My Ironman Experience . . .

as told by Rod Maccoux with commentary from Dawn Fisher:

I have received questions from many people asking about my experience doing the Ironman.  This is a rather lengthy description of the event.  I have asked Kelly my guide, and Dawn who helped me in many ways get to the finish line, to add clarification.  Without seeing what unfolded, I just don’t feel that I have interpreted things correctly, or with important visual details.  They were encouraged to add any of their own comments as well which you will see in quotes.  What I have written is an overview of my Ironman experience.  If you read Kelly’s blog, he describes in detail what our day was like.

For those of you that are not familiar with the Ironman , it is an event where you begin with a 2.4 mile swim, followed by a 112 mile bike ride, and finish with a marathon run of 26.2 miles.  A year earlier I had signed up to do the Wisconsin Ironman scheduled for September 9, 2012.  The interest is such that you have only a day or two after the previous year’s completion in which to sign up for the following year.  During that year, you get your body used to doing the swim, the bike and the run for the prescribed distances.  The other important thing is to understand your body’s need for nutrition and hydration in various conditions.  You have no clue what race day might be like.  My guide Kelly and I had been discussing our plan for nutrition and hydration for that day, and my friend Dawn compiled a list of all the items that I would want to have for the Ironman.

I was quite fortunate to have connected up with Kelly when I did.  A friend of mine gave Kelly my number, and he called me two days prior to signing up, and said that he would be willing to guide me next year in the Ironman.  If that wouldn’t work for me, then he intended to sign up two days later and do his first one.  I had an idea of qualities that I was looking for in a guide, and Kelly had what I wanted.  Before it opens to the public, the 2011 participants and volunteers have a chance to sign up.  My daughter Lindsey was able to sign me up, so Kelly gave up his slot.

I had met Dawn about the same time, and she helped me with many things Ironman related.  Sometime she would bike or run with me, and other times she would drive me where I needed to be for training. 

Dawn’s comments: “Rod and I had talked daily about training and the amount required over the course of the summer and the logistics of finding someone to help him with the needed training for the given week. Between the treadmill and running with me on Saturdays, his running training was pretty much covered. Swimming occurred at the Y pool on his own and seemed to progress slowly at first.  Then Rod mastered the new swimming method and swam 2.4 miles in the pool many times. Biking was his biggest need for folks to help and Rod’s longest ride of the summer was 80 plus  miles one weekend. Otherwise he put in between 25 and 60 miles on weekend rides and the rest on the Cannondale/trainer in his garage.”

Ironman weekend began for me on Friday.  There are many rules that are in place, and if you do not meet their requirements you can be penalized, or in most cases disqualified.  This meant that I had to be registered by 5:00 on Friday.  Dawn and I arrived in Madison around 3:00 for registration.  It was raining, and I am thinking that I am glad that today isn’t the day.  Registering went smoothly, and then we waited till the 5:30 banquet.  The banquet was one of those high priced pasta dinners.  After the meal Mike Reilly from ironman.com spoke and entertained the diners.  He is the guy that shouts out your name, and declares you an Ironman if you finish in within 17 hours.  Following Mike, was a mandatory meeting where they explained the rules associated with the various legs of the event.

Dawn’s comments: “Ironman weekend started a few weeks earlier for me creating a list of everything that needed to be brought along for the big event. Every time Rod commented we need this or that, it got added to the list. Then the list was categorized by swim, bike, run, and before and after event needs. We didn’t want to forget anything so the list was checked and rechecked as we packed.”

Saturday morning Dawn and I went over to Kelly’s house with our transition bags (swim to bike, and bike to run) which he was going to take over for me.  Kelly and I took a short ride to make sure that the seat and the handlebars felt fine, reducing the likelihood of a surprise on Sunday.  The remainder of the day was a day to just relax.

I am not an early riser, so for the past two weeks I had been resetting my body clock in preparation for Sunday’s 4:00 AM wake up time.  I ate a turkey and cheese sandwich for breakfast, dressed, and headed downstairs with my swim gear to meet Kelly.  A friend of his drove us to the Monona Terrace where we went over to the transition area to make the last minute preparations.  After getting our bodies marked with bib number and age, it was time to wait until 6:30 when we would put our wetsuits on and head down toward the water.  The pros took off at 6:50, and then it was time to get the rest of us into the water before 7:00.  At 7:00, the cannon went off again, and it was time to swim.

 

I find the swim extremely boring.  Kelly did a great job of keeping me out of traffic.  I was fortunate to have had very little contact with other swimmers.  When doing an event like the Ironman, focusing on what needs to be done is a big part.  While doing the swim there is not anything for me to hear and of course not anything for me to see.  It is all about trying to keep your form, and perform one stroke after another.  I was a little slow on the swim at about 1:50.  I was hoping for something closer to 1:30.  But, I was very happy to get out of the water and do something different.  When you reach shore, people help you strip off your wetsuit, which is supposed to fit tightly over your body.  As we got out of the water the crowd began to cheer loudly and it continued during our one block long walk to the transition area.  The crowd was fantastic, cheering for us loud and long the whole day whenever we came upon them.

When we reached the transition area, we had people handing us our things for the upcoming bike ride.  Kelly and I had one of those Smuckers pbj sandwiches before leaving.  We thought we would be able to grab an energy drink for the bike, but that was not the case.  They gave us a glass of water, and we would have to ride 14 miles and then we could get water and an energy drink.  One of the nice things about my slow swim was that it gave us ample opportunity to pass people on the bike.  We had a lot of ground to make up.  The bike course has strategically placed stops where you can grab water, energy drinks, and certain items to consume, which are meant to provide quick energy.  There are around 3,000 volunteers helping out throughout the day.  They are willing to help you with whatever you might need.  We would stop, do what we needed, thank them and be on our way.  The hardest portion of the course for me was miles 58-70.  The wind had picked up and mentally you know you aren’t close to being done with the bike.  Weather-wise, it was a perfect day, with temperatures reaching a high in the mid seventies.

The bike had difficulty with some of the hills and dropped the chain a few times.  Another time, the chain broke causing us to slowly fall to the ground.  We had considered that this possibility might occur before hand.  Fortunately for me, Kelly likes tinkering with bikes, and had prepared by taking a link from the chain of his bike, and purchasing a tool to do the repair.  If your bike goes down, you either have to fix it yourself, or wait for the support provided by the volunteers.  A friend is not allowed to provide you with special assistance during the day, if you accept assistance from a non volunteer, you are disqualified.

When doing triathlons common comments I hear are “that’s cheating”, and “nice job”.  Sunday was no exception.  One lady sounded a bit agitated when she said to us, “I didn’t know tandems were allowed”.

One volunteer really did quite the job when he was able to hand out two bottles of water one to me and one to Kelly as we went by on the bike.  Too bad we didn’t have a picture of that.  Another highlight of the trip was when we passed a pro.  He was on his second loop and we were on the first loop of the course.  He passed us just before the downhill, and we were able to use the hill to our advantage and pass him if only for a brief moment.  I was hoping to finish the bike portion around 3:00, but it was almost 4:30 when we began to run the marathon.

The bike course was a 16 mile ride out of town where you connected to a 40 mile loop which you completed twice before heading back in to transition.  The run on the other hand was two 13.1 mile loops in town.  We had taken a rope in the event that we had some straight stretches of road but, it was soon clear that the rope would not be needed.  The loop took us through streets, on sidewalks, up and down ramps where you would  cross the street, and it also took us down a trail by the lake. The ups and downs, sidewalk to road, ramp up, curb down, 180 degree turn your way were directions that Kelly gave me. The run loop had us taking a lap inside Camp Randall Stadium.  The first time through I asked Kelly if I could check out the artificial turf and he said sure. Running on the turf felt like running on a well manicured lawn.

We had only run maybe six or seven minutes when we came to the first water stop.  They said that they had bananas, grapes, oranges, chips, pretzels and other things.  It all sounded good, too bad we had so much more running to do.  We would consume a small amount of food, and hydrate at the various stops on the loop, but at about the eight to ten mile mark, we realized that even at that, we would need to consume a bit less.  Our stomachs couldn’t digest the amount of food that we were taking in.  That food had been a refreshing change from the Gu and salt tablets we had been consuming.  Kelly had taped six packets of Gu on the bike for me, and I had two more during the run.  It took me 5:15 to run the marathon.  I didn’t realize that I would have spent so much time at the water stops.  When I run marathons I would drink at the stops and maybe have three packets of Gu during the race.  After being out so long I clearly needed more than that this time.

The loops of the run were concentrated such that fans could congregate at various places.  They would cheer loudly when we went through.  I finished in 14:47:48, much slower than the 13:00 goal I had set.  Aside from that, the day was a great day!  It was as if Kelly and I had a day of swimming, biking and running with people supporting us the whole day.  Kelly did a great job of guiding me.  If I needed anything I just had to ask.  He made guiding me seem easy which I know is not always the case.  After I finished, I didn’t feel any more fatigue than I did after finishing a marathon.  Recovery is proceeding well.  It is unlikely that I would do another Ironman due to the necessary commitment.  The Ironman itself is not so difficult, but it is the training that leads up to the event.  Doing an Ironman was well worth the twelve month journey.  Although it was a long day for participants and fans alike, the feedback I got was that the people that knew Kelly or me and came out to support us had an enjoyable day too.  What more can one ask for?

Dawn’s comments: “Ironman Day was great! Lindsey and I are so proud of Rod’s Ironman accomplishment. Lindsey and I moved along the routes to see Rod and Kelly as often as possible. Checking the Ironman Tracker every 5 to 10 minutes if not sooner. It was a hurry up and wait day. The weather was great, lots of sunshine and light winds made for a good time for all the spectators. I was amazed at all the specialty shirts (including IronRod shirts) that we saw over the course of the day. After 14 hours 47 minutes Mike Reilly announced Rod’s name, the only blind athlete in the event and proclaimed him an Ironman. Lindsey and I were so glad to see them come walking across the finish line area. Rod and Kelly walked through the finish line area with ease, looking really good. They sure didn’t look like they had just finished an ironman. They are truly amazing men!”

Here is a link to an article published in the Wisconsin State Journal on 09/08.  For those using a screen reader you can locate the article by finding the first heading level 2 from the top:

http://host.madison.com/sports/amateur/ironman-wisconsin-green-bay-man-seeks-to-overcome-blindness-to/article_c873f8f0-f92f-11e1-9a0f-0019bb2963f4.html

Below is a summary of the Wisconsin Ironman statistics:

Just over 2900 age-group athletes took on the daunting challenge of reaching the Ironman Wisconsin finish line on Sunday September 9, 2012.

There were some excellent results posted in all age-group categories.  The fastest over-all time for age-group athletes was posted by Joe Kurian in the 30-34 category. His time was a sensational 9:21:09.  The fastest female finisher over-all was Michelle Andres who crossed the finish line in 10:05:30.

In the youngest category it was Jessica Yurchich for the women and Taylor Schleusner for the men crossing the line first with time of 11:23:18 and 10:04:39 respectively.  Jessica and Taylor were entered in the 18-24 age category.

In one of the more senior age-categories for men it was Monte Hitchcock and Jim Cunning leading the way with times of 11:35:19 and 11:57:04 in the 60-64 age-group.  Margaret Dorio led the way for the women in the 50-54 category when she hit the tape at 11:23:48.

There were 50 age-group qualifying spots up for grabs for the Ironman World Championships in Kona, Hawaii in the Fall of 2013.

Here is a link to Kelly’s blog.  It is amazing that after spending 17 hours with me that day in order to get me to the finish line, he can remember so much detail.

If you use a screen reader look for heading 2.  The entries are in the order of most recent first.  The entry which describes the beginning of our Ironman day is September 13.

http://myrunaround.blogspot.com

Thank you part III - The finish line

Leaving the special needs bag area is both relieving and daunting.  Being only a block from the finish line it's hard not to notice the crowd cheering as Mike Reilly welcomes another Ironman.

We got another quick pick me up from my family as we rounded the square and headed towards State Street.  As we turned on to State and welcomed the pizza smell again we had my biggest pick me up of the second lap; for the first time all day we crossed paths with Michael, my training partner, wife's cousin, friend and most importantly Rod's back-up guide, which at that time neither Rod nor Michael knew that.  He was three blocks from finishing his race, his first Ironman, at a very impressive 12:12.  If you saw Michael at any time during his race he had a big smile on his face, always had time for a high five or a hug and pushed on no matter what.  As a training partner there was never a work out too early, too long or any condition that would prevent him from being there.  This day would not have been what it was without him.

Dusk was setting in as we weaved our way on and off bike paths, over curbs, across streets and around athletes who were walking.  Rod and I had talked about walking the hills on this second lap.  Our efforts felt the same as the first lap but our pace was slowing.  My GPS watch had been beeping at me for some time warning me that the battery was going to die, which it eventually did at about hour 13.  At this point in the race it was less about getting meaningful information from my watch as it was about pushing on as best as possible.  Rod was mentioning how the discomfort in his thighs was working it's way to his calf muscles.

The crowds were thinning out along the course but we still had faithful friends checking in on us and the volunteers at each station remained high in spirit and willing to help.  As we got farther from downtown the streets were a little darker, a little emptier and Rod and I were a little less chatty.  As we entered the Lake Shore Path dark had set in.  Street lights lined our way up Observatory Hill as we speed walked as best as possible up before briefly running down the backside before walking up to Bascom Hill.  We picked up a good trot as we wound down the part of Observatory that's more known for having to go up it as a part of Crazylegs.  We kept moving forward in to Library Mall and on to State Street.  The crowd had thinned a little bit but we were still given a rock star type welcome and good-bye as we made the 180 degree turn with 6 miles left.  It was a great pick me up as the Lake Shore path by the lake was completely dark and at times there was no light at all as we were advised to run down the middle of the path by a helpful spectator.  When we eventually made it to a temporary industrial light I had the opposite problem as all of a sudden I was blinded by the light.  I broke our mile or so of silence by bringing up the point that this whole day's experience of having everyone offer words of encouragement, know us by name, cheer louder than I've ever heard has completely ruined any future race experience I'll ever have.  We chuckled, Rod brought up the idea of using the tandem by myself and seeing how that worked, he made some other comment about people not recognizing me without the blind guy.  It was a good pick-me-up as time and pace seemed to extend longer and longer.  At our last 180 degree turn, my way, of the day we were 4 miles from the finish.  After making the turn I could see the Capitol down the shoreline.  I mentioned to Rod how deceiving it was to be 4 miles away yet see so clearly where we wanted to be. 

I made the mistake of trying some chicken broth. . . I'd read about how wonderful it was, somewhere on the first loop Rod tried it and couldn't believe how awful it was.  I'm sure it was from a mix, but when I think chicken broth I think of chicken noodle soup without the noodle.  This was thick.  The volunteer mentioned something about added salt, I don't know, it was added terrible.  When I woke up Monday morning after the race the first thing I smelled, whether the smell was there or it was purely mental. . . chicken broth.  I tried to rinse my mouth of the taste with water, orange slices and anything else possible.  As we got near the hospital we were running again where there was back-and-forth traffic.  The amount of athletes coming our way was slowly dwindling, I didn't know what time it was or have any idea where and when the cut-offs were happening, but we kept going.  We started the climb on the back side of Breeze Terrace to the sound of barks. . . of course.  We hadn't walked since Observatory and seemed to be moving to a new burst of energy.  As we rounded Camp Randall it set in that we were only 2 miles from the finish.  The entire first and second loop, Rod was the one calling out the mileage.  On both the bike and the run there are mile markers that represent mileage on the first or second lap.  It's cruel and encouraging; as you're pedaling or running the first time around it's cruel to see 'Mile 80' when in reality it was mile 38.  All day long Rod had our approximate distance whether I gave him mileage from a first lap or second lap sign.  On the run I'd chuckle and say "mile 16, that would be nice" to which he'd say "not quite there at 3 miles in." 

Our last stop was with 2 miles left.  Water only and some ice cold sponges.  I have no idea what the temperature was, I knew it was getting cold because it was dark, but squeezing the ice cold water out of those re-used sponges felt great.  I'd squeeze it over my head and neck and wipe off my face and feel like a whole new person.  I was almost surprised I didn't see steam as the cold met the hot.  We hopped on the short stretch of bike path for the last time and had a running partner for a while; he chatted and jogged with us, offered more encouragement.  He was all over that day and we saw him quite a few times on the run.  As we turned to head to the Kohl Center there was one competitor we saw that was on the way out on their second loop.  I was fortunate enough to meet this athlete during a swim up at Devil's Lake.  A year ago when she started her Ironman training she couldn't even swim; one of her first swim lessons was putting her face in a bucket of water to get used to submerging herself.  She fought and pushed ahead for 133.4 miles.  She did not make it to mile 19 ahead of the cut off time in order to continue.  She is an Ironman in my book.

Our running company continue on with us and is credited for this picture from our first loop:

This picture became the nerve center for online tracking of our progress on Facebook: 72 people liked this photo, 2 shared it on their pages and comments regarding our progress started on this photo at 7 pm and ended after midnight.  As we rounded on to State Street for the final time our famous running photographer, Mike, peeled away to try and make it to the finish line.

The short stretch of State Street had gotten busier, I don't know if it was the drinkers coming out to party but that one block of State was a great final push to the finish.  People holding beers hanging over the fence, more screaming, more yelling more excitement.  As we turned left on the Capitol Square we skipped the final water station as all the volunteers were lined up in a row clapping and cheering us on.  The stretch up passed East Wash was fairly empty as well as the final right hand turn towards MLK.  As we got closer to turning down the shoot I could feel the energy from the crowd.

The finish chute is somewhat divided in half.  As you round MLK the official chute starts and people are lined on both sides of the street but it's a much wider section because it includes the turn around point where we headed back on on the second run loop.  You'll notice at the end of this video how the chute narrows and the lights brighten, that's the last 25 yards of the finish where the insanity happens.

I had never done an Ironman.  Somehow in a series of phone calls and emails over a year ago I managed to convince a blind athlete that I was capable of getting him through one.  I had no guiding experience, I had no full Ironman experience.  Rod never questioned my abilities, he never had a hint of doubt in our ability to finish the race.  So I decided at that time that if he wasn't worried, I wasn't going to worry.

I have a final video to share and I ask that you watch it twice.  First time, click the play button and then close your eyes.

I couldn't have made it without my wife.  She provided me with ample motivation and inspiration.  Come October she will have completed her third half marathon this year as well as her first triathlon.  Her dedication has been an example to me.  Her supporting my decision to not only train for myself, but train for Rod has made this last year one of the most fulfilling for me.  Some of my proudest moments as a husband, dad and son have occurred this year: Sarah and her half marathons and triathlon, my kids completed their first 'swim bike run', that's what they call it and my mom doing her first 5k with number two coming in November.  I can't thank my wife enough for all that she's done.  There were a lot of Sunday's when Michael and I would come back from rides, runs or both to breakfast being made, cookies, pizza, snacks. . . you name it Sarah prepared it on one of the Sundays.  She's amazing and deserves just as much of the credit as I have been given; I love you.

I have one final thank you post coming. . . 

Saying thank you part 2

We happily handed the bike over to the volunteers and began our walk in to the terrace to grab our bike to run bags.  As we entered the bag room the entire volunteer corp was clapping and cheering us on as we walked around and went in to the changing room.  This second time through the changing room wasn't nearly as busy as after the swim.  We found a couple seats for us, although I chose to stand, and started getting our running shoes out and stuffing our cycling shoes in.  I got us a couple drinks of water and we debated on eating another peanut butter and jelly sandwich.  We passed.  I had Rod's guiding rope in hand and we started exiting the changing room.  Upon leaving the terrace we were sun screen appliers happily waiting to lube us up, we said 'no thank you' and opted for the port-a-potty.  After the quick stop, Rod made a good decision by asking that I hold off on using the rope and we just start running with him holding at my elbow.  This was the technique we opted for in Denver back in June as that run course was a city bike path that was split in half with running going out on one side and back on the other.  We started on the rope there until a 90 degree turn put Rod in to a road construction barrel causing him to trip and scuff his elbow.  I had assumed the Ironman run course was going to be a bit wider but we quickly learned it was a lot more of the same as Denver.  We saw some friendly faces as we exited transition and began our run.  The run exit was pretty empty as we came out a block east of the finish line and then on to the square.

Our strategy going in to the run was to stop and get what we needed at the water stations.  The first one was less than a quarter mile in to the run.  Most of the fluids we had on the bike ride were luke warm at best, so the cold water at that first water station was a great change of pace.  It was also at this time that we realized the water stations were mini-buffets.  Trays of grapes, orange slices, cookies, chips, pretzels, GU, chomps.  It seemed as if there was an endless amount of options which we both welcomed, as the only "food" we had up to then was some bananas and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.  As we moved on to State Street the first things I noticed was the smell of Ian's Pizza.  We went the one quick block away from the Capitol and we turned to head down Dayton towards the Kohl Center.  At the Kohl was the next water stop and we were happy to get another drink, the buffet, however, was getting more tempting.  The next mile and a half was what I would consider a guiding nightmare.  90 degree turn right to another 90 degree turn right, to a 160 degree right then straight until a 180 degree left turn around; all on our half of the sidewalk.  That sequence was followed by bike path, a down ramp from sidewalk to road, the road itself which was a quick up and down, and then the ramp back up to the path again.  From road to sidewalk, 90 degree turn to sidewalk ramp down to the road, a median ramp in the middle of the intersection then across the road and up the sidewalk ramp.  When running with Rod he's not one that asks for a lot of information on general terrain, but I felt it necessary to share with him a little more detail as there were a lot of ups, downs, over, ramps, sidewalks and tight turns.  He didn't tell me to shut up so I kept the information coming and this was only mile two.  The good news, our cheering section had set up shop in the middle of the street in front of the Stadium Bar, the bad news, we were on the sidewalk with parking meters on my left and runners/walkers in front of us.

We made do with traffic and obstacles and made our way in to Camp Randall.  We start by running across the field just off the south end zone and looping counter clockwise.  After we turned left and headed up the visitor sideline Rod and I were talking about the make up of the field as he described the softer feel under our feet.  I gave the speed turf my best description and he said "maybe I should stop and see what it looked like."  We moved closer to the sideline in case runners behind us wanted to go by.  He knelt down touching the speed turf, noting the sand and rubber mixture within the artificial grass.  He got up and we completed the loop in the Camp and continued on.  Breeze Terrace was our first climb and where one of the more annoying volunteers or spectators was watching.  A women had two dogs that she kept asking to 'cheer' which was followed with a bark.  Barks is what we heard the four times we passed that women.

A left off Breeze on to Old University started another longer gradual climb.  It was also the first time that we saw a Packer score update; 49er's 23 Pack 7.  At the next water station my taste buds had had enough of bland and I started eating fruit.  The orange slices were the best thing ever.  I probably ate an orange and a half at the one stop.  I'd just bite, suck the juice, toss the peel, repeat.  As we passed the hospital and got on the Lake Shore Path we were lucky enough to have a small cheering section.

By this time we had decided to not even bother using the guiding rope.  We were told that Dawn, Rod's lady friend, was waiting around mile 5 and I was going to toss her the rope.  We had a biking friend of Rod's by us every half mile from mile 2 to mile 8 which made up the hospital, Lake Shore Path, Observatory Road, State Street, Lake Shore Path and the hospital again.  He was everywhere and he was encouraging all while running in his cycling shoes along side of us.  As we approached Observatory, Rod had already decided that he was going to run it.  We shortened our stride, leaned ahead and steamed on up.  It's the hardest hill on the run course and we crushed it.  At the top of Bascom was Dawn, who I was happy to give the rope as I had been carrying it in my off hand now for at least an hour.  Library Mall was entered with more delicate guiding, 90 degree left to a curb followed by an 'S' turn.  Another water station then on to State Street.

I can't describe what I heard when we made our way up State Street and made the 180 degree turn about a quarter mile in. . . it was like coming out of the water on the swim all over again.  People were screaming, yelling, cheering; it was loud.  The way back on Lake Shore and the hospital were uneventful as we had the entire width of the path for a couple miles offering more room for us to run.  By this time we had experimented with potato chips, pretzels, cookies and much of the other food offering as our want for something tasty couldn't be contained any longer; best plain potato chips I've ever tasted.  We passed the barking dogs again and were happy to see the support team "Chafe Now Brag Forever" as well as the Fleet Feet group.  My wife, Sarah, ran next to us shortly and asked how I felt.  I said 'like crap'.  She peeled off and we made our way up to the Capitol to complete loop one.

When the run started I felt pretty good, considering the circumstances, my thighs were tired but that was expected.  As the first lap wore on I was worried that my thighs would continue to tire and I'd have to start to slug along and do what would have broken my one goal for the entire race, slow down Rod.  Not too long after sharing with Sarah how I felt I realized that my legs hadn't gotten a whole lot worse in the first half marathon.  By the time we got to the Capitol Square, saw some of my family, made the left hand turn on Martin Luther King Blvd, spotted the finish line to only make a 180 degree turn 30 yards from it to start another loop, did I decide that it didn't matter how my legs felt. 

At the half way point of the run your special needs bags are laid out.  I had a change of shoes, socks and a peanut butter and jelly sandwich in my run special needs bag.  I didn't touch any of it.  Rod had a GU, washed it down with some water and we were off and running for lap two.


       

I don't know how to say thank you

It's hard to believe this all started with a simple question; "Is there anyone that needs a guide?"  I'm amazed at what happened from there and wrapped up at 9:47 pm September 9th 2012.  All from one question.

Here was my September 9th 2012:

Race morning started out much like any other Sunday this year, Michael came over before the sun rose.  A work friend, Andy, had offered to drive Michael and I down town and pick up Rod at his daughter's house then shuttle us to the terrace to drop our special needs bags off and see us to the water.  We left my house about 4:30, picked up Rod about 4:45.  We found a parking spot off the Capitol Square and walked our bags to the drop boxes.  We then went to the terrace to make final adjustments to our bikes in transition.  Andy managed his way in to transition by stating that he was there helping the blind athlete, which was the truth.  Our tandem was the length of the terrace away, on the complete opposite side of the parking lot that's used to house the bikes.  Michael was somewhere near the middle.  When we arrived at the bike I turned on and hung the GPS tracking unit and race belt on my seat.  Andy looked it up online and it was working, we were in Lake Monona according to the online map.  A fellow competitor let me use her pump to make sure our tires were ready to go.  After that I helped hold her bike as she pumped hers, noting that she always deflates her wheels first so she knows they are pumped all the way.  There wasn't much left to do accept wait.  We went and waited in line at the bathroom; first time I've been to any event where the men's bathroom line exceeded the women's.  After that pit stop the four of us found some floor space and relaxed.  About 6:15 we started to gear up, putting our timing chips around our ankles, applying the body gluide around the neck and tossing our morning clothes in the morning clothes bags.  We and most of the other competitors began exiting the terrace and walking down to the water.  Andy was giving us a pep talk all the way down the helix.  By the time we got to the bag drop for our morning clothes, it was almost ten minutes to 7.  The athletes were slowly moving to the water as the national anthem was sung and the pro's started their swim.  There were competitors looking at Rod and I with slight surprise and amazement.  A few patted Rod on the back and gave him their appreciation and some encouraging words.  We finally entered the water with a couple minutes to spare.

When the cannon fired we were only 10 feet from shore on the far right hand side.  We hesitated for a few seconds to make sure the athletes in front of us started their swim.  My plan was to swim on the outside right of the crowd.  Rod was on my left, as the swim course was all left hand turns, and I could act as the 'bumper' for him to bounce off of when it was time for a 90 degree turns.  The sun was rising right over Rod so I had a hard time keeping an eye on him even though he was only a few feet away.  Each time I took a breath to my left side I was given an eye full of sun above the water, and a big sun spot below the water.  A couple times I got too far in front of Rod causing his right hand stroke to get caught up in the bungee.  No major problem just an annoyance for him.  I didn't find it to be the easiest course to site on as I had a hard time seeing the nearest buoy and how it lined up with the next one.  The plan to stay on the outside worked well and we had minimal traffic to deal with.  On the long back stretch, over a mile long, we did manage to catch some swimmers.  One in particular was zigging and zagging in front of us making it hard for me to decide where to move Rod.  I ended up having to grab the bungee and pull it in order to avoid Rod getting a possible foot in the face.  Another time I had to break normal stroke and my calf cramped up.  I must have gotten distracted by trying to rid the cramp because Rod stopped swimming and asked if everything was alright?  I told him I was fine and working out the cramp.  We continued.  The rest of the back stretch was filled with gasoline tasting water, from the boats and jet skis, and loose swim caps which scared the crap out of me.  Two times I saw a neon green cap floating and I had to turn and look to make sure there wasn't a body attached.  On our final turn back towards the terrace there was a volunteer in a kayak who was a little closer to the swim crowd that I had expected.  After Rod and I made the turn I noticed a swimmer out to my right; he ended up hitting the kayak.  Not sure if he hit his head or hand, but I popped my head out of the water to hear an apology from the kayaker.  We continued to shore as the voice of Ironman got louder and I could hear cheers.  When we entered the water there were very large rocks on the lake bottom and Rod had asked that I let him swim in to shore as far as he could to avoid walking on the rocks upon our exit.  I stopped swimming and walked a little to get a feel for how deep the water was, then pulled up on Rod's wetsuit to let him know we arrived at shore.  I wasn't prepared for what was next:

What you hear in the video was what we heard as we went through the parking lot to the helix and up the helix.  Andy had found his way to us and walked up the helix making sure we were doing ok.  We walked, took our time and accepted the greetings from the cheering crowd.

 The cheering continued as we entered the terrace for transition 1.  We grabbed our bags from the T1 room then entered the changing room.  We were greeted by volunteers that escorted us to seats, put Rod's socks and cycling shoes on, bagged up our wetsuits and brought us water.  Off to the bike.

We grabbed our steed and walked to the bike out line.

I had made a planning error as you'll notice we have no fluids on the bike.  I thought there was bottled drinks available as we were exiting transition.  So we had 13 miles before we filled up.  The 13 or 14 miles to Verona from the terrace went by quickly.  We were steaming along passing bikers the whole time.  Our speed was met with mixed reviews as 50% percent of the comments were "you guys are awesome!!" and 50% were "Hey that's cheating, you can't have a tandem!!"  We were moving along so nicely I told Rod that I wasn't used to actually passing people on the bike portion of a triathlon as I'm usually the one getting passed.  Once we arrived at the first water stop I managed to grab a bottle of water and hand it back to him, then after grabbing a bottle of Ironman Perform Sports Drink I realized I wasn't going to be able to get us all that we needed.  So we pulled to the side and filled up.  A quick stop.  We continued pushing ahead, flying by people on the flats and downhills.  Our ride to Mt. Horeb was going along fine.  We needed to stop to get rid of some empty bottles and hit the bathroom, so Mt. Horeb High School was the place.  Another quick stop and off and running again.  After leaving Mt. Horeb the course starts it's rolling hill portion on Witte Road just north west of town.  As we were approaching Witte the lead Pro passed us, then another, then as we were turning on to Witte another.  Immediately after turning on Witte there's a steep downhill.  As we got passed by the pro we were starting to descend down that hill.  I got us in gear and we pushed on down like always.  The pro was riding down the middle of the road passing the slower traffic on his right.  We had our momentum going and I wasn't going to let this opportunity pass us by, so I took us way on the left hand side of the road and we went right by the pro.  As we were passing him I glanced at over, he glanced at me and had this confused look on his face like "what the $#%???".  The next uphill started and he powered on by followed by the remaining lead pack.  Rod and I took our place back on the right hand side of the road and I then told Rod that we had accomplished something I've never done and never expected I would ever do, pass a pro.  We chuckled and continued along.  Not too long after that we were coming up on the best cheering section any athlete could have.  Family and friends of mine, Michael, and another members of the "Chafe now brag forever" team, set up shop outside of Cross Plains and stayed the duration of the ride, both loops to support us.

It was something to look forward to, but we moved by in such a blur that I hardly could pick any one person out as I had to quickly navigate the tandem through a 90 degree turn at the intersection.  I'm not sure if my heroics of passing a pro caught a photographers attention, but a professional photographer snapped a couple picture of Rod and I on our way to the hills heading south away from Cross Plains.

I had heard stories from past Ironman Wisconsin competitors about the crowd support on the hills.  There are three major climbs within 4 miles of each other between Cross Plains and Verona.  Each had it's share of people with funny signs, people running along next to you up the hill cheering you on.  On Timber Lane we were given the royal hill treatment - three guys with drums.  As soon as they saw us they yelled "TANDEM" ran down right next to us and proceeded to beat their drums in sync, and ran up the hill along our sides as if their beat carried us to the top.  Mid Town offered more of the same and more familiar faces.  Heading to Verona was now a breeze with a nice long down hill followed by mostly flat, mostly smooth road in to town.  The crowd heading through Verona was great, as expected.  We looped around town and stopped at our special needs bags.  Rod and I had only packed peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.  We ate, then continued on.  The ride continued smoothly as planned but the wind had picked up and our chain problems began.  Outside of Mt. Horeb the chain came off for the first time.  Another stop for fluids and a bathroom break at the Mt. Horeb High School and we continued on.  On or way towards Cross Plains we had two more stops for the chain dropping mid way up hills.  Garfoot Road was a great reprieve and another chance to get going over 40 miles per hour.  Garfoot also meant another pass by our support crew. 

As we approached Cross Plains we realized that we both needed another bottle of water.  We didn't want to stop so we decided to roll through the station and see what would happen.  As we approached the water station we both tossed out an empty water bottle.  Rod suggested that he stick his hand out and try and grab a bottle.  As I approached a volunteer I pointed at him, the signal for I'm coming to you, I reached out and he handed me a bottle with his left hand as he was running along next to us.  As I took his bottle I said "you have another one for him?" as Rod had his hand extended.  Then in one perfectly timed turn of the shoulders the volunteer reached around with the bottle in his right hand, placing it in Rod's hand.  A double bottle hand-off perfectly executed!  The first of the three hills had thinned out as spectators must have started to move downtown.  As we started to climb Timber the chain broke.  We were going so slow that we just tipped over as we couldn't get un-clipped fast enough.  After picking ourselves up I started working on chain.  I had prepared for this as breaking chains is something Rod and I do.  As I removed the broken chain link the Trek Van rolled up.  The tech came over, grabbed my spare chain parts and we were back up and running in only a few minutes.  We bypassed stopping in Verona and headed back towards the terrace.  As we made the turn left off the loop we started up the first hill, and the chain popped off.  A mile up the road we stopped for one final water break 13 miles from the terrace.  This was also the first time that I ate something that wasn't a peanut butter and jelly sandwich or a GU.  That banana was incredible, I think Rod and I ate three each.  In the last 13 miles the chain came off one more time.  It almost seemed appropriate that as we started the climb of the helix at the terrace that the chain fell off one last time.  Our entrance in to T2 was as ungraceful as you can imagine; Rod and I pushing the tandem up the spiral.  There were cheers from the roof and some friendly faces waiting for us but by that time we were ready to part ways with our ride.


Run to the finish yet to come as this thank you continues!!!