The 2000 GFT was to be a stepping stone to learning a little more about racing the iron distance, but more importantly I wanted to learn more about myself. My first IM back in 1993 was also at the GFT and last year I gave the IM distance another go in IMFL. I was signed up for Lake Placid for 2000 but had to pull out due to under training due to a torn meniscus. So I was focused and ready once race day came on October 21, 2000. My focus this year had been on my biking, always my weak link. On the flats I was better then average, but in the hills I was usually below average. Since GFT was hillier then IMFL I figured this would be a good test for me.

At the start of the swim I was lined up off to the right. We were going to swim in a counter clockwise direction and I was going to angle in toward the last buoy to avoid getting pummeled. The gun went off shortly after 7:30 am and I started swimming. I swam pretty much unmolested the whole first lap. When I stood up to run along shore after the first lap, the race clock said 27:05. I was pretty certain it was a short course. The second lap was again smooth sailing, and only in the last 500 yards or so did I pick up the pace. I went through the swim finish in 57:02, a pretty quick swim for me. Up into transition I went and onto my bike. As soon as I mounted my bike my aero bottle flipped upside down emptying all of it’s contents out. Also, one of my rear water bottles ejected. I calmly stopped the bike and I waited for a volunteer to run up and give me the bottle. Once again I was off. The first 5 miles are pretty steep at GFT. My legs were full of lactate right away, not a good sign at all. Everyone was hammering the hills but I tried to stay as aerobic as I could. Once we got through the steep hills, the rollers came up. I had driven this portion of the course on Thursday and I was a little intimidated and I thought for certain that I was under trained. After I cruised these hills I realized that I was going to be okay. The lactic acid had disappeared from my legs and now I was moving up in the race. After 40 miles the hills pretty much ended and I started to pick up the pace. I was picking people off and just enjoying the day. I was in a zone where all the hard work on the bike all year was about to pay off. I caught up to this guy on a Softride and we exchanged greetings. We kept passing each other and I find out he is in the Marine Corps and we exchange war stories (literally – mine about Desert Storm, his about Somalia). Anyway, come to find out his name was Ron and he has qualified for IM Hawaii 5 times. I realize I am having a REALLY great day (this guy Ron was a stud). So I end up dropping Ron after 55 miles or so. I make the turn before the sixty-mile mark and I hear the dreaded ‘pffffffffffffft’. UGHHH! A FLAT! Well about fifteen guys go by me and I’m left to fix my flat. I don’t know how much time I lost, probably about five minutes, but I lost sight of everyone. Ron ended up biking around 5:29, so I think I would have been in that range somewhere. I got off the bike with a 5:38 bike split including the flat. Into transition I go and after a quick change I’m onto the run. I leave for the run at 6:43:02. I KNOW I can run a 3:30 and at worst I’ll have a 10:30 for the day (which would have been a 3:47 marathon). My legs felt great, and I was holding back at the beginning of the run. The first five miles of the run are the same as the first five of the bike – steep hills. It’s now hot (85 degrees), humid (80%) and it’s gonna be a battle. I went easy through the first five miles not trying to catch anyone. I got a hamstring cramp at mile two, so I stopped to work that out. Then my timing chip was rubbing on my ankle so I fixed that. Finally after four miles I stopped to take a pee. I still hit mile five at 41 minutes flat. After the fifth mile the course circles Lake Minneola three times. It’s completely flat with great aid stations. I am still running well at 9 miles as I go through in seventy-two minutes. At mile eleven I catch my new friend Ron, and I am thinking that I’m back on track to a great race. Almost as soon as I thought that, everything went wrong. Stomach cramps, heavy legs, low energy, etc. I went from running eight minutes a mile to ten. I don’t even know if you can call what I did ‘running‘ at that point. It was a real struggle to keep moving forward. All the people I passed early in the run came back to pass me. The lead woman who I had passed at mile eight re-passed me at mile twenty-three and there wasn’t a darn thing I could do about it.

Eventually I made it to the bottom of the last hill, which was mile twenty-six. I only had 400 yards to go and I got a little energized. Someone yelled “Congratulations Iron Man”. I thought to myself, “Wow, I am finishing my third Ironman……that’s not something I was sure would happen after mile 10…..”

It was easily me best and worst IM at the same time. My best because I finally improved on the bike and I biked within my ability. The worst because I didn’t run where I think I’m capable of and I really fell apart. The best because when I look back at the improvement I made and all the long lonely hours of training, it really paid off on race day. So all in all it was a great day. I was able to do something I love, I was able to push my mental as well as physical limits and of course I finished. That was the whole point of these things back in 1979 wasn’t it? Anyone who could finish the event was called an Ironman. So, I’ll be back in 2001, and I’ll figure out this Ironman thing sooner or later. For now I’ll relish the memory of my 2000 season and look forward to better Ironman days.
Thanks to everyone who helped me along the way,
Mike