Puget Sound Coasties Finish Ironman World Triathlon Championship in Hawaii
By Lt. Cmdr. Amy Cocanour
U. S. Coast Guard
November 18, 2004
SEATTLE - Navy Commander John Collins had no idea that the challenge he issued to his buddies in 1978 would become the internationally recognized event known as the Ironman.
The group was talking about who were the fittest athletes - swimmers, cyclists, or runners. Unresolved after a few beers, they decided that if someone could swim the Waikiki Rough Water Swim Course (2.4 miles), bike around Oahu, Hawaii, (112 miles), and complete the Honolulu Marathon course (26.2 miles) in succession, the first person across the finish line would be named an Ironman. The next day, fifteen men participated in the first event, and twelve finished.
Since 1978, the race has grown to over 1800 participants and has spawned Ironman competitions around the world. Each October, the Hawaii Ironman in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii, serves as the international championship of the sport. Athletes must qualify to attend.
In tribute to its military roots, the race directors have recognized military participants by having a military team competition. However, 2004 was the first year that the race organizers allowed the Coast Guard to have an official team.
The 2004 Coast Guard Ironman team consisted of Chief Warrant Officer Chris Whitlock, Senior Chief Petty Officer Al Lyman, Lt. j.g. Ben Allen, and Lt. Cmdr. Amy Cocanour. All members of the team have participated in numerous Ironman competitions in the past, including the Hawaii Ironman.
"Every athlete knows the day will present huge challenges, and we are all hoping we are up to the challenges when they come. You pray that you will have a magical day," said Whitlock.
He is currently stationed at Coast Guard Headquarters as a detailer. He has competed in six Ironman distance races.
Lyman is stationed at the Coast Guard Academy in the Coast Guard Band. He has also competed in Ironman races before, completing eight.
"This will be my third trip to Kona to tackle this formidable course, but it's the first time as an official member of an official Coast Guard team, and nothing, absolutely nothing, could make me prouder than to be representing this great service and our great people out there on the race course," said Lyman.
Allen competed in his third Ironman and is a Reservist assigned to the Marine Safety Unit Galveston, Texas.
Cocanour is at the Marine Safety Office Puget Sound, Wash., and competing in her third Hawaii Ironman, ninth total. Cocanour won the women's military division at the Hawaii Ironman in 1998 and 1999.
"This year's race was special for all of us because it was the first time we were able to represent our service as a team," said Cocanour.
Athletes can spend over 20 hours per week training for one of these events, often training for months or even years to prepare for the grueling challenge.
Lyman said that, "due to the band's busy schedule, I routinely rise before 5 a.m. each day to get the required 18-22 hours a week of training necessary to prepare for an Ironman."
Team Coast Guard members all echoed the need to train early in the morning before work because of schedule constraints. They also had to train immediately after work, with the bulk of training also coming on days off and weekend.
The Hawaii Triathlon has been deemed as being one of the toughest races on earth. The open-ocean swim can be like a washing machine with thousands of thrashing arms and legs in addition to swells and currents. During the bike and run portions of the triathlon, the furnace-like heat reflects off the pavement of the highway and open lava fields can reach temperatures of 100 degrees. The winds – called ho'o mumku by native Hawaiians – can range between 25 and 45 miles per hour with gusts up to 60 miles per hour. Each year can be vastly different due to the weather, and this year's race turned out to be one of the toughest.
Contestants sometimes begin arriving weeks before the race to try and acclimatize to the heat and humidity. Members of Team Coast Guard, like many participants, arrived about four days before the race.
Mental preparation is key to having a successful day on the racecourse. The preparation to endure the mental stressors of a race that is both mentally and physically very challenging begins months before race day.
In the weeks prior to the triathlon, competitors spend extra energy visualizing success at each point during the race. They anticipate anything that may go wrong so that when things start to get tough, it's easier for them to overcome.
"You make a race plan, and then a plan B and a plan C in case the first two don't work," Whitlock stated.
The days prior to the race are spent assembling and test riding bikes, registering for the race, getting accustomed to the race course and preparing transition bags with everything needed for each segment of the race.
Hours before the start of the race, members of team Coast Guard arrived near the starting line for body marking. Each contestant is marked on their arms and legs with their official race number using large inked markers. Without a doubt, the toughest moments are those last few hours before the race.
"You're anticipating what might happen during those 140.6 miles, hoping you have done all you can in training to prepare, and reinforcing positive thinking while secretly getting increasingly anxious about what the day will bring. There's an incredible amount of nervous energy right before the start," Lyman said
Competitors then proceeded to their bicycles to ensure their tires are inflated properly and to place any food and water next to their bike.
Fifteen minutes before the 7 a.m. start time, over 1,800 people proceeded down a tiny set of stairs to the beach and swam out several hundred yards to wait for the starting gun.
"You hope the weather and luck will be on your side. You hope that you don't get kicked in the head in the swim or get a flat on the bike. That your breakfast stays down and you pray that if everything goes wrong that you still have enough strength to get to the finish line no matter what," said Whitlock.
Team Coast Guard headed into the water to start their long day. People were swimming over each other looking for an open stretch of water.
"The ocean swells and unpredictable currents added to the confusion, as it becomes harder to see a distant target when the swells kick up like they were on that day. Unfortunately I spent a large amount of energy getting myself going in the right direction," Lyman said.
All Team Coast Guard members exited the water between 1:05 and 1:24, a tougher day that usual for many contestants.
"I reminded myself to relax and to have a good swim, but right after the starting cannon blasted my plan was blown to pieces. I was kicked in the head, shoulders and ribs so many times that I changed my plan from relax, to survive the swim," said Whitlock.
The bicycling segment of the race is often the longest portion of the day. Carried by the cheering crowds through the first several miles, the bike ride's challenge slowly turns into one of individual power over the heat and wind of the lava fields.
Aid stations are set up approximately 10 miles apart and offer Gatorade, water, energy gel and bananas. Cyclists carefully ride through them and grab bottles or food from volunteers while still cycling.
"The race really begins at mile 80 on the bike for me," said Cocanour. "It's not who's most fit, but who can manage their nutrition, salt, and liquid intake."
Riders hit headwinds in numerous places along the route, with some of the worst on the last 20 miles of the ride.
Whitlock stated, "I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw some of the best triathletes in the world standing on the side of the road, totally spent and dropping out of the race. I thought the wind was going to let up after we made the turn around at Havi only to see the wind shift and hit us right in the face again with only 20 miles to go. It was the longest, toughest 20 miles on a bike I have ever done. All of the training miles in the world couldn't have made it any easier to get through those headwinds."
Coast Guard team members finished the bike segment between 5:47 and 6:33.
Sunburned and with heavy, cramping legs, competitors ride their bicycles back into Kailua-Kona. They change into their running gear and head out through town, back out to the highway, and down to the Natural Energy Lab. A deceiving play on words, the Natural Energy Lab is a facility on the waterfront used to generate power from the ocean's cold currents, not a facility designed to revitalize competitors. For Ironman contestants, the sight of the Natural Energy Lab marks the mile 17 mark of the marathon.
"One benefit to conservative early pacing is being able to finish strong. For the first time in the race, as I run down into and then out of the Energy Lab through miles 16-20 I take advantage of some extra reserves and begin to dig deep in an effort to sustain the pace," said Lyman. "Passing runners one by one, at what is in many ways the most difficult part of the entire day, is energizing and helps me lift my pace even more. At 18 miles in the marathon, if you have gone too hard too early in this race, you really suffer."
The finish line is located back at the start near the pier in Kailua-Kona. Thousands of spectators line the streets of the famed Alii Drive, until the very last official finisher comes in at midnight, 17 hours after the start.
"The last half mile you are carried by people cheering and screaming for you. Despite the sore legs and the sunburn, the whole day is more than worth it, " said Lyman. "The streets are lined with people from every corner of the globe cheering you on, while off in the distance you can hear the pounding music and crowd noise from the finish area.
Whitlock reminisced, "The finish is magical because no matter how bad you felt during the day, all of the pain goes away and you feel like you can fly."
Whitlock finished in 10:50, Lyman in 11:49, Allen in 11:50, and Cocanour in 12:26.
This year had the highest attrition rate ever for an Ironman. Although team Coast Guard didn't win the military competition, all are justifiably proud in finishing on such a tough day and they had the opportunity to represent the Coast Guard.
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