I wrote this race report before the birth of my son this
past week. At the time this race was the
most important thing and was the peak of my life experiences. In the past week this race and everything
else in my life was put into perspective.
I experienced the lowest point in my life when my son and wife were suffering
medically and then the new peak when everyone came home safe. Through this experience it was reaffirmed
that Jess, my family and friends are the most important things in my life. It matters what we accomplish in life but it
matters more who we impact and love.
This is a long report and in case you don’t get a chance to
read all of it I wanted to call out some individuals that honestly made this
race so very memorable and tolerable because they cheered me on out there. My parents Tom and Nora, my brother Jeff, my
sister Megan, PC, Brett Kudick, Melanie Gray, Jerry and MJ, Sam and Natalie,
Sara and Wayne, Molly, Mya, Maddy, Carter, VJ Scully, Kate Goodall, Sarah and
Ryan Nechvatal, Mike, Laura and Mallory Taake, Kathleen and Kevin Marien, Leslie, Doug, and Denise
Householder. Thank you all for coming
out to cheer and helping me through the race. Without the positive energy I
received from seeing each of you, I would not have been able to power through
the day. Some of you were out there just
as long as me (4am to after midnight) and in my opinion are just as deserving
of a medal. Speaking of medals, mine
goes to my wife Jess who at 8.5 months pregnant spent the entire day on her
feet helping lead the charge for my fans and she was there with me till the
very end which was well into the next day.
She helped me through all the training and cheered me along every step
of the way through this journey and in the end was the motivation to get me to
the finish line. I also want to thank
anyone that was watching from afar, or encouraging me during training, or maybe
even out on race day but I didn’t see you…thank you all for the tremendous
support!
Race day started out at 3:20am with breakfast and coffee and
some nervous conversation with my parents and Jess. We left our house at 4:15am to get down to
the race start. We dropped off my
special needs bags (contain supplies that can be used at the half way point of
the bike and run) and met up with Julie Lonergan by the capitol for some more
nervous conversation. We made our way to
the Terrace to load up the bike with nutrition and get my race numbers
marked. I didn’t let any air out of my
tires the day before because it was so cool and let my imagination run all
night long thinking for sure I would have two flat tires when I arrived, the
bike was fine. From this point on it was
standing around waiting to head towards the water for the cannon at 7am.
My Mom and Dad went to the helix early to grab the best
location overseeing the water entry/exit and high enough to see over the trees
and view the swimmers. Jess and I
headed down the helix to the point where only athletes could proceed. This was one of the many times throughout the
day when I was overcome with emotions as I had to say good-bye and thank-you to
Jess with tears in my eyes. On a side
note there were so many emotional moments throughout the day that this race is
truly the greatest roller-coaster ride I have ever been on and struggle to put
it into words for those who are unfamiliar with Ironman. With
Jess and fans in my rear-view mirror I stood in line to get in the water at
6:30am and swam out near the first buoy (farthest from shore).
I went back and forth in my mind on the start strategy and
thanks to my friend Melanie; I was convinced to start just behind the fastest
swimmers on the course closest to the buoys.
The thinking by most is that this area would be crowded with fast
swimmers that would aggressively swim over the top of anyone in their way. That couldn’t be further from the truth as I
found this area very much void of swimmers and by hanging just behind the
fastest swimmers was able to swim in open water. While waiting for the race to begin, I treaded
water for quite some time while holding onto a kayak and making small talk with
some other athletes. There was another
emotional moment when I took a minute during the singing of the nation anthem
to look back at the spectators gathered on shore. It was then that I realized how blessed and
lucky I was to get to this point and take in a view of 10,000 + spectators from
a perspective that only 2,826 people had earned. Cannon goes off and my game face goes on.
I darted for the inside of the buoys (most of the other
swimmers were outside the buoys) and swam in open water the entire time…except
for the turns. The swim course is
basically in the shape of a rectangle, so long as you go around the corners you
are swimming the same distance as everyone else. The turns were a little more challenging as traffic
backed up and I was closed in on by the rest of the athletes. I never panicked and just started getting
physical to swim out of the congestion and back to open water on the inside
track. I highly recommend this strategy
for anyone considering a mass start open water swim race. I never pushed hard and came out of the water
refreshed in 1:17, which is faster than I expected but my longest swim was only
2 miles so it was difficult to truly estimate my projected time.
Wetsuit strippers struggled to get my suit off over my size
15 feet (may help explain the fast swim time), but before I knew it I was
running up the helix; a quick shout to my fan base and another emotional moment
that I had to keep in check as to not exert too much energy and fuel so early
in the day. I ran into the Terrace and
into T1 (transition 1) to change into my bike gear, pretty uneventful and I was
out the door to the bike. I was told to
keep my shoes off as to not risk slipping in my bike cleats before getting out
of the Terrace with my bike; this was sound advice because there is a long
distance to cover between T1 and your bike.
Two miles into the bike course and I saw someone who had crashed
and was out of the race already. I could
not imagine what this person was feeling but it was a cold reminder to me that
danger lies all over the place today and I need to keep my head in the game at
all times and stay aware. The first 3
hours of the bike was me getting passed by damn near everyone on the course! My strategy for the entire race was to
consider what mile 18 of the run would feel like if I spent too much energy
early on. The thinking is that mile 18
of the run is going to suck no matter what and you need to be prepared to
handle that suck with some mental tricks to get you through the final 8.2 miles. If you spend more energy on the swim or the
bike then instead of the “suck” starting at mile 18 it’s going to start at mile
15, or 10, or 4, etc. The sooner is
starts, the more time you have to spend in it and the less likely you are to
perform well on the final discipline. So
I just let people keep passing me and kept repeating to myself ‘mile 18 of the
run…mile 18 of the run.’
My nutrition and my pace were my top priorities on the
bike. I ate something every 30 minutes,
rotating between gu and bonk breakers (energy bars), and a salt tablet every
hour. I drank at least 32 oz of water
every hour and reloaded with water at every aid station. I also had another bottle on my bike filled
with the sport drink that I thought I was taking enough of but in the end
wasn’t (more on that later). The bike
was going to plan and my legs felt great the entire ride. I made it to the 3rd bitch (there
are 3 large hills on this bike course each labeled a ‘bitch’ because of their
difficulty – especially after getting up each twice because of the two loop
format), to where my family and friends were stationed. It was great seeing them and felt strong
coming through to the end of the first lap but that was expected, it was the
second lap where my legs have felt tired in training rides.
The spectators on the bike course are amazing between the
costumes/signs that make you laugh and the loud cheering that help you push
through the pain. Many of the fans are
stacked up at the hills and crowd the road so you pedal up this gauntlet of
screams and cheers…truly makes the hills very easy to maneuver. I experienced so many emotional moments on
the bike between the fan base and seeing my wife, family and friends out there
that I couldn’t possibly recall each.
The problem now that I didn’t realize at the time is that I kept
repeating to myself to stop the emotion as I would need it on mile 18 of the
run and I didn’t want to use it up here when I didn’t truly need it. So several times throughout the day I would
stop myself from getting emotional because I didn’t want to use up that
currency. If I had to do it all over
again I would not have fought anything out there and just let it be.
After seeing my family again at the 3rd bitch for
the 2nd time I was back on the ‘stick’ portion of the course to head
home to Madison and T2. While on the
stick back to Madison I saw Katie and Kevin Marien which was a great surprise
and helped power me through the last little bit. I recall being surprised at how good my legs felt
while biking back to the Terrace and was hopeful I could say the same after the
upcoming 26.2 mile run. The bike took me
a total of 7:07 to finish, which averages just under 16 miles/hour which is
exactly where I wanted to come in. I
made several bathroom stops along the course, as well as a stop at special
needs, and stopped at every aid station to make sure I had enough water and
nutrition supplies. Having the fortune
of living on this bike course and riding it well over 30 times during training
I knew what it could do to your legs if I pushed too hard, and I knew that I
was capable of ridding that course in a total of 6 hours or better but I made
myself take it slow to ensure a good run.
I was in and out of T2 to begin the run and again nothing
out of the ordinary. At the start of the
run I saw my high school football coach Mike Taake as well as his wife and
daughter Laura and Mallory. What a
tremendous source of motivation for me to see this family so many years after
my football career still cheering me on.
Coach jogged along side of me for a bit and asked me how I was feeling,
I told him ‘I’m finishing this F-----g thing’ and he said ‘I have no doubt you
will’…another emotional moment for me. I
saw that my first mile of the run was a 9:30/mile pace, a bit too fast for me
to maintain and I was warned that this would be the case. In fact I was told that everyone will be
running too fast in the first 6 miles and that you have to control this if you
want to have a good performance on the marathon. So I hit the brakes and started cranking out
10 – 10:30/miles. Anytime I would push a
little harder or try to extend my stride I could feel my hamstring want to
tighten like a cramp was coming so I’d back it down. I quickly figured this marathon was just
going to be about running the entire time rather than walking and that whatever
pace resulted would be a victory.
Around mile 2 I saw Sara and Wayne cheering on State Street
and taking pictures. They have been
tremendous fans and supportive of both Jess and I throughout this journey and I
truly appreciate them both. Shortly
after that while exiting campus I see Leslie, Denise and Doug Householder
cheering me coming their way. They are
all dear friends of mine from high school days and wonderful people for coming
out to cheer for me on race day. Seeing
Doug in his wheel chair with a huge smile on his face was plenty motivation for
me to keep on my pace and finish the day.
These three stayed out there in the sun for well over 3 hours to see me
run by 4 times (run course is a two loop track as well), I can’t thank them enough
for their support.
At each aid station I drank at least two cups of water and
then would take a cup of ice with me as I left to make sure I kept
hydrated. I recall drinking a mouthful of
sports drink at most aid stations and would also consume at least a bit of
banana and couple of pretzels and oranges.
Later in the evening I had a couple of mouthfuls of the chicken broth
and flat cola and of course more water. I
carried gu with me on the run and I think I consumed 3 or 4 of them out of the
6 that I had with me. I know I got to a
point in the run where I was sick of everything at the aid stations and just
said screw it, I’m close enough to the finish that I’m just putting my head
down and get there.
Still on the first lap and making my way to State St where a
rowdy bunch of (mostly drunk) spectators reside, it’s an awesome spectacle to
experience. Just before State St. is a
monster hill on Observatory Drive, I challenged myself to run the entire course
and that included this hill (twice)…slow and steady powered by the thought of
kissing my wife at the finish line I ran up the hill. Just over the top I saw my cheering section
again of Jess, Jeff, Mom, Dad, PC, Brett, Sam, Natalie, Jerry, and MJ, after a
round of high fives and smiles I was still chugging along. Quite frankly I felt great this entire time,
I was consuming nutrition, going to the bathroom and running strong so I
figured mile 18 might not be so bad.
I made turn on State St. and then headed back through campus
and along the lake front to another turn around before heading back to the capitol. This stretch along the lake is where the
unsure runners go to die, this place gets quiet, dark, and cold later at night
and is the place that runners need to mentally prepare for on race day. On the second loop it would equate to around
21 miles of the 26.2 and I’m sure it’s where ‘the suck’ really over powers many
runners. I cruised past this spot on the
first loop back towards the capitol where I spotted my cousin VJ Scully and his
son Jaden who made the trip over from Milwaukee to cheer me on. This was a total surprise to me and sparked
yet another emotional moment that helped power me through the halfway point
turn around which happens to be right next to the finish line. Being this close to the finish line and not
getting to cross it but instead turn around for another 13.1 miles is a
substantial mental challenge to overcome.
On this second loop of the run I was powered by the same
group of fans that had been cheering for me all day and with each encounter I was
no less over taken with emotion than the previous encounters. Again I swallowed the emotion to hopefully
retrieve it at mile 18 of the run, which just happens to be at the top of the
largest hill on Observatory Drive. The
second time around I was coming through a water station just at the bottom of
the start to this hill and was walking to finish up my nutrition and
contemplated walking up this hill to save energy for the final 8 miles when I
saw Sam and Natalie Jonas standing on the hill.
Immediately I engaged the running motion and was quickly joined by those
two, running alongside me up the hill.
Once at the top they handed me off to the next group of fans to carry me
with cheers, that group handed me off to another group, and another, and
another. Jess had told my fan base about
mile 18 of the run and with the help of Brett Kudick, who himself is a 2X
Ironman finisher; they strategically spread-out along the course to help carry
me through mile 18 of the run! Emotional
moment number 100 of the day! I quickly
realized that mile 18 still hadn’t brought me to ‘the suck’, so I adjusted it
to mile 19, 20, 21, 22…I told myself that mile 24 was right outside of Camp
Randal football stadium and if I could get to there I was home free. Next thing I knew I was running past the
front gates of the stadium and overcome with emotion…I was home free.
I came to the last water station by the Capitol and started
dumping all the nutrition out of my pockets and preparing to run down the
finisher’s shoot. I remember thinking
that this was the moment I was waiting for, this was the goal of all the training…to
come down to the finish line, kiss and thank Jess and hear the announcer call
out ‘Kevin Scully you are an Ironman’!
That is exactly what happened and it was fantastic. Jess and I had planned where she would be
waiting for me and my eyes immediately saw most everyone from my cheering
section there except for Jess. I high
fived and hugged those that were there and they directed my across the other
side of the finisher shoot where Jess was standing. I ran over to her, with tears running down my
face, thanked her for this and gave her a kiss. I proceeded to the finish line and conceded
to the course…I was done.
Now all along I was feeling great, just a steady stream of
emotion and effort all day long to power me through to the finish. I never pushed hard on any given part of the
course, I never worked so hard at any particular point where I need to pull
back and rest to regain composure. All
that being said I figured I did everything just right for my first attempt at
an Ironman. I finished the run in 4:52
around an 11:00/mile which included walking a few steps through the aid station
at each mile and then running the rest of the course. My total time for the day was 13:37:03; this would
be considered a respectable time for a first attempt at a full triathlon
(ironman) distance. I’m sure I can go
faster but I did not know what to expect and instead decided to play it safe
and keep it slow and steady for the first time out.
I stood around a bit chatting with my fan base and then went
into the food tent to try to find something I wanted to eat. I tried to eat the salty potato chips and
even some pizza but quickly started to realize I was in trouble. I tried to get the attention of the food
service people but couldn’t muster the energy.
Finally I think someone from my cheering section got a volunteer to
check on me and they didn’t hesitate to drag me into the medical tent. From then on it was a sharp downward spiral of
puking and IVs to try and get me back on my feet. I spent around 3 hours in the tent to the
point where they were starting to shut down for the night (race finishes at
midnight). They were asking ME if I
wanted to go home or go to the hospital, when I didn’t have a clue which way
was up. I do recall thinking; I’m not
taking a $2500 ambulance ride because I’m dehydrated. It was eventually decided that I could go
home, where I spent several hours in the shower and eventually helped into bed
where I spent the evening repeatedly getting sick. Jess took me into the ER the next day for
more IVs and more blood work and they confirmed what I was told in the medical
tent in that I drank too much water throughout the day resulting in
hyponatremia. In the medical tent I
remember them propping me up on a scale and telling me that I gained 8 pounds
throughout the day (they weigh you at race registration for just this purpose)
and that was a big red flag for hyponatremia.
This is where you basically drown out the necessary levels of sodium in
your body and disrupt the proper balance of electrolytes. This can lead to water intoxication, an
illness whose symptoms include headache, fatigue, nausea, vomiting, frequent
urination and mental disorientation…check, check, check, check, check, check to
all the symptoms.
If I had to do it all over again, I would’ve alternated
between water and the sports drink on the course throughout the bike. I think this would’ve made me feel better
throughout the run and allowed for me to have more of an appetite for some of
the other offerings at the run aid stations.
I’m a big guy and I sweat a ton so I thought just keep drinking and
peeing and you’ll be fine, after all this is what I’ve done in all my marathon
races. If there is a next time, I need
to calculate how much I should drink throughout an effort like this and to do
so would require me weighing myself before and after a strenuous workout, then do
the math to determine how much liquid weight needs to be replaced through
liquid intake. I think now that I’ve
experienced the hell of hyponatremia, I will know to force myself to consume
more during the run no matter how I feel at the time. I feel that if I had eaten a few more
offerings I think it would’ve been enough to counteract the amount of water I
consumed. I should have been less
concerned with how I would feel at the finish line and instead focus on how I
would feel well after the finish line.
I thought the
finishers shoot was going to be the best part of the day but I was wrong, the
best part was seeing all my fans that are so important in my life! I was disappointed I didn’t get to celebrate
and thank each person that came down to the race. In the end I feel that even though I felt
good throughout the day and across the finish line, the race still got the better
of me and ultimately final word. I don’t
feel like a failure by any means, I completed the distance when 496 people
signed up and didn’t even start and 156 started but didn’t get to the finish
line. I didn’t know what to expect out
of this race and I didn’t have a good feeling for what it would take to finish
strong, but I learned all of that throughout this experience. I’m excited to begin the next chapter in my
life as a father and want to redirect the focus and attention to where it
should be and that is on my family. I’ll
be back some day to take on this challenge again and in the mean time I hope I’ve
inspired some to do something out of their comfort zone or get out and
exercise, if I have I would love to hear about it.
