Ironman #2, Ironman Wisconsin, September 12, 2004
Ed Stygar 

I wrote this with non triathletes in mind and still in a state of confusion ----
Ironman #2, Ironman Wisconsin, September 12, 2004

On Sunday I finished my second Ironman in Madison Wisconsin. It was another great experience, hot, but not quite as hot as last year, some of the same issues came up and some new issues to conquer. Here is my long story

Pre Race
This year my training and racing had gone better than last year. Last year I wasn’t able to run until mid July because of knee problems, this year I had minimal knee problems and was able to do all the long training runs that I wanted. My races have gone well this year, I set PR’s in all my races with the exception of a windy Chicago race. But in Chicago my placing in my age group and overall did go up, so everyone was affected by the wind on the bike course. I knew that this was a good sign but didn’t expect it to translate into a miraculous race in Madison, the race is much longer and the course is much tougher than the races I did throughout the year. I am not built for climbing hills on the bike, I am heavy, so I knew that I wouldn’t come close to the 21+mph bike speeds I’ve had at the shorter flatter races this year, so I had to follow my heart rate and not the pace. I also had limited swimming time, mainly because of taking care of my 10 month old daughter Sidney, I could take her running with me in the Baby Jogger, or I could ride on the trainer while she played, but I couldn’t take her to the pool to do laps with me, so I knew my swim would suffer and it did. Sid is a great training partner, never have to slow down to wait for her, never complains and sometimes she even cheers me on. Overall I felt good, I felt stronger on the bike and the run and was fairly confident I could beat last years time of 14:07.

In the week before the race I closely watched the weather. It was just like last year, in the beginning of the week the forecast for race day was in the high 60's and then everyday the forecast inched up until the night before it was forecasted to be in the high 80's, that’s rough, but I was prepared to deal with it, I had salt tabs, new nutrition plan, and was more aware on how to pace myself.

I got to Madison on Thursday to register, the weather was nice, it’s a great town, when I got there you could definitely feel the excitement of the Ironman. Thursday night I went to dinner at Brendon and Michele Wilkinson’s, we had a couple beers, good relaxing time before such a large task ahead. On Friday morning I did a short swim to test the water and my new full wetsuit. The water was nice, in high 60's I’d guess, but my new wetsuit was too big, I’ll have to alter it or sell it and would have to use my shorter wetsuit for the race. After my swim I drove some of the bike course and stopped in Verona to bike a road that had been rumored to have gravel on it. So I rode the section, there was some gravel on a short section which wouldn’t have been bad except it was on a twisty downhill. After riding it I decided I would take it easy on that section and not take any chances, I don’t like wipeouts unless Im in 3 feet of snow. Since Sheila and Sidney weren’t coming til Saturday Brendon was my date to the official Ironman Pasta Dinner, it was nice done, with motivating presentations, etc.. We sat next some Canadians, a nice outgoing group, they where experienced Ironpeople, the lady in the group would come in 2nd in her age group and qualify for Hawaii, Sweet! I saw them throughout the week and on the race course. After the dinner Brendon and I went to State Street to watch the before Ironman Underpants Run, its an Ironman Hawaii tradition. It was funny watching men and woman run down a crowded State Street in their tighty wighties, the people in Madison really enjoyed it, especially the ladies sitting next to us. I think they do it to protest men wearing speedos in public and for charity.

On Saturday I did another short swim and bike, felt better, I was ready to get started. I also had to get all my stuff ready for the race and turn it in. At that time the weather forecast was for high 70's, so I packed a short sleeve cycling jersey for the bike instead of a sleeveless cooler triathlon jersey. I went to the athletes meeting and then my family arrived. I was excited to my see 10 month old daughter and wife before the race, we went to dinner with both our parents and then called it a night. Of course I couldn’t sleep, but I got plenty of sleep in the nights before.

Race Day
It was here, all I could think about was the swim, I just wanted to get it over with and then I would be fine, I don’t think I swam over 2 miles all summer, but new I could rough it out. I woke up at 4am, had a PB&J bagel, cliff bar, gatorade, and some coffee. After some stretching I walked over to the race site handed in my bike special needs bag (2 bottles of endurance gatorade, flask of Accelerade gel, another PB&J and an extra tube and CO2 cartridge) and then got my body marked with my numbers and pumped up my tires. I then went back to my hotel to relax and stretch a little before the race, I was dreading the thought of the swim, the shortest event of all 3. Sheila and I walked down to the swim start at about 6am. I stretched more and jumped in the water at about 6:40 to warm up and find a spot to start.

Swim 2.4 miles
I started out wide last year and the swim was still crowded so this time I went way wide, in between the ski ramp and shore. I didn’t want to get stuck in a 2000+ person H2O mosh pit! The cannon went off and the race started. The start wasn’t that bad, I bumped into some people, but nothing jarring or bruising. I found some feet to follow and drafted for awhile and made sure I swam a little wide of the 1st turn buoy because I knew it would be a traffic jam. I went wide at the first turn and continued to try and stay out of trouble. I finished the first lap in 38mins, which was a little disappointing considering that I usually swim 1.2 miles around 31-32 mins, but I knew this would happen with my lack of swim training. The second lap was uneventful, I tried to draft when I could, but didn’t go that fast, I thankfully got out of the water in 1hr 16mins, 9mins slower that last year. As I approached the end of the swim you could here the massive crowds cheering, it was amazing there were spectators everywhere. As soon as I got out of the water I had the first of many Superfan encounters, It started with friends Ike, Angie and Barrett and then after I got my wetsuit stripped off I saw the family, Sheila, Baby Sidney, Sheila’s Parents, Sheila’s sister Jackie, and My Parents. The Superfans started with Ike, Angie, Barrett, Sheila, Baby Sid, The McNally’s, My Parents, Jackie and grew to Becky, Tony, Brendon, my brother Tom, his wife Rose, their kids Ashley, Lauren and Lil Tom and Roses Mother. It was a great crowd and great to have them there! So I ran up to the transition area and the whole way there where tons of people cheering you on, it was great. I was happy to be done with the swim!

Bike 112 miles
I changed from my swim stuff to my bike stuff in transition, did it as quickly as I could without forgetting anything. I got help from one of the volunteers. The volunteers where fabulous all day! I came out of transition and the volunteers lathered me up with sun screen, then ran about a 1/4 mile to my bike, put my shoes on and was ready to roll. I like cycling and go fairly fast on a bike if it is a flat or downhill course, but as soon as I hit the hills I drastically slow down. And I know it’s a weakness so I train on hills all the time, I am getting better, but I still get passed a lot on hills, it may have to do with my weight. So my game plan on the bike was to go fast when I could on the flats, try to keep my heart rate around 140, and take it easy on the uphills constantly monitoring my heart rate. In the beginning of the bike it was crowded so it was hard to keep a steady pace, but I tried to pass when I could because this was the only flat part of the course, as soon as we hit the loop there where hills everywhere. So my strategy was working good I had a good pace and was feeling good. As soon as we hit the loop the hills started, I felt good climbing, but people passed me going up and that was ok because there still was a long way to go and I would pass them on the dowhills> Gravity! We hit the road with the pea gravel, I took it easy, but when I let it go there was a woman in front of me who wasn’t holding her line, she was swerving and I thought there was going to be a collision but I avoided her. I did see one biker down in that area, not sure if it was a flat or he slid out on the gravel. The first loop went pretty good, I went fast when I could, there was several times when I was over my target heart rate so I throttled it back a little. The people on the hills and the towns where cheering us on, the volunteers at the aid stations where great, they gave us cold water and gatorade. In Crosse Plaines was the Chicago Tri Clubs aid station, it was great to see familiar faces cheering you on, they where very encouraging. This is when I started feeling the unexpected heat, you could feel it starting to zap your energy and this was right before the hardest part of the course. I was approaching the biggest hill, I was moving good, I was actually looking forward to it because of the shade on the hill and I knew there would be plenty of fans cheering us on and maybe the Superfans would be there. I rode in my comfort zone up the hill, the shade was nice, some people passed me and I passed some people, it didn’t matter as long as I was in a comfort zone. So going up the hill I saw the guy in the leopard g-string and the scantily clad girl with him, then the family of devils, and tons of other fans on the hill, many wearing shirts with their athletes name on them. And then towards the end of the hill I saw the Superfans, at first they didn’t see me until I acknowledged them, it was great to see them. Immediately after the big hill there is another steep hill to climb then another four miles past that there is a third big steep hill, this was the toughest part of the course. By this time my back was starting to bother me, an expected reoccurring injury, I figured I may have to stop and stretch it at sometime, probably when I reached the pickup for the special needs bags. After the three hills there is a slight downhill that I pushed pretty hard on, maybe too hard, on a short uphill, I could again feel a loss of energy, probably a combination of the hills and the rising heat. The wind started to pick up, which you think would be good, but it was a headwind, so not good for now. So I knew I would have to slow it down some to survive the rest of the ride and the run. After I went through the crowds of Verona I stopped to get my special needs bag. At the special needs pick up I grabbed my special needs bag, got off my bike, stretched some, took off my shoe because my foot was bothering me, ate a half of PB&J, took some salt tablets, and took a Tylenol for my back. After that I refreshed my Gatorade bottles and my gel flask and took care of other business. There where several guys/gals there eating, stretching, refreshing their bottles, talking about the heat, talking salt tablets, etc.. There was one disturbing lady that stopped, handed her bike to a nice volunteer, went to bushes to pee and then started barking orders at the volunteer, she wasn’t very nice.

I started the 2nd half of the bike, my back felt temporarily better. As we where going up one of the first hills of loop 2 one of the ladies was ecstatic that we were half way done with the bike, which was good but there was still a long way to go. Some people starting attacking the hills, I could hear them breathing hard and thought “Not Good!” I stuck to my plan, and even altered it to definitely NOT go over a heart rate of 140, I went over that rate too much in the 1st loop. So I kept moving, the wind slowed me down some, but I hoped that sometime during the day that the wind would benefit me and it would. I talked to some people on the bike, saw a guy from my health club, I was kept seeing the same names around me all day. About 1⁄2 way through the 2nd loop my back started to bother me again and I could start feeling the heat more, this is when I wish I had a cooler lighter tri shirt on. At every aid station I would take two bottles of water, one to drink and one to poor over my head, it felt great! The course is challenging but fun, some fast twisting downhills, its very scenic, and interesting with rural life and some very nice estates. And spectators everywhere! So I went through the Chicago Tri Club aid station again, more familiar encouraging voices and more cold water. I was coming to the big hill again, my back was hurting, I knew the Superfans would be there so decided to stop there to stretch and say hi to everyone. I stopped and stretched saw Baby Sid, surprised she was still going but she is the Energizer Baby, she never sleeps! I told them that besides the back I was feeling good. I got back on my bike saw more Superfans down the road and headed over the last two major hills and back to Madison. After the last hill there is a downhill, I started flying down that again but at a more controlled pace than last time. Up ahead I noticed a car and a girl riding next to it, it was a dangerous situation for everyone, the car shouldn’t of been there. So as I got closer I yelled nicely to watch out so I could pass, the girl and car moved at last moment, but it wasn’t pretty, I thought at least one of them would have some sense to let people pass. I thought about reporting it to the USAT officials, but I didn’t, they would only penalize the girl, not her friends in the car who where following her.

The ride from Verona to Madison was nice! Last year it was miserable, I was struggling, it lasted forever, I thought I was never going to get off my bike. This year I had the wind at my back, in the flats I was clipping along at 24-26mph, so nice to go fast again. As I got closer I could see the WI State Capitol building, I was getting close, I was psyched! I finally arrived, I rode up the helix, a volunteer came to take my bike, and I jokingly said “please take this thing away from me!” My bike did me good, my back didn’t, but my ride was still 15mins better than last year, I did it in 6hrs 21mins.
It was hot, I went into the transition area and it was air conditioned, so I was in no hurry! Again the volunteers in transition where great, getting water, or anything else you needed. I took off my cycling shirt, shoes and helmet, put on my tri top, running hat, running shoes, changed my socks, had some cold water (4 cups), lubed up and went off for a little jog through the great city of Madison.

Run 26.2
Out of transition and into the sun screen pit stop, volunteers lathered me up and sent me on my way. When I started the run I didn’t feel great, energy and legs weren’t running on all 8 cylinders, but thats how it always in the beginning of a triathlon run so I knew it would get better and it did. I did my first mile in about 9 mins, which was a little fast for me, so I slowed down a bit, it was a long run and I needed to pace myself. I felt a little bloated, I had 4+ Cliff bars on the bike, about 8 Accelerade gel packs, gallons of water and tons of Gatorade, but for now my stomach was fine. I saw all the Superfans in the beginning of the run, always motivating, not sure if Baby Sid recognized me, but I gave her a kiss. The first couple of miles where good, I was paranoid, I felt too good, what was going to happen this year, last year I visited every porta potty on the run course, so I figured something had to happen. I did start to get hot, for the 1st half or so of the run it was hot and it seemed to be affecting a lot of people, people walking, people with sponges in their shirts, there where people laying in the grass, people vomiting and even someone soaking in the lake. At every aid station I poured water over my head and took the cold wet sponges to keep me cool. I was sick of gatorade so I moved on to flat cola and chicken soup. The cola gave me a burst of energy and the chicken soup gave me the sodium I needed. I also had bananas, oranges, and some gels. I couldn’t eat any more Cliff Bars or Gatorade. At mile 4 my stomach started to bother me a bit, I had to make about 5 or 6 pit stops throughout the race, but nothing too bad or hindering. I ran all the way, but I walked through all the aid stations to fuel up, hydrate and cool down. I felt pretty good through the 1st half the run, I was running at a steady pace and only slowed at aid stations or on some of the hills. I saw the Superfans at mile 6 on State Street and then saw some tri club members at mile 10, always great to see familiar faces. At the half way mark I saw the finish line, it was a tease but motivating, I knew I could make it back. The Superfans where spread out, so I got a dose of several groups twice at the turn around, it was great, great to see Baby Sid again. I wonder if she knows how much of a pain in the ass I will be now that I have more time to hang with her after the race, hopefully her mother warned her. Near the turnaround was last years winner Heather Gollnick who was cheering people on, she offered words of encouragement and I wished her luck in Hawaii.

Throughout the race I saw some of the same people on the bike, we chatted wished each other well, I saw some tri club members in the race and even saw one the guys from Canada that I had dinner with on Friday night. It was great all the athletes encouraging each other. Because of porta pottie breaks I would pass the same people multiple times, it was good to see familiar names and to see that they where still trucking on, I think we are all in this together.

I slowed down a bit after the halfway point, so I started drinking more coke and bananas for energy it worked, I started moving and the countdown began, only 12 miles left, 11, 10, 9, and finally the magical 20 mile marker and only 6.2 miles left, what a site for sore eyes, only a 10K, I could do that in my sleep, I’ve done it 45mins, but not today, today I would be happy with a 1hr or so. Again I saw the Superfans, was excited that race was almost over and I could hang out with them and hold Baby Sid. I also saw more Chicago Tri Club members cheering me on, as always great support. You don’t realize how important spectators are until your struggling through a race like this, it is really motivating. After mile 20 I felt good, still moving at a steady pace, my stomach had settled, I was positive, I think my conservative strategy on the bike paid off. So I started calculating finish times, I think my watch was at 11:45 at the 20 mile mark, could I beat 13hrs or would it be after? I picked up the pace a little but not too much, I also tried to spend less time at aid stations, but didn’t want to skimp out on nutrition. Since it was cooling down some I could skip the cold water douses. At about mile 23 my watch had about 12hrs and 28mins on it, I knew it would be close so I kept on moving. At about that time I saw one of the amputees on the course, a lady clipping at a good pace, how inspiring. I also saw Frank a 75 year old cancer survivor running like a champ, he has done 20 something Ironmans since his sixties. I also saw two male amputees doing the race, I think one finished hours ahead of me. There was also a guy who passed me with both arms bandaged up and road rash on his back, he must of crashed on his bike, he had a lot of guts to keep going with so much pain. I got to Mile 24, I picked it up some and was running with a girl that I had traded places with throughout the race, I asked her if she thought we could beat 13hrs, she said it would be tough so we picked up the pace. At about mile 25 I started visualizing the rest of the course to see if I could pick up the pace more, I wanted to beat 13hrs, so I went for it, went out of my comfort zone, the girl was with me til State Street but then she dropped back a little, I felt strong so I kept pushing and pushing, I could start hearing the crowds, I was still going up hill, once I got to Capitol Square it started flattening out a little and I was able to speed up, I came around the corner, looked at the finishing clock and it was 12:58, I was going to break 13hrs. I sped down the finishing chute, high fiving the crowd and then the Superfans, Baby Sid was still ticking (future Ironman?) and there was my brother with the video camera, it was great, I crossed in 12:58 something, an hour and nine minutes better than last year, I was ecstatic, and still coherent. Thrilled to be done and thrilled with my time. My run was 4:58, more than an hour faster than last year.

It was a really good day, not perfect, could of done without back issues and stomach issues but that’s all part of the race and challenges you must overcome. What a great day! The spectators, the volunteers and the whole community where awesome. My wife Sheila was angel in dealing with me all year and helping me find time to train. My daughter Sidney was the best training partner, well have to get her baby brother on board next year. And the Superfans made it so much easier to get through the race, they probably saved me an hour, my revised training the other 9 mins. This will be my last Ironman for awhile, I have to concentrate on being a good dad, but hopefully I will do many more Ironmans in the future, I enjoy them and the training, it keeps me out of trouble. I still hope to do shorter tris and a maybe marathons, they wont take 10-20hrs a week of training.

Thanks for all the calls and emails! Now lets drink some Beer and Enfamil!