Thanks to everyone who supported our Miles for Smiles fundraiser that used our selfish activity (Ironman training) as an excuse to raise money. Our group of eight triathletes met its goal of raising $20,000 to buy bicycles, helmets and locks for 150 kids who wouldn’t otherwise have bicycles. Next weekend is the big presentation day when we get to present the bikes to kids selected by Big Brothers/Big Sisters and give them a safety lesson.
Here’s my Ironman Wisconsin, 2008, race report (five pictures are attached).
Sunday, September 7 was my 56th birthday and my third Ironman. The weather was perfect.
IM = swim 2.4 miles, bike 112 miles, run 26.2 miles
2207 Number of people who started the race.
2082 Number of people who finished.
1585 My final overall rank.
64 Number of people older than me in the race (58 men and 6 women).
35 / 65 My rank in my age group (more than half of the group was 55 or 56).
14 hrs & 21 min My time (25 minutes faster than last year).
Simply put, this is an amazing event and I’m both humbled and proud just to be able to participate. Ironman training and racing is a life-changing and life-affirming activity. It’s impossible to imagine doing it without help. That helper is sometimes referred to as one’s Iron Sherpa. I’m fortunate enough to have an Iron Sherpa extraordinaire, my amazing wife, Sue, who I can’t thank enough.
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I only had one advantage, one small window of opportunity to catch them, and I was going to make it count. After all it was just one of those perfect days when the sun was warm without scorching the skin, the breeze was pushing softly against my sweaty body like a gentle caress, and the bike, Oh my God, did the bike feel fast. I was at about mile 42 (or about 30 miles from home) when the four girls I know from the local Boulder women's bike team passed me on a gentle uphill. These young women were fit and buff...Boulder buff. Please let me explain. I really don't mean any disrespect to anyone from other parts of the world, but Boulder is different animal when it comes to endurance sports. We have world class athletes that train here including the Olympic women's marathon winner from Beijing, and the boys from Garmin Chipolte bike team. So when I say these young cyclist were Boulder buff, I mean they could easily be some of the best riders in their sport when compared to 99.9 percent of women of the twenty something age group. They passed me doing about 25-miles per hour while working together as a team. I knew this because I sped up to 25-miles an hour and I was now keeping even with them, but about a quarter of a mile behind. They had the advantage when it came to working together but I had one small glimmer of hope. I was riding a truly fast triathlon time trial bike with some wicked carbon Zipp race wheels. My main advantage stemmed from the fact the I knew that the country road we were now riding made a gentle sweeping uphill left turn followed by a gentle three mile downhill before it T-boned into the main North South route back home. I was in the foothills of the Rockies surrounded by rolling farms, horse properties on a road with no shoulder and no cars. I was riding with my fast and fit wife, but she was doing her last 100 miler before Ironman Wisconsin so I knew she wouldn't keep up with me. She needed to go slow and steady as she still had a much longer brick ahead of her today. I looked up, saw my competition, and in an heartbeat I decided to go for it. I would not only catch the bike team but pass them in true triathlon fashion...blow by them in my areo position without so much as a glance back in their direction. In the same manner they had just passed me. It seemed only fair. I had three miles to do it, on a gentle downhill with the wind in my face. I watched the Power Meter jump from 200 watts to 300 watts as I took a firm hold of the areo bars and began to pump my quads. "Grrrr, Grrrr, Grrrr," the bike growled back in rhythmic agreement as the rear carbon Zipp began to flex its muscle. There are very few sounds in the world that are more pleasing to me then the roar of a carbon wheel in full flight. "Grrrr, Grrrr, Grrrr," the bike hummed as my speed jumped to about 30 MPH. The wind began to whistle in my helmet as the road beneath my pumping legs became a blur of black tarmac. I crested the hill and noticed that the girls had split into two groups of two. I was rapidly catching up to the tail group, but just barely keeping pace with the front two. I didn't need to look to know that I was red lining my heart rate, the pounding in my ears told that true story. How long could I keep up this effort, I wondered as the sweat began to roll down my face? At 30 MPH, three miles goes by in just a matter of a few minutes. I remembered a story I read about Lance Armstrong. He knew he was ready to race the Tour De France when he could sustain 450 watts all the way up Alp d'Huez in training. If Lance could maintain 450 watts up the almost diabolical 14 kilometer incline to the top of the French mountain, I could hold 300 watts for three miles. "Grrrr, Grrrr, Grrrr," the bike growled in approval as I watched the trailing two girls get closer and closer. It's a funny thing getting old. Sometimes the most important races are the ones that only you know about. Because it's not like I'll ever compete in the Olympics at anything other than curling at my age. No, by far the small victories are the ones that mean the most. And at this moment in time, all I wanted to do was pass the two girls just ahead of me. I pushed the pace even harder. My heart felt like it was about to jump out of chest. Sweat was pouring into my eyes. I squinted and watched the power meter painfully climb to about 350 watts. And then in a blink on an eye I shot past the girls like they were standing still. "Grrrr, Grrrr, Grrrr," the wheels growled in satisfaction. "Ahhhhhh," I silently screamed as my quads felt like they were about to melt down. I peered ahead and I could now see the intersection. I had only about a mile left to pass the first two riders. Ignoring the pain in my legs I pushed even harder against the clips on my toes. The speed slowly but surely increased to about 37 MPH while the power meter edged toward 400 watts. At this point I was out of gears. I was in my highest gear pushing my legs, the pace, and the bike as hard as I could. I looked ahead and began to make out both the stop sign and calves of the two women riders ahead of me. Both were made of steel. It was going to be very close as to who reached the intersection first. The funny thing is that if I image myself looking down at the "race" from a helicopter, you would see two very fit and very fast women being chased down by a very sweaty, hairy legged, and somewhat biggish guy on a bike about two pay grades above his skill level. But to me, at that very moment, in that very instant, I was Lance racing the final and most important time trial of my entire life. "Grrrr, Grrrr, Grrrr," the bike growled in a frenzy of speed and adrenaline. And just like Lance, in a the final moment of pain and fury, I roared past the girls and hit my brakes hard so as to not fly into the intersection and past the stop sign. I made the turn, slowed to catch my breath, wait for my wife, wait for my legs to fall off, and wait my heart to explode. In the meantime the girls on the bike team grouped up again and rode by me chatting away as if nothing significant had happened. And really noting significant had happened. They were still much faster than I ever was, or would be. The sun was still shinning, the birds were still singing, and I was still about 27 miles from home and now completely blown. But for about ten brief magic minutes, I was Lance, and my Swiss made BMC Time Machine was eating up miles the way the designers had intended it to do. But more importantly, at the age when a lot of my friends have slowed down and switched to golf, or the occasional leisurely jog, or gentle game of tennis, I was able to match and even beat some of the youngest and best in the sport. I guess what I'm saying is that at 45 years of age I'm blessed to have the good health and fortune to be able to go on long bike rides with my beautiful wife and still be able to feel the raw energy and strength of youth. To feel the air rush through my lungs, to feel the blood pump through my heart, and to feel the goose bumps on my skin as the adrenaline rushes to my muscles. I am truly blessed and lucky to be able to do all that plus sustain a significant amount of power output and not die, or cough myself to death after the effort. FYI: In fact I was able to ride the 27-miles back home in relative comfort, and enjoyed what turned out to be a glorious summer day in Colorado. Not bad for an old guy who today jumps into the 45 to 50 age group with both feet. "Grrrr, Grrrr, Grrrr," the wheels growled in satisfaction. Post Script: I don't mean any disrespect to all of you who love to play golf, tennis, or jog, or even go on long walks around the neighborhood. I'm sure I'll be doing a lot of that myself...just not quite yet. On a another note, I'm now two thirds of the way to my B-Fit B-Day Challenge. I've got the bike and run done (I ran five miles this morning) and now it is just a matter of swimming 4-miles (old school) in the next two days. It looks like I'll be going for bronze this year. The good news is that just means that I can go for silver and/or gold next year. The team has voted and by an huge landslide you wanted the B-Fit B-Day Challenge formula modified. First off…how in the world do you all (who blog regularly) find the time to blog!?!?! I’d love to create a history of what I do, and maybe share some wisdom (a very small amount at that); however with a full time job, a wife and four beautiful kids…I’m tapped out! We all have the same 24 hour day, but some of you must be putting in 28 hours into one 24 hour period! Maybe you can blog about how you do it? Who knows…there probably already is a blog about that!!! This is the third addition of the Everymantri Endurance Buzzreport; a brief and interesting round-up of all the news that's youneed to start your week. To make it even easier for you to get your Monday morning Endurance Buzz on with your cup of java or bottle of Gatorade just subscribe to this RSS feed (by clicking on the RSS image below) and you'll get the last endurance news every time you go online. E-Buzz Click HERE to read how regular running slows down aging Click HERE to read how Olympians get their fuel Click HERE to view the official Olympic Sap-o-Meter Click HERE to read three myths and one truth about running Training Buzz Click HERE to watch how Hunter Kemper and his folks got ready for Beijing Click HERE to watch how speed walking can be bad for your health Offbeat Buzz Click HERE to read the 10 lessons learned from being an Ironman wife Click HERE to read how body size can be misleading...for health Click HERE to see what happens when you try to lift too much in Beijiong (warning not for the squeamish) Inspirational Buzz to get you through the week Click HERE to watch the world's hardest Iron distance race Click HERE to to read about the world's hardest Iron distance race Ironman Wisconsin (North American Sports race organaizer) EveryMan Rating: 1 Brewskis Rating Scale (based on the amount of beer needed after race) The Race: This race (over the past three years), unlike any other North American Ironman in recent history, has been defined by the weather. 2005 --- So hot that you could fry an egg on your disk wheel, and so humid that you could poach the egg simple by standing over it and wiping your brow. 2006 --- So cold that for the first and only time in Ironman history the Coke provided on the run was actually cold, and so rainy that the aid station volunteers did not need to fill up the water cups, but just let mother nature fill them from the great water hose in the sky. 2007 --- Pretty near perfect conditions except that the clouds did block out the gentle and warm sun in the mid afternoon for a few fleeting minutes. 2008 --- ? You'll have to take this review with a grain of salt as I raced IMMOO it in 2007 and my experience was most certainly and all together different from those who raced in 2005 and/or 2006. In any Ironman race the weather is always the silent and often critical variable that either makes or breaks a race. For me in 2007 the weather Gods smiled and I swam in a dead calm lake, biked under a gentle sun, and ran with the aid of fluffy cloud cover. It just doesn't get much better and you can read my race report HERE and HERE. The Racers: Let's face facts. On the whole when it comes to IM race weekend we Ironman racers tend to be a nervous, selfish, self-absorbed, worried, tense, gitty, confused, slap-happy, eager, crabby, panicked, terrified, and about a hundred other emotions that can drive your average hotel concierge bonkers. What makes IMMOO such a great race can be summed up in two words: the "Volunteers" and the "Locals". It is the volunteers and the locals that make this race so special. Unlike any other Ironman race that I've done, it is these folks that will bring the smile to your face when you arrive in Madison. The fine people of Madison really treasure this race and it shows. It shows in the TDF like gauntlet of fans that line streets in Verona between the first and second bike loop. It shows in the thousands of spectators that crowd the streets near the capital building as you exit the transition area. It shows in the thousands of students that get drunk in the racers honor as you run through the University area of Madison. But mainly it shows in the hundreds of volunteers and locals that never cease to smile from the moment that you register to the moment that you cross the finish line. This is a race that's much loved by the locals and so by association are the racers. This is especially important when you are having a bad moment or two as you will certainly have before, during, or perhaps after the race. Two-loop swim in Lake Monona in downtown Madison. For me the Swim was by far the worst part of the race. Not because: - The swim was cold: It wasn't, the water was near perfect for a wetsuit swim. - The swim was rough: It wasn't, the water was glass-like calm and very easy to sight the big buoys. - The swim was confusing: It wasn't, the course is two big and lazy loops that I could swim in my sleep. No, the real problem with the swim is that it is perhaps too easy. Here's a fun fact that you may not know. The average IM swim is about 1:20 to 1:25 in duration. So if you happen to swim the 2.4 miles in about an hour and twenty minutes you are right in the heart of the biggest IM bell swim curve. This means that you have the most athletes around you trying to get to the exit of the swim. In fact you, and several hundred others, are one big rat moving down the stomach of the snake toward the end of the swim. For me this meant that I was was unable to get one clean swim stroke during the entire swim. Some of you may think that I'm exaggerating a wee bit here, but I'm not. Everywhere I tried to swim I hit somebody or somebody hit me. I could never get into a comfortable swim rhythm, and I paid the price by having my slowest IM swim of my career. But that's not what cost this race a perfect No-Brewski rating. What cost the race the perfect score were the hundreds of "athletes" who cut the corners and the fact that the race officials did nothing about it. I know that it may seem reasonable to cut the inside of buoy when you are with hundreds of other athletes heading for the same corner, but when you do this seven times at seven buoys (the first time by a few feet until you are cutting buoy corners by yards) you shorten the swim from 2.4 miles to 2.0 miles. And that's cheating plain and simple and a DNF no matter if, how, or when you cross the finish line. More importantly, in my book, when the race organizers look the other way when hundreds of athletes cheat, the cost is a perfect Everyman No-Brewski rating for the race. Unlike any other race I know of IMMOO is held in and around the Monona Terrace Community and Convention Center in Madison. This means that transition (the changing area at least) is inside a carpeted and air-conditioned building while the bikes are waiting for you in the outdoor parking garage. Monona Terrace was designed by Frank Loyd and it is pretty spectacular (at least as convention centers go). Because of the unique design of the convention center you get to run up and bike down these large spiral parking ramps coming and going in and out of transition. You also get to change in the cooled and carpeted rooms of the convention center with comfy chairs and plenty of transitions volunteers, snacks, and drinks. I saw more than my fair share of athletes who were having a hard time leaving the cool confines of T2 for a late afternoon marathon. The Bike: Image for a second a giant lollipop. There is of course the stick and the round sugary part that you lick. That's pretty much what the IMMOO bike course looks like. You fly down the spiral parking ramp out of transition and head out to the town and hills of Verona. Once you get to Verona you bike around two big and hilly loops(the sugary part of the lollipop) and head straight (the stick) back into downtown Madison. Out of all of the long triathlons I've done this is probably the one that is most suited for a regular road bike. The only part where you really get the benefit of the areo bars are on the straights heading to and from Verona. The loops around Verona are wildly hilly and you are rarely ever in the areo bars as you are either climbing, or turning, or descending too fast around corners to be in the classic areo position. What makes the hills around Verona challenging is that they are these small choppy little pain-in-the-ass bumps with an attitude that never really allow you to get into climbing mode or descending mode. You are just constantly, climbing, cresting and descending, and that's a hard way to spend 112 miles. On the positive side the countryside is spectacular with diary farms, forest, fields and best rural scenery that Midwest America has to offer. Plus, the crowds in Verona are massive and they almost make taking on the piss ant hills worth the effort. As I get to be an old hand at these races I'm really starting to hate the typical Ironman marathon course. Unlike a big city marathon like Chicago, Boston, or New York, the IM marathon is always bit too loopy for me. I like to run through a city and start and end in two different locations. But for obvious reason an IM marathon always starts and ends in the same place, and has you making multiple loops around, through and in town. The IMMOO course is two big loops through Madison. You get to run on almost every running surface know to mankind and that includes, cement, concrete, dirt, railroad tracks, streets, paths, sidewalks, and even AstroTurf as you run through the University of Wisconsin stadium. There's one big steep hill (that everybody walks) one big lake (that everybody loves) and one big capitol building(that signifies that you are at either the beginning, middle, or end or you run). Do you want the good news or the bad news first? I'll start with the good news. The run is truly interesting with plenty of points of interest to look at, and massive crowds that gather at both ends of the two loops. The bad news has to do with those little mileage signs. Perhaps this is only me, but I hate seeing that I'm either on mile 3 or 13. This is hugely demotivating for me on the first loop when I'm just on mile two and signs starkly reminds me that I have 11 more miles to go before I'm even at the halfway point of the marathon. The Race Expo: The Race Expo is right in front of the imposing capital building between the Capital and the Convention Center as well as inside the Convention center. It features the same old Schwag that you can also buy inside convention center at the IM store. If I were you I would skip the expo and head to the farmer's market around the Capitol building on Saturday afternoon. Unless you are really a hardcore triathlete and you really need to discuss the subtle virtues of carbon wheels with the Zipp rep., your time might be better spent tasting the subtle virtues of the local homemade Amish chocolate chip cookies at the farmer's market. FYINTKS (For Your Information Need To Know Secrets): - Get to the start of the race early and into the water ASAP. The timing mats are set-up under a big black arch that you must cross before you get into the water. The area for doing this is about 4 feet wide and when I raced there were still several hundred athletes trying to squeeze through the arch and get into the water the as the gun sounded. Perhaps that's why so many of them felt the need to cut swim corners. - This is one race that you don't need a tri bike. A road bike with clip on areo bars may be a better bet in the long run as you'll spend less energy climbing the short but steep hills of Verona. The gearing on a tri bike is just too tall (think too hard to pedal up steep hills in your smallest gear) for all but the most talented and hardcore triathletes/cyclist. - Be sure to get your finisher's photo...especially if you finish at night. The finish of the race is right in front of the blazing Capital building, and this makes for an incredible photo of you crossing the line with the Capital ablaze in light in the background. - Don't kill yourself on the bike. This is one of the harder bike courses and it is certainly all too easy to leave it all out on the bike course. The smart race strategy with the race is to build into it and leave plenty of power and energy for marathon. - Don't dilly dally in T2. I know that it may seems cruel and unusual punishment to leave the cool/warm confines of the convention center but get out on the run ASAP because transition count. - Finally, check and recheck the weather for your race day. Even if you think it may be a perfect day bring all of your cold and hot weather stuff with you to Madison. I'd be willing to bet that I got lucky and the weather will always be the silent and often critical variable that will either make or break your IMMOO race. Staring today, I'm introducing an exciting new feature on EverymanTri. I know that many of you just don't have the time (what with all of the swimming, cycling and running your are doing all of the time) to search out and find the most interesting stories, news, articles, athletes, professionals, studies and even videos that help define the world of endurance sports. So starting today and (every Monday morning) I'm doing it for you. Introducing the Everymantri Endurance Buzz report; a brief and interesting round-up of all the news that's you need to start your week. Plus, as an free bonus I've partnered with a great local coach, professional triathlete, and race director to bring you a weekly workout that's perfect for the Newbie triathlete all the way to the seasoned age-grouper racers. I want to thank Lance Pantigutti of Without Limits Productions for these great weekly workout that will have you race ready in no time. To make it even easier for you to get your Monday morning Endurance Buzz on with your cup of java or bottle of Gatorade you can either: a) Join the hundreds of other Everymantri junkies and subscribe to this blogs feed by clicking on the RSS feed symbol below or: b) Sign-up to get the Endurance Buzz emailed to you along with the rest of the weeks new posts: Please note that: The email addresses that are submitted by you are kept strictly private. I do NOT sell lists of names. I do NOT use these names for solicitations. I will email you the the Endurance Buzz however If you do not wish to receive it, the email will allow you to "unsubscribe" from and future Endurance Buzz. I just thought that important to note as you take online privacy seriously, and so do I. It's my way of sustaining your trust in me and in this blog. Everymantri Endurance Buzz #1 August 4, 2008 E-Buzz Click HERE to read if Presidential Hopeful Barack Obama is too fit to be President? Click HERE to read if 30 is the new 49 for Olympians? Click HERE to read and view how the New York City Policy deal pesky bike protesters. Click HERE to read how recent triathlon race deaths have researchers seeking illusive answers. Training Buzz Click HERE to read how cycling can improve your running. The catch: you just need to bike across America to get the full benefit. Click HERE to read if training and racing success is about doing the minimum? Click HERE to read about the most common raining mistakes that endurance athletes keep making. Offbeat Buzz Click HERE to read why groping a cyclist is a sure way to end up in jail...especially if that cyclist has biked across America. Click HERE to read why women need to exercise at least 270 minutes a week to get and stay fit. Let's face it gang we knew this all along. Click HERE to see what a masters class from hell might look like in China. Inspirational Buzz to get you through the week Click HERE to see some truly magnificent photos from the Tour De France. And HERE for a couple more great pics. Click HERE to watch a a great video to help get you through your training week. *Please do me a favor and let me know in the comments section below if you like this new feature and format. Do you find it useful and an interesting way to start your work week? If you have an interesting endurance news story, video, or news tip send me the link (romanmicaatgmaildotcom) and I'll enter you in a new give-away I'll be promoting this coming week. Thanks! Everyman Weekly Workout for the Week of August 4, 2008 Embarrassingly Slow! Swim V02max swim Main Set: Sunday: Long Run: 1 hr all Zone 2 (Focus on stay light on your feet, upright running position) If you’ve been living under a rock, there is this technology called Twitter, you can read more about it on Texafornia’s blog at www.zentriathlon.com. Now Twitterers are mostly self absorbed, self promoting, insecure, procrastinating, self indulgent or just plain self unaware. Hey I know this because I’m a Twitterer and I probably fall into many of these descriptions. We’re all Modern Jackasses, more on what that is in a future post. Editor's Note: Since the beginning of the year dozens of athletes have taken on the B-Fit B-Day Challenge. |
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