Ironman Wisconsin 2010: The Return!

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Purchased at: September 14, 2009 10:14 AM

Event Confirmation #: 25292215-091409101455

Bring it!

Ironman Louisville: A Long Cool Summer

My first visit to Louisville will be a highlight for 2009 since this was the location of my second Iron man event. The attention to detail and the logistics are always a challenge when you attend such a huge event, but I always enjoy the energy and all the new things I learn from each Iron man triathlon. Louisville was hosting the Ironman Triathlon for the third time and you could definitely tell as the city was prepped for all the athletes (about 3000). With family and friends, the city was going to deluged with Tri bikes, fuel belts and Lycra for the next few days.

After are long commute to Louisville (and the hotel) we scurried our bikes and luggage to our rooms and eagerly walked over to the Galt House hotel to pick up our athlete packets and shop at the ever-popular Ironman Expo nearby. The location of the Galt House Hotel was right on the Ohio river near the bridge where we would run during the marathon. We eventually found the large room to start our packet process pickup. We still had an hour or so before closing time, the lines were long for each stage of the process: sign this, sign that, move here, move there, etc.

We felt like cattle being rustled on the farm as we went from one station to the next. While waiting, I talked to a fellow tri athlete that was next to me to pass the time:
Me: How many Ironmans have you done?
Triathlete : 12 so far, Louisville, Wisconsin, Lake Placid, Kona...
Me: Wow, you did Kona, did you qualify? (qualify in top ten age group or win lottery)
Triathlete : I didn't qualify for Kona, I won the lottery two times in a row...
Me: (To myself) Why couldn't I be that lucky!

And so it goes with all of the interesting people you meet at all these events, for some, this was their first Ironman (0ver 800) and others were veterans, pros and age groupers like me who were still new to the sport and amazed that there's this must interest in such a difficult challenge. Would all of them become new Ironmans that weekend? No, but they will have at least gave it there best tri and pushed themselves to the limit of what they can do and even learned something about themselves as well.

Now, onto race Ironman race itself. I had planned for a very hot day, as I had watched a friend of mine do the race a few years ago in stifling heat and humidity. This year was going to be a cooler temperature (around 72 for the high) but would the humidity play a factor this time?

The swim for this Ironman was a time trial start, meaning every three seconds two people would jump off a dock into the water to start their swim. The pros start first, then the age groupers, two at a time every three seconds dove off the dock. Therefore with 3000 athletes, the line is over a mile long and there can be up to a 40 minute delay depending on when you start. We arrived about 10 till 7 and looked for the end of the line. We walked and walked, thinking on each turn we'd find the end, but we decided to just sit down and rest and waited for the end of the line to come to us. The starting time begins when your chip crosses the timing mat anyway, so it was no big deal anyway.

Once within site of the docks, the line quickly moved from a snail's pace to a quick jog as we removed our outer clothes and placed them in the swim bag which we would pickup after the race. I quickly spat into my goggles but had no water to wash them out so I grabbed an open water bottle on the ground and rinsed them and put on both my swim cap and goggles and jumped into the warm Ohio river. I quickly established my bilateral breathing every three strokes and sited on the sixth stroke and moved at a relatively steady pace. All other Ironman swim starts are just a mass start of over two thousand athletes with the first twenty minutes like a chaotic mosh pit; which makes it very difficult to establish any type of rhythm. I moved right along, found the first red buoy at around the thirty minute mark and turned and now swam with the current (if there was one?). I finally finished at around 1:42 minutes, feeling a little tired but ready to get on the bike after a not-so-fast transition.

I planned for typical hot and humid day for Louisville, even though weather reports were showing highs of just 72 degrees! Just in case, I made sure my SNB (special needs bags) were stocked with frozen Ensures, along with blue ice inside a small cooler for both the bike and the run. I wasn't taking any chances with the heat because there's nothing worse then drinking warm liquids during a race. The plan had one major flaw...Which I'll talk about later on ;-)

After my swim I quickly ran into the tent to don my bike gear, lather on some sunblock and try to find my Quintana Roo Tri bike among the thousands in the football sized field that was their temporay location for the morning. It wasn't hard to find my bike - there was only a handful of bikes left leaning against the traditional triathlon triangle metal bars (this was because we were the last to start the swim and my swim time). I quickly located my bike, choked down some not-so-tasty calories and ran the bike to the exit, where I jumped on the pedals and shifted into high gear, along with a myriad of many other triathletes.

The course was somewhat familiar as I had drove the course the day before, so as I weaved in through the side streets keeping a relatively fast pace I was somewhat dismayed with the amount of cars on this portion. Didn't anybody know there was an Iron man today? Fortunately they blocked off a lane during one busy section where the cars were lined up bumper to bumper while cops directed traffic. They must have been out of towners, tourists or other uninformed individuals that didn't realize that there was a small race in the Louisville today. I snickered to myself and I thought about all the times cars passed me by and now I was passing them.

I kept my bike cadence around 85 rpm during the first segment of the bike ride- I didn't want to burn my legs as I had to run a marathon after this 112 mile bike ride. The first 22 miles I managed 17 mph (1:17) which was a good steady pace and I felt good as I worked my way up the hills to start the two bike loops. At this point my stomach was feeling somewhat strange, a queasiness that made me uncomfortable, so my speed was slower than normal but this was the first section of the bike race so I wasn't too concerned.

I used Gatorade and the Infinite Nutrition drink so I didn't have to use any gels or goos during the long bike ride. As I neared the location for the SNB (Special Needs Bag) I decided to stop and ingest some different calories to help the stomach. I yelled out my number and grabbed my bag, opened the small cooler - everything was cold, too cold! It was all rock solid! $%@! The temperature wasn't that hot and the bags were in the shade and everything was in coolers with ice! Ooops! What could I do? I threw the bag down in disgust and jumped back on the bike; I had already lost time since this wasn't a scheduled stop. Maybe after the first bike loop the items may be melted after a few hours I thought.

My stomach was still upset but I continued on and managed to increase my bike average a little bit and watch almost everybody pass me(!) at the SNB area on the second loop around 1pm in the afternoon. I stopped again hoping the items had melted somewhat. I was wrong! The Ensures were like tasty ice creams (and you know I like ice cream!) so I tried to squeeze as much out as I could, but I really needed a spoon (why didn't I pack a spoon I thought to myself) to get all of it out of the small, plastic container. Oh well, I was feeling better anyway by that time and decided to put the hammer down as they say.

As I did the second loop, nobody passed me, I did the passing since I saved my energy for the last leg and looking to finish before six hours, the only thing that slowed me down was all of the cars that slowed down to pass other bikers on the course, which was quite frustrating for the most part as it created a serious safety problems for both triathletes and the volunteers directing traffic. The last 45 miles of the bike ride was fast and furious (20.06 avg) as I weaved in and out through cars and bikers and looking forward to getting off the bike.... to start running. Fortunately, this year I was much less pain compared to last year's Iron man in Wisconsin since I had a different (tri) bike, better bike shoes and was in better shape. I rode as fast a horse, eager to start the next, and last part of the race.

I was very much relieved to be off the bike after almost six and half hours and my legs felt a bit like noodles after such a long ride. I quickly changed from bike shoes to running shoes, and started the long marathon run. The weather was warm, but not as humid as expected around 4:30pm but I made sure to hydrate as much as possible. I felt good. I was doing around a 10:30 pace so I kept it slow and steady going through the downtown and then we ventured onto the bridge that overlooked the Ohio river where I had swam several hours before. I was tempted to move the run pace faster but I kept it slow and rested at the aid stations then pushed on. As I ventured out of the downtown there were many athletes that had started their second lap to my dismay. I continued to keep the pace slow and steady for the first loop of the run.

Each mile slowly crept up to me like in a hazy dream.... 4, then 5, there was 6 miles done... just finished a 10k! Only have to do that four more times. As the miles went up, I noticed my pace had started to slow down; my stomach was in pain again. The dreaded stomach stitch again. I took some deep breaths while I ran and the pain eased up after about 15 minutes. I had experienced this before at the half in Kansas in June and after some research learned this was mainly caused by the aero position on the bike; the diaphragm is compressed for such a long time during the bike plus weak abdominal muscles. It can also be caused by gas bubbles from food eaten before the run. I mainly was using liquid calories so that wasn't the problem. During the off season I will have to strengthen my core to prevent this happening on my next triathlon.

The rest of the marathon was flat and due to the cool temperature I decided to skip a few aid stations to increase my pace as my average pace slowed down each aid station, although I stopped at some aid stations for some quick energy and so I wound't become dehydrated. My first 13.1 mile loop I finished in about 2 and half hours so I was at a 11:10 /min pace which was a bit slower than my goal of a sub 11:00 pace but I had hoped to keep it slow the first half and then run a faster split on the second 13.1 mile loop - if I had the energy to do it! The SNB (special needs bags) were at the half way mark so I stopped and drank down two cool (not frozen this time!) high protein Ensures and didn't change my socks and continued on. Of course, like Wisconsin IM, the start of the second loop is where athletes who were done with the second loop continued toward the bright and loud finish, where throngs of people line up along the finish and cheer all the finishers till midnight. It's an amazing experience and I had hope to actually finish during the daylight someday!

The second loop continued on as I waved to my family and other onlookers that cheered me at the start of the second loop. My plan was to finish before dark so I tried to increase my pace, so I did mini intervals on the second loop and stopped at every other aid station to not waste more time. I also felt the beginnings of a small blister on my left pinky toe. It wasn't painful - yet, but seeing that my pace slowed down to a 13 min pace, I pushed past the pain and persevered; the finish was only a short 10k distance! I wanted to finish strong, do a 9 min pace toward the finish but my body was exhausted so my mind fought my body toward the end. The last few minutes were just a blur, the bright lights, the screaming crowd and the ever joyful finish line! I had made it and I was so very grateful!

All of the people in the race, from ages ranging from 18 to 76, had different goals that day. Some were there just to finish, others to beat a previous time or friend; the Iron Man is a race within a race. I saw a blind man in the race, others with disabilities, all come here to push themselves to the edge, to face the challenge and call themselves an Iron man.

Me at Iron Man Louisville

Iron Abe: Fast, Furious and Fantastic!

The Iron Abe Triathlon in Springfield. Yes, this city has some historical ties to a very famous president in our nation's past, but what made this day special was that from the onset of this race, I turned a corner in my training and it paid off during this race.

It was just an Olympic distance race: .9 mile swim, 24.8 mile bike and a 10k run (6.2 miles) so it was going to fast and furious race unlike my previous two triathlons, however, it turned out to be a very significant race in my short triathlon career. Quick note: I did the Stoneman race two years earlier so I was already familiar with the course.

The swim was in lake Springfield, a bigger than average lake with a normal water temperature around 80 degrees. Not this time, some how the organizers were able to take water temperature tests and average it a few tenths of degree below the wet suit legal 78 degrees, thereby allowing participants to wear wetsuits and still be able to place in their perspective age groups. Due to my incident in the Kansas Half triathlon, I had no wet suit to use. There was no use in crying about it, the race would go on (just like Kansas) and since this was a short swim course I would only lose 3-5 minutes on the swim, not good but certainly not critical as the swim does not make the race.

The transitions for both Stoneman and Iron Abe were very convenient and only seconds away from the swim end. This was a nice perk as it's not normally the case for a lot of triathlons. This enabled me to have a much faster transition which is always a good thing regardless of the race.

The bike portion was flat with a few short rollers and a turn around at the half way mark. This is where I could really push to gain time and I did. I was able to average a 21.8 on the ride and gain time that I had lost on the swim without the wetsuit. I maintained a fast cadence throughout the ride and made sure to drink the Infinite the latter half of the ride to carb up for the upcoming 10k run.

I was able to average the pace on the bike that I wanted, was I able to keep my goal and run a sub 9 min/mile on the run? I felt good, it wasn't too hot (like Effingham) and it was only a short 10k that I had practiced many time while in training. I quickly transitioned to the run and off I went, just like I had two years ago, except I was doing another 3.2 miles this time.

I paid close attention to my watch (Suunto T6C) to verify my pace: 8:30 min /mile. I raced onward and then a few minutes a fellow Godzilla team member quickly strides by me after the first mile, I wasn't going to match that pace and watch her go on her way. I was moving at a nice pace and I had another 5 miles to go. At mile 3 I caught up to Christian as we did the turn around at the half way mark, as I was still maintaining my average pace of a sub 9 min/mile. In fact at the bridge toward the end I increased the speed down to a sub 7 pace and finished with an impressive 2:29:55 which was 3rd place in my age group! Boo Yahh! My final pace on the run was a 8:20 min /mile way faster than my goal. My training had paid off! Fantastic!

till next time.....

Brett

2010 will be a busy year!

Event Name: 2010 Ford Ironman Coeur d'Alene

Date & Time: June 27, 2010 07:00 AM

Location: Coeur d'Alene Lake (map)

The Effingham Half! (aka EffingHOT!)

The Effingham Half triathlon could have been expressed in couple words: Very hot! Although the triathlon was on June 21st, temperature for this time of year was above normal causing many of the participants to drop (over 20%) out of the race that day.

The swim was also different that day as we had to swim in Lake Sarah twice! We did one loop and when we swam to shore, got out of the water, shouted out our number and then jumped back in the water to do another swim loop. The certainly did through off one's rhythm therefore increasing my swim time to 48 minutes, at least I was faster here than in Kansas without a wetsuit!

The bike portion was full of rolling hills throughout the course. I felt good the first 20 miles but the heat was starting to get to me and my Infinite drink was hot and my energy levels were dropping so my average speed decreased down to a disappointing 18.9 which wasn't bad but could have been better.

The run was the most difficult half Marathon I had ever finished. The heat at this time was like a sweltering sauna with very little shade. I staggered from one aid station to the next and threw ice sponges in my hat trying to cool myself down. After finishing the first loop at over an hour, it was daunting to get back out there and do the same loop again in that oppressive heat. The sun was so hot my shoes were sticking to the melting asphalt on each step as it buckled from the intense heat. I continued and watched fellow friends Christian and Ian struggle to keep a good pace as well as I started the second lap. I just pushed myself to the finish and realized that this is what Iron Man Louisville will be in late August, although it will be twice the distance! I did finish with a 6:39 which was still faster than last year's Half at Buffalo Springs so my training has definitely helped.

Kansas 70.3

The wetsuit zipper broke right before the swim. That's how my race started in Lawrence Kansas on June 14th. It started with a culmination of events that day but I had to make a decision and make it fast as I was losing precious time as my wave took off without me. There was only one option and that was to swim without the wetsuit while everybody else swam with one. I had to swim back to shore, remove the wetsuit and give it to a volunteer and start the swim again. Swimming 1.2 miles with a wetsuit is tough, without one is even tougher. I lost an entire 10 minutes during the swim, the race day had not started well.

However, with the new kicking Caliente from Quitana Roo, I rocked the bike course with a blazing 19.8 mph avg, finishing in 2 hours and 48 minutes I came very close to my goal of breaking the 20+ avg on the bike ride. The aero drink combined with the new Speedfil hydration system using the Infinite drink I was able to stay in the aero position longer without using gels or sitting up to drink from a bottle. For the longer rides (ie Iron man distance) I can add more to the Speedfil or Aero drink while on the ride during each aid station.

The run was not as easy at all this time around. I started out with a good 10:30 pace for about the first 5 miles then I started feeling a cramp in my stomach as I continued on. It was 11:30 am and now the clouds were gone and it was becoming very hot with little shade. I slowed down to see if this would ease the stomach pain but the spasms continued about every two minutes, the pain was almost made me stop, but I continued on. I finished the first loop in 1:15 so I had a good pace and I had hoped to have a negative split on the second lap but the stomach spasms were getting worse so on a few occasions I had to walk but continued my slow jog to the finish. I really wanted to finish before the 7 hour mark so I pushed forward, slower pace but just kept moving, drinking Gatorade, water, even a gel to see if this would help the pain; nothing worked. I moved on and the last 2 miles I skipped the aid stations and pushed forward until I hit the finishing chute, oblivious to the crowd and knowing I was done!

A quick reflection on this race reminded me of all the problems I had that day. The race started out with a problem and even though the bike ride was stellar I still had issues on the run. This year I even had to DNF a race because I wasn't prepared for a bike mechanical issue, I took a risk, thinking nothing would happen, but it did. Life is much like a triathlon in many ways. We are all in race to get something done, to finish school, get married, buy a house, new job etc, however not everything goes to plan as life gets in the way of our plans. Adversity is part of life and we must learn to plan for the good and the bad that is inevitable through life. If you don't you may feel the need to give up and quit the race, not realizing if you had persevered to the finish your reward would be sweeter, knowing all the hardship it took to get there.

Some lessons learned:

Prepare for the good and the bad,

learn from you mistakes,

challenge yourself more often,

you can do it if you at least Tri.

In pain but I finished!

Time for an upgrade!

I know what your thinking, why did I buy another bike! Well, after using my Giant TCR2 carbon bike for the last two years and seeing all of the fast tri bikes at the triathlons, I wanted to level the playing field, using an acutal tri bike. The Quintana Roo, (pronounced [kinˈtana ˈro])although a strange name, they built the first triathlon bike way back in 1987! It must of looked quite strange at the time, but now they are the standard for all triathlons.

So far after a few rides on the new bike I've been very happy with the speed and comfort. With the added benefit of the aero bar shifters I should be able to add a few mile more per hour since I don't have to move my body to shift on the drops anymore. The added Cateye computer will keep track of speed and candence as well.

The full test will be at the Kansas Half on June 14th where I will be biking 56 miles. My goal will be to average around 20mph. Bring it!

Brett

First Triathlon of the 2009

Well, after much debate and hem-hawing over where we wanted to do the first triathlon of the year, it ended up at Elsah, IL, the home of Principia college. This was there first hosted triathlon for the college and in my opinion they did a great job of hosting. My only complaints were why it took so long and there were no split times, but overall it was a great race, accept for the occasional rain!


After eight months of training and shedding unwanted lbs to get back into shape I felt very good for the entire race. The swim was somewhat of challenge as it was 16 laps in a 25 meter pool so we had to swim two laps per lane and with multiple people passing and being passed it was much like a mass swim the entire distance.

The bike portion was 15 miles of rain and with some added 14% grade hills at the start it slowed down the bikes a bit, bringing some people to just walking up the hills. I was conservative on the speed due to the slick road surface and tried to keep a constant pace. According to my bike computer I managed to eek out just a 14.4 average which was by far my lowest average bike speed to date.


Overall I felt good the entire day, the race was short but I was able to practice my T1 and T2 transitions so I can be ready for the longer triathlons where it becomes more important.


The next triathlon is at the beautiful private resort of Innsbrook near Wright city, MO




Brett

A change in scenery

While the month of May was a great time to train I had to take a trip to Hawaii also for my second job in the Air National Guard. Yes, I know darn the luck! I had been training for eight months now so it was nice to have a change of scenery for a few weeks to enjoy and relax. I did get some training in while there, mostly running and a few swims in the ocean. (very, very salty) Some day I'd like to visit the Big Island where I can visit holy grail of Iron Man triathlons: Kona.

Fishing on North Shore: A 8lb Skipjack tuna



Me at the North Shore!

April Training Stats

The month of April is when I hit my Triathlon Training full steam ahead, my body felt stiff but through the month I felt stronger each day and there even were days I felt like sleeping with my bike! The weather made it quite challenging to actual get outside as old man winter refused to give up to spring which made it tough to actual get some outside time to bike or run and using a treadmill and stationary bike is not the ideal way to train.

Monthly totals *
Bike - 15 hours
Run - 6.5 hours
Swim - 7 hours


* This is a guesstimate of the total hours since my Suunto was not working the entire month!

Since this was the first actual training month with me able to go outdoors without frigid temperatures , the schedule will ramp up to a even more hours with the warmer weather finally here so there will be days I will feel like sleeping with the fishes (or bike)!

till next time..... Live free and Tri!




Brett

2010 IronMan St. George

Taking place on May 1, 2010, the event will consist of a 2.4-mile swim, a 112-mile bike and 26.2-mile run. The inaugural Ford Ironman St. George will utilize a variety of Utah's scenery, including the Sand Hollow Reservoir, Snow Canyon and the Red Cliffs Desert Reserve.

That pretty much tells it all. I will be participating in the first Ironman in Utah with breathtaking scenery and weather, there just was no way I could pass this experience up. See you all in Utah in May 2010!

Registration Details

Confirmation #:	25292215-031909081437
Date & Time:	05/01/10
Location:	Sand Hollow State Park
Purchased at:	03/19/09
Category:	USAT Member
Name:	Brett Whitehouse

B the Iron Man

Happy St. Patricks Day

Yes, I had a very nice trip to Fort Walton Beach the first week and half of March. The weather was a bit cool but it warmed up by the time we left. I was to have started my second phase of Triathlon training on March 1st but I was in Florida. Now, did I follow my training guide..... er, ummm, no!
I did get some running (on the beach) and some swimming and of course some scuba diving in as well, therefore it wasn't all work and be lazy.

Yesterday I started my second phase of Triathlon training with a 45 minute swim which is about 1500 yards (.85 of a mile) and felt very good. Did some 300 yard intervals to push myself a bit and felt very good. Certainly not to the level of training so that I can move right to a long run, but I didn't feel the normal lethargic level of exhaustion that I used to feel after such a long swim. I guessing the P90X the last three months had something to do with this. Anyway, its a great start to the 20 week training plan. I do need to thank BeginnerTriathlete.com for the online training plans, its a great resource for new and seasoned Triathletes.

till next time


~ Brett

2009 is here!

Oops!, I think you knew that already!
So, what have I been doing this year? My training for the 2009 big Triathlons (Kansas and Louisville) started last December. I bought the ever poplar P90x program and finished up the 90s days this week! To answer your first question, no I don't look like the guys in the infomercial! The second question, yes, I did lose about 10lbs of holiday weight and am now ready for phase two of the training which starts March 1st. More on that in a later post. For now, let me say, I'm back and ready to Bring it for 2009!




B the Iron Man