5:06 p.m. (+8 hour, 21 minutes on bike) Mile 112

I rolled towards the “dismount line” with my feet on top of my cycling shoes. I hopped off & handed the bike to a volunteer, just like the pro athletes. At an Ironman one of two things happen at the end of the bike course, they either take your bike for you or they take your timing chip…because you ran out of time.

5:06 p.m. (+9 hour, 56 minutes since race start)

I was now safely in T2.

(Wait, what?)

When I was awarded my spot at this race I had 3 worries:

• Could I get to the top of the mountain before the 1pm cut off?
• Could I get off the bike before the 10.5 hour cutoff?

(& the third “worry”?)

• Could I get permission from work to take the time off?

(You were now safely off the bike, so all 3 worries had been vanquished)

Yeah, me, “David the dragon slayer.”

(Whatever. So, what is “T2”?

T2 is triathlon speak for “transition” from bike to run. The first thing I noticed was that the ground was really hot in my sock covered feet. I had been on the bike for 8 hours, 21 minutes, & 55 seconds. I had averaged 13.4 mph.

(What had you predicted for this ride, back in August?)

That night when I became so terrified that I couldn’t sleep, I worked out the numbers to avoid taking so long to finish the bike that I would be over the 10.5 hour limit. I came up with a bike average speed of no slower than 13.2 mph for 8 hours, 40 minutes, but I didn’t think I could do it faster than 8 hours 20 minutes.

(Ok, great, you predicted your own success. Why was the ground hot at 5:06 p.m.?)

The overnight temperatures in Nice in September were in the low 70s, but from 10-5 the temperature rose to 85 or higher. The sun had been baking the ground & now I was walking on it.

(Enough about the weather. You conquered your fears, did you celebrate?)

No time.

(What do you mean by “No time?”)

Just because I was off the bike did not mean I was out of the woods.

(“Woods”? What woods?)

It’s an expression used by both Benjamin Franklin & Abigail Adams, but its usage goes back to the times of the Caesars. Hey, I still had to run a marathon. I didn’t have time to stand around, but I did “take notice” as I grabbed my “run” bag. Sneakers out of the bag, zip lock baggie of run nutrition out of the bag. Bike helmet into the bag.

(So, nu…what did you notice?)

Many of the bikes were back on their racks…but not all of them.

(So?)

So, I wasn’t the last man off the mountain. I actually beat a few riders.

(A few? Give us a number)

Out of the 2,200 amateur competitors, I estimated that there were still 50 more still out there on the course.

Remember, at the start of the ride, it seemed like everyone was passing me & I was at the back…but now I was here & I had beaten the clock.

(In the words of Han Solo, “Don’t get cocky kid.”

Right, I grabbed my red transition bag from the rack. Sneakers out on the floor, helmet into the bag & the bag went back on the rack.

(Sneakers on?)

I was about to…then I remembered, my bag of nutrition was in one of the sneakers. Ziplock baggie into my back pocket & I slid my feet into the sneakers.

(How long did it take you to get out of T2?)

7 minutes.

(How long does it usually take you?)

Seconds.

(Seconds?)

Are we doing the repeat word thing again? You heard me.

(But…7 minutes???)

Unquestionably, this was the longest T2 I had ever seen.

(How long?)

Just over a quarter mile.

(How long?)

One loop around a high school track.

(That took you over 7 minutes? Did you stop to take a siesta?)

No…as I said, this was the longest T2 I had ever seen. Normally, the two racks of red & blue transition bags are side by side. Think of it like walking down the aisle at a record store.

(What’s a record store?)

Ok, between 2 produce aisles at the supermarket…for those who still leave their homes to buy food. Here at Nice, the red & blue bags racks made one, long line of racked bags.

Think like several portable coat racks at someone’s l’chaim, in their home, linked, end to end. This, plus we had to run past the finish line chut, made my exit 6 minutes longer than it needed to be.

5:13 p.m. (+10 hour, 3 minutes since race start)

All I had to do was run a marathon & I would be an Ironman World Champion finisher…& I had 5 hours, 56 minutes to make it.

(How long does it take you to run a marathon after a 2.4 mile swim & a 112 mile bike?)

Between 5 hours, 50 minutes & 6 hours, 5 minutes.

(Um…Dave)

Yes?

(Check your math again)

David Roher is a USAT certified triathlon and marathon coach. He is a multi-Ironman finisher and veteran special education teacher. He is on Instagram @David Roher140.6. He can be reached at TriCoachDavid@gmail.com.