Pre-Race:

I was itching all week to get out to Madison. Some folks were leaving as early as Wednesday and most folks I knew were travelling on Thursday. Not leaving until Friday had me all sorts of anxious and I couldn’t wait to bolt out of town and get down to the race site.

The drive out there was long, but registration seemed longer. Registration started inside Monona Terrace on the top floor, but the line to register was all the way down the hall, outside, and continued along the side walk! Huh? It was never that bad in the previous years? The line moved slowly and there was bottleneck upon bottleneck while getting registered. It took two hours from the time I lined up until I had my timing chip in hand! Unreal. This is definitely something that WTC is going to have to work on next year.

By the time I got registered, I only had time to go back to the hotel and drop off my bags before it was time to go meet up with our fellow bloggers. Stu was nice enough to be our gracious host, and I finally got to meet blogging celebrities Sara and my long lost twin, Wil. Let me tell you, these gals are as wonderful in person as you’d expect them to be from reading their blogs. I felt like I have known them for years. It’s a shame we don’t live closer together as I think they’d make great training buddies. I also got to meet Pharmie, XT4, Siren, RobbyB, Manitouba Guy, and several others. It was a really great evening and it was so great to meet everyone. I love putting faces to names. Great food, great company and just a great night all around!

Saturday was mostly business. I strolled around the farmers market on the way to the expo, and then went off hunting for some cold weather gear. The expo didn’t have any full fingered gloves, and the bike shop that was in walking distance from the expo had sold out of them. So I ended up with some short fingered gloves instead. Not exactly what I was looking for, but it was better than nothing! I went back to the hotel, got my transition bags packed, my bike adjusted and headed down to check everything in. I made it back just in time to make our early reservations that we had set for dinner. Then it was back to the hotel to get off my feet for the first time all day.

I went to bed early that night, but was up early on Sunday. I downed my breakfast of cereal, Gatorade, some dutch apple bread and a Gu while I checked the weather forecast - high temperatures in the upper 50s, windy, and a 50% change of rain. Lovely! I left for Monona Terrace around 5:30 AM, got body marked, and made sure my tire pressures were good to go. TriAl v2006 had stopped by before I got there and left a sticky on my aerobars wishing me good luck. Better than that, he must have just been there, because he came over soon after to chat.

We walked a ways before I went back inside Monona Terrace to sit down and relax a little. There were folks all throughout the building and the pre-race nerves extruding from the athletes was so high you could cut it with a knife! About 30 minutes before the cannon was going to go off, I made my way down the helix to the swim start. There of all places, I bumped into Jason who I just recently discovered stalks me reads my blog and is the husband of one of Carol’s co-workers. It was so bizarre. Of the two thousand people or so all waiting to get into the lake, I ended up right next to him in the masses. It’s a small world! Jason is an ultra-marathoner so this Ironman thing was going to be a short workout for him!

Getting into the water and to the start line took almost the full 30 minutes. It’s always slow going trying to get athletes past the timing mat and into the water. I swam up front and center for the start figuring I didn’t want to leave any time out there on the course. The pros got a 10 minute head start, but it would soon be time for us mortals…

Swim:

BOOM! The cannon went off and I sprung into action!

I was going to follow the same plan as last year of going out a little strong to get clear water and then dialing it down after that. It didn’t quite work the same, though. I was getting hit and pummeled left and right. For the entire first loop, I just couldn’t get any clean water no matter what I tried. The turns were especially nasty. For whatever reason, everyone seems to like to swim to a buoy and then stop as soon as they turn to spot exactly where to go next. Never mind the hundreds of folks that are swimming right on your butt! Those corners are always just chaos. At one, I got kicked in the face and it banged my goggles enough to cause one of the sockets to fill up with water. I thought my contact lens had fallen out, but luckily it didn’t. I dumped the socket out and kept on swimming.

The swim was a rectangular course. The length out wasn’t so bad, but on the length back the water was pretty choppy. If I wasn’t getting hit and thrown off course by rogue waves, I was swallowing lake water, or having water go up my nose as I picked my head up to sight. On the second loop, things finally started to thin out a bit. It didn’t really help my sighting which was awful that day, but it was nice not to get hit every few strokes.

Soon, I was making my way back to the beach ready to hit T1. I checked the clock at the finish, and saw that I had just done my worst IM swim ever! Well, my best was only two minutes faster and my other was less than a minute off so not all was lost. But it was still slower than I was expecting!

Time: 1:02:35 - 1:38/100m pace - 140th position overall

T1:

I exited the lake and made my way to the peelers. I checked quickly but couldn’t find who I was looking for so just stopped at the nearest person. Then I heard them, “Chris!!!” I looked over and it was Trimama and Trihubby waving their arms. I ditched the strippers that I had gone to first and made my way over to them instead. They were pros and had my wetsuit off in no time! They’re very cheery folks and it’s always a pick me up when I see them out there on the course. Thanks for the help!

I ran up the helix and into the transition room. It was much more crowded than I remember it being. A volunteer came over to help me with my stuff. I opted for a base layer under my tri jersey to try and keep me warm on the bike. It took me a little longer getting the tight fitting long sleeve top on with a wet body, but I’m guessing everyone was taking a little longer today.

Time: 9:11

Bike:

The plan for the bike was to ride easy for at least the first loop if not until mile 80. I wanted to get to mile 80 without feeling like I had done much work at all. But before I’d have that chance, I ran into other issues…

First and foremost, I realized that it was going to be a miserable day on the bike. I’m the biggest fair weather training person - I don’t ride when it’s wet and I don’t ride if it’s cold out. Well, Sunday I got to do both at the same time! I was sort of dry for the first half hour but soon after, the rain had completely soaked through my base layer and tri top and I was out in the early stages of the bike course completely soaked and riding in 52 degree weather. We had the wind at our back for the first few sections so it wasn’t that bad at the start, but I knew that tailwind was going to greet me as a headwind later on that day.

Somewhere around mile 30, a guy rides up as passes me telling me that my saddle bag was hanging on by a single strap. I second or two later, I could hear the bag rubbing my rear tire. I pulled over to the side of the road to fix it, but couldn’t really see what had gone wrong so I decided I’d just take if off completely and stick the whole thing in my back pocket. This should have been a trivial task but after an hour and a half or so in the wet and cold conditions, my fingers weren’t working so well. My fine motor coordination in my fingers had failed me and I lacked the physical strength to pinch with my pointer finger and my thumb at this point. It took a while, but I did manage to get it off and a minute or two later after the whole ordeal, I was back on my way.

Further up the road, around mile 40 or so, I had to pee. I thought about just peeing on my bike like I did last year. I figured, I’m already soaked to the core of my bones that if I pee on my bike, it’s all going to get washed off before I hit T2 anyway. But we had shifted from having a tailwind to riding into a rather strong headwind and I was just getting punished out there. I opted to pull over not only because it’s gross to pee on your bike, but also because I just wanted a break from the cold winds if just for a minute or two. I stopped and did my business and it was relieving in more ways than one! I wasn’t happy to get back on my bike and moving again, but I kept on.

Not too much farther, a guy goes to pass me on the road. He pulls up on my left and starts swinging back over to the right not even having cleared my front wheel yet. I yelled out, “Woah.. woah… WOAH!” but it was too close and I went onto the gravel shoulder. As I tried getting back on the road, my tires didn’t clear the asphalt lip and I went down. I suppose it was good that the roads were slick as I skidded down the pavement for a little bit before coming to a stop. A quick self assessment and I seemed to be OK. No sharp pains or bones sticking out from my skin. My hip was a bit sore, but I could live with that. I had some road rash on my legs and my base layer, tri top, and my toe booties now had a few holes in them. My shorts didn’t have any tears in it either, so I wouldn’t have to race around with my butt (or anything else!) hanging out all day. *phew* I hopped back on my bike not thinking to check it out first to see if it were safe to ride, but it was functioning normally. I could shift and the brakes worked so kept on my way.

The crash must have knocked the saddle bag that was in my pocket loose because another few miles up the road it fell out. I had to hop off my bike and run with it backwards to go pick it up. Have I mentioned that I’m still on my first loop of the bike course?!

Luckily, that would be the end of my misfortunes on the bike course unless you count my overall time which I haven’t gotten to yet. The crowds on the hills were awesome and I couldn’t believe how many folks were standing out there cheering their heads off despite the adverse weather conditions. It was just as awesome as I remember the crowds being and I was appreciative to have them there - especially for the first timers who hadn’t experienced the Madison crowds before. Verona was equally awesome! I saw Carol, my parents and my friend there who were cheering me on. I made it through the first loop and despite all that had gone wrong, I didn’t really feel like I had worked hard at all so that was mission accomplished.

I tried picking it up a tad on the second loop, but my body was just too cold to work as hard as I wanted it to. I’m pretty sure it had its own inner struggle that day of either listening to me and working hard on the bike or diverting resources to keep me from going hypothermic. I’m glad it over ruled my decision and chose the latter, for what it’s worth. On the second loop, I wasn’t going any faster, but folks around me were definitely going slower. I passed a lot of folks that I saw and remembered had passed me earlier that day. I like to keep mental track of folks who pass me early that don’t give the Wisconsin course it’s due respect. The hills on the second loop always seem substantially harder than the first loop. It seemed a little warmer, but not by much. I wasn’t shivering anymore, but I was still very, very cold. As I turned the corner onto the ~15 mile stretch of road that heads back to the transition area, I was greeting with a nice stiff headwind. Just what I needed when I was already down in the dumps. But it was the final stretch of the bike leg and I knew that every pedal was bringing me closer to home so I carried on.

All in all, it was the worst of my three Wisconsin bike splits by far. About 20 minutes slower than my first year and almost 25 minute slower than last year!

Time: 6:18:07 - 17.8 MPH - 431 position overall

17.8… ugh. I think that’s the slowest pace ride I’ve done all year including all my training rides.

T2:

It took a while to get my Polar HRM off my bike and ready to be used for the run. My fingers were still numb at this point. I eventually got it off and made my way into the transition area. I can’t tell you how happy I was to get those wet sponges off my feet and to put on dry socks and dry shoes! Ahhhhh! I was in heaven!

I chose to keep my base layer on. I was still cold and as the race went into the evening, it was only going to get colder.

Time: 4:19

Run:

My easy paced bike was supposed to set me up for a good run. Rich Strauss and Gordo Byrn always write about how folks over pace the bike and suffer for it on the run. That wasn’t going to be me today. I had also decided before the race started that I was going to take a one minute walking break per mile starting at mile one regardless if I felt I needed it or not.

The past two years, I’ve blazed out of T2 posting a 7:45 mile the first year and something like 8:00 flat the second. This year, I wanted to run as even paced as possible throughout the whole marathon so started out what felt extra slow. After having a high cadence on the bike for so long, I usually find it hard to slow down for those first miles of the run.

My parents, Carol, two of Carol’s co-workers - Nate and Stephanie, and my good friend T.J., were all out there again about half way into the first mile. They’re such troopers, standing out in the wet cold mess to cheer me on. T.J. reminded me to keep my pace slow which was hard to do because my legs felt great. I kept things nice and easy, letting folks pass me left and right. I wasn’t going to let poor pacing ruin my run.

Around mile two or three, I felt the ever familiar twinge in my knee.

“Oh, hello ITB! I haven’t seen you really since the early Spring! How have you been?”

Like clockwork, it’s always there to greet me the first week of September. It wasn’t bad for the first few miles, but the longer I ran the worse it got. I’d say the pain got bad somewhere around mile 5. Not good, considering I had 21 miles to go.

I managed the pain as best as I could but as the miles went on, it was harder and harder to pretend like it wasn’t there. Starting and stopping again was especially rough. I think walking gave it time to swell up and running again made that inflammation all that more apparent. I was bummed because I actually felt absolutely great at this point. My legs were fresh and my heart rates were still in zone 2 - something that I’ve never felt this late in the game. But that knee was threatening to ruin my run split.

My cheering section was there again at mile 6.5 on State Street. I was down in the dumps but seeing them cheering their hearts out really boosted my morale. Despite the ITB pain, I had been keeping pace, but my morale was dwindling. But, every time I saw them, they recharged me to the max and I was able to refocus and concentrate on forging on so I could see them again in another 6.5 miles.

Shortly before the turn around, I saw Tiffany from our tri club. She was all smiles and put some more fuel in my morale bank. At the turn around, I saw Trimama and Trihubby again and waved, “Hi!”. Except for my knee pain, I was still feeling great. It wasn’t until probably mile 18-19 that I really started to feel the effects of the miles before me.

“Nut up!”

I’m not even sure what that means literally (I suppose there’s a lot of slang that doesn’t make sense literally though), but it was something my friend told me that Rich Strauss had said in his pre-race talk in reference to getting tired on the run. I remember reading something similar in Going Long:

The race really begins somewhere near the end of the first half of the marathon. By this stage, everyone is feeling quite tired, and the race is starting to grind down people’s resolve. The second half of the marathon is where you will find out the results of your training, pacing, nutrition, and hydration efforts. It is also where you will discover whether you have the toughness to push well beyond your comfort zone. Athletes who are looking to achieve their very best should bring all of their mental strength to bear on the final half of the marathon…

So “nut up” I did and pressed onwards. Miles 20… 21. Time seemed to be moving faster during my walking breaks in the later miles and they weren’t long like they seemed like they were in the early stages. At these later miles, I knew I wasn’t going to break 12 hours like I had hoped earlier in the morning, but I had a shot still at a PR and a sub 12:10 effort if I kept on.

After my walking break at mile 23, my knee completely seized up. I’m talking like frozen solid; I couldn’t bend it in either direction. Try as I might to get myself to run, the pain was just too much.

“!@#$% What am I going to do now?”

I walked for another minute hoping that it’d get better but it didn’t. I was crushed at the thought of having to walk the rest of the way back. I only had four miles left and I knew I could will myself to run that far back no matter how tired my legs were. Another minute of walking and my knee seemed to loosen up a little. I tried running again and it was better than it had been the previous two times. I hobbled for a few dozen steps before it loosened up enough to let me run again.

“Woohoo! No more walking breaks for you! Suck it up for three more miles and you can finally stop moving for good!”

My legs were still tired but I just bore down and told myself, “Just a few minutes and you’ll only have two miles to go… That’s it! Come on, it’s just another two miles! You can do that in your sleep!” And finally, “One mile to go! Let ‘er fly!” Well, fly as best as I could at that stage in the game. I hadn’t given myself too big a cushion for that sub-12:10 goal time, but I knew I was going to make it now.

Those last few turns near the state capitol are heavenly. The crowds grow louder as you approach the finish. I knew that after a long, miserable day of terrible weather and internal suffering, that it was all be over in a matter of moments. I looked around and let everything soak in. I was ecstatic! Short of my planned walking breaks, I had run the entire marathon! Something that I have never done before! Floating down the finishers chute, I saw a big 12:08 on the clock and knew that I had made it.

Time: 4:34:14 - 10:28/mile - 549 position overall

Summary:

Overall time: 12:08:26. My fastest Ironman yet and while I personally still think last year’s conditions were harder, these conditions were extremely challenging in their own right. There wasn’t a time other than the swim and a couple of miles on the run course where I didn’t feel cold.

I swam a tad slower and transitioned a tad slower, but despite a 20+ minute slowdown on the bike this year, the energy that I saved out there gave me a 31 minute time bonus on the run compared to the previous two years. I’ll take that kind of trade any day!

I went inside Monona Terrace and can’t tell you how happy I was to change into some dry, warm clothes. It was totally the highlight of my day! I had been cold and shivering for the last 11 hours and the big, cozy warm sweatshirt that my mom and Carol had picked out for me was just what the doctor ordered! After the post race massage, I got my transition bags and went back to the hotel to get something to eat and sit in an ice bath for a bit. I then hobbled myself back to the finish line to see the remainder of the folks finish up.

As I write this, I sit here in my finishers t-shirt with stiff legs and a bum knee that still gets all sorts of pissed off when I try and move it at all. But it is true that pain is temporary and that pride is forever. There were many points during the day that I thought about throwing in the towel. While on the bike shivering, my mind tried to convince me that I already had two of these under my belt and I didn’t need to suffer today through another one. And during the run, I knew that I was going to be a full week at the very least with a sore knee and a few months of rehab before it would resemble being “normal” again.

“Is it worth it? I mean, really.”

You bet your ass it is!!! There is NO feeling in the world like finishing an Ironman! A HUGE thanks to my family and best friend who stood out there and cheered me on all day. You guys were what caused me to dig deep when I was struggling the most. And a HUGE thanks to all the volunteers that helped out on race day. I know that many of you would have rather been someplace warm and dry, but you all still stuck it out to help out a few thousands strangers who you’ll likely never see again. My deepest gratitude to all of you and to all the spectators to were out cheering us on when there were certainly more comfortable places to be.

I’ve got my hotel booked and my sign-up certificate in hand ready for 2007. The weather can’t possible be bad four years in a row, can it?! :) I plan on being there September 9th, 2007 to find out!