Ironman Wisconsin 2010 Race Report

I had to give this report several days to form since I was in no state of mind in the immediate days after the race to write up a positive summary of how the day unfolded.  I’m very disappointed with my result but I wanted to take the time to realize the good things that came out of this race – it’s been a tough task to do since I’m such a goal-driven person, so when I don’t hit a goal I struggle with finding anything positive that came out of the process. But I’ll try my best here…

Race Goals:

• Qualify for Kona – NOPE (missed it by ~35’)
• Top 10 in AG – NOPE (31^st)
• Personal record – YES (by 48’)

Pre-Race

Spent race week very focused on my nutrition to maintain body comp.  Also increased salt intake as I got closer to the race by adding more of it to my food.  By Saturday I was heavily salting everything.  I’ve practiced with this before in races and big training days in hot conditions this year with good success, but I think I got a little carried away this time – more on this later…

My family (wife, 2 year old son and Mom & Dad) arrived Saturday afternoon.  It was nice to have them around to distract me a little from the pre-race hype.  This was the first triathlon my parents came to see me compete in so I was especially excited to have their on-course support.

Got to bed soon after 8:00pm, woke up at 2:00am for a Naked Juice smoothie and a baked potato.  Then up at 4:00am for good and had a bowl of Koala Crisp cereal with almond milk and a banana and 2 cups of coffee.  Sipped a ½ bottle of Naked Juice smoothie in transition at 5:15am and topped off the pre-race nutrition with a 100 calorie bottle of EFS Drink just prior to getting in the water at 6:45am.  Felt good, cleaned out and ready to go.

Swim (Goal: 1:00-1:05; Actual: 1:03:04)

Positioned myself on the left side of the ski jump and 2 rows back.  This is where I found the 1:00-1:05 peeps.  Treaded water for about 15’.  Started to get a little cold but once I got going the 67-degree water felt great in the full-length wetsuit.  The cannon went off and I immediately locked in behind some fast feet.  My plan was to push it pretty hard to the first turn buoy then settle in to a comfortable pace.  This went exactly to plan.  I never get into any scrums.  I swam comfortably and controlled.  Took a glance at my watch after making the first loop – 29:55.  Decided to swim a little more easily on the second loop.  I lost my draft on the long stretch back and found myself looking up to sight regularly but it was made difficult due to the bright sun.  I finished the swim feeling good about my time but I know I could have swam sub-60’ pretty easily.

T1 (Goal: 5:00; Actual: 5:03)

My goal was to absolutely fly through both transitions and I did just that.  I was red-lining it to the wetsuit strippers, up the helix, into Monona Terrace, got my T1 bag, into the changing room, threw my wetsuit/cap/goggles on the floor, emptied bag contents on the floor, put on my helmet, grabbed my shoes and took off to my bike (arm warmers and race number belt were already on since I wore them under my wetsuit on the swim).  It was a hell of a long run through all the bikes since mine was on the rack closest to the bike out (benefit of being a Janus Charity Challenge athlete!).  Matt Sullivan had my bike ready and waiting – that was awesome to see him!!  Put my shoes on, then sunglasses (had them resting on my aerobars) and rolled out.

Bike (Goal: <5:30; Actual: 5:33:30)

FTP: 295 watts

1^st hour target power: 200 watts

Total ride target power: 210 watts

Legs were a little tight starting out but they loosened up after about 30’.  Started with my hydration/nutrition 30’ into ride: a sip of Infinit followed by a gulp of water every 10’; an S-Cap at hours 2 and 4; 2 Motivators at mile 90.  Followed this plan exactly, except I may have taken in a little more water than I had planned.  I had a hard time gauging this since all of my training rides/RRs were with water bottles in my jersey pockets.  In the race I would grab 2 water bottles from each aid station: I’d take a huge swig from one and put the other one inside my singlet down my back (to both keep me cool and to have a reserve supply between aid stations).  Peed 4 or 5 times on the bike, can’t remember for sure, it was a lot.

Had a great time on the bike.  It really flew by.  I especially looked forward to getting to Old Sauk, Timberlane and Midtown to break up the monotony and feed off the crowds as well as the hammerheads cranking out 500+ watt efforts (and there were plenty of them!).  Saw a lot of fellow Endurance Nation teammates out on the course which always provided a huge lift.

A few minutes before arriving back at Monona Terrace I took a little assessment of my body to prepare for the marathon – everything seemed ready to go.  Took a look at my TSS (nice to have it real-time with the new Joule!) – 255.  I was surprised how low it was.  This helped set my mind at ease that I should be fully prepared to nail the marathon I planned.  Prepared my mind for the impending pain that I knew I would encounter come mile 18 and felt confident I could push my body deep into the pain vault to hit my run goals.  Got back to the Monona Terrace feeling ready to run a smart marathon.

Entire workout (190 watts):

Duration:   5:35:13 (5:35:20)

Work:       3816 kJ

TSS:        255.7 (intensity factor 0.677)

Norm Power: 198

VI:         1.05

Pw:HR:       4.72%

Pa:HR:       2.06%

Distance:   113.201 mi

Min Max Avg

Power:        0 442 190  watts

Heart Rate:   86 173 123  bpm

Cadence:      30 218 93  rpm

Speed:        0 47.4 20.2  mph

Pace          1:16 0:00 2:58  min/mi

Hub Torque:   0 39 8  lb-in

Crank Torque: 0 698 178  lb-in

Temperature:  60.8 89.6 75.0  Fahrenheit

T2 (Goal: 2:00; Actual: 1:38)

Ditched the bike, sprinted into Monona Terrace, grabbed my bag, into the changing room, on with my shoes, off with my helmet and took off with my Fuel Belt and visor in hand.  T2 time ended up being the 3^rd fastest overall!  Too bad that doesn’t get you anything.

Run (Goal: <3:30; Actual: 4:11:30)

As soon as I crossed the run out line I immediately slowed to a walk to get my heart rate where to its normal long run place.  It didn’t take more than about 20” so I started with the run pace plan:

Vdot: 56

1^st 6 miles pace: 8:15

Miles 6-18: 7:45

Miles 18-26.2: Don’t slow down

As soon as I took the first step of the run something felt off.  I had very little flexibility in my legs – my calves, ankles and quads were all VERY tight.  It also felt like my legs suddenly doubled in weight as my feet were hitting the pavement with loud thuds, not the way I typically run.  I had never had this feeling all year during any bricks or long runs.  No matter how tired my legs were from a cycling session I always felt light on my feet for my brick runs and nailed the paces EVERY SINGLE TIME!  This feeling was very foreign.  I was struggling to hit the 8:15 pace in the 1^st mile!  On top that my left foot was numb.  Finally at mile 4 I stopped and loosened up my laces thinking that maybe I cinched them up too tight.  This helped a little with the numbness in the left foot but the heavy, tight legs continued to be a problem.

By mile 10 I was working very hard to hit an 8:00/mile pace.  I started losing focus (mentally and physically as I had a tough time seeing more than 10 feet in front of me).  I felt very nauseous and “spacey”.  I tried everything to get my pace to my target of 7:45 with no avail.   I tried to run marathon pace for 1’ – not happening.  Tried doing 30” strides – nope.  No matter what I tried I couldn’t get the pace any faster than 8:30.  Maybe food would fix it…I tried potato chips at one aid station – nothing.  I tried Coke – nothing.  I tried chicken broth – nothing.  Banana – nothing.  My feet felt like stumps and my insides felt like exploding.  There was one point where I looked down at my feet as I was doing my shuffle and saw pee streaming down my leg – what the hell was going on?!

I made the turn at mile 13 and realized I was dealing with something I didn’t know how to get through.  By mile 14 or 15 I lost all focus.  I don’t think I looked at my watch once from that point on.  I couldn’t see more than a couple feet in front of me.  I know there were a lot of ENers out there all along the course but I don’t remember seeing any of you, not even the pink speedos.  I do remember fellow ENers and new friend Todd Glass passing me and saying something to encourage me to keep going.  I couldn’t stay with him, though.

Somehow I shuffled my way to the final turn before the finish chute.  I tried not to look at my time as I couldn’t bear seeing 11 hrs and something on the clock.  To my surprise I was still in the 10^th hour but barely.  I entered the finish chute in a much different place than I wanted to be.  I really wanted to enjoy it this time but I was having trouble even putting a smile on my face.  I think I did raise my arms, though , as I crossed the finish so at least I had that left in me.

Overall Time: 10:54:45 (Goal: 10:00:00 +/- 15')

As soon as I stopped I fell into the arms of 2 volunteers.  The world was spinning.  They took me into the medical tent where they first took my weight. I had gained 10 pounds!!!  WTF?!  They loaded me up with chicken broth and Gatorade.  My family found me and I felt good enough to get out of there and make the 3 block walk back to the hotel.  As I was showering I noticed how puffy my legs and hands were.

It’s now 6 days after the race and everything from my knees down to my toes is swollen and puffy.  I’ve been wearing compression tights or socks everyday since the race.  If it doesn’t go down after this weekend I think a visit to the doc may be in order.

Even though this race didn’t turn out quite the way I had hoped I’m happy with my execution.  I was on track with my goals up to about mile 10 of the run where I now realize I was dealing with a situation I had never encountered and still don’t have an answer for.  I know it was only my first real attempt at a Kona qualification but I can’t help but feel very disappointed about the outcome.  I’m not sure if I’ll give it another go or not at this point.

At least I can say I gave it all I could on this particular day.  I didn’t give up.  I didn’t leave anything in the tank.  I dug deeper into the pain and suffering area of my mind than I ever have before, even at those utterly slow paces that normally would be a walk in the park – that’s Ironman.  I just wish I could say I learned something from this that will make me stronger and more aware for next time, but I really can’t at this point.  The only thing I can point to is the heavy amount of salt I was putting in my body preceding the race.  Did this lead to all that water retention, which led to the tight, inflexible, swollen legs?  I guess I’ll have to get medical opinion to figure that out.  If that’s the answer to my problem then I’m ready to attack this goal again. Time will tell.

Thanks for everyone’s support this year!  I had such a great time training this season, especially with all of my Endurance Nation friends at various camps and local rides, runs and swims.  I never felt burned out or not excited to get out of bed to start a workout.  I’m in the best shape of my life – it just sucks that this race result isn’t indicative of this fitness I built.  There’s always next time…

Week 12 of Ironman Prep Training Phase - 09/06/2010 (RACE WEEK!!)

On January 4, 2010, I began training exclusively for Ironman Wisconsin to be held September 12, 2010 - that's 36 weeks of building my physical and mental fitness. About halfway through that timeframe I announced that my goal for the race was to qualify for the Ironman World Championships in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii. This week marked the end of my training journey for this one race. It was also the end of my 3 week taper. My body felt ready to tackle the goal I set out to achieve.

The workouts this week were very light and short. The focus was on following my checklists, traveling to Madison and arriving to the start line ready to race. Here's the day-by-day view of the week followed by a summary of the week's data as well as a look at the total amount of training done over the past 36 weeks:

Monday: 30' open-water swim with 6 x 100 meter efforts at goal race effort. Tested out a new wetsuit to ensure everything is feeling okay. Water temperature really dropped over the past week! Packed Special Needs and transition bags for the race and did a little last minute grocery shopping.

Tuesday: Slept in, then did a little light yoga to stay loose. Did an easy 65' spin on the bike followed by a 30' brick run. Packed all my gear and clothes for race weekend.

Wednesday: 1800 yard swim in a busy pool. Then an easy 30' run with a few 3' efforts at marathon pace. Packed all gear in bags and set them out for departure to Madison tomorrow.

Thursday: An easy 15 mile spin to ensure everything on the bike is dialed in and ready to race. Left home after lunch for the 2 hour drive to Madison. Upon arrival, immediately went to packet pickup then checked in to the hotel. Wrapped it up with a dinner with over 50 Endurance Nation athletes.

Friday: Slept in, then went for an easy swim on the Ironman swim course in Lake Monona. Very windy, choppy conditions so I cut the swim short to about 20' - not worth the extra effort at this point. After a light breakfast I ran an easy 30' along Lake Monona. Then in the afternoon did a very easy spin on the bike along parts of the Ironman run course. Everything is feeling ready to go!

Saturday: Was going to get out in the morning for a very easy 20' run but the rain and cool weather changed my plans. Decided instead to keep the feet up and chill for the morning. Andrea, Drew and my parents arrived in the afternoon. Great to have them around to keep my mind off the race.

Sunday: RACE DAY! This is it. Started at 7:00am. Finished at 5:54pm. 10:54:45 (swim: 1:03:04 / Bike: 5:33:30 / Run: 4:11:30). Not the time or race I was looking for. My race report can be found here.

Totals for the week:

Training/racing duration: 16:06

Time spent at or above FTP on the bike: 5'
Time spent at or below lactate threshold pace on the run: 15'
Avg bike intensity factor (% of FTP): .647
Mileage: 201 miles (Swim: 13.4K, Bike: 156 miles, Run: 38 miles)
Training Stress Score (TSS): ~806
Chronic Training Load (CTL): 124.2 (CTL on race morning) - 25 point drop from it's peak on 08/21
Training Stress Balance (TSB): 55.5 (TSB on race morning)
Weight: 167.0
Functional Threshold Power (FTP): 295
Vdot: 56

Performance Management Chart through week 12 of Ironman Prep Training:

Totals for the 2010 Season (01/04/2010 - 09/12/2010):

Training/racing duration: 406 hours (Swim: 60 hours / Bike: 228 hours / Run: 118 hours)

Mileage: 5,428 miles (Swim: 125 miles, Bike: 4,393 miles, Run: 907 miles)

Time spent at or above FTP on the bike: 27 hours

Avg bike intensity factor (% of FTP): .765

Time spent at or below lactate threshold pace on the run: 16 hours

Total TSS:

26,633

Week 11 of Ironman Prep Training Phase - 08/30/2010 (TAPER WEEK 2!!)

This week was the second week of my 3-week taper.  Things really started dialing down this week in terms of volume (time spent training).  The intensity of most of the sessions is still there, though.  I continued to put a ton of time into the organization that goes into Ironman race week and race day.  It's overwhelming just how many things need to come together to ensure you have everything you need for a successful Ironman!

The checklists are done.  The packing has begun.  Last minute shopping is complete.  Now it's time to put it on cruise control and execute the plan, which begins with the Monday of race week.  I have a detailed schedule and checklist of everything I need to do and things to bring which makes life so much easier - no thinking, no questions, just check it off the list and put the thinking into how I'm going to deal with the impending pain and suffering that I will be putting my body through come Mile 18 of the run!

With the reduction in volume this week I also spent a significant amount of time doing extra light stretching and massage just to ensure things are as loose as possible.  I'm feeling good, both physically and mentally!!

In talking with some training partners/friends over a couple beers I came to an epiphany in terms of my mindset going into the race.  As I announced earlier this summer, my #1 goal for this race is to qualify for the 2011 Ironman World Championships in Kona, Hawaii.  This is a major undertaking taking most athletes many years and numerous attempts at the Ironman distance to achieve, especially in my age group (35-39) which has the most athletes and is therefore the most competitive.  This will be my first try at giving it a go.

So the realization I had was that even though I am committed to achieving this goal I do no have the EXPECTATION that I will accomplish it.  These are two very different things and realizing this has helped free my mind of the pressure that I typically put on myself to perform in these events.

But as for the training, here's the day-by-day view of the training I did for the week followed by a summary of the week's data:

Monday: 2,600 yard swim with plenty of hard speed work.  This hit a great 45' run with 2 x 1 mile at 6:00 pace.

Tuesday: 60' bike with 3 x 6' intervals at FTP.  My power meter seems to finally be fixed!  Then did a 30 HARD brick run averaging 6:30/mile pace.

Wednesday: 1.6 mile open water swim done in a new PR of 38:29 (1:40 faster than my previous PR set last week!).

Thursday: 70' very comfortable run with no problem hitting target paces.  Taper is feeling good and so did the massage later in the day!

Friday: 2,800 yard endurance swim with 4 x 600 yard intervals at just under Ironman pace/effort.  Then did a 40' easy run with some strides to keep things loose.

Saturday: 2.5 hour ride with full race setup (everything from the wheels to the aero helmet).  Legs felt great.  Then did a very hard, high intensity 4 mile brick run averaging just under 6:30/mile pace.

Sunday: Day of rest, recovery, relaxation and family time before the chaos of race week kicks in tomorrow.

Totals for the week:

Training duration: 9:22

Time spent at or above FTP on the bike: 16'
Time spent at or below lactate threshold pace on the run: 47'
Avg bike intensity factor (% of FTP): .733
Mileage: 104 miles (Swim: 9K, Bike: 68 miles, Run: 30 miles)
Training Stress Score (TSS): ~645
Chronic Training Load (CTL): 136.4 (down from my season-high of 149.4)
Training Stress Balance (TSB): -27.6 (up ~30 TSS pts from last week - big increase!!)Weight: 168.0
Functional Threshold Power (FTP): 295
Vdot: 56

Performance Management Chart through week 11 of Ironman Prep Training:

Week 10 of Ironman Prep Training Phase - 08/23/2010 (TAPER!!)

"The hay is in the barn"


"The money is in the bank"


Whatever you want to call it, after 33 weeks of focused Ironman training to build my fitness, I have begun to back things off and let the body recover enough (but not too much!) to carry me to a successful Ironman Wisconsin finish on September 12th.  The work I've done (the "hay" or "money" if you will) has been both very challenging and enjoyable.  I've never been in better shape but I can't help feeling like I could have done more...welcome to the taper!

Even though week 10 is the beginning of a 3 week taper it didn't feel like much of a reduction in the work.  I was still feeling pretty fatigued, especially early in the week, but it sure was nice to only have a 90' "long" run and a 3 hour "long" ride as my key workouts.  However, the intensity of the sessions was still very much there.

My goals for the week were as follows:

• Quality sleep/rest (let the body heal and don't do anything stupid to cause an injury or illness)
• Quality nutrition (maintain body composition in light of less calories being burned)
• Start organizing for race week (create checklists)
• Prepare the mind (mental run-throughs of the race and prepare for the obstacles that will come, i.e. fatigue, pain, weather, mechanicals, etc.)

Here's the day-by-day view of the training I did for the week followed by a summary of the week's data:


Monday: 3,000 yard swim with 1,200 yards of all-out sprinting.  Nice to have a day off of running and biking - legs needed it!


Tuesday: 90' bike with 2 x 20' intervals at FTP.  Was hoping to put in a final FTP test but power meter still having issues.  Rode mostly on feel and heart rate.


Wednesday: Swim redemption: my weekly 1.6 mile open water swim route done in a new PR of 40:18. Makes up for Saturday's embarrassing performance.  Then a solid 8 mile run with 3 x 1 mile at threshold: 5:59, 5:51, 5:57. Perfect weather helps create a strong & enjoyable run.


Thursday: 90' very enjoyable run in perfect weather (finally!): 13.2 miles with 6 miles right on marathon pace & remainder at easy pace.


Friday: 3,000 yard endurance swim in the early morning followed by an easy 40' recovery run with some strides.  Feeling the effects of the taper now!


Saturday: 3 hour solid ride with 4 mile brick run. Still having power meter hub issues so bad data. Gotta get this solved ASAP with Ironman only 2 weeks away!!


Sunday: 2 hour steady effort ride on one of my favorite routes followed by another 4 mile brick run.  Feeling good out there!

Totals for the week:


Training duration: 12:29
Time spent at or above FTP on the bike: Power meter issues so no accurate data for this metric this week, but probably somewhere around 60'
Time spent at or below lactate threshold pace on the run: 34'
Avg bike intensity factor (% of FTP): Power meter issues so no accurate data for this metric this week
Mileage: 154 miles (Swim: 9.6K, Bike: 140 miles, Run: 34 miles)
Training Stress Score (TSS): ~935 (estimate since power meter was on the fritz)
Chronic Training Load (CTL): 144.7 (only down 3 TSS/day since last week=not much of a taper yet!)
Training Stress Balance (TSB): -5.5 (up 7 TSS pts from last week)
Weight: 168.0
Functional Threshold Power (FTP): 295
Vdot: 56


Performance Management Chart through week 10 of Ironman Prep Training:

Week 9 of Ironman Prep Training Phase - 08/16/2010 (3 WEEKS TO GO!)

The last week of training before the 3 week taper begins!  Man, do I need that taper...my body is starting to revolt a bit from the repetitive, high volume, high intensity training in the form of aches and pains that have the potential for blowing up into something that could shut me down.  I'm really focused on good recovery, nutrition and treating those little niggles as soon as they arise so I'm feeling 100% on race day.

Week 9 was a testing/race rehearsal week where I had one last opportunity to ensure I will be racing using the proper bike power baseline numbers and to also ensure I have everything dialed in for the actual race.  Unfortunately, I had a couple things get in the way of executing the week the way I wanted to (I'll get into that later) but overall I'm carrying a high level of confidence going into these last 3 weeks of training.

Here's the day-by-day view of the training I did for the week followed by a summary of the week's data:

Monday: 7 mile run with 3 x 1 mile at 5:55-6:00/mile pace. Legs still zapped from weekend rides. Then 3000 yard swim with total of 1200 yards of all-out sprinting. Good stuff!

Tuesday: 3300 meter swim in 50 minutes in the outdoor pool with 6 x 500 picking up the pace with each one to keep myself focused.

Wednesday: Supposed to do 2 x 20 minute functional power threshold test on the bike but Powertap computer took a dump during the test. Tom at CycleOpsPower is helping me get back up and running again before IMWI race simulation on Saturday.

Thursday: Last long run done: 2:30, 21 miles with 9 miles at goal IM pace and 12 miles faster than goal pace. Best news is nutrition seems dialed in.

Friday: Day off!  Packed and headed up to Madison for race simulation day tomorrow.  Got power again on my bike just in time.

Saturday: Up & at 'em for 120.4 miles of IMWI race simulation fun on the course. One last long day.  Start with a 2.4 mile swim in the Madison Open Water Swim race (non-wetsuit division) on the same swim course as IMWI, then 112 mile ride on IMWI bike course at race pace/effort, then transition to 6 mile run at goal race pace.  Bike and run went very well.  Swim was an embarrassment!  I think I got lost or something.

Sunday: Pushed Drew in the jogging stroller in the WTTW Kids Fun and Run 5K in downtown Chicago.  Nice easy jog as the legs didn't really want to do much of anything this morning.  Fun event for the family!

Totals for the week:
Training duration: 15:30
Time spent at or above FTP on the bike: 35'
Time spent at or below lactate threshold pace on the run: 32'
Avg bike intensity factor (% of FTP): .799
Mileage: 189 miles (Swim: 14.8K, Bike: 142 miles, Run: 37.4 miles)
Training Stress Score (TSS): 1034
Chronic Training Load (CTL): 146.4 (all time high)
Training Stress Balance (TSB): -12.2
Weight: 169.0
Functional Threshold Power (FTP): 295ish watts (wasn't able to test but basing this on recent rides)
Vdot: 56ish (again, based on recent run workouts)

Performance Management Chart through week 9 of Ironman Prep Training: