13.
LOL, why?
First of all, it's Australia. Second of all, to get to see you in that environment and racing in that, it's exciting. Cause this is not Ironman. This is not 12 hours. This is all day for 3 days. Plus everything around Ultraman is so exciting.
How many times have you crewed in the past?
Once.
And it was World Championship?
Yep.
Who did you crew for and how did you end up on the crew team?
I crewed for Dave, the father of a good friend of mine, Kathy. It was kinda last minute. They were talking about who to invite for crew-- and I was training with Kathy as she was preparing for the World Championship (WC)-- so they decided I would be a good crew member to help her dad out with specific things-- nutrition related. I was familiar with their coaching plan/ nutrition plan and understood everything about the event.
If Dave finished that year, which he did, he was going to be the oldest finisher at 65 years of age. He paid two other people from the island to be crew members, but we figured it would be easier for him to take orders from me on what to eat and when, than a stranger.
Walk us through each day... what did you do? What was it like?
Basically I was his sherpa extraordinaire. Anticipating what he would need before he needed it. Day 1 is super early. We had planned out in advance what was going to be in the van, how it would be organized, so that everything was readily accessible.
Making sure he was in a good spot mentally and not stressed out before the swim. When he started the swim, that was the only break we really had. For the WC, we only had to drive 6 miles, but he was going to be in the water for a few hours. So we got breakfast, and I got to know the other crew members.
We all need a little dose of 'calm the fuck down'.
We watched the finish of the swim-- saw Kathy come through, and then one of the other crew members caught Dave in the water and helped him out. Got him through transition and make sure he had anti-chafe, made sure he had his side mirror. The rest of the day was leap frogging him, making sure he was on top of everything. He was a strong cyclist so we were able to go several miles between stops.
Toward the end of the day, there was two other guys in his age group and we were keeping tabs on where they were so that he would have a carrot.
The logistics in Hawaii are so difficult because you have to have different hotels every night. The place we were staying didn't have an "address" we had GPS coordinates, so it added another element.
He finished pretty strong on day 1. Someone grabbed his bike and gear, I took Dave over to the recovery area, tried to get him going on food/ recovery shake, and then in line for massage. We refilled our ice chest to get through day 2. And it was predicted to rain.
I feel like it always rains at the WC...
Yes, I think it's that time of year.
So we get to the hotel and cleaned up his gear- the bike, the bottles, the wetsuit, clothing. We prepped the bottles for day 2.
OMG I am getting overwhelmed...
You shouldn't be! You don't have to do any of this. We will be taking care of you. Plus, you'll be done earlier than he was-- more time to recover and prep.
Day two.. up very early. Made sure he was awake. Packed up the hotel, because we won't be back there. Got him situated at the start line and then rearranged the van. He had shipped cases of Gatorade Perform because he had trained with it so we had a huge cooler to move around. After we dropped him off we went out about 5 miles to wait for them to come by. It was pouring rain.
We leapfrogged him all day. There are sections where you can't stop-- no feed zones-- and an area where the drivers have to navigate around. By the time the cyclists came through there, it was sunny and humid. He stopped to get into dry clothes.
He was doing great, doing great... and then we got a text from Kathy's crew that the weather conditions were horrible -- super windy and cold on the climb. We had his clothes hung out the window and hung over the heaters trying to dry them even more. We passed him his dry clothes. And then we just tried to keep him in our sight on the entire climb. People were walking up the mountain with their bikes, it was THAT bad. Being blown all over the place.
He missed the turn for the descent. He was close on time, and we were honking to try to get his attention, but he couldn't hear us. So eventually we went around him (on a narrow road which was scary), and told him to turn back-- he did make the cutoff. The other two in his age group didn't make the cutoff that day, so as long as he finished day 3, he would officially be the oldest finisher.
Day 3 is awesome!!! So freaking awesome!! But the night of day 2 was really rough. Dave was so out of it. I couldn't get him to eat or drink anything after a while. The other crew members were getting pissed at me for being on his ass about the nutrition, but I knew he still had a double marathon to run. He HAD to eat.
Kathy was sick that night. I wanted to help her, but I had to make sure Dave was ok, and I was not on her crew. We had to replenish ice stores. We had to make room for the bike in the vehicle, so more rearranging of the van.
Everything was soaked, so we had to try to get everything to dry. It was hot and humid and disgusting. We didn't want everything festering for another day.
Did you eventually get him to eat?
I found out during the marathon, that he didn't eat. I found his bottle in the back of the van. Completely full bottle of his recovery drink. He ate that night, but didn't completely comply with my orders. :)
Kathy was so sick that night, and we didn't want Dave to know because if she dropped out we didn't want it to affect his race. We wanted him to not lose sleep worrying about it. He needed to stay on his schedule.
You need to friggin' spreadsheet that shit.
What's so awesome about day 3?
You've made it! All you have to do is finish the run in 12 hours. And you're on the Queen K-- and it's historical and magical. And everyone in Hawi knows what you're doing and they come out and cheer randomly. And you can see the other athletes on day 3-- you're not so spread out.
Plus, watching a 65 year old man RUN a double marathon after all he had already done... it was amazing. He ran every step. Kept making forward progress.
You get to run a little bit with him.. He doesn't like to talk while running. and I don't like to talk running so it was cool to run with him and be perfectly OK not talking. At one point there was a group of 3 teenagers hitching a ride. They asked for a ride. The crew member driving said no. They got upset, saying do you know how far we've walked? And the crew member, pointed at Dave and said this 65 year old guy has already run 40 miles. You can keep walking. And they were like, no way, that's not even possible, what day did he start?
How much did you get to run with him?
Not much. Maybe a total of 10 miles. One of the other guys ran a few hours. It got so fucking hot out there it was unbelievable. And windy.
It's hard to tell when you're out there how far you've gone- there's no land marks, your're moving relatively slowly compared to biking. But as soon as you come around the corner and see that Walmart or whatever it is, and you know it's all down hill to the airport.
I thought by day 3, you'd just be mentally done. But he had such a good attitude about everything. He just took one mile at a time, and if you do that, before you know it, you're at that turn. Plus calculating the whole time, and knowing that he is going to make the cutoff-- it was an added comfort.
Were there any significant obstacles that you ran into and how did you deal?
The weather thing was huge. In hind sight, I would never let anything stay wet or salty. I would wash it, dry it, and be ready to use it again. He would have frozen to death on the end of day 2 if we hadn't been able to dry things as quickly as we did.
I felt fortunate to be on a team with an athlete who had been there before. And he's an engineer, so he's very precise in his planning. I never went into it feeling like, oh crap, what do I do. He basically laid out a plan for us to follow.
Even his nutrition was calculated very precisely- down to the minute. He had been doing Ironman for so long, he already knew what worked for him.
Communication between the crew members could have been better. Since we were all basically strangers, it was difficult to manage at times. We all had very strong personalities.
Plus I'm a ray of fucking sunshine. I'm damn charming.
Was there a designated crew captain?
I guess it was kinda me, since I knew him... but it was never spelled out. We split jobs pretty evenly, but I focused most on nutrition.
If he had spelled it out that you were captain would it have helped with communication?
I don't think so. The other guys were marines, so very strong personalities. One guy was great, but the other guy-- was harder to communicate with. As a crew, you're tired too and you start to forget things. The biggest thing was just to remember that we were all there for Dave, and the only thing we had to do was get him across the line in 12 hours.
One of the guys has gone on to do crazy endurance events because of his experience with Ultraman. That's pretty cool.
It was really cool at the finish line to see how many people already knew Dave. From previous ultramans, or just from being there that year. And to get to the finish line and have his wife, daughter and son in law there-- was really cool.
Do you see any specific challenges that we might face in Australia?
I think there's a big difference between going to Hawaii, and traveling to a completely foreign country. Everything is going to be unknown. I think were going to run into a lot of things that we are not expecting.
What do convenience stores sell? When are they open-- even as simple of things as that. Getting there early enough to plan everything in advance is going to be crucial. Where are the gas stations? Where can we go for last minute items? If a day does take 12 hours, and the stores close at 9 pm... we have to be aware of the time limits we're up against. That sort of thing. Knowing where the local bike shop is. Knowing where the pharmacy is. Restaurants. What if you are in medical after day 2, and we still have to eat at 10 pm.
You've done ragnar... you know what 3-4 people in a van does to people. It's human nature. No one has the same personality, so we all need a little dose of calm the fuck down. And focus on the goal of getting you to the finish line in under the cutoff.
The logistics of getting all your stuff there... you need to be prepared for every weather condition for every day of the race.
Fortunately we have CB for the bike which is awesome. That would be the scariest thing-- you can't really just go anywhere with the Dimond.
Another thing is not having to stick around at the finish line -- you can go back to our place and start eating and have Marsha work on you there.
I feel like we need to make a list of gear....
You need to friggin' spreadsheet that shit. And send copies to all of us. And bring a box of quart/ gallon size baggies to keep everything sorted.
And you need to be prepared for ailments that don't normally happen. Have cough syrup, immodium, etc, etc. You don't know what you're going to need and over the course of the three days your body is going to break down.
I think the day before the start we went to Walmart and bought stuff we thought we might want. I think at mile 40 I might want Twinkies?--- so we bought Twinkies. That kind of thing. Hand wipes. Hand sanitizer. You're out there so freaking long. Buckets that we could dunk towels in to keep them cold.
You should start a list now... on your phone or where ever that when you randomly think of things you can add them to your list. You won't remember everything you will want or need, so start making that list now when things come to you.
Mentally, just assume that stuff is going to happen. You might lose luggage, etc-- Dave, the day before the start he determined that his bike wasn't working. It turned out the cables were corroded. We started taking about renting a bike, and all that jazz, but thankfully the bike shop in Kona was able to re-cable his bike at the last minute. It's so huge that CB is going to be there for your bike.
Designating a job for everyone will create a lot less crew drama. You do your job. You designate each person, based on how you think you will handle things -- who will you take food orders from.
You know which person will make sure your shit is clean. Make sure your meal is ready.
What strengths do you see yourself bringing to the team?
I think I know you in a way that.... if you just want everyone to just shut the fuck up, or if you're just in pain.. I am pretty good at seeing ahead at what we might need to do/ think about. Like on the run, if you're dying at mile 5, we need to shorten the leap frog intervals. We need to make sure we're keeping you warm enough or cool enough.
I don't do well planning ahead for myself, but I am really good at planning for others-- I think having 2 people who have crewed before is key. Ultraman expects you to follow the rules, and they will call out the teams that are not. So having people who know the game is important.
Plus I'm a ray of fucking sunshine. I'm damn charming. Everyone needs that person on their crew.
:) You said Dave was a planner, and an engineer. Did you feel prepared for crewing?
Oh yeah. I knew what Ultraman was because Kathy had done it before, and Dave had done it before. I understood what went into it, but you can't fathom it until you're there watching it and doing it.
It's like watching the Barkley's documentary and going oh, those guys are in pain. But it takes actually being there to see what the fuck is really going on.
And Kathy was really OCD, and worried about her dad, so whatever he didn't do- she was all over it.
Did I tell you about when he called me to ask to crew?
NO!!
I was at my in-laws, who are the same age as Dave and can't do anything physical. Kathy calls me, all serious, and asks me to crew for her dad. I was so excited. I was trying to explain to my family what he was going to do and they were like, no that's not possible.
I think as you get older, the gap in the difference in people's abilities widens. Some people are as active as they were in their 30s, and other's live on the sofa and don't believe they could ever do anything.
What do you think is harder, physcial or emotional toll?
Emotional. You can push through physical pain, but if you are emotionally beat, it will affect the physical-- and it's easy to succumb.
My very first Ironman, my friend Kevin told me every time you get emotional and start to think about how hard it is and that you can't do it, just give yourself 5 minutes. In 5 minutes you'll feel differently and you'll be able to keep going.
That's good advice.
In this longer of an event, the emotional toll is even more prominent. You become fatigued. You start to doubt yourself, and think about things you should have done differently in the days before.
Was there anything you saw among other teams where you were glad it wasn't you?
Family bickering. Family bringing their own issues into the race because you chose to have your wife and your mother crewing for you. There's no room for bickering between crew. One of the guys too, I never saw his crew out on the run. He had just done something crazy- like a deca - not long before Ultraman, and I don't remember seeing his van at all. I would feel like shit if you didn't finish because we just weren't there.
What are you most excited about for Ultraman Australia?
Watching you finish. And watching you crush the swim. I have friends who see your stuff through me and they're all like, is she going to win the swim?
And I think the finish line on day 3 is going to be even more emotional than Kona.
When did you know you wanted to do Ultraman?
That's funny you should ask. I asked DB when he know that this was inevitable, and he told me Ironman Lake Tahoe 2013 awards banquet.
Oh yeah... he took that picture of you talking to Hillary..
Yeah, she was getting ready for the WC and I think I was picking her brain about it. It sounded cool... I knew it would be along way off but definitely something I was interested in. And then a year later I had the opportunity to crew for my teammate in Canada, and it solidified it in my mind.
I feel like you can learn so much from crewing... I knew from crewing 100 milers for friends that I could never do an Ultraman without crewing first. You just gain so much. Plus it was, like, the most amazing experience ever...
Give yourself 5 minutes. In 5 minutes, you'll feel differently.
What's my swim pr?
58 something?? From Texas?
(laughing) No.
What is it?
54 minutes
Is it really?!?! Shit you better get swimming. Jesus, that's fucking fast.
As crew, do you have any advice for me? For your fellow crew?
Jesus, your swim PR is 30 minutes faster than mine.
:) Any advice??...
For you, lean on us for EVERYTHING. Save all your energy. If you need something ask us. That's why we're there. You shouldn't be going to get anything-- food, water, anything. The whole time-- not just race day.
For the crew, we really need to communicate and agree... not one person saying, well I'm going to go do this. The 3 of us need to work as one person.
What does ohana, kokua and aloha mean to you?
Pretty much exactly as it says. It's the family that you make, family can be so many things, but family and love are the people that I choose, that I feel close with and have a bond with though shared experience. We didn't grow up together, but we have a bond and love through our shared experiences.
After doing this with Kathy and Dave, I always know that we'll always be there for each other. We have a bond that can't be broken by space or distance, or time.
Anything I should have asked?
(thinking) I don't know.... do I have any allergies to strange bugs? Am I allergic to kangaroos? LOL. No, I can't think of anything.
How many epipens do we need to take?...
I have 3 on order. I am allowed to bring them in the carry-on...
Something for you to remember, even if you say you're ready, you're going to think at night that you can't get through this.. But you can. And you will. Knowing you, you're going to start freaking out as this gets closer. HPB is not going to let you go into this unprepared. That voice in your head that says you can't do this is a liar.
And I'm placing a bet with CB on your swim time. And if I win this he owes me #allthebeers.
:) Last question, do you ever want to do Ultraman?
I've always thought about it since I crewed for Ultraman. At one point we had planned out who was going to race what. Someone picked Florida, I was stuck with Canada. I think if I got to a place where I was healthy enough again, I would consider it.
And I would crew for you. :)
I know you will!! I have a feeling after Australia it will be even stronger of a desire.
****************************
And that was the 3rd and final crew member for Team Finding Kona! Thank you, Heidi, for letting me share your very first cup of coffee with you while hammering out this interview! I love you, #bff!! So excited for OZ!!
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