The Road to IRONMAN: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

Mike Drak, Author and Senior Contributor for Booming Encore, has publically shared his goal to complete the IRONMAN race in Cozumel in November, 2022. He is currently undergoing an agressive training schedule and shares updates with us on his progress.

Last weekend I participated in the two day ride to conquer cancer charity event. It’s a fun event for a great cause and riding with a large group of nice people was a welcome break from all the solitary training I’ve been doing.

It also gave me an opportunity to test myself and following are some of the training insights I gained from that ride.

The Good

My longest ride prior to the event was a solo 70 km. The rest were a mix of 50 and 60k’s. The good news is that I was able to complete the entire 220 km over the two days.

On day one I pushed myself pretty hard trying to stay around planned Ironman pace. I knew going that hard beyond my present capacities was going to cost me and it did. I went to bed tired that first night and got out of bed even more tired the next morning.

My “Why” was tested on both days but thankfully I was able to push through.

At about the 70 km mark on day 1 - I was struggling trying to get through what I thought were some challenging rollers. I was way out of my comfort zone. My heart rate was high and I had trouble catching my breath. I started to feel sorry for myself and thoughts of bailing on Ironman started to enter my mind.

However at some point another rider said to me that thankfully the big hill was behind us and things started to make sense. Those rollers I struggled with were part of a long assent that for some reason I hadn’t noticed.

Another test came on day 2 around the 50 km mark. It started to rain quite heavily and of course I had left my rain jacket behind at the hotel. It was cold and I thought about bailing and calling the Contessa (my wife) for a pick up but I didn’t know exactly where I was. I had no other option than to just grind it out and keep pedalling to the end.

The Bad

During the night while sleeping on day 1 I experienced some terrible cramping. This was likely caused by riding beyond my current limit, inadequate nutrition and a lack of stretching (I was too tired to stretch). Fortunately, these are both are things that are fixable in the days ahead.

The Ugly

I was completely exhausted after the ride and didn’t start feeling right until Wed. Every part of my body was sore and all I wanted to do everyday was take a nap.

And to think at Ironman I will only need to swim for 3.8 km before the 180 km bike and then finish things off with a full marathon (42 km).

Because of all the training I now know what Picasso meant when he said it takes a long time to become young.

I allowed myself to grow soft due to non-use and not to aging which was not a smart thing to do because a sedentary life will kill you. The road back for a 67 year old out of shape person is a long one but it’s a price that must be paid.

Completing Ironman in November will be a rebirth for me - a new beginning with a new body. My ultimate goal is to live a fully functioning life until the last possible moment - whenever that may be.