Are You Living It?

This is Part 2 of our interview with Kona Ironman Randy Steuve.  See Part 1 here.

AYLI: Describe for us the emotions you were feeling in the last few miles of the race?

RS: My emotions were quite layered at this point in the race. The 24 mile mark is still out on the Queen K highway, so there aren’t many spectators yet, but it was close enough to town that you could sense the end of the race. My biggest emotion was one of determination. I’d been keeping track of my splits, and I knew I needed to lay down a few more hard miles to break 10 hours. I thought back to all of the sacrifices and training and racing I’d done to earn my ticket to Kona. I knew I’d have to live with my result for the rest of my life, and I simply couldn’t sell myself short. I had to give it my all and be satisfied with the outcome. I also had a sense of pain…when was it going to end?!?! I couldn’t wait to see my family again and put an end to this personal abuse. Beneath that was an appreciation for the history of the event and how privileged I was to be able to live out my dream on one of the grandest stages in the sporting world. Let’s face it, the World Series and Super Bowl are huge in the US. However, there are plenty of guys who watched from the sidelines during these events and still came out with championship rings. There are no sidelines in Kona. Everyone who earned their way there and finished the race deserves a medal.

AYLI:  Having done a fair amount of diving in Hawaii, the open-ocean swim portion of Kona is what I always wonder about.  How did you prepare for this, and do you feel you were ready?

RS: I looked forward to this swim. I’d only swum in ocean water a few times before, and it wasn’t a problem for me. Swallowing the salt water can upset your stomach, so you have to try not to take in too much. The clarity of the water was welcome change. I hate swimming in dirty water. Unfortunately, it’s the standard in most races. For me, it’s much easier to swim a straight line in clear water. You can see your stroke underwater, and you can keep track of your fellow racers. An open-ocean swim in water this clear does provide a couple of obstacles for some racers. First, you have the ocean swells. The water may look flat, but once you get out there, you realize (and feel) the several foot rise and fall of the water. If you aren’t prepared for this, you can easily become unsettled…not to mention seasick! Secondly is the fact that you can see the ocean floor…until it disappears into the deep. Suddenly, you are a really little fish in a really, really big pond! Fortunately for me, I’d learned how to swim in open water in Northern Michigan. The lakes there are cold, clear and deep. One of my favorites (Higgins Lake) is rumored not to have a bottom. Having swum here and in the Great Lakes, I was used to big swells in deep, clear water. The swim in Kailua Bay was a big treat for me!

AYLI:  You’ve talked about getting much more serious about your nutrition in the last year.  Can you tell us about the role your diet played in helping you to such a strong result?

RS: Diet and nutrition is a huge part of my training plan. I worked with a nutritionist, Ilana Katz, before Ironman Arizona and Hawaii for two reasons. First, she provided the expertise needed to fine-tune my fuel for training and racing. I stick to a pretty healthy diet on my own, but she really perfected things for me. In addition to the food I was eating, she also helped me nail down the timing of everything. We would even practice “carbo loading” before a big training week or race to make sure we knew how my body would respond. Secondly, she kept my honest and focused. I kept a weekly diary of everything I ate and when I ate it in comparison to my training. I’d include notes on how I felt during the training, and she’d give me feedback. I learned that skipping a small carb serving on Thursday would leave me feeling flat on my long bike ride on Saturday. Knowing that she would be “judging” my diet, kept me focused. I’d look at my upcoming workouts and make sure that I ate properly to prepare them. I’d also make sure that I ate properly after each workout to prepare for the next one. My diet and workouts become so interconnected, that I started to view eating as part of my training routine. Working with Ilana was a key ingredient to my success this past year.

AYLI:  Are you able to feed off the emotions of the spectators or do you aim to block everything out and live inside your head?

RS: When I’m training, I practice focusing on what I’m doing and what I’m trying to accomplish. This helps me avoid distractions. I’m much the same during a race. I don’t rely on the crowd to motivate me. That being said, I’m also smart enough to take whatever the spectators are willing to give me! The energy they provide on the course is palpable. When you get off your bike after riding 112 miles through the lava, you need serious determination to get through the first few miles of the run. Having streets lined with screaming fans just makes it that much easier. It is hard to explain the energy boost they give you. It’s something that you need to experience to really appreciate.

During the rough stretch I went through in the Energy Lab, a group of spectators were shouting out, “we wish we were you!”. In my mind, I could only think, “No you don’t!”. Only a few miles later, my body was numb from the neck down, but I was able to surf the exuberance of the massive crowds down Alii Drive to the finish line. At that point, I’d have run through hot coals for them!

(Check back next week for the final part of this interview with Kona Ironman Randy Steuve)