the top of the street. Before we make our way down to the start, we embrace and say a prayer to ask for strength, protection, and peace.
Swim
The swim corral, what would be the finish chute later in the day, is getting packed as I scurry from the bathroom to find Giovanni and Allen. I hear Allen call my name as they are both already lined up in the chute with the rest of the age group. I fit through an opening in the barrier and get lined up next to them. I'm feeling relaxed as I get on my swim skin and l**e up. I offer the people around some Vaseline but at first nobody wants it. I strongly suggest that they need more because swimming in salt water will cause more chafing. Soon enough, fingers are reaching over to get some additional l**e.
We slowly make our way toward the steps that take you down into the bay. As we get down to the water, the lead pro male group is completing their swim. We swim out about 100 yards to the start and tread water for about 10 min. I look around and the age group is massive. Kona is the closest thing you’ll get to a mass start. The gun goes off and it’s mayhem. You are basically doing the Tarzan for 100 yards before you can keep you head down and swim. Elbows are flying, feet are kicking, you’re getting hit from all sides, it’s uncomfortable. I look for an opening and swim behind and around people for clean water. It isn’t until the first turn buoy that I find someone to catch onto and get into a rhythm. The crowded swim is thinning out and people are either in the same slip stream or in a different paced one. At times, I feel like I can go faster but as soon as I try, I quickly realize the feet I’m following is moving well. I start feeling the chafing in my armpit and collarbone and think that I should have taken my own advice. I’m not looking forward to the sting that I will get when I pour water on myself.
Soon enough, I can see the inflated Gatorade bottle on the pier so it can only be a few hundred meters to go. Concentrating on the feet in front of me really made the swim go by a lot faster than usual.
Swim Split: 1:07:44
Bike
202nd place out of the water and onto the bike. The first ~10 miles had you loop around back down Palani Road toward transition and do an out and back up Kuakini Highway before heading out onto the Queen Ka’ahumanu Highway (Queen K) towards Hawi. Once onto the Queen K, it’s constant rollers and headwind. There really is no flat road for the entire bike ride. I found that there was lots of jockeying for position for about 10 miles on the Queen K. There was a long line of riders along the right side of the road and nowhere to get in without getting a drafting penalty. I stayed on the left for a very long time, slowly passing one-by-one. People would pass me on my left and at times we were 4 wide. It was frustrating as there were groups of people passing me, blatantly drafting. There was one person who would slot into the draft zone, catch the rider, slingshot past him, then do it again and again and again. People would sit on his wheel every time and enjoy the free ride. I was calling people out, but it was getting tiring. Another racer told me to relax and that’s when I told myself that he was right. It wasn’t worth the energy, and it was taking me out of my headspace. The pack was gone! I settled down and went back to focusing my effort and taking in my nutrition. At the next few aid stations, I’d see a few of those that were in the pack, and I’d pass them. I see a group ahead of me and I’m making up ground and think have they over biked already? It’s now about mile 40 and I get to the start of the Hawi climb and see my friend, Carl. I slow a bit and we exchange words of encouragement and share a quick laugh. Prior to the race, we had joked that I would catch him on the bike and in return he would catch me on the run. Carl and I have been in the same Ironman race for last 6 of 7 races, all the way back to Santa Rosa and even as far back as the 2018 IM Lake Placid, and it’s always been like this.
The climb to Hawi is mostly rolling for about 10 miles so it’s fast but the last 7 miles are a steady climb up so it’s important to manage your effort here. The last 7 miles you also get a headwind, so it becomes even more important to stay within your power numbers and if possible, stay aero. People got out of their saddle and surged past me, but I stayed steady and aero, and shortly overtook and dropped them. The importance of staying steady cannot be stressed enough. Sure, you can surge and power ahead but at what cost? I get to the top of Hawi and after the turnaround, I see several people under the yellow penalty tent. I have a glance and recognize a few. I take a drink, pick up steam and hit my top speed (41.5 mph) on the descent back down. The crosswind is light so I’m not being tossed to the side. I continue to pass people and just think that they must not be comfortable in aero at high speeds. I make it down the steepest part and the adrenaline is high. I pass an aid station with a very few volunteers, so I am not able to grab anything. I’m hoping what I have remaining will get me to the next one. Back onto the Queen K for the remaining 30 miles. I’m still passing people, what’s going on? I eat a gel, I’m feeling good, the legs can push harder. There seems to be a tailwind now and the speed is high. I get to Waikoloa and the spectators are still out cheering us on and it gives me goose bumps knowing I’m almost at T2. I get to the lookout climb and it’s getting HOT, staying aero, I push into zone 3 and my legs are feeling good. I get to the top and it’s full speed ahead. I feel like I’m flying now. With 20 miles to go, I’m increasing my power, I’m still passing people, there’s still a drafter. I know I’m in a good place physically because if I’ve over biked, I would be fatigued at this point and would want throw by bike into the ocean. I pass the airport going 30 mph, it’s all down hill from here. I turn off the Queen K and get my feet out of my shoes. I turn down Palani and I dismount into T2. I did my thing. Gained 170 positions, 32nd off the bike.
Bike Split: 4:53:17
Rewind to St. George…I had taken too many carbs without enough water on the bike that left me on the side of the road and under a tree during the run. I suffered from dehydration that day. I had vowed to myself that I would not let that happen to me again here in Kona. I think that developed into a fear which caused me to under fuel. The goal was to grab two bottles of water at each aid station and rely on the calories I had with me. I had about 600 liquid calories of Skratch Superfuel, 280 calories from Bobo’s, 1300 calories from GU blocks and GU gels, total of 2180 calories. I had stuck to grabbing the water bottles and grabbed a couple of Red Bull’s on two different occasions that provided some additional calories. I drank the water from the bottles and used it to refill my hydration bladder in the downtube of my bike. I drank my liquid calories, ate the GU blocks regularly, and was taking the GU Roctane electrolyte supplement every hour. I thought my nutrition plan was going well. After the Hawi turnaround, I ditched the flask I had filled with GU gels (500 calories). I ditched it because I felt OK and didn’t think I needed it. I had the remaining aid stations to grab calories, I had my GU blocks, and I also had a few Maurten gels that I grabbed as I was exiting the T1 changing tent.
Run
I quickly changed my top, socks, and lace up my shoes. A volunteer gives me an iced towel and I gladly accept it and put it around my neck. I put my bib number around my waist, fill up my water bottle and head out up Palani. What seems to be a quick change turns out to be over 5 minutes.
I make a right on Kuakini Highway and my legs aren’t feeling like I hoped. People are already passing me and I try to stay composed. I’m thinking that in a few miles my legs will feel better. I get down to Ali’i Drive where the crowd is loud, I have no idea the pace I’m running but I get a boost of energy from the cheers. However, it doesn’t last long. I get over the first hill in front of Huggo’s and remember saying to myself to just get to the first aid station. Getting to it was a small victory. I come to a walk to get some fluids in and continue. Shortly after, I hear “go Matthew!”. It’s Carl’s better half, Melita, cheering me on. Another boost of energy that is short lived again. I can’t seem to keep a higher energy level. It’s getting hot and I make sure to make use of every hose down opportunity I can find. Along Ali’i Drive, people bring out hoses to spray you down and there couldn’t have been enough. Even though there was a breeze, it was HOT. I got near the turnaround point and glanced at my watch. I was WAY OFF pace and my HR was high. I knew I couldn’t sustain where I was so I had to pull back. Shortly after the turnaround, I saw Giovanni and he looked GOOD. He had a smile on his face which means he was having a good day because usually it’s blank. As I went through each aid station, I made sure to get ice down my shirt, and poured cold water all over my body. After doing this a few times along Ali’i, my HR settled down. I get back to the big crowd in front of Lava Java, I feed off the energy again and I see Hillary. I don’t even have enough energy to reach out to give her a high-5. The bursts of energy are short lived and it’s just survival. I’m only at mile 6 and done with the out and back on Ali’i but it’s way too early to be in survival mode.
Now it’s time to go up Palani, the steepest climb of the run, to get to the Queen K. My feet are moving and I’m able to run up. It’s there that I see Melita again, cheering loudly. It gives me another boost. She runs with me for a bit, tells me my ranking, I smile, give a double shaka and make it to the top. I’ve dropped about 20 spots in ranking and I’m OK with it. Out on the Queen K now with the wind blowing in my face. It feels refreshing but the sun hits me on the left side and it’s HOT. I start to catch some that passed me earlier, but more people continue to pass. The aid stations seem to be getting further and further apart. When you’re out on the Queen K, you can see for miles and when you can’t see the next aid station that you so desperately need, it’s deflating. I pull myself back to the present and just continue to put one foot in front of the other. I say to myself, it will get here when it gets here. That’s when I can take a break, walk, and get some more ice and water all over me. I drank mostly water but occasionally took some Gatorade, Coke, and Red Bull. I can’t remember exactly when, but I remember seeing Michael Weiss, Lionel Sanders, Collin Chartier, and Chris Leiferman on their way back to finish the marathon and thinking….I wish. I also remember trusting the fart and thinking how I didn’t have to go poo like I usually have to on the run. I knew it was only a matter of time but was pretty happy about that. I was knocking off mile by mile, walking through each aid station to get ice and refill my bottle. I would also dunk my hat into the garbage pails that were full of ice water to help keep me cool. There were some stations where a volunteer would even dump a gallon of ice-cold water all over me. I wasn’t taking in a lot of calories, in fact, I only remember eating 2 GU chomps other than the little bit of liquid calories. Keeping cool is one aspect of running in Kona but I was more focused on that than the other important aspect, EATING!
Going into and coming out of the Energy Lab wasn’t bad, it was when I got back onto the Queen K with about 6 miles to go. The little energy I had started fading quickly. I could feel my jaw tightening. I knew I needed sugar and the next aid station was still far off. I started to think, what if...what if I just completely BONKED? Thankfully, I was able to make it to the aid station and chugged a bottle of Gatorade. I felt lifted but not jolted and running on fumes. The miles ticked off slowly and it was a little before mile 24 where the inevitable happened, I hit the porta potty. My goal was out of reach at this point but I was OK with it. I knew the finish was close and that I’d probably beat my Kona finish time of 2019 so I was content. I kept on telling myself over the last 10k (6.2 miles) that I just needed to get to bottom of Palani and I had finally made it there. One mile left and the energy was coming back. The pace picked up and I ran down Ali’i into the finisher chute. It was lined with SO MANY cheering fans. It’s where I saw Victoria, the host of my stay, who ran a few steps with me before I took my final steps to cross the finish line.
Run Split: 3:55:52
Finish Time: 10:07:37
98th in the 45-49 AG
Post Recap Reflection:
It was a great opportunity to be able to travel and race with friends (Giovanni, Allen, and Kevin), two of which I coach (Giovanni and Allen). With each of us thinking about our own race, finding our own ways to calm our nerves, it was obvious we handled race week anxiety differently. It was an experience I would not change for the world. I learned a lot about being a coach and a competitor of the same race.
Was it a mistake that I threw away my flask of GU gels (400-500 calories) after the turnaround at Hawi. In the moment, I thought it was a good idea to empty my pockets because I felt good with the amount I had taken in up to this point. Was it too much time spent on my feet leading up to the race? Should I have taken a rest day? I always look for an answer but I don’t think there is one single reason why things happened the way they did. All I can do it to put it behind me (reflect and not dwell) and move forward.
I don’t know what the future holds for racing the 140.6 distance but I do know that I’m grateful to have had to opportunity to race Kona again and eternally grateful to my wife (Connie) and kids (Kayla and Sophia) for always supporting and encouraging me to pursue my dream. Thank you to the athletes that I coach and friends that I train with for your inspiration and pushing me to achieve more.
Thank you God for all of your blessings!
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