Most likely my final post for 2011 considering my dedication to this blog these past few months so I’ll recap what I can.
Riding home after spending Christmas up north (Kristin’s driving, I’m letting her). It’s always fun up there with family, but there’s always something missing when I don’t have my boys. They’re with Lindsay this year. Arrived Friday evening, had burgers at the VFW and then proceeded to eat all weekend. Definite post-holiday purge is in order! Sunday was the fun day with gift opening, de-decorating and the annual bonfire. Everyone celebrates Christmas by packing up all the decorations and taking down their tree, right? In years past the bonfire has been more of a New Year’s Eve bonfire, but with Mom and Dad wintering in AZ now they take off shortly after Christmas so they can arrive in AZ as close to Jan. 1st as possible. Can’t blame ‘em for that!

Prior to this I finished up my athletic year with a marathon in Huntsville, AL. Went into it with lofty, but unknown expectations. With all the training I did this past year I definitely wanted to PR (4:07 or faster) and would’ve been disappointed had I not. Beyond that I wasn’t sure what sort of time I would get. I’ve never gone sub-4:00 so despite my good training year I didn’t know how realistic that was for me. My training lately had been in the 8:10/mile range which equates to about a 3:35 marathon, but I didn’t know if I’d be able to sustain that over 26 miles. My next goal level was 3:45ish and then if everything went perfectly and the stars aligned I thought maybe a 3:30ish was doable.
Arrived in AL and got settled at my hotel, hit the small expo and went to dinner. The weather prediction was for a cool start (low 30s) and warming into the upper 40s, but windy. The big dilemma at the start was if it would be warm enough to just run in shorts of if I would have to wear my tights. It was 33 so it got a little nippy, but I figured I was there to “race” it and shorts would provide the best results there. Bared the legs and took off!
I started with the 3:45 pacer and stuck with him for the first mile. The 3:40 pacer started a little further back (Alabama math?) so I latched onto him once he caught up at that first mile. Got warmed up over the next couple of miles and was feeling good. At mile 3 I told myself to just run my race, but remember that I was “racing” so I slowly sped up and separated from that pacer. I was hitting my watch every mile and was consistently in the 8:03-8:09 range. Gradually I started reeling in the 3:35 pacer and caught them at mile 10. Stayed stride for stride with that group, but once we turned into the wind at mile 16 I ended up dropping. I couldn’t sustain it and with no one to draft with/off of I slowly started to fade. I maintained 8:30ish/mile for the next few, but then around mile 19 McBlister made its presence known on the ball of my foot. The final 7 miles became more of a struggle dealing with that, altering my stride, but by then I knew I was going to at a very minimum PR and go sub-4, it was just a matter of how much under I could get.
With about a mile and half left the 3:45 pacer passed me back and I knew I wouldn’t be able to keep up. Damn it, wasn’t going to hit that mark. Settled into a pace I could maintain the rest of the way, as much as my blister allowed, and trudged across the line at 3:49. Pretty happy with the overall time, but not ecstatic. I knew I left a few minutes out there and even with it being a PR knew it wasn’t my “perfect race”. I guess that’s part of what keeps me coming back.
Alabama was state #11 (#14 marathon overall) and a PR at 43 years old. Can’t complain too much and feel blessed that I’m physically able to continue to do this!

So, in recap, all the training this year paid off. Even though the times below didn’t win me any age-group awards, I’m just happy it shows that I can still improve at my advanced age.

May: PR ½ marathon 1:48
June: PR Olympic distance tri 2:33
July: PR ½ Iron distance tri 5:10 and PR the ½ marathon run portion 1:46
September: Finished (and PRed cuz it’s my first) the Ironman 13:32
December: PR full marathon 3:49
Remainder of 2011: recover from a mentally draining training year, as much as physically.

Up next, Nashville in April. Should be a fun with a fun group of people going (11 as of now). I’ll try to post more often and before that though. Happy New Year, Everyone!

Not Tits for Tat

So, I'm 2 months into the whole internet dating thing. I've had a few dates, but nothing solid yet. A few more emails with others, but nothing that's moved beyond that. Some my decision, some theirs. The thing that's confusing me the most though is the lack of response when I contact someone. Now, I'm not saying the lady needs to drop what she's doing, write me a novel and hand deliver it, especially if she isn't interested, but to me it just seems like common courtesy to at least acknowledge that you received my wink/email. No response just seems mean. You're online dating, you know winks and emails are how people first connect. Not responding is akin to if you were physically face to face with someone, they tried to start a conversation with you or asked you out for a drink/date and you just stood there staring at them and then walked away without saying a word. Match even has a feature where you only have to click 1 button and they'll send a form letter email declining the invitation. How simple is that? If someone initiates contact with me, first, I'm flattered; second, if I'm interested I'm going to let them know sooner rather than later; third, if I'm not interested I'm still going to thank them for the interest, but let them know. They took the chance, stuck their neck out. The least I can do is say thanks, but no thanks and not leave them hanging there. That's just me though. I actually think more highly of those women who respond with a decline than I do of those who don't respond at all. I'd be interested in hearing why women don't respond. Is there a good reason why? I'm not going to cyberstalk you or try to talk you into rethinking your position.
Okay, enough of that rant.
The one lady I saw multiple times started out great. We saw each other on a Saturday night, found out both our birthdays were coming up that following week so we took each other out for birthday lunches and were both genuinely interested in seeing each other again. 3 dates in 6 days with interest for more! Things are looking promising, right?! Well, it turned out I had my hunting weekend, then came home and had a couple of social functions (non-dates), scouts and watched the kids on one of my non-scheduled nights and she didn't take too kindly to me only providing her with 1 night to see each other in a 2 week period. She actually said she felt "insulted" and accused me of seeing multiple women! I laughed at that (it was in an email, not to her face)! In her defense, she doesn't have kids so she probably isn't the most tuned in to the schedule of a single parent. I can't stop being a parent just to appease someone I'm first getting to know. Maybe if/when a relationship starts getting serious I'll be more inclined to accommodate schedule changes, but not within the first week lady! It was good to find that out early I guess, save some headache later!
On to the next, whenever that may be. I'm keeping my parameters somewhat strict. I don't want to date just to date. There actually is a long-term purpose behind this courtship thing so I want to reel in a keeper. Just gotta keep casting.

My exercise year is finally winding down. I'm heading out in the morning to Alabama to run the Rocket City Marathon! This will be state #11. When I picked this one out and signed up back in October I was pretty excited. I have to admit now though, I'm actually more looking forward to it being over and just getting home than I am about traveling and doing another marathon. Usually I get pretty excited about them. I've spent the whole year training though and I need the mental break more than anything, more than physically even. I just need to step back and not be dictated by my workout schedule. It'll be nice to not worry about that for a few weeks. I'm not retiring by any means, just will enjoy the off season.
With that said, I'm not going to lolly gag my way through this one just to get it over with. I'm actually hoping to do well and I'll be disappointed if I don't PR and break 4hrs. I haven't done that yet. All the training this year will hopefully pay off this one last time and I'll be able to enjoy the off season that much more.

With that said, logging off so I can throw everything in my bag and get to bed. My chauffeur is gonna be here (not quite) bright and early to take me to the airport. Good night and let's hope AL becomes my new favorite state!

IM Is Easy In Comparison!

I think I’m embarking on something more daunting, scarier, harder and definitely more unknown to me than Ironman. I’m attempting to jump back into the world of dating. Up until a couple of weeks ago, it's probably been 3+ years since I’ve been on a date and even that recent outing needs an asterisk as it wasn’t anything official. More on that in a bit. I haven’t been opposed to dating over the past 3 years, just haven’t focused on it. I bit the bullet the other day and signed up for a Match.com 6 month membership, give it an honest effort. Skimming through all the profiles; trying to decide what to write for my profile that describes me yet will also attract someone I’m interested in; fretting over what to write in an email to a prospect that will entice her to want to write back – all that is hard work! Doing this part of the mating game isn’t particularly fun for a guy like me, but I know it’s necessary in order to get to where I want to be, and that’s to have a significant other in my life again. I miss “her”, whoever “she” is.

If you know me, you know I don’t talk much. I feel though, deeply. I know what love is and I want to feel that with someone again. I’m ready and I don’t want to waste any more time. 6 years is too long to go without romance. I know I want someone here with me. After the big D, I’ve felt the necessary feelings to know that. I’ve expressed those feelings. I’ve felt sorrow when those feelings haven’t been reciprocated. I need to grow a thicker shell, but at the same time continue to stick my neck out so as the rejections come in I don’t slink back in to my comfort zone of saying “I don’t have time/interest/money/desire to date”. I know with the way the online dating system works there are going to be more rejections before things even have a chance of getting started than there will be potential dates. Just the nature of the beast, it’s a game of numbers. It doesn’t mean I have to like it, but I better get used to it and learn how to cope with it.

The *outing* I alluded to was just that, a social outing with a friend with no romantic pretense. Well, that’s not totally true. I may have had multiple motives, but I didn’t let her in on them so as to not make things uncomfortable. The night was advertised as a celebration of things we both had recently accomplished, just friends going out. As the night wore on things were going great and I started seriously thinking “why not”? I got butterflies. I got giddy. I couldn’t sleep. I was smiling and I was thinking this is nice to be feeling these feelings! To make a long story short, I did ask her out, she sounded interested, but after a few days of not being able to plan anything the answer became apparent. You win some, you lose some, I thought, at least I threw it out there and I emotionally moved on.

That turned out not to be totally true too and that surprised me. I eventually did receive verification from her that we wouldn’t be going out. It saddened me to actually hear it, but I wonder why. I thought I had already moved on and it’s not like we had even started any sort of romantic relationship yet to move on from. It’s strange to feel feelings for something that isn’t even there. Maybe it's just wanting what I can't have. That’s the part of dating that sucks – trying to figure out when to open your heart so you can move a relationship forward, needing to expose yourself first in order for something to develop later, and when not to so as to protect yourself.

And therein lies my Catch-22. I think of myself as a romantic so I’m destined to open my heart sooner, but am I just setting myself up to getting it knocked around? If Ironman has taught me anything though I guess it’s perseverance and to keep plodding along. I’ll keep at this dating thing until I find “her”, have to keep at it! I have too much to offer “her” to not have “her” here with me.

What's Next?!

Well, I guess it's probably time to move on from IM and start thinking about life post-140.6. Despite my last post, everything about the day was great! I've forgotten about the pain and only remember the joy. Yes, the swim was scary, but I just laugh now thinking back to the chaos and realizing how much fun I had once it was done. It was the scariest and coolest thing, all at the same time! Yes, sitting on a bike seat for 6 straight hours is a long time, but it flew by and certainly didn't feel like that long. Yes, the run wasn't quite ideal, but I will learn from it and didn't have to do the whole thing alone. Plus, this was my first IM so no matter how I did I was going to set a PR and I know that 13:32 also leaves room for realistic improvement!

I've had a few workouts since. Been back in the pool a couple of times and hope to maintain where I'm at there by only going once or twice per week. Put the bike back on the trainer in the basement since the evenings are getting darker earlier. I truly believe the biking is the greatest contributor to my faster running so I'll continue with those workouts, hopefully all winter. Have done a couple of shorter runs and this past Monday night I was finally able to run with the "fast guys" at run club! I was never able to do that pre-IM. Just another indicator all the training paid off.

Throwing around some ideas in my head about a tattoo. Nothing for sure yet, not even the decision I'll get one, so we'll just have to wait and see where that leads.

I've started looking for a December marathon to run so I need to nail down a date and get back to a set schedule. It's only been 2 1/2 weeks since IM so I know I'm still recovering and will try to honor that so I don't breakdown, but I miss the structure training provides and going to bed after a rigorous workout (sometimes showering first). Probably won't do 2-a-day workouts for awhile yet though.

Enjoying a few more social, guilt-free beers too. Life is good!

5:55:29

Sitting here wondering where to start with this post. It’s been over a week since IM and I think I’ve gone over the run portion mentally a thousand times already. Playing the What If…Could’ve…Should’ve…game.

Q: When is a run not a run?
A: When it’s a walk.
That’s what’s gnawing at me the most – how much I actually walked instead of ran.

Let me back up a minute and make a disclaimer, if I may: I’m ecstatic with my overall finishing time of 13:32! It was my first IM, I had no idea what to expect doing that distance and from everything I’ve been told the only thing to concern yourself with the first time around is to just finish! When I look at it in the big picture like that, I still get goose bumps and a Cheshire cat grin. I am an Ironman, have the medal and t-shirt to prove it, and no one can take that away from me (well, I s’pose someone could steal the medal and t-shirt, but you know what I mean)!

Okay, now that that’s over with, time to get down to the analysis of The Walk.

The last 30 minutes or so that I spent on the bike I started to visualize the run and what it might entail. I mentally went over what I took in for nutrition while on the bike and realized it probably wasn’t enough. I was drinking enough, but I didn’t eat enough considering everything I had already put my body through and what was yet to come. I took enough food along with me, but just couldn’t choke it all down, nor did I have the urge to eat. I ate, just not enough. Something I’ll have to teach/force myself to do next time. I think part of this was due to the warmer than expected day as well. Remember back a couple of posts how I said it was going to be in the upper 70s and approaching warmer than ideal temps? Well, it turned out to be in the mid 80s which is definitely warmer than ideal. Don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t the end of the world and I had definitely trained in warmer throughout the season, but I could feel the heat was taking its toll.
I wobbled off the bike, walked into the building to grab my T2 bag with my running clothes and headed to the changing room. I somewhat took my time, but not 48 minutes worth, got dressed and stretched my back before heading out. Stopped to get re-lathered with sunscreen and hit the biffy again. I didn’t have a strong urge/need to go, but thought it’d be better to get it out of the way so once I started running I wouldn’t have to stop. I was able to relieve some and take note. I mention this, not for your reading enjoyment, but to paint a picture. Even in a biffy, a guy can tell to what extent he’s hydrated by assessing the color of his tinkle. I could tell that, not only did I not eat enough, but I was edging towards dehydration based on the darker-than-I’d-like-it-to-be urine. Hmmm.
Wow, this post is going places I didn’t think it originally would!
I took a glance at my watch and noticed it was 2:33. Pleasantly surprised with how my performance had been up to that point I was quickly able to figure that if I could just pull out a 5 hr marathon I’d be right around 12.5 hrs total, smashing all my expectations. I had a shot! Excited about that, I exited the stall, said “Let’s get this over with!” and hit the ground running!

Here I am, 20 yds into the 26.2 mile run. Notice the nice tan lines from biking. Sexy, huh?!

It always takes me 1-2 miles to get my running legs under me and into a rhythm in a triathlon and today was no exception. I was able to somehow get a decent stride going right away as evidenced by this picture, but I think I owe most of that to the thick crowds along this section and the downhill slant after the first couple of blocks. I certainly didn’t feel as good as this looks.

When I got to the first mile marker I looked again at my watch for the first time since starting the run. 7:50 mile 1! WTF!?! How did I pull that out?! I questioned the accuracy with where they had the mile marker sign, but could only chuckle at running “that fast” that first mile. It’s not necessarily what I wanted to do, would’ve rather started out slower and gotten faster as the marathon went on. I knew I wouldn’t be able to hold that pace and forced myself to slow down. By then I was starting to get some running feeling going in my legs and lungs, but I didn’t necessarily like what I felt. I knew I was in for a struggle.
I came upon the first water stop and made the decision that due to a number of factors – heat, nutrition, getting tired – I would walk through each one so I could get liquids, and “rest” while still moving. The one thing I was adamant about doing was making sure every movement was directed forward. There would be very minimal lateral movement and absolutely no backward movement, even minimize stopping altogether, just keep moving forward! At this early stage, food didn’t sound appealing so I just grabbed water, Pepsi and Gatorade. After a block or so I started running again, but it was a struggle. My stomach wasn’t my friend and when I ran I got nauseous and lightheaded.
After a very short distance the route came to a slight rise in the road and looking at that I knew it wasn’t going to be my day. I wouldn’t say I love running hills, but I typically don’t mind them and usually do a fair amount of gaining or passing others going up them. When this small, short rise looked more like Mt. Everest, I knew I might’ve won the swim and bike course battles, but IM was going to win the run battle. I would just have to hold out hope that I would eventually win the war. And we’re only at mile 2.
From here, it became a matter of walking a lot more than I was running. I picked my runs stints to be on flat or declining sections and then would have to walk 5-10x as long to recover from however long I was able to run. At mile 3.5ish we wound through Camp Randall, the UofWI football stadium, and I claimed a small victory when I was able to run that whole lap. Unfortunately though, my run stints became shorter and my walk stints became longer.
Observatory Hill – mile 6ish. A beast of a hill! A major climb, with a false flat section and then right into another climb. I’m walking up this 2nd climb section and I hear someone yell, “I seeee yooouuu McCarthy!” Yup, I know that voice and know it means she has my camera. $%!*&^#@)*$@! I don’t like getting caught like that and if someone calls you out, you better step up so I started hoofing it faster up the remainder of the hill.
The other triathletes around me at the time thought it was funny though, glad they could get a chuckle out my demise. Thanks, Kimmi, for entertaining the others!

1 last major climb and then a steep descent. Even that downhill hurt to run because of the steep grade so it just became another section I had to walk. You know it’s a bad run when even downhills aren’t your friend!
State St was next and a section I was looking forward to. This section is flat and a rowdy, loud spectator section so it re-energized the batteries somewhat. I was able to run this out and back section and saw some Team McIronites cheering so that helped. Upon exiting State St I saw Tim for the first time as he was just entering. I was wondering where he was at ‘cause I expected him to pass me on the bike. When he never did I was wondering if something had happened to him. It was good to see a familiar face and we gave each other a look that said all it needed to say, neither one of us was in our happy place. He was only about a mile behind, if that, so I figured he’d be catching and passing me soon enough. We’re through mile 8.
The next few miles were all pretty much the same – ran when my stomach and head allowed, but for very short segments; walked when I needed to. There was another out-and-back section so once I hit that turn-around I’d see who was behind me and how far back. I figured Tim would be right there. He was a little closer than the first time I saw him, but hadn’t closed the distance as much as I thought he would. “Hmmm, he really is struggling as much as I am” I thought.
The run course, like the swim and bike courses preceding it, was a 2 loop course. What this meant was that the turn-around for lap 2 was near the Finish line. As I approached the end of lap 1 I was able to muster some longer running stints, feeding off the crowds again. Team McIron was nearby and they certainly did their part! Heading out on lap 2 I actually felt like I might be improving, started feeling somewhat better as my stomach issues were dissipating. Miles 14-16 actually felt somewhat normal and my run stints nearly doubled in length.
And then came the jaunt through the stadium again. I vowed to run that entire section again, getting moral little victories when I could (okay, okay, this also happened to be a section where one of the official photographers was and I didn’t want any pictures taken of me walking! I'm vain that way.). When I got done with that lap and started walking up the exit ramp I didn’t think I was going to make it up! I got extremely lightheaded, vision became blurry and my steps got shorter. I thought I was going to pass out and it kind of freaked me out. At that point I promised myself I wasn’t going to run again until I got to the next water stop and tried to get some food in me. The full IM distance is 140.6 miles when you add up all 3 segments. I remember thinking “they don’t make 130.6 bumper stickers so don’t get a medical DQ at this point you schmuck! Just swallow your pride, do what you have to do to get to the next water stop and reassess there.” That was a long, lonely, depressing walk.
Eventually I did make it to that next stop, grabbed drinks and this time started grabbing potato chips and pretzels, something, anything to get more food and sodium back into my system. Walked another full mile plus to the next water stop and repeated the intake. By now, I’m back to the frickin’ hills and my leg muscles are all starting to hurt, fatiguing, tightening up and I fear cramping if I try to run. I figure my Sherpa is still up there at the top with the camera. Somehow I scaled the climb again, she was there, along with Kristen (Tim’s GF) and I told them to tell Tim to “hurry the F up and catch me” so we can get through this together. Fortunately, he had closed the gap and was only a couple of minutes behind and when they told him he did muster up a little more to get up to me.
He found me just before entering State St. again, mile 19ish, and it was a much needed lift in my spirits. We walked and talked and were able to distract each other enough to make the miles tick down. This picture captures perfectly the way I was feeling! Wow, I am really short when I stand next to tall people!

Together we helped each other get closer and closer to the finish. As we got within the last mile and a half or so and it became apparent we were going to finish and become Ironmen, it dawned on me the appropriateness of Tim and I together at that point – he and I stood in line together 52 weeks prior and signed up for this madness; although we didn’t train together every single workout, he was the closest thing I had to a regular training partner as we did many long weekend rides and made 2 weekend trips to Madison during the year together; we constantly bounced ideas and suggestions off each other via email. It felt fitting that what we started together way back when, we were now finishing together!
As we came up to the Capitol and only had 2 more turns before the final stretch into the finishing chute we were able to muster our last bits of energy and run those final few blocks, had to put on a good show for the thick crowds!
I crossed the Finish Line in 13:32:29, a 5:55:29 marathon split. Not quite the 5 hr marathon I was thinking after T2 in order to hit that 12.5 hour mark, but at that point I couldn’t care less. I finished and I was an Ironman!
After being on Cloud 9 for 30-45 minutes after finishing I started coming down. My body had had enough of me and was beginning to revolt. I figured I needed proper nutrition, but nothing sounded good and just the thought of food made my stomach more upset. I opted to rest. Don’t I look good?
When I was finally able to get up again, I went into the bathroom to jump on the scale. I weighed myself that morning before I left for the race so I wanted to see how much weight I lost during the race by weighing myself after. Taking into account everything I ate and drank throughout the day, I still dropped 7 lbs! In one day. I was beat up and battered, but I won the war and had a grin.

Coming soon: The Final Finale

6:07:09

After spending 8:42 in T1 getting ready to bike, completely changing clothes and making sure my nutrition was tucked safely in my pockets, I headed out of the changing room and onto the terrace. The atmosphere was electric and you couldn't help but feel pumped! Stopped quick at the sunscreeners to get lathered up and then it was off to my rack to jump on my trusted steed. Everything went off without a hitch and I was soon rolling down the pavement, heading out of Madison towards Verona and the awaiting hills.
The first 16ish miles were pretty uneventful, just had to get the bike legs under me after swimming, but being mindful not to push too hard, especially so early. Again, there was some jockeying for position as there were many bikers around and drafting isn't legal. If you got caught committing a penalty (there were officials patrolling the course) you had to stop at a penalty tent and serve up to a 4:00 penalty depending on the infraction. When you get passed it's your obligation to fall back to a minimum of 4 bike lengths and if you're doing the passing you have to get it done within 20 seconds. With the crowded roads this early on it was a little difficult to abide by all the rules, but there wasn't any blatant disregard that I witnessed. For the most part, triathletes are pretty good at policing themselves. I was warned by an official at one point to fall back, but thankfully didn't get shown a penalty card. I didn't think I was doing anything wrong, was boxed in after just turning a corner, but penalties aren't challengeable so I tapped the brakes a bit and let those in front of me get a little further out front. No biggie.
After leaving Verona the smaller, rolling hills began. I was rolling pretty good, feeling strong, and passed others more than I got passed; a definite confidence booster.
The first major spectator spot was Mt. Horeb, approx. mile 29, and I knew there would be my cheer crew there along with Tim's, my main training partner throughout the season. Entering Mt. Horeb is the first somewhat significant climb. I shifted into granny gear and just spun on up, picking people off as I went. Team Juice (Tim's cheer crew) saw me coming and let out a cheer and of course that fired me up so I rode strong by them.



Just a few blocks down I could pick out my orange wearing maniacs and we were able to wave and yell at each other as I zoomed by. Feeling good and strong at this point, averaging 19.5 mph!





Shortly outside of Mt. Horeb the real hills begin! There were some quick descents where I hit 37+ mph followed immediately by granny gear climbs. It was a technical course in that you have to know where to expend your energy and pay attention to shifting gears so your chain doesn't fall off, a lesson I learned on some training rides out here earlier in the Summer. Those lessons paid off and I didn't have any such issues on Sunday!
Shortly down the road there was a rapid S-curved decent where if you didn't know the course beforehand you better have been paying attention to the "Slow Down" signs otherwise you could've easily ended up in a tree on the down slope! I'll admit I used my brakes a fair amount through this section even while still clipping along around 30 mph. Got through there safe and sound and back to flat roads approaching Cross Plains.
Team McIron's 2nd cheer spot was near Cross Plains, approx. mile 42. I knew where they were going to be and I was able to spot them from a distance before they spotted me.

The orange shirts again, and the Irish flag waving at the end of a long pole were easily identifiable. They saw me coming, we yelled and waved again, it recharged my batteries and rolling by I went. At this point it became a mental game. I knew the 3 toughest climbs lay shortly ahead so I just told myself to take 'em 1 at a time and soon enough it would all be over.
The first one wasn't too bad, or as bad as I remember during training rides. Tim and I have an inside joke about that hill (it's really not that funny, you had to be there the original time for it to mean anything so it isn't worth explaining now) so I just talked to myself about that and with the crowd along the edges here it was fun to climb. It's even more fun to pass people on the uphills when there's crowd. I wasn't purposely pushing hard to "show off", but it just happened that my effort carried me past others.
There was another major hill where the crowds got a little thicker so their energy helped there and the 3rd major climb, considered the "Tour de France" hill was even more fun. Along this one the crowds were really thick and the bike lanes to get up were tight. We could reach out and grab someone on either side if we wanted. They were cheering and yelling for everyone and genuinely wanted you to push it and do your best. There were a lot of guys that were dressed up in dresses, bras & underwear, superhero costumes, anything to lighten the mood and get a laugh. It was a nice distraction to see the crowds really getting into it and gave extra motivation to want to perform well for them.
Shortly after this climb we were rewarded with the fastest downhill section of the course. I topped out with a white-knuckled 44 mph! I hit a small little bump and thought I was going to lose it and go ass over tea kettle! Took mental note of that section and vowed not to hit that spot on the next loop.
From here there were some uneventful, but quick miles and we were shortly rolling into Verona again, approx. mile 54. This is the major spectating spot as there were shuttle buses hauling spectators from downtown Madison out to Verona. I knew I'd have a few more Team McIron members out here so I wanted to show them I was still going strong. It's also a fast section, smooth road with a slight decline, so I was worried I wouldn't see them, or more so, that they waited all that time and wouldn't see me. Didn't want them to think they were out there for nothing! Thankfully, we did see each other, they were loud, and once again I was re-energized.
Lap 1 done.
Lap 2 didn't go quite as well, not that there was any drama or it was disaster. The exertion was starting to take it's toll and I made a conscious decision/effort to take the 2nd lap a little slower to hopefully preserve some energy for the remaining miles and the run that was still ahead. I struggled a bit from miles 65 thru 80, but was able to catch a 2nd wind after that. I truly believe it had a lot to do with my cheer crew and feeding off their energy! I saw the bulk of them again in Mt. Horeb and Cross Plains and then the same cheerleaders in Verona (thanks Marcy, April, SAB and John for hanging out there for 2+ hours waiting for me to come around again!). I was also talking to myself a little bit and got a stare or two from others who passed me. Just repeating 1 simple worded mantra told me by a fellow triathlete who's better at this whole endurance event game than I am (thanks, Jens, it worked!).
Finished up the 2nd loop (avoided that 44 mph bump!) and started heading back to downtown.
At mile 110ish there was 1 final bridge to go up and over and then it was smooth sailing through a parking lot and along the lakefront. On the opposite where the bridge met the road there happened to be another good bump. About 50 yards in front of me I saw a guy hit that bump, lose control of his bike, go down, and the guy right behind him didn't have a chance to react either and he ended up crashing over that guy as well! They both went down hard! There was a policeman controlling traffic at the nearby corner and he immediately called the medics, but how sucky would that be to crash at mile 110 of 112?! I paid a little more attention to that spot as I rode by and finished up my ride w/o incident.


Riding up the helix to enter T2 I started shifting my focus to the run and what that would entail. I already knew I was probably in trouble because of my nutrition, but I was just going to have to tough it out and see what the whole "running" portion was going to bring. First things first though, getting off the bike and getting used to using my legs to run and not ride! I'd pay good money if anyone got a video of what my first few steps looked like. I know they weren't too graceful and I wobbled and even chuckled at myself at that point. Ahhhh, good times.
Finished the 112 mile ride in 6:07:09, an 18.3 mph average. I'll take it!

Coming Soon: The Run!

1:13:34

So much to say, but I don't know where to start. Should I go back a couple of weeks and confess my apprehension about even getting to the start line because of my back strain? Should I write about all the trivial things leading up to race day like the daily tips I sent out to my cheer crew and last minute bike repairs? Or, should I spare everyone the build-up drama and just jump right into Sunday morning?

We'll get right to it. You're welcome.

Had the alarm set for 4:20 a.m., but I never heard it. I was awake at 4:10 on my own so I decided the extra 10 minutes were better spent getting ready rather than trying to get just 10 more minutes of rest. Really the only thing I had to get ready was myself. This race was different than other triathlons in that I had already dropped off my bike and transition bags the day before so I didn't have to worry about any of that equipment. Kinda nice.
Got out of bed, stood in the shower for a few minutes to refresh and jumped out. Threw on what I would wear under my wetsuit, an outer layer to stay warm and prepped some breakfast - oatmeal, fruit, bagel, yogurt - and what I would carry and eat on the bike - 2 PB&Js, some homemade energy bars, cut a banana and mixed my water bottles with the appropriate powders. By this time my sherpa helper, Kimmi, was up and at 'em and being her cheerful self that early in the morn. We went through my bags and lists one final time to make sure I had everything and headed to the car for the 10 minute drive to downtown Madison. The day was supposed to be gorgeous weather-wise so there weren't any worries there. The last I heard (or paid attention to), the highs were going to be in the upper 70s w/ minimal wind/breeze. Approaching a little too warm by a triathlete's standards, but certainly manageable.
We parked the car, got bodymarked with my race number
and while I went to prep my bike, Kimmi went to drop off my Special Needs bags a couple of blocks away. I did my thing with my bike - topped off the tires with air (140 psi in case you wanted to know); made sure the computer was working (speed, cadence, etc.); put water in my aero bottle and put my other premixed bottles in their racks; and took the plastic bag off covering my seat (didn't want a dewy moist seat for 112 miles). My trusty steed was ready, nothing else to do, so I gave it a final love tap and asked it to behave once I got done with the swim and for just a few hours after that.
The plan that morning was to meet my family, aka Team McIron, at 6:00 a.m. so I could see them before I got in the water. It was as much for me to say my final goodbyes in case something happened as it was for them to wish me luck. They arrived on time, all donned in matching orange shirts and crazy hats.
We had about 10 minutes together and then I bid them farewell and said I'd be back in "about 14 hours. See ya then!". Probably could've held out and hung around for a few more minutes, but I wanted to get in the biffy line so I wouldn't wait until the last minute. This also allowed me some alone time to gather my thoughts, calm my nerves and separate from the commotion for a bit.
Took care of business on the throne (you really wanted to know, didn't you?!) and headed towards the water. This section of the tri is what had me worried the most. I consider myself a pretty decent swimmer, but that's based off 50 meter splits in a lap pool with a lane to myself. This time I was going to be with over 2,500 of my closest friends that day, all starting at one time, already in the water! After watching this mass start in previous years, it's pretty intimidating and scary even from dry land. It literally looks like a washing machine! I was scared about being able to hold my own with all the hands, elbows and feet flying around. I tried not to worry about it, it is what it is, I knew that when I signed up so just told myself to buck up and deal with whatever comes. Finished putting on my westuit and went straight to the water to get into position, no more procrastinating! I was in the water at 6:37 with a 7:00 start time.
I had already decided I was going to try to keep a tight, inside line. Some were talking about starting wide and angling in towards the first corner because it might not be as crowded starting out there. I felt it was going to be crowded no matter where you were and the corners were going to be a cluster f*ck no matter what angle you came at 'em from so I might as well swim the shortest distance. I warmed up and swam out to the Start line. I stayed about 15 yards back and about 10 feet off the very inside edge. I had a nice pocket to myself and was able to relax for a few minutes before the cannon was fired starting the race. Once that cannon went off, HOLY HANNAH, all Hell broke loose!
Within 3 strokes my little pocket of lonesomeness had disappeared. I was up in the masses ahead of me and the masses behind me all felt like they wanted to get in my wetsuit! It definitely was the slugfest I was warned it would be. There was very little room and nearly impossible to get a good, full extension stroke. My arm turnover became much more rapid and I fought with the best of 'em to protect my space. I took a couple of blows to the back, buttocks and legs, but nothing that really kept me from moving forward. After a couple hundred yards though, still jam-packed, I took an elbow (I think) to the face. Luckily, I was rotating to breathe so it didn't hit me square, but did manage to hit my goggles. Immediately I felt that something was wrong, but I couldn't figure out what it was. "That's weird", I thought. "My goggles are still on, but I can't see out of my right eye. They don't feel broke so I wonder what happened?" It took me a couple of strokes to figure out that just the goggle on that one eye had gotten flipped inside out and was pressing on my eye! Thankful that it wasn't shattered, I tried flipping it right side out again, but continuing to still stroke and swim. I didn't dare stop swimming lest get run over by everyone behind and around me! I couldn't get it to flip so I was pretty much resigning myself to swim just being able to sight with one eye for another 2.2 miles when the goggle fixed itself. Hallelujah, minor crisis averted!!
With that behind me I re-concentrated on what was going on around me. I started hearing something and couldn't figure out what it was and then it dawned on me. It was 2,500 other swimmers! Wow, that many swimmers all at once is LOUD! Having never been in that situation before I didn't even think about it and know it would be like that. If anything, I figured the water would probably muffle some of the sound. So not only does it look like a washing machine from above, it sounds like one when you're in the middle of it!
Up next came the first turn. "This is gonna get interesting", I thought. No matter how many swimmers are in a race, there are always human traffic jams at the corners. Who wants to swim extra yardage by taking it too wide, right? I made up my mind to try to take it as tight as I could (most traffic right there too) and just deal with it. Once I got there it was tighter than I imagined it would be, but I just kept fighting (i.e. swimming). There was no time, nor room, to wait for others to get through so I just kept stroking, but with my head out of the water so I wouldn't get kicked. If I could take a stroke and work my arm and shoulder in-between those in front I was then able to pull myself through (i.e. over) and get by. It didn't always work on the first stroke and sometimes took 3 or 4 and eventually I made it around the corner. Whew, 1 corner done and I survived it! Just a short stint later though and we were at corner #2 and doing it all again. After this one though it was the long back straight-away and we were able to separate and thin out a little bit. There was still jockeying for position going on and clean water to swim through was no where near to be found unless I went really wide. I stuck with my strategy to swim the inside line, fight a little more now rather than swim the wider, longer distance.
Corner 3 came and so did the same bottleneck conditions. Corner 4 came, same thing, but now we were on lap 2 of 2. I was jazzed that the first lap was done and I was still feeling good and felt like I belonged! I was swimming strong, feeling good and not letting anyone push me around.
I don't think it ever really thinned out enough to where I wasn't constantly hitting or getting hit until the final backstretch on that 2nd lap. Everyone was swimming close enough to each other that if I wanted to steal a kiss I probably could have if I timed it right and the person I was swimming next to breathed when I did. The men all had 1 color swim caps on and the women had a another color so it wouldn't have been hard to differentiate. I should've tried just to see what would've happened. :) Maybe next time. After turning corner #6 of 7 and getting 20ish yards beyond that I got bonked on the head. The lady who did it was kind enough to say "I'm sorry!" but it really wasn't necessary. "Just part of the experience", I thought and I kept going on my way.
Turned the final corner and started heading towards shore. At this point, knowing I was going to be sitting on my bike for the next 6 hours I started kicking harder and faster to get the legs warmed up. It felt like I skimmed across the water and finally struck terra firma. Exited the water after 2.4 miles in 1:13:34, right in the window of my predicted time!
Once on dry land it was the strippers turn to go to work. Sorry guys, it's not what you think. The wetsuit strippers where there to help us get our wetsuits off, all I had to do was hold my arms out so they could peel it off my upper body, lay down when they told me to so they could peel it off my lower body and then let them help me stand back up. From there, just a short little jaunt up 4 flights of the parking ramp helix to T1 and time to get ready for a leisurely 112 mile ride!
After surviving that swim I now have tons more confidence for any group swims I'll do in the future. Measely little 50 person group wave starts will (hopefully) feel like child's play!

Tomorrow's post: 112 miles of rollin' rollin' rollin', keep them wheels a rollin'