Swiss Ironman 2006

As most of you know, I was unable to complete Ironman. At the time, especially during the bike portion of the race, my frustration levels were very high. However now that I have had time to reflect, I now know I can complete an Ironman and my resolve has become only stronger from this event. See Race Details below slides.
 

The Day: The chaos of the swim is what you come to expect in any triathlon but I have to admit that it was far more aggressive in the corners than anything I had experienced previously. People would simply push you out of the way or swim over you. The funny thing is the only reason they would catch you is due to the traffic jam in the corners. Around the half way point you swim between the shoreline and a small island which is very narrow and shallow. Some people including myself had to stand and walk a few steps to get past some rocks under the water. However the water was very warm and I felt I swam my best swim ever.

The bike was another matter however as most people burst out of the gate and there is a lot of drafting in this event even though this is not allowed. To my dismay, my knee started to act up around the 10 kilometer point of the 180 kilometer ride. What killed me was the flats as my body position over the pedal on my right knee caused me to feel a pulling sensation below the knee cap on every revolution of the pedal.
I tried various positions and the one that seemed to cause the least discomfort was to hang my away from the bike as I pedalled. Oddly enough hill climbing was not a problem as soon as I stood off the pedals, allowing me to charge up the hills very easily. This was also partly due to going very slow on the flats which was like resting compared to my normal pace.

Stepping off the bike at the end of the bike course, placing my foot on the ground nearly made me keel over in pain. I barely hobbled into transition and was thinking of quitting. Okay you can feel sorry for me now :( I took my time and eventually made my way onto the run course. It was very tough to get going and even though I was not tired, my knee was being aggravated on every step. I tried jogging/walking but there was no escaping the discomfort. I eventually made it past 10km and pulled out near the finish area. Did I mention it was over 30 degrees - ya come on feel sorry for me!

Anyway I have to say I loved the way the event was put on and the people of Zurich were awesome. The best encouragement I got all day was one guy who yelled "JEFF..." a slight pause "RECOVER".

I will be back!