As experienced by a first time Ironman.
For those of you who are not interested in the details of the day my summary is simple. My strategic "how hard to go on the bike" plan was executed flawlessly, my nutrition intake went incredibly well right up to about mile 20 of the marathon, my transitions were fast and flawless, and somehow my legs stayed under me for a fantastic marathon finish. Besides that it was just a solid day all around. The only items I can identify as having gone wrong are 1) I somehow dropped my chain three times (at beginnings of hills) for a total time loss of perhaps 3 minutes and 2) I did not put on enough sunscreen before the swim and bike.
Here is the rest of the story...
Perfect weather greeted a 3AM roll out of bed. Light winds and about 55 degrees and crystal clear starry skies. I'd had about 5 total hours of sleep. At least one interruption came from a dream where I'd accepted outside assistance and was disqualified from the race. This I considered a great start to my day.
I headed over to the kitchen and microwaved three pancakes, drank a can of V8 juice, and put the coffee on. Only one cup today. More caffeine would be consumed via gels and cola on the run course. All this was topped off by a glass of OJ. Took care of my morning business and headed out the door with my father and father-in-law at 4:45AM. The sun was just starting to show some glow in the east sky.
We arrived at the transition zone promptly at 5:15AM. I was dropped off and I headed over to body marking then to my bike to add water to my bottles, pump my tires, and set up my computer. A friendly competitor from Mexico let me borrow his pump. In 2006 there was one competitor from Mexico at Ironman Wisconsin. This year there would be 350 Mexicans on the course.
Next came the three block hike to special needs bag drop off. My special needs bags were both designed to be non-critical. The most important items were the PB&J sandwich and the Red Bull in my bike special needs bag. I gotta have my Red Bull at the bike turn. Its a tradition on all my long training rides. Other than stuff it was backup e-tabs and a few other treats just in case I was behind on nutrition. As it turns out all I used from special needs bike bag was a half of my PB&J, a Red Bull, two tylenols, and some e-tabs for later use. All I used from my run special needs bag was some margarita flavored shot bloks which I did use on the run.
Once my pre-race checklist was completed I had some time so I went and found my support crew for a final good bye. My dad and father in law wished me luck and went to stake out their viewing spot on top of the Manona Terrace. The rest of the family would be arriving soon and they wanted to have a great spot to watch one of sports' greatest spectacles -- an Ironman swim start. Wisconsin is the best place in the world to see the mass start. Next I headed down the helix towards the swim start entry which is only about 8 feet wide and has to accomodate 2200 people in about 30 minutes. During this time I passed spectators and many nervous looking competitors. I seemed to be very relaxed considering that I was most anxious about the swim. Perhaps the magic of the colors of the soon-to-be rising sun kept me calm. I sat down with my wetsuit, goggles, and a few other items to wait for the right time to enter the water. The temperature was about 56 degrees which was perfect in my long sleeve shirt and shorts. I was not cold at all.
At 6:25AM I body-glided up, put on my wetsuit and nibbled on a powerbar and some water. Then I paced around for about 10 minutes and decided to get in before the crowd hit the entry way. This turned out to be a wise move. While I was about 20 minutes early into the water it became clear that it was going to be difficult to get everyone in before the start. After crossing the mat I hit the water and quickly moved away from the crowd at the edge. Somehow I'd placed myself only about 10 yards behind the front line of swimmers. Perhaps not the best place for a slow swimmer...
Ironman Wisconsin has a "floating" swim start. There is no beach or lake bottom to stand on. Competitors are in the water treading water until the start. This unnerved me at first but then really kept me busy until the National Anthem. After the anthem it was 4 minutes to start. Before I knew it the cannon went off and I was starting off to the right about 10 yards behind the front swimmers who are presumably the fastest. There was at least 50 yards of swimmers behind me who would be clamoring to swim over and past me shortly after the start.
Despite the bodies all around me my first strokes were smooth and generally unobstructed. I was able to almost immediately get into a comfortable bilateral rythm and had no spiking heart rate issues. I concentrated on an almost full catch up style designed to leave an arm out front for added protection and to keep my stroke long. A great start for me.
My coach had suggested that I take a wide line all the way up the right side of this counter clockwise two loop rectangular swim. I sighted on a bridge that would bring me in to the first turn about 20 yards wide. Because of this trajectory I had a lot of clean water all the way up. Regardless, it seemed like a long way up the first long side. But I began to live in the moment and feel that this is not so bad. Then, out of nowhere, a foot hit my face. Not too hard -- no damage -- keep the stroke intact. All went well.
The first turn brought about some chaos because I cut a straighter line to the pylon. I had to begin sighting more and fell to a left only breathe for about 40 yards. Once I got clear again my bilateral stroke fell back into place. The rest of the swim went fairly uneventfully save for the following:
1) I got ferociously kicked in the face about 1/3 of the way into the swim. It knocked the goggles off my face but they stayed on my head because the straps were tucked under my cap. Had this kick been an inch further one way I would have had a broken nose.
2) I found myself swimming way too wide of the pylons about 80% of the time. This gave me cleaner water but also added at least a few hundred yards to my swim.
3) I actually began to enjoy the sport of going in and out of the chaos that existed closer to the pylons. If I wanted to straighter line I trajectoried in and if I wanted clear water I stayed out.
4) About 2/3 of the way through I was certain, due to my wide trajectory, that my swim time would not be meeting my 1:30 target. I picked up the pace marginally.
After what felt like a bunch more fun but slow swimming I was on the last turn. I got my sighting lined up on the swim exit and fought my way in. People started pummelling me as we all headed for the 10 foot wide exit. Upon hitting the exit I swam until my hands hit dirt which was more than what most of the swimmers did. This gained me 5 or 6 places right there. Two volunteers helped me out of the water and onto land. I hopped up, pulled the earplugs out, goggles off, and cap off. I found two volunteers who quickly stripped off my wetsuit. I was surprised to hear one of my ING co-workers yelling my name and another taking my photo while I lay on the ground. I yelled back, got up, and looked at my watch. 1:18. Incredible time for me! The day was off to a perfect start.
I then jogged up the helix, passing a few folks, towards the gear bag and changing area for the swim to bike transition............
PART II / T1, BIKE, T2, RUN
Before I begin the rest of the story, let me first qualify my swim "success"...This was not really a fast swim relative to the field. I was about right in the middle of the swim times. 50% in front of me, 50% behind me. Still very good for my capabilities and still a HUGE boost to my confidence to start the day. Now on to T1.
In Wisconsin athletes go indoors to transitions. This actually makes for a very fun experience. Since its very hard to preview how you will be going through ahead of time you can simply follow the athlete in front of you or just look at any of the many volunteers who will help you find your stuff and keep moving along. Its relaxing and very fun. I jogged/ran through 100% of T1. I never sat down and only stood still long enough to fasten my helmet and pull my shoes out of my bag. My sunglasses were already attached to my helmet. Once I left the changing room (no changing for me) I found myself outside with the option of getting sunscreened by volunteers. I took some, but not enough, sunscreen. After that I rounded the corner and saw a sight I'm not used to -- tons of bikes in the transition area. This gave me some more confidence in the day. From there is was 25 yards to my bike then about 100 running yards to bike exit. I had decided not to put my shoes on (they are not allowed to be strapped to the bike) but instead to run with them in one hand and my bike in the other. Great move...I passed at least 10-15 more people who were sliding around in their shoes on the concrete transition area. The mount line was fairly calm when I got there. I mounted up and was comfortably in the saddle for the start of my ride through rural Wisconsin.
Once on the bike I quickly remembered the advice of many veterans “start out slow in Wisonsin”. I tried my best but did find myself a bit caught up in the 20mph+ run out to the first loop starting in the town of Varona. I never pushed it but did keep a healthy pace. I had also driven the course on Thursday so I knew exactly what to expect on the course. That proved to be key to bike success. I also started my nutrition plan a bit early. I drank water only for the first 20 minutes then went to perpetuem and ate a gel. Overall I was very happy with my nutrition on the bike. Here is an approximation:
3 bottles perpetuem mix
3 bottles Gatorade endurance
2 bottles carbo pro
1 red bull at mile 56
2 bottles of water
6 gels
1 lara bar
1/2 PB&J sandwhich
1/2 power bar
2 e-tabs
This was consumed as I felt I needed it but pretty well spaced out over the course of almost 6 hours. I was still eating solid food about 10 miles away from T2. A good sign for caloric processing! There were a few other notables on the bike:
- I dropped my chain 3 times. This was a bit frustrating as I’ve only dropped my chain once in a year of training. I figure I lost 3-5 minutes total pulling over to put it back on. It also caused me to feel like I need to climb the hills afterwards faster to catch back up.
- I estimated my overall ratio of people I passed to those that passed me at about 6/1. I made up a lot of places on the bike. Unfortunately it seemed that most of my advances were on competitors outside my age group. I need a better swim!
- I never had upper back pain and my crotch only gave me minor trouble at a couple points. I had plenty of butt’r packets to keep me lubed up.
- It was tough to pee using my usual method. So I had to go with the “just do it” method. I tried to time this right after water stops so I could rinse myself off. I considered it a good hydration sign that I peed three times during the bike.
- The crowds on the big hills were so impressive that I almost felt obligated to work the hills hard for them. So I made sure to make some passes and show some spirit on the hills. Never too hard and sometimes not even coming out of the saddle.
I had to remind myself more than once that I had a marathon to complete when I was done. This helped prevent me from doing any real hammering. My heart rate only rose above 170 two or three times on the bike. I rode almost all the ride in the 145-160 range. That is right on the border of aerobic vs anaerobic for me. My coach told me that would be a good place to be during IM.
Fun highlights of the ride were:
- Seeing my family twice in Verona where there had to be 1000-2000 folks lining the course behind barricades. This happened to be on a flat fast straightaway with one huge curve. It was like riding in the tour!
- Again, the folks on the hills on the remote part of the course. They were there during both loops and yelled great (and often comical) words of encouragement.
- The last 15 miles, while very hard and generally against the wind, felt solid. I began to pass some riders who had obviously gone too hard on the ride. I began to realize I still had some run in me.
I did get some dizziness at about mile 95. Nothing serious but it did concern me a bit. I upped my fluid intake a bit. My dizziness must have been replaced by excitement as I began to enter town again. I never noticed it going away.
I came in to T2 fairly excited to run through the building again and to see how others looked after the bike. Especially since I knew I had done my 112 in under 6 hours and had fairly even splits on the first half vs. second half. My first steps off the bike were a bit tentative but I managed to get into the building jogging. I felt good. I was guided through the transition bag room and noticed there were still at least 2/3 of the transition bags still on the floor as I picked mine up. This confirmed I was having a good day. Big boost.
I wasted no time in T2. I had to sit for about 1 minute to tie my shoes but other than that it was just throwing my hat on and putting my running sunglasses on. I was out the door and on my feet pretty solidly. All the brick workouts paid off.
I let the sunscreeners load me up this time. Upon entering the street it took me only a mile to begin a pace of about 8:30/mile. I felt unusually good considering I’d just had my longest swim of my life followed by my second longest bike ride.
The first aid station was like a dream. There were big signs…one said water, one said Gatorade, one said cola, one said food, etc. It was like being at a party. I grabbed water, Gatorade, an orange, and pretzels. The volunteers gave me anything I wanted including sponges at EVERY station. I ate and/or drank at over 24 of the aid stations. Awesome!
At about mile three or four we ran through Camp Randall Stadium. We were running around the field on soft turf. It was really cool. We’d do this on both loops. The run went all through the UW campus and all over the city of Madison. There were a few short and steep hills that most people walked up. I was able to run or shuffle up every one.
Then came doubt. I glanced at my watch at about mile 8 and noted that I’d been running 8 or 8:15/minute miles. I knew this could not last. However the advice from my coach was to use the juice on the run when you had it. Nothing crazy, just keep the pace. So I kept eating, drinking, and kept a steady pace. I found myself speeding up a few times to catch a runner in front of me and slowing down other times to catch a break. I never walked. So I knew, based on what I’d read, that I’d simply run out of gas and be done with running (or certainly an 8:15 or 8:30 pace) soon.
Then somehow along came mile 13. My family was at the turn and I was able to stop and give kisses and hugs to them. I couldn’t really talk but they knew I was feeling good. Then my dad said something that put a huge boost in me. As I ran by him he quietly said “you are in the top 20%”.
This is where I have to admit I became a freak due to some delerium. My watch showed 1:50 at the mile 13 turn. I suddenly thought I could do really well in this race. I had to go for it. So I committed to trying to get in under 4 hours. Pain and doubt were now guaranteed to be in my near future.
Everything held together well until about mile 16. Then came a problem. I felt light cramping in my hamstrings about the time my lower stomach began to have mild pain. Over the next two miles or so I tried eating pretzels, a couple e-tabs, cola, and even a cookie to calm my stomach and get some salt in me. The cramping did subside. But the stomach cramps worsened. I was stuck in a catch 22 of cramps vs. stomach pain. If I stopped eating I knew I’d cramp up. So, since my stomach pain was not debilitating (yet) I decided that eating was still critical. About that time a guy 5 yards in front of me ran across the lane and hurled everything he’d had at the last 3 aid stations. Suddenly eating seemed like it could be risky.
But I got over that and kept eating. Now it was down to pretzels, cola, and water only. And I slowed down to try to allow calorie absorption. While I was managing all this somehow mile 20 came and went. Now it was just a 10K race to go. I have run that distance over 200 times in the last year. I could do it.
Again I ate a pretzel or two and drank cola and water. I no longer needed calories to finish but something told me to keep adding them lightly. So I did.
Here is my estimated nutrition intake on the run:
15 half Dixie cups of water
20 half Dixie cups of Gatorade
12 half Dixie cups of cola
10 mini pretzels
5 orange slices
1 chocalte chip cookie
5 clif shot bloks (margarita flavor)
The last few miles were made faster by my “catching a ride” from two very strong female runners. I jumped on their trail and stayed with them all the way to the finish. At mile 26 my family was there screaming for me. I raised my hands over my head in a sign of not just success, but still feeling alive. I crossed the finish line at 11:09:59 with my arms in the air. Of course I heard it -- “Mark Luckinbill of Raleigh, North Carolina, you are an Ironman”. I was thrilled at finishing but even more thrilled that by some miracle I had run my third fastest marathon in an Ironman. I have no idea how I did that particular piece.
At the finish line I received my own personal guide. He grabbed me to make sure I was lucid and was there to give me whatever nutrition I wanted. In keeping with my triathlon tradition I asked for a cola, then another. I told him I was feeling fine and he let me go within two minutes of greeting me. My wife and son came into the finish corrall and we took some pictures. I noticed other athletes coming through who were not in good shape. I have to believe that my calorie intake all day long set me up for success. And of course it didn’t hurt to have great coaching, a year and a half of physical and mental training, and a generally injury and illness free training year.
One more follow up post coming. I have to call attention to the tips and tricks that helped me exceed my own expectations.
