Tag: Ironman Wisconsin

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From The Final Four To Ironman – Zak Showalter

By Mike Tarrolly for the Crushing Iron Podcast

I’ve been a Badger fan all my life, so it was very cool to interview former Wisconsin guard, Zak Showalter. I’d heard a recent interview with Zak on The Swing Podcast where he mentioned he’d been bitten by the Ironman bug and would be doing Ironman Wisconsin this year. I thought it would be interesting to get his perspective on how playing the college basketball at the highest level would translate into Ironman training, so a few tweets later we were connected and today we made it happen.

I first heard about Zak from my buddies who were at the Wisconsin State Basketball Championship game and started texting me about the opening tip dunk that blew the roof off the Kohl Center. I knew he was going to Wisconsin and watching this got me very excited he would be a Badger.

It took Zak a while to become an integral part of the Badger line up, but he worked his ass off and eventually started his final two seasons. He was a part of teams that went to four straight Sweet 16’s and two Final Fours while at Wisconsin.

He shared a lot of ways his practicing and learning under Hall of Fame coach Bo Ryan impacted his approach to sport and how that work ethic has carried into triathlon training. We talked about practicing like you play, patience in a game and the season, diet, ups and downs of the grind, how to shed nerves before a big game, training with Michael Jordan’s strength coach, and what it’s like to know and hang out with Packer’s QB Aaron Rodgers.

I’ve always appreciated Zak’s effort on the basketball court and he’s actually been part catalyst for some of my greatest fan moments in sports. For instance, I’ll never forget the Final Four when Wisconsin beat a 38-0 Kentucky team and my buddies and I were there to soak it in. But the moment that really stands out was after the game and being a part of this crowd at the Badger team hotel. It was absolutely packed with fans and the band was on the upper level playing fight songs. After about 30 minutes the players walked in and were all videotaping the moment on their phones. I asked Zak about that experience and he said, “It honestly felt like we were in a movie.” It still gives me chills and Zak looks pretty pumped at the end of this clip.

Zak was a great guest and like most of us who’ve trained for our first Ironman, he’s not really sure what to expect. I’ve always felt like being any kind of athlete in the past helps conquer Ironman, but the reason I think Zak will perform well is his mental toughness. He’s also fearless as you can see in this buzzer beater against Florida in last year’s Sweet 16. It’s a shot made famous because he instinctively looks at Aaron Rodgers and gives him the “Discount Double-Check” belt.

We hope you enjoy our conversation with Zak Showalter. As always, thanks for listening.

The Crushing Iron Podcast has 100 Five-Star reviews on iTunes and releases every Monday and Thursday. If you’re looking for coaching, a custom swim analysis or camps, please feel free to contact Coach Robbie: [email protected]

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Images from Ironman Wisconsin

Nothing says Madison like this.  A beautiful scene just up from the Ironman Finish Line.  image1

The Finish Line going up.

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This has me seriously contemplating watching the swim from my hotel room.

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Lake Monona in all its glory.  Just a crisp, blue (with a hint of an orange ski jump) a far as you can see.

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Another shot of the state capital on a beautiful Fall day in Madison.

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Say what you want about Ironman, but they get $35 for a shirt while most races give them away.  I definitely like this year’s version in black.

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IMWI 011 – Running Through The Pain

One of my favorite topics regarding Ironman (Wisconsin) is pain. Specifically running with pain. Today I talk about a few strategies to practice pain and be prepared for the inevitable meltdown on the Ironman Run. I share a great run training tip from Dominant Woman Spartan Racer, Amelia Boone and talk about a few things I work on to prepare for the pain of an Ironman run.  Make sure to follow Crushing Iron on Facebook and @crushingiron on Twitter.

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You Think You Train A Lot?

I’ve been known to skip a few workouts in my day, but the off season is a time to dream.  When your Ironman is 363 days away, premature optimization is the glue that holds this mess together.

Daniel Bratscher IronmanChattanoogaWith that in mind, I have been reading a few race reports for inspiration and happened to land on Daniel Bretscher’s.  He’s a pro triathlete who just happened to win Ironman Wisconsin, then get 2nd at Ironman Chattanooga 3 weeks later.  I witnessed both efforts.

His report began innocently enough.  He had some early season injuries, then a marginal performance, but that’s when he got serious.  He pulled out of his scheduled races and focused solely on training for Ironman Wisconsin.

The five weeks leading into his taper were mammoth.  He posted those numbers and I’m reposting them for you to stew on.  He wanted me to be clear that this was not his normal schedule, but something he did as a max build for IMWI.

Daniel Bretscher’s Wisconsin training block

*I’m including this because the 5 week stretch spanning July 20-August 23 is the reason I won Ironman Wisconsin.  What I did on September 7 only happened as a result of what I did these 5 weeks.

In 35 days I logged the following training totals

Swim: 26 sessions, 118,000 yards (23.6k avg/wk)

Bike: 32 sessions, 1934 miles (387 mile avg/wk)

Run: 32 sessions 323 miles (64.5 mile avg/wk)

Hours: 187:34 (37:30 avg/wk)

*19 days with 6+ hours training

Now, I don’t know about you, but I’m not positive I put in that many hours the whole year leading up to my race in Louisville.  Maybe that’s why he set a course record and I crumbled like Little Debbie.

I realize he’s a pro and that’s his job, but it’s still inspiring.  I figure if I put in even half that effort I will be knocking on Kona’s door.  Hmm.

He’s a great guy, and it’s an honest and insightful read that includes gems like this from his run:

I started to feel slightly dizzy and had a few minutes of pure helpless desperation.  I’ve never experienced such a feeling in my life and for a few minutes I didn’t know if I’d even finish. 

Follow him on Twitter @DanielBretscher  and of course I’m always followable @miketarrolly

 

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Wisconsin Badger Basketball and Ironman

My coach sends me a lot of triathlon articles, but this one may be my favorite.  I’m a huge Wisconsin basketball fan and didn’t realize it while shooting video at the race in Madison, but former player Zach Bohannon was on his way to becoming an Ironman.

Reading made me a little emotional because the way he told the story reinforced why I love Badger basketball.  He downplayed his efforts and gave credit to the team.  I only wish I would have stuck around to see the celebration.

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The Basketball team celebrates Zach’s Finish at the Ironman Wisconsin.

In this article by Mike Lucas, Zach says his reason for doing Ironman was “To say I did it,” but I think it’s more likely because, that’s how he does life.

For most of my childhood and early adult years (even though the teams were pretty bad in the 70’s and 80’s) Badger basketball was my favorite sport.  After listening to games on the radio, I’d put on a heavy coat, shovel snow, then take jumpers on an ice-covered driveway while imagining leading Wisconsin to the national championship.  It wasn’t easy to make shots with thick Winter gloves, but I never blamed the conditions.

Earlier this year, I was in the crowd as Zach and Company lost that Final Four heartbreaker in Dallas, but was incredibly proud to be a Badger fan.  They were largely a group of unheralded players that worked hard, believed in themselves, and had contagious chemistry.

“We weren’t just a team last season; we are friends for life wanting each other to all do well in whatever we pursue,” says Bohannon.

I really believe there’s nothing more important than being around people that support and inspire you.  Ironman can weed them out in a hurry.    

Like decade-long runs at the Final Four, Ironman can be an incredibly isolating and lonely journey.  You battle pain, self-doubt, and have a lot of time to reflect.  At Ironman Wisconsin last year I described the end of that road like this:

“If there was any doubt about why I would do such a crazy thing, it was answered when I saw my family and friends in the Finisher’s chute.  I was on the course by myself that last hour, but was not alone.  I kept running because they were waiting.  Waiting on their son, waiting on their friend.  And there’s nothing more powerful than someone excitedly waiting for you to come home.”

This is how Zach recalled it, “As great as finishing was, seeing the support of all of these people was even better,” he said referring to his family, friends and teammates.  

I’m drawn the the Ironman culture because it’s filled with “normal” people who won’t accept limits.  This holds true for both the athletes, and those who support our quest.  It’s embracing possibility and making the most out of our lives.

There’s a commercial on the Big 10 Network where Zach makes a bold acknowledgment that his goal is to someday be President of the United States.  Ironman is surely a step in the right direction, and I have no reason to doubt he will make his dream reality.

Maybe you can spot Zach in this video I made of the Wisconsin Swim Start.  [follow_me]

 

 

 

 

 

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Ironman Louisville's Scorching Run #IMLOU

[follow_me]

ironman louisville runI’ve written an Ironman Louisville race report, but feel like the run deserves a little more attention.  Namely because it was the hardest and most confusing athletic endeavor I have ever experienced.

I say “athletic endeavor” but my journey was much more reminiscent of  Fear Factor meets 65 “Ice Cup Challenges.”

The only thing I can compare it to was the run last year at Ironman Wisconsin.  It was a very similar experience, but this year I felt much better getting off the bike, so the collapse is even more intriguing.

My run at Wisconsin was 4:23 and hurt every step.  My Louisville time was 5:27 and damn near killed me.

God, that run.  I don’t even know how to describe it other than a precession of 25 Aid Station hunts.  One mile at a time, I blindly felt my way through darkness under searing sunlight.  An endless mirage that tugged and taunted until the finish line was my only remaining option.

I mean, the heat is obviously the reason Louisville’s run turned me into a corn on the cob, but I still have deeper questions: When and how did it fall apart?

Did I push too hard on the bike?  Sure didn’t feel like it.  I nearly lived in the small ring, coasted all downhills and rarely felt like I was hammering.  The main problem I had on the bike was my neck.

But, there is just no other reasoning that makes sense.  I must have been much hotter on the bike than I realized.  That, and/or I didn’t get enough fluids.  I mean, how else could I be that hot, that fast on the run?

There is no doubt I ran my first mile too fast (9:38) but I honestly felt strong off the bike.  It wasn’t until the first Aid Station when I started seeing two headed vulcans.

Exactly one mile into the marathon I was in survival mode.  Volunteers were cooling water and Perform bottles in those little kiddie pools and all I could think about was parking my hot ass in the middle of their stash.

I also had a gut cramp, which didn’t help matters.  I popped salt and chicken broth to no avail.  Maybe I should have gone with more Perform?  I just couldn’t even look at that stuff after the bike.  I would have surely puked.

This run felt like trudging through a swamp on the hottest day of the year.  My body, including my feet, were soaked, and nothing was drying off.  BUT, that ice was certainly melting.

By the time I was a quarter mile away from the Aid Station, I was scrambling for any secret to save my melting ice.  It was my personal cartoon where the character melts and seeps into the sewer grates.

All of my injuries were a mute point.  They had ZERO to do with this run.  My legs (and ribs) felt fine.  It was just an overall feeling of sloth.  A muddled and confused “forward is technically a pace” adventure.

There was a period of time when I felt outside my body, only be reminded by some very nice liar that I was looking good.  “You look good, Mike, hang in there!”

I looked like shit and have video to prove it (which I will soon be releasing for the world to make fun of).  It will be a public humiliation like never witnessed before.  Life of Brian shit.

But, seriously, I’m glad I had the sense to spend time cooling my core.  It could have been a very bad ending and we wouldn’t have had any video to laugh at later this month.

I did make it, but in typical me fashion, I’m a little pissed that I walked at all.  I may not have been “run ready” for this race, but I think my legs where there.  I really do.  It is this core temperature thing that I don’t quite understand.

I was over an hour slower at Louisville than Wisconsin.  I think I was in at least as good of shape . . . and clearly 20 degrees makes a big difference, but when and how did it go off the rails?

 

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The Calm Before The Ironman Storm #IMTX

The moment that Ironman bracelet clamps shut on your wrist, you known it is real.  The door is closed and you are locked outside with the beast.

The day before Ironman Wisconsin, I walked around Madison fighting to suppress the rumble in my gut.  It’s hard to relax when you know your body is about to check into hell.

I suppose it’s different if you have one under your belt, but I’m not convinced that’s an advantage.  Ironman is not to be taken lightly.

Ironman Texas Swim

You must respectfully acknowledge your opponent, which happens to be yourself.  You must accept, then ignore every twinge in your body.  You are strong, confident, and trained — yet fragile like a child.

Every step is calculated and while you are about to cover 140.6 miles, that extra trip to the hotel lobby becomes noteworthy.  Fifty four unnecessary paces for resting legs.

Sipping water and electrolytes, hoping for the perfect balance.  The optimum level of pre-race hydration that will be your last minute base for the next day.

Light stretching to ease tension that is mostly in your head.  Meditating in the middle of an air-attack while bombs explode around you.

How do you contain the fire?  How do you balance ferociousness?

The anticipation will crush you.  Your mind does back flips as it plays through everything yet to happen.  It’s senseless to obsess, but impossible to let go.  You are mere feet from walking onto the plank.

And oddly, once your bare feet hit that cold wood, you look over the edge and the nerves wash away.  You accept your fate and focus on why you came.  You no longer have to imagine how it will look and feel.   It’s right in front of you, familiar, and waiting for you to join the fun.

This is where you exist.  This is where you belong.

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Best of luck on Saturday to everyone racing Ironman Texas.  This is for you, and especially Rodney and Daniel who I have watched prepare for this monster.  We’ll all be watching and pulling you toward the finish.

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Remembering the Fab 5 from Ironman Wisconsin

 

This is actually a re-post of a little addition I tacked on at the end of a story the other guys wrote about me before Ironman Wisconsin.  I have been looking for inspiration triggers tonight and many times they end up being the people closest to you.  Yeah, I’ve already posted this, but it was fun for me to read and I’m guessing millions of people from around the world haven’t seen it yet.  Besides, it’s my blog.  

THE FAB FIVE

fab5I spent a TON of time with these guys over the last year and every minute was inspirational.  Each of them connected with me in different ways and it was truly a blessing to meet them and train together for a goal I thought was impossible.

I’ve said it many times before, but Jim is the reason I am in triathlon . . . and for that matter, not a whale laying around on the couch.  He patiently led by example until I figured out that I should probably follow in his footsteps.  Jim made many sacrifices to make sure I stayed engaged with endurance sports, and I will forever be indebted to his efforts.  Maybe one day I too will be getting up at 3:45 every morning.

Kevin’s gutsy performance at IM Louisville 2012 was the final straw that lured me into Ironman.  Watching my first IM was an emotional and motivating experience.  I barely knew Kevin at the time, but I was so moved by his effort that day, I knew I would sign up to race sooner than later.  We didn’t bike or run together often, but our lake battles were undeniably the catalyst to me becoming a confident swimmer and rejuvenating my competitive nature.

Daniel is one of the most positive and compassionate people I know.  He overcame a lot to get where he is today.  His passion for triathlon shined bright all year and his results proved it.  He embraced every experience like it was his last and smiled before, during, and after each competition or workout.  Ironman was a first for both of us and we loved to speculate about how it would feel to compete, then finish.  We dove into every detail along the way and I think it made us both better racers and people.

Mark showed more guts than just about anyone I’ve ever known as a competitor.  It seemed like he was injured the entire training season, but he kept pushing on.  And I’m not talking about hang nails.  He had a double hernia and a torn bicep, but didn’t let either get in his way.  Despite these setbacks, having a family, and owning a business that was exploding, he kept his eye on the prize and peaked with a great performance at Wisconsin.  He showed a lot of confidence in me and that became a big source of motivation.

It was, is, and always will be the Fab 5 I think of first. We committed to a journey and each other.  We followed through with a major challenge and came away with far more than medals.  We are great friends who shared deep and meaningful experiences that no one can ever take away.

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Post script.

Jim has just signed up for Ironman Maryland this year.

Daniel is closing in on Ironman Texas.

Kevin will be getting married soon in Florida.

Mark just did the Country Music 1/2 Marathon and seems on the fence about what’s next, but I sense something is coming.

Me . . . well, you know.  Just plugging along and trying to figure out what’s next.

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Are We Willing to Commit to Change?

The last post pinpointed my problems with energy and vitality, and I have known these things forever, but for some reason I can’t implement them into my lifestyle.  I think the answer lies in consistent patterns, and having a CLEAR reason for following your passion.

I started all this endurance training because I saw myself on a video two years ago and didn’t like the the image.  I looked nothing like I “imagined” myself.  It was a bitter pill and within a couple weeks I was hell bent on running away the fat.

About 12 months, and 20 pounds later, my problem was “solved.”  The body was back and I was no longer ashamed of what I saw in the mirror.  But, of course, that wasn’t the real problem.

I had slimmed down and was routinely knocking out 1-2 hour workouts, but I knew there was still a void.  Good thing I had IRONMAN to distract me for a while.

I plowed further into the field hoping for the yield of a lifetime.  It never got easy, but I had endless fertile and seemingly endless land.  But, like a King with all the money in the world, something was still missing.

Then, I raced Ironman Wisconsin.

This was undoubtedly the best day of my life for the last 10 years or so.  I scaled a mountain and lived to tell the stories.  And there were many.

I floated on that high for days, weeks, and months before realizing my pantry was nearly empty.  It was time to go back into the field.  But I had a new problem.

I had been harvesting for Ironman, and she needed a lot of fuel.  Now it was just me, alone with my thoughts, and no plan for distribution.

While endless tilling was something to be proud of, I knew I wasn’t addressing the fundamentals of farming.  I was throwing shit everywhere and the land produced just enough to keep me going.  I neglected the soil and weeds were taking over.

Much of the world survives on food or drugs that get us by “today” but do little for the long haul.  And it’s easy to understand why we take this path.  It’s easy, and, for the most part, it works.  Hey, take it “one day at a time.”  But we all know that it’s on the surface, and not much is being done to build the foundation.

For me it comes down to habits.  Taking sleep (and its wind down) seriously.  Starting early by letting go of electronics, turning down lights, easing into the night and getting good, sound rest.  Waking fresh around the same time.

Then exercising/walking before a solid breakfast that gives me slow burning fuel.  Visualizing and writing out a productive day so I have a focus.  Then eating right and avoiding surface snacks.  At night, eating earlier, working out, then winding down again.

It sounds simple, but we get sucked in to things because somewhere we have doubts about our path.  Why?  Because establishing a good healthy pattern is painful and takes time.  A long time.  And frankly, it takes a lot of failures and lessons to figure it all out.  I think most of us have always known what it takes, we just need to define why we really want to get the answer.

 

 

 

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How I Went Sub-12 In My 1st Ironman (at 50) #IMWI

Train with People – This was crucial to me, especially in the beginning.  I wasn’t fast, nor did I have the endurance, but swimming, biking, and running with people was a major motivator.  It helped me get out of bed and it helped me keep going once I was there.  After a few months of this I knew I could keep up, that’s when I started fading into my own world.

Train Harder by Yourself – I think training alone is critical.  The internal dialogue you create on long swims, bikes, and runs can either make or break you.  When it comes to racing, the more often you talk yourself out of stopping, the better.  The more you get used to pushing mileage without the distraction of others, the better.  The more you can face aches and pains by yourself, the better.

Practice in Open Water – I’m convinced that 90% of swimming is feeling comfortable in the water, and open water is WAY different than the pool.  A lot of people I talk with are kinda weirded out by lakes in general, so there’s that factor . . . but for me the ultimate key was swimming with other people in open water.  You get used to the bumping and it really lowers your freak-out quotient, especially in a mass start.  In retrospect, the one thing I wish I would have worked on more was sighting.  We trained a lot with the same buoy and I simply got comfortable with my direction.  But it would have been very wise to work harder on sighting different trees or whatever around the lake.  Nothing will screw your swim time like going off line.

Work on Your Weakness – Cycling was by far my strength.  Swimming and running, were a different story.  I knew from the start that swimming was going to be my key event and I worked on it harder than the rest.  For me it was a confidence thing.  I HAD to come out of that water strong or the rest of my race would be a nightmare.  I swam a lot early, but the last 8 weeks of training I was in the water (most times the lake) 3-4 times a week, swimming HARD.  I also stayed true to building my running base and getting faster.  It was very hard some nights, but I kept pounding the roads with regularity.  I didn’t blow off the bike, but I did fewer (yet intense) rides to make sure I was keeping my muscles familiar with the motion.

Work on Your Speed – Let’s face it, after you build your endurance to a certain point, you can “coast” forever.  But running a “lazy” 22 miles is not going to help your marathon time.  You have to build in speed work.  I was doing “shorter” hour-long runs most of the time, then would add an hour and a half “long” run on the weekends.  The short runs were always laced with sprinting intervals or tempo sections.  I knew I would never build to traditional marathon training distances, so I set my sights on one thing:  Making a 9 minute pace feel like a walk.  That was my ultimate IM pace goal, which I didn’t hit, but I did average 10 minute miles and never ran more than 14 miles before that marathon.

Take the Hilliest Way Home – I can’t tell you how many times I was at a crossroads on a run and willed myself toward “one more” hill.  I ran a ton of hills during training for two reasons, one, they force you to have better form, and two, they are harder!  I honestly love to run hills now.  Hills make you focus and their the easiest way to push your limits.

Embrace Bad Weather – Nobody wants to swim, bike, or run on a cold and rainy day, but if you can handle bad weather, you are miles ahead of the game.  Hell, a lot of people don’t even show up for a race if in bad weather.  I was “lucky” to have three races on three awful 50 degree and rainy days.  I really thought I was cursed.  In the end, Wisconsin was perfect racing weather, but I was ready if it wouldn’t have been.

Hydrate – This seems so damn obvious I almost didn’t put it in here, but I’m convinced it is far more critical than nutrition.  I’ve been in races where I could literally feel my chest drying out from breathing so hard.  You have to teach your body how to burn fat stores and using only water for a lot of your training is a good way to do it.  If your body isn’t working right, you’re screwed — and I just really believe, that while nutrition plays a big role, if you’re not hydrating well leading up to and during the race, you’re sunk.  I drank ridiculous amounts during the race (and yes, pee’d a lot on the bike) including slowing to a walk through every aid station to drink with purpose.

Meditate – I suppose this could be titled “visualize” too but either way it’s about getting your mind straight.  I crossed the finish line at Ironman a hundred times in my mind before I got onto the course.  Many times on hard training runs I started imagining I was on the marathon at Wisconsin.  I would be in incredible pain and tell myself, “This is how it’s going to feel, practice getting through it.”  And I would.  I just wouldn’t stop no matter how bad I thought it hurt.  See the finish line.

Write About It – Out of all of this stuff, I almost believe my journaling the entire process could have been the biggest factor.  I often put myself on public display as an idiot, but it helped me work through so many things I didn’t understand.  Not only that, the feedback and encouragement you get cannot be understated.  Don’t fool yourself, Ironman is a daunting physical challenge, but the more I learn about it, the more I believe it’s more in the mind.

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This is how the race broke down for me:

Swim: 1:20:02
T1: 7:28
Bike: 6:03:35
T2: 4:43
Run: 4:23:10
Total: 11:58:58