I've been putting off writing my race report, at least in part because I don't really want this journey to be over.
Pre-Race
Heidi and I drove to Madison on Friday morning. We got to town and checked in to our hotel, the
Edgewater. The Edgewater is on Lake Mendota, on the opposite end of Wisconsin Ave. from the Monona Terrace. There were several racers staying there, but was nicely far enough away from all the nervous energy of the closer hotels.
After a quick lunch at a restaurant on the Square, we headed to
Monona Terrace so I could get checked in. Check-in went smoothly enough. Friday afternoon was busy time for check-in, so I had to wait in line, but we moved along. Paperwork; weigh-in; bag of bibs, chip, gear bags, special needs bags, cap... etc. A quick lap through the IM store, but no purchases (I didn't want to jump the gun on getting IM goodies -- bad mojo -- save that for Monday). Heidi and I walked around the Terrace a bit so I could point out where stuff would be on Sunday. Having registered in person last year and having attended
WIBA in June, I was pretty familiar with how things would be set up on Sunday.
We then walked back to the hotel and found my folks. After drinks on the deck we headed over to State Street to locate some dinner. After dinner I headed to the athlete's meeting and they headed back to the hotel. Post meeting, I went back to the hotel to make it an early night. I typically don't sleep well the night before a race, so Friday night was my night for some quality shut eye.
Saturday morning we slept in a bit. Not having to get up to work out was nice and not having one of the kids in our bedroom at the crack of dawn was even nicer. (The kids stayed with Heidi's parents for the weekend because of school, football games, and soccer games.) Mom, Dad, Heidi and I headed back to State Street to find some breakfast. There was a home football game for Univ. of Wisconsin, so the students were out and about in full pre-game tailgate mode. Nice entertainment. After breakfast we headed back to the hotel so I could put the finishing touches on my gear bags and Stealth.
Heidi, Dad, and I walked Stealth and my gear bags over to the Terrace to drop them off. The process again went smoothly. First stop was bike drop off. I was happy to see that my relatively low number, 961, put me fairly close to the bike mount end of the Terrace. I got Stealth parked and covered the seat and cockpit. We had a few moments to talk about tomorrow. I told him to rest up for the big day. Next stops were the transition bags. After a double and triple check of the contents, the bags were placed where they belonged. Another quick tour of the Terrace, this time for Dad's benefit, and we were done.
Saturday afternoon was the University of Michigan versus Notre Dame (Odor Dame in our house) football game. We watched the game in the hotel. Michigan victory! Dad and I mapped the bike course out on a detailed county map so he could figure out how to navigate without getting too caught up in traffic jams. We ordered dinner in so as not to fight the crowds in town. I made up my nutrition bottles for Sunday. A triple and quadruple check of my swim gear and special needs bags and it was another early turn in to bed.
RACE DAY
The alarm was set for 4:00 AM. I was up by three for a bathroom trip and to down some of a protein smoothie. I didn't really go back to sleep. We left the hotel about 5. Dad pulled the car up to save some walking.
At the terrace I checked on Stealth and inflated his tires. I tried to increase my juju for the day by loaning out my pump to about half a dozen people who need it. Stealth was good to go, so I headed into the mass of people in the Terrace to find the family. Mom and Dad went up to the roof to stake out a place to watch the swim. Heidi stayed with me. Soon enough it was time to put my wetsuit on and head down to the water. Note, I forgot to
Bodyglide my neck which resulted in some chafing. Heidi and I parted ways on the steps, me going down to the start, she going up to the roof to watch -- there were a few tears from each of us.
I followed the crowd down to the swim start and about fifteen minutes before the start I entered the water. I made my way out to about half way between the corner buoy and the ski ramp and a few people back from the starting line. Some small talk with the other competitors, a couple quick prayers and soon enough the final countdown was on.
SWIM
The cannon sounded and off we went. Positioned where I was, I knew it was going to be a little bumpy starting out. Some bumping, tangling up, and jockeying for position in the first couple hundred yards, but not too bad. Sighting was easy: follow the crowd, keep the buoys on the left and the Terrace on the right.
By the second turn, people seemed to find their own place in the water and from there on out it was a pretty nice swim. The water was fairly warm and I enjoyed when a stream of water would enter my wetsuit to cool me down. I only gulped water once as I went to breath and somebody's arm landed right next to my head. About half way through lap two, I noticed some rubbing on my neck. I rounded the last buoy and headed to shore. My swim time was 1:03:23. Having grown up in competitive swimming, it's nice to get the first leg done and still feel very fresh.
T1
Out of the water an up to the wetsuit strippers I went. To my very pleasant surprise I ran in to Steve and Pharmie, who I met at WIBA. So nice to see a friendly face in a sea of humanity. A quick "HEY!" and they shouted that they'd get my wetsuit off. Wetsuit in hand, I jogged up the helix and in to the Terrace. With the help of a volunteer I got my gear, got changed, a sip of water, a quick stop for some sunscreen and I was off to find my bike.
I think I caught the volunteer at my rack by surprise as my bike was the first off my rack. Despite calling out my number, he wasn't quite ready to have people coming his way. No worries though. I did run past my rack and had to back track. Amazingly, I could pick out Heidi's voice and my Dad's voice as I went past the rack. By this time the volunteer realized I was looking for my bike and he was Johnny on the Spot getting it off the rack. Over to the bike mount line I went.
T1 time: 9:34. Not blazing, but I had not intended to try to shave seconds off in transition. While I did not treat the transition as a rest period or intermission, I was very deliberate, and did not rush, in getting done what I needed done.
BIKE
Down the helix and out on to the bike course I went. I took a quick inventory of how I felt and prepared myself mentally for the ride. I'm the first to admit that I'm not the strongest cyclist. So my plan was to relax and enjoy the ride. Whenever I felt my heart rate getting near redline I kept telling myself, "Relax and Enjoy." I had set my watch on the countdown timer mode, where it would sound every 10 minutes. This was my reminder to drink from my Perpetuem. I had water in my Aerodrink on the handlebars and would sip at least every 10 minutes, if not more when the temperature increased. I also had Endurolytes to take every 45-60 minutes.
And I did try something new this race (I know, never do something new on race day). I had TUMS in my bento box should my stomach get funky. After following blogger buddy Rachel through her stomach troubles at IM Canada, I thought some TUMS might be a good idea. My stomach often starts to protest after too much sports drink, gel, etc. I'm grateful that I had the TUMS. I took two at the half way mark on the bike and two as I was headed back into Madison. They settled my stomach nicely.
The first leg of the course out to Verona was fast. I did my best to slow myself down so I didn't blow up later. I saw Heidi and Dad for the first time between Verona and Mt. Horeb, at the the turn on to County Route G. Between Verona and Mt. Horeb, I received a nice bee/wasp sting. Riding along, minding my own business, wham, out of no where, a feel it hit my right temple and sunglasses, then instantly a sting into my temple. I F-bombed the bee, the road, and everything else I could think of at that moment. But nothing short of a catastrophic mechanical failure on the bike or a catastrophic gastric failure was going ruin my Ironman day.
I saw Heidi and Dad again at the Mt. Horeb aid station. Again, to see a familiar face is always a pick-me-up.
My first trouble spot of the day came at the start of the hills at Old Sauk Pass. When I increased the pedal pressure, my right quad and hamstring started cramping up. I quickly downshifted into my easiest gear and tried to spin up the hill. No luck. My right leg was all but locked up in a cramp. It's not glamorous, but I walked the bike up the hill. I figured a) I'm not walking that much slower (about 4 MPH) than some of the folks on the bike slowly climbing the hill (about 6 MPH); and b) I still have a long way to go and I'm not going to push it to the point I drop out. So very humbly Stealth and I walk about two-thirds of the way up the hill before I get back on and spin the rest of the way up. I would repeat this humbling experience a few more of times on the bigger hills.
Back around to Verona, where the crowd was awesome, I got my special needs bag. I switched out my Perpetuem bottle for a fresh one. I passed on the protein bar as my stomach was not in the mood for solid food. I saw Heidi and Dad at the turn on to County Route G again. When I passed the 68 mile mark, I commented to a nearby rider that we were half way done (68 miles plus the 2.4 mile swim being about 1/2 of the 140.6 mile total for the day). He was not amused.
Through Mt. Horeb, again seeing Heidi and Dad and on to the rollers and speedy downhills of Garfoot Road. I saw Heidi and Dad again, just past Cross Plains. I think my high point of the bike was making that turn to head back to Madison. I still had an hour to go, but it was a great feeling. I took note that the volunteer waiving us in the direction of Madison was admonishing everyone to take in only clear liquids for the rest of the way back to town.
Seeing the Capital building come in to view is a beautiful sight. Into Madison, past the traffic jam of spectators on John Nolen Drive and into the Terrace. I think it's a cruel joke that they make you ride up the parking ramp helix to end the bike. But the joy and adrenaline of being done with the bike leg got me up. Bike time: 7:15:25.
T2
At the bike dismount line one volunteer grabs Stealth and another takes hold of my arm to make sure I'm steady on my feet. Into the Terrace I go. I'm handed my transition bag. Between the bag room and the changing room I see Heidi and my Mom. I think I shouted something to the effect of, "I just rode my bike 112 miles; I've never done that before." In the changing room a volunteer dumps my bag out and asks what I need. I do a compete change out of my cycling gear and into my run garb. The volunteer gets my cycling gear into the bag, grabs me a cup of water, anything I need. Out of the changing room and another stop by the sunscreeners. T2 time: 8:19.
Run
As I'm heading out to start mile 1, I hear Mike Riley announcing the male champion as he crosses the finish line. I'm excited, but also thinking, he's done and I've got 26.2 miles to go. I slowly jog mile 1. I walk/jog for several miles. At about mile 3, I see the female leaders. I continue to walk/jog. I made a point to run at least some part of every mile. Some miles it was 3/4 of a mile. Some miles it was 100 yards. Starting about mile 5, I started conversing with Jon. Jon and I would finish the race together. Along the route I saw Heidi and my Dad several times.
As darkness fell I just kept walking and jogging. In retrospect, I probably could have jogged more than I did. Oh well, next time. I was able to chat with so many great people -- first timers like me, an 18 time IM veteran who was having some major gastric issues, a lady who was still wearing her bracelet from IM Louisville two week earlier.
At the aid stations, flat cola and sections of orange were my friends, along with a couple pretzels or chips for a taste of salt.
The half way turn around is cruelly only a couple yards from the finish line. At the special needs station, I grabbed two more TUMS from my bag. I got to see Steve and Pharmie again at the Mile 1 / Mile 14 aid station. Great people and another emotional boost.
By the 2nd half of the 2nd lap, I start to realize that I'm going to be an IRONMAN. Not that I ever really doubted that I'd finish, but now it was finally becoming real.
Adrenaline took over for the last mile! Coming through to the finish line, I think I heard Mike Riley say those magic words, call my name and say that I'm an IRONMAN. I say that I think I heard him because those last few seconds are a blur of emotion. Run time: 6:03:36.
TOTAL TIME: 14:40:15.
Post Race
As soon a I cross the finish line, a volunteer grabs each arm. They make sure I'm OK. They get me my finisher medal, shirt, hat, space blanket, and water. Once they see that I'm not going to collapse, one goes to help other finishers and the other continues to escort me to get my finisher photo.
In case it's not clear from reading this, the volunteers at this event are the best. As volunteers get first dibs at registering for next year's race, many of the volunteers are triathletes themselves. Others, like Steve and Pharmie, are past finishers who dedicate their day to help others join the IRONMAN club. There is something like 3500 volunteers to support 2400 athletes. The volunteers really make the day. It is a long hot day for them as well. In short, I cannot say thank you enough for what they do.
After my finisher photo, the volunteer hands me off to Heidi for a great embrace; hugs from Mom and Dad too. Heidi and I head to the food tent for a much needed bite. I had one very important call to make. I called Cole to let him know that I finished. One of the reasons I started this, or one of the reasons that kept me at this, was the picture in my head of calling Cole to let him know that his dad is an IRONMAN.
Dad had picked up Stealth and my transition bags from the Terrace, so we headed back to the hotel. Getting in and out of the car was a challenge. Back at the hotel, Heidi had to take my shoes off, as I could not quite reach down that far. I took about 10 minutes in an ice cold tub and then a nice steamy shower. Ahhh!
Obviously, I had not eaten dinner, nor had Heidi. The hotel kitchen was closed. Moving slowly, Heidi and I headed back to the square to find some food. No luck on the square, every place stopped serving at 10PM. We find a little dive bar that is still grilling burgers. Cheeseburger, fries and a beer -- YUM!
We wrap up dinner in time to walk over to the finish line to watch the last racers come in. We cheer as Bill, from Verona, crosses the finish line at 16:56. He is the last official finisher (I later find out Bill spent the next couple days in the hospital). A few more determined people complete the distance knowing that they will not be counted as official finishers, but they will know that they completed the distance. My humble congratulations goes out to them as much as to those who finish in 9 or 10 hours.
On our way back to the hotel we do our best to help a couple who can't find where they parked their car. He had finished the race, their kids were crashed in the stroller. I think we got them pointed in the right direction.
We finally crash into bed around 1AM. A glorious 22 hour day.
Monday
Mom and Dad head out to Michigan first thing Monday morning. Heidi and I clean up, pack up, and load the truck. We head out to breakfast at the same place we ate on Saturday. The nice man there remembered me and asked how my race went. So nice.
Before we leave town Heidi takes me on a little shopping trip to the IRONMAN store to grab some M-Dot gear.
Parting Thoughts
Becoming an IRONMAN is a family commitment. Without Heidi's sacrifices in time and money this could not have happened. Without the Cole, Abby, and Victoria putting up with Dad going off to train or disappearing to the basement to ride the trainer or run on the treadmill, there is no way I could have done this. Thank you.
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