***Story and photo courtesy of monmouthscots.com***
Hollywood sequels tend to take one of two routes: A money grab blockbuster, or a flop that doesn’t live up to the original. In the case of Monmouth cross country coach Jon Welty ’12 and his second Ironman Triathlon, the sequel came with a complete plot twist. The setting was Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, the last weekend of June.
In 2019, Welty completed his first-ever Ironman (2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike, 26.2-mile run) in Boulder, Colorado. For his second Ironman, he trained differently and changed his nutrition, the part he felt failed him the most during the 2019 race.
“The nutrition was my big fail last time, with the gels hurting me in the marathon,” said Welty. “I thought I did well in Boulder but knew I could improve. I started 10 months ago with the pandemic easing a little bit to allow for more training and some hope that events would be going on in the summer of 2021.”
For the Idaho event, he switched to liquid nutrition instead of gels. He trained both inside at the Warren County YMCA and the Huff Athletic Center during the winter months while training outside the rest of the year with long bike rides on country roads around Warren and Knox counties. The focus was more on metric training and being detailed to train harder than in 2019.
A lot of that work came in the mornings, on lunch hours or after work and practice, as a newlywed.
“To me it’s about finding the time and balance in life,” said Welty. “Find 30 minutes of your day for fitness. Do something – run, bike, swim, something you like – and push yourself for 30 minutes.”
Scorching Idaho
With his schedule as the Fighting Scots cross country head coach and an assistant in Track & Field, plus teaching responsibilities, the options for Welty were few. He ended up with a choice between Idaho in June or Lake Placid, New York in July. He chose Idaho, but when an Ironman in Texas was canceled in March, Welty wasn’t sure if the race would go on.
“By that point I was so far into training I kept going and kept an eye on the news Ironman was gradually releasing about events,” said Welty. “After talking with my wife (Julianna Graf ’16) I decided I would do it regardless even if it ended up being a self-supported solo Ironman around here.”
But the official race progressed so Jon and Julianna flew out to Idaho on the week of June 21. That’s where the plot twist came in. Instead of its 75 degrees in June, Coeur d’Alene, like the rest of the Pacific Northwest this summer, was on fire.
Temperatures of 91, 88, 91 and 97 led up to race day when the high hit an alarming 102. In his prep work, Welty got the exact CDA Triathlon course on his training bike and knew every turn and climb. But there’s just no way to prepare for record heat.
A perfect swim, a bike on fire
Nearly 2700 competitors registered for the 140.6-mile race, which started with a swim in Lake Coeur d’Alene. Welty emerged from that 2.4 mile swim in just over an hour, feeling good.
“The swim was perfect. The water was 65 degrees plus I had a wetsuit,” said Welty. “All those days in the YMCA pool and at Pepper Natatorium paid off.”
Next was a 112-mile bike ride, which featured a 7000-feet elevation gain and a hot, nasty wind. The first loop on the course went as Welty had planned, but things changed on the second loop.
“That second loop with the climb around noon was when I first started really feeling the heat from the pavement,” said Welty. “I was never passed on the bike and was passing other people so that felt good but the weather started working against me.”
At the transition from the bike to the marathon, Welty said his bike felt like it was on fire as he got off. He told Julianna that as soon as the marathon was over he was lying down in the lake to cool off. By time he began running the temperature was over 100 with a feels like of 105-107 and surface temperatures on the blacktop closer to 120.
“You have so many people supporting you and put in so much work to get here that you just want to finish,” said Welty. “Their voices were in the back of my head helping me to the finish line and that’s what I needed. No one ever runs a marathon or completes a triathlon solo. “
Welty also credits the Coeur d’Alene community for helping him, and many others, across the finish line.
Ironman had aid stations every mile but the amenities from the locals were above and beyond. Area residents lined the course to hand out water, popsicles and other supplies. They also used hoses and sprinklers to create ad hoc misting stations to cool competitors.
“What they did was special and it was a huge mental boost,” said Welty. “We didn’t go more than 400 meters without a supporter. They were cheering us on, helping us out, passing out ice and water. It was very helpful and needed.”
‘YOU ARE AN IRONMAN’
When Welty crossed that finish line and embraced Julianna he did exactly what he said he was going to do. He went and laid down in the lake to cool off after 13 grueling hours. But not before he got to hear official Ironman announcer Mike Reilly say “Jonathan Welty, YOU ARE AN IRONMAN.”
Welty had support in person and around the world, as well. In addition to Julianna accompanying Jon to Idaho, her brother and sister-in-law made the trip down from Portland to offer support. Another Monmouth College athlete, John Kaiser ’10 was there in support. Kaiser, a swimmer who overlapped with Welty at Monmouth, now lives in Bozeman, Montana, and knew multiple competitors in the Ironman.
“It was an exhausting day in the heat as an observer but it was thrilling,” said Graf. “Keeping tabs on Jon through the app made it interactive and I had a chance to check in with him a few times during the marathon. When he told me he ate two popsicles during the run I knew he was going to finish strong! He approached the training with the same mindset he approaches everything in life. From coaching, to friendships, to faith, Jon gives 100% of himself. I don’t know what’s next but I’ll be there to support him and I’m so incredibly proud of Jon for completing his second Ironman.”
With travel and COVID restrictions, others that didn’t travel to Idaho were able to follow Welty’s progress through the Ironman app. He finished to numerous texts, messages and social media posts from friends, family, co-workers and student-athletes he has coached at Monmouth.
Julianna provided photos and videos so the athletic department could keep fans updated on social media. The Ironman competition came less than a month after the Weltys celebrated their delayed reception, which they had put on hold since their 2020 wedding ceremony.
“The reception came when the training was decreasing, so that was good too,” said Welty. “From the very beginning she was super supportive and said let’s go for it. She gets what I’m trying to do and the amount of training and prep it takes. She’s always been that way and understands what I need to do to get ready and pushes me to do the best.”
Welty is unsure whether his triathlon saga will become a trilogy and be told in an Ironman3. Right now, he is enjoying a much-deserved rest, which even includes an occasional trip through fast-food drive through.
“The conditions took a lot out of me, but I finished when a lot of others didn’t,” said Welty. “I’d love to see what I could do in 75 degrees now that I have the nutrition part figured out. I feel more accomplished than I did with Boulder and I’ll figure out something to do after I recover whether that’s a shorter triathlon or a half marathon, we’ll see.”
***Story and photo courtesy of monmouthscots.com***
