Several people have been asking for this and it is also meant as a recap of my day for all who contributed to the Children's Dyslexia Center of Madison - So here it is. It's kind of long, but, so was the race. It is written with several different audiences in mind, so bear with it... |
Prelude
My fourth Ironman quest began when I entered a new age group for the race and my two running partners from work, Erik Beaver and Dave Nowotny, as well as my high school/college buddy Robin Tran (in Colorado) all decided to make their first attempts at the race. My previous IM races had all involved little training and less than ideal weather (89-93 degrees or 56 degrees and rain). My first race in 2003 (13:32 finishing time) was on 3 weeks notice (thanks to a free entry from a race sponsor) with a long training bike ride of 50 miles. In 2004 (12:58) I got a 7 week notice and a long ride in of 80 miles. For 2006 I entered the race through the normal process and did one bike ride over 100 miles prior to the race, finishing IM in 11:36 in the cold and rain. While I had trained much more significantly in 2006 I knew my biking could still use a lot of work and that I could be faster. For 2011 I also was asked to be an ambassador and fund raiser for the Children’s Dyslexia Center of Madison which added a new dimension and goals to my race preparation.
My training had a set back in early May of 2011when I got some tearing in my right hamstring during a track workout. Luckily I was still able to run at slower paces and ran the Ice Age 50k a few days later placing first for Masters. I was glad I could still run because three years earlier I badly tore my left hamstring and was out for six weeks. It took two years to heal where I could run strong but I still suffer with cramping issues.
Living in a small rural town (Columbus) limits my access to training groups and workout partners, especially for the required long bike rides. Luckily I was able to coordinate several longer workouts with Erik and Dave and some training groups in Madison. Not only were the longer workouts more bearable with friends but they also provided motivation for the times when you needed a push to get out the door. I was worried my training would suffer during a June two week family vacation to the Grand Canyon. Fortunately I was able to borrow a bike from Robin when we stopped in Colorado and got a few rides in up the Colorado National Monument.
After completing the Door County ½ Ironman in July and months of buildup training I started my endurance workouts with back to back days riding 107 miles on the Ironman course as part of a training weekend with Endurance Nation. Each ride was followed by a 6 mile run. The 3rd day we ran the IM course for 13 miles. The following weekend was the annual Headhunters Hell Brick. We rode 116 miles (with pro Heather Gullnick) and ran 6.2 miles. My biggest workout was a 7 hour day the next week (4 weeks out from IM), riding three IM loops with Erik for 126 miles and a 7 mile run. Following this workout I stopped by an Amy’s Play Group (APG) party where I picked up a jersey to wear for the race (which worked great – no chaffing). My weekend rides were supplemented by occasional bikes to work (26 miles each way).
I was only swimming about 3 times a week and not as intensely as I had for my last IM but I did have Jerry Lourigan from Headhunters analyze my stroke to look for improvements. Running was limited with my strained hamstring but I did run a marathon and two ½ marathons in early summer. I found that my muscles warmed up on the bike and I could run well after long bike rides however my long runs were limited to a 16 and 18 miler. It was running too hard on training runs that hampered my recovery as I restrained my hamstring a couple of times.
We finally reached the start of a 3 week taper leading up to IM. I reduced the mileage and effort each week but still put in some 3-5 hour days. Race week I got a fast test ride in on carbon aero wheels midweek but took the rest of the week easy. The day before the race Robin and I went for an 8 mile ride and did some strides to loosen the legs up. Unfortunately the rest of the day was spent getting our bikes and gear to the IM site, running to 2 different family functions and shopping for last minute items. Too much stress and time on the feet for the day before IM.
Race Day
My race day was hampered by a series of small failures most of which caused more anxiety and stress than anything but were distracting from my race day focus. I woke up at 4:15 had some oatmeal and peanut butter & honey toast for breakfast. Grabbed my frozen Gatorade and Gu bottles and headed to Madison about 4:45 though a heavy fog. Several minutes down the road Robin exclaimed “we have to go back, I forgot my timing chip!” “What?!” “How could you forget that?” “What was the one thing I told you to do race morning?” I had even checked his ankle at home to be sure he had it on but he was wearing calf sleeves rolled down over his ankle so I couldn’t see if it was there. I answered “we can’t go back now that will put us 20 minutes behind and parking will be that much harder.” While he kept insisting we turn around I assured him he could get a replacement chip at the swim start table.
The street parking was nearly filled at 5:15 when we got there. I parked and Robin headed off to get a new chip, which turned out to be no problem. I loaded my bottles on my bike and dropped my run bottles off in my transition bag. I had brought a pump since everyone was worried about finding one that morning. Robin’s family was to meet us to pick it up but I decided to run it back to the car (good choice since we couldn’t find them, but it took time). Met up with Robin and Erik at the entrance to the convention center along with the APG contingent to put on our wetsuits. At about 6:15 we started heading towards the water. I had Erik zip me up since in practice he always had everything tucked in well where I didn’t get chafing from turning my head to breathe. We separated as we entered the water and I headed to the other side of the ski ramp. I planned on starting about 10 people back with a goal time of 1:15 however I found there was more room than usual and settled into a large void with only several people in front of me. I expected it to fill in but it looked like everyone that came in after me stayed to (or only could get as far as) the right of the ski jump.
The cannon went off without warning and we were under way. I was pleasantly surprised by the lack of jostling, elbowing and kicking that I had experienced in previous IMs. I was able to draft off other swimmers and had very little problems at the corners where it slowed down. I checked my first lap and had a time of 37 minutes, right on target. However, I noticed the field had thinned out on the second lap and I had trouble finding people to draft off as I was swimming on the inside of the marker buoys since I breathe on my right side. As I neared the first corner on the second lap I took on elbow in the forehead but continued on. At the next corner I sighted and took a wave in the face along with a mouth full of water. I took a couple side strokes to cough out the water and then resumed the front crawl. That was the only time I had to slow up other than the first corner the whole swim.
I had noticed the back of my legs felt tight but kept blocking it out of my mind until I was about 150 yards from the last turn. As I was swimming my arm hit another swimmer which sent a jolt through my body much like stubbing your toe at mile 28 of a long run. This sudden stop sent my hamstrings into a cramp. I had gotten them swimming in a pool before but always thought it had to do with pushing off the wall. I slowed my stroke and had to stop kicking in fear they would lock up and I’d be looking for a kayak to grab onto. I let my legs relax and sink because every time I tried to kick I could feel the cramps starting up. I continued with a slow stoke to the finish coming out later than I planned. Worse yet I knew that if my hamstrings had cramped on the swim they weren’t likely to last on the run.
| LEG | DISTANCE | PACE | RANK | DIV.POS. |
| TOTAL SWIM | 2.4 mi. (1:21:05) | 2:08/100m | 1370 | 158 |
Transition 1
Unfortunately I came out of the water with dozens of others and had to search for an available stripper to take off my wetsuit. As I jogged up the helix I folded my wetsuit just as I had written in my prerace plan. I entered the transition bag room and ran right to my bag with a blue t-shirt hanging out of the top for identification. I tried to run into the changing room but it was so crowded I came to a slow walk and searched for a seat. I quickly grabbed out what I needed and stuffed my swim gear in. As I exited the center I paused long enough to get some sun screen slapped on my shoulders and neck. I grabbed my bike and jogged barefoot to the end of the transition behind the dozens of other athletes trying to exit. I tried to lean my bike against a post near the bike exit but it slipped down. A volunteer picked it up and held it for me as I slipped my socks and bike shoes on. I got out a couple minutes slower than I hoped for due to the congestion. I was already about 6 minutes behind my plan overall.
| T1: SWIM-TO-BIKE | 7:07 |
Bike
I headed down John Nolen Drive and hit the no pass zone. As I entered the tunnel under the road I saw a biker laying on the ground being assisted by 2 police officers, not a good start for that athlete. As I continued through the Coliseum parking lot I heard my CO2 cartridges clinking. I felt under my seat where I had taped my tire repair kit and felt it falling out. I had meant to check it in the morning after it had sat in the hot sun all Saturday afternoon. I figured I could put them into my bento box with my energy bars. That is when I realized the next small failure. In my morning haste I forgot to load my bars and gel shots, 600 calories of my nutrition plan – they were with my running flasks in my run transition bag. I still had my Perpeteum, Gu, and Perform but had planned on some solids to keep my stomach in check. Not a big deal but certainly unneeded stress and now I would have to do what I had told the others not to do, rely on the aid stations for Powerbars. Since I had plenty of room in my Bento Box I tore my whole tire kit out from under my seat only to find that my tire wrench was already missing. Now if I had a flat I was in trouble. More stress. I decided not worry about any of that and tried to get my mind back on the race.
The first several miles I took easy but it was a constant flow of bikers that I was mostly passing. I then picked it up to a comfortable but harder pace and started passing a lot more bikers. The corners were difficult as I wanted to fly through them but was hampered by the slower riders. To further complicate matters it seemed like there was a motorcycle race marshal in site of me for over half of the first 40 miles. I knew there were too many bikers to enforce the no drafting rule but I did see them write someone up for riding over the center line for a quarter mile.
We reached the Mount Horeb aid station but I was unable to find a Powerbar as I flew by. Over the entire course I was only able to get 2 pieces of Powerbars at aid stations, not half of what I’d hoped for. Leaving Mt Horeb I picked it up a notch but still felt I rode at a comfortable pace. Now we started hitting the rolling hills. I took it easy going up them but maximized my speed going down. It all felt relatively easy as I had ridden the course a dozen times in training and was comfortable with every hill and turn, even the cracks in the road.
As I started the second loop I noticed the wind had picked up and felt the resistance as we headed towards Mt Horeb for a second time. By now the bikers had spread out and I was able to maximize my speed on most corners. When we hit Garfield Road I noticed the next bikers were over 100 yards in front of me. I knew this would allow me to take the 2 fast turns at top speed. I hit the first curve at 36 mph and the second at 39 mph being just cautious enough to be able to maneuver if I needed to at the last second. I felt strong but didn’t want to risk blowing up with leg cramps like I had in previous years. At the top of one of the major hills I saw my favorite sign on the course: “So you did a marathon…how cute.”
After going through the crowds in Verona I started back towards Madison. The last 15 miles I played leap frog with 2 women bikers. Every hill we came to they charged up it while I took it at an easier steady pace. When we got to the flats I would pass them until the next hill. I passed them again with about 5 miles to go and with no major hills left I never saw them again (on the bike). I finished the Bike in 5:52, faster than my goal, and was back on target.
| LEG | DISTANCE | PACE | RANK | DIV.POS. |
| BIKE SPLIT 1: 54 mi | 54 mi (2:47:32) | 19.34 mi/h | | |
| BIKE SPLIT 2: 94 mi | 40 mi (2:15:38) | 17.69 mi/h | | |
| BIKE SPLIT 3: 112 mi | 18 mi (47:59) | 22.51 mi/h | | |
| TOTAL BIKE | 112 mi (5:51:09) | 19.14 mi/h | 508 | 65 |
Transition 2
I hit the second transition on the run, saying sorry as I bumped by people in the bag room. Slipped on my running shoes as a volunteer stuffed my bike helmet and shoes into the bag and I was off. I got 10 yards away and realized I was still wearing my sweat band I use on the bike and not my running cap. I ran back just before the volunteer tied my bag shut and he found my cap (which also still had my Garmin watch in it for pacing). I ran outside and stopped long enough to use a porta potty (my only time the whole race). I still managed to get out of the transition in under 3 minutes.
| T2: BIKE-TO-RUN | 2:57 |
Run
I was carrying my Garmin waiting for it to get satellite reception before I put it on. The Garmin would allow me to pace myself so that I didn’t go out too fast which is easy to do coming off the bike. However this was the next failure as I cursed it for 3 miles as it didn’t lock into the satellites for 25 minutes! Talk about stress. Luckily I ran smart at about an 8:20 pace for those miles. I was feeling good running about an 8:00 pace but was shocked at about mile 5 when one of the women I played tag with near the end of the bike cruised by me at a 7:30 pace. (After the race I looked her # up and saw that she “died” several miles later and I had passed her up again for good). I was bewildered again a half mile later when I ran by Blake Becker, a local pro athlete, walking. Of course he was on his second lap to my first. I continued on through the aid stations filling my flasks as needed on the run. As I came back past Camp Randall at about mile 11 both my hamstrings suddenly went into cramps. I tried to keep moving but after 100 yards the cramps got so bad I had to stop in the middle of the road. I was bent over holding the backs of my legs for 5 minutes waiting for the muscles to relax. A couple runners offered me salt tablets and one driver offered me a ride, I said “not a chance.” Finally I was able to start running again but knew that my racing was done. Not sure if salt or fluids would help I started walking the aid stations to eat pretzels and drink Pepsi and Perform. Physically and energy wise I felt great, I wanted to run hard but every time I got near an 8 minute pace I could feel the muscles starting to cramp and would have to cut way back. As I ran past everyone walking up Bascom Hill on my second lap I must have pushed it too hard. As soon as I reached the top my hamstrings locked up again stopping me for another 3 minutes. Once they relaxed I headed down the other side trying to hold back to avoid another cramping session. With a few miles to go I was feeling strong and started running through the aid stations again, knowing I had enough fluids on my running belt to get me to the finish. As I rounded the last corner there was one runner in front of me and I turned it on (this was still a race). I felt a twinge in my hamstrings and feared I would be reduced to a stumble across the finish line. But my hamstrings held up and I flew by the other runner with 20 yards to go. My run was still decent but was not close to the 3:30 marathon I know I’m capable of in Ironman or my IM PR of 3:41 in 2006.
| LEG | DISTANCE | PACE | RANK | DIV.POS. |
| RUN SPLIT 1: 8.9 mi | 8.9 mi (1:10:56) | 7:58/mi | | |
| RUN SPLIT 2: 13.2 mi | 4.3 mi (44:42) | 10:23/mi | | |
| RUN SPLIT 3: 21.95 mi | 8.75 mi (1:23:49) | 9:34/mi | | |
| RUN SPLIT 4: 26.2 mi | 4.25 mi (38:42) | 9:06/mi | | |
| TOTAL RUN | 26.2 mi (3:58:09) | 9:05/mi | 237 | 19 |
I was grabbed by a catcher after crossing the finishing line and told her I needed to keep moving or my legs would cramp. She walked me around the finish line area for 15 minutes while other volunteers brought me water and chicken broth. I said I really wanted food but she said I would have to leave the finish area for that. Finally I spotted my family and told her I would go with them. I scarfed down 3 pieces of pizza and then checked on how Robin (who was in front of Erik) was doing on the computer. There was no update on him for the last 4 mile section so I headed for a massage. My brother Alan asked at the sign up how long my massage would last. Since there was no wait at the time they said as long as he wants, Alan said he’d be back tomorrow to get me. Actually my massage therapist said she would work on me as long as there were other therapists available, she being the teacher of the volunteers, there in training, could do that. Not only did I get a great massage (since she was the teacher) but it lasted for over an hour. In fact by the time it was done, Robin had finished, eaten/recovered and gotten his massage, done before mine. After more pizza I went in search of Erik who had taken up residence in the Medical Tent finishing 10 minutes behind Robin in 12:31. He was released shortly after recovering from a dizzy spell and we waited for Dave who came in at 15:32.
I capped off the evening with my brother Ken who had volunteered at the Headhunter aid station on the run with my son Jacob. I was pleasantly surprised to find that Ken had stepped up, taking my role as the late shift captain and had gotten me a few leftover Powergels for future races. After a quick beer we called it a night as it was after midnight and the race had ended.
Afterwards I realized that I didn’t spend enough time focusing on my own race, spending too much time making sure others had a successful race, although I enjoyed guiding them and seeing them make it to the finish line. While my 11:20 finish time was not as fast as I hoped for I was happy with it as it was still an Ironman PR. I finished 237th out of 2811 (top 10%) and 19th out of 327 (top 6%) in my age group.
Special thanks to my family for putting up with the long hours of training and to everyone that came out to cheer us on. The APG support was great and Chris Peters was everywhere. Also thank you to everyone that contributed to the Children’s Dyslexia Center of Madison. With the help of fundraising done by my father I raised over $2500 to help children overcome their learning disabilities and lead normal lives.
Bruce Udell
| BIB | AGE | STATE/COUNTRY | PROFESSION |
| 2238 | 45 | Columbus WI USA | Miscellaneous |
| SWIM | BIKE | RUN | OVERALL | RANK | DIV.POS. |
| 1:21:05 | 5:51:09 | 3:58:09 | 11:20:27 | 237 | 19 |
| LEG | DISTANCE | PACE | RANK | DIV.POS. |
| TOTAL SWIM | 2.4 mi. (1:21:05) | 2:08/100m | 1370 | 158 |
| | | |||
| BIKE SPLIT 1: 54 mi | 54 mi (2:47:32) | 19.34 mi/h | | |
| BIKE SPLIT 2: 94 mi | 40 mi (2:15:38) | 17.69 mi/h | | |
| BIKE SPLIT 3: 112 mi | 18 mi (47:59) | 22.51 mi/h | | |
| TOTAL BIKE | 112 mi (5:51:09) | 19.14 mi/h | 508 | 65 |
| | | |||
| RUN SPLIT 1: 8.9 mi | 8.9 mi (1:10:56) | 7:58/mi | | |
| RUN SPLIT 2: 13.2 mi | 4.3 mi (44:42) | 10:23/mi | | |
| RUN SPLIT 3: 21.95 mi | 8.75 mi (1:23:49) | 9:34/mi | | |
| RUN SPLIT 4: 26.2 mi | 4.25 mi (38:42) | 9:06/mi | | |
| TOTAL RUN | 26.2 mi (3:58:09) | 9:05/mi | 237 | 19 |
| | | |||
| TRANSITION | TIME | |||
| T1: SWIM-TO-BIKE | 7:07 | |||
| T2: BIKE-TO-RUN | 2:57 | |||
| | | |||
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