I made the mistake of viewing the NBC 2008 World Championships video with my wife, Lisa. In the first few minutes, after watching all the people collapsing during and after the race, Lisa turned to me and asked, “So why are you doing this?”
The question persisted with the descriptions of the wind that ” routinely knocks people off their bike” and that shift during the race “so that you are usually facing a stiff headwind for most of the race”. The Athlete Information Package described the wind as, “these winds blow 5-35 mph and, in extreme conditions can gust up to 60 mph….”
I looked it up on weather.com and saw the wind patterns and confirmed the wind shift.
That was another mistake as I then saw the heat and humidity scales for an normal day in October. ( 86 degrees at least 65% humidity = 93 to 98 degrees.) The national weather service helpfully states ” Extreme Caution — Likelihood of heat disorders with prolonged exposure or strenuous disorders. ” The Athlete package says, “while air temperatures may register in the high 80s to low 90s, temperatures along this section of the course may exceed 100 degrees Fahrenheit due to the reflected heat from the lava and asphalt.” Great.
Apparently some people who inflate their tires to normal levels may have them blow out later as the temperature rises. It is also ‘reassuring’ to see the winner of the Ironman doing the marathon with two bags of ice under his shirt.
The good news is that now I am more concerned about the heat than about the winds!
( For reference, my first marathon, the San Diego Marathon in May was a cool 62 degrees….and I still got dehydrated even with drinking water or Gatorade most all the way across the course.)
Eating the right foods, getting the right level of hydration and electrolytes while avoiding debilitating gastro-intestinal distress will be critical for even having a shot at completing the event. That’s why my father-in-law no longer calls me by name; he just calls me “Crazy Man.”
So why I am doing this?
To help raise money to find a cure for type 1 diabetes.
Follow this link to my personal web page and help me in my efforts to support Janis Charity Challenge. The money goes to a great cause JDRF, with the ability to help people with type 1 and type 2 diabetes as well as potential others with autoimmune diseases.
Thanks for your help!
Mark Fischer-Colbrie
Mark Fischer-Colbrie is set to compete in the Ford Ironman World Championship on Saturday, October 10, 2009, on the Big Island of Kona, Hawaii and he is simultaneously raising money for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF). Fischer-Colbrie is one of 1,800 world athletes who will via for the title of Ironman earned by completing 2.4-miles of ocean swimming, 112-miles of biking, and a 26.2-mile marathon run through challenging lava-covered terrain in less than 17 hours. A self described former ‘couch-potato’, Fischer-Colbrie decided to use the event to raise awareness of type 1 diabetes by raising funds for JDRF through the Janus Charity Challenge. Janus makes an additional $10,000 contribution to the charity of the top Ironman World Championship fund raiser. Mark hopes to earn the contribution for JDRF in addition to what he is able to raise.