Runnin’ with Rani: Five weeks until Kona

Here we go again. With just five weeks remaining until Kona’s IRONMAN World Championship race, these crazed athletes are in the midst of some massive training, all in preparation for next month’s “Big Dance” on Oct. 10th.

Past competitors know very well, it’s no cake walk completing this iconic race that features a grueling 2.4 mile swim and 112-mile bike segment, followed by a 26.2-mile marathon in the heat of the day. These training weeks can be extremely brutal, both physically and mentally for both professional and amateur athletes alike.

Heading into this years event, I had the privilege of catching up with two exceptional Big Island athletes in Jacob Head and Adam Ankrum. And coincidentally, both share a lot in common. At 43 years of age, they are “Dads, Doctors, and have a love for Dogs.”

Jacob Head

Occupation: Doctor of Veterinary Medicine

Age: 43

Quotable: “What great thing would you attempt if you knew you could not fail?” – Robert H. Schuller

It’s the year 1988 and the last game of high school football season. Konawaena is tied with Honokaa for the BIIF championship culminating with one last gut wrenching game for the win.

The advantage seemed to be in Honokaa’s favor with the championship game played on their home field, and Mother Nature deciding to bless the Dragons with downpour rain while the Wildcats trailed late in the fourth quarter.

It almost seemed inevitable.

Local die-hard sports fans remember that night well. The tall, naturally gifted quarterback who — on a last ditch effort with 4th and goal — rifled the game-winning pass into the end zone finishing with a thrilling 24-21 come from behind victory to claim their 10th BIIF title in a row. To this day, Konawaena football fans say, “it was like chicken skin.”

That quarterback was none other than Jacob Head — now known locally known as Dr. Head, owner of Keauhou Veterinary Hospital.

“That’s how everyone remembers me around here,” said Head. “As the quarterback who was on that winning championship team.”

Fast forward to present day, Head finds himself gearing up for an early Sunday morning workout in the aftermath of some heavy rains that hit Kona the night before. But this time, he’s training for the IRONMAN World Championships.

“I remember cheering on a family friend who competed in IRONMAN when it first began here in the early 80’s,” the 43-year old said. “We ran the last 10-miles with him and watched him finish the race. Back then, I thought these guys were pretty crazy for wanting to do something like this.”

Like most athletes born and raised on the island who have watched the sport of triathlon and IRONMAN in Kona grow over the years, it was only a matter of time before Head found himself donning the infamous spandex apparel for the sport.

Head said that he caught the triathlon bug in 2013 when he competed for Team in Training at Lavaman Waikoloa in memory of his daughter’s friend who passed from Leukemia. From there, he continued to participate in various local triathlons, building his endurance and confidence for the swim, bike and run until finally completing his first IRONMAN Hawaii 70.3 in May, a race locally known as Honu.

And it was only then, at the urging and encouragement from his wife, Jolene, while feeling caught up with the hype and hoopla of the newly formatted Big Island drawings, that he decided it was worth the shot. After being one of 24 Big Islanders selected, he hooked up with coach Oliver Kiel with Triathlon School Hawaii and embarked on a four-month journey to reach his goal.

Yet balancing work, training and family time with children ages eight, 15, and 21, has been more than just a juggling act for the veterinarian who puts away away 60-plus hours a week, Monday through Saturday, on top of being on call 24-hours every day. Head says the biggest challenge is finding the time to do it all and getting enough sleep.

“I usually have to get up around 4:30 a.m. to get my morning workout in and try to help a little to get kids ready for school,” he said. “Sometimes I will get in a lunchtime workout and almost always have a evening workout. Right now, I am not doing much else besides work and training. I have an amazing wife that keeps me fed and nourished. Our kids are in third and 10th grade and I will help with homework in the evening. We still try to do something family oriented on Sundays after my long morning workout.”

Although Head admits that he’s not much of a swimmer and has recently begun competing in local running events over the last three years, Head feels most comfortable on the bike and is no stranger to endurance bike events. Leadville 100, Vail Ultra 100, 24 hours of Moab, and 24 hours of Adrenaline are just a few extreme mountain bike races he’s finished, leaving him the much-needed confidence for the grueling 112-mile bike ride on race day.

While there has been many sacrifices along the way especially during his peak training weeks that tops out at 24 hours — 5,000 yards of swimming, 305 miles biking, and 41 miles running — Head knows it will be all worth it once he hears those iconic words, “You are an IRONMAN!”

“Crossing the finish line will mean a sense of accomplishment and confirmation of knowing that in my mind I can do it and then being physically able to accomplish that goal. And that’s how I’ve been raised – that if you put your mind to it, you can do it. It would be a feeling of being thankful that I’ve had help to get there from my family, coach, the community and many others.”

Adam Ankrum

Occupation: Emergency Medicine Physician Age: 43

Quotable: “I will be accomplishing a childhood dream.”

Kailua-Kona’s Adam Ankrum says he’s never been a swimmer, and prior to moving to Kona in 2013, rarely ever swam in the ocean. But while doing his residency in Wisconsin, Ankrum decided to jump into a local sprint triathlon.

“High Cliff Triathlon was my first tri race and they had a sprint division and a half-iron distance,” Ankrum said. “The morning of the race the water was super rough and instead of canceling the race, they decided to shorten the swim. It was bad. And without really knowing how to swim, somehow I survived and went on to finishing the event. From that moment I was hooked”

Ankrum says he grew up being very active and played various sports, but being good at swimming, biking and running would come at a much later age in life. He was a hurdler in college, with 400 meters being the longest distance. In his twenties he completed his first 5K and was in his mid-30’s before ever swimming longer than ¼-mile.

After moving to Kona in September 2013 to take on a position with Kona Community Hospital’s emergency room department, Ankrum realized that living right in the backyard of the IRONMAN World Championships could possibly turn a childhood dream into reality.

“Kona was one of those things that I watched growing up on television,” the 43-year old said. “I remember watching Julie Moss crossing the finish line. And back then, I had two dreams: One was to finish Kona someday and the other was to play linebacker for coach Bear Bryant, the longtime head coach of Alabama.”

And Kona certainly became the perfect fit for Ankrum’s athletically gifted and active family, as they immediately found themselves participating in nearly every event on the local racing scene.

His wife, Laura, a runner and former U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials Qualifier in 2000, is also a Family Practice Physician with West Hawaii Community Health Center. Their three young children, Alec (13) loves running, Aiden (10) is a competitive age-group swimmer, and Archer (8) seems to have interest in whatever his family is doing.

Maybe Ankrum didn’t end up playing for the Crimson Tide, but after finding out he was one of 24 Big Islanders selected to participate in the Super Bowl of all triathlons through June’s Big Island drawing, Ankrum was happy to know that at least one of his childhood dreams would come true.

And for Ankrum, his top priority was making sure that his family — along with their dog Frodo — was a big part of his triathlon journey.

“Aiden is my 10-year old and we did a lot of swimming together over the summer,” he said. “We did the Triple Crown together and it’s nice to have a workout buddy while spending family time. Alec is my runner and we often go up to Kaloko for some nice trail runs. While my youngest, Archer, rides his bike next to me while I run 12 miles on Walua Road.”

Balancing family time, work and training hours is like a jigsaw puzzle , along with Ankrum’s recent job transition to North Hawaii Community Hospital at the beginning of the year.

“Up until last year, I was working full time which included giving up half of my weekends, half of my holidays, and many dreaded night shifts,” he said. “I got sick twice right before Lavaman and Honu due to doing late night shifts and working long hours. So at the beginning of the year, I went part-time and only work two days a week at North Hawaii Hospital in the emergency department. Laura and I try to coordinate our work schedules so that when one is working, the other is off helping out with the kid’s after school activities.”

Ankrum says that doing Kona will be his first IRONMAN distance in his triathlon career and is currently self-coached. His big weeks hover around 15 hours – 30-40 miles of running, 100-200 miles of biking, one-two miles of swimming, and one core workout. Ankrum feels that training longer than 15 hours per week seems to be counterproductive to his progress as it increases recovery time and risk of injury. And there’s still much to learn.

“I’m still nervous about nutrition,” Ankrum said. “I’m hoping that by going at a slower pace during the race I will be able to absorb more. And it’s hard because I want to be competitive and do well, yet at the same time, I want to have fun.”

For Ankrum, crossing the finish line on Oct. 10 will be a dream come true.

“I will be accomplishing a childhood dream,” Ankrum said. “And endurance wise at 43, I feel like I’m in the best shape of my life.”