by Damon » Tue Sep 15, 2009 6:49 pm So the lead-up to Wisconsin was great. I really got excited for it in the few days beforehand. I knew I'd have a bunch of friends and family out there. That was a real draw! The weather was shaping up to be absolutely beautiful and when race came around it was perfect. I stood in line for the porta john a few times just to make sure I was really "ready."
With 25 minutes to go until the cannon went off, Ashley and I made our way down the helix and towards the water. I hate the back-up and waiting to get into the water. It must have taken 10 minutes just to go 20 feet. But we got to the water, I gave Ashley one last kiss and told her good luck, then I made my way to my starting spot... about 20m to the right of the start buoy and in the second row. The guys around me were asking "what time are you looking for in the swim?" One guy answered "52-53 min" and the other guy said "58 minutes is closer for me." Uh, yeah, not for me. You guys have fun but I'm gonna stay here anyway. Boom, off we go. Awesome! Start out fairly fast and it's pretty smooth sailing. The water is murky and warm-ish. I figure I'll have around a 1:05 or 1:06, which is about my average. Felt pretty strong and my breathing was good. I wondered how it was going for Ashley since she was in her first IM!! I figured she was fine. She's very tough like that. Pretty amazing really. Anyway, I exit the water and take a look at the clock. It read 1:12 so I'm thinking, "what the F?!" I didn't think I was that far off track. So I thought it must have been the Pro clock. Sure enough, my watch said it was only 8:03. I had PR'ed the swim with a 1:02:41. That was exciting!Up the damn helix... not really a fan of that but oh well. It's not that bad. Into transition and I must have taken my time. Ended up with a 6 minute T1. Oops. Oh well, on to the bike. Down the helix and out into the great Wisconsin countryside. The sun was shining and the wind was low. Perfect. I took it pretty easy out to Verona (saw Courtney after she YELLED for me... very cool!). The first lap went very well. Averaged about 21mph, saw my family, saw my friends. What a great way to take the hills! Second lap begins and I'm starting to feel a bit tired. About mile 70 and I'm thinking that OK I'm probably not all the way recovered. But keep pushing. Up the hills once again... get more energy from the family. Now I realize that there is an EAST wind. WTF?! That is rare. Now the wind will be at my face on the way back downtown. Damn. Well, I take a left at Whalen and head up hill. For about 3 miles it was uphill and boy was I tired. My neck hurt, my legs were tired, my head was tired. I just wanted to start the run. Finally, I got to the portion where the hills went in my favor. Or it was at least flat. Ended up with a 5:33. 10 minutes slower than last year but I wasn't on fresh legs so I was pretty happy with it. Gladly handed off my bike (no offense to my bike) to the volunteer and decided not to wear those particular shorts ever again on a long ride (ouch!). Yeah, it's also time for new bike shoes. Right foot was quite sore at this point.
Into T2... this one was quicker but still a 4:25. Well, I really wasn't in a rush so no biggie. Quick stop at the porta john for my 1 and only bathroom break of the race. Yeah, I think I should have taken in MORE WATER on the bike. BUT I was glad that my calories were right on track. First time I have been able to say that. Still, I gotta take the flavor down a few more notches because damn did I get sick of Infinit. Anyway, the run begins. I took it really easy right off the bat even though I wanted to go a bit faster. Save it for later. I didn't stop for aid stations until mile 5. Then I walked up the hills to save some energy. Got to the State St turnaround and I know that this is my best Ironman marathon so far. I haven't bonked yet so all is well. I only stopped for aid stations... about 10 seconds at each one. It felt really hot on the first lap so I was loading up with water, sponges, and ice at each station. At mile 11 I saw Ashley heading out on her first lap. I gave her a kiss again and told her how great she looked... seriously, she didn't even look tired! At the turn I saw the clock was at 8:57. Well, I can run a 2:03 second lap and break 11 hours. Saw the Detroit Iron contingent. So cool! Stopped briefly to talk with them and then I got moving again. The second lap went much the same as the first. Same pace and I felt the same in my muscles. Tired but I was ok. Still walked the aid stations but felt like I still have a good pace while running. Just keep up the routine. Well, after 5 strawberry-banana gels I decided that I had enough caffeine. Yikes, I was feeling weird. I was ok, just WAY too much caffeine, especially for someone that doesn't consume caffeine much at all. It wasn't looking like I would make the 2:03 second half so I stopped a couple times to talk to a couple people. Only for a few seconds but I figured what the hell, they came out here to see me. When I got to mile 25 I wondered if they finisher clock was still on pro time the last time I checked. Being the genius I am, I decided to look at my watch and hit the MODE button. Lo and behold, it was 5:47. I had 13 minutes to run a mile. Sweet! Those last 3 miles were pretty painful in my legs but I didn't care. The last mile was mostly uphill... it felt like 18 percent! But I saw Ashley and she looked great and pushed me onward. I reached the finisher chute, got the crowd a bit pumped and headed toward the finish. I decided to break out "The Skip" once again since it was popular in the '08 IMMOO finish.
After the intestinal shut-down at IMLP it was very cool to test myself at IMMOO this year. My swim was a PR. The bike was decent. I managed to run the whole marathon (save aid stations and 4 hills) so I was really happy. And I made it under the elusive 11 hour mark (10:54). It was very cool to see Ashley finish (13:22) her first Ironman. She was awesome!
So now we think forward to next year's race. I'm signed up for IMMOO '010. I'll enjoy the next couple months of cycling, swimming and running for FUN, not training. I have some ideas for next year's training and I think I can find 45-50 minutes to take that finishing time down closer to 10 hours. But for now, I'm happy with what happened at IMMOO '09.
