9/13/2009

IMWI 2009 would be my 3rd ironman. After doing 12:36 last year in very good conditions, I set my goals as
1) break 12 hours,
2) PR,
3) just finish.

I had a good season of training and racing, hitting every key workout. My bike and run times improved noticeably at all distances both racing and in training this season, so I planned to get that extra 36 minutes by taking 18 each off the bike and run. Unlike 2006 and 2008, Mrs. PJT was not doing the race. As a result, for the first time I had an Iron Sherpa helping out on race day. Awesome.

Pre-Race: Got to Madison at 10:00 on Friday and headed straight to registration. I was in and out in 40 minutes. I spent Friday filling the various race bags and chilling until the athlete dinner. Saturday was a quick S/B/R in the morning. Lake Monona was warm, but still wetsuit-legal and very calm. I had a stomach issue crop up that I strongly suspect was connected to the food at the athlete dinner. Nothing too serious, but I knew I would have to watch my hydration and hope for the best on Sunday. After the workout and lunch, I dropped off by gear bags and bike, chatted with RV, who was volunteering in the bike rack area, and then headed back to the hotel to lay low and try to relax.

Race day: Up at 4:00. Breakfast of coffee, an ensure, bagel with PB, an Odwalla bar, and then a 300 calorie bottle of Infinit that I took with me to the race start and sipped on it until about 6:40. Total calories: roughly 1200.

Swim: Last year, I started near the buoy line, roughly 7 rows back. I kept swimming up on people’s legs and took a lot of contact. This year, I moved farther away from the buoy line (closer to the ski jump, for those familiar with the layout) and seeded myself in the 3rd row. I had very clear water for the first 400 yards or so. Too clear. There just wasn’t much of a draft to be found. At 400 yards, people started to converge and the contact started. The violence in the water wasn’t as constant this year, but still memorable. Some thoughtful soul next to me was sighting by doing breaststroke, and when I rolled to breathe he whip-kicked me in the groin. Good morning! I took a couple other shots to the head, but nothing too serious. I kept my effort pretty steady, and finished the swim in 1:17. About a minute slower than last year. Unsurprising, as my swim training was nearly identical and I didn’t do much to address my relative weakness there. Still, I got out of the water fairly fresh and ready to roll.

T1: Normal jog/speedwalk up the helix and into some bike shorts, socks, shoes, helmet, gloves, add chamois cream and go. Time was 9:44, about 2 minutes faster than last year, which I attribute to having the tri jersey and HR strap on under my wetsuit. (2007 was cool enough that I put on a bike jersey and base layer in T1, which was a bit of a struggle).

Bike: It felt very good on the bike from the get go. My plan was to try to go roughly 6 hours, taking it easy for the first 56 miles, moderate until mile 95, and then whatever I could muster for the end. However, I ignored signs that I was working too hard from miles 20-56. My HR is always high after a swim, and I don’t really trust it as a guide for the first 20 miles. However, when it didn’t drop after 20 miles, I mentally wrote it off as just a freak day—too much caffeine in the coffee, warmer weather, lingering side effect of the upset stomach, etc. I was feeling fine, so I didn’t think it was a big deal. I took the 3 major hills between Cross Plains and Verona very conservatively, and saw Mrs. PJT and a friend camped out on Old Sauk cheering. When I hit the halfway point, I saw that I had averaged something like 19.6 MPH. This was faster than I intended by about .5. I slowed up some for the second loop, and while I felt a little tired by mile 80, the bike in general felt fine.

The course was more crowded than I had ever experienced it, but the steep, continuous hills really make blatant drafting difficult and I didn’t notice much at all from the middle of the pack. I saw the aftermath of one 4-man crash at mile 20 on the flat stretch of Hwy G where one guy was laid out perpendicular to the road, well out into the bike traffic. Scary. Around mile 90, I also noticed some bikes around me that were clearly on their first loop, fighting to make the 1:30 cutoff at mile 56 (including one poor soul who was walking the bike up Midtown Rd.) Given how fast the temps were rising, it looked like they were in for a tough day no matter what.

Bike time was 5:49, with a HR average of 140. Just a bit too fast.

T2: Out of the bike shorts and shoes, into tri shorts and running shoes. Bodyglide for the HR strap, add visor, get sunscreen, stop at port-o-potty where there was no sign of dehydration, and head out for the run.

Run: The temperature was definitely up by the time the run started. We had a very cool summer in Wisconsin so 83 degrees (or whatever it was) felt quite warm even though the humidity was low. I fought to keep my pace down the first 2 downhill miles. By mile 4, though, I could tell that governing my pace was not going to be a problem for the rest of the day. In 2008, I had a few dark spots during the run. This year, I had a few non-dark spots. My stomach was hurting, back sore, calves and hamstrings started cramping around mile 16. I had a friend yell my name and pat me on the back around mile 19, and it literally took me 2 minutes to figure out who she was. Just not a lot of fun on the run, despite outstanding volunteers and tons of spectators, family and friends cheering. By the start of the second loop, I was suspecting that sub-12 might be out of reach. By mile 21, I was sure of it. I worked through as best I could, alternating Gatorade and cola with water at the aid stations. The dreaded “ironman shuffle” (walk a little, run a little, rinse, repeat) appeared for a while on the second loop. As always, though, on that last uphill mile the body miraculously responded to the adrenaline of the finish and I found myself running the whole way. I finished the run in 4:43, a 1 minute PR, with an overall time of 12:07:07, just under 30 minutes faster than last year and a PR.

Afterwards, I saw my parents for a few minutes, and then Mrs. PJT and I headed back to our hotel. After a shower and a meal, we went back to the finish line from 11 until after midnight to cheer on the final finishers. I’d never made it to midnight in the past 3 years at Madison as an athlete or spectator. Let me tell you, it was a fun party and very inspiring.

After some dissecting of the race, I’m still not sure whether it was the slightly fast bike, the heat, the upset stomach, or some combination of the 3 that caused the run meltdown. Regardless, I was somewhat disappointed that I couldn’t run much faster than the previous year. However, getting a PR was a very good consolation prize and I’m not dwelling on what might have been. I do know that the next time I do this race it will be with a power meter on the bike and much better swim training.

As far as next year? Well, I’ll be at IMOO as a loud spectator. I want to concentrate on shorter, faster racing for at least one season, likely more. This should work well with some changed life circumstances, as there is a wee PJT due sometime in November. :)

Final stats:

Swim: 1:17:46, 152nd Div, 1143rd OA
T1: 9:44
Bike: 5:49:56, 73rd Div, 475th OA
T2: 6:24
Run: 4:43:19, 99th Div, 729th OA

Total: 12:07:07, 86/260 M30-34, 571st OA.

Pics here: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2037177&id=1159262285&l=99e234cca3