The 2010 edition of the Madison, Wisconsin Ford Ironman Triathlon was held on Sunday 12 September. It was a glorious weather day in central Wisconsin with temps starting in the low 50’s and rising to the low 80’s at their late day peak. There was brilliant sunshine and a relatively calm wind out of the NW at 5-7 mph. An amazing day was ahead and I was looking forward to the little swim, bike and run adventure that lay ahead.
I arrived in Madison on Thursday night, technically it was Friday morning since the clock had just ticked past midnight. It had been a very long day indeed. I had worked nights on Wednesday, had planned a nap in the afternoon which did not materialize, went to Alexandra’s swim meet, Park vs. Roseville, and then headed out of town on the 260 mile drive toward Madison, WI. The drive took just under 4-hours. It had been a long week, actually a long several weeks, as I’ve been preparing for a go- live of a significant work project. Less than 48-hours after finishing this weekend’s event I’ll be boarding a plane to the UK, a story for another day. I was looking forward to getting some rest over the next couple of days prior to race morning.
I had two early morning web conference/web calls with my counterparts in the UK Friday morning but did not have too much else planned. After checking in at Monona Terrace I did a little shopping. I signed up for a GPS athlete tracking service, http://www.trackmyathlete.com/. This stuff is really sweet. You rent a GPS transmitting device that you wear. It transmits a digital signal that ends up displaying your position on a personal website that allows family and friends to track your progress throughout the day. It is a truly brilliant idea that I wish I would have thought of. Anyway, I called Charlene, and we played around with the device; having her track my speed and distance on my drive back to the hotel.
After working for several hours I decided I was tired and took a nap, ended up missing dinner 
and almost missed the mandatory athlete meeting back at Monona Terrace. I stopped at the grocery store on my way back to the hotel for dinner and had some kind of past salad from the deli (not exactly the carb-loading I had in mind). I was in bed for about 2 hours when this unbelievably loud piercing sound woke me. I ran around the room looking for a light, trying to wrap my brain around what was actually happening. FIRE 
ALARM. “Should I take my bike…”, I then put on some clothes and headed out into the hall with a hundred or so very confused hotel guests. We filed our way down the dimly lit hall, down the stairs, and out into the cold, dark parking lot. Small groups formed; small children with blankets laid on the lawn. It was quarter past midnight when the fire engine arrived and another fifteen minutes before they allowed us to return to our rooms. No explanation was given and none was asked for as we trudged back to our respective rooms.
I was asleep another 2 hours when I was startled awake; this time it was my cell phone. It was work, the UK office, SAP (our ERP system) was down (actually the network connection 
between the US and UK). We had a crew coming in Saturday morning to test. We were two weeks from our official go- live and needed the time to finalize testing. After a few hours of phone tag, waking other coworkers, and getting my blood pressure up to operating temperature, it was time to try to sleep again.
I had hoped to swim Saturday morning. The buzz around Monona Terrace during check- in was 
about water temps. They were saying that the temp had dropped 20 degrees over the past 10 days. I was a bit anxious about it and wanted to test the waters. After dragging my fat butt out of bed, having some oatmeal and coffee, and working for a couple of hours, the thought of swimming or anything else other than rest seemed insurmountable. So instead, I starting getting my stuff ready.
There are five transition bags for Ironman Wisconsin, Morning Clothes bag, Swim to Bike (T1), Bike to Run (T2), Bike Special Needs bag, and Run Special Needs bag. I laid the bags out on the floor, applied the stickers (race numbers), and arranged my gear, nutrition, and medical items (Ibuprofen, body glide, lotion) accordingly. It’s amazing how much stuff you need. At Madison, Saturday is bike check- in as well as dropping off your T1 and T2 bags. The Specials Needs bags get dropped off race morning, and the morning clothes bag is dropped off just before heading to the water.
Madison Bike Transition
So I guess it was around noon when I got down to Monona Terrace with my bike and bags. I let about 20% of the air out of my tires; so, if the cement heated up later in the day my tires wouldn’t expand and blow up. I dropped off my trusty steed and my bags and went to do some shopping at the 
Ironman store. The cold water thing was at the front of my thinking; so, I looked at what was available for long sleeve wetsuit rentals. My wet suit is sleeveless and thought a full suit might be the ticket. Apparently, I have not yet learned my lesson about NEVER trying anything new on race day. “If you haven’t trained with it then don’t race with it!” $50 bucks later I was walking out with my rental (and a little buyers remorse).
The family arrived later that afternoon. After getting them checked and settled in we headed over to Olive Garden for dinner. We waited about 30 minutes for a table, caught up on the days events, the excitement from the night before, reminisced about our other hotel fire alarm experience (the night before Charlene took the test for her RN License in Columbus, OH), and had a relaxing meal (never ending pasta bowl, which ended after one and a half helpings). We headed back to the hotel where they dropped me off. I was turning in early and they were going to the mall to shop.
Race Morning
I was up early, 03:30 early. For me, since I’ve been working basically third shift, was not to difficult. I made coffee, had oatmeal, got dressed, and started to mentally prepare for the day ahead. I left the room about 04:30, it was only a 15 minute drive downtown but wanted to get into the parking ramp across the street so I knew the earlier the better. After parking the car (which the year before was an event. I forget to bring any money and the ramp was prepaid on race day) I went up to the capital and dropped off my Special Needs bags before heading over to pump up my tires, fill my water bottles, and drop off the GPS transmitter at my bike. I helped a few others out inflating tires and took the pump back to the car. I was done with the prep about 05:30 and had at least 45 minutes before heading down to the water for the start. The plan was to meet the family at the top of the east helix before heading down to the beach. I had the wetsuit on about half way when Charlene and the kids arrived. Charlene helped me get the rest of the way into the suit (a snug fit). They wished me luck as I made my way to the beach with 2500 of my closest triathlon friends.
The Swim – 2.4 Miles
minutes before the start of the race. This year I was yet to enter when the cannon sent the pros off. I felt anxious, thoughts of not getting in position in time quickly went into and out of my head as I finally entered the water. Over the last few weeks I debated about my strategy for the swim; do I start in line with the buoys and swim to the inside (I heard this works great)? But they announced at the meeting on Friday that you MUST keep the buoys to your left at all times. In the end I lined up about were I 
had the year before, about half way between the buoy and the shore (just inside the ski jump for those who know the course). The swim start, and for that matter the entire swim at Madison, is something you have to experience first hand to really understand. It is unlike anything else I have ever experienced in the water. It is literally a full contact event, it is unnerving, it is scary on so many levels, and it is amazing with the sun coming up and the backdrop of Monona Terrace (which looks like a giant grandstand full of spectators).
About 100 yards or so into the chaos, I wanted out. I could not think of anything else. The wetsuit was a mistake, my arms felt like I had bricks tied to them, I was having a full blown panic attack, again… If I have a strength, it is the swim. I’m not a great swimmer, I’m a good swimmer. Typically, the swim is where I can be somewhat competitive, and usually where I feel most comfortable. To be just a 100 yards or so into a 2.4 mile 
swim and be dreading it is not a good place to be. I managed to work my way a bit further outside the crowd and was able to find some rhythm. I shut my brain off, focused on lengthening my stroke and started feeling better. By the time I got to the back side of the first loop I forgot about the start. I felt relaxed, was not concerned about going fast and just swam. I exited the water, was initially disappointed in the 8-1/2 minutes I added to last year’s swim, but felt great. After being literally stripped of my $50 mistake, I rambled up the helix to T1.
The Bike – 112 Miles
The first 40 miles of the bike was good. I stuck with my plan, no Ricky Racing for me, just Ride Along, keep a steady pace, and stay on top of my nutrition and hydration. There are several significant hills on this bike course. Actually the best way to describe this bike course is ever- changing. You are never doing any one thing for very long. Its a constant up, down, left, right, climb, descent kind of ride. You never really get into a groove or rhythm… at least not for me. Anyway, back to the significant hills. There are five noteworthy hills on this course.
- Under the overpass approaching Mount Horeb. This is about 1/4 mile at maybe 6%.
- Old Sauk Pass, about 1/2 mile at 6-7%. This is the most challenging climb on the course. It’s tree-lined and a great spot for spectators.
- Timber Lane. about a 1/5 mile maybe?, steep (7%?) roller that comes just minutes after Old Sauk Pass, which increases its difficulty slightly on the first loop and significantly on the second.
- Midtown Road. The last major climb on the loop, it is not too different from Old Sauk and Timber Lane.
- Heading toward Madison on Whalen Road. Though it’s not particularly difficult on its own (maybe 1/4 mile at 5%), it comes right at the 100 mile mark on the course. The good news is that it is pretty much downhill from the crest of the hill back to T2.
Twice on the bike I had dizzy spells. The first one was about mile 68 and the second about mile 90. I was light headed, starting seeing spots, and felt nauseated. I also expierenced some cramping, both symptoms point to hydration issues but at the time I did not make this connection. When I got to the climbs on Old Sauk Pass and Timber Lane on the second loop my legs were completely gone from me. It took everything I could muster to keep my bike upright. Even the ‘Tour de France’ like atmosphere was not enough to generate enough energy to motivate anything but pure primeval survival to get to the top of these two hills.
The balance of the ride went well, I recovered from the climbs, and worked my way back into town and T2. All in all, I was pretty happy with the ride. I wished I had more energy but in the end had improved 14 minutes from the previous year. The best news of the day, no blisters and minimal foot pain. This year I’ve been training with new inserts in my shoes and it has helped significantly in reducing the hot spots and at times debilitating pain I experienced last year.
The Run – 26.2 Miles
Leaving T2 I was hopeful. I clicked the first mile off in under 9 minutes (a mistake). Shortly after passing mile one I stopped runningbecause I had a cramp in my left calf and between my ears. My brain was in the way. I was thinking about how far I had to go, about how far I had already gone, that there was no way I could run this marathon without walking. I wasn’t hungry or thirsty; I was tired. I wanted to rest and I gave in to my self- defeating thoughts.
After a walk- run approach for the first half, a few more dizzy spells, and a lot of self doubt, I accpeted that I was looking at another 5+ hour Ironman marathon. It’s kind of funny because shortly after coming to that conclusion I started thinking about what I will do different next year to prevent this from happening again. Hey, maybe the problem is you’re over thinking it…Miles, maybe you should just run and stop thinking altogether…
As I approached mile 23, I found some energy and jogged it in. I was happy to cross the finish line and hear again, Miles Burd, from Cottage Grove, MN, You are an Ironman!
Based on the clock, I finished 20 minutes faster than the previous year. I was not disappointed. 
It was the best I had on this day. My muscles hurt, I worked 
hard, I bettered my previous year’s time, I’m still standing, I know I can still improve. I was grateful for the opportunity, I was grateful that God has given me the ability to accomplish something like this, I was grateful for my encouraging and loving family, I was grateful to all the wonderful volunteers that helped me throughout the day. I felt so many different things…I felt at peace, with me, my family, God. I felt good.
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Now, having plenty of time to reflect back on this year’s race, nearly two months ago (seems like yesterday) I’m hungry for my next race. The off- season is time for recovery, reflection, and planning. I’ve not finalized much of anything to date other than I am registered for Wisconsin 2011. With the race a mere 10+ months away it is time to start to prepare. I will finalize a plan for next year in the next 30 to 45 days and will again start training in earnest after the first of the year.
My Journey to Ironman is about discovery, discovering who I am, and discovering what can be accomplished. It is about meeting new people and forming new friendships. It is about trying to inspire others to participate in life, in physical activity. It is about adversity and over coming it. It is about goal setting and about achieving those goals. It’s about knowing that the journey is more important than the destination. It is about self improvement, both mental and physical. It is about sharing these experiences with you. I thank you for coming along this year and sharing my journey to Ironman.
Namaste,
sMiles
