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Race Result

Racer: Mike Guzek
Race: Great Floridian Iron-Distance
Date: Saturday, October 25, 2003
Location: Clermont, FL
Race Type: Triathlon - Ironman
Age Group: Male 25 - 29
Time: 11:53:08
Overall Place: 45
Age Group Place: 2



Race Report:



I didn't know I was going to do this race until about 10 days before the actual race. Going into the Dook ironman I reminded my girlfriend that GFT was in 2 weeks…."just in case something goes wrong at Dook". After a very successful race at Dook, I was sitting at a table during the awards brunch with David Glover and Brady and commented that "well, looks like we aren't doing GFT!" Weeeelllllll, the next day there was an email in my inbox from Glover asking if I wanted to do the race. I thought he was kidding and called his bluff by saying that I was down….I realized later that he wasn't bluffing. Before I knew it, I was on Orbitz.com booking my flight. It's quite a jolt to have a couple days where you think you are completely done with your season….glowing from a successful IM finish….and then all of a sudden finding yourself 10 days out from another Ironman, 5 states away. Glover also managed to recruit Aaron Schwartzbard to do the race too. Just to be fair, Aaron went ahead and did a double IM 2 weeks out from the race to ensure that none of us had any excuses to go fast.

The 3 of us flew down there together on Friday (the race was on Sat.) and spent the day doing all those little things you have to do. We had to: register, eat, hit the grocery store, check in to the hotel, assemble the bikes, swing by bike support, check in the bikes, eat, pack our bags, etc. We briefly saw Steve, who was doing the half, and for the most part things went pretty smooth. Around 9:30 we got to bed and I think we were all pretty relaxed.

Race Morning
Parking was a bit chaotic, but we got to the transition area with a little over an hour before the race start. I got everything checked in and headed down to the lake (which was the color of iced tea…or Bass Ale if you are a triathlete who likes to indulge as I do….sadly, it didn't taste like Bass Ale). I ran into Glover a few minutes before the start. I think all 3 off us were a little curious as to how our bodies would respond on 2 weeks rest. We all felt pretty good, but it's hard to say where (if at all) in the race your body will remind you that it's not ready for this. There is only one way to find out and we were 2 minutes from finding out.

The swim course was more or less an elongated rectangle where you swam way out, turned left for a short bit, turned left again and swam way back to shore. You ran across the beach and did it again. The course was slanted to the right so if you looked at the course from the air it would look like the Leaning Tower of Pisa. The majority of swimmers decided not the swim up the line of buoys and instead opted to move down shore about a hundred yards and swim straight to the furthest buoy. I opted to stay close to the buoys figuring that I might have a little longer of a distance to swim but I would probably swim a straighter line since I had more buoys to sight off of. The gun went off and I was alone until the first turn buoy about 10 minutes into the race. I had to push a little but I jumped on the back of a pack and felt really good in the water. When we exited the water and ran across the beach, my heart rate skied and I couldn't breath. This never happens to me like this and I had to walk out into the water and watch my pack of swim buddies leave me. This got me thinking I was in over my head in trying to do 2 IM races in 14 days and I pouted as I swam the second loop and watch several people pass me. I swam poorly for a while but I realized I was being a total baby and a couple minutes in the swim was not going to make a bit of difference for me. If I was going to feel the effects of the earlier race, it would be on the bike and run. I snapped out of my funk and finished in 57:27, 10th overall.

The wetsuit strippers positioned themselves in a spot on the beach where there was lots of debris. When I got back up after they had ripped my suit off, I had sand, grass and all kinds of things stuck to me. Most of that stuff made the journey around the course with me and crossed the finish as well. Somewhere there is a blade of grass bragging to his other grass buddies about finishing the GFT.

Shortly after I entered the change tent at T-1, Glover showed up. He mentioned something about barfing during the swim and beat me out of the tent as I took care to be sure I had things in order. I was just happy at that point that I swam faster than Glover. There was probably someone who came in behind us complaining about how the lake water tasted like barf.

Early in the bike I was happy that I felt good. I had a fear that within the first couple pedal strokes I would feel bad, but things seemed pretty good. About an hour into the ride I started to notice that it was getting pretty hot and it was only 9:30. I gobbled down 2 electrolyte supplements in the first hour as I drank my Extran (that has no electrolytes) and tried to pay extra special attention to body maintenance. I stretched on the bike about every 15 minutes. I unclipped my shoes and shook my legs out on every downhill. I poured water over my head and face to stay as cool as possible. I wasn't sure what effect, if any, might be lingering for the Dook race, but I was willing to sacrifice a few minutes here and there to not find out. The wind was blowing pretty good right from the beginning and things were shaping up to be a tough day. The road conditions were fair and in some places they were pretty bad. All the bumping was killing my triceps and hurt my neck since I had to always keep my head up. I tried to ride very conservative the first lap and not let myself get fazed by those that passed me. I drank plenty of Gatorade, munched on pretzels and took about 10 electrolyte capsules over the ride. The last 20 miles of each loop offered a series of long (3/4s of a mile…ish) steep climbs capped off by the legendary Sugarloaf. I made it through that unhurt and cruised into special needs at exactly 3 hours. I had hoped to make special needs in less than that, but I forced myself to stay patient until mile 80 and see if I could pick things up there.

I felt good on the early stages of the second lap and at mile 80 I started to pick it up just a little. I was happy to pass close to 10 people over the last 30 miles. I think I got a little to eager to push the pace and I fizzled out quite a bit over the last 10 miles and finished in 41st place overall with a time of 6:04:12. This time was slower than I had hoped, but I sensed that between the heat and wind along with a tough course design that included 5300 feet of climbing, times were probably a little slower across the board…..at least that's I was telling myself as I hit T-1 ; -)


I am not sure what happened in T-2, but I know what didn't happen, and that was speed. After more than 6 minutes I headed out for the marathon. I didn't feel so hot and I was pretty concerned. I was running, however, and that was a good start. I hooked up with a guy, Kent, from Texas and we ran together from mile 3 all the way to about 11 where I had to bid him farewell and fade away to the land of the struggling. I wasn't in bad shape, I just wasn't in good shape. Heat was a big factor and I dumped copious amounts of water all over myself. Up to that point I was probably running about 9 minute miles. From that point forward I started taking additional walk breaks in between aid stations and found myself really fighting to keep going. Perhaps there were some effects from the earlier race, but I feel like the big issue was the heat. I also found myself at some points looking for motivation. Glover and I talked about this after the race and he had similar issues. There was a temptation to use the Dook race as a crutch and say "I can just walk this marathon…I did an IM 2 weeks ago….it's more than enough to have made it this far….what does it matter if I walk or run this??" That became very tough to deal with. But I tell you…you look around and you see all these other people in pain…you see people running sideways…you see people shuffling along with their eyes glazed over….you even see people still coming in on their bikes who haven't even started their run yet and you realize that you owe it to all these other people here to give 100% of what you have. Anytime I thought I was starting to lose focus, I would just look around and I found inspiration in every direction. It's such a motivating sight to see all these people with a common goal, just trying to move forward. This run was tough. If you could run a 4 hour marathon then you would have posted the 22nd fastest run split on the day…out of 583 athletes only 21 could break 4 hours, so most people out there were really digging deep to keep the legs moving, and I was one of them





I think things stabilized around the midway point, and whatever pace I was running there I was able to maintain the rest of the way. I saw Steve as I passed through town who had just finished his half (way to go Steve for finishing 2nd ….boo Steve for getting the swim cap penalty and finishing 4th after the 4 minute penalty). Steve gave me a nice boost in a bright yellow RATs shirt and I set off for 2 more 7-mile laps. There was a handful of guys I traded spaces with over the last two laps and we helped to push each other with words of encouragement as we leapfrogged each other around the lake. As I was finishing up my 2nd lap which was around mile 18 I heard someone yell "Guzek!" from behind. It was Glover trucking in route to an amazing 6th overall. He was donning some beads he had scored at an aid station. Triathletes are pretty much naked to begin with so I hated to think of what he had to do in order get them so I didn't bother to ask. Seeing him was a big boost and we ran together for a few hundred yards before we smacked hands and he finished up the last mile and a half. About a mile later, Aaron came up from behind although he was on his first loop : ( There was some trouble with his bike seat during the ride and he had quite a delay. He was kind enough to take a walk break with me and we exchanged some encouragement. He looked great, never mind the fact he did a double IM 14 days, ahem 13 days (since the thing takes nearly 30 hours) earlier. After a few minutes he took off and I again got a great boost from seeing another friend on the course. There is something about seeing the guys you traveled to the race with that really picks your spirits up. You spend the day seeing so many strange faces that when you see someone you know…someone who you ate your last supper with the night before, you really respond to that. I instantly felt energized after seeing those guys.

I was in a haze the last loop, but I was realizing that I would finish. The sun started to set and I was completely drained. The cooler temperatures helped a great deal. I found myself running short stretches with my eyes closed. I just sort of zoned out. As I hit the sign that says "Finishers" with the arrows sending you to the finishing line, I felt a rush of emotions. The race 14 days earlier was so successful and I think I developed this sense that after 5 IM races I had figured it out…that I was no longer intimidated or impressed by the ironman…but at that moment I was reminded that every finish is special, especially when it really hurt to get there. I crossed the line in 11:53:08 with a 4:39:48 marathon and in 45th overall.

As I stumbled over to the massage tent I nearly stepped on Glover who was napping on a small hill by the food tent. We hung out there and ate. I got my massage and eventually Aaron and Steve showed up. We swapped war stories and then headed for home.


The next day Aaron had to fly home (in Florida for less than 48 hours with 12 of them spent racing) and Glover and I went to the awards ceremony and then headed to Epcot at Disney World where we sampled numerous beers from around the world and ate whatever we could get our hands on. With aching quads we relaxed by the water. As of yet there has been no mention of doing another race next weekend….but now I know better then to think someone is kidding when the throw out a challenge like 2 Ironmans in 14 days.

Happy resting,
Mike Guzek

Footnote: The overall winner was Joe Bonness, who just 7 days earlier completed the Hawaiian Ironman in 9:45

http://mguzek03.tripod.com/gft03.htm