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| LifeSport Athlete Jonathan Shearon Shares His Israman Experience |
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| Mar 08, 2011 |
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I had the amazing opportunity to do Israman, an iron distance triathlon, in Israel this January. My coach, Lance Watson, found and helped me to plan this exotic off season race. This race had several firsts for me: my first Ironman as well as my first marathon and the first time I had visited the Middle East. I had been wanting to move to the Ironman distance and was eager to take the opportunity to do Israman.
I arrived in Israel six days prior to the race. I had a hard time adjusting to the time change, only feeling somewhat normal the night before the race. Conditions the day of the race were good considering two years before they had winds of up to 60MPH with rain and hail. The swim in the Red Sea began as the sun rose over the Jordanian mountains. I lead for the first 800 meters and when I realized someone was behind me, I slowed down and drafted for the rest of the swim.
The bike had over 7500 feet of climbing with nearly 4000 of that in the first nine miles as we rode into the mountains. Once in the mountains, the wind became a factor and the hills were never ending. The bike ended well enough and I knew the hardest part was yet to come. The first nine miles of the run was a sharp downhill out of the mountains. I had joked with Lance about what I might expect at the aid stations and they were every bit as strange as I thought they would be. I have to admit that by the end of the run I didn’t even realize that I was eating dates and that they tasted better than expected. The run got harder as the miles went on. The last two miles were unbelievably difficult and crossing the finish line was an absolutely amazing experience.
This race was one of the hardest things I have ever done, but the trip home was even more challenging. The flight from Israel to New York was 12 ½ hours and I arrived on the East Coast just in time for a blizzard. I was stuck in New York then Washington DC where I had to take the metro, catch a bus, then walk a half mile with my bike box in 8 inches of snow to get to the hotel! The next morning I flew to North Carolina, waited five hours then finally caught a flight to St. Louis before driving the final two hours home. 55 hours of traveling!
Overall, it was a truly amazing experience. Israel is such a beautiful country with many friendly, generous people. I’m counting down the days to my next Ironman.
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