Ironman Race Weekend
Location: Morro Bay Race
Main Event: Ironman Morro Bay. 70.3
Date: May 17-20 (race day:5/19)
If you haven’t heard of Morro Bay, maybe you would recognize it from the iconic picturesque Morro Rock. I personally never heard of Morro Bay, prior to Blake signing up for the Ironman race. Honestly, since Ironman, one of the cool things about the race is that they have races globally. All over the United States. So, for one wanting to compete, it can take you to so many places that one may never have visited otherwise. Another reason to how this idea was sprung up for taking the summer off was because of Blake’s Ironman race dates. When we were choosing what races for his team roster, we were recognizing how many races were at some of the coolest places that we had never been to. So, there you have it. Travel for Ironman races and vacation, why not!? We’ve always wanted to explore the U.S. We have joked, since owning our motorhome, that we would love to just RV it to the east coast and see all the places. Since reaching this pivotal point in our lives about quality, time, moments, our children, working too much, being burnt out, we decided why not?!
This past year, we decided to take a break from work any time school breaks took place. This was time we wouldn’t have to pull the kids out of school and have it count against their allotted absence days. As mentioned, we never thought about summer break until we started looking at Blake’s race schedule. That is when the idea really started to circulate in our minds on whether we could do the summer vacation or not. 2 ½ month vacation- yikes! We did do a month-long trip a few months prior, when we decided to go to Hawaii for the month of December to visit family we hadn’t seen for awhile. There were a few things that occurred this past year that really changed our mindset, truly. Between mental and health issues that arose, many work changes, we decided, we cannot just keep waiting, dreaming and working. Time is so valuable, work will always be there, money will come and go and we have worked so hard these past years, gone through a lot of turbulence, we needed to embrace more of our children and our time to pursue, reenergizing ourselves from being burnt out and living stress free. My anxiety and stress peaked earlier this year when it began to truly become a health issue. I guess as you get older, living in flight or fight mode doesn’t work the same as your body could handle it before. Blake finally found peace within himself, and his work and…well, our kids are getting older. We won’t be able to do something like this in the future, as their sports schedules will interfere, as they get older. We learned this year with dual sports and all the programs falling into time out of school. Which in turn fell into time away from us when we would have them to ourselves. Our time with them to have them 100% is now! We won’t have many opportunities where we get them all summer long - I mean, realistically. Yes, they are our children, we have a choice. But, with all the activities and sporting things that they are into, and how busy our lives are during the school year- I can only imagine what summer break will turn into as they get older and more involved in camps, and programs. A little side tangent, I know. But this adds a little more as to why we are doing what we are doing.
Back to Morro Bay! Our first extended stop. It was short lived. The weather wasn’t anything we had expected. It was dewy, rainy, overcast and cold. A true coastal town feel. So why were we sticker shocked of the weather, I am not sure. The water was every bit of a bitterness, sitting around 53 degrees. The idea Blake was swimming in that was utterly painful to think about, in addition to all the swim buddies he would be swimming with. When I refer to swim buddies, I am not referring to humans, but rather the largest sea lions, I’ve ever seen. But truly a haven sanctuary for those seeking tranquility by the sea. Maybe not necessarily swimming in it, just saying. The waterfront was more than charming, seafood restaurants up and down the docks, piers and coastline. The sea otters and sea lions that literally took over the rocks were a sight to see, in the water swimming around, as if the whole bay area was their playground. Though, their distinctive sounds distracted the kids for about 5-10 minutes every time we walked past the popular spots they overtook! The downtown vibe was alive; being that there was an Ironman race occurring, it was loud, yet calm and all very inviting! There is no doubt that if we had come without the race, we would have had an amazing time. The little boutiques, the beach, the sunsets, and the bike trails that were offered, were things to keep any busy, active vacation busy! If you have a love for seafood, this place has an array of choices and restaurants. The four places we had gone too, did not disappoint! From an amazing salmon dish, the infamous clam chowder bread bowls, oysters, etc.…all made to perfection! We certainly got our fair share of coastal foods in! We traveled with family at this point and had our Sedona campground booked immediately after this race. We loved Sedona so much when we had gone 6 months prior, we knew we had to make another stop into the places we never made it on our prior trip! Though we left pretty abruptly the day after the race, the people, the scenery, the layout of the town was something that would be worth taking a weekend trip to. Maybe when it is just a little warmer too! LOL.
For how Blake did in his race! What a race, what a site to witness, and what a heck of a day for him! And it went so fast. First and foremost, we are always so proud of all the work put in daily for himself and for us! He does this training all before any of us wake up or when we are all off to bed. The amount of times his training has disrupted our family time/schedule: ZERO. His days are very thought through, and he makes sure that by no means does any of this, interfere with any personal or family time. Though we all love watching him race, he never wants his training to be the reason we didn’t do this or that. OR can’t do this or that. He is very adament that the training is unseen during our home life operations, if you will. After some of his long training mornings, he will have run half a marathon or biked over 30-50 miles and will come home, take a shower and be ready to go do whatever it is that we wanted to do or had planned. Hell, the day after his first distance IRONMAN, the guy went with all of us to an amusement park! All day. We all know how much walking around that takes. I actually believe that day we all had around 35,000 steps too. He was still pretty stiff legged from the day prior. You will rarely see this guy just chill. He is such a trooper. He is like the energy bunny that doesn’t ever turn off.
The amount of pain he endures, the adrenaline rush, the push, the drive, all of it. It is so much! As a spectator, it is a lot- well, for the littles anyway. Getting up early, staying occupied for the timeframe you can’t watch your athlete, the tracking, the support before, during and after, trying to keep after the kiddos and not lose them or lose your own mind for their “moments of hostile with one another” because their running on the bare minimum of sleep …it's a family affair truly; for all those involved. Though, totally worth every moment. The kids love it and I enjoy watching Blake go for it!
It is inspiring, motivational, and the environment is something that is of course, competitive, but the comradery and positivity amongst the athletes is something to experience. You truly can’t put it into words. Even as a spectator, you are rooting for each other's athletes, tracking people you’ve never met, but because you met the family, you begin rooting for them too. Athletes are pushing each other on the course, motivating each other, giving pointers to one another. Sportsmanship is something that is special when it comes to these Ironman events. The community of these people, the town, the stories of their reasons are all so amazing. Many stories are similar in a way of their reason of why they are doing something like this. Them being so dedicated and motivated to put their body through hours of grueling work to not just complete one sporting course, but a total of 3 legs that makes the one event!
The swim, the biking, the run! It isn’t just a half marathon or full marathon and you're done. It is not just a one and done. How about doing all three altogether, one right after another for hours. I still chuckle when people refer to Blake prepping for his marathon. Or a bike race. Or when people ask what 70.3 or 140.6 mean. 70.3 refers to 70.3 miles for a half distance and 140.6 for 140.6 miles for a full distance race. I get it. If you don’t know, you don’t know. But this is an IRONMAN. I have ran into multiple participants who are triathletes and even pros and have never done anything longer than the Olympic or sprint triathlon. Ironman is a whole other level- a spirit of true perseverance and quest of some sort for personal triumph. The grit and glory is the true definition of this kind. The courses IRONMAN chooses are not for the weak minded. They are grit, they are rough, and then add in mother nature- you never know what your body is going to endure. I personally have never done an event. I have vicariously watched plenty of you tube videos from amateurs to pros and their training schedules. I see Blake, my husband endure all the aggressive workouts. I don’t know what it feels like, but I see them. I see what they are doing, and I am envious of the indomitable human spirit they have, to do something like this. You see men and women of all shapes, ages and sizes. One can not judge whether they are fit enough to do something like this. This takes on a certain kind of endurance training that you don't see in just individual sports. As one has to be able to do all 3 legs within a time frame. All the other factors from nutrition pre race and during race, mother nature, the bodies, …it is an obstacle of many factors. Proving to themselves, showcasing their self worth or whatever it may be. They are fighting for something. Crossing that finish line becomes a moment of, not just completing a race, but something more special and more deep- especially a competitors first race! Emotions are so high! Each participant has a unique journey for those who seek out doing an IRONMAN. It is hard to express into words what that is like, but it is probably the most upbeat, positive race I've experienced. We have only endured one full distance, and this 70.3 but have met so many people, learned of so many amazing stories and have had many conversations with a wide range of participants. This is truly an experience that is addicting in a way, speaking as a spectator, and more so, when you have someone in the race racing it.
29 minutes into the start of the race, the announcement of the first two pro’s are officially out of the water. Two females. Freaking rockstars!! Blake started mid line, as he was delayed getting into the time slot he had wanted to be in for the swim. Each participant lines up in the tier time frame they think it will take them to finish the swim. The farther back you are, the slower you think it will take you to finish the swim. Also, the farther back you are, the more people you have to battle around. I am not kidding when I say, when everyone enters the water within the first 30 min of the horn blasting, it looks like a scene from the titanic. Bodies and arms waving in and out of the water, people swimming into each other. The race doesn’t begin for each participant until you and your tracker hit the water. There are tracking devices on each participant that tracks their time from start to finish, the tiers and the transitions. We expected another 15 minutes or so before we would see Blake exit the water. After a few moments waiting for him, we notice a couple swimmers walking towards the beginning of the race. As if they just got out of the water and were walking back to the transition area instead of doing the loop and getting out where they were suppose to. Then minutes later, followed by more swimmers walking to the Morro Rock (where transition was). Little groups of 2-3 people that then grew to groups of 5-6 people, then suddenly, groups of like 10 at a time were just passing us. Walking this walk that looked like a walk of shame. The tears, the look of disappointment, beaten, upset, mad, etc…The confusion from us spectators really started to heighten, but no one was brave enough to ask the question, “What was going on?” We were all whispering with one another though. At about the time we expected Blake to be coming out of the water, we learned of a current that is sweeping these swimmers well past where their turn was. Or just keeping them at a standstill, if you will. Swimmers fighting the current, swimming in place from some stories we heard up to 19 minutes swimming in the same place! We noticed on Blake’s tracker that he was at a stand still for a good while. We assumed then, that he too was in this current, fighting it. Blake’s slowest swim would be 1:30/100 yards in a pool. So, this was abnormal for sure. As we continue waiting and searching for Blake’s exit, at about this time it was just a straight line of defeated swimmers walking the sidewalk back to transition. What this means is they immediately receive a DNF (did not finish).
When we finally saw Blake get out of the water, the look of sheer confusion, disappointment, and tiredness looked abundantly clear in the face of his T1. We were just happy to see he was out, he was safe and he was still moving. Biking is Blake’s strongest. We knew he would rock this area. He placed 8th out of his age group for biking. As for his run, he did well. Considering having to stop to go to the bathroom and having gut issues going into mile 3. There are also other factors, he is learning that he needs to adjust pre-race as well, that will hopefully help improvement. It is an ongoing learning experience for sure as a racer. You never know what mother nature is going to do, you never know how your body will react with an abundance of sheer push of physical and mental strength. It is like life, you can prepare as much as you want, but at the end of the day, you cannot control everything. But as long as you have the mental strength to push, you can overcome whatever it may be: an Ironman, a marathon, life, etc…Overall, he placed 17th in his age group of 88 people. 122nd overall and finished time at 5:10:21. We are proud of him. He did good, pushed through, seemed happy overall, and should be so proud for his second race ever and first half distance Ironman. He placed in the top 10% for the whole thing, which is pretty dang cool.
We left Morro Bay with a win! We left cold but we left with a great experience. We can’t wait to see him tackle the next one.
