Ironman Wisconsin 2007 Race Report

Ironman Wisconsin 2007
First of all, I want to thank all the friends and family that supported me over the past year in my journey towards another Ironman. I truly believe that a successful Ironman can be attributed by the support from friends and family.

I completed my first Ironman (the 2005 Ironman Wisconsin) a couple of years ago in extreme conditions where the weather reached the mid-90’s. To date, the 2005 still has the highest DNF (Did Not Finish) rate of any Ironman (approx. 20%). My time was 13:16 and I was thrilled to just make it to the finish line. After completing the event, I knew I would attempt another Ironman.

In 2006 a number of people in my triathlon club, KC Multisport, started talking about Ironman Wisconsin in 2007. Even though I had already done Wisconsin, the opportunity to train and race with a number of folks from KC was very tempting. So on Sept. 11, 2006 I signed onto Active.com and was lucky enough to get in. I later found out that the race registration filled up within 40 minutes of opening online.

It still amazes me how popular Ironman events are. In 2007, all North American Ironman registrations filled completely. For the 2008 Ironman Wisconsin, the event sold out in 23 minutes once it was opened online.

For the most part, training went well in 2007. I had increased the number of century bike rides (100 mile) to 4 this year and even achieved my goal of running a pre-race 20 miler 4 weeks before race day. However, I still felt under-prepared. My motivation to get into the pool and do my usual swim training was lower and my job responsibilities required me to travel quite a bit during some key weeks in July and August – weeks which should have been my “peak” weeks and required a little more consistent training than I was putting in. I relied on prior experience to make up for any lack of training.

Race Week
Like my previous IMWI, I planned on leaving for Madison soon after Labor Day to spend the week in Madison and enjoy the city before all the hoopla around Ironman started. I drove up to Madison on Tuesday with my younger brother, Brent.

The week consisted of a Wednesday drive to Milwaukee for a Brewers/Astros game. Brewers won 14-2.

Thursday began my Ironman preparation. After a rough 1.2 mile swim, which took me 45 minutes to complete, I picked up my race packet.

Friday included an even more windy swim, in fact, the water was so choppy, I only swam 15 minutes before I called it quits. But I did jog for 20 minutes (does that count?) Later in the afternoon, I drove the course with my friends Dave, Julie, Krissee, Glenn and Lynn. When we got done driving the course, we all thought, “well, that wasn’t too bad our training this year was comparable” I had even boasted about my intentions of using my big chain ring through the whole bike ride. That turned out to be a mistake. (Note to self, keep your mouth shut).

Friday night was the welcome dinner. We sat with the whole KC contingent which included the above individuals, plus Matt, Dave, Barry, Sarah, Michelle and Kirk. That night they announced that half of the participants (approx. 1100 out of 2200) were attempting their first Ironman. They also announced the youngest (18 year old male and 20 year old female) and oldest (65 year old female and 78 year old male) competitors. One individual even lost 80 pounds training for the event. That's more than half my weight.

Race Day
On race morning, I woke up at 3:30am. For some reason I didn't sleep very well the previous two nights. Oh well, I ate breakfast which consisted of a Poptart and bottle of Gatorade. I showered got dressed and was at the race site by 5:15am. I'm not sure about you, but on 99% of the days, I'm not even up for work at 5:15am.

I dropped off my special needs bags (one for the bike and one for the run). This year, I didn't put in as much junk into the bags. I just added some Endurolytes, gels and a bottle of Gatorade in each.

I then went to the transition area and put my water bottles on my bike and was ready to go by 6:00am. I looked for the other KCM members but didn’t see any of them. I found someone to watch my wetsuit so that I could make a pit stop. The line was so long it took 20 minutes before I got back to my wetsuit.

I sat quietly and went over my race plan. The plan was to stay steady in the swim, bike aggressively and hope for enough energy to make it through the marathon. The risk with any Ironman is going so hard your body prevents you from moving forward. (e.g. cramps in legs, stomach issues from nutrition, or over/under-hydration).

By 6:30am, I had made my way down the “helix” and found my KCM buddies. They were all in a group chatting and enjoying the morning. I don't know if they knew they had to cover 140.6 miles or not. They certainly didn't look like it. OK, maybe a few of them did. :)

We got into the water and had to tread for awhile. The announcer kept counting down the minutes and with 5 minutes, I swam away from the KCM group to get into my "position". While I was glad to hang out with them, I had to do my own thing to make sure I raced my own race.

At 7am the cannon sounded and the race started.

The swim this time was no picnic. Within 50 yards, I turned my head to breathe and someone’s hand/fist came crashing down on my eye, causing my goggles to fill with water. Doh! I had to stop in my tracks, tread water and adjust them. Since I wear contacts, my biggest fear is losing a contact and not being able to continue the race. With 2200 people in the water, stopping in a crowd of swimmers that just wants to go forward is very difficult. I had to avoid more hands, continue treading and adjust my goggles at the same time. Once I got them fixed, I was back into the swing of things.

The swim was still really physical. I can’t remember being bumped into or grabbed so many times in my life. I think I was “touched” in just about every body part (private parts included.) I was out of the 2.4 mile (3.86 km) swim in 1:18, a whopping 11 seconds faster than two years ago.

I exited the water and immediately ran to the wetsuit “strippers” – volunteers are lined along the swim finish to help athletes get out of their wetsuits. First the top is pulled down, and then I was ordered to lie on the ground. Two volunteers “ripped” the wetsuit from my legs and when I pointed my toes, my right calf started to cramp. Damn! Already? There was no time to worry about it. I still had 138.2 miles go to.

I ran up the “Helix” – a circular parking ramp that winds for 4 stories. Into the transition area, volunteers yell race numbers so that other volunteers can grab your gear bag. Once I got my gear bag , I ran into the changing room. Hey! There's Glenn. He even told me he saved the seat next to him for me. So I plopped my butt down, and a volunteer helped me with my socks, shoes, helmet, race belt and sunglasses. I loaded my pockets with GU, Endurolytes (electrolytes), and bike pump with CO2 cartridges. I made it out in 6:38.

It was then off on the bike for the 112 mile (180 km) ride around the "scenic" Wisconsin countryside.

The ride for the first hour, as we headed west, felt great, and I was moving at a very comfortable pace and passing people along the way. The hills were soon to come but the weather was nice. I focused on my nutrition plan which was to alternate between 2 Endurolytes and GU every 45 minutes. In between I would alternate between gatorade and water to ensure hydration. I had nutrition problems in a race just 3 weeks earlier, so I wanted to make sure I didn't fill my stomach with a concentrate of sugar. However, I also didn't want to overhydrate with just water.

I thought I was doing well, but by mile 25 I was already beginning to cramp in my upper legs. All summer I had never entered into distress on the bike ride so early. I knew I had to continue my nutrition and be patient. My plan on riding in the big chain ring quickly became a pipe dream and I shifted into my small chain ring.

At approximately mile 50, I headed for the second bike loop towards Mt. Horeb (or Mt. Horrible as I now call it), up to Cross Plains, through Verona and back to Madison. I felt tired, both physically and mentally. This felt like one of my worst rides of the year. But I was still making decent time.

The ride from Cross Plains to Verona was slow and painful, the steepest hills are located around miles 45 and again at mile 80. By the second lap, riding up the hills reminded me why the locals call them “the bitches”. I was riding up those hills in my lowest gear possible. When your riding up hills in pain and a foul mood, the enthusiasm of the spectators can be a bit annoying. I even remember two mountain bikers zip by me up the hills. (Mountain bikes should never be faster than road bikes!)

The saving grace was seeing all my friends on the course. On all three hills, I saw folks from KC cheering on the riders. I even got to see my friends from Minnesota in Verona. A special shout out goes to my friends Seth and Liza who drove out to the hills and brought my brother along with them. There were even people I had not met from KC yelling at me/cheering me on.

I finished my bike ride in 6:07, which was 10 minutes faster than 2005. I quickly got off the bike and entered transition. I think I actually threw the bike at the volunteer. If someone would have offered to buy the bike for a nickel, I probably would have sold it to them at that time.

From there, I put on my running shoes, chugged some Gatorade and headed out on the run. For some reason I didn't have the volunteer support this time in transition, but I was still able to get in and out in a reasonable time.

My legs had gotten a second wind, but I was still hesitant to push it too hard. So I alternated between walking and jogging, maintaining a 10.5 minute mile pace for the first half marathon.

I continued to see my friends, at the beginning of the run, around Camp Randall Stadium and on State Street. The crowds were incredible, and I’ll never forget hearing a KCM member using his megaphone to push me to maintain my running pace.

Since, each athlete’s race number has their names on it, spectators call you by name. Even if you’re walking the spectators are great encouragement.

I continued my hydration plan of taking in more Gatorade at each water stop, taking in GU. In fact, I was hydrated enough to taking “potty” breaks every 2 miles. I continued my walk/jog as best I could, but the second lap was wearing on me mentally. Even though I didn’t physically feel tired, my mind was pretty tired. I didn’t have the energy to run too long and my pace slowed to a 12:30 minute mile. I finished with a run of 5:03. With an overall Ironman Wisconsin time of 12:39:54.

Though I’ve had better days, I was happy to improve my time by 36 minutes. I think my overall patience on the bike allowed me to improve my run by 15 minutes.

I still feel like I can go faster, which means I’ll do another Ironman. (Just not next year.)

Last year it was close call

This was published in the Wisconsin State Journal... about a fellow Kansas City triathlete

Last year it was close call

Dave Shultz will arrive in Madison this week with an entourage of 20 supporters from his home in Kansas City. He calls it "Operation Redemption."

His wife, Carolyn Shultz, might have a different name for it. Her memories of last year 's Ironman Wisconsin triathlon are "horrible and scary." She was standing in the chilly rain at the finish line with her two young children at midnight that Sunday, waiting for Daddy to cross the finish line and for the announcer to intone: "Dave Shultz, you are an Ironman."

The moment of triumph never came. Back in the hotel, her cell phone was flashing with a message. Dave Shultz had collapsed 136 miles into the triathlon -- four miles from the finish -- and had been taken to University Hospital. When Carolyn Shultz got there, her husband was in a medically induced coma as doctors worked to bring his sodium levels back to normal.

He wouldn 't wake up until Tuesday. "I wondered why my parents were there," he said, of his first thoughts on awakening, "and why I wasn 't running anymore." Actually, Shultz ran for about nine miles that he doesn't remember. His memory of the race, which began with a 2.4-mile swim and a 112-mile bike ride in the cold rain, ends at about the halfway point of the 26-mile marathon. He's had to piece together what happened and hopes his story will warn other competitors in next Sunday's event to be careful to keep their salt intake up, no matter the weather.

Shultz fell victim to a syndrome called "severe hyponatremia," a condition better known as water intoxication. You may have heard of people who died after drinking huge amounts of water. Or may have seen the Gatorade commercial that shows pro triathlete Chris Legh collapsing 50 yards from the finish line at the 1997 Ironman World Championships in Hawaii.

The condition happens when endurance athletes drink so much water that their sodium levels plummet, which can lead to organ failure, and death.

Shultz, 38, thinks his problems began days before the race, when he began hydrating, preparing for the hot conditions faced by competitors in the 2005 Ironman Wisconsin.
"The first mistake I made was sitting in my office all week, drinking from my water bottle all the time," he said. "My doctors think I was already low on sodium when I got to Madison."

Race day was cold and rainy, and while Shultz kept drinking water, he didn't take his usual number of salt pills because he wasn 't sweating. It was a near-fatal mistake.

The symptoms of hyponatremia -- fatigue, weakness, cramping, nausea, vomiting, bloating, swelling and tightness of the hands and feet, dizziness, headache, confusion, fainting -- mimic those of its opposite, dehydration. So the temptation is to keep drinking water.

Shultz, who has completed a number of Adventure endurance races, says he knew something was wrong with him beyond regular exhaustion, but he couldn't figure out what it was. He only learned what happened later, when Wisconsin athlete Hance Anderson tracked Shultz down in Kansas City to see how he was doing.

Anderson, 42, of Monona, was competing in his first triathlon and was running in the dark near Picnic Point.

"It was the most miserable part of the race," said Anderson, who by then was wearing a plastic garbage bag to ward off hypothermia. "It was dark, it was cold, it was raining. The wind was blowing in hard off the lake. Anderson thought he saw someone go down in front of him. He raced to the dark form and saw a man who seemed to be having a seizure. Anderson, a volunteer with the Monona Fire Department, is trained as a first responder. "(Shultz) was not moving air very well and was in distress," Anderson said. "I cleared his airway and readjusted his head so he could breathe more easily."

Someone called 911, and others donated their coats to keep Shultz warm. Sue Wolfe, an emergency room nurse from University Hospital who was helping clean up a nearby aide station, took over and kept Shultz's airway open until the ambulance arrived. Stiff, sore and cold, Anderson finished his race.

But he didn't forget the guy who almost finished. Anderson remembered Shultz's bib number, and looked him up in Kansas City to see how he was doing.

The two plan to have dinner this week, which will be a bit weird since neither man remembers what the other one looks like.

Shultz hopes to thank all those who helped him, and to visit the nurses at the ICU.
"It 's a great city, the crowd was phenomenal, people stood for hours in the rain," said Shultz, who even feels fond of "the guy in the transvestite devil suit who taunts you when you bike up the hill."

But returning to Madison also is about his desire to achieve a goal that he had trained months for, and that evaporated so close to the finish. The registration for the 2007 Ironman Wisconsin filled while Shultz was still in the hospital last year.

But a couple of his buddies, who completed the 2006 race themselves, sent a letter to race officials, asking them to let him into this year 's race. They did.
"I was a little upset with them," said Carolyn Shultz, of the buddies. "They stopped coming around the house for a while after that."

Still, she knows how hard her husband trained, and how disappointing the 2006 race was for him. Doctors have assured them the condition that nearly killed Shultz is completely preventable.

"I knew, when he made it four miles from the finish, that he'd have to do it again," she said. "I was just hoping he'd take a year off." But she'll be here, too, to cheer him on, although this time the kids, Eliza, 5, and Evan, 3, will stay home with the grandparents. She's been watching Sept. 9 approach with dread.

"There will be a huge sense of relief when it's over," she said. So here's hoping that a week from now, Dave Shultz hears his name announced as an Ironman.
And maybe Carolyn Shultz should also get a medal for being an Iron Wife.


Update 9/12:
Dave Shultz, the athlete who wound up in a coma in the hospital during the 2006 Ironman Wisconsin had a much more successful run this time. He finished in 12:25:47, beating his estimated time by an hour, and had no problems with hyponatremia, the water-poisoning that nearly killed him the year before when his sodium level dropped too low.

"My hydration/nutrition/salt plan developed over the last 12 months since last year's scary event worked flawlessly all day and I still felt strong at the finish," he said. "Needless to say, my family saw a dramatic change in my demeanor and every time they saw me they just knew that I was a totally different person than the one they saw in last year's race."