2015 IRONMAN Wisconsin - KQ or Bust

I can't believe how quickly this day arrived! After effectively 2 years of training, my 'A' race finally arrived and I had a chance to achieve my Kona goal. We headed over to Madison on Wednesday night after work, fully intending on getting situated, get the travel out of my system, and put some finishing touches on my training. I'm really happy Kristin came along rather than coming on Friday, she does such an amazing job of ironmate support. We met my parents in Madison and settled in at our apartment. Nenad and Megan would arrive late that night, also great to have good friends and future ironman along for the final few days.

We woke up Thursday morning to thunderstorms and a rather poor forecast for the rest of the day. Our plans to ride the loop of the bike course would have to be postponed to Friday morning. Thankfully, everyone remained flexible and we did some alternative workouts. I went down to athlete check-in and got a swim in Lake Monona when the weather finally broke. The water was warm and I rocked out the speedo while the other athletes floated around in their wetsuits. My swim has not felt as strong in years. Brimming with confidence, finally, that I'll easily break an hour.

Friday came and gave a bit of a preview for the weather for the rest of the weekend. Nenad, my dad, and I made our way out to Verona and rode the loop. It was windy and chilly. I brought my wind vest and arm warmers, but wasn't prepared for much colder than that. I felt strong on the bike but a little sluggish, perhaps an indicator of over-tapering, but I had done what I could with the time I had this week. Laid low and prepared all of my gear bags and such for the rest of the day, then met the group out at the Old Fashioned for a #30. I can't go to Madison and not do it.

Saturday I did some final gear preparations and bike tuning, and then it was back downtown to drop everything off and snag a photo with all of the Grand Rapidians in town for the race. It was fun to see a lot of familiar faces and then see them again on race day. After a brunch lunch and an adjustment from Dr. Ronda (she is awesome -- unending thanks to her! dynamicfamilychiro.com), it was back to the apartment to lay low until race morning.

Didn't sleep well at all, but that was expected. The extra nap and sleep on Friday were intentional. After a cup of coffee, I was alert and ready to go. Some final preparations, and we were off. Hit up special needs to drop off a Red Bull for the run course. Come to find out that they had it on course. Oops. Then the typical - bike tires pumped, Garmin sync'd with my power meter, nutrition loaded up, etc., then drop gloves off into my T1 bag (thanks again, Nenad!). Body marking next, then porta-jon, then it was already time to put on the wetsuit and go get in the water. Said my good-byes and made my way down the helix. It already felt emotional. Such a big day with a ton of purposeful training invested. The line to get in the water was ridiculous. Wasted a lot of mental energy stressing about not making it in on time. I managed to though, thankfully, and swam out to a prime spot by the buoy line. Before the cannon went off, it was nice to chat with some fellow athletes. Saw a guy with Swedish goggles on and figured he was a lock for a nice draft. That was the goal. Find some feet and don't burn up in the first 100m.

BOOM! Off we go. I settle into a decent rhythm and just try to keep my breathing and pace in check.
Found a good group and settled in on a few feet. The first 1000m went fast. I was having a great swim so far. We hit the turn and I found even more feet. After the next turn though it was suddenly just me. I then realized that I was off course a bit. Breathing directly into the sun was making me not sight well. After some adjusting, I saw a guy fly past me. I figured I was better off following someone and hopped on. My family actually saw this happen, which is crazy. They knew I was going to have a good swim and were looking out in the lead group for me. I followed this guy for the next 1500m or so before the final turn. Then again, I was alone. Turns out it was for good reason this time. The buoys "swung in" too far and didn't go straight back to the swim exit. I was sighting off of the Monona Terrace and the buildings next to it. Soon, I was on dry land. I tripped while exiting, as I had kept my goggles on in a struggle to find my wetsuit zipper pull. Thankfully, someone behind me took a bigger spill and the pressure was off me :)  Got some strippers to help me (haha), and was running up the frozen concrete on the helix in no time. Out of the water in 56 minutes, a new IM distance PR! I was 2 minutes ahead of my "the day goes perfectly" goal time. [Strava Swim]

T1 was a frozen blur. It was maybe 50 degrees at best, which made me thankful for the indoor transition. My HR was spiked and I tried to settle down once I got inside. Putting on arm warmers and gloves while wet is a treat. I managed the best I could and made the snap decision just to put on my shoes there rather than running across the cold concrete for a quarter mile through the bike racks. May have slowed me down but I still hit my transition goal of 6 minutes. Still 2 minutes ahead of my "A" goal.

COLD and a dark place. That's the best way to describe the first 2 hours on the bike. They should have had hot coffee at the aid stations. I settled into a rhythm and did my best to get my heart rate back down yet stay warm enough. My power output was below my goal at this stage, but I had set a controlled heart rate above any power targets. I didn't want to be the guy bragging about his bike split while walking the marathon. But I was upset. I should have planned better for the weather and I knew it. It was lonely out there, too but not many racers meant I was in a good place. I finally turned out of the wind and my average picked up a few ticks. Nutritionally, I was doing well. Eating and drinking every few miles, the Peanut Butter and Jelly PowerBars were a nice balance to the bottle full of 5 PowerGels mixed in water. With the cold I expected to struggle to eat and drink, but I managed to do pretty well. I was off pace by about .5 mph, but it was a manageable variance. I was in the top 4 or 5 for my AG still, so I just kept focus on riding MY race. Seeing my brother and parents on the Timber Ln. climb also boosted my spirits, which was needed. I turned back into the wind after some shameless shirtless cheers from JR and a surprise cheer from Nenad, who decided to ride out to the loop solo. The battle with the wind was worse than the first loop, and I started to lose ground on some guys. My power also kept slipping even though my HR was back to where it should be. The cold was taking its toll on me, which became even more evident when my inner thighs cramped up as I rolled towards Cross Plains the second time. With 40 miles to go, it was now a battle to fight off cramps on every climb. This really slowed me down as I couldn't accelerate into the downhills like I usually do. Instead, I found myself stretching out my legs at the top of every hill. Brutal. I also lost 3 of my salt tabs when the lid of the container popped open. Those would have been key to deterring the cramps a bit, but I think the cold put too much strain on my legs. After a final battle with the helix, I managed to get my feet out of my shoes and get off the bike. Split 5:21, a PR split by about 15 minutes and 6 minutes slower than my "A" goal split, which in net only put me 4 minutes down in total. [Strava Bike]

I hobbled through transition, sat down to put on my socks and shoes and cramped up both legs. I'd have to stand to put these on, but after 5+ COLD hours on the bike, I was lacking flexibility. I somehow managed, grabbed my race bib, PowerBar visor, PowerBar Gel flask, and took off. 2 minutes on the dot, right on "A" pace, and 4 minutes in total off my "A" goal.

As I started to run it was painful, but managable on the uphill toward the capitol. You could see the pain in my face though, just steps outside of T2. It was going to be a long marathon unless I found some salt/electrolytes. The road tilted downward and that's when it became immediately evident that the Kona dream was pretty much out of reach. My quads were screaming as I tried to run down State Street. I managed a 7:14 first mile and was on pace, but the pain was not bearable for that long. The first two aid stations did not have salt. Ugh! But I was in 25th place overall! The next mile was a 7:40, still okay, but my stride was shortening and "Hoogie Steps" are already short. I crossed mile 3 in Camp Randall stadium and was defeated. I could barely make it out of the stadium on the ramp. I started walking. Another short downhill and I tried to jog. It wasn't pretty, but I managed. Then I decided to be tough. Even if Kona slipped I could salvage a PR. I just needed to get salt. Finally I saw the salt sponsors tent after mile 4. Heroes. 2 miles later I was back, at least mentally, from a very dark place again. My strides were

so short that all I could manage were 8:30-9 minute miles, but whatever, I was running. HTFU, Ironman, you signed up for this. I saw Kristin again, in tears. I couldn't understand her at the time, but she was brokenhearted for me. I saw her at mile one and shook my head. She knew what it meant without me saying a word. Now, knowing how bad I wanted to get that KQ and knowing I couldn't, yet seeing me still push forward instead of giving in, she was overwhelmed. It brought tears to my eyes, too. I saw Nenad and Megan at their aid station and got another boost. My legs started to loosen up more but I was overcompensating and my hips and back were starting to tell me to go back to racing sprints. Finally, lap 1 completed after what seemed like forever. Ben Stuart passed me and I gave him a big holler. He was killing it on the run. Lap two was better. The toll of running in such messed up
form continued to take its toll, but I was in a much better place. I started talking to fellow racers, thanking volunteers and strangers for their cheers, and enjoying the atmosphere of the race. I saw Kristin for the final time before the finish, and stopped to give her a hug. We both teared up. It was an emotional day. Kristin didn't want to let go, but I knew I had a small window for a PR and needed to move. I eneded up running in with a guy from Colorado who used to live in Holland. We both were having KQ days until the run. It made the final miles fly by. I took in the cheers and crossed the finish line with a flex of my non-computer enhanced arm muscles (see TC post). 3:51 run, my second slowest. 10:16 overall. 36 minutes slower than my "A" pace on the run, 40 minutes off my goal in total. BUT...an 8 minute PR for IM! [Strava Run]

The finish was amazing, but I was disappointed. Everyone knew it, but the takeaway was the enormous amount of HTFU I found to keep going even though the day slipped away. I owe an endless thanks to all of my friends, family, the volunteers, and random strangers for making this race so great and for supporting me, but a special shout out goes to:

-Kristin, my ironmate. I couldn't do this nearly as well without her endless support, patience, and love. Sully, too, for "coaching" while I was on the trainer all winter.

-My family, specifically my parents, for going above and beyond to support the ironman dream, my brother for spectating and supporting, my aunt Pam and family for watching our old man Sully for the week, Kristin's parents for understanding my crazy and encouraging me, and many others...

-My friends, specifically JR and Ronda. Wow guys, 5 ironman trips to Madison and all great memories. Thanks for everything, you are amazing. Nenad and Megan for supporting AND volunteering! There are many more that fall under this list. If you don't see your name, don't worry, I know and I appreciate it endlessly!

-To all of my other training buddies, teammates, and their spouses/families for letting them train with me. Such an awesome triathlon community we live in!

-To Michigan Awesome, for making an awesome team. So much fun to race with Michigan pride. Got a lot of cheers as a result of that kit!

-To PowerBar, great nutrition to fuel your athletic dreams!

For those wondering, the Kona slots...I have no idea how far they rolled down if at all. My guess is top 4, which was a 9:42:28, good for 11th overall. I was 34 minutes off of this. I am disappointed but Kristin has already told me that if I want to realize this dream that I can't give up. Everything was going to have to go perfectly, and over a 10 hour race, there's a lot that can go wrong. I will be back. I will make it to Kona. I will be better than ever, and I will have fun doing it! I will be supporting at least 4 of my good friends next summer as they pursue IM Lake Placid. I cannot wait to be on the other side, running around in a speedo cheering for them...

Keep dreaming!