Here's an email that I sent to family and friends after the Ironman Wisconsin on Sept 11...
First of all, I want to thank you for providing me continued support and inspiration throughout my training and leading up to and performing the race. For those not aware, last Sunday, I competed in the Ironman Wisconsin for the 2nd time. I've received quite a few calls, emails, texts from fam & friends who want to know more about the race, and out of strict compliance with my cousin Anna's expectations of "a detailed account of your race; highlighting your emotions, thought process, and the color of your running shoes" I thought I would forward my response to everyone else who provided inspiration during the journey. I'm also using this email to remind me of things that went well and things that I need to change for the next race (details below).
Leading up to the race, I think I was the only one in the country who was rooting for the NFL lockout to delay the start of the season by a weekend so I wouldn't miss the action. Unfortunately this was not to be. The training pretty much occurs in phases that started a full 12 months ago with increasing time and focus that having to be recommitted starting in January, March, May, then finally tapering off starting 3 weeks pre-race. Throughout the year, I've received so much support from so many people who may not fully agree with why I spend so much time on this thing and don't see the justification of it. Truth be told I certainly question whether or not it’s justified as well. The sacrifice is certainly part of it and what makes it a such a difficult feat because it not only is my burden but also puts a lot of strain on others who I can't spend time or energy on because I'm sometimes too wrapped up in training. Yes, the beer drinking stopped long ago and I've had to turn down many an invite from Jon Cone to join in poker night or a grabbing a beer after work.
Fortunately I was able to duck out of work on Friday so Melissa and I go up to Madison, check in and sit down for a nice dinner with my dad and Doris where I enjoyed a good salt/carb load of pickles/pretzels, Chipotle burrito, and pork sandwhich.
Saturday was getting a brief work-out in on the course, getting the bike checked-in, and heading to breakfast with Melissa, Marc, Teresa & Isabel (Mel's bro-in law & sis & niece), Dad & Doris and then meeting up with Lynn (Mel's mom) and Uncle Danny & Aunt Jean (this was the cheering section for the weekend along with racing friend Bob Nierzwicki who traveled up to Madison after completing his own half-Ironman as he prepares for Ironman Florida in Nov.)
Sat night the cheering section shared in the carb-loading at a nice Italian joint downtown Madison. The early Sunday start meant dinner reservations for 4pm, which worked out quite nicely as the travelers were hungry and others only had late breakfast and forgone lunch. Sat night bedtime at 9:30 for 4am wake-up on race day.
The morning was beautiful, very light wind, not a cloud in the sky (which made the day tough later on). Walking up to start line could tell there were a lot more people at this race than first time. 2500 people started race, 92% finished (about 2250). I was able to see my cheering section who were all sporting "Team Lingor" shirts with their Superfan checklist on the back, which before the race almost brought tears to my eyes. It's amazing feeling to have that kind of support. Walking into the water in a space of 100meter wide start line with 2500 of your closest friends treading water jockeying for a start spot and thinking about exercising for the next 10 or so hours is a tad bit unnerving. Thoughts at this time are pretty much that 1) this is awesome/uplifting/scary as hell/you might get trampled by hundreds of people swimming over top of you, and again back to no matter what happens, it won't benefit you to panic so roll with any challenges.
You seed yourself at the start by asking those around you what they expect to swim. I was about row 3 or 4 from the front with about 30-40 rows of people behind me so you don't exaggerate your swim expectation or you could be the recipient of many a hand or fist to the face followed by a heal as the person goes around you. The cannon fires and thousands of salmon start jumping upriver. I've never seen it but I would imagine it looks something like that with all the turbulence of arms and legs flying.
I never really felt a good rhythm on the swim. There were constantly elbows and feet impeding any sort of a good stroke. There isn't a whole lot you can do to prepare for this in training, you just have to experience it in a race, but it does give you something to think about rather than swimming for 2.4 miles. I never felt the field got strung out and did take a heel to the goggles and had to pause for a second to ensure the goggles didn't fall off and fortunately was able to continue on without much of a problem. I came out of the water in 1:03:14 which I was really pleased with as I never felt a rhythm and was largely trying to conserve energy. The common saying is Ironman swim is that you can't win the race on the swim, but you can certainly lose it.
Getting out of the water was a huge rush because a) I survived and b) thousands of people are a couple feet away lining the course screaming for you. As you exit the water you come across about 40 strippers who are there to get you next to naked. It's not as fun as it sounds; they merely strip your wetsuit off, pick you up off the ground and push you off with 138 miles to go. This is an extremely nice luxury at the Ironman races because it’s tough to peel that thing off in short order by yourself. You make as quick of a change as you can to your biking stuff and then there are the sunscreen people who lather you from head to toe in sunblock (another nice luxury)-- 5 seconds is a small price to pay for avoidance of total body sunburn--especially on a newly bald head.
Starting the bike I just wanted to get out at a good pace and broke down the race into 4 segments of about 30miles each. I have a friend (Matt Ancona) who’s also sponsored by Get A Grip with me and he's a better biker than me and knows the course very well. I was hoping to stay ahead of him until 14-15 miles and then float behind him just following his lead on when to break and where to position the bike on the curves because every 1/2 to 2 miles was a different turn and somewhat difficult course if your not completely familiar with it. Well he zoomed by me at mile 14.5 and so I stuck him in my sites for the rest of the 112 miles as best I could. I thought if I focused on him I might forget the 5 hours my butt would be glued to that bike seatover the next 100+ miles. Unfortunately I shifted wrong in a couple spots and dropped my chain so I had to stop to reset it. Once this cost me about 30 seconds, the second time cost about 1:30; what’s worse is that I still wanted to stay somewhat close to Matt and had to use up considerable energy to catch back up with him and really burned my quads on the hills trying to do so. Other than the 2 dropped chains, everything was going according to plan thus far.
The Madison course is the maybe 2nd most challenging of the ironman courses but the spectator support is fantastic. The course was lined with many fans, signs and even a stretch that had red plastic plates on a stick stuck in the ground that went on for a good half mile. In the middle each had a different picture or name, a US flag, 9/11/01 and “We will never forget.” on it. As I passed this the first time the emotions overtook me; it goes without saying any pain I was feeling paled in comparison to what those people went through.
The areas with the biggest hills were the most enjoyable parts. These spots were lined with nutjobs wearing loinclothes, kilts, cheerleading outfits, Viking suits, speedos and making noise with bagpipes, airhorns, cowbells, kazoos, drums, a triangle, and even a person bagging a wooden spoon on a pot. Going up the hill felt like you were in the middle of the Tour de France as they narrowed in on the cyclists and I had to yell twice at them to ask them to move as I was trying to go around a couple people. Coming back into town my speedometer broke so I couldn't tell how fast i was going but had a nice tailwind to push me in. I was just looking forward to getting off the bike and trying to get my mind right for the impending marathon. At about mile 105, I was trying to stretch a little on my bike by talking my feet out of the pedals, the 2 times i tried it my hamstrings cramped and I thought it probably is not a good idea to start the cramping business now so I just shook my legs out and peddled on. Somewhere along the line some guy shouted my position in the race and I thought back to every time spectators do this they are almost always wrong and I didn't believe him. Came to find out later he was right.
Coming up the spiral to exit the bike was a fantastic feeling because I was in a great position and had my strongest portion of the race still to come. Unfortunately as I would soon realize, my dead legs would not keep pace out on the marathon course. I got my shoes on, more sunscreen on the noggin and was out on the course after passing two more people in the transition. My mental approach this time was the same as the first time I did the ironman. I thought about all the people in my life who've given me inspiration and/or pushed me further to be better than I am. That's where all of you fit in. I wrote your names on my arms and each mile I would think of a new person or two and ran that mile thinking of how you inspired me. It worked great before and again helped me to focus on moving forward and not allowing me to give up. I started out the first 3 miles holding myself back and I was exactly where I wanted to be. Unfortunately at about mile 4 or 5 my pace slowed, the arms went numb and I couldn't start pushing yet as I knew it would beat me up to much for the later portions of the run. The first half of the run was actually very quiet. The last race I did here was lined with fans all over the place. This time it was just my footsteps and people working in their yards or college kids that barely noticed a race might be going on. I realized that this was largely because I was a half hour earlier than the first race and most of the spectators and runners were still out on the bike course.
After it came time for me to start pushing, at mile 6, 12, and 18, I just didn't have anything more to give and I was just trying to maintain the same 7:30 pace which became an 8:15 pace with a few 8:30 miles mixed in there. I was disappointed because it was here that I wanted to be running at 7 minute pace rather than the 8:30 miles I was stringing together. Somewhere at mile 4 or 5, I thought this would be the last triathlon I would do in a long time if ever another one and didn't see much of a point of continuing on. It was a beating I've only taken a few times before. I was struggling to move on but thought at about mile 18 that I was NOT going to stop or walk at all and going to push through. This took a quick turn as 20 seconds later I found myself a standstill massaging out a softball-sized cramp out of my hamstring. From there on, every time I would try to pick up the pace, my hands and arms had increased tingling and the cramping returned. I relinquished myself to maintaining a slower constant pace at the risk of cramping and having to stop and not be able to get a cramp out. I was pleased with my position in the race and thought it better to play it safe instead of really blowing up. Now I was forced to walk through each aid station (about 30 seconds) and run from one station to the next (about 7:30 min). This was exactly what I did not want to do but needed it to get more electrolytes in and I secretely wanted any excuse to be able to walk. The aid stations had Gatorade, sugar gels, oranges, bananas, grapes, cola and chicken broth. I took about whatever I could carry and consume within the 30seconds so I could start running again before the nausea would set in. I know this makes you want to go out and try this doesn't it.
In hindsight I should have taken the broth as it has the highest sodium content and might have been the most helpful with the cramping but the thought of consuming something like that at that point was less than appetizing.
Each step in the race I was looking forward to the next point I would get to see my family and cheer section--they were absolutely amazing--next to that I was looking forward to the mile stretch along the lake that was shaded and has the breeze coming off the lack rather than the hot sun on the pavement in the city.
As the final miles approached I tried to pick up the pace but still was caught by the numbness and cramping. All I could think about was how happy I was to not be the person I was lapping who still had 13 miles more to go than I did--my sense of apathy and admiration for my fellow competitor apparently went out the window long before this point. I was passed at mile 24 by 2 people who I tried to match but couldn't pick up the pace any more than the lackluster progress I was making.
As I rounding the corner to get back onto State Street for the final time I fixed my eyes on the capitol looming in front of me, thinking who the hell decided it a good idea to put the finish on far side of the capitol. One final aid station that I planned to run though then saw the guy who passed me and 2nd guessed myself that I need the electrolytes now for the final quarter mile (I was chicken shit at this point apparently as I got my nutrients rather than taking the risk of going after a higher finish spot). Going around the capitol I was able to pick up the pace a little and I saw the finish line in sight. I ran as fast as I could and once I crossed thought, "Is this it? Can I really stop now?" Kind of anticlimactic thoughts to end one of the best races of my life.
You can see the finish here in video if you type in my bib number 1226.
After crossing the finish line I was helped by a couple of volunteers, laid on the ground for a bit hoping to get an IV & knew what I had to say to get it but then felt guilty that maybe coming behind me soon would be people who really really needed an IV and I didn't want to overtax the med tent workers. I was able to make it to my feet and then see the cheer squad, I couldn't believe it when they told me I got 20th overall. I never imagined that. I was hoping for 50th and maybe 30th if I had a perfect day but I had a good/very good day and got 20th. I finished the marathon in just shy of 3hr 30 min (was disappointed with that) and total time of 9:47:39.
I went to get an amazing massage and then took a bath in the lake before going out for dinner. I expected my appetite to be ravenous but I couldn't handle anything. I had maybe 3 sips of my stout and 2 bites or so of my burger but couldn't handle anything substantial. That night I did have a bit of gelato later on and made up for it the next day by tackling a full pound of ice cream cone for lunch. The lady at the ice cream shop tried to talk me out of getting "The Triple". She actually told me twice that I didn't want that much. I confidently reassured her "Yes I do."
Given my age group finish (2nd) I qualified for for the World Championships in Hawaii and thought this was still my last triathlon for a while. Unfortunately you have to claim your spot the day after the race or they give it to someone else. Also unfotunately I forgot to turn off my alarm clock after going to be Sunday night just after midnight so I woke up at 4am on Monday just like on Sunday. With the Hawaii thoughts on my mind, I couldn't fall back to sleep and ended up going to sit in the hottub with my dad. I told him that I was going to pass on the Hawaii spot and focus my time and energies on other things. Well, after having breakfast with my family, I was convinced to reconsider and was signed up by 10am that morning.
Overall, I’m very pleased with the place, somewhat pleased with my overall time, but disappointed I got distracted in the race by the pain and that I backed down from the challenge in the last 2miles when those 2 guys went around me. This needs to improve before next year. My thoughts in all of training this year is that “Pain does not have to mean suffering.” In that I mean that just because you are in pain, you can expect it, acknowledge it, and live with it. I did that for a portion of the race but think I forgot that in the latter stages.
The adjustment after the triathlon was a rough one. Monday night on the way home I got word that one of my prenatal patients came to the hospital in labor. Going to sleep Monday night completely exhausted I knew in a blink I could be up for most of the night at the hospital. Thank God for Charlie Player, my resident buddy who was on call at the hospital. Charlie cared for my pt and gave me updates about the pt throughout the night. Before going to bed, I told Charlie I needed 10 minutes notice and I would be there. He called once at 1:30 to give an update, and then at 4am he called and said "You got 10 minutes!" and promptly hung up. I jump out of bed, threw my clothes on, got downstairs to my bike and realized I had the wrong key to my bikelock. Melissa was going to work in 2 hours so I took off in a run for the hospital (only live about 1/2 mile from the hospital). I made it as far as the parking garage door before I realized 1) I had just done an ironman and couldn't keep this up for a half mile, 2) if I did make it there I would be out of breath and that might not look too good to the pt and then realized 3) Charlie did say 10 minutes so if I did take Mel's truck I could get back in time for her to go to work. So I took the truck to the hospital as fast as I could; as I was walking towards the patient’s room, I could hear her screaming which reassured me she was very close but I certainly didn’t miss it. I glanced at my phone, Charlie called at 4:00, it was now 4:07. Charlie gave me a brief rundown of how she was doing. We did a brief reassessment and after another round of contractions, she started pushing. Baby delivered at 4:24. I was home at 5:30. Again, thank God for Charlie Player! He hung in with that lady the entire night, she had no epidural which makes the process all the more difficult for him, but he was completely spot on when he called and said you gotta get here now. It didn't hit me until I got back in bed at home for that morning how awesome of what I just saw. There was new life born into my hands and I was that baby's doctor. That was the moment the exhaustion was truly worth it. I was so happy I was able to make it for my patient's birth. I had 2 prentals both due this week and I could have easily missed both of them last weekend if they came early. That day I was due back at the hospital at 8:30am and finished clinic that night at 7pm. The week has been a bit busy since I was able to have an easier schedule pre-race, which is what I asked for, so I can't complain. The other prenatal pt came in yesterday and I got to deliver her as well without much complication. It's just such a fascinating thing to be a part of the patient’s lives in a way that few people really get to experience. Your doctors really do appreciate they ways in which you let them into your life and how they get to become a part of your family.
So now is recovery day number 6. (I started this email on day 2 I think) On day 4 I was still feeling every bit of the bike, and still had a bit of the leg swelling. I'm certainly not recovered as I have a bit of lingering numbness in one of my toes, but I expect that to go away once the swelling subsides. I did go for a run this morning and felt much better than expected. I extended it from 8 miles as planned to 12 miles in efforts to get used to faster pacing that I'll need for the Milwaukee marathon I'm signed up for on Oct 2nd and also felt it might help shake out some of the soreness.
Before I go further I want to say that none of this would have been possible without the love and support of my family. Special thanks obviously to Melissa, who has given up many weekend brunches and has been woken up many an early morning to me going out to train. Although she reminds me of the great benefit she's received from my ravenous appetite during training that usually would be upwards of 5000 calories per day and enable her to try a single bite or two of 7 different items per meal which is how she prefers to have her meals.
Again, also a special thanks to the family and friends who were there giving up their NFL viewing weekend to watch a 17 hour endurance event that is exciting in its own right, but lacks the obvious opportunity for wagering, violence (although I did hear of 2 bike crashes and I was the recipient of a swift heel to my face by some lady--where else is that acceptable???), tail-gating, and beer drinking (I did hear my dad & Doris fortunately did stop off somewhere at a watering-hole on the run course). And thank you to all who received this email because it was you who kept me going through this race, given me inspiration in my life, and helped me achieve one of my life dreams in doing Ironman Hawaii next year. If you received this email, you were on my arm. There are others of course who were on my arm that I don't have email addresses for though.
I'm not sure of my strategy for approaching Ironman Kona. The elevation changes are just a touch less than the Wisconsin course but there are fewer hills, but taller and steeper. It will obviously be hotter and much higher humidity, and likely wind coming off the ocean. You can't use wetsuits for the swim in Kona so I will have to learn to swim better without a wetsuit and learn to love cold water (one of my least favorite things in the world).
I have heard for interest from a few family and friends about going out to Hawaii during the race as part of vacation. I will be booking something on VRBO housing rentals. Fortunately Ironman Wisconsin is the first qualifier for this race so no one else is looking at hotels.. Unfortunately this will change in 3 weeks after this years Ironman Hawaii and hotels will likely book up fast. I know some family and friends are interested in going. If you are, let me know and I can pass along some good housing deals I've found. The race is Saturday, October 13, 2012. I'm hoping to try to work it to be out there a week before the race until a week after (Oct 5 or 6 until Oct 20).
Sorry this has gotten so long. And sorry for the odd insight into my thoughts; it’s not what you asked for but there it is. It has certainly gotten much longer than expected; I hope this fulfills my cousin Anna's expectations.
Thanks again for all the love and support.
Ryan
