Ironman 2.0 - revenge of the sith. This time, it's the second time
Taking the corner, turning on to Main Street in Verona. I don't need to fill up on water so I can fly through this aid station. It's an amazing feeling with the crowd cheering you on, it gives u a few extra mph. The day is going great. My goal was to average 18 - 18.5 mph and right now I'm at 19.3 with maybe 5 minutes of stop time. My heart rate is hovering around 145-150 on the flats and hitting 160 on the hills. That's about 15 bpm higher than its been in training but I feel really strong. In training I have been taking in food roughly every 45-50 minutes but the plan for today is to shorten that to every 20-25 mins on the bike to try to get as much nutrition in during the bike, so I have some stored up for the run. As far as you can store up nutrition during an ironman.
I'm not really sure when I made the decision to do another Ironman, but it started taking shape,Monday night after my 2011 Ironman. The goal for my first race was to finish, not having ever done a triathlon before. For this race my goal was to finish below 12 hours. In order to achieve that I went back and started to analyze the 2011 race. The first thing that I saw was that I had more than 20 min of stop time on the bike. Part of that was stopping to talk to friends and family so I knew I had some time to gain there just by not doing that. My race weight last time was around 210 lbs and by getting my weight down to around 190 lbs there would be time saving there as well. I could save time by being better positioned by the start of the swim and by the fact that the swim this time was a one loop instead of 2.
As far as the other parts open for improvements, technique and being more energy efficient was something that applied to all three categories. I set some goals for training for the summer of 2012, but the main thing was to get on Amazon and order books on training. After reading 10+ books things started to crystallize, the basic principles are pretty basic and the fact that there is a lot of filler in these books. Anyone interested can borrow the books, I have a lot of them. As far as the training goes I knew that tempo and sprint workouts was going to be a key to pushing my limits higher and find out that I could push me further than I thought was possible.
Training was sparse in the fall with a lot of work taking priority and not until 2 weeks into 2013 did I start working out more regularly. Specific Ironman training was starting last week of march and before that I wanted to focus on strength training and specifically legs. Starting out with strength training and then slowly weaving in biking, running and swimming. After the first workouts you always wonder how you ever are going to be able to do the140.6. Biking - ass hurts after 20 mins. Running - I'm really happy if I can run for 15 min. Swimming - 50 yards of freestyle is all I can do before having to do back strokes.
For this race I picked a little more intense and distance wise longer program. Detailjer om programmet här. ------------
It took a while to get into the training, especially the long workouts. the first "long" swim was 1200 yards and it took forever. Hands cramping, running out of breath in general. After a few weeks though you get used to it and the weeks just fly by. The rhythm?????????? I got into was to every Monday night write down the workouts for the coming week. Monday was my day of from working out. Tuesday and Wednesday morning, Friday night and Saturday night was swimming. Bike - Tuesday night, Thursday, Friday and Saturday morning. Running - Wednesday and Thursday night, and Sunday nights. All the long workouts during the weekend. Tempo and speed work during the week. One brick workout per week alternating Thursdays and Saturdays. --- pic of example of weekly workout. Take from phone. --------
Towards the end I was up to 6.5 hour bike workouts and 3h runs. I tried to get those going as early as possible in order to not use up the whole day. The weather was good all summer and I don't think I had a single workout in the rain. I only had one really bad workout. A 5.5h bike, that did start out very good the first 3h, then I stopped at a gas station and bought some thing to drink and eat. Problem was I ate and drank way to much. First 3h 19.9mph average. Last 2.5h 15 mph average. But this was great though because this is where I figured out that I got to take in fluids and food in small doses and more consistently. During that bike ride I didn't eat at all the first 3h. I would not want to have that workout undone. The shitty workouts is when you learn what not to do.
And then all of a sudden I'm there, the last long workouts are done and its time to start tapering. Where did all that time go? The first week I feel kind of guilty for not doing the longer workouts I have gotten used to. The cool thing that happens the second week of taper is that my heart rate goes down about 10-15 bpm at the same effort levels and I feel like my legs filling up with power.
The last few days before the race I feel ready and just want it to start. Going from work and workouts filling the days to essentially doing nothing gnaws on me. Saturday afternoon I drop of the bike and the transition bags . Hang around for a while with friends, some are nervous and some not. Then of to dinner with the family and relatives. My mom and aunt have come over from Sweden for the race and Friday morning I got a call from my brother telling me he is flying over for the race bringing one of his kids. This is still a secret to my mom and aunt and I don't want to tell them before I get the call from my brother that they have landed in Chicago. I finally get the call, they had been delayed in London. I have to tell my mom and aunt 4 times before they believed me that they were coming in. They were going to take the bus from Chicago and arrive around 11 pm so I leave it up to my mom and aunt to let them in. I need to get some sleep before the race.
The alarm sounds at 4am, I got 7h of solid sleep and I didn't notice when they got in. I feel a little tired but definitely ready to go race. Make some breakfast, pack the last of my stuff. Double check that I have everything with me. By this time they are all awake and wish me luck as I leave for Monona Terrace shortly before 5.
Having done the Ironman before I know that time passes fast before the gun goes of at 7, so I try to get everything done s fast as possible to have some extra time in case something goes wrong. I drop he special needs bags off up at the square. Go put some food in the transition bags, fill up water on the bike and pump the tires. Next is body marking. There is a general nervousness in the air and I feed of it. So many hours of training and so much sacrifice between all the racers and it all comes down to this. It's something magic about it. I make my way to some friends that are part of the APG triathlon group for pictures. With about 35 minutes to go til race start I put on my wetsuit, this time in the correct way he first time. I get help sipping up and start moving down towards the lake. I need to find my family so I can give them my backpack, but that turns out to be easier said than done. I finally find one of them and its now 6.50 and a long line to get into the water. My plan was to be in the water at this time, but hey, if that was the only thing that went wrong, it's not to bad.
I get in the water with a few minutes to spare and make my way out towards the buoys , make it about halfway there with 2 minutes to go. Stop and relax and just kinda float around waiting for the start. The gun goes of and we are finally racing. I think back 3h to when my alarm went of and reflect on how fast that time flew by and where I would be 3h ahead.
The water is pretty choppy but I get into a good rhythm right away. I only did one open water swim training for the race and the conditions were similar then so I know what to expect. In training I have been breathing every three strokes but now I'm breathing every one just to one side and that works great with the choppy water. I wouldn't say that it's brutal out there in terms of people hitting you, I would say that it's somewhat inconsiderate, being hit 4-5-6 times by the same person. The swim down to the first turn feels like its taking forever. The field hasn't stretched out that far yet so I'm constantly jockeying for position. The back stretch feels faster, but towards the end of it I start getting hit on my calves and they immediately cramp up. This happens 5 or 6 times and its sets me back a bit. After the race I talked to some other racers and they had the same experience.
Last turn and I'm homeward bound. I look up once in a while to see where I'm at and all of a sudden there is the finish of the swim. I look at the timer and its at 1h 14m and change, about 10 minutes faster than my first Ironman. Running out of the water I see a friend I use to work with and high five him. Get help stripping the wetsuit off and start running up the helix. Running up the helix is loud! I'm amazed and very thankful to the crowd cheering us athletes on.
I take my time in transition, making sure that everything fits right and eat while sitting down. I see a lot of people rushing through and my plan is to take it easy in transition and take my time so I don't have to multitask on the bike and instead can focus on the task at hand???????. Running out to the bike I see my family and support group a level above. It's still really loud but I can hear my name through the noise. Gives me a boost! Mounting the bike, the race timer is at 1h 38m, could I really have taken 24 mins in transition? Turns out that was the time for the pros, my transition was 14+ minutes.
During all my training I have found that it takes me about 20 mins to get warmed up and ready to push on the bike. I use that knowledge here and start spinning easy, chatting to fellow racers and just taking in the moment, and its a very good feeling. I know that I am properly prepared and I feel my muscles getting warmed up and filled with energy. What I really like about the bike is that I still have energy enough to interact with athletes and spectators. It makes it a lot more fun and keeps you from thinking about the pain. It's a windy day but today it never feels like I have a head wind. I figured out in training that I raise my heart rate about the same sitting down going uphill, as I am standing up and powering up the hills. It's faster as well, I just got to focus on staying relaxed and let my body weight do most of the work.
After the second big hill on the back of the first loop Erin catches up with me at the top. We talk for a while. In training I have been using about a liter of water every hour. I can bring 3 liter on the bike so I figure I only have to fill up once but for some reason I'm using a little bit more today, maybe the fact that I'm eating more often. Despite this I feel cramps coming on about 80 miles into the bike. I stop a couple of times for enduralytes and that helps but I think the main thing is that I'm low on fluids. I can no longer power up the hills as I did the previously lap because then I would cramp up. I'm not going to let this defeat me and I'm determined to work through it. I can take the pain and I still feel strong. Taking in more water the cramps slowly go away and I'm on my way back on the feeder. I know that I should slow down and I do pull back in effort but I'm still moving at a good pace. Going up the helix is another great feeling, nothing left of the cramps from the previous hours.
Handing of my bike to the bike handlers I go into T2 still feeling strong and ready to run. This transition goes faster and I start running Just as I start running I see Steve an Angela that I saw when I got out of the water, and have a quick chat with them. Up on the square I see Dusty with Jayson and Erin's kids. I'm trying to ease into the run and it feels like I'm holding back but my first mile is still 7.45. I got to hold back. Next 3-4 miles are in the 8s and I start getting into my pace. Walking the aid stations and all the hills. My legs hurt, not cramps, just muscle pain. Now the mental game begins--------. 8 miles or so into the run I start chafing on the inside of my left arm. The next aidstation offers vaselin and i think - Great, I should use some of that, but I just keep running only to after having passed the aid station think - Yeah, Vaseline, that would have been great. My brain is starting to check out.
The first 13.1 miles - 1h 58m and I'm happy with that. The first half of the run I have done on goo and water. The second half I start eating some chips and chicken broth were available. Also the definition of a hill changes. It's now almost flat. Now there is no more energy left to chat with people. I start making deals with myself. Run to that point than walk to they point. Run to mile 19, walk 2 minutes and so on. With that I'm now doing miles in the high 10s low 11s. The last 7-8 miles are all mental, not sure if I have ever pushed myself this far The "failure is not a option" state sets in and the miles actually ticks buy fairly fast. As mentioned previously my goal was to finish below 12 hours, but with 3 miles to go its even hard to focus on that. I know what my marathon time is but I don't know what my total time is, I didn't check when I started my run. Taking the turn up on State Street for the last time the thought that comes into my mind is, - Do I only have the square left to run and then the finish chute? The day has gone by fast and is now just a blur. Right turn onto Main Street and ahead I see a friend and fellow triathlete, that today is working the special needs aid station, with a big smile on his face shouting my name. High five and I turn left onto the finish. I see the race timer at 11h 40m and some seconds. I have no way of describing what a kick this gives me. My time is better than I could have ever hoped for and I get a final boost of energy. Looking at my watch I'm doing 6m miles down the chute. Just writing this takes me back and gives me goose bumps. Crossing the line feels great! My friend Bob is a catcher and he helps me to some chocolate milk. I see Mark and April outside the fence and go talk to them for a while. Dirk who came in from Milwaukee to watch me race comes over and tells me the rest of my support team is on the other side so I make my way there. The pain is still there but now it really doesn't matter. I talk to them for about 20 minutes, take some pictures and then I need to go sit down. Bob gets me a heating blanket. I know I need to eat to eat something but I'm not really hungry. Erin finishes and I talk to her for a while. I then limp over to he food tent for some pizza and Coke. This helps and I start feeling better. I go get my backpack from my brother and then to get my bike and transition bags, take them to the car and pack them in. Hobble back to the finish line for some more food and to talk to people. There is so much energy in the air, you never want it to end. I sit down by some friends and talk, have to get up a couple of times for the ambulance passing through, happy that I'm not on it but moving up and down is painful!
Get a text from Jayson and Erin about going down to some place on Stage Street for late dinner and meet up with them. At the bar we meet up with Chad and Craig that are staying with Jayson and Erin for the race and that were racing as well. We talk about our race and to some people volunteering for the race. We make it back to the finish to watch the last athletes crossing the finish line at midnight. I go for more pizza and I get a whole box, enough for breakfast.
If you never have been down for the last hour of the Ironman I would recommend you do. It's a big party and to see the last finishers is inspiring. Midnight, last racers finish and we make our way back to our cars, and say our goodbyes and agree to meet up in the morning. Driving back home cranking Rammstein - ich tu dir weh (mix. Add info here. ), one of the songs that I listened to a lot training for this race. ------- link to playlist of ironman 2013 ----- I feel very happy with the day and my result and to be able to have shared this with my friends( racing) and family( supporting). ????????????
I get home around 1am and sleep does not come easy, I'm to wound up from the whole day,but feeling great! I could not have had a better day.
Thanks to everyone coming out for he race supporting, and for my family for flying over from Sweden to watch me race. Again big thanks to Jayson and Erin for getting me into doing Ironmans and for sharing all the knowledge you have of this sport. My race would not have been as successful without you! It has enriched my life greatly and I'm forever greatful to you guys for that!
By finishing below 12h I feel no immediate need to do another Ironman, but I'm sure I will sometime in the future. I just got to find a new challenge for that. The thing I want to do next is the Race Across America with an 8 person team. Who wants in? There is still spots open!
Test
Themes music this year. Mein land. And Ich tu dir weh. Mix Last race. Killing fields