IRONMAN Zurich : 21st July,2019.
Race Report
The night before the race:
Finally, the D-day was upon me. After months of consistent training, I was eagerly waiting for this day and was fully prepared both mentally and physically to take this challenge. Had an early dinner, listened to Sunil sir’s podcast and went to sleep.
Please follow the link to access the complete list of race kit: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1BOGMEKga7MwuDoBawfvZz3bCCVYVbTcazEMRPdjKmYc/edit?usp=sharing
Race morning:
I had a surprisingly sound sleep. Race excitement was slowly kicking in. I took a shower, prayed a little, wrote in my morning journal, had my pre-race meal and got ready for the event. I told myself, “Now is the time to be focused and relaxed. Enjoy every stroke,pedal and step of the race. Abhishek Pattjoshi from India, you are an Ironman”. I spoke to my parents,took their blessings and left for the race venue. There was a slight drizzle in the air, so swimming would pose a greater threat than expected. I met Sunil sir and others in the transition area. Sir helped me put on my wet-suit and then I did my warmup exercise routine. We all greeted each other and got ready for the race by 6.45 am.
Pre-Race Meal (at 4.15 am): Bulletproof coffee. 2 toasted brown bread with peanut butter and then a chocolate flavored yogurt.
Swim Leg : (3.8kms)
I was very confident of having a strong finish, my strategy was to do it comfortably and enjoy every moment of the race. First couple of meters, I took it easy and then got into my rhythm. There was no fogging in my goggles, so I was able to locate the buoys perfectly. The Zurich lake was so beautiful and the water was crystal clear, so I was just living in the moment and chanting the mantra “ Reachh..Pakkad..Kheech…” continuously.
In the actual race, things never go as planned. Midway, it started to rain heavily .Water became rough and sighting became tough, and there was a chaos among fellow swimmers. I just smiled, thanked the universe for throwing another challenge at me and continued swimming. Minutes later, panic struck when I had a small clash with a fellow swimmer. My left calf felt a slight pull. I realized that my tracker was a little loose, and I thought losing it would mean direct disqualification from the race. I immediately went to the nearby boat, tightened the tracker, flexed my left calf with the volunteers support and got back into rhythm. The rain stopped after sometime and by then only a couple of meters were left. I took a sigh of relief and finished the swim with a total time of 1 hr 55 mins. I was visibly happy, and with a big smile on my face I posed for a picture and went for the first transition (T1). All the things were in place, so I quickly changed and left for the most challenging part of the race, the bike leg.
Bike Leg : (180.2kms)
At the starting point, I couldn’t spot any of my friends or family members. I was a bit tensed so I hurriedly got onto the saddle a little before the start line. Seeing this, the referee was about to give me a yellow card (time penalty), but I immediately realized my mistake and got off the saddle. I walked till the start line and just as I started cycling, I spotted Adish bhai and Vishi sir cheering for me. In the initial 5kms, I took it easy and then constantly chanted my bike mantras and started following my nutrition and hydration strategy. It was simple, “every 15 mins a sip of UP-TK hydration mix and every 30 mins a homemade energy bar”. It was drizzling, so I was very careful about skidding and falling off from the bike. At the first penalty box at 30kms, I thought of checking if I have a penalty. While going off road to the penalty box, my front wheel slipped. I couldn’t uncleat my shoes and in seconds time, I was lying flat on the ground. My right arm & knee got bruised and my helmet’s visor was thrown away. For a second there, I laughed at myself. I had never crashed during my training sessions but as I mentioned above, nothing goes as per the plan on the final day. I quickly came back to my senses, gathered some courage, sipped some water, and smiled at the volunteers who helped me as I started riding again.I was happy to know that there was no penalty for me, so now I was mentally prepared for anything that the race could throw at me. First loop of 90kms was over, I finished 20 mins before the 1.10 pm cutoff. Met Heinz & my family members, greeted them and started the 2nd loop of another 90kms with a little more confidence.
Around 145kms into the race, the elevation was so high that I could feel a cramping sensation in my right thigh area. After sometime, my quadriceps started getting locked, so to avoid a major fall, I got off the bike, parked it and sat down for a minute. I could see my elevated nerves crawling like worms under my skin, this was the time when I almost gave up. Then this beautiful quote “When you feel like quitting, think about why you started” came to my mind. I had started this journey because I wanted to bring a change in my lifestyle and to overcome my fear of being inadequate, by achieving a title as prestigious as the “ Ironman”. I immediately took a pinch of pink salt and put it under my tongue. Fellow athletes who passed by, encouraged me to not give up. So, I finally got up, walked for sometime and then started pedaling slowly. I had this strategy that I should keep taking pink salt directly every 15 mins to avoid further cramps. The last couple of kms was a race against time. Anoop bhai and I motivated each other to push harder as it was a do or die situation for us now. Finally, I managed to complete the bike cut off just 4 mins before the deadline of 5pm. My total bike time was 7hrs 50 mins. I wasn’t very happy with the timing, but I had a sense of relief as I was still in the race, so I quickly went for the second transition (T2). During T2, I parked my bike, got into my running gear, did some trigger-point therapy, took a couple of salt capsules and slowly started my run.
Run Leg : (42.2kms)
I felt very relaxed since I knew I had sufficient time to complete the mammoth task of running a full marathon. As I started, I could hear the Ironman celebrations for fellow athletes who had just completed the race. It was a mixed feeling for me, happiness as I could see the glory that awaited at completion but also disappointment that I was yet so far behind the finish line. In the first loop of 10 kms, I maintained caution to avoid any further injuries. I was feeling strong and also full, so I avoided eating anything and just had a flat coke and some pink salt throughout the run. For the next 3 loops, my strategy was to maintain a constant pace and clear the internal cutoff and to my surprise, I did my entire run in my Zone 1 HR. During the last loop, I was a bit emotional. The thought of “So close, yet so far” was killing me. I ensured that I don't make any mistakes now which could end my race. Finally after 15 hrs 44 mins, I saw the red carpet. The feeling was amazing, it was a dream come true for me. With the Indian flag in my hands, I crossed the finish line. The moment that I had been waiting for had finally come. ”Abhishek, You are an Ironman!” these words echoed in my head as I was standing dumbstruck in front of the crowd, waiting for that feeling to sink in, waiting to see my family and friends beaming with pride, waiting for the pat on the back from my sir, waiting for the moment to last forever…
Strava Activity Links:
Swim : https://strava.app.link/ionF0MXKeZ
