It seemed this time around was a bit more violent than 07. Not sure if that is cuz of where i lined up or what. Hands slapping the back of your legs, a kick to the face once, my prostate checked at one point....just a lot of contact. I tried to stay with the pack more this time around, a function of being a bit more confident albeit still sucky swimmer, but i felt at least like i wasnt sucking terrible out there. A few foot cramps to be flutter kicked away, but other than that just work. I drew my happy hands to cheesily remind me how to better pull (ok, it was a joke but alas the happy hands didnt make it to the run). Felt smooth and efficient. The first turn I was at a 40:45 i think and felt good about that. After that turn I kind of lost track of sighting a bit and the buoy line but after rounding that first buoy on the second loop, got better with that. Just kept churning away reminding myself its a long day. Kept swimming til they helped me out of the water and saw a 1:24. I thought best case scenario would be a 125ish, so happy about that. A few minutes already chopped into my 07 time!!

Not suck at swimming, but that would take work and lessons and what not. I might get around to it someday, or maybe not. This was a good swim for me though.

I felt all wild eyed and crazy dropping to the floor and getting my wetsuit stripped with everyone cheering and the HR up there and what not. Just tried to churn it up the helix without getting to crazy. Picked up my t1 bag and since my swim wasnt as sucky as last time, it was actually a little more crowded in there. found a chair and got the gear on, hit the sunscreen peeps and was ready to go. There was a long run from the inside of the building to my bike and my old azz bike shoes with the rubber bottoms allowed me to fly. Little did i know that was gonna be my best run of the day!

Was pretty ok. Just go faster!

Mounted up and headed down the helix. Saw Lara and some of the her extended fam cheering on John Nolen going nuts which was a nice boost. Got on the loop and there was a lot of folks to pass. The course was very clogged up as the middle of the pack all seemed to be out of the water at once. I tried to be conscious of not hammering the bike or anything and thought I was doing ok. However, this is probably not the case as things started to go wrong after about mile 40. Prior to that, I had seen a bunch of donkey supporters, including my wife and this time the older two girls who went nuts when they saw me and ran along a bit as I was climbing up Midtown. The crowds out in Verona are awesome even though the amount of dudes in banana hammocks out on Timber Lane's climb seemed a bit creepy after a while. it was like a Kenny Souza impersonator convention.

The first loop was just about a non event though I still peeked at my garmin and somewhat felt that 20 mph was going to be too rich a pace to maintain. I tried to reel it in a bit but i think the damage might have been done a bit. To make matters worse at mile 54, while pulling a gel out of my bento box, seriously in slow motion, i watched my vial of salt caps fall to the pavement at 23 mph. crap. i thought about turning around for them but rationalized to myself that the infinit and gels would have enough electrolytes in em to keep me going, so i kept on going. I also in my ultimate wisdom neglected to throw extra salt tabs in my special needs bag, cuz when am i ever going to drop my salt tab vial? I mean, it just wont ever happen right? duh. dunno, like em or lump em, i have had a lot fewer problems with the capsules on hot days vs without. so i guess we will have a little test huh? oh and does it seem to be getting warmer out?

after dropping the capsules, got started on the second loop. i was now starting to use the downhills a bit more and try to ease things back a bit. climbs still felt pretty good but the flats were starting to feel, well, flat. i think it was around mile 75 or so, but suddenly, a new exciting cramp i have never had a cramp on the exterior of my left knee. interesting and wtf? it was so bad that on aero descents i had to hold my left leg straight cuz tucking or bending it and keeping it there wasnt going to happen. I tried to stay with the electrolytes by sticking with the infinit and shortening the time frame to take gels. not much was working, though i started to allow myself out of the seat on climbs to stretch out the legs a bit and that helped marginally. i was seeing more and more of the small ring and just tried to keep moving. it seemed like the winds had picked up but looking at flags in the area i wasnt seeing any hints of anything too noticeable. between being a bit careless on the bike pace and the tabs out of the picture, i wasnt too optimistic with the upcoming run. still, i had remembered how some longer bricks i had been toast on the bike and able to turnover the legs just fine. anywho, brought it back into town after being sooo ready to be off the bike. up the helix and hand the bike off to the valet. Things werent looking so stellar, but I was still in the ballgame for sub 11 if i could just under 3:28ish.

poor bike pacing? it didnt seem like i was hammering it and the splits are deceptive a bit cuz i dont think that first 40 had you into the big climbs in verona yet. i basically abandoned the bike for 6 months for boston mary training but was still able to train into what i thought was a decent bike pace. just gotta get better at knowing when to unleash what when. will also never forget extra salt caps just in case. if it wasnt for the heat i wouldnt have even worried about it and think its more cuz i was too aggressive pace wise, but i am pretty sure the s-caps would have helped at least a bit as it has in other similar situations.

got my gear, got on more sunscreen, peed quick (first and only of the day) and was ready for the pain. crap.

So my best guess here is that a solid run base plays as irresistable force conceptually and my obnoxious sweat rate/heat problems is unmovable object? whatever the case, there is plenty of good and bad, but one thing i know if this was a slugfest. this really starts with the choice to race boston in april vs just going and doing the race. i have put in a ton of miles on the run and seen my avg training pace go down, threw down some PRs here and there, just overall built up a pretty solid run. With this, I truly believe a 330 or thereabouts would be possible. cripes, i ran a 255 24 miler in training, nothing before it with swim or bike and a lot cooler. despite the forecast, i kept telling myself i had seen some progress in running in hot conditions, which is somewhat true. is 330 a stretch in an IM? sure. is it a stretch in the hottest temps by far i ever ran a mary? eh, more than likely, but lets just start running easy to see how the bike cramps hold up, find a pace and go with it.

the good news is that there seemed to be no ill effects cramp wise (yet) from the bike and i was able to get the legs moving pretty ok. i had already cut back my expecations on pace and decided if i could just stay around 8s i would be ok. ha! i dont have a solid split on the first mile cuz i was dinking around with the garmin and cant recall when it was started but 2-4 were 811 823 and 859 respectively. things kept slipping away and the sun seemed even hotter. the cloud cover from 07 was really nowhere in sight and everyone was being baked alive. lots of folks were already doing run walk. i cant recall how aggressively i was drinking (or not drinking) but by mile 8 or so, i was starting to mix in more walk with the run. By mile 10, it seemed like my gut didnt want to take in anymore anything. Knowing that stopping nutritionally was not an option, i went into self preservation mode.

i cant admit that this was all smart racing as there was some hissy fit in there too, pissed about how there was still 16 miles and how the wheels were already off the cart. sub 11 wasnt going to happen. it didnt take too long to get over it and come up with another plan, since everything rarely goes all well in these races and its a long day. i started to tell myself that this would be a glowstick race for me and i would see what its like to finish at night. its not that i no longer cared, its really that i didnt seem able to fathom going the rest of the way knowing how bad things have gotten with dehydration in other races. still, having seen how some pros recover after having to take breaks on tv and what not, i figured lets just be patient. it was also here i decided to give cola a shot too at the aid station and was now on a regimen of gatorade, water and cola at ever stop.

i was heading back towards town and saw schmize heading out on his second loop. i took my finger and cut it across my throat to show i was done and i think he laughed and mentioned how he was suffering too. i kept on walk mode and although i am not against it in races and have used it, walking this far and this long at a stretch i did feel a bit ashamed. to the spectator, it just felt like i was cheating them. i knew i was doing the right thing, but you could tell at that point that you were just another walking dude, or at least that was how it seemed. just interesting to be in that position and maybe my perception was off, but it seemed like i was getting less love.

heading back into state street, i came upon birkie and he was hurting bad too. i asked if he wanted some company and walked with him for a bit. he said he didnt want to slow me down but at this point, i was just hoping to stay out of the med tent myself. back around the capitol, i tried to run again and the newfound outer knee cramp on the bike kicked me in the azz big time after about 5 steps. stick a fork in me, i am done. just kept moving and then Lara and the girls were at the capitol right before the special needs station (i still had to cross the mat for my first loop). i explained that it was going to be a long night and i would probably be walking the rest of the way as i couldnt fathom anything changing my situation. i kissed her and the girls and ambled down to the turnaround, with hundreds of witnesses watching some poor slug walking his way down to start his second loop. i hit the mat and dont know what it was, but i was not going to accept throwing in the towel. the mat beeped and i started gingerly running out, 13.1 to go. Lara and the girls were still in the same place awaiting my return and she just said to me something like 'what do you think you are doing?'. I think i just shrugged. Alright, lets finish this out.

For as crappy as things were going vs hopes and expectations at the best case scenario, I tried to keep as good an attitude as possible. Shit doesnt always go your way and the tropics aint my gig. Just keep moving, keep hydrating, keep things in perspective. It is our dumbasses who sign up for this, it is us who are priveleged enough to do this with our free time and disposable income. Get some real problems and then feel sorry for yourself bubba. I saw Deanna waving the donkey flag and she was going to high five me. I had been putting sponges in my top to keep cool but it looked like boobies so i tried to just into her hand with my sponge boobie. my calves cramped up pretty good at that but the guy behind me got a kick out of it and cant remember what Deanna said or did cuz the freaking pain in the calves. i was also running for a bit with my right arm almost fully extended down cuz that was feeling screwed too. Just kept focused on churning out what i could, eating and drinking and a salt cap here and there. Saw a bunch of donks on the run which made it fun to encourage each other. Eventually i caught up to 1sttimetri and walked with him a bit by the lake on the way back, little running when we could. I had turned off the sense of urgency a bit and decided to enjoy the experience more, though physically things werent quite there yet. cramps kept coming and going, gut was working ok now and i think it was the coke that did the trick.

i think it was around the mile 21 marker i saw force heading back from the weird turnaround to nowhere with all the inspirational signs and i shouted out something about him being a stud and soon to be an ironman. around this time, it seems like somebody turned down the thermostat, the gut was ok and the legs felt like running a bit. there were only four miles to go. so lets bring it home. i was able to kick it into 9s but still hit the tables for drinks. i paid for all this crap right? also had my head down around camp randall and saw a huge DTFU that the crew put out in the AM. Laughed and kinda said 'okey dokey' to myself so thanks for the great chalking folks, it at least worked for this guy! kept churning away, just a bit more to go. it was around mile 25 that i caught up to force and checked in how he was doing. he was looking strong and ready to pick up his IM medal. i got a little bit ahead of him and BAM!!! my left quad seized up. Damn! I cant catch a break. Walk it out, change stride yet again to keep moving. Got back up to speed again, just two more corners and about 150 yards to go...POW!!!! Fock!!! Same hammy. Somebody watching was like 'you ok"' and i nodded and readjusted. No, it wasnt going to be a strong finish, but if you cant finish strong, do the robot. So I did some kind of pseudo cramped up robot at the finish to celebrate getting number two in the books. Hot damn!

splits are screwy cuz of when i hit the garmin and when i stopped it but fwiw:
952 811 823 859 949 928 919 952 937 1116 1340 1709 1545
1037 1143 1009 1107 1104 1001 1141 1153 847 925 900 847


i was apparently wrong about being able to run in heat and getting better with it, though i generally havent run right after biking like a dumbass, so work on pacing in the bike and still try and figure out if there is any hope of ever being able to perform in anything over 75 for a longer duration. I am guessing i am pretty much screwed and need to cut back pace waaaaaaaay back when its this warm. I am still giving this an average cuz i didnt puss out and kept to the bigger picture vs being overly woe is me. Worst marathon for me time wise, but still ranks ahead of Madison and Vegas for me as far as showing some balls unlike those where i folded up the tents once meltdown hit.

Bscharff caught my azz and passed me off to the Mrs and the older two kiddos. Also got a hug from Maggyruth who was catching and Force followed up right after me at the finish which is nice cuz a lot o miles with him this past year. Ate some pizza but the pepperoni felt like acid on my throat so kept walking around and hit Walgreens for some chocolate milk and oj. Just kept waking!!


Family curse of heavy sweating passed down through the generations that heat teams up with to steal the soul out of my body, lack of discipline on the bike, more relaxed race prep on details vs first IM. I wont say relaxed, but my nutrion schedule wasnt as clockwork as it was the first go around (which at 70 and overcast had me peeing all over Madison for that race. oh well). I am a mixed bag with this race. Like I said i didnt feel happy with 07 cuz i felt i left stuff in the tank. The heat was a big variable and a few possible mistakes (and i say possible only because i still wanted to hit under 11 and couldnt just dawdle) but i had to earn this one on all fronts, so i am happy with it. i have already graduated from never again from yesterday, to well maybe this AM to analyzing what mistakes to correct for the next one. That will not be for a while though as its time to watch my kids grow up. Halfs and lower will be my career for a while, so i am happy this race gave me enough to be happy and pissed off about in equal amounts.


Awesome venue, awesome crowds, volunteers, etc, etc. having all the donks race too was a great treat and I am blessed to know all of ya! This race and the community support are well worth the cost, etc, etc.