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!