Race_Report Bryan's Ironman Wisconsin - if this weren't my first time I'd kick myself in the nutz

[BigBry]

This is a bit long. I do reward you with pictures at the end. Feel free to add comments.
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I have to be honest - I still don't know what to think of this. On the one hand, I've been under the weather for most of the 3 weeks leading up to race day. Plus,it was my first Ironman - heck, my first race above a sprint since the Bud Light Oly in 1991. My pre-race goal was to finish and learn from this race, go out next year and lose another 20 lbs/get some halves under my belt, and then actually race this IM in 2011. I also wanted to enjoy the day, and hopefully remember it forever. I accomplished my goals on Sunday.

On the other hand - I boogered the execution bad. How you may ask? Come with me as I lead you down the slippery slope of one mistake feeding into another...

1) The Swim. I swam a 1:13. That was 10 minutes faster than I did it 3 weeks ago in the Madison Open Water Swim - same course with 300+ people so it wasn't the draft. I didn't know I was going this fast or I would have slowed down - after watching the video of Matt's before and after swims something clicked and I've been swimming easier. On this day, I went faster rather than saving energy with easier. Next time - I bring a watch and look at it while bobbing in the first turn so I can adjust if needed.

2) The Bike: Highlight of the day - the Ass-slap by Rich and hitting 45+mph through the technical part of the course.
After running up the helix, running through transition, and getting on my bike I look at my powertap and I'm now at a HR of...177. 160 is the low end of my Z4 zone. I spend the next hour really going easy, trying to get my HR back down. Unfortunately, I am unsuccessful. I'm not sure if it was because I'm not quite over my recent cold, or because of my next mistake, but I ended up averaging 164 bpm over the entire 7:23 I was out there.

3)Second Hour - Ride Easy or get going?
I chose get going. Was my highest power hour. I didn't realize it at the time but I had way too many 280+watt spikes in this hour as well where I'd gun it to crush the downhills. Whoops.

This led to me wanting to die at special needs. I pulled over, dumped a bottle on my head, and drank two bottles of water. I also ate my gummy bears. At this point, I decided I needed to do whatever it took to get to the run. That ended up being stopping ever aid station, drinking a bottle of water, pouring one of my head.
Other random things:

• Volunteer dropped Infinit bottle midway through 2nd loop while putting ice in it. Switched to Gatorade.
• ..only to have that fly out like a missle at mile 101 over a bump. That led to the 4mile death-pedal at mile 108 where I hit another real low spot until transition.
• It was nice chatting with volunteers in the stations. I was a bit fuzzy while talking to a very nice EN'er. Thanks for your help - I'm sorry I forgot your name and hopefully I wasn't speaking in tongues.

4) The Run - Highlight of the day - The Ass-slap by Rich. Otherwise not much fun to be had.
I was pretty much cooked by run time. My strategy coming in was to walk aid stations, and the big hills. I kept to that - though the definition of "big" loosened up the last 6 miles. I ran up University - but the hill by Camp Randall now qualified. So did the one under the bike path by the SERF. I also gave into my body in the dark at the Picnic Point turnaround by the goofy Ford booth and walked one set of light-posts. Otherwise, I kept shuffling along. I ended up passing 70+ people even at my 5mph speed after mile 18. Frankly, that's just sad.


5) Other execution: I managed to put my run nutrition in my run special needs bag. DOAH! I could have used the salt pills well before mile 13. Lists only work when you use them.
I also lost my sunglasses in T2 - took off helmet, put on head, scrambled through bag for bottle, realized not there - and neither are my glasses. I took about 5 mins looking for them because I knew I would be running into the setting sun for awhile. Never found them. If that wasn't a sign I needed some nutrition, I'm not sure what could be.

Overall time was 14:24:39.


ConclusionI do know I had an awesome time participating in the event. I also have a lot to learn. I don't think on this day, with where I was healthwise, I could have done much better than high 13's with better execution - but EN gave me the tools to do that. I just didn't execute upfront, which caused me to have to scramble the remaining 11 hours to make sure I got to the finish line. I do know without EN, I'd have been a DNF - after getting passed by the first 200 people on the bike by the time we hit Irish Lane, my ego would have gotten the best of me and I would have joined in the hammerfest. I probably wouldn't have seen Verona the second time in that scenario.

Here are some of the Ironman pictures my wife Tracy & I took over the weekend:
My son Anthony/Daughter Izzy nervous before the kid race on Saturday
They are a little more relaxed after running well!

Swim officials getting into position.

Another pre-swim EN picture.

Best...pizza slice..EVER!

Thanks to Tracy, who made it possible by giving me the time.
And finally...

The sunburn - nice 2nd degree blisters and all. Still feeling those tonight.

Can't wait to cheer everyone on next year! Also can't wait to redeem myself in some smaller races in '10.

[Mike Hedman]

I think the IronMan people ought to hand out a little paper at the finish line that says something like:
"If this is your first time across this line, be happy and quit kicking yourself for what might have been if ___________ (fill in the 14 things you boogered today)"

To me, you had your head on straight going in, and you had reasonable goals, and you met them. Period.

Great that you learned. Great that you shared what you learned with us.

Bad luck on the back. We need to talk about that more around here - how to keep your back from getting toasted.

I'm proud of you, and impressed with your achievement! Head up - you are an IRONMAN.

m

[Carrie Chavez]

Bryan,

OMG, what a race !!! You did it!!! You are an Ironman!! You have a beautiful family btw.

Loved your race report. You are one funny guy. IM has such a steep learning curve. Many people come to EN having already done an IM or 2. But for you you had no idea what to expect until you got out there. You had all the EN knowledge and were doing your best at the time. Execution is so hard. It actually sounds like you were not too far off. Most likely your illness was tough on you. No matter what the run at IM is hard. Even with a perfectly executed bike. You know why? Cause 26 miles is so freaking long and getting a cheeseburger and fries sounds more appealing. It takes practice and a huge mental 6 pack. Sounds like you have a very strong mental 6 pack. You did it!!

So happy for you. There is nothing quite like the first one!!!

Carrie

[tdkglynn]

Bryan,

Great sense of humor! Just did a quick check of the results. You finished in 1593rd place of out 2397. That makes about 800 people that wished they had your time. Not to bad for a first go around.

Give it a few more weeks and you will be planning your next Ironman. Once you've done one, there has to be two. I think it's the law

Congrats!

tom

[DrD]

I'm amazed you found the focus to keep rolling through all the dark moments but you did it! I always tell my wife after one of those races that it was a useful "learning experience". IM sure can be a tough teacher. Your report shows you listened well and it will pay off every time you compete from here on.
Thanks for being our Madison host and encouraging the rest of us to do our best.

John

[marianne]

you are funny!! and the last pic of sunburn is priceless.!! terriblyfunny and yes I am sure it hurts now! and then will peel like a snake's skin. well I think you did great! and congrats on finishing your first one and I am sure that you will use race day for an even better race plus give your advice sagely to other first timers!! m

[mancona]

Congrats Bryan! The fact that you had a cold for three weeks prior to your first ironman and still came back and had a great race is amazing.

Hopefully your post race buzz will last much longer than the Sunburn!

Thanks again for being the team captain and organizing and encouraging the rest of us.

[dhalligan]

Hey Ironman,
Great job, Bryan. As a fellow non petite fellow, I hear you on the run. My first IM was my first marathon. It hurts. You've got a good plan to spend the OS and next season getting faster and racing shorter distances and hitting it up again in 2011. That's what was prescribed to me after my first in 08.
Enjoy the post race glow.

Dave

[Stringcheese]

Nice job, Bryan...
You need to get back to Mad Town and treat yourself to one of the GINORMUS steaks we had back in April..

You deserve it!

[rupe]

You finished and your an IRONMAN. That by itself is awesome. You came out of your race knowing what to adjust for next time. Great job!

Eric Rueppel