The day started with a 4:15 a.m. wake up. I managed to keep my nerves together, and forgo the obligatory nervous vomit I usually experience on race days. I took in some fairly liquid calories, loaded up the car, and headed to the start with Amy, and my Mom and Dad.

In a rare occurence, I actually arrived at the race on time, 5:30 a.m.. Nervous energy was everywhere, but for the most part, people were cool enough not to be mean to one another. I loaded my bike with nutrition, borrowed a pump from another athlete to top off my tires on my rented race wheels (sweet!), and after using the porta-potty 2 times, donned my wetsuit for the start. After a good luck kiss from Amy, I headed down the parking helix along with 2500 other athletes.

The water was basically like glass, the air calm, and the sun was gorgeous rising over Lake Monona. I was lucky enough to compete in wonderful weather (maybe a little hot, but not unbearable). I chose to perch myself on a rock well back and off to the side of the other swimmers, hoping to avoid the malay of a mass Iroman start. I then had the realization that I forgot to take my albuterol inhaler before the start, so my mental focus switched to breathing very slow and relaxed.

Kayak's and swimmers gathering pre-start.

Once the gun sounded promptly at 7:00 a.m., the fun began. I was expecting worse in terms of chaos than what it really was, perhaps due to me strategic placement at the start. I made very little contact with anyone for the first straight away, instead swimming closer to the shore and focusing on long strokes, and relaxed breathing.  Both shoulders felt fresh, a sharp contrast to the pain I felt in them only two days previous.

Due to my placement at the start, and route around the course, I likely swam an extra 1/4 mile or so I would bet. That was fine with me, because besides the corners and the ends of the rectangular course, I had minimal contact with swimmers around me. A few swimmers grabbed my ankles, I am assuming inadvertently, but that was about it. The highlight of the swim to me was seeing the capital building framed perfectly by the Monona Terrace while swimming the backstretch. It was also amazing to see and hear the noise coming from shore. Otherwise, the swim is the loneliest part of the day. You don’t hear much, and you don’t get the energy of the crowd as easily. I guess it’s good that it’s the shortest part.

The energy level cranked WAY up getting out of the water. The combination of the crowd, the announcer, and another kick in the gut that you are doing Ironman shot my heart rate up a few notches. And how cool is having someone rip off your wetsuit for you?? This is example A of how you are basically treated like a rockstar the whole day.

I couldn’t help but grin from ear to ear while running up the helix. People were of course 4-5 deep all the way up. My legs and arms felt fresh. I was ready to get this race started.

Another example of star treatment awaited me in the transition area. Each athlete basically has a personal attendant. There is also a chair to sit in. No more standing on a sandy beach or a grassy surface, stumbling and fumbling your way to get dressed. The guy next to me loaned me some chamois butter as well, something I mentally thanked him for later in the bike

I had my first family sighting leaving the transition. It is always nice to see the fam, especially when you are feeling happy and fresh. The way down the helix on the bike was actually fun. People were civilized, and you got a little dizzy.

The bike ride started off as planned, at a very slow and deliberate pace, just settling into a very long day in the saddle. I got aero, took in water only for the first 20 minutes as planned, to let my stomach settle before the beginning the eating contest that is hidden within the event. Isn’t Ironman just an eating contest disguised as a triathlon anyway?

Then the knee pain began. At about mile 4 or 5, my knee began to bother ever so slightly. I guess this is a good thing, in the sense that it made its presence known early, so I wouldn’t worry about it cropping up later in the race. It also made me deal with it early, and learn to tolerate before I catastrophized it later. By the beginning of the loop, I made a stop to apply some biofreeze to my knee (thanks Dan!). This helped, but I decided to take some tylenol as well. This helped as well, taking the knee pain down to a tolerable level. The excitement of the day also helped.

The first loop of the bike was downright fun! There were people everywhere, including the Reynold and Jim spectator crew.  I am one that feeds off the encouragement of the crowd, so it was nice to see familiar faces. The climbs were as tough as I remember from training, but my legs could handle them early. I deliberately chose to use my lowest gear in order to save my knee. Generally, I passing others more than they were passing me on the climbs, while on the straights I held back and was passed more.

I had a chance to interact quite a bit on the first loop with a few other competitors. One was a guy from Nashville, a girl named Brigette (also on an Orbea bike!), and a guy named Dave (another Orbea guy!). It was nice to ease the nerves a bit with some friendly conversation. It made it feel more like a long group ride, but without the drafting of course

The Old Sauk Trail and Timber Lane hills were VERY cool on the first loop. All kinds of colorful spectators were out cheering us on. I got a major burst of energy from the crowd here. The Timber lane hill was the expected Tour De France type atmosphere. Again, I really felt like a rock star.

By the time I arrived in Verona to see the family, I was already convinced this was going to be a great day. I was riding high, feeling the energy from the crowd. My knee was hurting, but I was pushing through, living in the fun of the moment. I was nice to see my family and friends as well, with their green shirts on they were easy to spot.  My aunt and Amy went out of there way to make these shirts, with a slightly embarassing shot of me at age 4 with my grandmother’s swim cap on. My pit crew wore them with pride.

This turned out to be the highest emotion of the day, only to be followed by a bit of a crash in emotions in the 2nd loop. It began with losing my beloved biofreeze. I don’t know where it ended up, but I had to just stick out the pain. I also couldn’t take another tylenol for another hour or so. I wasn’t sure what other work my liver was doing today, so I didn’t want to screw it up.

The second loop is also lonely, since everyone is more spread out, there are less fans on the course (they are all heading back for the run), and if you ride at my speed, you are towards the back of the pack. My knee kicked it up a notch in terms of pain, and I then began to doubt whether I could run (versus walk) any of the marathon. I was content with walking the whole thing if needed, but I knew that would make for a very long day. I wasn’t going to worry too much, after all, it was about finishing. But towards about mile 85 on, my legs had nothing in them for the hills. Apparently everyone else was feeling the same, because everyone seemed to slow to a similar pace on the last hill of the day, crawling along at about 5 miles per hour.

Timber Lane hill on the second loop, feeling the pain here.

I gathered myself towards the end of the bike. I really had no issues other than a little acidity in the stomach early in the bike, helped tremendously my by trusty antacids. I took in solid food once per hour, eating 1 1/2 peanut butter sandwiches (yum!, love these any day, but for some reason they are especially appealing during a long workout) along with copious gel, gatorade, a few bananas, some pita chips, and electrolyte pills. I tried to stock up a bit for the run towards the end of the bike.

I again saw my “chief pit crew” (Amy included) at the end of the bike, and began the ascent of the helix (which wasn’t as bad as you’d think after 112 miles). The star treatment was present again at T2, with help from my bike catcher and personal attendant in the changing room.

My attitude going into the run was “see what happens, and deal with what you are feeling.” My first running steps gave me a big boost. My knee didn’t hurt as much running!! I saw some more friends and family, ran a bit with Doug, my coworker, who informed me I was right on pace. Once I hit the capital square and State St., my legs were alive! What a cool environment. At one point, I shouted out “I  LOVE THIS!” My first mile split of 9:25 also told me I liked it as well, and I ran through the first aid station. Your mind plays little games with you on the first part of the run, convincing you that you can maintain this fast pace forever. By about mile 6, I began to notice the signs of what everyone talks about during the Ironman marathon.

Feeling good on the first loop of the run!

There is a constant mind game at play during the run. Your body says “please stop” but your inner determination says keep going. You hit an aid station and try to ask yourself, “what do I need here?” Apparently early in the run I didn’t feel I needed much. My late nutrition on the bike really pushed me to about mile 6. I only took in one gel during that hour or so. AFter that point, apparently I had burned through those calories.

My run slowed to a walk more often, especially at the slightest incline. You say to yourself, “just run to that corner and then you can walk.” I eventually realized how little gel and concentrated calories I had consumed, and I took in a gel every mile for 3 miles. At about mile 12, I saw the family again and said “this is a special kind of hurt.” I had no zip at all. By the time I made the turn around, saw some colleagues from the WPTA at special needs, took in some coffee and made my way back to State St., I was feeling better again.

Like all the experts say, the real test comes at the 2nd half of the marathon. All 127.5 miles covered up to this point are simply a lead up to the second half of the marathon. Mile 18 on was tough, very tough. Each time I ran, I felt considerably less energy. I kept taking in calories, steady and sure. Each time it had less and less impact on my energy, however. I saw friends all over the course, and I am convinced that they were ones that kept me going:  Amy, Janet, Mom, Dad, Jeff, Sue, Jason, Michelle, Jake, Theresa, Charlie, Jack, Kathy, Marcey, Ben, Doug, Angela, Matt, Kate, Alea and Mike and their two kids, Sue, Beth, Julie, Chad, Mandy, Tonya, Masako, Dave, Susanne, Jason, Melissa, Matt and Josh.  I ran into Andrea and Jason and their three girls at mile 21. This is where I needed someone, just anyone, and they were there. I am lucky to have such a support crew! They pushed me through a couple of tough miles.

About mile 20 I started to calculate what I needed to get sub 14 hours. I knew that I could do it at my current pace, but my current pace kept getting slower and slower. I yearned for the possibility of having 15 minutes to complete the last mile. This meant I could probably walk the last mile if needed. That magic number never came, but that didn’t matter. I managed to run/walk all the way to the finish, never needing to walking any more than 3-4 minutes at a time.

The pain had set in all over, but the joy of knowing I was finishing drowned it out. I approached the last turn, and a big grin set in on my face. I knew I had a sub 14 hour time, so I walked a bit to savor the moment. The crowd was awesome. I heard Mike Reilley say it was my birthday, which was cool. But most importantly I heard him say the magic words “you are an Ironman!”

I crossed the line, and tears began to flow. The fabulous finish line volunteers donned my medal, and I got my Ironman finisher swag.

I took a special point to turn around and look back at the finish to see the capital in the background, with the bright lights and the crowd. This was it. I did it!

The first person to see from my crew was my rock in this whole affair…Amy. I gave her a big hug, shed a few tears, and we celebrated together with family and friends. I also celebrated with my 64 year old uncle, Reynold, who did the race with me. He is my triathlong mentor, and what better way to do your first Ironman than with the guy who introduced the sport to you in the first place.

Next to my wedding day, this was the greatest day of my life so far.

But will I be back next year? No way. It is time for some R & R. I am going to savor this one for a while.

Reynold, Jim and their cheering section after the finish

I am feeling, well, ok I guess. My knee has been continued bothersome, but feels like it is on the mend before I shred it up again

I really have no idea how this thing is going to go. If the stars align, and I can keep my nutrition coming in, and my body holds up reasonably well, it may be a tremendously stependous day. All other scenarios which include finishing the race would make it a great day!

This week has been tremendous, I have had a steady stream of well wishes both here at the house, at work, and online. I feel an overwhelming sea of support behind me, and I can’t tell you how nice of a feeling that is.

The weather looks nice, low 80s, sunny, little wind. Earlier in the week it called for mid 60s and chances of rain.

You can track the race at Ironman.com, I am bib #77, and my uncle doing the race with me (his 9th Ironman!)  is #2063, while my good friend Cynthia Gehrke (her 4th Ironman!) is #2288.

I have to thank one individual in particular for getting me to the start line, and that is my wife Amy. She has not tolerated my negative thinking, and her way of encouraging me, and tolerating limited time together, has made this whole journey possible. If you see her on race day, congratulate her on getting me to the start line!

See you in the blogosphere post race!

This time it occurred on my latest mega ride, an attempt at riding the “loop” of the Ironman course twice. The first loop wasn’t too bad, just twinges of knee pain on both legs. However, the real pain ensued at mild 50 or so. I tried to stop, stretch, do a little trigger point work. This helped, temporarily for about 5-10 minutes.

The pain become unbearable at about mile 70 of 83 total ridden that day. My stupid, male, denial brain then thought “hey, maybe running will feel better.” Well, it didn’t.

The bummer part was that I had taken that week pretty easy, trying to save myself for this big workout, and recovering from a battered body from some tough run training the week before.

So, in the last 2 weeks, I haven’t run more than 5 minutes. I have logged mimimal miles on the bike. Basically, only swimming doesn’t feel injurious. The only consolation is that at least this has happened late in my training, when my base fitness is pretty good. The only unfortunate part is that this has happened late in my trianing, making racing with extreme pain a definite possibility.

In the meantime, I thank my lucky stars that I am a PT, and I have some concept of how to treat this, and have access to more brains at work that can help (thanks colleagues for listening to my whining!)

So, we’ll see how the last 2 weeks plays out.  In some ways, if it is going to hurt anyway, I would rather not lose too much fitness and race already! But hopefully I can approach race day “all healed up.”

But if you see me wincing and limping on race day, you’ll know why.

Top Ten Sacrifices Jim has made in order to train for Ironman

10. Baking – I miss a good batch of chocolate chip cookies. Don’t get me wrong, I have certainly eaten plenty of cookies while training, I just haven’t baked any of them.

9. Reading a book – I must admit I am not much of a reader, but all my reading lately has been centered on training, race preparation, etc..

8. Reading a PT Journal – This may be related to my general sense of fatigue, since some articles facilitate a sense of sleepiness.

7. Golf – I haven’t played a round of golf in three years, in part because it takes up a lot of time. I would love a casual 9 holes of golf on a weekend soon. Maybe I could get into speed golf next year?

6. Movies – after a long run, a ride, or a session in the gym, I am usually limited on time and too tired to sit through an entire movie.

5. Installing a new garbage disposal – just ask my wife about this one. I won’t go too much further than that.

4. Time with “the boys” (my cats, Miles and Theo) – they soak up attention when I am around for more than a half hour, clearly they feel a bit neglected. If only they could go on runs with me, but that would be a nightmare, now wouldn’t it!

3. Painting the trim on the outside of the house – another house chore gone by the wayside. This one isn’t all the appealing, however (I hate painting).

2. Picking the weeds in front of my house – I want to offer my deepest and most sincere apologies to my neighbors, I promise to be better next year.

1. More time with my wonderful wife, Amy……enough said.

Through friends and through posts on beginnertriathlete.com, I have learned this evening that Mary is currently clinging to life.

This incident is a reminder to me of the fragility of life. In training for this event and other such feats, we put ourselves at risk by our own choice. You may ask why, but I am not sure there is one answer to that question, and my answer changes every day.

All I can say is be careful out there.

We are thinking of you Mary.

By the way, my fundraising is going fairly well. I have raised about $550 dollars thus far. I am nowhere near my goal, but the donations are starting to pick up a bit. So, if you have the means, with any amount whatsoever, please consider donating.

I have just gotten through a very tough, perhaps the toughest, portion of my training thus far. The “build” period is now over, which for me, was my highest volume of training yet. In the last 3 weeks, I have put in about 50 hours of training. Now I know there are plenty of others out there doing the Ironman that have put much more time in than that, but for me, this is basically a second job.

So I thought it would be fun to reflect upon the “underbelly” of Ironman training, since I am a physical therapist and all: injuries. So far this season, we are up to eight. As you can see from this list, I am not in the category entitled “biomechanically sound.” This aren’t necessarily serious injuries. Some of them could be called “aggravations” or “irritations.” ” These are numbered  in order of most “irritating.”

8. Low back tightness/pain – with swimming, in fact. This is classically a biking problem, but not for me. I have done considerable work on keeping my body horizontal in the water in order to reduce drag, I think this effort irritates the back.

7. Left soleus (calf muscle) chronic strain, trigger point – basically a running injury, always crops up on the longest and fastest runs. I rate this as one the least irritating, but in reality, it may be the injury that has contributed to all the others. I treat this a few times a week with aggressive! deep tissue massage, which helps.

6. Left rotator cuff tendinosis /  muscle imbalance – a swimming injury, although equally aggravated with time in the aero bars biking. This is likely related to my scoliosis (I have two rods in my back due to surgery for curvature of the spine when I was a teenager). This throws off the whole shoulder complex. Breathing only to the left while swimming doesn’t help either, I guess.

5. Neck pain – related to crooking/extending my neck all the time while biking. Again, due to immobility in my upper back, I need to make extra effort to keep my head up. This sounds pathetic, but true.

4. Right wrist/thumb tendinosis (technically de quervain’s tenosynovitis) – a new injury, perhaps related to swimming. I have no idea how this came about, but it has interfered with other aspects of my life (namely my job!) more than any other injury. You have no idea how much you use your thumb until you injure it.

3. Right metatarsalgia (a.k.a. right foot pain) – this came about while running a 2 hour 45 minute run, my right foot felt like it was suddenly in hot coals. I stopped, walked, it went away for a couple weeks, now it is back. This is the one I most fear with Ironman, in some ways. Like many foot injuries, this can likely only be cured with rest, something I don’t have a lot of time for right now (doesn’t that sound funny).

2. Right knee pain – likely patellofemoral syndrome, a bugger to say the least, has been around for a few months now, creaps up at times with both long runs, and hilly rides. I have begun to just “deal with it when it comes,” I am hoping the peak season,with less volume, will help.

And the number one most irritating injury this season…..

1. Left knee pain – at one point pre-patellar bursitis (a diagnosis I attribute to a very smart PT friend of mine), now a nasty trigger point referring to my medial knee (I think). This was the injury of the season, no doubt, holding be back from serious base training back in spring. Again, hopefully this is something a little less volume during peak training will help.

So there you have it…..by the way, ALL the above is treated by you know what, physical therapy. Your donations to the foundation will help whiners like me with this “irritations.”

Just yesterday, I finished the “Spirit of Racine” triathlon for the third year in a row. This is a half Ironman triathlon, meaning a 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike, and 13.1 mile run. This is a fast, flat course, that is well run, and is a nice race to go back to year after year. I love this distance as well, it is long enough to be a significant fitness challenge, but not over the top (as I am finding out) as Ironman training.

In 2007, my first attempt at this distance, I finished in just under 7 hours. It was a long, slow day. At the time, it felt great to have a long distance race like this under my belt. I had some nutritional issues the first year, leading to a pretty uncomfortable run.

In 2008, I shaved an hour off my time, finishing in 5:53. Shaving an hour off my time means two things: the first year was awful, and the second year was above and beyond my expectations. I took time off the swim, bike, and run, was was elated at the finish. This result solidified my decision to do the full Ironman distance.

Because of last year’s result, I had no great expectations of another massive time cut. My target was 5:45 conservatively, hopefully a 5:40. I finished in 5:21!! Just two months ago, I was yearning for a sub 2 hour stand alone 1/2 marathon, a time that has eluded me for about 4 years now. I achieved that during the Madison half marathon this past May. Yesterday, I managed a 1:58 1/2 marathon as part of a 1/2 Ironman. I can’t be any more pleased with that result. The bike and swim were faster as well, despite some major issues with my hydration equipment on the bike, requiring three separate stops for adjustment.

I hate to use the old cliches, but it really is true.

1. Hard work pays off

2. Practice makes perfect

I just wish all my patients in the clinic agreed (most do, but not all of course)!

Now I hope this positive energy spills over a couple months. Less than 60 days left!

What has happened in the last month? Well, an onset of training fatigue, that’s what.

Training now seems like a second job, and like all jobs, it can get monotonous. That meant some fatigue over the last  three weeks, especially an overwhelming sleepiness on Mondays after a hard weekend of training. Luckily I had a much needed rest week before my first triathlon of the season this past weekend.

Rest is what I did. I craved some time in the garden, some time with my wife. Therefore, my workouts were short, light, and without a lot of energy.

So by race day, my legs were flat, and it showed in my result.

Granted, this particular triathlon (the Verona Triterium) is arguably the toughest Olympic distance race in the area. The swim is kind of odd. It is in an old quarry that has been filled with water, and consists of  three laps where you have to get out of the water, run around a tree, and run back in the water again with each lap. This seems like a child’s obstacle course game. The bike is over some pretty hilly terrain just south and west of Verona, WI. It is a two loop bike including a pretty tough 4-5 minute climb with a bagpiper at the top (yes, a bagpiper….pretty cool!) The run is also three loops, with a fairly steep but short hill on each loop.

I managed to beat the time of two years ago by 28 minutes, so that was good. Two years ago, my cleat became disconnected to leave it hanging by one screw, so the only way I could get off my bike was to get out of my shoe. That meant my foot was float on top of the pedal with climbs as well. I also lost all my energy gel for the ride right out of transition. So compared to a couple years ago, this was a much better result.

However, I missed my goal of sub 3 hours by 5 minutes. There is a certain feeling of “putting it all together,” and I didn’t strike this chord this race.  This is when your effort from the swim  spills over to bike, and spills over to the run, and you have energy to finish strong. The race doesn’t seem disjointed, and swimming, biking, and running are greater than the sum of their parts.

 In any case, it was good to get an actual triathlon under my belt. Instead of being motivated by a great result, like my half marathon, I am motivated to “put it all together” at my next event.

After another long winter here in Wisconsin, with over 60 inches of snow, plenty of subzero days, and lack of sun, the spring here is long deserved and especially sweet once it arrives. Sometime in April, the brown and bleak surroundings sprout green, the roads are no longer covered in ice, snow, and grit, and your road bike becomes very appealing.

The riding season thus far has been great. Long rides have been in and around Madison, on the beautiful capital city trail, south of Madison into Paoli, a first time loop around the Ironman course, and another towards Oregon. However, this weekend’s ride took the cake.

Along with my friends Dave and Ryan, we journeyed west towards Mt. Horeb. The relentless steep rollers of Highway J woke up our legs, but the fast, hairpin descent into Stewart park revealed an area new to my cycling legs. What a gorgeous area. Pockets of forested areas, interspersed with lush green hills and valleys nad pastoral farms.   The 70 degree, windless day certainly lightened the mood as well.

We then backtracked towards Blue Mounds Park, for some more quad burning climbs. Onto Black Earth, Cross Plains, and home via the Ironman route made for a long (short of 70 mile), hilly, but extremely satisfying day in the saddle with good friends.

If you have the desire for some tough climbs, but awesome views, ride amongst the lesser traveled roads just west of Madison, home of truly “happy cows.”

This led me to skip my long run workout that week, and instead integrate it into a “royal brick” (in case you don’t know this, a “brick” is a combo workout, usually bike-run), by doing 3 cycles of 30 minutes biking, 30 minutes running. This way I could get the 90 minutes of running in, without 90 minutes straight of pain. This was a very bad decision.

Instead, likely due to climbing a steep hill to get back to my home after each repeat, I developed a left knee pain that again was new to me. I have certainly had a lot of aches and pains over the last 3 years of this process, but when a new one crops up, your mind usually jumps right to it and analyzes it to then n’th degree.

As it turned out, this was a blessing in disguise, I think. This kept me from my usual running routine for the first week, but I continued cycling. The second week of injury, it hurt cycling as well. I couldn’t run more than 30 minutes at this point. With 2/3 of my sports painful, and about 80% of my total training, I was pretty frustrated going into the early part of April. Hence a good week for a week-long course for in Atlanta, Georgia.

This didn’t help. I continued to train, lightly. On a run late during  my trip, I felt “my pain” again, and was forced to take off 5 straight days of biking or running the week after I got back.

Slowly but surely, my knee felt better. I began running long again, and as long as I avoided my mountain bike, my knee felt “tweaked” only. I managed to run up to 1.75 hours, before my first big event of the year, the Madison half marathon. This past weekend, I ran a personal record, and under 2 hours (1:56:30) for the first time in 6 attempts at this distance.

In retrospect, this was a lesson. You can’t go through a season training for Ironman without some sort of major obstacle. I am hoping this was truly “major,” only time will tell. I also think this helped curtail my running plans, and perhaps helped preserve my stamina for the long training season ahead.