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Tyndall athletes to compete in local Ironman

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Timothy R. Capling
  • 325th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
TYNDALL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. --  A rush of sea water rushes over a swimmer's face as he reaches forward to push through a tyrant current. He spits out the bitter salt water as he pushes his muscles to the absolute limit. As he looks up, he can finally see the end in sight for what has been a long journey. The hot sun bounces off his back as he continues to edge forward. At last, he reaches the end of a grueling 2 ½ mile swim and rushes ashore. Unfortunately, his work has only just begun. Now he needs to bike more than 100 miles and then top off his day with a marathon.

The Ironman Florida competition takes place at Panama City Beach and is scheduled to be held Nov. 3. Tyndall has at least six competitors training to participate this year.

According to http://www.ironmanlive.com the Ironman is a triathlon race created in 1978 by then Navy Cmdr. John Collins and his wife Judy to settle an argument among a group of different types of athletes to decide who was the most physically fit between swimmers, runners and cyclists. The result was what is now known as an Ironman triathlon consisting of a 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bicycle ride and a 26.2 mile marathon run consecutively. If that is not enough, competitors must finish the grueling feat within 17 hours to be declared an "Ironman."

The Tyndall members train as a group as much as possible, said David Shaw, a contingency planner with Air Force Northern Command here.

Mr. Shaw has been running triathlons since 1984 when he was asked to compete on a relay team. He has run more than 200 triathlons to include three Ironmans.

Mr. Shaw, who ran the Air Force Marathon in 2005, said he enjoys training for the Ironman because of the camaraderie and the sense of accomplishment from crossing the finish line.

"It's very taxing on the body," Mr. Shaw said. "I like to see how far I can push myself."

Mr. Shaw most recently ran the Tallahassee Marathon in February.

Capt. Michelle Harwood, Air Force Civil Engineer Support Agency airfield pavement evaluation team chief here, is also looking forward to crossing the finish line.

November's Ironman will be Captain Harwood's first. She said she finds the mental aspects most difficult because of the required focus for such a long time.

Capt. Laura Ragucci, 325th Comptroller Squadron budget officer here, said she likes to look at every event separately.

"Biking is my strongest event," Captain Ragucci said. "Nutrition is key for the bike."

Captain Ragucci, who ran the Disney Marathon the last four years and has one Ironman under her belt, and said she enjoys the scenery an Ironman provides and the interaction with people from different walks of life.

Tech. Sgt. Jake Burkett, 325th Security Forces Squadron logistics and supply superintendent here, said he thinks about everything else except the competition while in the Ironman to help take his mind off the grueling task ahead of him.

Sergeant Burkett said the key to success during the race is to keep your body properly nourished.

"If you don't eat or drink properly during the race, you can dehydrate or cramp up really fast," Sergeant Burkett said.

Some common foods and drinks that most of the racers take in while competing are energy drinks, power gel, fruit, salt tablets and electrolyte pills, said Sergeant Burkett.

Not all of Tyndall's competitors have been participating in triathlons for a long period of time.

Master Sgt. Trevor Teeselink, 325th Air Control Squadron's noncommissioned officer in charge of operations training for the started competing in triathlons in 2006 but has never competed in an Ironman.

"I used to make fun of my friends that competed, and they said, 'put up or shut up,' so I put up," Sergeant Teeselink said.

Mr. Shaw said most of the group tries to train together six days a week with various workouts consisting of swimming, biking and running.

One common goal of most of the competitors is to beat their last Ironman time.

"My goal for this time is to finish in less than 14 hours," Captain Ragucci said.

Nearly all the competitors agreed training for the Ironman is extremely time consuming.

"It's like having a second full-time job," Sergeant Burkett said. "We do taper down the training the last three weeks with shorter runs that are less intense but still keeping our muscles moving for preparation."

They also like to add a little friendly competition while training.

"We'll bet each other things like a bottle of Gatorade during training," Mr. Shaw said.

Nearly all the competitors plan on taking a break from training immediately after the Ironman to rest before they start preparing for whatever event they have next.

"I plan to rest up and resume training in January," Ms. Libby said.

Now the sun is starting to set and looks like a floating tangerine torn into the pink sky. As he runs his final steps, an avalanche of emotion comes over him. Sweat is flowing down his tired face. Step after step, the goal is near. He crosses the finish line and the loud announcer yells, "Congratulations, you are an Ironman." His journey is over and at long last, he can rest; until next time that is.