Ironman World Championships 2011

What can I say? I made it to the World Championships in my third Ironman and I am very grateful and tired. The race didn't go exactly as I had planned. But you know what? I had fun even though I was injured.

I have always been competitive – with myself, the clock and the field. With this race I knew that no amount of training, no amount of weights, no amount of track speedwork would put me in the top 5% of the field at Worlds. Maybe if I worked at it for another year, but not in 8 weeks. I just wanted to perform as well as I did in Lake Placid. So I took a solid 2 weeks off and then started excercising again hoping to hit the training peaks I realized in June and early July.

But I was tired, both physically and emotionally. My tri bike has logged 3,700 miles since March. I have run 1138 miles and swum countless laps. At my peak I was putting in 24-28 hour weeks, mostly solo. The accumulated exercise stress took its toll on my body and mind. I needed a new way to train through to Kona.

So, instead of training for performance, I decided to train for fun. I still managed to hit many of my weekly targets, but did so by working out with others much more. If there was a track workout, an open water swim or a group ride, I tried to be there. This camaraderie got me to the start line in good, if not top shape.

Bri and I flew into Kona on Thursday before the Saturday race. We decided to put more days into our vacation after the race than before, so we could enjoy the sights without compromising my race legs. Unfortunately, this had two consequences, (1) I wasn't as acclimated to the weather and (2) I didn't have time to familiarize myself with the course as much as I usually do. In the long run, neither of these mattered all that much: the temperature was fine for me and my race unfortunately suffered from other mishaps.

The scene in Kona was different from any other race. The majority of the 2000 talented, international athletes got to Worlds on their own merits, by racing and beating others in their age group. There are only 200-300 lottery slots available to the general public. When walking around town you are reminded of this. No one is smoking, no one is eating fried food; everyone is wearing tight-fitting clothing to show off their zero-fat, toned, tanned bodies. It is very intimidating.

With that said, everyone I met was incredibly friendly. For instance, on race morning I stood out at Ali'i drive in front of our condo and waited for a bus to take me to the start. After seeing 3 full shuttles pass me by, an athlete from Paris (France) picked me up and gave me a ride as far as he could. The morning was full of scenes like this. Athletes sharing gatorade, powerbars, bike pumps and stories while we got body marked, weighed in, waited in the porto-potty lines and stretched.

In transition it was very dark and the atmosphere at 5:30 AM was filled with confident, but nervous energy. After stretching for a while and hearing the pros start I filed down the stairs with the other amateurs. The water was cool and clear. The sun had just come up.

Amateur Athletes Getting Into the Water

After lingering at the shore break for a few minutes I swam out to get a good position. The start line was long, stretching 100 meters or more from the pier to someplace near shore. I lined up near the pier, 5 or 6 people from the line.

Swim:

I looked over at the starting officials, and waved to both the TV cameras and Mike Reilly. Ten seconds later the booming cannon report sounded directly into my right ear, temporarily deafening me. So, as I started to swim, my left ear took in the sounds of the race: the splashes, the cheers and the music. My right was ringing like a bell for five minutes.

Swim Start

In Lake Placid or in Wisconsin I didn't have any trouble starting at the pole position; there would be a lot of bumping in the first couple hundred meters and then everything would settle down and I would have clear water. But this was a different swim – I got to the first buoy and was in a large pack. Another two buoys later I was still in the pack. I was kicked, punched and elbowed almost constantly until I shifted my course away from the line and out of the pack.

As I swam I passed over the most amazing sites – coral reefs, sand, and schools of fish. With 30-60 feet of visibility, I never lost sight of the bottom. At one point I saw 2-3 black-tipped reef sharks (small ones – maybe 1-2' long). Cliff Rigby told me that I would be in for a treat, but I had no idea. I was swimming in an aquarium – a far cry from the Navesink.

At one point I swam over a reef and noticed that I wasn't moving quickly relative to the view below. No matter how hard I pressed on, I wasn't making the progress I expected. The currents and small waves rippling through the bay were strong, pushing us back into shore. I hoped they would help push me on the way back. As I rounded the far turn and headed home I felt a long way from transition. There was still a good pack around me and I stayed on the outside, away from flying fists and feet.

At that point I started to notice chafing around my neck. I had applied Glide to all the critical regions but forgot my neck – how did I forget? Ouch. Truly bad chafing around my neck would lead to a miserable race, because I couldn't take the suit off for the bike or run. The same seams causing raw skin now could slowly cut into my neck over the next 9 hours. So while I should have been pulling hard I was worried about the bike and run. My mind was overthinking – worrying about the rest of the race instead of concentrating on the task at hand.

I got out of the water and expected to see a relatively fast time. In Lake Placid I swam 1:04 without a wetsuit and figured the salt water would make me more buoyant and would speed me up a bit – maybe allowing me to break an hour. The clock showed a dismaying 1:09. Ugh. What did I do wrong? I should have started a bit to the outside, been a more familiar with the course and the currents and not stressed out about the chafing (or remember to apply glide before the race!). Oh well – keep moving.

Total Swim Time: 69:28 (5 minutes slower than LP)

Overall swim place: 772

Transition Area

Transistion 1

In transition I hosed off the salt water, got to the tent and put on all my gear, including my Headsweats band. I had the volunteers lather my back with sunscreen and made sure it was on my face and legs, too. All sloppy and white, I rushed out to get my bike.

Starting Out on the Bike

Bike:

Right out of transition, there was a thin line of bikers on the course. We all pedaled easily, grabbed some nutrition and got used to the new activity. A half mile into the route the guy a few bike lengths ahead hit a bump and something fell off his bike. He waited a few seconds and grabbed his brakes hard, suddenly cutting left to right across my path.

Unfortunately, I didn't comprehend what he was doing or where he was going until it was too late. I hit my brakes but still clipped his rear wheel. In a split-second I tumbled over my front wheel to the ground, hitting hard on my back and hip and ejecting my bottles. The rider picked up my bottles quickly and helped me back on my way. Nothing was said between us.

Back on the bike I took stock: my back hurt from scraping the road, but a policeman at the next corner inspected it and told me there was no blood. The bike was in good shape – a few scratches on the aero bars but the frame and wheels were fine. I wasn't grievously injured, so I pushed onward.

Then I got to the first hill and realized I had an interesting ride ahead of me. My left leg was fine, and when I pushed with my right everything was good. The pull up on my right was the problem. I didn't have any power contracting my hip and every revolution I had to use the left leg to reset the right to the push position. The hills amplified this deficiency. I must have done a split as I dismounted in the crash, injuring my right leg.

The Queen Kaʻahumanu Highway

As the course progressed around town I continued to ride to 80% of my ability due to my injury and when I got out to the Queen Kaʻahumanu highway toward Hawi everything seemed to be okay – if not great. I wasn't able to pull up with my right leg all day, but the pain wasn't debilitating and I pushed further on. The first couple hours passed without drama until I got to the base of the hill to Hawi. At that point the road tipped up slightly for 7 miles and the wind pushed into my face at 20-25 mph. It was brutal, particularly with one-and-a-half good legs.

At the Hawi turnaround I took a bottle of Accellerade from my special needs bag. I froze the bottle Friday night and now it was cold and refreshing for the last 50 miles of my ride. I need to do that in future races - it was great. On the way back to Kona I tried to keep up as best as I could, but found riders continuously passing me. Uphills, in particular, took too much effort to summit, but I continued. I arrived back at transition with plenty of energy and could have kept riding. I wasn't in a lot of pain and I was well hydrated. Bring on the run!

Here is the Garmin Output from my ride: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/126231988

Bike Split: 5:43:28 (21 minutes slower than LP)

Bike Place (overall) 1080. I lost 308 places on the bike and T1.

Transition 2:

When I stopped riding and stepped off my bike things fell apart. I gave my bike to a handler and with one step knew the rest of the day would not be racing but survival. My right leg would not move forward, I could not lift my right knee without excruciating pain. I hobbled around the transition area in my biking shoes while people passed me racing to get to their bags. How would I get through the next 26.2 miles?

When I got to the changing tent I met Jesse – a sports chiropractor that helped me out for a while. He stretched me and diagnosed a partially torn hip flexor (psoas). I couldn't sit up from the therapy table. In a chair I couldn't lift my leg to get on my running shoes. But, with help and encouragement from the volunteers and after 25 minutes of impromptu physical therapy (and more sunscreen), I hobbled out of transition and onto the marathon course.

Run:

Running the first couple miles was out of the question - I simply couldn't lift my right knee to run. Instead, I swung it ahead of me and used my left to propel myself. I limped forward on the right side of the lane for 45 minutes letting everyone pass me. The math of ironman seemed to be on my side, though. I had ten hours to walk, limp or feebly run home before the course closed.

I really didn't feel that bad. I wasn't too hot, I wasn't cramping and had enough calories, salt and conditioning to continue if my leg would allow. Spectators at the side of the road and even other runners mistook my limp for a cramp and offered to help, but I had to explain that it was an injury. After several conversations like this I stopped trying to explain myself and got on with the marathon.

In the first mile someone came by me on right very suddenly and bumped into me. It turns out it was Craig Alexander finishing. He only had a mile to go and was on his way to a record finish. The course uses this section twice and he had nowhere to run because of the traffic in the street. It was the first time I had ever been lapped in an ironman (or marathon). Later at the midnight finish I met up with Craig again and I congratulated him on the win.

At mile 2 I was very hungry and paused at a water stop. Some wonderful volunteers made me a peanut butter and jelly sandwich which tasted better than anything I had eaten in a long time. With that in my belly, I tried to shuffle along for a while. I would "run" 100 meters and then walk 100 meters. Downhills seemed to be easier than uphills – I started to figure it out.

At mile 3 on Ali'i Drive I passed the condo and saw Bri and my father-in-law. They were both very concerned; I should have passed by an hour earlier. So, I convinced Bri to go back in and put on her running shoes and I continued on. At the mile 5 turn-around Bri caught up and joined me for the 2 miles back to the condo. I jogged on and off during this time and stopped once for more sunscreen on my back (fourth application of the day!).

I continued to jog intermittently for the next few miles and finally got back out to the Queen K. At this point I was running more than walking and managed to time a couple miles, finding a 9:20 pace. Not great – I usually race almost two minutes faster per mile - but not awful either.

If I sped up or slowed down my hip flexor let me know and I had to walk for a couple minutes. So I only had one speed and drifted to and from various temporary running partners. In this way I met a lot of interesting people from all over the world. Turning into the Energy Lab I started the downhill run to the ocean and the final turn around at mile 19.

My goal was to finish around 7:30 so Bri could cheer me to the finish before her volunteer shift in the medical tent at 8 PM. If my even pace continued, I would arrive in time.

Coming out of the Energy Lab I turned around and walked backward up the hill to gaze on a beautiful sunset over the Pacific. It was a serene and peaceful point far from the lights and sounds of spectators, floodlight generators and music. It was just perfect. The injury slowed me down and helped me to enjoy parts of the race I wouldn't normally appreciate. If I were truly racing I would have never looked back.

I collected glow-in-the-dark bands and ran into the quiet night on the Queen K. Coming back into town I could hear the party at the finish line from two miles away. I kept running and finally saw Bri and my in-laws. As I ran through the finish chute I slapped as many hands as possible and breathed in every last moment.

I managed a jump for joy at the finish line and landed - just barely.

My run split was a 5:11:22 (1:48:00 slower than LP and the slowest 26 miles I have ever run)

Run place (overall): 1554

Overall:

12:33:58

Place (overall): 1432 out of 1855 starters (1773 finishers). On a brighter note, I beat the top two finishers at Lake Placid (they DNF'd)

Finish:

On the other side two catchers got me and guided me towards the finishers' tent. I found Jesse and he congratulated me and then stretched me out for a little while. When I stood up again my head spun, I couldn't maintain my balance and my legs buckled. Bri and a police officer dragged me back to the medical tent. (Bri had to remind me about the officer- I don't remember him).

Inside they first weighed me (152.5 lbs - I lost 4 pounds from the morning). Bri had just started her volunteer shift at the medical tent and turned out to be my nurse! After taking vitals, she brought me a sprite and an apple. I started to feel better as I ate. Thirty minutes later I was "discharged" and wandered to the food tent for some pizza, ice cream and my medal.

At the end of the day, I was happy and relieved to have finished. I wish I could have done better but understand it wasn't in the cards. I should be angry that some random guy cut me off and destroyed my race, but it was an accident and I really can't change that.

My post-race back, featuring bad sunburn, road rash and wetsuit chafing

I thoroughly enjoyed the race and the run – even though it seemed to go on forever. It was by far the longest duration run and longest workout I have ever completed.

But, I am frustrated and feel like I have unfinished business out in Hawaii. How do I get out there again to redeem myself? Do I dedicate another year of my life and untold thousands to travel and compete? I don't think my bank account, nor my sanity could survive another journey like this next year.

Over the next few days my hip started feeling better (but not great). Eventually walking wasn't so much of a chore and the rest of our vacation was great.

Thanks:

There are several important people that deserve many thanks.

Gerry Goldberger. Gerry and I often worked out together between Lake Placid and Kona. His companionship and advice was invaluable. I don't think I would have been able to get in nearly as much training without him.

The Brielle Cyclery. Brielle has been a constant companion during my quest this year and enabled some incredible biking. They sold me my super-fast Cervelo P3, nutrition and a sleek race suit; they provided some quick tune ups and gave me valuable advice. In addition, Brielle helped me out by lending me a pair of awesome wheels. I could not have made it to Hawaii without Kathy, Clarence, Patrick, Digger and John. Thanks everyone!

Joe Donahue and Don Griffen. I tried to get to the Point Pleasant track on Wednesdays as often as I could in August and September. I enjoyed the workouts but mostly I wanted to talk with Don and Joe. Both have competed in Kona and I wanted to learn everything I could about the weather, the course and the facilities from them. I planned out my race strategy largely on their advice (except for the crash).

Greg Smith, Cliff Rigby and Alex Rossano. It was great to have their company while riding this summer. Cliff also raced Kona (more than once) and helped me plan my race strategy.

My in-laws (Marianne and David Zimmerman). Thanks for coming out and supporting me in Hawaii! I had a great time and hope you did too. When I was injured after the race I could not have returned to the condo or lamely danced at the midnight finish without your support.

My wife (Brianne). It has been a long year of training, with sore muscles, long bike rides and crazy races. I couldn't have done any of this without your love and support. Thanks honey. I love you! Next year it is your turn to enter a few races!

Kona. From the athletes to the fans to the race officials to the townies. Your friendliness, welcoming attitude and support made this a wonderful trip. It was a hard race and a long trip, but I enjoyed every minute of it.

Mahalo!

Ironman Lake Placid 2011

Ouch! As I write this my face is peeling and my shoulders are sure to follow soon. I put spf 50 on before I went in the water and then in T2 a volunteer reapplied on my shoulders. Somehow I still managed to turn into a lobster before the end. I need to figure out how to fix this issue before I race again in Kona. Yuck – lots of little bits of dead skin everywhere. How attractive.

This was my second Ironman (after 2008 IM Wisconsin). I chose to race the 2011 IM Lake Placid because it was a close and because there are usually lots of people from the NJ triathlon community up there competing, so there is a sense of camaraderie. I had a wonderful experience in my first race and surpassed my expectations by finishing in 10:12 but thought I might be able to go under 10 hours by getting better at all the disciplines: swim, bike, run and transition. So, I began swimming with a competitive group at the Red Bank YMCA, I bought a faster tri bike, I started lifting weights, did speed work (run and bike), and bought a unisuit all in anticipation of the Lake Placid.

While I did get faster, there were some unanticipated race day events and unintentional race plan effects that made this sub-10 goal a bit more difficult. A warm Mirror Lake lead to a "no wetsuit" rule for the swim, which slowed everyone down. A strong and powerful bike ride sapped energy from my legs for a run that was hotter than expected. At the end of a long day, I did finish under 10 hours! But I did it in a way I wasn't anticipating –mostly on the strength of an improved bike split. I finished with a time of 9:57:44 and came in at 36th place out of over 2332 (start field was supposedly over 3000). I was 32 out of all the men and 7th in my division (Men 35-39). Finally, I was among the leaders of my division, which let me have a slot for the World Championships in Kona, HI this October! So training will continue for another couple months.
Here is a breakdown of my race:

Swim:
From March to July I worked out 3 days a week with the "Morning Wrecking Crew" – as I call them – at the Red Bank YMCA. Mostly ex-collegiate swimmers, I am one of the slowest in the pool every day. The beatings they inflicted through their sadistic workouts began to help me out, though. I saw my splits for 100-300 yards drop precipitously over the spring. Heck – I could swim 100 yard repeats on 1:20s! I could swim 3x300s at 3:52 pace! With this new found speed came confidence that I could break 1 hour for the swim. I swam 55 minutes with a wetsuit at the NavEsink-or-swim and thought 58 minutes for the ironman would be within my reach.

However, in the days before the race, Lake Placid saw some very hot weather. On Thursday when we arrived it was 95F. This anomalous Adirondack heat made the swim more challenging because of one IM rule: If the water temperature is above 76.1 F, wetsuits are optional. This means that contenders for Kona slots and podium places

can't wear wetsuits. On race morning the official temperature of 77 F was taken, which meant I could not compete in a wetsuit. I would cautiously estimate that 19 in 20 athletes did have a wetsuit. This created some apprehension - how fast will I swim? Where should I start? Where do I tread water waiting for the start? I had to figure all these things out very quickly on race morning. Gerry had advised holding on to the dock on the wrong side of the course markers, but the officials were kicking people out of that area.

I ended up clutching the dock close to the starting pole until 2 minutes to go and then I swam out 5-10 yards to get into the fray. Immediately after the cannon roared, all hell broke loose. I was in a sea of very buoyant bodies all protected from flailing limbs and gouging fingers. Me (and a few others) were left to take punches (in my face) and kicks and to resist drowning. It wasn't so much a race at first – it was more of a blender of chaos. I swam along the line holding the buoys mostly to my right (wrong side) in the rectangular course. Sometimes I swam right on top of the line, ducking under the large floats every 100 meters or so. At the corners I made sure I went around the buoys legally. I did get into a few good packs, but the pace felt too slow many times. I jumped from pack to pack, but without a wetsuit the effort to do this was very taxing. I swam my first lap in 31 minutes and my total swim time was 64 minutes – two minutes slower than 2008 Wisconsin.

Looking at other racers from Navesink-or-swim, (Jason Shortis swam a 52:36 in May in the sink-or-swim and then swam a 57:39 in Lake Placid) I would expect a 5 minute advantage for swimming with a wetsuit. Thus, my sink-or-swim would have predicted around 59 minutes in Lake Placid.
Lap 1: 31 minutes
Lap 2: 33 minutesTotal Swim Time: 64:48
Overall swim place: 213 (this includes people that used a wetsuit, though).

Bike:

Maybe I psych myself out a bit too much on bike courses. I was worried going into Wisconsin after driving the course but completed it in 5:33:53. However, compared to Wisconsin, I was down-right scared in Lake Placid after a June training weekend with Brian Stone. Everything around me in NJ is flat with some pimples thrown in here and there. LP has one of the hardest (if not the hardest) bike course on the IM circuit. The course is comprised of two 56 mile laps through the Adirondacks, looping from Lake Placid, to Keene, to Ausable Forks to Wilmington and back to Lake Placid. In each lap there are 2600 feet of climbing! Needless to say, I didn't feel like my NJ training prepared me for the course very well.

To take the sting out of the bike course I started lifting weights in January. I got progressively stronger and felt fast while training long hours on the bike. On my peak training week before the race I rode 340 miles in 7 days (and ran 46 miles and swam for 3 hours).
After the swim and T1, I rode out of transition in control and feeling strong. After passing the horse show grounds I started the climb to the cascades. I passed lots of people there. At one point I asked someone what their swim time was to see how much time I had made up already – I made two minutes back before the first aid station at mile 4.
I flew downhill from the Cascades to Keene and rode in control to Ausable Forks. There were some packs around me and I saw several drafting violations called on people 50 meters in front of me. I kept a consistent pace that I thought I could hold for an extended period. Coming back from AF I had traveled 35 miles in the first 90 minutes of biking for an average of 23 mph!
At one point on the first lap between AF and Jay I reached into my back pocket to get my last clif bar and pulled out my salt tablet container which promptly fell to the side of the road. I tried to look for it in the second lap, but had to make do without salt during the bike ride.
On the first lap up the hill from Jay to Wilmington I pushed hard and passed a lot of people. This is where lifting weights over the winter (and the weight I lost) really paid off. I powered up the Haselton Rd out and back at 21-22 mph and then settled in for the climb to Lake Placid. I ticked off the Cherries and the Bears without drama (great crowd support!). At the top of Papa Bear I saw my Brother and Bri quickly as I turned onto Northwood Rd and then rode past the house back into town. You know what? The first lap really wasn't all that bad. I crushed it (for me). I averaged 22 mph for the first 57 miles.
On the second lap things started to fall apart on the bike (relatively speaking). I was tired from pushing hard and my legs started to cramp a bit going up the hills. A North wind also picked up, making the trip out to AF harder than the last time. My goal was to never let the speedometer get below 20 mph on the flats and I mostly succeeded in this.
The nice thing about a North wind in Lake Placid is that it pushes you up to Lake Placid from

Wilmington. Because of this, the part of the course I dreaded the most really wasn't all that bad. I never lost a lot of time going up the final hilly 12 mile section. At the end of the bike course, while I was rolling into town I knew I had expended a lot of energy, but was confident that I had pulled off a good ride because there weren't a lot of people with me and there were almost no bikes racked when I got in.

Bike Nutrition: Because I had lost my salt tablets on the first lap of the bike course I tried to make up my sodium deficiency by consuming gels, which had a significant amount of salt in them (200 mg of sodium in each one). I had 4 gels on the bike. In addition to this I consumed 2 bottles of Accelerade, 2 clif bars, 4x(1/2 power bar), 3 bottles of water and 2 bottles of powerade.
Here is the Garmin Output from my ride:

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/102018985
Bike Split: 5:22:17
Bike Place (overall) 60. I gained 154 places on the bike ride and T1.

Run:
I have always been a strong, albeit not elite, runner. I wasn't worried about the run that much during training and worked to keep my speed through trackwork while I concentrated on my biking. The run course consists of a couple of out-and-backs from Lake Placid. The first long leg travels downhill mostly following a small river for 5.5 miles. The second leg is a shorter 1 mile section next to mirror lake. You do that twice and then finish on the speed skating oval in the Olympic village. The course didn't look that hard while I was there and I was confident I could do well and run faster than I had in Wisconsin (3:23:18).

My LP marathon target was a 3:15:00, so prior to the start I set my watch to beep at me every 7:26 to keep me at this pace. When I would get to a mile marker my watch should have beeped in time with my pace. If I were slow the beep would occur before the mile marker (fast would be beyond the marker).

When I got off the bike I immediately knew this would be a difficult endeavor. My legs were tired as soon as I started running and it was hot (78 F) and humid. (see the geeky plot below...). In Wisconsin I stopped at every other aid station. In LP I probably hit 20 of the 26 water stops on the course taking in wet sponges, ice, water, powerade, gels, grapes, ice, water and more ice.
I took off from T2 and ran the first few miles fast – too fast, and tried to slow down. Eventually I did. After what seemed like an eternity I made the turn at the bottom and then back up to the ski jumps at the correct pace. Then the first hill hit. I slowed down considerably. 8 minute miles were not uncommon at this point. The second hill (into town) also zapped me. I don't ever remember hurting on a climb that much (and it isn't even that big!) My legs were shot.

When I got to the top by the town hall I saw my family for the first time. They were all decked

out in Team McNamara colors with cool Spongebob images hand-painted on the front of each shirt. I don't know how long that took to make, but thanks – that really got me through some tough parts of the course.

Once past my family, even the false flat section to the end of Mirror Lake Drive hurt. All I could think was: "I have to do this lap again? – Am I crazy?" However, when I turned around at the top of the Drive I felt better and started motoring downhill. The second lap felt a bit cooler as the sun had moved to provide a little more shade down in the woods next to the river. I had bad cotton mouth (I thought that was a bad sign) and drank as often as I could.

With 6 miles to go knew I was almost done. I plodded up the ski jump hill again and planned out my last 2-3 water stops, taking water at 3 miles to go and cola at 2 miles to go

. From there I mustered my last remaining energy, ran up the last hill and then sped through the last two miles at a faster pace.Coming into the Olympic oval I felt elated(because I could stop running any second now...). As I turned the last corner I saw my time was under 10 hours and kicked even harder. I passed my family one last time and under the finish arch at 9:57. The medic on the other side caught and held me - he was worried. I had that 1000 yard stare and my stomach was very upset (with me). Everything was fine, though - I was just so tired... Eventually he half-carried me to the food tent and I sat down, finally. I tell you Sprite and pizza never tasted so good!

My run split was a 3:23:44 (30 seconds slower that Wisconsin!)

Run place (overall): 53

Transitions:
In Wisconsin I changed from a Wetsuit/Speedo to a biking kit and then from that to a running outfit in T1 and T2 respectively. This took a lot of time (T1 8:38, T2 4:08). I upgraded my equipment to race in a Blue Seventy uni-suit for LP. This helped my transition times considerably. I didn't have to get my wet suit peeled and I ran out of transitions easily. I cut my transition time in half, even with the 1/4 mile run from Mirror Lake to T1!
T1 4:48
T2: 2:09

The House:
During Wisconsin I stayed in a hotel with my Brother and Bri. It was comforting to have family there to help and support me. I don't think I could have finished that first one without them. This time Bri, Don and I stayed in a rental house with a group of very inspirational mostly first-time ironman athletes. When Brian and I arrived at the house on Thursday afternoon it felt like MTV's Real World. We had to

find and claim our rooms while getting to know everyone in the house. Except in this episode there weren't any abusive, violent muscle heads and no "Snookies". We all got along great – it was wonderful meet these people and to learn from their trials and tribulations. From cooking to cleaning to cheering each other on – it really was a friendly, wonderful, welcoming environment. Needless to say, between the scenery in Lake Place, the cooler temperatures of the Adirondacks and these great people, I didn't want to return to New Jersey on Tuesday.

Thanks and Shout-outs (in no particular order):

- Derek: thanks for renting 115 Northwood and collecting this group of wonderful people together
- Denise: thanks for cleaning, race advice, and cleaning (and cleaning).
- Danni: Congrats on your first race! You were awesome.
- Jen: You were so inspirational. I don't know if I could have been out there for that long without giving up. You certainly dug into a pain reserve that I probably don't have.
- Matt: Incredible. Congrats on a great swim and thanks for your words of encouragement. You were certainly moving around a lot better than the rest of us.
- Brian: Thanks for hauling my butt around the eastern seaboard getting to and from Lake Placid for training and for the race. I really had a great time. Congrats on your first IM! You did great.
- Mark: For someone that "didn't train that much" you certainly had a great race. Congrats on a great race.
- 115 Northwood Spouses and Various Family Members: You really helped so much. Besides helping to eat 100 pounds of bananas, your help 'sherpaing' and cooking and cleaning and generally dealing with neurotic racers was very much welcome. (this includes Seb and Sarah for cooking and driving to the start and cheering us!).
- Family: Virtually my entire family on my Dad's side showed up for me. When I ran past them and slapped hands it greatly lifted my spirits. Those shirts were awesome, too. Thank you so much. Thanks to Don for coming, too. Your support was wonderful.

- Training partners (riding): Gerry, Greg , Cliff, James and Steve – thanks for riding with me and for imparting your race wisdom on me. I saw most of my improvement on the bike and could not have done it without the bike, the wheels, the knowledge and the ability.
- Training partners (swimming): The morning wrecking crew at the Red Bank YMCA really kicked my butt this year. My swim time would have been 5 minutes slower without their help.
- Training partners (running): I ran a lot of lonely solo miles this season. Any break from that monotony was welcome. Thanks go out to those people that showed up for planned (and informal) group runs with me out of Leonardo and in California (Ray, Mike, Mike, Dave, GVHs).
- Bike Shop: Thank you to the Brielle Cyclery. They really kept my bike moving smoothly and helped me find the best racing kit. Kathy, Clarence and Patrick: thank you for your expertise and patience.
- Finally, a special thank you to my wife, Brianne. She is a wonderful and patient soul who has

stuck with me, even through my 28 hour training week in June. I don't know how she does it. Thank you for supporting, for carrying, for feeding and for caring for me. I love you, honey!

What's Next:
Yeah – Kona is in October. I am taking today and tomorrow to figure out my schedule for this craziness. I need some time off and then I will ramp up my training again before tapering one last time. I have never raced two marathons so close together in the year. Two full Ironman triathlons are daunting and scary. I need to start looking at the bike course and preparing to run when "it feels like the soles of your shoes are melting on the road".

Kevin's 2008 IM Wisconsin Report

Ken Schulz (see http://kenschulz.blogspot.com/2007/07/race-review-ironman-lake-placid-2007.html) put one of these together a couple of years ago for Lake Placid. It is a great idea. It helps be to come to terms with the end of a training period in my life and to remind me later why I do these crazy things. Who knows, like Ken’s blog, it may help others to realize their dreams.

Prerace Banquet

Introduction

The Ironman Wisconsin is held every year in Madison. It consists of a 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike and a full marathon (26.2 miles). The race is anchored at the Monona Terrace center on lake Monona on 9/7/8. I arrived on Thursday before the race and had some time to relax, build my bike, run and bike some of the course and drive the entire course a couple of times.

The morning of the race Bri dropped Don and I off at the bottom of the terrace in the dark and we made our way up to the staging areas. He dropped off my bike and run “special needs” bags (with extra wet weather clothes) and I checked my bike over one last time and went to body marking. Finally, I put on the wetsuit and set out on my way down the helix towards the water.

It was still a bit cold, 55 F and the high was supposed to reach 72 F. Clouds were expected later in the day an possibly some rain, but the morning was clear and the sun was just starting to come up.

Swim

The swim is a mass floating start. Pros go off 15 minutes early, but after that it is a swimming stampede. And as such, the swim was a bit chaotic for me – I had never been in a field that large and wasn’t sure exactly where to start. With some new found confidence (thanks Gerry) I started near the front and waited for the gun.

There were two takeaway memories from the swim:

• I was kicked and slapped and punched a lot. As I said, there were a lot of people on the course at one time. I was constantly swimming into and over people. I never found a good “pod” of swimmers that I could draft behind for more than 200-300 yards.
• The laps seemed to go on forever. I have no trouble with open water swims, but I suppose all the indoor swimming made me focus on the clock on the wall a bit more than I have in the past. Without the watch I felt like I was swimming forever.

I got out of the swim strong and made my way up the three story helix after a quick “peeling” – there are people dedicated to stripping wetsuits from swimmers - very quick, effective and cool.

I thought I would swim between 1:00 and 1:05, with a desire to go under 1:00 if possible. Looks like I stuck my pace. In 2004 my Timberman 1.2 mile swim was 31:01. I thought I could improve on that a bit.

Total Swim Time 1:02:56

Swim Place: 276

Swim Pace: 1:40 per 100

Transitions

After completing Timberman with some bad chafing and driving and biking portions of the Wisconsin course, I decided that comfort trumped speed on my first IM. Beyond that, if I was very uncomfortable on the bike with thin padding, I might ride slower anyway. Likewise, if I were constantly worried about chafing, I wouldn’t run well either. Maybe I was psyching myself out, but the ironman is very mental, and I wanted to be sure my mind was at ease. Because of this, I changed completely at the swim-to-bike and at the bike-to-run, accumulating some large transition times.

Swim – I had a Nike speedo and Xterra Wetsuit (sleeveless).

Bike - I rode with a tri top and my favorite pair of Sugoi Evolution Shorts.

Run - I ran with a rather poor-fitting running singlet and my Raceready LD shorts.

I think I was the only one that changed completely at my pace, but I was comfortable and confident while competing. Maybe next time I will get a bit more aggressive and race with the same kit the whole way through.

One last note on transitions… the transaction areas were away from the course a bit, so there was always some running involved to get out on the course. We probably ran 26.7 mi at the end of the day.

T1 – 8:38

T2 – 4:08

Bike (sorry no good images)

I love biking, I really do – however, this course scared me. Everyone was talking it up and it probably got to me a bit. I drove the course a couple of times and rode 15 of the toughest miles on Friday. On race morning I was literally shaking at breakfast in the hotel, mostly because I was scared of hurting myself on the bike.

First, let’s get this out of the way: coastal New Jersey is not hilly. It is dominated by flat and false flat. There are hills, but it is not as hilly as the Wisconsin course. The western side of the state, near the Delaware River is a much better approximation to Madison.

Also, I have been battling what can be described as “old man’s knees” for two years now. In my 20s I never had trouble with my knees biking but now my IT band seems to get aggravated more and more easily. I was very afraid that the strain of the hilly course would stop me during the race.

When I started the bike course I passed a few riders as people were adjusting to the non-water environment. When we all got out past the city the race started in earnest. I quickly noticed that I was in a minority – most of the others near me all had tricked-out TT bikes. There were only3-4 others at my pace and place that were on road bikes converted for a more aerodynamic position (aerobars).

I rode my Cervelo Soloist (carbon) with a pair wheels from racedaywheels.com (404/808 combo). I also had my seat switched up to a more forward position. The bike looked and felt very fast with those wheels!

The bike course was a “popsicle” style course. A 12 mile stick out to a ~40 mile loop that was completed twice and back down the 12 mile stick to home. During the first loop I learned a very important lesson. On the flats and straight downhills, I was passed easily by the others on the more aerodynamic TT bikes. However, on the hills and tight winding descents no one could touch the Soloist. As far as I remember, I was not passed on a single hill. Also at the really technical downhill section at mile 32/72 my bike railed around the turns.

When it all became flat again, all those spots I had won in the uphills disappeared. This happened over and over again throughout the course. It got to the point that a couple of us would say “hi” after passing for the 6^th or 7^th time.

Now, either I am awful at flats, or my bike is not suited for flats or some combination thereof (I assume the latter). I am relatively light (150 lbs) and wind blows me around a bit. Riding into a headwind is tough. A more aero bike would certainly help, but I wonder if my quads just aren’t up to the job of pushing my body against the wind. Hills are no problem and I love descending, so that might account for the yo-yoing out on the course.

I felt a bit tired on the second lap compared to the first. Perhaps I went out too hard. The wind also picked up to 10-15 mph during the second lap (the first lap was windless). The hills were a bit harder and the course seemed to drag out a bit more.

As I biked back down the popsicle stick I felt strong again and passed quite a few people. People talk about getting a “second wind” – this must have been my fourth. Those six solo centuries this summer certainly paid off as other riders started to get very tired and started drifting backwards relative to my position. In the last 0.5 miles I changed to a lower gear and spun in to warm up my legs for the run. The last bit was up the spiral again to the parking deck.

During the bike stage I consumed:

• 3 water bottles
• 2 gatorade bottles
• 2 accellerade bottles
• 4 clif bars
• 3 salt tablets

Oh yeah, my profile design aerodrink bottle failed about 5 miles into the race. The poorly-designed sponge splash protector bounced out on a little bump. I gave the system to a spectator at mile 52 (hoping it would turn up at Lost and Found) but never got it back. Good riddance.

Needless to say, I had a decent bike leg. I learned a lot, had some fun and endured some big riding. I was ecstatic that I didn’t hurt myself and that I finished strong. My original goal was a 19 mph average. As you can see I beat that by 1 mph!

IM Wisconsin Bike Time: 5:33:53

Bike Place: 209

Bike Pace: 20.1 mph

Note: at Timberman my pace was 20.5 mph.

Run

I knew that if I got through to the run I would have a good chance at finishing well. Running has always been my strongest suit and I was hoping my legs would work well on the course. The terrain wasn’t particularly challenging – there was one hill at mile ~5. Other than that it was mostly flat with lots of switchbacks.

In Timberman my calves locked up badly around mile 8 – I was hoping that wouldn’t happen again. With coaching from numerous sources I consumed salt regularly during the second third of the bike course and the entire run course. It seemed to do the trick – my legs were fine.

However, going out on the run I immediately found one challenge: I didn’t know how fast to go. My typical marathon pace is pretty quick – 6:40s - much too fast for talking. I realized that I needed to run sensibly or risk blowing up unexpectedly.

My first miles were 7:12 s- probably too fast. So I tried to find someone that might hold me back from this excessive pace. I found handful of runners that were glad for some company. I managed to slow my pace down with them to around 7:40s.

Unfortunately, I was never on the same nutritional schedule as these transitory running partners. Inevitably, there would be a water stop and we would part ways, me typically going ahead. Then I would set off to find another person to run with. In this way I skipped from runner to runner for 26 miles. The first 10 or so were easy – the runners were all just a bit slower than I. However, after mile 10 people started to disappear and I realized that I was nearing the beginning of the field. The gaps from runner to runner increased dramatically until there wasn’t anyone in front of me for 100 yards or more. Those gaps were very tough.

During the first lap I saw all the pros going the other direction back to start the second lap – I was hoping to not get lapped by any of them. Thankfully, I made it in without seeing them pass me. In fact, I passed a number of women pros before crossing the tape.

After I turned around and headed out again for the second lap more fresh faces came in from the bike course. This turned out to be a mixed blessing. Some of the runners at miles 13-18 were strong and could run my pace. Unfortunately, they started getting tired and I still felt strong. From mile 20 to the finish I was on my own – the other competitors appeared to be running backwards as I passed hundreds of first lappers. Those last three miles ticked off and I ran the final incline to reach the brief finish straight. When I rounded that last corner and realized I had only 50 yards to go, I felt on top of the world.

Finishing the Boston Marathon is similar for me – it is so amazing to be done and to have completed so much. It really is a culmination of several months of work.

Well, the IM was that and more. I realized that almost a year of training was leading to this. I slowed down, slapped a lot of hands, got the crowd to cheer for me and heard my name announced on the PA system. The music was thumping, I was tired and overjoyed and thankful all at the same time. I crossed the finish tape (they hold a tape up for everyone to cross!) and felt like I was walking on air.

During the run I consumed every two miles one of the following

• water and a salt pill
• Gatorade (two cups usually)
• Power gel and water or gatorade

Thus, in 6 miles I would have all three.

My results were fairly good – I was happy. I wanted to run roughly one minute per mile slower than my marathon PR (2:52). That would be a 3:16. I was a bit shy of that pace, but good nonetheless.

Run Time: 3:23:18

Run Place: 51

Run Pace: 7:46 min/mile

Finish time total: 10:12:51

Finish Place overall: 87 (there were 33 pros (19 men, 14 women), I beat1 male pro)

Finish Place age group (35-39): 15

Post Race Analysis

During the run I started to count all the things that were wrong: sore quads, sore shoulders, upset stomach, bottoms of my feet hurt, my big toe hurt for some reason, it was hot in the sun, the race seemed to go around in circles for ever and I was just tired of racing. I knew that thinking like that would be bad, so I tried to think positively. My calves were fine, my knees didn’t hurt, the weather under the trees on the dirt path was wonderful and I was running strong. I tried to outrace the bad stuff happening to my body.

That positive thinking went a long way. Everyone said that the IM is 10% physical and 90% mental. I was trying to keep the 90% on the right path.

After finishing, all those body parts that were damaged in the race caught up. I had trouble walking - although I have had more trouble after certain marathons. My stomach felt awful but I managed to put down some water, sprite and a piece of pizza. I was content and happy as I hobbled out of the finish area with Bri and my brother.

I also received my results in the finish chute. I knew I would be close to a 10 hr IM but wasn’t sure where I would end up. I was (and still am) very happy with my times. My first goal was always to not get hurt, then to finish and then to finish strong.

There were 72 “slots” to 2009 Kona IM (the world championships). These are precious slots that allow you to compete and the only way to earn your way is to finish strong in your particular age group. Well, my age group had 341 competitors, the most of any division – yikes! At the welcome banquet the MC mentioned us specifically and said a sarcastic “good luck” to anyone hoping for a slot at my age.

I think I did very well. There were 10 slots (~341 competitors in division/2410 competitors in race*72 slots per race) available. I came in 15^th in my division. With roll down, it was possible to get to Kona on my very first try.

Many athletes train and try for years to get even close to a slot. I salute their perseverance and fortitude. The athletes walking around were certainly intimidating – I didn’t think I would do as well as I did. I don’t want to sound smug or condescending. I am grateful that all the hard work and long hours this summer culminated in a wonderful race.

With that said, I didn’t wait around for the roll down. I could think of a couple of reasons to stay and hope for a spot, but I had more reasons to try again some other day. My life is too chaotic to commit to Hawaii next year. I would rather try a race like Couer de’Alene IM that would lead to IM at the end of the summer. That seems more reasonable. Maybe I will regret my choice later this week or next month or next year when I see it on TV. But it was the correct choice on Monday.

Future Plans

So yeah, I want to do another IM. Couer de’Alene sounds promising. Maybe I will try to get into that. Other things…

Swimming – I need to swim more open water races before my next IM to learn how to navigate in large packs of swimmers. I would like to go under 1 hour next time.

Biking – I did everything I wanted on the bike course. The only thing I would change was my training terrain. More hills and less NJ coast would be helpful.

Running - In my next race I will trust my running legs a bit more and try to go faster. My back injury for most of the summer really screwed up my running. Speedwork would have helped a lot.

Transition – A little speed in each of the above combined with a “same outfit” approach would probably put me under 10 hours. I wonder…

As for upcoming races... Let’s see. If I am still in shape, I may go and run the Breakers marathon in RI next month. I would also like to get back into XTerra Events. I miss mountain biking. SOS was on Sunday too. I really liked that race.

Thanks

It is important for me to thank everyone that helped me complete my first Ironman. Without all of you, this would not have been possible. From giving me tips on swim technique to supplying me with salt tablets to biking with me to holding me up after I crossed the finish line, there was a huge cast behind me. This is where I will attempt to thank you all (please forgive me if I forget anyone).

• Family (Bri, Don, Mom and Dad). You did a lot and helped me more than you know. Thank you for your patience and generosity this last year.
• Friends – the tips and support you shared were great and immeasurably important. Thanks to Dave Thompson, Dave Cole, Ken Schulz. I suppose some of these names would fit below, too…
• Training partners. Thanks to everyone at the Jersey Shore Tri Club, the Sandyhookers, the Brielle Cyclery, Bike Haven and the Atlantic Bicycle Club. In particular, thanks to Greg, Gerry, Joe, Doug, Luther, Maggie, Patrick, Kathy, Clarence and Cliff. (of course some of these names would fit above, too)
• Wisconsin. We had a great time in Wisconsin. Great people, beautiful scenery, endless biking, lots of cheese and great root beer - what’s not to like? I could easily live in Madison. (got a job for a Chemical Engineer/Chemist?)