Intro
Well, I suppose I have to change the name of this blog now. Last weekend was a culmination of a lot of work and sacrifices. I’m super stoked just to say that I am an Ironman.
Madison is an amazing city and it really came out in droves to support the race. For those thinking of doing an IM in the US, this is definitely the place to go. There were 3,000 plus volunteers and at least that many fans along all parts of the course. There wasn’t a one-mile stretch throughout the 140.6 miles covered that day which did not have some sort of cheering support.
Here is the Ironman distance: Swim 2.4 miles, Bike 112 miles, Run 26.2 miles
Cliff Notes Version // 8th Age-Group, 28th Overall (2,881 total participants)
Swim 1:02
Bike 5:18
Run 3:37
Overall 10:06
All of these efforts are PRs since this is my first...
Swim
Wisconsin is one of the final mass starts in the IM circuit. That means all ~3,000 people were floating in the water like bobbers before the cannon went off. I decided to position myself closer to the inner buoys as I knew I would be fast enough off the line to get some clear water. The swim only really condensed at two points for me over the 2.4 miles. The first was about 300 meters in when the wide mass line start consolidates into more of a swimming conga line. The second point was at the first turn buoy, where in traditional IM WI fashion people stop to Moo…yes, it really happens.
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| About 1/2 of the swim start line |
I got in a nice groove on the long back stretch of the course and came out of the water feeling strong. I had watch issues again, so I didn’t know my time until I started doing math on the bike based on the time of day.
Overall placing: 132nd
T1
I decided to run right by the wetsuit strippers as I needed to pull up my speed suit and couldn’t do that carrying the wetsuit. This helped me fly by a large group of the 132 faster swimmers. The “fun” part of T1 in Madison is that you have to run up a four story parking helix to get to the top of the Monona Terrace. The helix was packed with fans which made running straight uphill less miserable. Made first contact with my support team as I was on the top of the Terrace which was a nice boost. Once inside, I made quick work of the wetsuit, threw my helmet on, grabbed my shoes, and scurried out as I saw an awesome volunteer scooping up all my gear from the swim.
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| Just a sneak peek at the support |
Bike
I jumped on the bike and immediately started going to work on my nutrition. I scarfed down over 500 calories within the first 5 miles of the bike which really helped my body start to recoup some of the energy lost on the swim. I had ridden about 80% of the bike course several times, so I was intimately familiar with what was around each bend. I settled into a nice rhythm very early on and traded off flats and climbs with a lighter rider. It was nice having a rabbit on the climbs to keep in eye-sight.
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| Family High-fives around mile 75 |
The course consists of two loops that are connected to Madison by an out-and-back stick. About 29 miles into the bike there is a pronounced climb to the city of Verona where I had my second cheering section encounter. The 20% of the course I had not ridden before consisted of Barlow hill that I had been well warned about. It is two rolling hills followed by a steep pitch of 19%. I managed to ride up the hill comfortably without spiking my power too bad.
As I started in on my second loop, I remembered something that MJ told me once and it stuck with me the rest of the ride. She would always say that the bike doesn’t really start until mile 80. Given that and the fact that the final big climb of the course came at mile 90, I held a nice consistent power output for the remainder of the ride.
Two funny fan interactions came in the middle of the bike, which I feel are worth commenting on.
- Around mile 35, I rode up a steady incline by a guy in a lawn chair. He had a little counter in his hand and let me know that I was in 43rd place. To which I replied, “holy shit”. The math there is that 35 miles in, I had already passed 89 people on the bike.
- Around mile 45, I was again riding up a steady incline (WI is hilly-by-the-way) when a lady stated pretty matter of factly that “you’re looking strong….for now”. That comment really put me in check given that she was indeed quite right. I was barely a 1/3 into the ride and I still had a marathon to run after this.
For my #AllWattsMatter data nerds:
[Assuming a 288 as my FTP]
Normalized Power: 236
Intensity Factor (NP/bFTP) = 82%
VI = 1.10
Cadence Fade = 12%
Avg Power Fade = 11%
T2
I rode into T2 feeling really good. I had managed my power nicely on the bike and felt fresh. I pulled in and even went with the flying dismount as I passed my bike off to a terrified looking bike catcher. Apparently he didn’t trust my dismount skills. I made quick work of T2 (2:22) and was out the door on the marathon.
Run
I knew that I was in a good spot on the run as I was never passed on the bike after mile 35 and knew that I had passed several other people on the course. I ran the first few miles of the marathon quicker than I had planned. I was secretly disappointed in my head and I knew this could potentially come back and bite me later on.
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| Somehow managed to stay zipped up all day |
The run course weaves around downtown Madison and the UW campus. It was beautiful scenery and great weather (mid-70s), which would help me get through my first ever marathon. I ran on and off with a half dozen different people throughout the day. This was nice from a pacing perspective, but also kept the competitive juices flowing late in the game. I got a nice boost of energy from my cheering section about 7 different times on the run. I had some cramping in my left hamstring every mile from 15 all the way in, but other than that I felt great.
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| Taking a loop through Camp Randall |
As I rounded a corner and headed towards the State Capital for the last time, I finally had some emotion come to the surface. All the training and effort was finally becoming a reality. Putting the Capital to my back and the finish line in my eye sight I couldn’t have been happier. Running with a smile, I came across the finish line with Mike Reilly saying, “Dan, you are an Ironman”.
As I said from the start, I couldn’t be happier with my result. The reality is that I finished better than I expected to and had an error-free day for the most part.
Nutrition
I’ve had nice success in the 70.3s this year going all liquid, so coming into IM I was planning on that being my base. The below is a breakdown of what I consumed.
Bike: 3 Glukos bars (miles 5, 60,100), 5 servings 3FU3L w/ GQ-6 + 1/2 tube BASE salt (I wish I finished the whole tube - may have avoided cramping the final 11 miles on the run)
Run: 7 Cliffbar Gels + Gigantic handful of potato chips at mile 23 + 1 tube BASE salt
Thank You
A huge thank you goes out to all of the friends and family out on the course. Your guys love and support through the lead-up and during the race was phenomenal. Not only were you one of the biggest cheering sections, you were also the best dressed! I’d like to give a big shoutout to my coach Michellie Jones who has had me extremely prepared for every race this year. She was also busy winning the Paralympic Gold Medal in Triathlon the morning of the race (Read more about that here). Finally, thank you to the RIDE Tri Team family and sponsors. You all have been great training partners and motivators throughout the year.
Up Next
I can’t believe it’s only been 15 months of this crazy triathlon journey! I’ll most likely race one more Olympic distance race before the end of the year. I’ll spend the rest of my time traveling, visiting friends/family, and getting back in the groove of having my weekends. I am already planning next year and I’ll definitely have some lofty goals, but more on that later!
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