After getting a personal best and a Boston Marathon qualifying time at the 2015 Chicago Marathon, and then missing the cutoff by a half minute, I felt like I had a score to settle after that disappointment. I knew however, that trying to improve on a marathon best that was ten minutes faster than my previous personal best was not going to be easy. But this year was shaping up to make me well prepared.
TRAINING
Leading up to the marathon I had already had a pretty good training season, thanks to training for and completing Ironman Lake Placid. The training for IMLP started in late 2015 and 30 weeks later got me to the finish line in the third weekend of July. (You can read my IMLP report here: https://anamazingrun.wordpress.com/2016/07/29/2016-ironman-lake-placid-race-report/ )
I usually follow a sixteen week plan for the marathon. The plan I follow was created by Nike and was promoted by the Chicago Marathon. I was already into Week 2 of the training when I finished up the Ironman. So I wasn’t really starting at the beginning, seeing that I just finished a marathon as the plan had just began. But I needed to dial it back a little for a post-IMLP recovery and it was easy to slide in to the plan where I needed to be. (Here is the plan I followed: https://assets-chicagomarathon-com.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/2014_Advanced_Final.pdf )
So I eased into the plan, adding a few bikes into the mix, and kept checking off the weeks until race day. My longest run was a 22 mile run that I didn’t really want to do, but I got it done. Most of the training was pretty warm, and I struggled to train at a tempo that was near my goal of being under 8 min/miles. But I knew that training and racing were two different things for me, and the summer heat would hopefully be gone by race day.
MARATHON RACE WEEKEND
I went to the expo on Friday midday and found it to be very crowded. I usually buy some race day clothing at the Nike store, but after seeing how long the line was to check out (it actually went outside of their exhibit and wrapped around it!) and being disappointed at the junk they were selling, I almost passed on it. But I ended up buying a white event t-shirt and a new set of red shorts, along with a new visor.
A selfie at the race expo.
Saturday was busy as usual for my family. I was glad that everyone was around for the weekend though. My son Ben didn’t have a XC meet and ended up coming home from college to watch the race. My daughter Ashley was excited to come home and watch the marching band home show that my youngest daughter Rebecca was involved with. I ate a pasta meal with the family at Gatto’s, and then made the trek into Chicago to the hotel.
My usual plan is to walk to the gate where I enter for the corrals just to make sure nothing has changed. Then I walked around a little, grabbed a muffin for breakfast, and a sub sandwich for dinner and headed to my room.
The Art Institute of Chicago flying the “W”- GO CUBS!
I walked through the lobby and got a glimpse of Joan Benoit Samuelson, which was pretty cool. I made it to my room and tried to find the Cubs playoff game on TV. Very disappointed to find the channel it was on wasn’t carried by the hotel. I tried to find it online, only to find that I could only get simple live updates on some dumb MLB website. So I monitored that while I pulled up the Ironman Championship live stream from Kona.
RACE DAY
My alarm went off at 4:30 am and I got up and got ready. I made a cup of coffee, ate my muffin and started getting myself race ready.
I laid out my options and decided to run in the red shorts. Pretty bold decision for me!
I figured out how to use the timer feature on my iPhone. I texted this picture to my wife so she knew what to look for during the race.
I took my own advice and headed to the corrals at 6 am. In the past I have waited too long and had to stand in line waiting to get in. The wait was minimal this time. I walked to the corral area got in line for the toilets. Took care of that and then found a place to sit on the sidewalk outside of Corral B and just relax. People watching was interesting as usual. I saw actor/comedian Rob Riggle getting escorted to the front of the race even though he was wearing an E Corral bib. Must be nice being a celebrity. At about 7:10 am I ate a gel and drank the last of my Gatorade and then used it to inconspicuously pee into before entering the corral. Once in the corral we listened to the National Anthem, watched a group of geese fly over almost on cue, and started moving forward.
26.2 MILES
My plan had been formed by virtue of not making it into Boston. I would shoot for a sub 3:25 marathon, which meant holding about 7:50 min/mile pace. My strategy was to run even splits until either 5 miles, 5K, or less to go seeing how I felt at those times and then push as hard as I could to the end. Race day was perfect – temperature in the 50’s at the start and rising slowly into the low 60’s. There was a moderate breeze that concerned me a little, but I knew we were going to have a great day to run.
Mile 1: 7:36 split – I was running comfortably and wasn’t surprised at this split.
Mile 2: 7:41 split – Another good split, nothing out of the ordinary at this point except I felt like I had to pee again.
Mile 3: 7:44 split – This is the tempo that felt good and I hoped that I could maintain.
Mile 4: 7:43 split – Locked into that tempo. I was starting to sweat somewhat, which surprised me.
Mile 5: 7:39 split – Into Lincoln Park and moving along well. Could really feel the wind here and it definitely cooled me down with my sweaty shirt.
Mile 6: 7:46 split – Soon after leaving the aid station where volunteers were yelling “Gatorade” and “water,” we were met with a guy yelling “cigars, cigarettes.” Funny.
Mile 7: 7:40 split – Getting as far north as we would be, I was glad to be turning around. But as soon as you do, you get hit with the smell of breakfast. Gets me every year. Smells so good.
Mile 8: 8:20 split – Just before the Mile 8 marker I saw the toilets and saw my chance. I had the need to go since the start and I knew I would have to make one pit stop. As far as pee breaks go, this one was typical, but I think that it cost me the sub-3:25. I didn’t try to make up the time here, I just got back on the pace I had been running. I also took my first salt capsule at the aid station. I wasn’t thinking that I would need them today, but the amount of sweating I was doing made me commit to taking one.
Mile 9: 7:42 split – Somewhere in here I tossed the homemade tube sock arm warmers I had. I had rolled them down, but kept them in case it got cold. I kept my gloves, but just held on to them, mainly for personal memento reasons.
My first Chicago Marathon was the 1999 LaSalle Banks sponsored race. They passed these gloves out at the expo to everyone. I kept them as a souvenir. I accidentally grabbed them for this race, which meant if I tossed them I would wouldn’t have these keepsakes anymore. I ended up carrying them throughout the entire race, occasionally wiping sweat from my brow with them.
Mile 10: 7:49 split – Okay, for some reason the race would be a let down for me if I didn’t see Elvis in this mile. Upon turning onto North Avenue, I could hear the music. Normally he is right next to the roadway, but this time he was up a little higher and I wasn’t sure I would be able to get my fist bump. But I saw an opening and went over and yelled “Hey Elvis!” and he met my fist with his. Made my day.
Mile 11: 7:45 split – Mile 11 is pretty much a straight shot back into the Loop. Kept up my pace.
Mile 12: 7:45 split – Somewhere in here I found myself running with a guy carrying an American flag. He was a very popular guy. The crowd was making noise for him and I got energy from that as well. But after the flag hit me in the face a few times, I knew that Flag Man and me would have to part ways.
Mile 13: 7:44 split – Another very close split time and I got through the 13.1 mile marker in 1:41.49. A quick calculation in my head told me I was doing just fine and looking at possibly being closer to 3:20 than 3:25. I saw Kari, Ben and Ashley for the first time through this mile and it gave me a boost. I could tell Ben was following my splits closely and was cheering me on like I usually do for his races. Made me proud.
Mile 14: 7:42 split – A little faster, probably due to seeing the family and starting to head through the Cheer Zone of the route.
Mile 15: 7:38 split – Another faster split time as I headed into the Dead Zone of the race.
Mile 16: 7:58 split – Not sure why there is a 20 second difference. Maybe I hit the split/lap button too early in the previous mile.
Mile 17: 7:55 split – Okay, now I realize that I’m edging closer to 8 min/mile pace. As long as I kept it under 8’s I felt I’d be okay. I saw my family again and got another lift.
Running with the masses at Mile 17. Looks like the C Corral was moving up. I ran with that IM Moo guy for a while and was going to talk to him about the race, but he was wearing earphones.
Mile 18: 7:53 split – I wasn’t feeling bad, I just couldn’t get back to the 7:45’s. I was walking a little more in the aid stations, making sure I was getting a good drink of Gatorade.
Mile 19: 7:46 split – Heading into Pilsen and feeling pretty good still. I could really feel the head wind now.
Mile 20: 7:55 split – At 20, I knew I was doing good but chose not to push any harder yet.
I think this must be right around the 20 Mile mark, where Kari snapped this photo.
Mile 21: 8:05 split – Okay, lots of distractions in Chinatown – the music, crowds and of course the photographers distracted me enough that may have made this a slower mile split.
Mile 22: 7:50 split – It was at this point I made a choice to hold off until the last two miles before pushing hard. I made the same decision in 2015.
Mile 23: 8:07 split – (See note below) Just a 5K to go, and I got my last gel in me. Here’s where in your mind you are ready to turn to the finish line, but the course takes you south and then east for a block until you hit Michigan Avenue for the final stretch. I tried picking off runners that were ahead of me, one at a time.
Mile 24: 8:07 split – (Miles 23 and 24 were averaged as I missed the marker for Mile 23 and hit the lap button around 9:20 or so. I added them together and averaged them for the splits.) I felt like I was really pushing, but the effort was all in my head as it was taking that effort physically to maintain what I perceived as a fast pace. With two miles to go, I put my head down and started running.
Last time seeing the family and the last time getting their much needed pick-me-up. For the second year in a row, we finished the last two miles into a head wind. My bib number would not stay down into the wind.
Mile 25: 7:47 split – That’s more like it, although I thought I was running sub-7 at this point. Toward the end of this mile I saw a sign that read “800M”, meaning 800 meters to go. But my mind read it as “BOOM”, a saying my fellow triathletes had in the 2013 Ironman Wisconsin race. Either way, it was a positive for me.
Mile 26: 7:41 split – The fastest mile I had run since about Mile 14. I turned and climbed “Mount Roosevelt” and it seemed like an eternity. A quick left and I was checking my watch to see how close I was to 3:25. I sprinted with all I had left.
Mile 26.2/FINISH: 3:25.08 – Missed being under 3:25 by 9 seconds. But that really didn’t disappoint me at all. I had just gotten my second Boston qualifier, a BQ-4:52 as they say, which should be more than enough to get me into the 2018 Boston Marathon. If that’s not fast enough, I’m not sure what else I can do.
POST RACE
The finishing chute was a blur. I was really having a hard time moving forward, almost staggering and felt really drained. It wasn’t long and they handed us a bottle of water. I started sipping on it and then grabbed another salt capsule out of my fuel belt and downed it. I made my way to some misting fans and just kind of hung out there a little bit until moving on.
I chose an older lady out of all the volunteers to put the medal around my neck and wrestled with my emotions a little bit. Seems strange that after 16 marathon finishes, I still get a little choked up at finishing a race, especially when I set a personal best or have a great race.
I shuffled along picking up a banana, an apple and a bag of goodies and then saw the group of guys handing out the mylar blankets. They were pushing them like they were car salesmen or something. They were trying to get people to laugh and it worked. I got my blanket and headed for the gate. One last picture as I walked out and then I made my way back to the Hilton to meet my family.
After a quick shower it was a two block walk to Devil Dawg’s on State Street for the usual post event lunch. Another successful Chicago Marathon in the books!
It is mandatory to eat at Devil Dawg’s after any Chicago race.
The tracking app was pretty good this year. Above are my 5K splits. Post race results indicated that I finished 3745th overall, 3148th out of the men, and 201st in my M50-54 age group.
RACE EXTRAS
Here’s some of the details of my race that helped me get another personal best and Boston Qualifier.
Running Gear: Nike 2016 Chicago Marathon Event shirt (not the participant shirt – that is a no-no in my book!) and visor, along with Nike Flex running shorts with the built in mid-thigh liner, all purchased at the expo.
Arm warmers made from new tube socks.
Polyester gloves.
Skin Glide lotion for my feet to prevent blisters.
Two Band-Aid flexible fabric bandages to cover my useless nipples.
Louis Garneau Mid Ride cycling socks.
FuelBelt brand bib number belt with pouch.
ASICS Gel-Exalt 3 running shoes. I have been running in some of the cheapest ASICS shoes I can buy. They were great. I had broken them in two weeks prior to the race.
Three Salted Caramel (extra electrolytes, caffeinated), and four Root Beer flavored GU brand gels. I took one Salted Caramel about 15 minutes prior to the start, then one gel every 30 minutes. Two Root Beer, then one Salted Caramel until they were gone.
Four Salt Stik brand salt capsules. I took one at the hotel at about 6 am, and then took one every hour after the first hour.
One cup of Gatorade at every aid station, with an occasional water as well.
Timex Ironman 50 lap watch. I have a Garmin 910XT but don’t trust it. The Timex Ironman has never let me down.
To qualify and gain entry into the Boston Marathon you have to meet a time standard, what is commonly referred to as a Boston Qualifier (BQ). For my age group that means I have to run a sub-3:30 to even be able to apply. But since the Boston Marathon is such a popular and prestigious race, many runners want to vie for the 25,000 or so slots. So to keep it a competitive race, they award the faster runners first. Those that are 20 minutes under the qualifying times are shoe-ins. So are the 10 minute and 5 minute under runners that apply. I got my BQ at the 2015 Chicago Marathon, running a 3:28:19 on a somewhat warm day for the race. I had qualified! But I was a ‘squeaker’ – a runner that has a small margin of being under the cutoff. My cushion was 1:41. One minute and forty-one seconds. Today, the Boston Athletic Association announced the cutoff time – 2:09. I missed the cutoff by 28 seconds.
The highly anticipated, but extremely regrettable email.
To say it didn’t affect me would be lying. But the disappointment of missing out on what is generally accepted as the pinnacle achievement by twenty-eight seconds stings somewhat. 28 seconds. Where could I have lost 28 seconds in my BQ run at Chicago? Did the weather set me back? It was warm, and it was definitely windy in the last 5K, but I had a personal best race that day. Did I not train enough? Where could I have gained 28 seconds? I had not stopped for any bathroom breaks. I had limited my time spent getting through the aid stations. I had hit my splits very well. I ran the tangents. My nutrition was all going to plan. Truthfully, I think I gave it my best shot.
Earning my BQ at the 2015 Chicago Marathon.
As I finished the 2015 Chicago Marathon I glanced at my watch and saw my time. My reaction was very strange. I had a sense of overwhelming joy at being under my qualifying time, but I knew that the current BQ cutoff was a whopping 2:28 for the 2016 Boston Marathon. I realized that my time probably would not be enough. I had my own personal “ABC Wide World of Sports” moment – I was experiencing the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat all in the post 26.2 mile finish chute. I was both happy and upset. Then I went to Devil Dawgs and had a hot dog.
It didn’t take me long to get over it. I was proud that I had qualified, and extremely proud that I had just set a marathon personal best for myself by ten minutes! So I patted myself on my back and moved on to my 2016 racing season, with the expectation that I would apply for the Boston Marathon when it opened in September of 2016.
September arrived and I hit submit. I knew that it was long shot, but I have spent probably close to 15 or more years attempting to get into this race, so why not? And then this eternal pessimist started to become an optimist. I had come across a Runner’s World online forum that was discussing the cutoff time for the 2017 Boston Marathon. Among the contributors that were posting on this forum were statistics loving runners and stat crunchers who almost took joy in trying to guess what the cutoff would be. Amazingly enough, they were mostly predicting that the cutoff would be less than 30 seconds to even as small as ZERO cutoff! I absorbed it all. One guy I questioned as to what he thought my chances were replied that I was “definitely in”. All the stars were lining up for me. The previous year’s qualifying marathons had been hot, which meant many runners had difficulty qualifying. The 2017 Boston was to be run on the day after Easter Sunday, which would more than likely keep many more away. And they had indicated that the field size may be around 30,000. I waited for two crazy and stressful weeks. Then the email came. 28 seconds.
Actually 28 seconds, Agent 86
I left work at noon and had already talked myself off the ledge. As I was driving home listening to my typical classic rock radio station, one of my favorite songs from one of my favorite bands – STYX – came on the radio. I pulled into the driveway already rocking out to Fooling Yourself (The Angry Young Man) and I was struck by the chorus:
“GET UP! GET BACK ON YOUR FEET! YOU’RE THE ONE THEY CAN’T BEAT, AND YOU KNOW IT! AWW, C’MON! LET’S SEE WHAT YOU GOT. JUST TAKE YOUR BEST SHOT AND DON’T BLOW IT!”
I put on my running gear, and went for my planned marathon training plan run. I have the 2016 Chicago Marathon in ten days. I plan on taking my best shot at another BQ.
Running the Chicago Marathon is an awesome experience regardless if this is your first marathon or one of a many. But if you have never ran Chicago before, here are some things to keep in mind as you prepare for a great weekend and race. Full disclosure – I’m not a running expert, I’m just a guy who has experienced the joys of running and like to share my thoughts and experiences.
PRE-RACE PREPARATION
I will assume that you have adequately prepared and trained for the race. Trust the training you have done to get you to race day. Enjoy the taper that has prepared you to arrive on race day morning fresh and raring to go. Race day is almost here!
READ THE PARTICIPANT GUIDE – It seems like a no-brainer, but I always shake my head when people ask questions about the race that are clearly covered in the guide. The guide will be mailed to you and can also be downloaded from the event website when it becomes available.
ENJOY THE EXPO – The expo at the Chicago Marathon is one of the best around. The expo is free and open to all. First up is packet pick-up. Only YOU can pick up your packet, and it has to be done on Friday or Saturday. There is no race day pick-up. You will need an ID, and either your participant guide, the emailed version of the guide or a smart phone that has the participant info scanned into to it to get your bib and check bag. From there you will head to the far back of the expo to get the shirt. This forces you to walk through the expo. If you feel the shirt size you selected is wrong for you, here’s your chance to exchange it at the booth that handles that. If you have forgotten anything that you think you might need (gels, visor/hat, gloves, etc.), you should be able to easily find it at the expo. Nike is the official gear for the race and will be selling tons of stuff with the official logo, but the other athletic companies will be there as well. On your way out, make sure you pick up a poster. This keeps it from getting smashed and wrinkled up while walking around the expo. I like to frame mine. If it is your very first marathon, consider buying the finisher plaque. It’s a little pricey, but you only have one first-time marathon finish. The expo is less crowded on Friday during the day, but if you have to go on Saturday try to limit the time you spend walking around.
PLAN YOUR TRIP INTO THE CITY – I drove in from the suburbs for my first Chicago Marathon in 1999. The unexpected traffic at 5am left me sitting on the expressway and I almost missed the start. I ended up parking at Soldier Field and ran about a mile to earn a place at the end of the field that was already moving. That forced me to have to zigzag through 25,000 or so slower runners. I think I ran an extra mile just navigating through the field. Then I had to walk what seemed like another marathon back to the car from the finish at the end of the race. Driving in for the expo the day or two before the race gives you a chance to figure out your route for your drive in the morning of the race. Take some time to plan out how early you need to leave to get into the city and find parking that will be accessible to the start and finish of the race. Nothing is worse than having to walk a couple miles back to your car after 26.2 miles of running. And if you are staying at a downtown hotel the night before, you are in good shape. But you still need to know how long it takes to walk from the hotel to your corral. I would normally advise to limit walking around the city the day before, but it pays to walk from the hotel to the entrance to your corral gate to know how to get there.
EAT EARLY THEN RELAX – Carbo-loading is a honored tradition, but I have seen more and more athletes dialing it back quite a bit. The trend seems to be to start fueling up on carbs the days leading up to the race and not just the night before. I will eat a normal sized carbohydrate based meal the day before, but I tend to place greater importance on nutrition during the race. In the past I have found that if I am downtown on the eve of the race, getting a table at a local pasta place near the hotel is going to be a really long wait. Plus you will be standing around on your feet waiting for a table. Look into getting a reservation for yourself a couple of days ahead, or plan on eating before the crowds, sometime around 3pm or so. You will have no worries finding a table and plenty of time to relax in the evening. And salt everything!
LAY OUT YOUR RACE GEAR THE NIGHT BEFORE – Take the time to get your stuff together the night before, lay it all out and check to make sure everything is in good shape. Trying to find your race bib, safety pins, socks, etc. in the dark at 5am is not good for your nerves. I like to put Skin Glide on my feet to prevent blisters, so I will place that near my socks. Wear your bib number on the front per the race rules – this will allow the photographers to be able to sort your photos. There is adequate liquids (water/Gatorade) on the course, so you shouldn’t need a fuel belt. But if you have a special relationship with yours, then by all means wear it. You won’t be the only one. If you feel you need to bring extra band-aids, or salt capsules, or sunglasses, make sure you lay all of that stuff out as well. Don’t forget sunscreen. Although the sun won’t make much of a difference at the start of the race, it’s easy to get burned later in the morning once you are out of the shadows of the downtown buildings.
CHECK YOUR WATCH – If you have a fancy GPS style running watch, make sure that you have charged it fully. Also check to see if you have enough storage room to handle the data from the race. People tend to forget to clear all of those summer training runs from the watch and then find that they do not have enough space to store the race data during the race.
CHECK THE WEATHER – Keep an eye on the weather forecast. Make sure you have comfortable running clothes for a variety of conditions. A good plan is to dress just warm enough with layers that you can shed if you warm up. You can always shed layers, but can’t put them on if you don’t have them. A large garbage bag will work as a rain coat and warming device that you can toss easily. Just be prepared that they may not let you past the gate if you are wearing it before entering.
DECIDE ON A POST RACE MEETING PLACE – Finding your family after the race will be a challenge. If you are staying at a downtown hotel, it has been my routine to just meet everyone back at the hotel room. The finish area will keep pushing the runners through until you hit Balbo. If you pick a common place to meet, say like Buckingham Fountain, expect to find that half the field has chosen that as their meet up place. Pick one away from the crowds and the immediate finish line area.
TRY TO GET SOME SLEEP – I’ve had races where I have tossed and turned all night, and others where I slept like a baby. Don’t be concerned if you don’t get a restful night of sleep. You will still be able to run the race just fine. There will be plenty of time after the race to nap. If you are considering using a sleep aid, make sure you try it out prior to the night before the race.
SET AN ALARM – Set another alarm. Have someone else set an alarm. Double-check your alarms. Set your alarms for at least 5am. This will allow ample time for you to wake up, make sure all of your bathroom needs are taken care of, eat a light breakfast, take care of some more bathroom needs, get dressed, go to the bathroom again, etc.
RACE DAY!
NOTHING NEW ON RACE DAY – This is the golden rule of racing. Now is not the time to try the new shoes you bought at the expo (unless you forgot yours!). It is not the time to eat something completely out of the ordinary for you. Nothing new on race day!
EAT A LIGHT BREAKFAST – I always follow the same routine on race morning that I do during training. I will eat the same thing that I always eat for breakfast, a toasted bagel and coffee. If you run on an empty stomach, now is not the time to eat a banana nut muffin. Nothing new on race day!
GET TO YOUR CORRAL EARLY – This is the mistake I make over and over again. The corrals are accessed by five gates, but if you are in the first wave – Corrals A through E – you need to go through Gate 1. That’s a lot of people to move through the gate. Only runners with bib numbers will be able to get through the gate. The corrals open at 5:30am. Wave 1 corrals close at 7:20am. Don’t be stuck trying to get through the gate to get to your corral. Also, they will only let people in with the correct corral assignment into the corral. If you are in Corral D and your buddy is in Corral E, they won’t let either of you enter the gate that is not assigned to you.
HEAD TO THE TOILETS/GEAR CHECK – Once you get through the gate, you don’t have to head directly to your corral. Getting there early will give you plenty of time to chill out. If you are checking your gear, find the gear check tent and drop it off. Find the line for the toilets and try to make one last attempt before heading into your corral. Avoid walking through wet grass and getting your feet wet. Wet feet = blisters.
ENTER YOUR CORRAL AND RELAX – Once I get in the corral I like to find a dry place to sit down and relax, but once it gets crowded there won’t be any place to sit. Enjoy the circuses, conversations, and the Anthem. It’s GO TIME!
RACING 26.2
Some runners will treat the Chicago Marathon like an event, and others will race it to the best of their abilities. Whatever your goal, whether to just finish or possibly even qualify for the Boston Marathon, here are some tips.
RUN NEGATIVE SPLITS – Studies have shown that running the second half of the race faster than the first half will produce the best results.
HAVE A PLAN B – You can hope for an ideal day for the marathon, but that may not happen. If it’s a going to be a hot day, you may have to dial back your expectations some. Conversely, if the day turns out to be beautiful and you are feeling great, you may want to push a little harder. Hope for the best, but prepare for the worst.
PACING GROUPS – There will be pacing groups that will be running in the race. You can officially join one of them at the expo, or just latch on to one and try to hang on. The leaders of these groups are proven runners and consistently hit their mile splits. They will NOT be running negative splits, they will hit the average pace expected for every mile for the desired finish time (i.e. for a 3:30 finish they will average 8 mins/mile). You will see them holding a sign with the finish time they are expected to hit. But be aware that once the race starts they will drop the large sign and may carry a smaller version. If they aren’t carrying a sign, they definitely will have the expected finish time bib pinned to their back. Also be aware that there may be more than one pacing group for a specific finish time (i.e. Corral B and Corral C each may have a 3:30 pace group). If you started with the Corral B group pacer for 3:30 and end up with the Corral C group pacer you won’t hit your time because the second group started later than the first.
RUN THE THIN BLUE LINE – Most people running the race, even those that have done it numerous times, are unaware that there is a painted blue line running the length of the course. That blue line is the official race route. If you stay on that line you will run the most direct route. It’s hard to do at times due to the amount of people running with you, but running the tangents is always smart racing.
AID STATIONS CAN BE TRICKY – There are 20 aid stations and they are sporadically spaced apart. Each will have tables on both sides of the road. There will be large blue banners for water and large orange banners for Gatorade. The common advice is to avoid the first few tables as they will be crowded, but if everyone is doing that then the back tables become crowded too. I look for my opening and take it. Make eye contact with the volunteer or point at them so they know that you are coming for their cup. They may then try to extend it a little for you. There will be toilets at each aid station. If you know you need to stop, try to spot them right away and head there or you might pass them by.
WATCH YOUR STEP! – The aid stations can get very slick and you could easily slip with all of the water/Gatorade/gels/cups/banana/garbage on the ground. Also, watch out for course jumpers. These are spectators who have decided that they would rather be on the other side of the course and then just dart straight across. You will cross the river four times in the downtown area on bridges that are made of metal grates. These can be tough on your feet. There will be some thin carpet laid down over a small section of it. Head for the carpet if the footing bothers you.
ENJOY THE SIGHTS – What makes the Chicago Marathon so much fun is the city, crowds, and circuses of running through 29 neighborhoods. There will be awesome entertainment along the way. Take some time to enjoy the race! My personal favorite is high-fiving Elvis around the 10 mile mark.
AVOID MENTAL FATIGUE – It’s easy to get physically tired running 26.2 miles, but this race can drain you mentally as well. The crowds and the noise almost make me wish I had earplugs at times. And unless you know exactly where to look for family, spending time studying faces in the crowd will drain you. Try to know ahead of time where they will be. Or pick a side of the course to be on and tell the family that you will be running on that side. Also, try breaking the race up into small segments, for instance every 5 miles, instead of counting down each mile.
USE THE COURSE TO YOUR ADVANTAGE – If race day is warm, try to stay in the shadows of the big buildings of the early stages of the race. Conversely, head for the sunshine if you are cold. If there is a head wind or you feel cold, tuck yourself in behind a group of runners and use them to block the wind.
AVOID NON-AID STATION OFFERINGS – Somewhere near the last 10K of the race there will be a guy passing out cups of beer. In Pilsen, there will be good intentioned people passing out orange slices and pretzels. In my opinion, unless you really need a lift, I would pass on these offerings just because you just don’t know how they might affect you. Nothing new on race day, remember?
SMILE FOR THE CAMERA – There will be several photographers along the course. Sometimes there will be a sign that says “photographer ahead” and sometimes you will later see your photos and don’t remember them being there. The common places are near Mile 12 when you cross the river, at about 21.5 miles in Chinatown, and a big group of photographers taking photos from above around the 23 mile area. And of course, at the finish. Here’s your chance to look like a champion!
WATCH OUT FOR THE HILL – How hilly is the Chicago Marathon? It’s the opposite of hilly. There will be a few up and down sections over bridges and such, but it’s basically a flat course. But there is one hill of note, and it comes at the 26 Mile mark on Roosevelt Road. You will turn right at the corner and climb this hill for about a couple hundred yards, then it’s a left turn and a downhill to the finish. Just a minor nuisance really.
STOP YOUR WATCH – Don’t forget to stop your watch at the end. And don’t be confused if the official time being displayed on the clocks is different from your time. The official clocks start when the race begins, but you will be chip timed starting when you crossed the Start Line and ending at the Finish Line.
THE COURSE
You will be going on quite an adventure running through 29 different neighborhoods. In truth, the road you are running on will be pretty much the same, with the exception of some rough feeling bridges, so there are not too many surprises. Here’s some advice on how to handle the miles.
MILES 1-5: You will be super excited and filled with adrenaline at the start. Try to hold back your pace. Let the rabbits go, resisting the urge to get caught up in the tempos of the other participants. By the time you get to Mile 5 you should be in a comfortable pace, and no longer bumping elbows with everyone. You will be tempted to bypass the water/Gatorade but you shouldn’t, especially if it is a warm day. Don’t get behind on staying hydrated or fueled. It’s too hard to catch back up. There aren’t too many highlights through these miles, just lots of tall buildings.
MILES 6-10: This section of the race will be exciting. Lots of fans and entertainment on the course. You will also be as far north as you will be on the course just after Mile 7. From then on you are heading back into downtown. By Mile 6 you will probably warmed up fairly well and might want to think about shedding a layer. But if you are cool, wait until you get past Mile 8 because you will be heading south and there might be a change in wind direction that could influence your comfort. Keep taking hydration and fuel. The highlights in this section include Lincoln Park, and a glimpse of Lake Michigan near Lake Shore Drive. Also, Wrigleyville and Boystown will certainly be entertaining. Rifle spinners, cheerleaders, and other crazy stuff.
MILES 11-15: As you head back into downtown, the crowds get very big again. Old Town’s tree-lined streets can provide some shade in this section. Coming up is the half-way point just as you turn west. If you are running for a charity, you will see those cheer sections around Mile 14. It’s a huge pick-me-up even if you aren’t part of their group. Take a look around you – you will probably notice by now that you have settled in with a group of similar paced runners, and you will probably be with those same runners for quite some time. After Mile 14, things change.
MILES 16-20: After Mile 14 the crowds become very thin and sometimes non-existent. You have entered the dead-zone. But you will be prepared for it from all of those lonely miles you put in during training. The scenery through here is pretty blah. It will be quiet until you get to Pilsen around Mile 19. If you haven’t taken an assessment of yourself yet, now’s the time. Have you been hydrating? Taking in gels or other food? How are your splits looking? How do your legs feel? Make some adjustments and remember your race plan goals to see if you are still on target. Also, around Mile 20 is the time when the dreaded “Wall” makes an appearance. Actually, I find the wall to be easily overcome by just keeping yourself fueled with gels and other food. Keep your energy up and you will not have to deal with the wall.
MILES 21-25: Ah, Chinatown! This is the section that is always the reminder that we are winding this race down. About five miles to go! But your mind can play tricks on you because you start heading further south at this point, farther away from the downtown finish line. It’s not long until you hit Michigan Avenue and start heading north again. There will be fewer crowds here as most will be wanting to be near the finish. Just keep getting to each aid station and keep moving forward!
MILES 26-26.2: Make the turn onto Roosevelt Road and tackle that hill! You are almost home! The trip down Columbus Drive will be very short, but you will want it to last longer. Soak up that finish! Great job!
THE FINISH
Hooray! You did it! You finished the Chicago Marathon. Well done. Your job isn’t over yet, though.
KEEP MOVING – You should definitely stop running (ha!), but don’t stop moving. Keep the blood pumping until your heart rate comes back down. There might be some mister-type fans for cooling if you need it. And those mylar type wraps/blankets that they pass out will make a difference as your warm body cools down and you find yourself now slightly chilled.
AVOID SITTING – That curb may look like a great place to rest, but getting back up from it will be difficult.
GET YOUR MEDAL – This is what you came for, right? It’s hard to miss the many people passing out medals, but I’ve seen more than one person backtrack to get one. And please, only take one.
REHYDRATE AND REFUEL – Take a water or recovery drink and try to rehydrate. If you can eat something, try some pretzels, chips or eat a banana to help get your sodium and potassium levels back up.
IF YOU NEED HELP, SEEK IT OUT – There will be course marshals in the chute sitting up high on stands monitoring everyone walking through. If they notice that someone is not looking right, they will get someone over to them. But if you aren’t doing so well, maybe feeling lightheaded or nauseated, there are areas near the Medical Tent that volunteer medical professionals will be at to help you recover. Their goal is to keep you out of the main medical tent, which is not where you really want to end up. If you make it there you are probably going to get an IV, or an ambulance ride to the hospital.
TAKE YOUR TIME GETTING TO THE EXIT – You probably are ready to go find your family, but make sure you are in good walking shape before leaving and meeting your loved ones at your previously agreed upon meeting spot. You probably won’t be allowed back in once you leave. Get your finisher photo taken again with your medal, use the bathroom, grab another water and make sure you are in good enough condition to make it to where you are heading.
That’s about it. Thanks for reading and enjoy the Chicago Marathon!
I’m a veteran of exactly two Ironman races, Ironman Wisconsin in 2013 and Ironman Lake Placid in 2016, and I loved them both. In my preparation for both of those races, I gained valuable information from many different sources, including the event websites, videos, triathlon websites, and race reports and recaps. I found that some opinions on the two races were clearly subjective mainly due to allegiance to the race they did, and I also had that question in the back of my mind – how could Lake Placid be as good as Madison? The two courses are often mentioned as being among the toughest of the courses in North America. So I thought it would be interesting to compare the two, based solely on my experiences at both events and list some pros (lots) and cons (few) of each one. I don’t think I could declare a winner, they both were awesome!
(Author’s note: I’ve now also completed Ironman Louisville! Someday I will update this post to include it as well.)
RACE RECAPS FROM BOTH RACES
Here are my race recaps/reports from both races to provide some background on how the races went for me. Both days were outstanding!
Ironman Wisconsin is held in and around the Madison area. Madison is the capital of Wisconsin and is the home to the University of Wisconsin. It is the second-largest city in Wisconsin behind Milwaukee. The swim is conducted in Lake Monona in downtown Madison. The bike course takes you through the communities of Madison, Fitchburg, Mt. Horeb, Cross Plains, and Verona on a two-loop course before heading back to Madison. The run course is downtown Madison and also through the campus of UW Madison. Overall, Madison is a modern, vibrant city with lots of entertainment options and things to do. Ironman Wisconsin has been around since 2002.
Ironman Lake Placid takes place in the Adirondack Mountains of New York, and Lake Placid was the host to the 1932 and 1980 Winter Olympic games. Since 1999, it is the longest-running American Ironman other than the World Championship in Kona. Lake Placid is a small but awesome tourist town that seems like it would burst at the seams with all the athletes and attendees for the event, but it is more than accommodating. The swim is actually held in the smaller Mirror Lake and is known for calm water and an underwater cable that marks the course, making it easy to stay on the swim course. Biking is an exhilarating trip through the Adirondack Mountains, through the towns of Keene, Jay, and Wilmington. The run course is an out and back from downtown Lake Placid. If you can imagine the most picturesque lake and mountainous resort town, Lake Placid would fit the bill.
LODGING
For both races, I was blessed to have a great travel coordinator on my side (my racing buddy’s wife) who is very savvy at securing great lodging for our races. At Wisconsin, our lodging was at the event host hotel, the Monona Hilton, which is ground zero for all things Ironman Wisconsin. Everything is right there, the expo, the transition area, the swim start, and the finish line are all right outside the doors of the Hilton. Being so close to everything was vital to me. I had a lake view from my window and it was amazing. There are many other local hotels nearby or within a short walking distance of the start and finish of the race, as well as options for renting rooms or local houses as well.
The view from the Monona Hilton in Madison looking over the bike transition area and Lake Monona. Madison, WI
Lake Placid seems like such a small and quaint town that you wonder how they could have hosted such a huge event like the Winter Olympics, but there are plenty of options available here as well. Once again, my travel coordinator found us great lodging at the Mirror Lake Hampton Inn. This hotel was directly across the street from Mirror Lake, and the race viewing options for your crew is awesome, having a front-row view of the swim, the bike, and the run courses. My room faced away from the race, but if you have extra cash you can opt for a room that faces all the action with a balcony. The expo and transition area are within a quarter mile or so walking distance. Another nice option was the wrist strap door key, which allowed lodgers entry to the hotel and room without having to carry a plastic key card around. I even wore the strap during the race.
My Gunner teammates outside of the Mirror Lake Hampton Inn where we stayed. Very bike and triathlete friendly.
I couldn’t have been happier with the above lodging options. There is great lodging for both locations, but the key to getting what you want is to get it as early as possible.
DINING
There are plenty of options for eating at both locales. Madison has quite a few higher-end restaurant options than Lake Placid did, but you won’t have any issues finding places to eat at either location. In Wisconsin, we did eat at the athlete’s dinner, which really isn’t the best option for fine dining, but it fed us while we listened to Mike Reilly’s talk.
At Lake Placid, there is no athlete dinner, but in its place is a voucher for dining virtually anywhere you can find food in town. I think I prefer this method as you can choose what you want to eat and when you want to use your voucher.
At Wisconsin, it seemed like you had to hunt for a place to eat. At Lake Placid, all you had to do was walk down the main street for the many dining options.
SPECTATING
Both IMWI and IMLP have a spectator guide that you can download from the race page or pick up a printed copy at the expo. But there are some key things about both races.
For the swim at IMWI, the best viewing is on top of the Monona Terrace or the car ramps (commonly referred to as the “helixes”) on either side. Both will get you a prime elevated spot for a great view of the swim. You can also walk along the adjacent bike path and watch from the lake level. At Lake Placid, there really isn’t an elevated area in which to watch unless you consider the VIP viewing point from the second floor of the beach house next to the beach. My wife chose to stay on the ground on the left-hand side in order to see the Swim In and Out.
Even with the crowds, I was able to easily find my wife as I made the turn for the second lap at Lake Placid.
As for the bike, Wisconsin has more options than Lake Placid. If you can find easy to get to parking you can drive your own car out of town to the best viewing spots, but a lot of the spectators opt for the free shuttle bus trip to Verona where you can see the cyclists come through the aid station. Mike Reilly will be there and there are plenty of food options going on.
Coming into the aid station in Verona, WI where most of the spectators come to view the action on the bike course.
Lake Placid is very tough to watch the bike portion of the race. Almost all stay in town and some will opt for walking to the Three Bears portion of the race, which is just northeast of Mirror Lake and close to the downtown event. There are other viewing options on the backside of Herb Brooks Arena where the cyclists will be finishing loops. This is where Mike Reilly and the other announcers will be if you need to be near “the Voice”.
The run course in Madison and Lake Placid takes the runners for an out and back, but if you like to see more than just the beginning, the half-marathon turn, and the finish, you can see quite a bit more at Madison by jogging a couple of blocks to see the runners around mile 6 before they turn around.
Mirror Lake is the winner here for me hands down. I can’t believe that this little lake with its two-lap swim could handle that number of people in a mass start that was the norm prior to the change to a rolling start. Lake Monona can handle that amount of people okay, but it still is a washing machine of swimmers. Plus Mirror Lake has that cable running the entire course to guide you along. I feel like Mirror Lake is probably less prone to currents and rough water as well. IMLP feeds the athletes into the water to help spread out the field, and self-seeding helps keep the swimmers grouped with likeability swimmers. Of course, there are a few that should seed themselves more realistically, but I found we were flowing along pretty well.
IMWI struggled to get all the athletes into the water prior to the start of the race and even though there are many with their favorite starting locations, there isn’t really an advantage in my opinion to being wide or along the buoys at the start. Plus there seemed to be much more contact for me at Wisconsin than at Lake Placid. One tradition that IMWI has is that everyone “moos” like a cow going around the first turn buoy.
IMWI 2013
IMLP 2016
I liked getting out of the water after one loop at IMLP. It gave my mind a little rest and helped break up the swim for me. I had a much easier swim at IMLP than IMWI.
(Author’s note: IMWI has since changed from a mass swim start to a rolling seeded start. – Yay!)
TRANSITION
I think Ironman Wisconsin wins this one by virtue of one fact – it’s inside the Monona Terrace. Being inside means that you don’t have to worry about the weather at all, and it’s air-conditioned and carpeted. The trip from the swim exit is sand-free and paved leading to a circular car ramp that everyone refers to as the “helix.” There are three trips on the helix, once from the swim to T1, and then during Bike Out heading down the other helix located on the other end and back up it when you return. Going down can be interesting, but coming up is a little bit of a last-minute adrenaline boosted climb into T2. The Run Out skips the helix and sends you on your way from another ramp to the street.
Lake Placid has all of the transition located conveniently in the Olympic oval. When you get to transition the gear bags are right there for you, and it’s a quick trip to the change tents. Cycling down the helix at IMWI can be tricky, but IMLP has a tough ride out of transition as well. Take caution leaving both transitions on your way out of T1.
Hanging my bags on the racks at Lake Placid.
My Run Gear bag (2585) sitting on the floor inside of the Monona Terrace.
THE BIKE COURSES
Both IMWI and IMLP have bike courses that come with a solid reputation of being tough rides and I found them both to be challenging and exhilarating. The main difference between the two courses’ difficulty lies in the type of hilly terrain that defines the rides. IMWI is very hilly, with one roller after another, whereas IMLP is very hilly in a mountainous way! The climbing tends to be short and intense at Wisconsin, but at Lake Placid, you will be doing an uphill grind for large chunks of the course.
The course at IMWI is a two, 40-mile loop affair with a section leading from Madison to the loops that is referred to as “the Stick.” The Stick is 16 miles long and gets you out of town with a mixture of park bike path, arena parking lot, highway, and then more rural roads leading you to the town of Verona. The Stick is nothing heading out, as you are raring to go, but it will definitely get your attention coming back to Madison. Pace yourself and don’t burn out your legs for the run on the Stick coming back to T2. Overall, the course takes you through beautiful rural farmland of Wisconsin, with lots of changing scenery.
Both courses boast of a section of three hills that have garnered reputations as being miserable and difficult. At IMWI these three hills are referred to as the “Three Bitches.” The hills are tough but are easily tamed by just spinning up to the top. The hills come about halfway through the loop, around mile 42 and again around mile 85. After getting through the hills you will be treated to a nice descent back into Verona and onto the second loop or the trip back to Madison.
Struggling up the last of the Three Bitches in Wisconsin. The crowds get you through it.
At IMLP the hills are cutely referred to as the “Three Bears.” They come at the very end of the first and second loops as you come back into Lake Placid. Truthfully, I did not find the Three Bears to be as difficult as the Three Bitches. Momma Bear comes first and isn’t a big deal at all. Baby Bear is very tame, and in my opinion barely qualifies as a hill. Papa Bear is the one that gets your attention. It climbs, then turns, then climbs some more. But it is short-lived. I didn’t find them to be as difficult as the climb from Wilmington back to Lake Placid, a section called “the Notch.” But if you are patient and can find a comfortable tempo to keep chugging along, you will get through this long climb.
Riding up Papa Bear heading into Lake Placid.
Both courses have great fans along the route that many equate to a Tour de France feel. These stretches are a real boost emotionally and help you get through both the Three Bitches in Wisconsin and the Three Bears in Lake Placid.
The best part of biking IMWI – the fan support along the course, and the descents on Garfoot Road and Timber Lane. The parts to dread – the climb into Mt. Horeb, the Three Bitches, and the bumpy section on Stagecoach Drive. You’ll feel like you are on a stagecoach.
(Author’s note: Stagecoach Drive has since been repaved.)
Wisconsin scenery includes farms. And cows. Lots of farms and cows.
You’ll love the scenery in Lake Placid and the Adirondacks on your ride. And the descent into Keene is exhilarating. It’s possible to hit 50 mph on that 6-mile ride, but it is scary as hell. You’ll loathe the long climbs that pretty much take up half the ride. Good luck with that.
Lake Placid scenery includes mountains. And trees. Lots of mountains and trees.
THE RUN COURSES
Both of the run courses have great scenery, fan support, and awesome finishing chutes. You will do two loops at both locations, which is very typical in most Ironman races.
At IMWI you will pass the state capital building and get to run through some impressive areas of the campus of the University of Wisconsin. The highlight is heading into Camp Randall where the Badgers play for a loop around the football field. In Lake Placid, you pass the Olympic Ski Jumps as you head out and back.
On the run in Madison, you will be on the other side of town and run by Lake Mendota.
Lake Placid has farms too! (I shaved my legs for IMLP!)
As far as the courses, both are very similar. They are mostly flat, with a couple of big hills that a lot of athletes will walk up. I found that I never felt lost at Lake Placid like I did at Madison. There was several times in Madison when I wondered where I was. I went into a port-o-potty at one point and upon coming out I couldn’t remember which way I was going! Never had that issue at Lake Placid.
The main difference between the two is the scenery. Lake Placid takes you from downtown out to fields and trees, which is very nice. At Madison, you will be near buildings and people for most of the run.
I love the finishing chute at Wisconsin, with having the Capital in the background all lit up as you finish. But finishing on the Olympic Oval makes you feel like an Olympic champion. Both are cool.
CONCLUSION
The day after the race, Madison gets back to being a state capital and back to business like the race was held a month earlier. I kind of felt like I needed to get out of Madison’s way, as the town needed to get back to normalcy. At Lake Placid, it seemed like everyone wanted to stay and take some time to enjoy the wonderful town without all of the race anxiety.
As I mentioned before I can’t pick a favorite, I truly loved my experience at both locales. But I think I had my best race at Lake Placid only because I learned from what I experienced at Wisconsin.
In the end, you can’t go wrong with either race location, both are well run, beautiful and an experience of a lifetime! Do them both!
I was 16 years old when Al Michaels celebrated with the rest of the United States with his famous words while we watched Team USA defeat the USSR in hockey in the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, New York. At that time Ironman was two years old, and I certainly didn’t think that I would ever be in Lake Placid or do an Ironman. But 36 years later, here I was in the place where a historic event took place looking for a little miracle of my own.
Herb Brooks Arena, home of the 1980 Winter Olympics and the “Miracle on Ice.”
THE ROAD TO IRONMAN LAKE PLACID
My two lifelong friends, Dave, John and I had done Ironman Wisconsin together in 2013. That race was somewhat of a bucket-list experience, and we really never thought about doing more prior to finishing that race. But we kind of caught the triathlon bug, or I did in particular. After a couple of years, we started talking about doing another. Dave’s son Alex had been asking to do a full iron distance race, and another longtime friend Jeff had recently taken up the sport. So with renewed interest in completing another Ironman, Dave suggested that we take on Lake Placid.
Why Lake Placid? We had already done Madison, so a new venue was intriguing. We knew what to expect as far as riding tough bike courses like Madison, and figured Lake Placid couldn’t be much different. Also, the lake has a guide cable running in the water about 10 feet or so down and takes you right along the swim course. Plus, Lake Placid had a reputation as one of the best. So off to the Adirondacks we went.
The five of us registered on the day after the 2015 race, the typical time when the registration starts for the next year. I was on a college tour with my daughter Ashley, and registered using my iPhone. In retrospect I could have waited, but I wanted to make sure I got in. It was somewhat comical walking around looking at a college campus with my phone in my hand, falling behind the group and registering for an Ironman.
We nicknamed ourselves the “Gunners,” mainly because of Alex’s penchant for gunning for everything. But in essence, we all had the gunning for the win mentality. It just seemed like a fitting team name. And it sounded cool.
In 2013 we chose to follow Don Fink’s book, Be Iron Fit, for training and it served us well. We decided without any hesitation that we would follow the same 30-week Competitive training plan to prepare us for Lake Placid.
New Year’s Eve, 2015 – The start of 30 weeks of training
TRAINING
The training for the race went fairly well for all of us. This time around Alex formed a text group for just us five to share information and support each other. In true Gunner spirit, it almost became a race to see who could finish the workout first, which was usually punctuated with the text “day done.” It was fun stuff until John kept telling us that he was done – at 12:15 am!!! I learned to put my phone on sleep mode after a few of those.
As far as the plan was concerned, I missed some swimming due to a variety of issues, but it didn’t really effect me in the end. In the almost 3 years since doing Madison, I must have garnered a decent swim technique. Doing the 70.3 in Muncie, Indiana in 2014 was a turning point for me. It’s one lap, seeded swim was a perfect swim for me and I hoped that Lake Placid would be very similar, just twice the length. The distance doesn’t scare me any longer.
I was well prepared for the running. I started a running streak on 1/1/2015 and have run at least a mile everyday. I think it has made me a better runner, not only because I run more, but it has conditioned my legs to handle the workload much better.
The bike is another story. Lake Placid is in the Adirondack mountains and Illinoisans are commonly called “flatlanders” for a reason. I envied Dave and Alex because out in western Illinois where they live they have some pretty good rolling hills for training. I on the other hand commonly ride on a flat rails-to-trails bike path and very gentle hilly terrain in the rural south of Chicago suburbs.
But we did have a few times where we could get together and train.
Riding the rollers in Dave’s neck of the woods.Riding in wind in my neck of the woods.John and I suffering through the dreaded Week 27 six hour ride together.
In total:
30 weeks of training
Approximately 1,050 miles of running, 2,600 miles of cycling, and 149,000 yards of swimming
360 hours of total training
TRAVELING TO LAKE PLACID
Unfortunately, my kids had a busy summer schedule this year and couldn’t join my wife and me for the race. So Kari and I plotted out a little fun trip on our way to and from the race. We packed up the car and headed to Niagara Falls, Ontario on Wednesday 7/20. My first time in Canada, eh! We had never been to the falls and we weren’t disappointed. It was an awesome sight.
Niagara Falls! Slowly I turned, step by step, inch by inch…
Getting through customs was interesting for me. Kind of made me nervous with all the questions. But after a night at the Falls, we left Canada on Thursday and drove directly to Lake Placid, New York.
Upon getting to the hotel I was fried. It was a long car ride, the anxiety about the race was starting to build, and my Gunner teammates were waiting for me to do a swim and bike. I got there and my attitude was awful. I just wanted to settle in and let myself catch up, but after I unloaded my junk and a trip to registration to get my race packet, off we went to Mirror Lake for a planned 30 minute swim.
You can see it in my face that I wasn’t enjoying the moment like the rest of the Gunners.
My plan all along was to get into the lake and swim it pre-race, so I grumpily got in the water and started swimming. The first thing that I wanted to see was the famous cable in the lake that the course runs along. I was surprised by what I saw. I was expecting a large pipe type thing at the bottom of the lake, but in essence it is a thin cable, much like a clothesline, and was suspended in the water about 10 feet down. Very easy to see and follow.
Even though I had been a little gruff before the swim, swimming actually made me feel much better. It took away the tension and anxiety and I felt much better. When I looked at my watch I saw that I had did a loop in about 36 minutes I couldn’t believe it. I swam Muncie 70.3 in 43 minutes, so this was huge! I almost wanted to swim another lap!
I was in a much better place after the swim! Standing next to the official rock of Ironman Lake Placid.
Next up was a scouting mission of the bike course. Dave and Jeff had arrived earlier in the week and had ridden some of the course. First up was a trip to the infamous “3 Bears” – Momma, Baby and Papa Bear are nicknames of the last hills you have to climb coming back into Lake Placid at the end of the bike loop. Riding down them was fun and we rode out about 20 minutes and turned around. I expected them to be a hard climb coming up, but on fresh legs they really seemed kind of tame. I even have some hills by me that are just as much of a climb.
Then we took a spin over to where BIKE OUT was located to scout the beginning portion of the race. Unbelievable downhill at the start. I took some serious notes about using my brakes at the start of this ride.
The Gunners getting ready to scout the bike course.
We capped off the day with a pizza dinner and great conversation.
A morning run with the gang along the back portion of the run loop was done on Friday morning. We spent some time at the expo where I found that the finisher’s stuff was already on the racks for sale. Usually they put that stuff out post-race on Monday morning. Had this been my first Ironman, I would have avoided it. But since I was confident that I knew I would finish, I went ahead and bought the finisher’s jacket, a couple of the race shirts that had the competitors names on the back, and a coffee mug just so I wouldn’t have to worry about making sure that they still had my size after the race.
Kari and I had a nice lunch away from the group and then drove the bike course in our car. All I could say was WOW! Beautiful scenery, exceptionally good roads, and unbelievable hills! I was glad I took the time to drive it, but when you are on the bike it was a very different experience. I’m not sure why the Three Bears get all the credit. There were many other hills out there that should have names too.
The Gunners finally made it to the Athlete Welcoming Ceremony after trying to find the non-existent park it was located at. Mike Reilly made his first appearance, and Ironman weekend was starting to become real.
We sat and listened to some kid sing some songs and hoping someone would get the hook.
Capped off Friday with a dinner at the Boat House with Kari and her parents who made the trip to watch us race.
We spent Saturday making the same rookie mistake we always do, walking around in the heat instead of staying off our feet. We took our bikes and gear bags to transition and got it all set to go.
Standing in line, waiting to enter transition in the Olympic oval.Bike gear contents. I was concerned that the morning would be cool, but I opted for arm warmers instead of a long sleeve shirt. I’m glad I had the water and the towel in the bag to wash off the sand from the swim exit off my feet.For the Run Gear Bag I put in some baby wipes to freshen up and a fresh pair of socks that I didn’t use.Group photo of the Gunners and the Gunner Fans! Their support throughout the week and on race day was AWESOME!One last group Gunner photo by the rock.
IRONMAN LAKE PLACID RACE DAY
The alarm went off at 3:15 am. I went downstairs and claimed my breakfast meal bag the Mirror Lake Hampton Inn provided the triathletes. I ate the bagel, yogurt and banana and spent time making sure the bathroom situation was all good. Then we headed to transition to ready our Gunner-mobiles (Alex’s term) and get body marked.
Body marking is dumb. I had her draw a smiley face on my calf.Pumping up my tires. I used the highly scientific finger/thumb pinch method of checking the air pressure.My father-in-law Gary staked out his viewing spot early in the morning.Donning my wetsuit for a 6:00 am pre-race swim warm-up. So glad I did this. It helped me get comfortable in the wetsuit, and of course I took the time to pee.Very foggy race morning. I was thinking that I should use the clear goggles, but the fog did burn off after the first loop.
THE SWIM – 1:18:57 – 2:02/100M – 122 M50/54 – 951 Male – 1225 Overall
The swim went as expected for me. My plan was to watch where others were swimming as I entered the water and then head for the path of least resistance. Unfortunately, the path changed many times. I drifted left and right, other swimmers changed their minds, and the majority wanted to be on that cable. For the most part I stuck to about 10 yards or so off to the left of the cable and just kept sighting for open space to be in. The cable and the buoys and the majority of the swimmers swimming along the cable make it pretty easy to stay on course.
The turns were tough with a lot of contact and some treading water and dog paddling, but I got around them. I checked my watch after the first loop – 38 minutes! All good.
I saw Kari on the beach when I entered the water for the first loop and she was still there on the second loop. I waved and she grabbed this photo. Mike Reilly (in the blue) probably thought I was waving at him.
The second loop had spread out a little more than the first and I found that I could be on the cable with little contact. I stuck mostly to the inside of it as it was less occupied. About halfway down going out I got a Charley Horse type calf cramp. I never get these, but I surmised that it was probably from the tightness of the wetsuit causing it. I swam over to a kayaker/volunteer and she inquired if I was okay. I said I had a calf cramp and just needed to massage it out. I was there less than 20 seconds.
As I made the turn around the buoys, I got another cramp in the same left calf. This time I just rubbed it with my right foot and jumped back into the fray. I got a little pummeled at this point in which I had a brief primal release (I yelled at a guy), but it was just too many people at the same spot trying to go in the same direction all at once.
The backside of the swim heading back was uneventful the rest of the way. I looked up and saw 1:18 on the clock and was pleasantly surprised. I swam a 1:30 in Wisconsin. Big improvement for me.
Reaching for my zipper pull which appears to be hanging over my other shoulder. This is the look of a guy very happy to be done with the swim. Now on to T1 and the two activities I actually like!
T1 – SWIM to BIKE – 10:46
It was a hike to get from the swim exit to transition. Had to run up the beach, down a road to a carpeted sidewalk and then into T1. I found my bags easily as I knew exactly which row to go down and I had placed some green duct tape on the bags so they would stand out. Upon getting inside I couldn’t find a place to sit. I finally found a place and laid all my junk out. I used the water bottle to rinse the sand off my feet and then dried them off. I put on my homemade arm warmers (long white tube socks from Walmart) and my glasses and they immediately fogged up. I got my socks and shoes on after a liberal amount of Glide on my toes, and had a volunteer spray me with some sunscreen. He packed up all my junk and off I went. By the time I made it to my bike mount row a volunteer had my bike waiting for me, I grabbed it and off I went.
THE BIKE – 6:46:15 – 16.54 mph ave. – 106 M50-54 – 944 Male – 1149 Overall
The bike was interesting to say the least. It was hard, it was easy, it was beautiful, it was peaceful, it was crazy, it was scary. I felt like a Gunner heading out of T1 and down the hills. I was surprised to see Kari and my mother-in-law Darla at the bottom of the first hill. That started the ride off on a great note.
Look Ma! One hand!
After getting down that first hill I was contemplating pulling over and peeing. I had to go really bad. I had tried while I was on the second loop of the swim, but just couldn’t go. It wasn’t long though until we hit the first Bike Aid station and I was able to stop for a potty break.
Then the climbing began. A lot of climbing. Another rider audibly warned everyone not to mash up the hills as she was getting passed by everyone. In all honesty I couldn’t go any slower and not suffer just as much. My heart rate monitor was screaming at me, but there was nothing I could really do. The only way to bring it down would be to walk! I tried my best and just kept climbing in my easiest chainring combination.
Then the descent began. A lot of descent. I have never felt my bike make so many new wobbles and vibrations. I have never felt quite so afraid on my bike before. In Wisconsin I hit 47 mph and was kind of mad that the hill ended. But the famous (or infamous!) descent into Keene was 6 miles long and scary as hell! Fortunately the descent had been repaved recently and as far as the road was concerned, it was perfect. I hit 45 and started applying the brakes as we serpentined our way down into Keene. I am so glad that I kept my hands on the brakes! Being in aero would have scared the crap out of me.
We got into Keene and the road flattened out. The scenery changed and the ride became somewhat calm and reassuring again. We just rolled along through some beautiful mountainous country.
When will I learn to stop giving the peace sign or sticking my tongue out when I see a photographer? I should have stayed in aero. I was just happy that I survived the descent!
There are two out and backs on this looped course, and while I was heading out on the longer first out and back I saw Dave for the first time heading the other way. Not much longer after that I saw John. About 5 minutes later I hit the turn around and figured that Dave had about a 15 minute lead on me and John about 10 minutes.
At 35 miles into the ride I decided to do a little work and push pace. I had been riding flats and was feeling good. Then the hills started. I couldn’t believe the amount of climbing that was going on. It shouldn’t come as a surprise that to get back to where I started and after all the descending I had done that I would have to climb it back. But it seemed to go on forever. At one point we were riding up a hill and I said to a guy that this hill was much harder than the dumb Bears. It should’ve been called Grandpa Bear. It definitely wasn’t Teddy Bear, that’s for sure.
Finally got to Papa Bear (Momma Bear and Baby Bear aren’t even worth mentioning) and saw Kari and Darla. Lots of crazy crowd support through that hill. It made for a fun part of the ride. Thankfully after cresting Papa Bear it was downhill into town for Loop 2.
Climbing up Papa Bear on the first loop. It was nothing compared to the hills I climbed to get to it!
The second loop was tough. I tried like crazy to budget my energy and spin up the hills but it was tough. I got a little braver going down the descent into Keene, but still held the speed at about 45 mph.
I saw John again on that first out and back and could tell I was closer, but I never did catch him on the bike. I did see Jeff behind me, but I had about 3 miles or so of a lead on him. I knew he was lurking though! Damn Gunners. Always gunning.
As far as the aid stations, they seemed to be strategically placed on the hills which was sort of a blessing as riders were going slower through them and not blazing by trying to grab a bottle. I stopped about 4 or 5 times to use the toilets and refuel, but for the most part I rode through them as well, something I didn’t do in Wisconsin.
At about 80 miles I stopped and grabbed some Vasoline for my crotch. I was really starting to get sore from sitting and it helped a lot. I was worried a little about getting sunburned, but there was really nothing I could do at that point.
Now that’s how to pose for a photo. 2nd loopProbably my favorite photo from the event photographers. I’m not really grimacing for the camera, that was just how I felt on the 2nd loop.
As far as nutrition on the bike, I think I managed it well. I started with two of my own Gatorade bottles and then instead of refilling them, I just discarded them in the aid station and replaced them with Gatorade bottles and water. I didn’t think I would need as much salt as I normally would take, but I changed my mind and stuck with a salt capsule every hour. I’m glad I did. I was sweating but it was drying quickly and it didn’t seem to me like I was sweating as much as I was.
I kept up with a Clif Shot gel every half hour, ate a Clif Bar at about 2 hours into it and nibbled on some more around 4.5 hours into it. I took a bite from a banana at almost all aid stations. I never really felt out of energy, but I knew I was worn out from the effort it was taking to climb the hills.
The last mile of the second loop and riding by the lake I had swum in seven hours earlier.That’s it, coming to the end of the second loop of the bike portion of Ironman Lake Placid. The crowd along here was awesome.
T1 – BIKE to RUN – 8:02
T2 went very smoothly, I dismounted and handed my bike off to a volunteer bike handler who re-racked it for me and I shuffled off to the bags to get my Run Gear Bag and head to the changing tent. I sat down and the heat and humidity of the tent hit me pretty hard. It was warm in there. I grabbed the baby wipes I had and wiped my face and neck down. I wanted to feel a little cleaner. I grabbed my extra socks and put them in my back pocket in case I needed to change them, put on my shoes and visor, snapped on the running/bib belt and headed out of the tent.
I had some volunteers spray me with some sunscreen, and later on my kids told me that they were watching me online and saw all of that. I’m glad that they were able to see that and the finish too.
Upon leaving the oval for the run course, I spotted Kari and gave her a kiss. I mentioned or gestured that I was beat, but really what I experienced at that time is just a little overheating from getting off the bike where you are constantly being cooled by the wind and from sitting in the transition tent. It wasn’t long into the run that I was feeling normal.
The first few steps of 26.2 miles.
THE RUN – 4:28:01 – 10:13 min./mile ave. – 59 M50-54 – 651 Male – 812 Overall
If you have any mental capacity left after that bike ride, this is the time to use it. Heading out of town on the first out and back portion it is very hilly, and especially very down hilly going out. It’s easy to get carried away with tempo at this point and I knew to hold back somewhat. Truthfully, I think downhills are tougher on your muscles than uphills are. They really beat up your quads and knees. But I got out of town and turned left at the ski jump hills. The sunlight was direct and warm. It wasn’t long before I was taking a sponge and putting it in my tri top. Later on I found that a sponge rested very nicely on my heart rate monitor chest strap, and I would take ice or water at every aid station and place it on the sponge. That helped me regulate my temperature on what was becoming a warm afternoon. A lot of people said it was hot, but I found the breeze to be nice and never really felt like I was cooking myself.
At about the 6 mile mark I saw John heading back. This put him about 4 minutes ahead of me and I slowly worked to pull him in. I caught him around the 7 mile mark or so, and walked with him a bit. He said he was glad that I was walking with him, but he felt like he was going to bonk and told me to keep on trucking. So I did. Not long after that I saw Jeff coming up behind us heading toward the turn around. From then on I felt like I was being chased.
First loop of the run course, prior to seeing John and before the turn around. The Olympic ski jumps are in the background and made for a good marker to know where I was at on the course.
I made it into town and could hear Mike Reilly telling people that they were an Ironman! But at that point I had to head past the hotel and all of my friends/fans for the second out and back before heading out for the second loop. It can be tough hearing people finishing, but I knew my time would be coming in another 13.1 miles.
Heading back into town meant climbing this stupid hill that everyone walked. Don’t be fooled – I was walking it too. I just pretended that I was running up it after seeing Kari with the camera.
The second loop of the run was much like the first. As far as nutrition, I kept up the gels every half hour, but I also went to the Base Salt every mile instead of the salt capsules because I wanted that salt more readily absorbed. Aid stations had bananas, pretzels, ice, water, Gatorade, cola, and after 5 pm chicken broth. I sample most of it, skipping the Clif bars. I always took ice and water, and usually the cola and broth too. I never really felt short on nutrition and energy from that fuel. The only thing really making me tired was the miles I was accumulating.
I saw Dave at one point as I was heading out and he was heading in. I congratulated him on a job well done. “Top Gunner!” is what I yelled. He returned the compliment. I knew I had no chance of catching him. It was Jeff that I worried about. He passed John and seemed to be making up ground on me. It was at the 20 mile mark that I decided that I needed to start to push somewhat. I figured Jeff would be walking the aid stations and hills like everyone else, so I made myself at least jog through the aid stations and hills to create a little gap. I also picked up the pace a little.
At 5K left to go I was heading back into town and felt like I had a good amount of energy still left in the tank. I picked up the pace and was running sub-7:30 or so through that last 5K. At one point some guy said that what I was doing was “ballsy” and another guy said “Somebody wants to go home.” I took it as a complement.
I kept speeding up, getting more and more emotional. It was starting to hit me – I was about to become a two-time Ironman. 30 weeks of training, hours of swimming, biking and running were coming to an end.
Looking strong coming into the last 1/4 mile of the run.I flew around the Olympic oval and headed to the finish.The clock said 13:02 but I knew that it was chip timed, and I had entered the water about 10 minutes after the start of the race. I had not only beat my anticipated 13:30 time, but was easily under 13 hours and I was pretty happy about it. I never would have guessed that I would have finished before sundown.
FINISH TIME: 12:52:01 – 651st Male finisher – 59th M50-54 Age Group – 812th Overall finisher
It seems like all of us Gunners rocked Ironman Lake Placid. I couldn’t be more impressed with these men. We supported each other through the easy training days and the hard. We rode together when we could, and rode together in spirit when we didn’t. We sized each other up, and helped each other out. The one-timers offered sage advice, and the first timers took great notes. Dave, John and I added two new guys to the Ironman ranks, and I really hope we inspired more to take on that same dream of becoming an Ironman.
Even though John says he’s done with Ironman for a while, I don’t believe him. I don’t believe anything he says! I can’t wait until this group of Gunners can do it again!
Alex was impressive in his Ironman debut! Although he gunned it a little too hard on the run, he still had an awesome day. Alex was the first Gunner in the chute with an overall time of 11:41:28! I’m very impressed with this athlete. Alex, YOU ARE AN IROMAN!Dave is an unstoppable beast. This is a rare moment of emotion for him. He’s so focused on kicking ass that he doesn’t bother with it. I could train my butt off and still finish behind him in Iron distance races. I’m so impressed. Amazing Ironman. Dave finished in 12:25:39! That is incredible! TWO-TIME IRONMAN FINISHER!Jeff was the epitome of the first time Ironman! Not only did he prove how incredible he is athletically – he had to overcome a loss of training time due to a back issue that required surgery – he made up the training in spectacular fashion finishing his first Ironman in 13:05:51! Jeff, YOU ARE AN IRONMAN!Here’s John. John likes to make you think that he’s not going to finish, that he never gets the training in. He’s just playing us. Here he is, first older Gunner to get out of the water – again. He did that in Wisconsin,too. Jeff may have had it the hardest, but John had to train through a busy work life, a toddler and a brand new baby to get the starting line. I knew all along that he would be killing it on race day. John finished with a 13:28:19. Impressive as always. When John finished, his daughter was watching at home and did the happy dance. We all did the happy dance for you, buddy. YOU’RE AN IRONMAN!
THE FINISH LINE
I can’t end this report without thanking everyone who supported me along this journey.
Can’t thank my friends on Facebook enough. Every week I would post a training wrap up and was so thankful that many of you took the time to read the blogs and give me support. I was so tired after the event to “like” all of your comments. But I want you to know that each and every one was well appreciated. To all of you, thank you!
I am so blessed to have such great in-laws that take pride in my accomplishments. Thank you Gary and Darla for making the trip and experiencing me becoming an Ironman for the second time.
To my coworkers who put up with my constant talk of my training and Ironman pursuits, and not being able to join you for lunch because I had to head to the swimming hole, thank you for being there for me! The regulars include Mary, Tracy, Julie, Jeff, Micah and of course, Lou! Let’s do lunch!
I do have a couple Super Fans that I want to mention – Carl Teska tells me every time he sees me that I am the pride of American youth. He always takes interest in my training and racing, and listens intently to every word I provide. Carl, thank you very much for supporting me. I may just get that Ironman tattoo that you keep pushing me to get!
And Mr. Hammond, I sometimes think that you are the only guy reading those blogs, and if it was just you reading them it was worth the effort to write them. Thank you for all the positive comments and support.
I would like to thank the families of my fellow Gunners. Jill, you had to watch Jeff go through a lot to get to that finish line, and I am sure he appreciates you being there for him. You also take such pride in the rest of us. Very much appreciated.
I can’t imagine what Mandy had to do to support John while working her butt off, being a mother for two littles (and a grown man!) and juggling all of that stuff while John joined in on the fun. Thank you for supporting him and us.
Without Carla we would not have had the wonderful hotel we stayed at, or the sandwiches you provided at the end of that training ride, or the awesome photos you have taken and shared on Facebook, and so much I can’t even remember it all. We Gunners could be total dopes, and you put up with it all. Thank you for being our planner/organizer/manager and everything else you do!
My family is always so supportive of me. Unfortunately they couldn’t join us on this trip. But knowing that you all watched the live feed online and cheering at home sure made me feel good.
Without the support of my wife Kari I could not even begin to do this crazy event. She is my rock, my tri coach in many ways, my supporter, my biggest fan, and awesome photographer. She never balked when I needed to do a long ride or long run. She pushed me when I dogged it with the swim training and held me accountable. She makes her way around the Ironman course like she’s doing the race too, just to grab that once-in-a-lifetime photo or give that much needed bit of enthusiastic support. She helps me schlep all my triathlon junk to the race, and helps me schlep the stinky stuff back home. In many ways, she helped me earn that medal. I’m blessed to have her by my side. I LOVE YOU!
We wrapped up our trip to New York with a stop in Cooperstown. Walked the Baseball Hall of Fame and stayed in an awesome Bed & Breakfast. It was a great way to end the trip.
If I missed anyone, thank you as well. My oversight is due to Ironman withdrawal! Forgive me.
And lastly, if anyone was inspired by my journey to become a two-time Ironman and take up something that pushed them out of their comfort zone, whether it be tackling a marathon, or going back to school, or beginning a walking program, or attempting anything that you find difficult – if my inspiration motivated you in any way, that is all the reward that I will ever need. Good luck to you on your journeys.
Thank you.
So, do I believe in miracles?
Actually, I just believe in myself. It’s amazing what you can accomplish if you want it.
Chris
EQUIPMENT:
Swim: Blue Seventy Reaction wetsuit; Speedo Vanquisher Prescription Goggles (-4.5)
Bike: Specialized Shiv Pro, SRAM Red components, 52/36 chainring with 11/28 Ten speed cassette, FLO Carbon Racing wheels (60’s), Conti Grand Prix 4000s II (700×23 front, 700×25 rear), two bottle cages and a Specialized Fuelselage, Salt Stick salt dispenser, Specialized Expert triathlon shoes
Run: Ironman visor, Fuel Belt, Asics GEL Excite 3, Louis Garneau Midride socks, Epix Go Fierce two piece custom trisuit, Garmin 910XT
Nutrition: I used the on-course provided offerings in training and on race day. Clif Shot gel (Razz), Clif bars, Base Salt, Salt Stick salt capsules, Gatorade powder in training, and Gatorade Endurance on course, bananas, pretzels, water, cola, ice, chicken broth.
29 Weeks down, one to go! Race day is almost here, and this week is full of lots of preparation and getting ready to go. And a lot of “hold on there, bub” going on too.
I took my bike into the bike shop for a race day check-up. Normally you drop the bike off and get it back a day or two later, but seeing that I bought the bike at a bike shop in Wheaton, Illinois and it takes me about 45 minutes to drive there, I begged the kid to work on it while I waited. Maybe he was a little more understanding when I told him I needed it for an Ironman soon. Maybe he was impressed that an old fogey like me can do an Ironman, I don’t know. They put it on the rack and checked, cleaned and lubed the chain, and examined the rest of it while I strolled through the store. After about 20 minutes the kid (must have been 18-19 maybe) and his supervisor (another kid maybe 5 years older than him) found me and said they were done. But from the look on the the older kids’ face, I could tell he had something really important to tell me. He asked me if I clean my internal “Fuelselage” device that holds my water and is contained within the frame of the bike. Now anyone who has one of these things knows that you need to clean it or else it might grow something funky. I was getting the sense that he was scolding me about it. I told him that I clean it out all the time and never put anything in it other than water. It’s just three years old and looks it. In typical kid fashion, he advised that I should replace it. I had just spent 20 minutes walking the store actually looking for a replacement, but they were out of stock and I advised him of that. “Yeah, I know” was his response. Well kid, it’s kind of hard to replace it when you don’t have any in stock.
Upon getting home I rode the bike and was glad to see the shifting was a little more crisp and nothing out of the ordinary was going on, except the rear brake. After that ride I took a look at it and found that the brake wasn’t releasing after I pull the brake handle. It had done this a couple of years ago, and it’s usually caused by road junk, sweat and Gatorade getting into the brake components and gumming things up. I cleaned it as best I could, lubed it well and got it to operate as designed. I need to figure out how to fully service my bike. I don’t want to rely on a kid and a kid supervisor anymore. They should have caught that.
As for the rest of the week, training was easy. I spent more time worrying about making sure I have everything for the trip to New York, thinking about what to bring and planning out how to approach the race. But life will through you a curve and as the week ended we found that we have some car issues with the car the kids drive. This is troubling, as we are leaving the kids home while my wife and I take the trip to Lake Placid. Also, our dog is showing signs that he might be ready to move on to the big dog house in the sky. He’s 14, and the past week has been really struggling. He’s stopped eating and taking water and might not be here for much longer. As if the anxiety of doing an Ironman race in a week wasn’t enough, I have this squarely on my mind. I’ve got a couple of days to deal with those things first, and then I will deal with the trip. Fortunately for me, I have done the race once before and I am confident that I am prepared.
I’ve learned a few things over the years. Thankfully, I’m no longer a kid.
When my wife and I were expecting our first child we were introduced to a phenomenon of sorts called nesting. It’s where the expectant parents, and in particular the mother, start preparing for the new bundle of joy to enter their lives. Baby junk gets purchased, walls get a new coat of pink or blue paint, and other things get done for the impending arrival. We have a similar type of nesting in Ironman triathlon called “WHAT THE HELL DID I GET MYSELF INTO?” Also known as the “Taper.”
Even though we were so happy to be done with the massive endurance stage of training, especially Week 27 and it’s crazy long weekend, the taper is something everyone welcomes but it drives us crazy. After doing so much training the taper starts drawing you back down in an effort to recover for race day. Sometimes just trying to go from runs that lasted over an hour to runs only 30 minutes long can make you question whether or not you are doing enough.
Truthfully, this week isn’t that big of a taper adjustment. The long Saturday bike was 4 hours long and the long Sunday run was 2 hours of joy (no, not really). The next two weeks is when you really cut back until the day of the race on July 24. But you still get weird things happening in the taper whether you are in the first week or the third. Things like being able to unclip from your bike pedal and falling over. I did that in 2013, my Gunner buddy John did it yesterday. The bike trail rides in March were typically void of bike trail idiots, but boy are there a lot of them out there now. Saturday I was cruising along the path when a goofball pulled onto the trail from a side path without stopping and bothering to look for people that were actually using the trail at the time. I almost t-boned him. There are things you can control, and things that are way out of your control.
Sometimes it’s little things that make you crazy, like the little piece of buckled tape that my hand touches on the handle bar. Every time I touch it I think “what is that I am touching for the 1,000th time?” It’s really an easy fix, but by the time you get back from 6 hours of riding, your mental checklist of things you promised to remember have left the grey matter many miles ago.
My taper tormentor.
But cutting back the mileage is just part of the taper. The nesting part of the taper consists of making sure that you got all the non-training stuff covered – the hotels booked, the equipment you are going to use, the bike check-up that you have been neglecting, the travel plans, the tri suit you are going to wear… Oh yeah, that reminds me – our custom tri suits arrived! And they are sweet!
New Gunners team tri suit is here! This is what a 52 year old man who still thinks he’s 22 looks like. Yes, I am trying to suck in my gut. And in less than 5 seconds after my wife handed my camera/phone back to me, I let go of my bike and it fell over. I forgot to keep holding on to it. Stupid taper.
Since I have been through the taper before, I am blessed to know what to expect and how to handle it. It will still be the same crazy things happening, but I just won’t cry this time.
The dreaded Week 27 is over! The toughest of all the training weeks has been conquered!
Week 27 is the one that my training buddies and myself come to fear, with the Saturday long ride of six hours followed by an hour long run brick, and the Sunday three hour run and 1.5 hour bike spin. But thanks to a great weekend weather-wise, I found the weekend workout to be quite enjoyable. I got to ride with one of my Gunner teammates and lifelong friend John, and ended the seven hour day on Saturday feeling awesome.
I sent this photo to my wife and she asked “Shouldn’t you be riding?” We stopped to take a nature break.
The ride started out in the upper 50’s, and I wasn’t expecting that. I brought along some homemade arm warmers that I made out of tube socks that I purchased at Walmart. It’s a good thing I had them. It took about 1.5 hours before I didn’t feel cold anymore. Kept them on for the whole ride though. I will have to stick a pair in my bike special needs bag or my T1 bike bag for the race. I’m holding out hope that we will have a race day like this weekend.
That’s 101 miles. John and I covered a lot of rural Illinois.
The weather sure made for a different ride than the last couple of weeks. Two weeks ago I filled up my bottles three times in the 80 degree weather. This time I started with three full bottles and really only topped off two of them once. Just goes to show how much the temperatures effect hydration.
The three hour run on Sunday I was sort of dreading, mainly due to worrying about what lingering soreness I would still have from the 7 hour training the day before, but I felt great all through the run. I turned around at 1.5 hours/10.25 miles and headed back with the idea of pushing a little. That worked until the wall was starting to creep up around the 19 mile mark just as I was hitting the hills near home. I got through it okay and got home and jumped in the pool. Then I mowed the grass. My neighbor used to tell me that she considers mowing the grass as her workout. I guess after a three hour/20.5 mile run I got my workout in as well.
My wife helped me finish off the biggest training week of the plan by riding the 1.5 hour bike spin with me. I chose to do it on my hybrid for comfort sake, and even though I was giving an effort I was marveling at how much faster I ride the tri bike on the same stretch of trail. Good ride and a good finish to the hardest week of the plan.
Week 26 was a tough one. And it elicited the above statement from one of my training buddies. It’s his first time going through the 30 week training program in his pursuit of Ironman immortality, but having been through the training once before I can certainly empathize.
To me the weekend training workouts are the true efforts that are reflective of what it takes to get ready for the race. The other days are hard as well, but much shorter in duration. But the long Saturday ride and the long Sunday run really give you a taste of what the race will be like. I write this post on Sundays mostly, and by then the early parts of the week are distant memories, while the weekend distance events are still rather fresh in my mind.
So we bantered around a little in a group text about whether or not we all hate this sport. We don’t really, it’s just that doing a 5.5 hour ride followed by a 1 hour run on a 90 degree and humid day really makes you think about why we like triathlon at all.
But my friend Dave and I both agree that the training is tough, and although there can be some rough patches and good days of training as well, the training is truly the hard part. Getting through the 30 weeks prepares you for being ready to handle the distance. I’ve thought many times that since probably Week 20 or so that I was ready. This week really drove home the point that until you get past Week 26 and Week 27 (next week – yikes!), you really don’t know that you are ready. You may think so, but this week and the next will really tell you all you need to know. The race is really the easy part, utilizing the skills and endurance earned over 30 weeks. It’s now less than a month away. Mike Reilly may be at the finish line telling everyone that they are an Ironman, but what’s impressive is that we prepared for 30 weeks to get to the finish line after 140.6 miles to have him tell us that.
As for me this week, the swimming pool is finally done. I had missed quite a bit of swimming since the high school pools changed their summer hours to a time I couldn’t go, and then opening my own pool to find a torn liner delayed my training. But all is good now and I have decided to supplement the three swim days of the training plan by adding a 30 minute swim every weekday, and dropping the Friday 3500 yard swim, because of the fact that I never did it anyway! I should get my endurance and build some of the lost speed back in the next couple of weeks.
We had a graduation party for my high school graduate this weekend, so I had to swap Saturday’s long ride with Sunday’s long run to have time to help prepare for the party. I think I got lucky because I got the long run done early before the heat had time to get going on Saturday. And although there was a brief downpour before I started the 5.5 hour ride on Sunday, the skies and humidity cleared nicely and I didn’t really suffer like my Gunner teammates did.
At the two hour and 45 minute turn around. I was soaked from sweating so much.Oh yeah? Well I’m not stealing your water to put in a pot anyway!
The ride was the same as last week, a 5.5 hour ride, but I made to 95 miles last week and was kind of disappointed in myself for not hitting the century mark. So this week I rode a little extra and ended up at 101.5 miles on the bike. In 2013, I never reached that plateau until race day. So it is a nice reminder that I am pretty close to that race distance of 112 miles.
So yes, Week 26 was a challenge. But the challenge just proves that I have the stuff to become Ironman.
Crazy week this week. Lots going on as I ramp up to the final month of training heading into the race.
The pool is finally getting a new liner, but it wasn’t without drama. I may post another blog about that craziness, but I am glad the new liner is being installed and the pool should be ready for swimming next week. Fingers crossed.
Since there was pool stuff going on that I needed to be home for, and my high schooler had to be picked up at noon every day, and that my world traveler high school grad was coming home from Italy this week, there wasn’t really any time to go find somewhere to swim. So no swimming for me again this week.
As far as running and biking were concerned, it really boiled down to the two long events on Saturday and Sunday.
Saturday went pretty well. The plan called for a 5.5 hour bike ride followed by a one hour brick run. I decided to head south following my usual route, but would venture west and south to explore some of the roads. I am glad I did as I ended up almost all the way to Kankakee, IL, actually making it to Kankakee State Park. I made it into the park and explored a paved path until it turned to crushed limestone. I rode a little bit on that path until I felt like a dope riding a tri bike on a trail not really suited for one. But the two hour and 45 minute turn around point hit, and I backtracked home. 95 miles total in 5.5 hours.
Maybe I shouldn’t be on this trail with my tri bike.
Upon getting back home, I felt a little drained. I took about 15-20 minutes to down a couple Gatorades before heading out for the hour long run. It went okay, but not at my typical effort. I think I needed to hydrate and fuel a little more as I ended the ride. Here’s the Garmin info:
After the 101.5 mile day Saturday, I kind of dreaded having to run on Sunday. But I got up at 5:30am and ate and got ready to hit the trail to beat the 90 degree temps forecasted for the day. Of course when I went to get my Garmin 910 watch it wasn’t charged even though I connected the dumb thing to the charger the day before. Fortunately my wife has a Forerunner 10 that I grabbed and used for tracking the workout. Before I had a GPS watch I wouldn’t have cared, but now it I have become somewhat of a convert and addicted to the dumb device.
After the 2.5 hour run, I chugged a couple of Gatorades and talked myself into doing the hour long bike spin that I probably should have done before the run. My butt was not happy with me after the long ride on Saturday, but eventually I got used to it. An easy effort, high cadence spin for an hour went by pretty quickly.
Those long efforts leave me with my thoughts for way too long, and boy did I have a lot of thoughts. Too many to add here. Maybe I will save those thoughts and share them when the Ironman is over. I’ll need something to talk about after the race.
an amazing run 