Well, Ironman Louisville did not go as I had hoped. Leading up to the race, when friends or family asked about my goals, they would typically phrase the inquiry in terms of "how fast are you going to go?" My response was: my first goal is to finish. My second goal is to put myself in a position to achieve a time I know I am capable of (I tried to keep the time goals to myself). I would go on to explain that I felt that the nutritional component was the big unknown for me, and that in order to put myself in a position to achieve a certain time, I really needed to nail the nutrition. Nutrition, or more specifically, race fueling and hydration, has been the aspect of long distance racing that I've struggled the most with.
On to the result, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't disappointed. As Mike Reilly says to all the athletes just before the starting gun, "The only thing you can control today is your attitude". Certainly, I wasn't expecting a DNF and honestly didn't spend much time at all thinking about how I would handle such a result. Obviously, keeping a positive attitude about the race in general, regardless of the outcome, is great advice (maybe it's easy to preach and hard to practice?) Am I keeping a positive attitude about this? I think that, overwhelmingly, I am. Naturally, a pang of disappointment will creep up every now and again, but my focus has been on 1) what did I learn? and 2) how can I improve?
First, a brief recap of the race:Swim went well. I was excited, with a just the right amount of nervousness, prior to entering the water. My plan was to swim at a comfortable pace. I wanted to feel great coming out of the water. Evan and I started together, and up until the turn around the island, I would occasionally see him either a few yards ahead of me or right next to me. That was pretty cool. He picked up the pace and finished about 7-8 minutes ahead of me. I came out of the water feeling fantastic and excited to get on the bike. My swim was 1:13:47. Not bad but not great.
Evan and I applying sunscreen at 5:30AM on race day:
Have
you ever tried wiping with a sunburned butt crack???
Beautiful bridges on the beautiful-but-totally-gross-if-you're-swimming-in-it Ohio River.
T1 was interesting. Decided it would be a good idea to take the extra time to, uhh, use the bathroom. Glad I did.
On to the bike - I rode about half the course last year while accompanying Evan to the race and I
knew the course was much harder than one would expect. There are a couple decent hills, but mainly nonstop rollers that make it really hard to get into a groove. I pulled my Garmin file really quick and my average HR was 138. My plan was to race conservatively and keep my HR in the high 130's. I especially backed off during the last 40 miles. It was getting HOT. Unfortunately, I left my Garmin set to display the temp on the main screen. Not a great motivator to look down and see it register temps over 100 degrees. During the last year, I made it a point to try and do longer training days any time we had high heat/humidity in Michigan, so I wasn't too worried. I took a salt pill (salt stick brand) at mile 56 and another at mile 80. I was drinking
about 24oz of sports drink per hour. I was eating a Gu every 45 minutes. I substituted a 100 calorie cliff bar for a gel twice (because I felt a little hunger and thought a solid food might be a better choice). At every aid station from mile 60 onward, I drenched myself in cold water - and made sure to squirt as much as possible into my helmet to cool my head, because my head felt like it was frying. Around mile 90, my quads started to cramp up when I stood up on the bike...this is odd I thought. I began honing my focus toward relaxing, recovering, and preparing for the run. My bike time was 5:44. Not horrible. Again, not great either.
More pics of Evan and I, and our support crew:
As I pulled into the bike finish and stood up to dismount my bike, my quads nearly went into full-on cramping. Uh oh, I thought, this is going to get REALLY, REALLY hard. Mentally, I said, just relax, walk through the transition, take your time, focus. I got into the tent, and dumped about 5 cups of ice water on my head, down my shirt (front and back) and in my shorts (yep). I drank a few more cups of ice water while seated, put on my shoes, grabbed my salt pills, a gel, put some more ice in my hat, and exited the tent...legs still nearing full cramp mode. At this time, I noticed my stomach is REALLY bloated and full of fluid. I wondered how long this has been going on for. My next thought is, oh boy, this is was my worst fear - the bloating derailed my Oceanside HIM and a couple of training rides, but not to the point where I couldn't finish. I told myself to go really easy. I started running and my quads were still about to lock up in an all out cramp. I stopped and grabbed another salt pill. Maybe the sodium would help my body absorb some of the fluid pooling in my stomach.
Mile 1 was a bitch. During all my training, and other races this year (Oceanside and Steelhead HIMs), the first few miles or a hard BRICK or race have seemed really easy. Here at IMLV, my HR was 160+ and I was running a 10/min mile+ pace. Something was not right. I began to notice I was dizzy and lightheaded. The bloating was very uncomfortable and I was CRAVING water. At the first aid station, I tried some coke to see if that would help. Nope. Back through the aid station around mile 2. Orange slices catch my eye. Then more water (not sure how much, probably gulping). I continued "running" a 11-12 min pace. Just before mile 3 I saw Teresa, Stacey, Michelle and her kids, and my parents. I tried to act excited and soak up some of their positive energy. I stopped briefly and pulled Teresa aside. I told her my stomach was not feeling well. I didn't disclose how bad I felt because I thought I could pull out of it. Just after mile 3, I began walking. Even this felt like a Huculean task. My quads didn't feel so bad at this point, but I was dizzy, my stomach was full of fluid, and I was craving water. I felt like the smart decision would be to get checked out by a medic, because things were going bad.
Evan and I heading out on the run:
At this point, an idea pops into my head - throw up, get the pooled fluid out of my stomach and my body will start processing fluids again. I head in to a port-o-potty at the next aid station. I
throw up 3-4 times and my stomach starts to cramp, severely. I open the port-o-potty door, roll onto the ground and ask the aid station folks to call a medic. I throw up again. The aid station people are fantastic. They cooled me off with icy sponges and after about 10 minutes, I sat up feeling like maybe puking was the ticket. I try some coke and a gel. Bad idea. I'm nauseous again. I lay back down. The medic arrives and I explain what has transpired. We agree to wait it out to see if I get any better. Maybe I need to use the bathroom I thought. Back to the port-o-potty. Turns out I don't need to use the bathroom. I just feel really nauseous still. I'm back laying on the ground. I try a few more sips of water and/or coke and one sip feels like someone dumped 2 gallons in my stomach. The medics determine I am dehydrated...I agreed.
So they stuck an IV in me right there on the side of the road, loaded me up on the gurney despite my plea to walk, and "ambulanced" (yes, I'm making up a new verb) me to the med tent at the convention center. The staff at the med center was great and I can't say enough good things about the volunteers at IMLV in general - they were amazing. The med staff administered another IV and kept me warm while I re-hydrated. I asked about going back out there to finish, trying to mentally prepare myself for the struggle, honestly not fully committed to getting back out there, but not wanting to quit either. Fortunately, I didn't have to make that decision. Once you get an IV, you can't re-enter the race. My day was done. Disappointing, but now I was anxious to find out how Evan was doing. I figured I'd deal with my disappointment later.
Evan finished in 9:39 - 15th overall (out of 2500 who started) and 2nd in his age group. His blog is here -
http://evanmacfarlane.blogspot.com/I posted a comment on his blog that I'll copy here.
After that race, it's hard to pen a congratulatory sentiment without it sounding like a platitude. Just to finish yesterday was VERY impressive (that goes out to ALL finishers). I have a whole new level of respect for you and Stacey both after the race on Sunday. I'll keep is simple - great race Evan! 
So, what did I learn?
1)
Hydration - First and foremost, I am 99% sure I have been dehydrating myself on just about all my long (3+ hr) training rides and that the bloating/fluid pooling/craving water has not been poor digestion or not using the bathroom at the right time before, but rather dehydration. It seems
SO obvious now, and unfortunately I had to blow up in a race to realize it. No peeing on the bike, drinking only 24oz/hr in that heat and humidity.
1a) I was ill-prepared and undereducated regarding nutrition/fueling/hydration. Evan told me after the race that he drank 2 x 24oz bottles in the first 37 minutes of the ride and peed three times on the bike (I think he said three). I found out there are simple tools I can use like a sweat rate calculator to tell me how much I am loosing during exercise. I think that I have a very high sweat rate, which could exacerbate the dehydration. This is going to be a major area of focus for me this winter. I'll create my own "sauna" to practice in if I have to.
3)
Humility. Yet another lesson in life that shows that you don't always achieve what you seek out to. Setting goals is supposed to be hard. If you achieved every goal easily, and always on the first try, they wouldn't be called goals. While I already said it's disappointing, I'm ok with falling a little short on this one. It's big time fuel for IM CdA next year with Evan, Stacey, Teresa and I.
4)
Physically/Mentally, I was ready. I woke up on Monday feeling like I could get right back out and race. Maybe it was the IV, maybe it was the disappointment that masked any serious soreness. But I wasn't too sore - definitely way less sore than after Oceanside or Steelhead, and similar to some of my harder/longer training sessions. Mentally, I was focused the morning of the race...and the 2 weeks leading up to Louisville. I hydrated well, upped my sodium intake, cut out sweets and alcohol (save for two Sweet Mandy B's cupcakes that were taunting me).
5)
It was still a ton of fun. Hey, it didn't work out as I hoped, but I had fun. The swim was so much fun. The descents on the out and back section of the ride were a blast - I didn't tap the breaks. Finally getting to experience as a participant what Evan and Stacey have done only enhanced my appreciation for all athletes who take on an Ironman.
6)
Scheduling. One of my goals of doing an Ironman was improving my organization and scheduling, along with procrastinating less. I still have a long way to go, but I'm using a calendar now more than ever. I've improved in this area.
Off -Season Plans:
1)
Keep racing. I have an open water swim race coming up, and two mountain bike races. I might throw in a marathon or two to keep me motivated through the winter. This will hopefully also lessen the sting of not finishing Louisville. And add experience. And work on building leg muscle (MTB races).
2)
Improve Running form and Efficiency. I've had too many nagging running injuries. I'm going to start my stride over from scratch.
3)
Join the masters. Starting tomorrow AM!!!
4)
Get underwater swim footage.5)
Practice, Practice, Practice nutrition strategy...in HOT, HUMID weather especially. Tweak as necessary.
Other observations
1)
Support other racers. Evan, Stacey, Teresa and I talked about going back out on the course after IM CdA to cheer on the athletes. I'm committed to doing that. I think it's a great experience and I missed not seeing Evan finish or getting to see any other finishers. I've always tried to say "great job" to anyone who passed me during the late stages of a race, especially on the run portion when it's tough. Not only does it boost my energy by trying to give others a push, but it feels good when racers say it to me.
So, that's that. I went for a little swim yesterday in Goguac Lake after work. It felt great. It was 90 and humid here in Michigan so it was a nice end to the day. Now I've got a few group rides I'm going to join. There's a Wednesday and a Saturday ride that I've got on my radar.
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