you did something
for the first time?
| Norseman Xtreme Triathlon 2003 Well I did it!! On July 19th, 2003... I finished my first Ironman-distance triathlon! That is: Swimming 3.8 km ( 2.36 miles) Cycling 180 km ( 111.8 miles) and Running a full marathon 42.2 km (26.2 miles) for a total of 226 kilometers (140.4 miles). This was of course the Norseman Xtreme Triathlon (I have talked of nothing else lately) that I have also been a part of in the planning and arranging for the very first time in Norway (and we plan on making it international for next year... and being a yearly event). We were 21 starting guys (the girl got sick and pulled out). We were taken out to Eidfjord in a boat where we were dumped 3.8 km out... at about 4:15 am Saturday July 19th. The gun (rather boat whistle) went off at 4:30 am and we were off!
The swim went rather well. My goal was to get in at 1:10 (1 hour 10 minutes) but I got there in 1:04 and was the 6th man out of the water.
I used 10 minutes in T1 (transistion 1) which is a little much (the pros use between 2-5). But I wanted to make sure I didnt rush, and had eaten a banana and consumed some fluids before heading out on the bike.
The cycling went pretty good too. After only 7 km there was a straight uphill climb for 30 km (8% climb). I passed one of the guys who had come out of the water before me, so that was a boost as well. At the top of the hill was Maria and my Dad waiting for me with refills and bananas. (Maria and my dad were my "follow car" and drove my car after me the whole way, giving me the essentials).
After about 40 km though I was passed up by 2 other guys. One of them was Ole, from my bike club. He came out of the water only a couple of minutes after me, and knowing he usually beats me in the cycling part, I was expecting his arrival. At the halfpoint, 90 km mark (which was Geilo), I needed to take a bathroom break. I figured that that would be the last I´d see of Ole. I returned to the bike and proceeded to climb the next 4 hills. Each hill was about 4 km in length with an 8% climb. My follow car waited for me at the top, as planned, and Maria informed me that Ole was only 2 minutes ahead... which meant I was gaining on him again. A nice long downhill now, before the next climb again. I had Ole in my sights and it wasn´t long until I passed him again. I was still feeling fine, but had two more hills. At the top of the 3rd hill I needed to stop. I was parched, and had to have something to drink. Maria was concerned that I hadnt consumed enough liquids and food. But I didn´t feel hungry... just very thirsty. The next downhill stretch was really long. And it was almost tougher to hold on now than it was going uphill. I probably had an average speed of 60 km/hour. And for about 10 minutes. A nice long stretch now until I turned off towards Austbygda. An even longer uphill awaited. This was a killer. Still about an 8% climb, but I think this one was 5-7 km long. I now saw Clive in the foreground, struggling as well. I found out later that Clive had a 40 minute lead on me at the most. He did the swim in 53 minutes, so I had no idea where he was. I passed him towards the top of the hill, and that gave him an incentive to go harder. We decided to ride next to each other for the remainder 30 km to T2, in Austbygda. I was feeling very tired at this point and had problems keeping my eyes open. We stopped once, just to catch my breath. We finally made it to T2 and my cycling time was 7:37 (Clive 7:55). I was still en route as planned. At T2 I was parched. Maria and dad had gotten some watermelon... which I engulfed. I spent a total of 15 minutes in T2... eating, drinking and changing to jogging shoes. Ole came in while I was in there.
I finally headed off on the run, with my running belt on. But it didn´t take very many km before I had to slow down to a "walk". I simply had no energy. I was soon passed up by Tom (who would make 4th place). The first 30 km was flat, so it was important to get there as soon as possible, knowing the last 14 km was straight uphill. But my energy level was very low and I had no choice but to change between walking and light jogging. I finally reached Rjukan (the 30 km mark). From here it would get tougher. I kept saying that "never again will I do this". A passing "follow car" saw me and suggested I needed salt. None of us had thought of that. They gave me some salami. It didn´t take long before my energy was back. How could I have not thought of this? By this point though I had been passed up by about 5 guys. Hårek was one of these... the guy that was the brainchild behind this... and the guy I really wanted to beat. I´ve had a 6th place throughout the whole race... but that dwindled as by competition "walked" by me. We were all walking this stretch.
This walk seemed endless. And when we finally reached the top... we still had a 4.5 km further climb into the mountain, with hard rocks. This 4.5 km stretch would take me 1 1/2 hours. But with the help of Maria and dad who had walked next to me, I made it to the top of Gaustadtoppen. Total time was 16:38:15. This was 2 hours more than planned... but it was the running part that ruined my time. I rested a bit and talked with the others who had made it to the top. I was angry with myself for not keeping up with my energy level... but then this was my first Ironman, and I was afterall very glad to finish. Ole came in 10 minutes after me. Clive had hit an even tougher wall than me and did it in 18 hours. (The winner did it in under 13 hours!). 2 guys did not finish.
After some coffee, and light chatter... we headed back down the mountain (the 4.5 km stretch) and could finally SIT DOWN in my car, and get to a hotel.
A seremony the next day at the hotel, with the Finisher T-shirts (that I designed) as the prize for everyone. You will find complete results and more photos on www.nxtri.com
As I am writing this, I am surprisingly not very sore. But I tried to do a bike 3 days after the race... and my body said NO! So I will take it easy for a few days... planning out my next Ironman. There is nothing bigger than this. And I made my debut in Norseman... which is officially the most extreme Ironman there is... we have actually asked around different sources in the states and europe. So maybe Kalmar in Sweden next year? :-) 
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