This was my third time racing IMWI, and I still consider it to be my “hometown” race even though now I live in Colorado. It’s great to be able to go back to Wisconsin where I am familiar with the course and venue and can have the support of friends and family. I flew from Colorado on Thursday before the race which would allow me a few short workouts on the course, as well as time to catch up with some old friends. I was very relieved to hear that the weather was going to be a perfect 83 and sunny all weekend (if not a little hot), as the last time I raced WI in was 45deg and raining!!

SWIM- 54:59

The swim start is an open water start with a very large starting area. I positioned myself between the turn buoy and ski jump where I have started previously. If you are a strong swimmer and not afraid of a little jostling at the start I think this is the best spot. I had a good start and pretty much open water infront of me. I jumped onto what was a large group of probably 20+ people and thought I would have a nice tow in the front group through the swim. Unfortunately a gap opened up about 8 people infront of me and a lead group of 10 or so were motoring away. I did make one effort to bridge but then thought better of it and dropped back into our group which was down to about 5-6 people. We were on pace for my goal swim time of 54-56min, so I was comfortable staying put. The second lap we had to deal with lapped traffic, but I made it through without too much trouble.

Bike- 5:16:53

After a solid swim it was out onto the bike. The bike course here is very tough; the hills are steep and relentless. Knowing this I wanted to take the bike out easy, because pushing it hard early will cost you serious time later. I tried to keep my heart rate down and let a few crazies go by me up the road. This year I really focused on my nutrition plan and it payed huge dividends. I knew what I was going to eat and when. I did have to make an increase in fluid intake as the day was going to be on the hot side. I was feeling strong the first 50 miles, but then onto the start of the second lap around mile 60 I started feeling a little lack of power in the legs. I was concerned as I was losing several positions and watching people go up the road. This lasted until mile 90. I tried not to panic and took in as much nutrition as possible. It did seem to help as I recovered and felt good the last 22 miles. This was a great confidence booster going into the run. I had some friends giving me position updates from their wireless devices and I was sitting 1st in the age group.

Run- 3:35:42

I came into T2 with Hilary Biscay and a few other Euro’s that looked like strong runners. This would be a great help to help pace off of these other runners. My goal run time was 3:20-3:30, but this would be tough as the day was over 80deg. (No one ran under 3hrs on the day). My first mile I had a little bit of excitement and ran a 6:40 (damn crowds!!). Had to cool that down a bit and settled into a comfortable. pace. I felt solid going through 13 miles, but thats still a long ways to go! At about mile 16 I started to struggle a bit and had to start walking the aid stations to pound the coke and gatorade. Although you feel weak walking the aid stations, it is a good strategy if you are hurting as you can comfortably take in some nutrition. A few strong runners were going by me in the following miles but I just had to run my own race and stay steady. As even after mile 20 if you put in an effort that you can’t recover from you can lose major time in the last 6 miles. I knew I remainded in the top 5 in the age group at this point (kona slots). The last 3 miles my IT band and piriformis were really tightening up and I was praying for them to last just a couple more miles. I looked at my watch and knew I was going to be close to breaking the 10 hr. mark. This was defininate motivation the last several miles. I was able to hang on, but unfortunately a guy in my AG passed me in the last 2/10 of a mile!! I just couldn’t do anything about it. But I was fortunate enough to hang onto 4th position in AG, and a slot to Kona 2010!!

9:55:49

Mission Accomplished; 36th overall, 4th AG, ticket to Kona 2010!!

I want to give a special thanks to all my friends and family out on the course cheering me on!! Also thanks to all the Sponsors at the race including; Aquasphere, Timex, Bontrager, and Trek.

Now time for the off-season!

On August 22 I raced USAT Nationals in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, home to the Univ of Alabama and city where you can get a turkey panini packed with green apple slices and gouda with side salad and bowl of fruit (upon presenting your USAT membership) for $3.81. crazy.

I earned ITU points for my 9th place finish seeing that nationals also served as an ITU Continental Cup. Why do I care about accruing precious points? Your points determine your ranking in the ITU points list–the more points you have, the higher your ranking. USAT, the governing body for USA triathlon, is inclined to send athletes with good results (thus, more points) to bigger races, like a World Cup. By consistently racing, placing well & s/b/r-ing faster, I have the potential to attend said races. If you get mediocre results (like ninth) and do 2 ITU races/yr (like me in 2009) you’ll painstakingly move up, but it’s better to race MORE and place HIGHER so progression doesn’t take a LIFETIME. That’s the goal here.

Background: Coach Paulo resides in neighboring TN and trekked to nationals to watch me and his other athletes race. I suspect the Chipotle presence in Tusca made the trip a SLAM DUNK.

The women athletes were introduced individually and jogged past the crowd to select a spot on the pontoon for the dive start. After brief deliberation, I placed myself between Hayley Peirsol and Margie Shapiro. I figured I’d get clean water on the Hayley side as she is her own front pack. 200 meters in I noticed packs forming on the ends of the field. Who can remember precisely what happend 3 wks ago, but I found myself on Jenna Shoemaker’s feet who wore a conspicuous, red race suit, and thought to myself I HOPE PAULO IS WATCHING THIS (3 consecutive wks of 28k meters/wk in the pool is good for something). I came out of the water on her feet (first out was Hayley, a pack of 3, then me and Jenna).  I have never experienced such an intense transition before–like LIFE OR DEATH to hang with her. On that day: DEATH.

BIKE (6 loops): It was a sad affair as I was alone and did not hang with the 3 women who passed me in the early laps (being dropped/passed by all on the HILL). watts/kg. blast it. Paulo knew what was going on in my head (as he has received colorful post-race texts from me) and reminded me to FOCUS & STAY IN THE RACE. Me: yea, he has a point, stay with it. At the half-way mark, it was clear I was not catching the front pack (who had likely settled down the pace now that they were a bigger group of 8ish–boo), I slowed down, per Paulo’s suggestion, to complete the ride with the pack behind me. Instead of dropping off completely in my slow-down-and-join effort, I made sure I got up that G-D hill on lap 4 and we merged around the top. Our group of 6 ‘pacelined’ like a carousel the remaining 2.5 laps and we found our way…

OUT ON THE RUN. The motor home in background indicates I am in fact in BAMA:

The run included 4 loops… I ran most of loop 1 with Amanda Hahn (effort level quite high) but I fell off our pace and slogged through the rest solo. The best I could have placed was 8th since the front pack started the run WAY in front of us (and I have not yet approached a 30 min 10k time). Paulo kept me honest with encouragement throughout and I crossed the line in 9th–it was different to race with him on the sidelines. Reality is he won’t be at every race, so I must keep myself in check from start to finish.

I have lots to take away, namely s/b/r faster, but ALSO, I over-indulged Saturday night with EXCESSIVE AMOUNTS OF FOOD–too much for MY stomach to handle. The following week I felt nauseous after EVERY meal eaten. To my dismay, I found little compassion as everyone just told me to not eat so much all the time.  Post-race celebration meals–don’t go overboard.

My dad sent me this lovely basket of flowers the following Tuesday as congrats/bday tidings since I turned a landmark 25 on race-day, celebrating by paying adult prices on my rental vehicle. 

Day 3

The evening of day 2, in the aftermath of bouncing off the mountain descent from Hope Pass, my ankle started to swell up massively, and my ribs started to give me grief. By dinner time, walking was difficult and breathing was becoming painful. I had serious doubts as to whether I would be able to walk the next day’s stage, let alone run it. The fun of the event evaporated within a matter of hours and I went to bed early, dosed up on anti-inflammatories and resigned to see what happened in the morning.

Waking up on day 3, my ankle looked like an elephant’s. We packed up the kit and tents ready for the 24 mile stage, and I went to the medical tent to get the ankle strapped up. The strapping was tight and the first couple of miles were slow going and the inflamed ankle and strapping needed to ease into the day. The gentle downhill on tarmac to start the stage from Leadville to Nova Guides was painful. But with just under 3000ft of climbing in the day, and a maximum altitude of only 11000 feet, the main issue for the day was its length. Will was very patient and towed up the climbs, even getting in some sprint efforts to get enough momentum to pull me through short steep sections. For one early river crossing which we couldn’t walk around, I got a piggy back over it to keep the strapping on my ankle dry.

Downhill was not pleasant. In the second half of the stage, the pain killers started to wear off, and the downhill stress on my ankle and constant jarring on my ribs meant that the pain factor was sky high. But make it through we did, albeit at a pedestrian pace. The final three miles into Nova Guides, Will towed me through the flat to the finish, which seemed to go on forever. As usual, the end of the run was quickly followed by a trip to the creek for icing – though today I was chest deep to get my ribs soaked too.

Day 4

Camp Hale to Red Cliff was another short stage with a massive climb. The top of this stage was a ridiculously steep forest trail, where the tow rope was redundant. I was borrowing Adam’s Leki poles for the day – in the mid grade uphills I was unsure about their usefulness, especially given the added pressure on my ribs from the use of my arms, but on the steep climbs, they became invaluable, where a forced march pace up the slopes was all that we could manage. The downhill was better today – the ankle was well strapped but less swollen, and a better pace was maintained. I was still frustrated from losing places on the downhill on day 3.

The best part of the stage was a lengthy section running down a small creek. It was icy cold and made your feet instantly numb, but only a few miles from the finish so not too bad in terms of blisters and chaffing, though some people’s feet did suffer in the stage.

Day 5

Quads starting to feel a little sore. Ankle starting to feel a little better, if not looking improved – darkening purple patches showed the bruising coming through around the heel. My ribs however, seemed to be getting worse.

The stage was set to be nearly 24 miles, with 4400 feet of climbing, basically straight uphill for 11 miles, 3 miles of undulating, and then 10miles of decent. I was in the BOX by the top of the climb. Several teams overtook towards the top as my pace slowed our progress. But the pain really kicked in on the downhill. Between aid stations 2 and 3 I was nearly in tears thanks to the pain from my ribs and extra stresses through my right leg trying to keep my ankle out of trouble on the gravel downhill.

Arriving in Vale I was pleased to be done for the day. It was hot and lively, and with a beer and barbeque, the days’ challenge was quickly forgotten.

Day 6

Final day. This hurt. At last though, the ankle and ribs were not the limiting factor. Today, muscular fatigue and lung function were the main issues – and I was pleased to have this situation. Will was feeling the long week and the additional strain of towing days 2 through 5, and the tow rope saw a little less action today as we just worked through the fatigue.

The final climb of the day ended up a ski field in Beaver Creek before descending back into the town. That final hill is best described as a hike rather than a run, but we’d made enough time in the descents today to hold a good position.

The after party was something to behold. Things certainly loosened up and after a long week of work, celebration was the order of the day.

More photos to follow!

Having directed 4 triathlons and 3 running races June through now (just one more left), I finally got to race twice myself the past 3 weeks. 

First up was the La Sportiva 10K Trail Run at the Nordic Center of Eldora Mountain (30 minutes outside of Boulder).  Heavy rains the night before made chips unusable, as race management worried that chips would be lost in the deep mud we would all be running through - they predicted shoes would be lost!  Well, it wasn’t quite that bad; but, it was gnarly enough to love it if you’re a true trail runner; which, at heart, I am.  Anyway, I solidly won my age group (50-59 … pays to be old) and a new pair of La Sportivas.  Nice!

But, this was just a tune-up for the August 16 Pikes Peak Marathon.  Billed as “America’s Ultimate Challenge,” you run up Pikes Peak 7,815 feet in 13.3 miles on a single track trail … and, then, run down.  The Peak is at 14,050 feet … not a lot of air up there.

Anyway, the day before the Marathon is the Pikes Peak Ascent - “just” the run up the mountain (shuttles down).  Team Timex superstar, Tim Hola, toed that line in the morning, and against over 2,000 competitors - runners - finished, uh, 18th (!) overall.  Major kudos to our #1 Real Man!  At the start cheering Tim on, along with myself, was Team Timex “Mr. Young Up-and-Comer,” Brian Schaning.  Brian was also decked out in full kit, getting ready for his day of a 6 hour bike ride and one hour run (prepping for IM Moo).  So, so cool to be there as part of Team Timex - we looked good!  Oh, and Tim ran good!!!

Sunday was my Marathon day, and it went great.  I was able to run the first 10 miles with just walking at the few aid stations there are on the course.  My training was not that focused for running this long, nor at this altitude; but, i seriously felt great.  I have been using Power Breathe ever since April, and I really do feel it has strengthened me for this type of effort.  You can literally hear everyone breathing and wheezing when at 12, 12, 14,000 feet; but, I was fine; well, maybe until about 13,500.  I ran 3:36 up, and 2:12 down, good enough for 7th out of 73 in my age group.  I was pleased.  I also used our awesome Sugoi compression socks in this race, and my recovery was absolutely aided.  We are blessed with such terrific, high performance gear!

Next up - Ironman Arizona in November.  But, first, this unpaid political announcement: I am running for Boulder City Council.  Please check out www.siffforcouncil.com … a new kind of ultra-endurance race!  Cheers all.  Barry.

This was the third and final race of the Boulder series this year and I was hoping to put out a good effort to see where the fitness was at leading into IMWI. (IE- hoping the fitness is good and not having to put in a crash course the next 3 weeks).

Swim: 28:13, and right on track. This is a bit on the slow side but I think that the 5430 races are actually “true distance” vs. other swims which yield remarkable swim times. The main drama of the swim was the goggle choice in the morning since our wave started a good 30min after the pros and was unsure of the cloud cover. I ended up going with the Aquasphere tinted lenses thinking the cloud cover would burn off and leave us staring into the usual glare; good call #1.

Bike: 2:15:42, again right where I wanted to be. I was in 3rd place (I think) after the swim and gained the lead before the halfway mark on the bike. This is a deceiving course with no big climbs, but long false flats that can really slow you down if you lose power. I think I took it out a bit too strong, and didn’t take in enough early calories… more on that in a bit.

Run: 1:36:15, a bit of a disappointment. We will break this into two segments. Miles 1-7, feeling great, clipping off avg of 6:32 miles, perfect!! Take some H20 at aid stations and thinking will coast it in last 5 miles. Wrong! Miles 8-13; hit a brick wall of dizziness, light-headed, salty arms, and no energy!! Came out of nowhere and bit me in the arse! My pace dropped to 8:35/mile Ouch! The mistake here is not fueling when appropriate (even if feeling good at the time), lesson learned.

Total: 4:22:02, 25th overall, 4th AG

I was very happy with my fitness and with a few caloric adjustments should be right where I need to be for IMWI. A few more weeks of hard training, then taper time :)

Hats off to Tim Hola for a fantastic race and being the Amateur Champion!

Also good to See the “Timex Family” out cheering including Will, Trista, and Dennnis!! Thanks for the support guys.