Swim and Transition 1

I entered the water a bit early, not really on purpose, but better than being late. The water temperature was nice and there weren't many people in the water. I swam towards the start line and decided to hang out there for the next half hour waiting for the gun. When I got to the start line, there were only a few other people, but by the time the pros started at 6:50, I had drifted over near the first buoy at the front of the start line. Unfortunately, this is the crowded, fastest place to be. Unlike last time, when I started farther to the right in the middle of the starting line, I was bumped and bumping other people the whole race. I don't have any good swimming horror stories, but I just found myself in a much busier pack even though I ended up about the same compared to last time.

So how was my swim? Have you ever seen a baby taking a bath, flailing and splashing around, not really going anywhere? Yea, it was like that. This year, I wanted to focus on my cycling and running, since more time can be gained or lost for those than in the swim. I never stopped to look at my watch (not really advised when there are 2200 other people swimming around you), but I could tell that my swim wasn't really going to be what I wanted. My lack of swimming showed in my swim and my overall place and time, but I really wasn't concerned that my 1:08 time was two minutes slower than last time and eight off my goal. I had a fast transition, so I was able to get a little time back by running faster up the helix out of the water, changing quickly (and some how forgetting my salt in my bag, read the bike section to see how that was a problem), and running faster to my bike. Another racer commented that he should have run in bare feet to his bike rather than in his cycling cleats as I ran by him...barefooted. Just a hint kids, run in your bare feet and put your cleats on at your bike if your bike is near the end of the racks, or grab your bike first and put your cleats on just before the top of the helix if yours is one of the first. (Free advice. Don't thank me, just be fast.)



After the less-than-stellar swim, I changed, got my bike, and started down the helix with full bottles, a top tube with Gu (see picture), a peanut butter sandwich (another solid food which I can't seem to get down) and sans salt.

Excuse me, I have to be fast. Passing on your left.

Race Morning

4:00a
At this point, if you're going to get up, you'd better have a really good reason. I had 140.6 of them. I figured that was good enough for me, so I got up.

Breakfast was oatmeal with raisins and water/sports drink. Again, I tried to stomach as many calories as I could. I could burn 8,000-10,000 calories and it is impossible to digest enough calories during the race, so I have to cram. After a quick check to make sure I didn't forget anything, my dad took me downtown to drop off my special needs bags for the bike and run. The special needs bags are for half-way through the bike and run, and most people put food or extra gear (socks, shoelaces, etc.). Unfortunately, somewhere between the van and the Capital Square, I lost one of my bags. Thankfully, I only had food in my bags, and I never stopped for either bag, so it really didn't matter.

After dropping of my special needs bag(s), I walked to the top of the Terrace, towards the bright lights, and the other athletes getting marked with permanent marker. Already, the announcer and his music was in fine form. If anyone was still sleepy, the excitement of the morning, and the pounding music would quickly put an end to that. 388, just another step towards the inevitable, then on to the next. (Cue Dave Matthews Band - Ants Go Marching) Checked my bike, looked good. Pumped my tires up to 140 psi, hard tires = fast bike. Went into the Terrace to drop off a few other things into my swim-bike and bike-run transition bags. With nothing else to do, I wait, listen to music, and not think about anything.



Am I nervous? Nope, just another race for me. I really don't think much about it. No reason. If I get excited, I race too fast, and I'll burn out to quickly. I really won't think about the race, the entirety of the race until I make the turn on the marathon to start the second loop. Then, I'll need a little extra. Until then, I just stay calm.

CAUTION: PARTIAL NUDITY




Now, it's time. After my Dad showed me the double-super top-secret bathroom in the Monona Terrace (thanks Dad), I 'suited up'. Time to get to work. Andrea, Wes, and I took off down the Terrace helix, down to the swim start (cone!). For those of you who were not walking down the helix (cone!), Andrea had a problem with walking, saying 'Hi' to friends, and avoiding the cones (cone!) placed periodically on the way down the helix. So like a good friend, I would announce when there would be another cone (cone!). It must have worked, because she didn't trip over another one (cone!).

We got to the bottom, zipped up the rest of the way, and prepared to enter the water. The conditions were perfect. The water was absolutely glass, the start temperature was 60, and the high was 75. The conditions were perfect and everyone was fast. Enough pre-race, time for the race.



Brother Jonathan and his wife Megan at the water before the start.

Pre-race

In 2005, I was very nervous and excited for my first Ironman. The week before the race, I would become nervous whenever I thought about the race, so my mind was focused on everything but the race. This time around, it wasn't that I didn't care, but it wasn't really that important to me. For me, it was just another race, though the training and taper were a bit longer. I never really thought about the race much the week before. There just wasn't a reason for me to be stressed. I knew what I would happen, and I knew what I needed to do, where to go and what to bring. Another race on another day.

This Ironman was entirely enjoyable to me. I was able to enjoy all the pre-race festivities, the expo, pick-up and banquet with my friend Andrea, who was experiencing her first.



It was fun for me to see her excited and nervous for the race and the experience, analogous to cresting the first hill of your favorite roller-coaster with someone who has never ridden it before. You know exactly what will happen and how much fun the ride will be, and you want to share everything with your friend. This is how it was for me. Ironman is a blast and I wanted her to have fun too, so I was glad to see her enjoy everything.

Friday morning, I went down to the Monona Terrace for the Gatorade swim around the swim course and then registration. The entire week of the Ironman, and before, I was glued to the weather forecast, watching every day and hoping the rain I saw forecasted for the weekend would not be on Sunday. Fortunately, my wish came true...sort of. It never rained during the race, but Friday and Monday weren't good. Friday was cold, overcast and windy, and Monday it rained all day long. As long as the race was nice, that all I cared about. The swim was very difficult because the weather that was blowing out of Madison caused the lake to be very choppy, with swells of 12 inches. This made swimming very difficult because I would swallow a mouthful of water when I would breath facing upwind. I also couldn't get into a rhythm, causing me to be quite slow and feel anxious about the possibility of a bad swim.

After registration, I picked up the gear and transition bags, timing chip and a few goodies. Though it took a while, it all went smoothly and I was done after a long hour. For lunch, my friend Sarah, who just started her PhD at the University of Wisconsin. Lunch was good at Paisan's, and then I headed home to pack my bags and gather any last-minute things I would need for the race.

Friday evening, I met Andrea and some other Ironman friends at the Terrace for the Ironman banquet. The banquet is a fun chance to get together with 2200 other athletes from every state and twenty countries and eat free food...the real reason I go. Eating with the twenty or so other Ironman friends was fun, and a chance to help answer a few questions of what to expect and what to expect. The presentation after was a cool look at a video produced for the race. Just another way to get pumped up.

After the banquet, it was back home to get some good sleep.



Saturday, I went down to the Terrace to drop off my bags (above) and walk around downtown with my girlfriend Kathryn, Andrea, her Mom, and my parents. We ate downtown at a great Irish place. Andrea and I had stew, a great suggestion from her for a pre-race meal, and after that, I went to Verona where I stayed the night before. I mainly stayed downstairs, watching football, and basically allowing myself to do nothing and think about nothing as there was nothing else to worry about, only waiting. After force-feeding myself as much chicken and pasta as I could muster, I went to bed early at 8:00p and hoped that I wouldn't toss and turn without getting any sleep. I eventually fell asleep about 10:00p, thankfully...4:00 would show up soon enough.

Training

Here it is, the much anticipated, often imitated, but never duplicated official 2007 Ironman Wisconsin Peter Nelson race report.

I started my training thirteen months before Ironman, in August 2006. Last time, I tried to train as much as possible, but on my own. This time, I had a few goals and ideas of how I wanted to train. I wanted to focus on weights and running for the winter, cycling and running in spring, and all three once the Mad City Marathon was done in May. Since swimming is the shortest, I also wanted to focus less on that, only once or twice per week, and focus more on running and cycling. My Mad City Marathon was very successful. I ran a 3:19, a 7:35 average. The cycling season was also successful. Though I didn't have many good overall finishes due to my propensity to accidentally launch solo break-aways, I did will the Blue Mounds Classic with help from my new team, Brone's Bike Shop from Fountain City, WI (http://www.bronesbikeshop.com/).

That which is Ironman

Sorry for not getting this out sooner or starting sooner, but here it is. I will be working on getting my complete 2007 Ironman Wisconsin race report out in stages over the course of this week. Yea, I know, a bit late, but is was one big blur, so I'll just make stuff up if I don't remember. Enjoy.