I'm registered...IM Wisconsin 2012

Well there wasn't much doubt in my mind about how the weekend might end.

After a day of volunteering and then watching the runners on state street and finally meandering over to the finish line I went from 99% to 100% sure that I needed to be in Madison next year not as a spectator or as a volunteer but as an athlete.

I waited this morning in the volunteer line and as the line moved quickly it started to feel like I was going to an amusement park and just waiting and waiting and waiting to finally get to the front of the line. Once at the front of the line the people around me commented that there was still time to escape. For me, there was no escape, there is no alternative, registration for 2012 was going to happen.

After a couple of keystrokes, this appeared in my email.

And so, the journey back to the starting line for Ironman #3 begins.

Weekend in Madison @ IMMOO

While there were many reasons to come up to madison this weekend, the most obvious was the event besides the football game that took over the town.

I arrived in Madison on Friday evening and could sense that Ironman was in town. The barricades were starting to go up, the tape was on the street to mark the course, and people were walking around state street with their participant wrist bands. As I was walking up state street I started reminiscing about the last time that I was moving up the street headed towards the capital.

Nearly 2 years ago I was in the exact same spot, trying to muster up the last bits of energy that I had left to get across the finish line after a rather brutal marathon. In the time span of that marathon I experienced the full spectrum of emotions. I started running and felt great and thought that I might be able to absolutely fly through the marathon. Less than a mile later my hopes were dashed and I was frustrated and ready to quit. Somewhere around mile 18 I sat down for a little bit hoping that I would magically just get to the finish line. I kept moving my body through forcing small amounts of fluids and grapes until I could finally get to the end.

Finally, after over 5 hours of a death march I finally reached state street and again became overjoyed that I was finally going to finish. There was something comforting about seeing the dome of the capitol building lit up as the sky was turning darker shades of blue.

I decided that I was going to take a year or so off from Ironman to give my body a break, to give my mind a break, and to figure out when or if the long distance races would return back to my schedule. In the past 2 years I have spent some more time working on my running, figuring out how to train smarter, and take care of some professional obligations as well.

On Saturday I rode the loop of the bike course. I started out feeling great and I remembered every turn on the course. I remembered most of the technical aspects of the ride including the climbs after turns (and staying in low gears) the downhills (and tight turns at the end), and the never ending false flats. There were some parts of the course that initially didn't trigger immediate recollections but after some time fit right in.

Most of my mental markers on the course hadn't changed. The sign for blue mound which indicates the start of the never ending climbs into Mt. Horeb (which I think is the second most irritating climb on the course-only behind Witte Rd) was still there and I got the gearing just right. I had fun climbing the "3 Bitches" - old sauk pass rd, timber lane, and midtown rd, and was interested to watch my power as I pushed up the climb.

For having only done about 1 ride over 60 miles this summer and minimal hills, I was rather pleased that my legs help up during the ride. I averaged 18.0 mph for the loop which was quite interesting. It was about 20 minutes faster than I rode the course the first time 4 years ago, as well as when I rode the course in June of 09 in preparation for the last IM that I did here. 2 years ago when I raced the IM I averaged 18.67 MPH for the entire course. Overall, not too far off and better than expected. Overall, I was rather excited when I was able to look at the data in comparison.

Several months ago I decided that I was going to volunteer for the race for several reasons. #1 - I thought that it would be fun to volunteer on the bike course, #2 - I wanted to come and ride the course, #3 - it is a way to get a guaranteed entry into the race the following year.

On Sunday morning I woke up at 5:30, got in my car and drove off to the cross plaines aid station. I picked this spot because it is the aid station right before the 3 climbs described above and I figured it would be fun to motivate people at this point.

The moral of the entire story below, setting up and running an aid station is difficult work, and everyone at some point who races in triathlons should volunteer at an aid station.

Immediately after arriving I went to work, we started unloading the truck filled with water, ironman perform, food, and the works. Honestly it was quite depressing to see an entire truck filled with pallets of water, sports drink, and everything else. the sad part is that they went onto the truck with a fork lift...but we didn't have a fork lift to unload the trucks.

It took quite a while to unload everything, get all of the water bottles and sports drinks ready to go and nearly 3 hours after starting everything was set up and we awaited the first competitors.

The first pro athlete came blazing into the aid station and barely slowed for his hydration. I was the lucky person to be the first in line to hand off water to the first pro athlete. It was kind of a rush and then it only got busier from there. The day was absolutely fantastic. I met some really nice people, and it just felt great to help the athletes on a journey that I know from previous experience can be rather mentally challenging at times. I am thrilled that I had a chance to volunteer and should the timing be right in the future is definitely something that I would consider again.

There are a couple of things that I saw which really made me happy as a volunteer:

1. When the athlete called out what they wanted and pointed directly at me, I was able to get the water into their hand every single time. The only time I missed a hand-off today was when some lady stuck her hand out at the last minute and magically expected that I would be able to read her mind.
2. When riders slowed (at little, not to a grinding halt, but a just a little) as it made the hand off much easier.
3. Of course when athletes said thanks, or my favorite of the day, "awesome technique" after I had run up with one of the riders to ensure a good hand-off.

After nearly 10 hours in the sun we packed up the aid station and I returned back to Madison. Walking on state street is always a fun time with all of the runners. It was kind of neat that I could recognize some of the faces that I saw out on the bike course at various points on the run. After dinner I strolled over to the finish line and watched for a little while.

Needless to say, the finish line is always an exciting place to be and thinking about racing in another ironman definitely made the entire situation all the more exciting. Soon it will be my turn again.

Chicago Triathlon 2011

Well, this blog has been dormant for quite some time and I figured that there would be no better way to resurrect the site than with a report of my most recent race this past weekend - the Chicago Triathlon.

The morning started off as all others have in years past with an excessively early alarm at 3:45 to get to the transition zone before the crack of dawn. I arrived at the transition area and amid all of the hustle and bustle of people arriving.

I got my transition area set-up and was chatting with a couple of people around me. Most were participating in one of their first couple of triathlons and doing several in a summer was a foreign concept to them. I just soaked in the surroundings and let them take care of some of their nervous energy. I saw one of them again just prior to getting in the water and then again during the first transition. At 5:45 when transition closed I made my way over to the start and found a nice piece of grass to relax on for the next 2.5 hours.

The day was shaping up to be perfect, temperature forecast was perfect in the mid 70's but the wind was picking up from the north and was starting to kick up the water. It was much nicer to wait for the race to start with cool temps than the hot weather from the prior years.

Finally after waiting for the time to start I was finally able to line up in the corral and join the other masses of people getting ready to start the race. Wetsuit and swim cap on, and then off into the water.

Here is wave 38 getting ready for the gun to go off. It doesn't really look like that many people, but apparently there were around 150 people treading water with yellow caps on just waiting. As more and more people jumped into the water a current developed and pulled everyone towards the buoy. I tried to find some room and waited.

Shortly after getting in the water the gun fired and the race began. I'm somewhere back a couple of rows behind the front. A couple of seconds after this shot I got a foot to the face that partially dislodged my goggles, a quick readjustment and I was off again.

The swim south towards the turn around was great, between the current generated by all of the swimmers and the north wind propelling us southwards we were flying. I reached the buoy much faster than I can ever remember. However, as soon as I turned around and started to head north I could feel the north wind. From the buoy all the way north to the exit it was a battle against the wind and people. I can't remember seeing so many people brutalized by the wind and the water. Evan caught a great picture of the wind kicking up the water as I was swimming through trying to battle the current and the waves.

Honestly, while the swim took a little extra effort and was a little longer than expected, the swim wasn't really that bad. I have been swimming in open water all summer in all sorts of conditions and a little extra current and waves didn't really bother me at all in terms of comfort. It just goes to show that training and practice really can make a big difference. Finally after around 32 minutes I finally was out of the water, with a long run to transition my time for the swim was 34:11 good for 545/3321 for the international distance.

As I headed out on the bike I knew that I was going to be in for a special treat on the bike. The wind was blowing hard from the north and as soon as I made my way up to lake short drive I could feel the wind howling and blasting at us. I battled the wind all the way up to the north turn around at Foster and noticed that I was close to holding around 20mph the entire way up but it took a while for my HR to settle. I turned south and then took advantage of the wind at my back. At times I was moving around 28 MPH and really enjoying the time out on the bike. Below is a shot of my pacing on the bike, its evident the areas where I was going north fighting the wind and south with the wind at my back.

I was out on the bike course in the middle of the day and it was crowded. I was passing people many of whom couldn't quite figure out that if they weren't the fastest people out there that they needed to stay to the left. Anyway it made for some interesting passes and tight areas on the course. After 1:11:28 and averaging 21.1 mph on the bike I was done finishing 355/3321

I quickly moved through T2 realizing that my initial goal of breaking 2:30 wasn't going to happen because of the battle with the wind but I still had great aspirations. Over the past year I had been training with a power meter. While on the bike I was watching my HR, my speed, and my power with a general idea of where I should be in order to give myself a chance for a good run. One of the biggest battles that I have fought ever since starting triathlons was figuring out how to be a runner and how to not totally implode during the run. I have thrown together great starts to races with a great swim, a fantastic ride only to have everything completely fall apart on the run. Take last year's chicago triathlon for example, a great ride of 109:22 and then a complete disaster of a run. This year I wanted to see if things would work out a little differently.

I started the run and felt great, my legs felt fresh and I was moving, quickly out of transition and I started to pass people. Just over a mile and I made the turn around the Shedd Aquarium and Evan captured this great picture of me running with the Chicago skyline in the background.

I continued my journey south and my legs still felt great. Of course I knew that I had a nice wind pushing me as I headed south to the turn around at 3.5 miles. My first 3 mile splits were 7:41, 7:38, and 7:45. After the north winds started to have their impact the splits slowed a little.

I came back to the Shedd, where evan caught another picture of me and made the final push to the finish line averaging 7:00 min/mile for the last .2 miles of the run to finish in 48:02 with a 7:44 min/mile pace and finishing 387/3321 finishers. The run turned out to by my fastest 10K split in a triathlon. It has taken me several years of racing in all distances but the extra running this year has clearly made a difference and I feel as if I raced from start to finish and put together a great race without any regrets.

With an overall time of 2:40:12 it was good enough for a 49/403 place in my age group and 304/3321 of all finishers for the international distance which is good for a finish in the top 9.2% of all competitors.

Despite not meeting my original ideal time goal, I was extremely excited with my overall performance, especially the run. Compared to last year, when my run pacing was nearly 2 min/mile slower and finished 1100/3859 I was very pleased to have such a strong run that felt really good.

So with that race, the 2011 triathlon season comes to a close. The main goal of the season this year was to get faster on the run and I think that I have accomplished that task. In July, I was able to average 7:57 for the 10K and now for this race I took another 13 seconds per mile off for a pace of 7:44 min/mile. Next up a short rest and recovery before the training continues for the 3rd half marathon of the year - the Las Vegas half marathon in December. The goal is to continue the run training and continue to build upon what I have been able to do this year.

Until next time, hopefully it won't be so long.

First outdoor ride of 2011

Well, a combination of the lack-luster weather in Chicago for the past month with my challenging work schedule has resulted in an inability to get my bike off of the trainer. Finally my schedule aligned and I was able to get outside and enjoy a nice spring day on the lake front. The wind was present but not too strong out of the south west and for the most part was overcast.

The weather was also beautiful over the weekend and I was able to go for a nice relaxing 8 mile run on the lake front path. I ran south from downtown and while there might have not been as many people to look at, it was nice to see a different part of the city as opposed to the typical Belmont to North ave run.

Today was also the first time that I was able to ride outside with my new power meter.

The cool part is that when I get back from the ride, I plug in my Gamin 500 to the computer and all of the data immediately downloads to my computer. I can then look at all of the squiggly lines. The truth is that I am still trying to figure out how to interpret any of this data.

Here is the first screen shot with HR, power, speed and cadence....

I can also just look at the time that I spent in different zones. I was hoping to spend the majority of my time in zone 4. I was creeping into zone 5 for a little and dropping into zone 3 as well. The truth is that I was just looking to see what might happen. I also hit some high watts a couple of times on the ride as I was trying to see what I could do sprinting up some hills. It becomes apparent though that those efforts were very short-lived.

One thing that I have quickly learned is that if I am going to go out and ride based on power I will need to pay much closer attending to what is going on instead of just riding based on feel. It is also really difficult to maintain a specific wattage for any extended length of time as there are always things on the path that interfere (crosswalks, people, construction, wind gusts, etc).

I'm going to keep reading the Training with a Power meter book that I have been trying to read. Maybe I'll go back to the beginning of the book and see what I can learn with more data in hand and try to figure out how to better plan outdoor work outs now that I can't just set the watts on the computrainer.

1 Year Ago....

One year ago, at about this time, in a small little square in the capitol of Wisconsin, I was crossing the finish line of my second IM. The weather had been great, although a little warm. The wind was calm, the sky was perfect. The swim and the bike were better than planned and the run turned into a painful death march. It is hard to believe that it has been a year already.

The wheels are turning and the motivation is returning to do another race. I needed a year off from long distance racing. I'm glad that I took the year off. This morning as I was watching some good friends race a half marathon and I was having a blast being a spectator, I realized I missed the circus that is an IM. Now, I want to get back to the starting line. The other races this summer were fun, challenging, and a little different, but I want to get back into the big game. Despite the run still being a little issue and the marathon being such a mental and physical challenge, I want to do it again. It's not logical, it's somewhat perplexing in fact, but I want to go back. It's time to start planning.

Where did that heat come from...The Chicago Triathlon 2010

I would like to think that I have been generally prepared for most anything a race can throw at me. The one thing that really caused me to fall apart this year on two occasions however was the brutal heat. First back in May down at the Florida 70.3and now this past weekend in Chicago for an olympic distance. I mean really, where did this heat come from. The day tied the record for the hottest day of the summer. The weather people were a little off on this one. Well, it will make for an interesting story to tell nonetheless.

The day started off as a typical early morning wake-up call to get down to transition at the crack of dawn for the Chicago triathlon. This was my 5th time participating in this race, and I will say that the early morning arrival doesn't get any easier as the years go by. I'm glad I arrived at transition early too, there were some people that arrived pretty close to the end and they were struggling to find a place to put their stuff. The only more amusing part were the people that had taken up several places with their towels who were getting apparently rather frustrated when they had to condense space.

Anyway, I got all of my gear set up, and left transition for my 4 hour wait until my heat started.

I found a find a grassy place to watch the sun rise, and then kept waiting for my heat to start at 9:30. I got a little sleep just lying on the ground and was doing my best to stay relaxed and let the time pass.

The morning was quite pleasant to start, in fact there were a couple of times that I almost wished that I had some long pants to stay warm. That however, would all change. Around 8:30, 1 hour before my wave started, started to feel a little warm and was getting a little worried.

Finally the hours moved along and I got my wetsuit on, and stood in the corral waiting the start of the race.

So I have raced in two ironman and have been in the "washing machine" that is the start of that race, and let me tell you something, the ironman has nothing on the brutality that was the start of my heat. Not only was there the requisite kicking, inadvertent punching, and feet grabbing, there was no clean water to escape the onslaught of humanity. It probably took about 2/3 of the way to the first bouy before I finally found some water to swim in and escape the crowds.

I kept moving along and found a really good rhythm and had a really good swim.

I was out of the water in about 27:45 which I was really happy with and might be a new PR for the olympic distance swim. Overall swim time of 30:14 including the run to transition was good for 533/3859 finishers.

Next was the 1/4 mile run to transition and then running through transition to my bike and a quick change and off on the bike. I felt very comfortable on the bike, was holding upwards of 22 mph for a good portion of the ride and was passing lots and lots of people. It felt great to be one of the faster ones out there. Sure I got passed, but I felt as if I was moving along. The last mile I had to slow down a little for the uphill over the river and then sharp descent and turn into transition. Overall time 1:09:22 good for 21.9 MPH and 427/3859 finishers.

Back to transition, I changed into the running gear and moved on out to the run. I felt really good for the first mile. I kept looking down at my watch and was averaging around 7:30 minutes/mile for a pace. I didn't really feel as if I was working that hard either. But that was all about to quickly change.

I started to head around the aquarium and further south and the apparently 90+ degree heat with no shade really hit me hard. I don't remember seeing a race in Chicago with so many people walking and utterly debilitated by the heat - myself included. And so I watched as my great pace turned into a run/walk and then a death march looking for any hint of shade that I could find.

The worst was getting to an aid station and wanting some water but they had run out of cups...uh oh...not a good sign. So I drank from one of the gallon jugs and just kept on moving. One thing I have learned in all of these races is that the finish line doesn't get closer unless you make forward progress. I have no other words to describe this run other than completely brutal and painful.

In all of the olympic distances I have ever raced (including the first one where I could only train for a couple of weeks for the run) I think that this may be the absolute worse run I have ever had. At some point there needs to be a bad run, but I was just hoping that it wouldn't have been yesterday. I had everything set-up for a great race. I had a great swim, a great bike, felt great getting off of the bike and then was simply felled by the heat. There is not much I could have done to fix that problem so the fact that I finished and had a great bike and swim made the day at least a partial victory for me.

I finished the run with a fantastically slow time of 1:01:00 good for 1100/3859 finishers. More importantly I finished 62/474 men in my 30-34 age group. Even with a bad run, I am happy to take a top 13% finish.

So with that I likely end my season. While not as perfect as I would have hoped it leaves the door open for more improvement next year. Of course the biggest problem with starting to think about next year is that the wheels start turning and the possibilities of what to do and where to go seem endless. A couple more days of relaxing and recovery.

Thanks to Evan for coming out, taking some great pictures, and supporting me when the heat got really bad!

Ironman #2 Success!!!

Well, i have given myself about a week to relax and reflect after the race last weekend and hopefully will have something interesting to say.

I woke up race morning to perfect weather. the alarm went off just before 4 am and i was up eating breakfast and washing down with the first bottle of sports drink for the day. i didn't really sleep all that well the night before so waking up wasn't really that big of an issue. i gathered the last of the stuff i was going to need that morning and headed into downtown madison.

we parked in the garage just a block from the finish line and started to head down to transition. the first stop i made was to get my numbers applied for the day. i'm not really sure what purpose the numbers serve in an ironman especially because are bike are numbered (and we have a helmet number) and on the run we have our race belt...but i think there is something ceremonial about getting your numbers on race morning. besides affixing your chip to your ankle, and arriving at the race site, the race numbers truely signify that the race has arrived and provides your identity for the day.

next i strolled into the transition area for some last minute preparation with my bike. i pumped up the tires, loaded up on nutrition, got my bearings one last time before saying goodbye and going onto the next steps of preparation

i have never really been all that great at putting all of my thoughts down on paper. it is especially difficult to think of everything that was running through my mind in the hour before the race started. there are challenges that all athletes face on the morning of the race...there is a need to find a bathroom, to stretch, to arrive at the starting line resting, mentally prepared and ready to go. finding a bathroom this year was a bit of a challenge...not really sure why, but we ended up going to the basement and ultimately found some peace and quiet. after that we sat down to get our final thoughts in and think about the day ahead.

here my uncle mike seems to have found some peace of mind and is visualizing the race ahead.

i on the other hand am just a ball of nervous energy. the morning of the race i just felt rushed, and without any good reason. maybe i just wanted the race to start, maybe i was just anxious, maybe i was excited. i knew, however, based on last year, that those thoughts of self-doubt, concerns about preparation, or fears of what the race might bring would melt away as soon as the cannon fired, i just needed to get to the start line.

the walk down to the swim start is the first exposure that you get to the helix on race day. it is incredible that it is already lined with spectators getting ready to cheer on all of the athletes...but all of those people do make the journey to the start line a little longer. at the bottom of the helix i saw my parents and evan and we were able to say good morning/goodbye and make our way to the water.

many people have written all sorts of things about the swim start at an ironman. some are true, some are completely exaggerated, and others, well i guess there is some truth in a lot of what people have to say. we swam out from shore to the mass of people. i positioned us about 5 rows back from the start and smack dab between the ski jump and the red turn bouy. i figured i would be far enough behind the initial malay yet close enough that i could get a good draft. well i was half correct. at 7 am the cannon fires and the calm serene waters turn into a sea of flailing arms, kicking legs, and swarming people.

we are all moving to the same goal, we all have the same objective...some people just have interesting ways of getting there. i knew it was going to be a little physical, but i wasn't expecting the pummeling that i was about to receive. i got kicked in the face, had my ass grabbed (several times), felt someone's fingernails dig into my feet, not once, but at least twice, had others swim directly into my side, and at the end of one stroke got my funny bone nailed by the swimmer adjacent to me...not the sensation you want about 300 meters into a 2.4 mile swim. met a huge log jam at the first turn bouy, got kicked a few more times and then started to move trailing a nice pair of feet for a while. as expected i settled into a very comfortable rhythm, often breathing every 4th and just cruising along. i didn't feel as if i was exerting myself and after the field spread out a little was actually enjoying the swim and letting the pre-race jitters work their way out.

i got out of the water in 1:11:04 good for 92/260 in age group and felt great. i hustled up the helix through transition, got everything for the bike, on the bike and through T1 in 8:29. swim plus T1 time faster than year before. sweet! unfortunately on of the many attacks i sustained during the swim the timer on my watch got a stopped and i really had no idea where i was. add that to the fact that my watch is somewhere around 5 or 6 minutes fast...it was going to be interesting.

i made my way down the helix, no need to ruin the race in the first minute of the bike and start off on the ride. i saw my friends and family who were spectating, as i went flying by them. i headed out on john nolen drive leaving the capitol in the background and getting ready for 112 miles of riding. the bike course presents its own challenges, but on a picture perfect day like sunday, i was ready to ride hard and have a blast.

my game plan was to take it nice and easy all the way out to verona, spin up the first couple of hills, then settle into a moderate pace all the way to the first real hill and the climb into mt. horeb. i was racing my own race, not getting sucked into the people going by and settled into a nice comfortable pace of about 20 mph or so all the way to mt horeb. i didn't feel as if i was pushing it at all. spent some time spinning in the small ring up front, didn't stand up, and just kept up with my nutrition plan and game plant. i had the benefit of having ridden the course numerous times in training, and more importantly having raced the course as well. i knew when to be in an easier gear, i knew when to be patient, when to coast down hills, when to downshift in preparation of he next hill. i felt great, my legs felt loose, my back relaxed, and mentally i was in a really good place without any self doubt.

i make it through mt horeb, up and down the rollers on witte, up the unforseen hill on garfoot #1, fly down garfoot #2, and cruise all the way into cross plains. i average 19.7 miles per hour for the first 40 miles and feel fantastic. now it is time to climb the 3 big hills on the course. at the top of the 2nd hill my family is again waiting and capture some great pictures of me cruising up the hill.

i continue on the first loop and make a quick stop at the half way point to refuel and make a pit stop. after a brief pause i am moving again. then something great happens. as soon as i started the climb out of verona last year i was slowed by an unforgiving nagging pain in both of my knees....this year...nothing. onward and upward. i keep on cruising, feel good, start pushing the pace a little, but really trying to stay seated as best i can. physically i feel great. around mile 70 i look down at my stomach because it feels as if my jersey is tight...it really was odd, my jersey usually is never tight, and i don't really have a big belly...hmmm...i switch from a combo of water and my sports drink to gatorade and my sports drink....if only i had known what this might have been suggesting...

i begin the ascent up the 3 hills again after cross plains and still feel great. my knees are cooperating, my legs still feel fresh, my spirits are high. i guess the 3 century rides this year, and the countless other 80-90 mile rides were paying off.

here i am at the crest of timber lane on the second loop.

after coming off the top of the hill i settle back into an aero position and keep on cruising back to verona.

i pull back on the throttle a for the last 10 miles, still keeping a decent pace but relaxing a little, just to get the legs a little looser, and get my body ready for the marathon that is to come.

overall i was ecstatic pulling into the helix at the end of the 112 mile ride. my time was 6:02:33 for a pace of 18.5 MPH. i dropped just under 30 minutes total and averaged 1.35 MPH faster for the duration of the ride. i was stoked, flew through transition and started the run with high hopes for a great marathon.

I started the run feeling spectacular, much better than last year. i was relaxed, not pushing the pace at all...and i cruised the first mile at 8 minutes...alright slow down a little, second mile was about 8:30....ok...slow down a little more... then somewhere around mile 3, just before camp randall stadium the proverbial wheels fell off the truck.

i'm not completely sure what happened, i thought i had been following my nutrition plan, i thought i had consumed enough fluids, enough energy, enough of everything, i felt as if i held a reasonable pace on the bike, didn't blow up too much, knees felt fine, legs felt refreshed....the problem it turned out was that my stomach just didn't want to cooperate. i was nauseated, felt bloated, and could barely get anything down. not how you want to feel with another 23 miles to run...

so i trudged on, a little walking, a little running, trying to drink whenever, whatever i could, walk again, run again...repeat....one mile after another. it was rough.

the look on my face basically tells the story, i was miserable. physically besides my stomach i felt fine, mentally, i was coming back to the turn around wondering if i had it in me to make it back around the loop for a second time. mentally it was also heartbreaking to watch a great first 2/3 of the race slip between my fingers and the chance to completely destroy my time from the year before slip out of reach. but i figured i had made it this far, and no one ever said that doing an ironman was easy, so i just kept pushing, one foot in front of the other, one step at a time.

around mile 25 despite not really having had much in the way of intake for probably the 10 miles before i decided that i just needed to dig in and finish the damn race. after pausing to let my stomach settle one more time i made the turn up state street for the last time. i could see the glowing dome of the capitol building in the distance and knew that even though the rest of the course basically was uphill, that i was there, that i was going to finish the race. apparently i wasn't as dehydrated as i thought as i could feel the tears welling up in my eyes. the tears of joy of the people cheering and and the knowledge that just a couple of blocks away was the finish line. one last turn around the capitol and the finish line and finisher's chute comes clearly into view. there is no one else around. and then just like the year before, only a little more sweet this year after not only beating my time but also fighting through an unbelieveably tough marathon i hear what i have worked so hard to hear....

"David Salzman, a 31 year old physician from Chicago...

YOU ARE AN IRONMAN!!!!!"

it was a really special day and i felt lucky to spend it with my uncle who won his age group and qualified to go to Kona in 2010. what a fun season, it started with the 2 of us down in orlando at the florida 70.3 and ended in madison with the 2 of us racing again.

and just as fast as it had started the race was over. one of these days i'll likely go back and race an ironman distance race again. i had a tremendous season this year. i had PR's at every single race that I did. apart from the marathon at the end of the ironman i significantly dropped time on each of the run segments of every race. hopefully i will be able to carry forward the running training and learn how to be faster, more efficient, and a better runner next year. maybe with a year or two of short course racing i can develop some speed and then transfer that over to longer course racing. we shall see what happens. i have no races in the books for next year...yet....but i've already started looking. a little more time of enforced rest and then i'll gently get back into working out again. just not yet.

thanks for all of the support this year!

this is it....it's time to race!!!!

Well this is it. The last post before the start of the race. The last post before the adventure begins again. I know the race is brutal, it is mentally and physically challenging. But really, I think I have accomplished one of the most challenging parts of the ironman. I have managed to make it to the starting line. I am here, healthy, not injured, haven’t destroyed too many relationships, I have a job, friends, family, and I still love this sport. Really I figure that is 99% of the battle. There would have been too many times where I could have folded, not gone out on “that” training ride, or run, or swim. Other times when I could have stayed out late and slept in later. But I am here. I have soaked up the entire pre-race energy. I am ready for the race. Whatever happens tomorrow, happens. I have done everything I could have done to prepare for the race, and still have a somewhat balanced….alright fine, completely lopsided life. However, I am here, I didn’t overdo it, I got to travel around the world, run along the pacific coast, Turkey, Argentina, ride and run in the beautiful northwoods of Wisconsin. My races have taken me to florida and Wisconsin. I have completed 2 half ironman and one Olympic races. I have lived and breathed triathlon and I can’t wait to race again. The other amazing feat is that I am returning to the starting line just one year after finishing my last ironman. I have figured out a way to stay healthy for almost 21 consecutive months. I am ready to race, I am ready to get back on the course, I am ready to toe the line and get to the finish.

pre-race day

with one day left until the race begins, i spent the majority of the day today getting the last steps accomplished for the race. after a quick and easy swim in the lake with beautiful 75 degree water temps, i brought my bike to the transition area and got it all squared away. below is my bike sitting in the hotel hallway before we left for the morning.

after dropping off the bike we dropped off the bags into the transition areas. my swim to bike bag is where the 3 people are gathering in the upper left part of the picture.

finally, we had a great brunch, wandered around the capitol square at the farmer's market. tomorrow night this is where all of the action will unfold. the day is almost here.

first sights of madison

here are some quick pictures of day #1 in madison

seeing the arch is a true sign that this is getting real.


my racer number

the pre-race dinner

the capitol illuminated at night. what a great sight

tomorrow the support crew arrives which includes evan, the fearless leader of the crew and my best friend. he has put up with my countless hours of training, the even more countless hours of pondering training, the smelly clothes, wetsuits hanging in the bathroom, and general state of disarray. he deserves more thanks than is possible, and far more than is ever given. without him, travel to, and even participation in many of these races would have been very lonely. i couldn't have gotten here the first time without your support, and the second time without your encouragement and even greater support. thanks for being there for me.

along with him my mom and dad also arrive. they instilled the desire to achieve greatness and to keep pushing myself beyond limits that i thought existed. although it may have taken me a while to find a sport in which i could excel i was always encouraged to try new things and explore. with this encouragement, and lots of food, (especially the great home cooked meals, the frequent replenishing of costco food has made everything easier and fueled my ability to get here. i look forward to trying to find you on the course on sunday.

my aunt also arrives, and while i fully anticipate her support, she will have plenty of requirements to cheer on my uncle who is also racing...so i wont' put too much pressure on her, but i am glad that she is here to join in the fun.

and of course to everyone watching at home. i hope you enjoy the race as much as i will.