Brian Guillen's Ironman Canada Race Report

Salt: It’s What’s for Dinner

“Better learn balance. Balance is key. Balance good, karate good. Everything good. Balance bad, better pack up, go home. Understand? - Mr. Miyagi to Daniel-san in The Karate Kid

Going into my third Ironman-distance event and having had picture-perfect training, I was set to make my strongest showing yet. No injuries, very little deviation from my sixth-month training plan and the confidence of getting in several key 80 -90 degree training days all seemed to point to a certain succes of achieving my goals for the day’s race. However, I a made one mistake for which I would pay dearly. I misjudged a vital element for endurance sport success in heat: electrolyte balance.

The horn sounded on the beach signaling the start of a very long day for some 2650 competitors. Over five thousand adrenaline-filled arms instantaneously churned the waters white. Why the typical cannon’s fire to start IMC had been replaced by the same starting device used for the local triathlons was a question that I found unanswerable as I swam in between, around and, sometimes, over bodies in the turbulent waters around me. Chasing the floating feet ahead of me, I made my way around the bouys for 2.4 miles (if I was so lucky as to swim straight!). I exited the water in 1:06.

Onto the bike and through the streets of Penticton I fought the urge to let the adrenaline dictate my pace and allowed time start taking in fluids. Water was the drink of choice. Heading south on I-97 to Osoyoos, I came upon a massive peleton, roughly 25 riders strong. Ironman is supposed to by an individual sport so drafting on the bike is grounds for a penalty. However the size of this group was apparently too much for the officials to enforce, so I rode this “gravy train” down to Osoyoos and continued to drink lots of water. Richter Pass broke up the peleton and I happily ascended alone to the screaming crowds lining both sides of the street at the top of the pass

At mile fifty, I experienced the first signs of trouble: leg cramping. I suddenly realized that, aside from food items, I had consumed primarily water with no supplementation with salt tablets.Unknowingly, I had been diluting my system of vtal electrolytes for the past three and a half hours. The cramps got worse and, at times, I had to stop pedaling to try to rub out the involuntary contractions from the quad and groin muscles. At mile 75 or so was special needs. Oh, was I craving the Red Bull that I had packed so lovingly in my bag earlier in the morning! I got my bag and happily ripped into it grabbing one of two Little Debbie strawberry and cream rolls. But as I pulled out the cream roll, my Red Bull and other cream roll spilled out of the bag rolling across the asphalt behind me! Oh, the humanity! Oh, the horror! More than anything, this was a huge psychological blow. If I had been properly hydrated with electrolyte, I would have mustered a single tear as I watched my Red Bull roll into the ditch behind me.

In the remaining miles of the bike I fought cramps and I watched person after person come past me and I watched my primary goals of the race slip away. I completed my bike split in 5:29.

Onto the run I settled into an easy, comfortable pace. Using slightly different muscles I didn’t have any cramping issues. However, the damage that the cramps had done to my quads was nothing they would let me forget. Feeling relatively fine down to mile 10, I started to have the urge to urinate. At mile 12, I hopped into a sweltering port-o-potty and tried to relieve, but to no avail. Again at mile 13, I tried again. Nothing. The sensation soon became overwhelming. It was akin to the following:

Monday morning, 8:00am: You arrive at work with your delectable venti non-fat latte and head straight to a two-hour meeting.

8:55am: You suck down the last drop of your delectable venti non-fat latte.

9:15am: All 20 ounces of your delectable venti non-fat latte have passed through your stomach, intestine and kidneys and have now filled your bladder beyond its normal capacity. And in only 45 short minutes, the meeting will be over and you can go use the restroom.

As I continued jogging over the next several miles, the pain and the concern that I could not urinate continued to haunted me. At long last, the stress and the pain became too much: my will snapped like an old, tired elastic band stretched beyond its limits. I succumbed to walking. As I walked, that uncomfortable sensation seemed to subside. Still, I was worried about my kidneys. In my casual stroll around mile 17, I came upon medics picking up some unfortunate soul who gazed upon me with dark and bloodshot eyes that were focused lazily on something thousands of miles behind me. The medics were not too concerned about my condition so, as they loaded the man teetering on the brink of consciousness into the ambulance, I continued walking on, drinking chicken broth and cheering on those passing me and those heading the opposite way on the course.

At mile 21, as I was reaching my ultimate psychological low, something happened that dropped me deeper into the next circle of hell. A man in a full tiger suit came running past me. “r-r-r-ROAR,” he growled. He accompanied his fearsome growl by a rather feminine I-scratch-at-you-with-my-razor-sharp-tiger-claws gesture. In my mind, I roared back with a gesture which, under more positive times, I would not have even considered. At mile 23, I realized that I would have to run to break 12 hours. Soon thereafter, I found myself galloping along at a 7:30 pace passing all who passed me in the last few miles. At mile 25, my day was made: I flew by Tiger Boy as he impressed the crowed with his feline antics. I gave the man a high five and, at a sub-seven minute pace, finished the last mile of a very long day. Official finish time: 11:54:12.

Finals Thoughts:

• Electrolyte Balance: the primary mistake I made was not taking in e
• ectrolytes early on the bike. When I realized this mistake, it was already too late. Because of the heat and effort, I could not recover enough electrolytes to keep cramps at bay.
• I’m still not sure what happened on the run with the kidneys. Again, taking it a little easier on the bike (not getting wrapped up with the group early on) and getting proper hydration with salt tabs would likely have allowed for better fluid absorption throughout the day.
• Lastly, thoughts of quitting were pervasive once the going got tough. However, I remembered the last phone call with my wife, Tracy, before the race: “Brian, I’ll still love you if you come in dead last.” It was a very subtle point: I could come in last, but quitting was not an option. That’s exactly what I used to keep me going through the hard times of the race.