Wharton Ironmen work out for 17 hours straight
by Cristina Martin

[Editors Note: This article was posted April 17, 2006 in The Wharton Journal. As a sponsoring institution of MBADiversity, it has been reprinted with permission for The NetWork].

This past weekend, while many of us were welcoming the Class of 2008, three of our classmates were in Tempe, Arizona, racing to the finish-line of the Arizona Ironman Triathlon.

A few months ago, I ran into James McGarvey and Chase Stock in Huntsman. I stopped by to say hello and to ask if James would be around for the WWW Club Expo. As usual, my mind was caught up with all that is Wharton. James responded by saying no, he would be in Arizona, completing in the Arizona Ironman. At that point I was speechless, but I must have muttered "Wow, that's incredible," or something to that effect. Since then, I've continued to think about that amazing physical competition - beyond a marathon, beyond a triathlon, this was an Ironman.

For those of you not familiar with physical competitions, an Ironman consists of completing an entire marathon, which is a stretch for most, after swimming over 2 miles and biking over 100 miles.

Many of us cannot even fathom the sort of mental and physical preparation that is needed to fine-tune your mind and body to compete in the Ironman, especially given the demands on our time as Wharton MBA's. I was fortunate enough to be able to interview these competitors for this article. Andy Owings, WG '06, also completed the Ironman, but he was unable to interview. He did, however, say that he had an amazing time and that he definitely plans to do it again.

CJ (me): How and when did you decide to compete?

CS (Chase): I decided to sign up for the Ironman last April after I knew that I was coming to Wharton. I did my first marathon the previous fall and had completed a few shorter triathlons. One day at work, I was looking around a bunch of triathlon websites and saw that they still had open spots for the 2006 Arizona Ironman. I figured that if I was ever going to do one, I should do it while I was in b-school so that I had time to train for it. I'm not really sure why I signed up. It seemed like a great challenge and I wanted to see what my body was capable of.

JM (James): It has been a personal goal since high school when a crew coach told me of his Ironman experience. It is the ultimate test of endurance and both mental and physical performance under pain and pressure. I just couldn't pass that up. Plus, Andy and I had talked of this mutual goal and he was a great motivator. Andy and I have been training together since school started and we jointly swam, lifted weights, and biked, as well as ran the Philly marathon together to prepare. That said, his 4hr marathon demonstrated I should have been running with him more!

CJ (me): When did you begin training? Would you mind describing your training?

CS: I did three shorter triathlons and one duathalon last summer. In the fall, I [completed] the Chicago and Philly marathons so I had been training for awhile (more run-focused), but I didn't begin my Ironman-focused training until I got back from Winter Break. The program was 13-weeks long (I found it on the internet…) and the weekly training hours ranged from 7-13.5hrs per week with a long bike ride of 90 miles and a long run of 21 miles. The program consisted of shorter workouts on the weekdays (1-1.5hrs) with long bike rides and runs on the weekends. I usually took Mondays and some Fridays as rest days. Because of the cold weather in Philly, training was tough, especially for the bike. Until early March, I did most of my bike rides on a bike trainer in my apartment. I think my longest indoor ride was 3hrs 10mins (I watched Wedding Crashers and part of Batman Begins). It was miserable.

JM: Andy and I did an adventure race last year and he did an ultra-marathon (52 miles) last fall. We decided in September to go for the Ironman and started lifting more for endurance and swimming, biking, and running. I ran my first marathon in November and the Ironman was my first real triathlon (yes, I am crazy). Andy and I did shorter distance work during the week, with two-a-days on Monday and Wednesday (including indoor cycling training), and then we did longer distance workouts on the weekends.

CJ: Did you consider dropping out during your training phase?

CS: I thought about dropping out in early February. Because of the weather and a lot of weekend plans (Vegas, D.C., Daytona 500 and NYC), I was missing or cutting short some of my longer weekend workouts and was starting to get seriously concerned about the race. I decided to focus on getting in a three solid weeks of training before spring break before I made a decision on the race. Those weeks went well and I got some solid workouts in so I didn't drop out.

JM: Absolutely. I had several injuries, colds, a family funeral, and not to mention the lack of sleep and social balance as a result of constant training.

CJ: Have you ever done this before? How about other physical competitions?

CS: Never anything as long as an Ironman. I've done the DC, Philly and Chicago marathons. As for triathlons, I've done the NYC tri (Olympic length), the Mighty Montauk Tri (Olympic length), Philly Tri (Sprint length) and a Dualathon in Central Park. I just started getting into triathlons last year.

JM: My longest physical competition prior to the Ironman was the Philly marathon. The Ironman, however, was the most challenging physical event so far in my life.

CJ: How did training measure up to your other priorities? In other words, how on earth does a Wharton MBA student make time for this given the demands of your schedule?

CS: It was near the top of my list. I have a crazy rule that has always worked for me…. If I'm going to run more than 14 miles the next day, I'm not supposed to drink. [He means alcoholic beverages.] Under 14 miles, I can drink as much as I want. It sounds crazy but it works. I had a little too much to drink the night before a 17-mile run (I won 12 of 13 games of Beirut) and I've never felt worse in my life (ask Lauren Dorsey, she ran with me). However, I went out pretty hard the night before my 90 mile bike ride and felt ok. Running really hungover is the worst. Overall, it was pretty tough to balance school and the training volume for an Ironman.

JM: Training had to be placed very high on the list. The toughest part of the training was the balance. There were definitely times when both school and social life had to suffer a bit, but it was all worth while when I crossed the finish line!

CJ: What did you think about during the triathlon? Will you do it again? Did you do it for a greater cause or for self-fulfillment?

CS: I tried to focus on the race, specifically my nutrition and hydration plan. Someone told me that it's critical to get hydrated on the first 50 miles of the bike and that you should absolutely have to [urinate] by mile 50. I was very focused on taking in tons of fluids and trying to take down some Gu or fig newtons every 15 minutes on the bike. I had my watch set so that it beeped every 15 mins to remind me.

Honestly, when I went to the bathroom at mile 62 on the bike, it was one of the happiest moments of my day (I know it sounds crazy, but I was so worried about staying hydrated). Also, I had some serious stomach problems during the race so I spent a large part of the race focused on that (my stomach started to shutdown around mile 90 on the bike).

Toward the end of the bike and throughout the run, I was fighting bad cramps. I was focused solely on hydrating (mainly drinking chicken soup and Gatorade at aid station) and surviving the race. After I realized that my initial time goals were out of reach, I went into survival mode. I got off the bike around 8:40 into the race and I knew that I had 8:20 to finish the marathon (you have to finish in 17hrs).

I also spaced out a lot. When I think back to the race, I'm definitely missing chunks of it…

I definitely think I would do another Ironman, but not while I'm at Wharton. I did the race solely for myself - I wanted to see what I was capable of.

JM: You think about nutrition, your body state, how to finish faster. You recalculate times and splits. And then it hits you - you are doing an Ironman and you are going to finish. I can't begin to explain the feeling when you realize that! As for motivation - it is intensely personal. At first, I did it to see what I had. Then, about a month ago, my grandfather passed away and I decided to finish it for him. It gave me a new reason and a new purpose. Will I do it again? I may take some time to build up my running, but I am going to break 13.5 hours one day. Now it is personal!

CJ: How did you feel the night before? Can you describe the previous evening?

CS: I actually felt fine until the middle of dinner the night before (small Caesar salad and pasta) and then it hit me. I got really nervous and very anxious. I tried to think through everything - the transitions, the swim start, everything. That helped me focus and calm down.
My mom and ex-girlfriend had come out for the weekend, so that afternoon (before the race) I watched March of the Penguins with Ali (ex-girlfriend/good friend) on Saturday afternoon and then went to dinner around 6:30. When I got back to my room, I packed up my special needs bags for the bike and run and made a list of the things that I needed to do before the race the next morning (wake up, go to the bathroom, eat food, shower, drop off my special needs bags, get body markings, put on sunscreen). I know it sounds dumb, but making that list put me at ease because I knew that I could wake up in the morning, turn off my brain and not have to think at all before the race.

In any case, I slept terribly that night. Went to bed at 9:00pm, woke up at 2:30am, and went back to bed until 3:30am, when we had to wake up to get ready.

JM: I was nervous and scared. In fact, I had been nervous the entire six months during preparation. I didn't know how my body would respond or what would happen. It was the hottest day of the year so far in Tempe (85 degrees) and I knew it would be a very long day. Two nights before the race, I ate my carb-loading dinner (as advised in our nutrition plan) and took an ice bath to relax my legs and drain the lactic acid. The night before, I simply had cold-cuts, fruit, hummus, and juice and pita bread.

Additionally, I had been sodium loading for several days to prepare for the loss of electrolytes during the race. Before bed, I drank a bottle of pickle juice...yum! After some time in the whirlpool, I went to bed at 9pm and actually slept pretty well though I had a lot on my mind.

CJ: In addition to feeling physically exhausted, did you feel any different, spiritually, mentally or emotionally, after the race?

CS: Honestly, I felt two things: a huge feeling of accomplishment and a huge sense of relief. I really didn't think I would finish the race until about a mile from the finish line. My legs were cramping up so much that I really thought I might not finish.

A lot of the post-race is a blur, I was so focused on finishing that once I finished I kind of shutdown. I had two trips to the medical tent (my stomach was a mess, I couldn't really eat and I was pretty dehydrated). My mom and Ali told me that I was pretty funny and saying a bunch of dumb stuff. For example, "My mind and body are no longer friends," "An Ironman? What a bad idea." You get the idea.

JM: Yes, in fact my lesson was that anything is possible with preparation and a strong will. I realized the fear I had leading up to the race was not necessary. Completing the Ironman gave me tremendous confidence that I could do anything I put my mind to.

CJ: Anything else you'd like to tell me about?

CS: The Ironman is really different for everyone, but I think that it shows people that they are capable of things beyond what they can imagine. When I got off the bike, my legs were cramping and I was pretty tired, but during the bike portion I had convinced myself that I wanted to do a marathon because I was so sick of riding my bike. I know, sounds like a crazy person's thoughts. I ran about 200 yards into the marathon and then started walking.

At that point, I threw out all time goals and focused on surviving and finishing. Because in the end, the Ironman is about how well you can handle pain and suffering (I could have done both better). And, you realize that everyone around you is going through the same thing. People may not have the same pains, aches or cramps, but they are all trying to convince themselves to continue and keep moving to finish line.

Also, you have no idea how much it helps to have people you love and care about supporting you during the race. I can think of a few times where I was struggling, and seeing my mom and Ali helped push me on in the race.

JM: My race really started the night before. After loosening up in the whirlpool, I went to bed around 9pm. I was already behind schedule as Andy was asleep at 8pm and I knew we had to be up at 3:30am to get ready. After a decent night's sleep (surprisingly), I got up and made my morning breakfast of a banana and almond butter bagel with coffee and a sports drink.

I didn't want to eat too much, but needed something easy to digest in the system. Andy and I left for the race at 5am and when we arrived, quickly headed to body marking to have our numbers written on our shoulders and our ages on our calves. Then we finalized setting up our transition bags and bikes and put on our wetsuits.

The 2.4 mile swim began at 7am. The water was cold and there were 2000 people all crammed together. As the gun went off, there was a mad flailing and fighting to find open water. Arms and hands hit others and I both kicked and was kicked several times. A few times I found some open space, but I never truly was able to get into a rhythm. (Next time I will get closer to the front of the pack and try to break out a bit.)

On the swim-to-bike transition, I felt pretty good and was right on my swim-plus-transition goal time of 1:40. After tons of sunscreen, I hit the bike. It was a long ride and each lap seemed to go on forever. I saw several injuries and exhausted competitors. I also saw several professionals blow by me in search of a 9 hour or less finish.

I knew I needed 500 calories per hour in food, Gatorade, and Gu, but on the second lap my digestive system stopped processing food, so I had to slow down the eating and simply drink water and take electrolyte tablets for a while. By the third loop, I was feeling a bit better and I tried to eat Gu constantly to prepare for the run.

The bike-to-run transition was very welcome after 112 miles on the bike - 32 miles beyond my longest training ride. I was still right on my goal time of about 9 hours. At this point I knew my knee injuries could become a problem. I knew I could run a 5 hour marathon healthy and finish the race in 14 hours, but if I had injuries, it could be far worse. I finished the first 8.8 miles in 1.5 hours, but was starting to feel my knees ache and the beginnings of blisters on my feet.

After another mile or so, I couldn't run and my knees were locking up. I knew I needed to walk a while. Unfortunately, my knees were in bad shape and the second 8.8 mile loop was a 2.5 hour speed walk. The final loop was the worst. My knees were locked, my left hamstring was cramping and I had huge blisters on both feet. It was 8pm and I had 8.8 miles to go. It was the most painful 2.25 hour walk of my life. Every step hurt, but I knew I would finish if I kept moving.

At 10:19pm, I crossed the finish line. Two people helped me to a seat and I began eating pizza and drinking water. Someone put an "Ironman finisher" metal around my neck. I was wiped and very emotional, but it was amazing. Later, I was taken back to the hotel for more food (bananas and a recovery shake), a hot shower and an effort at sleep. It was a long night and I didn't sleep well. Plus, I had a fever which broke in the middle of the night, but in the morning, I started to feel myself again.

CJ: Thank you James, Chase and Andy for providing such incredible insight and perspective into your personal and public competitions. You've all shown unbelievable motivation, endurance and dedication, three character traits that are highly valued, respected and revered at Wharton and beyond.

Cristina Martin, WG'07
Posted: 4/17/06