Chris is an IRONMAN!!

Hey everyone it's Kyle. A couple weekends ago, my buddy Mikey and I headed to Louisville to watch our friends Chris and Adam compete in an Ironman triathlon. For those of you not familiar with triathlon an Ironman is the ULTIMATE test of mental strength and human endurance. The race starts with a 2.4 mile swim and then you transition immediately into a 112 mile bike and follow that up with a 26.2 mile run.

Mikey had school stuff and I had some stuff to get done around the house before heading to Louisville so we didn’t end up leaving until about 3PM Saturday. Louisville is about a 6 hour drive, but since we filled up with gas before hand and since Mikey and I have iron bladders we made it in about 5.

We decided to camp Saturday night instead of getting a hotel because:
1) We are cheap
2) We had to be up at 5am and weren’t going to get there until 11PM
3) We are MEN.

We got there in time to set up camp, have a quick fire and unwind from our road trip. We didn’t want to stay up too late because we had to be up to pack up camp and get to the race start by 7am. The camp site cost about $15 for the night and let’s just say we got our money’s worth, but that was about it.

We got up at 5:30 and threw everything in the car, stopped at a gas station to grab a bottle of water (breakfast) and then headed into Louisville. We brought bikes with us (best idea of the weekend) so after we parked, we got them off the car and headed down to the swim start.
We found Chris and Adam about ¾ way down the mile long line (literally) of 3000 triathletes. We got to walk with them until they headed down the bank of the Ohio River to start the race.
Chris estimated an hour and a half for the swim so Mikey and I went in search of a real breakfast.

Here I am with Adam and Chris:

We started off slow in chasing these guys around Kentucky because we missed them coming out of the water and getting on the bike because they were both WAY ahead of where they thought they would be. Chris was 444th out of 3000 on the swim and he runs like a Kenyan so we were pretty sure the bike would be the toughest part. We hopped in the Man Van and headed for LaGrange Kentucky where they would do two loops around the town. Mikey and I got there ahead of Chris and Adam and then we broke out our Sombreros and lawn chairs and waited for them to come by. We got to see them just as they came to LaGrange and they were both looking strong and feeling good.

We realized that we could drive to the other side of the loop where we would be able to see them come by again. We got there in time and waited for them to come along and we sprinted next to them in our sombreros until our legs felt like they were going to explode. This time Chris was not quite as energetic and Adam seemed more impressed that Mikey and I were keeping up with him on foot while he was on his bike than the fact that he was competing in an Ironman. After they both went by we decided to go to downtown LaGrange, but there were WAY too many people there and we missed both Chris and Adam. We knew that if we hustled back we could run with them at the other side of the loop again. We got there in time and ushered both of them both along one more time. This time I went to give Chris a smack on the back for motivation and I knocked one of his water bottles off of his bike. I tried to chase him down to put it back but he was headed down hill and I didn’t have a chance.

Since it was 90+ degrees I knew that he needed it so Mikey and I hopped in the man van and chased him down. In true Tour de France style Mikey hung out the window and tried to give it back to him, but he had already replaced it with another one from an aid station. We did get to ride next to him for a little while where we found out that he had been throwing up (while riding). We left Chris to finish the bike (he had about 25 miles left) and we headed back toward Louisville. At this point Adam’s status was unknown and Chris was feeling rough…

We set up about ½ mile from the end of the bike course and when I saw Chris coming I rode with him for about a minute. The update this time was “The stomach is better, now the legs are cramping.” I responded with, “The hardest part is over, you can run ALL DAY”.
The next place we got set up was about ¼ mile into the run. Chris made a pretty quick transition, but his gait was not what I am accustomed to seeing from him. We jogged with him for a minute and he told us “my legs were so cramped that I couldn’t get my shoes on.” Okay people, his legs were this cramped BEFORE A MARATHON…

Adam came through about 30 minutes later with a huge smile on his face and he said, “I can’t believe how good I feel!” At this point it is fair to say that Chris and Adam were having totally different races. Chris could not keep liquids down and could not straighten his legs and Adam was eating slim jims and drinking energy drinks (seriously).

We were able to see Chris a couple more times on the run and he was still not able to keep down food or liquids and was not feeling well at all. We headed back to get some dinner and a quick shower in Chris’s hotel room before they finished the race because we were headed home as soon as these guys finished.

We got back to the finish in plenty of time to get a spot right on the home stretch of the race. This was my favorite spot to watch any sporting event…ever. These people have all been training for 6+ months, if not years, and to watch them come down the finishing chute was really cool. People came in sprinting, walking, limping, crying, skipping…you name it.

Chris came down the chute and he was in the ZONE, he had his eyes on the finish line and the next thing we heard the announcer say was, “Chris Arnold….YOU are an Ironman!”
We waited for Adam to finish (he ended up less than 10 minutes behind Chris) and then we went to find them both to congratulate them. Chris had barely kept any liquids down since the bike so needless to say he was severely dehydrated. They decided that it would be best to get him an IV to replenish the fluids and when he went back to get it we said our goodbyes and hopped in the Man Van and drove straight back to Atlanta non-stop. We were in bed by 3AM…

What a crazy experience, but I am so proud to say that one of my best friends is an IRONMAN!

p.s. I forgot to post a link to the Half Ironman that Adam and Chris did back in 2008! Click here to read that post!