September 10, 2017
Madison Wisconsin
I have written, erased, and rewritten this report many times over. It was a day full of highs and lows that are not the easiest to put onto paper.
Last September, I crossed the finish line on the 15th anniversary of September 11th 2001. The following day, I had multiple conversations about the race. I would be back, but when? I returned to work on Thursday and all was normal. I handed off to the next shift on Friday, scheduled to be back on Saturday morning. Early Saturday morning I awoke to my phone ringing. My team had been involved in a helicopter crash! What was "normal" instantly became a whirlwind of events.
The next couple of months were a blur. About a month after race day, I had an emergent appendectomy. My last "normal" was training for Ironman. It took a little convincing/negotiating, but I signed up to race IMWI again in mid December.
As I pulled into Madison on Thursday afternoon, I was home. All of the necessary check-ins at the hotel and race were completed. Let me tell you how much nicer it is to check in to the race on Thursday!
After dinner, it was back to the room to start getting things organized. To cap the evening, I met a couple teammates for an evening listening to Mike Reilly and "Fireman Rob" talking all things IRONMAN.
The next couple of months were a blur. About a month after race day, I had an emergent appendectomy. My last "normal" was training for Ironman. It took a little convincing/negotiating, but I signed up to race IMWI again in mid December.
As I pulled into Madison on Thursday afternoon, I was home. All of the necessary check-ins at the hotel and race were completed. Let me tell you how much nicer it is to check in to the race on Thursday!
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| 8 years from the time of injury, I was being banded for my 3rd IRONMAN. |
Friday was spent volunteering at Athlete Check In. The afternoon was packing gear bags and getting ready. We had an OutKast Team dinner and had a great time. Late that evening, my family rolled in.
Saturday is a lay low and rest type of day. After breakfast with my LAMS team, it was off to the IronKids race with my son. It was so much fun to watch him run and see him get a high five from Mike Reilly as he crossed the finish line! The rest of the day was very low key! The biggest effort of the day was catching up with a teammate to get him TriTats for race day!
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| LAMS Crew |
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| IronKids Finish |
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| The guy behind me in this picture during bike check in crashed early in the bike in 2016. He was back to finish this year. Unfortunately, his race was cut short about 4 miles into the run with a heart attack. 5 weeks later, he crossed the finish line at IM Louisville. As I have said before, half of IRONMAN is the people you meet and their inspirational stories! |
Race day was an early morning, but I was ready. I was in my zone! Bag drop offs, check my bike and put all my nutrition, etc on board, walk through my transitions, then found a quiet area to “relax” and get ready.
The swim start changed this year. It was a wave start by age groups. I was in the fourth corral. It was very anticlimactic compared to the mass start format. The cannon went off for the preceding wave. You then had about 5 minutes to enter the water "warm up," get to a starting position, and wait for your cannon. I'll bet I didn't get 90 seconds to tread water.
The swim start changed this year. It was a wave start by age groups. I was in the fourth corral. It was very anticlimactic compared to the mass start format. The cannon went off for the preceding wave. You then had about 5 minutes to enter the water "warm up," get to a starting position, and wait for your cannon. I'll bet I didn't get 90 seconds to tread water.
As the cannon went off, the line seemed thin. No contact off the start, clean lines, and a pretty good flow. At first, I kind of liked this format. Well, that lasted for the first few hundred yards and disappeared rapidly! Once we started hitting previous waves, it became a slugfest. The slower swimmers were struggling as the strong swimmers were trying to navigate the crowd. My contact for the remainder of the swim was worse than any of my previous. I spent the back stretch navigating around previous waves of swimmers. Sometimes having to be creative with finding space to squeeze through. I would take the Mass Start back any day. I felt much safer when the crowd self seeded that having to navigate through that volume of waves.
Transition 1 was as advertised! I went to see the strippers to pull off my wetsuit. The run up the helix was just as I remembered! The energy is phenomenal! I quickly grabbed my T1 bag, changed, and ran out toward the bikes. As I ran down the long rows of bikes, my friend Shawn was the volunteer at my bike rack and was already pulling mine off the rack and had it ready for me. A quick grab and keep running. Just before the mount line, a volunteer grabbed my bike so I could put my bike shoes on. Away I went.
The first part of the course was much more crowded than I have previously experienced., I relate that to the bell curve of the swim. Rather than being out front and passed by stronger bikers, I was now in the middle of the crowd. I felt great for the first part of the loop! I held my own window and focused on staying on my goals. My race changed drastically (unknown at the time) as I came down the "S-Curve" on Garfoot. As I entered the left turn, I felt a sharp pain just above my glasses. I watched a bee in slow motion come right at me and strike. I am not allergic to bees, but it was painful and a nuisance. A short distance later, we turned onto Barlow. Again, last year I was in a thin group of riders at this point. This year, I was in a crowd. Lots of people were walking up the hill. I had to dodge a few slower riders and a couple that were falling or decided to bail and walk. At one point, I was shoulder to shoulder with cyclists climbing up that hill the entire width of the road. There was nowhere to go! I tried to pay attention to as many of the costumes and signs as I could during the ride.
As I came into Verona, I heard and saw our LAMS Crew out cheering. After the aid station heading into town, I saw my Dad and sister enjoying the party. I made a quick stop at special needs to grab my second half nutrition and headed out on my way. Loop 2, we didn’t get to do the big climb up Barlow, but Emery’s Midtown Party did not disappoint! By that time though, I was feeling some of the effects of the bee sting. Some LAMS teammates were cheering (or partying) at the top of the hill. I was able to ask them to forward a message to my wife to pick up benadryl for the night. As I made my way back to the helix, I was ready to be off the bike. My handlebars became loose n a bump going around the Alliant Energy Center. I didn't need any more hills! The ride up the helix was not bad at all. As I approached the line, the volunteers grabbed my bike and I ran inside.
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| I later found out that David knew his wife was (very) pregnant |
T2 was uneventful for me. A quick change and I was on my way. I transitioned a little slower than normal because my forehead was starting to throb.
My run started slow just trying to get things in line. Around mile 3, I started wheezing (not normal). After some experimenting, I found that as long as I kept my heart rate under 135, I was fine. Above that point, I would start wheezing and difficulty getting air. I was relegated to a (fast) walk. As I hit State Street, I saw my family and got a slight boost, but also let them know what was going on. It was going to be a long marathon, but I was going to keep pushing. I did calculations constantly in my head. I would try to pick up the pace, but would immediately have to back off. This was the toughest mental battle I have faced in a race! My body wanted to go, but I got in trouble when I tried. I knew I could go faster, but If I pushed too hard, I would not finish. It always helps the mind when you pass a Pro that is walking slower than you (mind you, he was 13 miles ahead of me at the time)!
My second loop I spent leapfrogging other athletes that were running then walking. I know I frustrated a few every time I would pass them. The calculations continued. I had no doubt I would finish, but how long would it take? It was fun to encourage the other athletes out on the course. Today was not going to be MY day, but it could be theirs! On the back stretch, I passed a couple Team Triumph teams on their first loops. I gave them as much encouragement as I could during our time together. It was amazing to see these teams working toward that finish line!
As the sun set and the air temps cooled, I was able to pick up the pace slightly. The trip back toward the Capitol was a push, but as I rounded the Capitol and made that last turn, nothing else mattered! I spaced myself out form the other athletes around in the final couple blocks so we could each have our moment running down the carpet.
My second loop I spent leapfrogging other athletes that were running then walking. I know I frustrated a few every time I would pass them. The calculations continued. I had no doubt I would finish, but how long would it take? It was fun to encourage the other athletes out on the course. Today was not going to be MY day, but it could be theirs! On the back stretch, I passed a couple Team Triumph teams on their first loops. I gave them as much encouragement as I could during our time together. It was amazing to see these teams working toward that finish line!
As the sun set and the air temps cooled, I was able to pick up the pace slightly. The trip back toward the Capitol was a push, but as I rounded the Capitol and made that last turn, nothing else mattered! I spaced myself out form the other athletes around in the final couple blocks so we could each have our moment running down the carpet.
“Josh Duda, You are an IRONMAN!”
What an amazing sound! I was able to celebrate with my family as I exited the chute. We grabbed my gear and headed back to the hotel. After a quick shower and change of clothes, some food, and it was back to the finish line. I still had work to do!
What an amazing sound! I was able to celebrate with my family as I exited the chute. We grabbed my gear and headed back to the hotel. After a quick shower and change of clothes, some food, and it was back to the finish line. I still had work to do!
After hanging around the finish with Greg for a while, he headed back to his hotel. I found a few OutKast teammates in the stands and finished out the night cheering from there. The emotions of the last hour are incredible. We saw the Team Triumph crews cross. We saw a proposal. We saw Sandy give Mike Rielly a hug and plant a huge kiss on his cheek. The last hour is something I am glad I stuck around for!
This was my slowest, most challenging, but yet my most rewarding Ironman finish yet!
Thank you to all of my family and friends and sponsors that made this day possible! I am truly blessed to have such an amazing group of support.
