My Fundraising Page

Racing to Save Lives

Welcome to my Team In Training home page!

Lauren and I completed Ironman Canada on August 24th (that's 2.4 miles of swimming, 112 miles of biking, and 26.2 miles of running - 140.6 miles for the day!) and we will be running at the Nike Women's Marathon and and Half-Marathon on October 19th to raise funds for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. All of us on Team In Training are raising funds toward the Society's mission to cure leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin's disease and myeloma and to improve the quality of life of patients and their families. We are completing this event in honor of a friend(Leesa), and my dad, and all individuals who are battling cancer, and in memory of Lauren's grandmother and all individuals who have lost their battle. These people are the real heroes on our team, and we need your support to cross the ultimate finish line - a cure!

Please make a donation to support our participation in Team In Training and help advance LLS's mission. Every penny counts, so whatever you can give will be gratefully accepted. Be sure to check back frequently to see our progress. Thanks for your support!

If you'd like to visit Lauren's page, go to http://pages.teamintraining.org/ctx/nikesf08/lstrickler.

RACE UPDATE: The race went great, even without running the 7 weeks leading up to the event (foot injury). I had a personal best time of 10:14:52. The full race report is below.

IRONMAN CANADA 2008 RACE REPORT

Warning: This is a lengthy report. If you would like to see a 1 paragraph summary, go to the end of the document.

I am going to start this report with a little back story for those who didn’t know my physical status going into the race. In late June, I did Buffalo Springs Lake triathlon, a Ironman in beautiful Lubbock, TX. When we do this race, I seem to end up with a little extra soreness, as the run has some big hills in it and the DOMS comes on strong. However, I managed to finish the race and recovered well. Just to be safe, I took a week off of land running to make sure that I wouldn’t overstress the system. The first few runs back were fine, including my longest run of the year on July 9th, 15.8 miles, as I continued my build to Ironman Canada. For the most part, it was a very smooth easy pain-free run. 2 days after the long run, I did a short run. As I was finishing, I had bigtime pain in my left foot. I took the weekend off from running and iced/anti-inf. On Monday, I still had a lot of pain, so I went to the doc. He had me take 2 weeks off to see how it would respond, but the pain didn’t change. After time off, an MRI (negative for stress fracture), massages, and ART I was only to run a few short runs every few weeks to test it…and realize that it wasn’t getting better. From the day of the injury until race day (~7 weeks)I ran a total of 19.8 miles. Dr Hutchens gave me the ok to give it a try, as it wasn’t a stress fracture, so I just figured that I would head to Canada and see how it goes. Dr Sellers helped me along the way with ART. The day before the race I attempted my first run in about 2 weeks. Maybe being delusional, I was hoping that the pain would be magically gone. I made it about 20 seconds into the run and the pain kicked in. While I was very upset that my foot was still in pain, I was oddly relieved. I was worried/stressed all week about my foot and the race and now I had some resolution. The race was 1 day away and my run would be painful. I could finally readjust my goals….just make it to the finish line.

I couldn’t resist adding this comment from race registration. At Ironman registration they put a writstband on you so that you can get into transition, meals, etc. When the volunteer was attaching my wristband, she tried to stress that I shouldn’t take it off. However, it didn’t come across quite right as she said, “Ok, so you are going to want to leave this on ‘til death do us part”. Not something a racer wants to hear a couple days before an IM with huge descents!

I slept poorly the night before the race and woke up about every 30-60 minutes, but had good sleep on Friday night. I had my first “breakfast” of Ensure and Gatorade Energy drink at 3am, went back to sleep and woke up a little after 4 for the next breakfast and to get ready for the day. We took the nice walk down the creek to the race site, dropped off the special needs bags, and got body marked. We dropped off the salt tabs, pumped up our tires, and dropped off the bike nutrition. After a long wait in the bathroom line, we donned the wetsuits, last bathroom stop and off to the beach.

Due to my foot condition, I was the least nervous I have ever been before a race. It was almost like getting ready for a long workout with over 2200 of my closest friends. I was just going to see how I could hold up on the run.

SWIM

2.4 miles, 1:09:01, 1:49/100m, 181 avg. HR (seems awfully high! equipment?)

542 out of 2211 overall, 100 out of 332 in age group

Goals: 1:13 (stretch), 1:13 (likely), 1:15 (fall back)

Lauren and I positioned ourselves mid-wide left, said our goodbyes and I moved up a bit to about 8 deep. Peter Reid set the cannon off and race began. As usual, it was a fairly brutal swim for me. Anytime you put 2200 people in the water at the same time and have them start swimming at the same time, it isn’t going to be a relaxing swim. I was hit a few times and kicked in the goggles (good thing triathletes don’t kick much). I swallowed a fair amount of water, but managed to just keep moving. While the packs thinned, it never really let up, as there were plenty of people not sighting and zig-zagging. At the first turn at 1600 meters, I was happy to see that I was ahead of my swim goal time. I checked my watch on the home stretch and realized that I could break 1:10. My day was starting off better than planned. I swam as long as possible, stood up, pulled the top of my Desoto 2 piece wetsuit off, worked the bottom down, ran up the beach, and had the wetsuit strippers remove the bottom.

T1: 4:07 (Goal 3:00)

Now on to grab the T1 bag, change tent, and off to the bike. I decided to take my time in transition, as I would rather relax just a bit, get comfortable by applying a generous amount of body glide and put sunscreen on (from the volunteers). While I was worried before the race that I might need arm warmers, I came out of the water a bit overheated (even though the water temp was about 65) due to the thick Desoto wetsuit and my high exertion level. I thought that the air temp would warm up soon enough…and it did.

BIKE

112 miles, 5:05:27, 22 mph, 161 HRavg

Power: 207 (normalized), 193 (average), 1.07 VI, 294 TSS

48th fastest bike split overall (79 race place), 6th in age group (16 age group race place).

Goals: 5:15(stretch), 5:20(likely), 5:35(fall back), 200 watts

I was surprised that there were so many bikes near my bike when I grabbed it off the rack. I figured that I would be further back in the pack, but I guess my improvement in swim time moved me up a few places. Heading out on Main Street there were tons of spectators cheering away. The bike crowd wasn’t as bad as expected and I just stayed left and eased through. The Canada bike course generally has a quick start all the way out to Richter Pass (~40miles), with the exception of the steepish climb up McClean Creek Rd. We did have a head wind, but it was still a quick ride. My old hamstring injury crept up during he bike, but my hope is that it would subside and it did after about 1 hour I was somewhat disappointed that I saw a lot of people drafting (cheating) as I headed south through the orchards. Sometimes I would comment to them that they were drafting, cheating, remind them of the rules, but I in the end I was doing my own race, and they were going to do what they wanted to (and hopefully get caught). I started the climb up Richter pass and still felt awesome. Normally when I race I don’t look around at all, don’t comment, just very focused on the high intensity effort. Climbing up Richter, I was sticking to my goal and it felt easy. This part of the course is in the desert, the sun was shining, and it was quite warm. I was “that guy” making a few comments as I headed up the mountain pass. “Beautiful day for a ride”. This was the first area that I had a few people re-pass me, as I wasn’t about to overdo it on the big climb. After cresting the pass, the fast downhill began. I am more of a cautious descender than a crazy fast one. I was passed by a few people that I passed on the climb, but I was confident that I was just going to stick to my race. The roller section of the course started which has many hills of varying sizes. I was happy to hear that one competitor was commenting like I was and he yelled at someone that was drafting off of me. They got in a big argument. I just kept moving along. During the rollers, it was confirmed that the ride was going well, as I started to catch some of the pro women that started 15 minutes before us. Anything to cheer you up helps! I was surprised that the rollers were over and the Keremos flats to the out and back were already here. Last year at the race Lauren and Josh were both stung by bees. Knowing this, I was kind of expecting to get stung at some point during the day. During this section I had 1 fly into my helmet by my ear/sunglasses, so I ripped off my sunglasses and pulled him out before he got me. I had a few bounce of my aero helmet, but had 2 go into the small vents in the front. My plan was to not do anything and hope that they would fly out. I didn’t feel any stinging pain, so figured it was ok (turns out I had a nice bump on my forehead from 1). During the out and back section my gu flask exploded so I ditched it at the aid station. Not needing the special needs, I kept trucking along, still feeling strong. Many people say that Ironman starts at mile 80 of the bike. At mile 80, I felt great, at mile 90, I started feeling the effects and my power dropped slightly. After the Yellow Lake climb (+2), there is a long descent into town. My plan was to make it to the descent and then recover. I was worried that I might have pushed a bit too hard, but once I made it to the top, I was happy with how I felt as it was time for the very long descent/recovery. On the descent I was passed by 3-5 people (including a female pro), but I was fine with it as I would rather arrive safely then end up on the ground.

My goal wattage for the race was 200 watts. My plan was to try and keep the Power Tap about 210 watts on the flats, push a little harder on Richter, Yellow, and the rollers, and step it up another notch on McClean, and the final 2 climbs past Yellow. I contemplated prior to the race upping my wattage goals, as I knew that I wouldn’t be trained for the run (walk?) and I would lose a lot of time with or without a hard bike. However, I decided to just stick to my goals for learning purposes and see if I could accomplish my bike goals. My averages were right where I wanted them to be (207 norm, 193 avg). As an age grouper at Ironman, you need to do your own race. If it comes down to the last few miles and you find yourself battling for a few positions, you can step outside your plans and try and go for it. So, keeping to my bike plans, I was shocked that I was passing people all day. I was feeling great and the bike felt easy, as I was riding at wattage that I calculated from testing, racing, and training in the months leading up to the event. While I didn’t know it at the time, I moved up from 542nd overall to 79th by the end of the bike. I had the 6th fastest bike out of over 330 people in my age group. While people pick on me for “modifying” my equipment (Lauren, James), I have worked hard on making my position, bike, and equipment aero and comfortable. I think the latest modifications really worked and I ended up with a solid ride.

T2: 4:11, Goal 3:00

Once again, I was going to keep moving through transition, but make sure that I took care of everything (more sportslick and sun screen). I was taking my time as I took care of business and headed towards the exit. However, before I even made it out of T2, the foot pain kicked in. The run was going to be “interesting”.

RUN

26.2 miles, 3:52:07, 8:52/mile, 159 HRavg

216th overall, 45th age group

Goals pre-injury: 3:30 (stretch), 3:35(likely), 3:45(fall back), post-injury revised goal: finish the race

Ah, the run. My normal Ironman strategy is to take it 10k at a time. When things get rough, I back it off to aid station to aid station. I knew that the run would be a rough one, as by mile 3, the foot pain was strong. My strategy was mile by mile…for the rest of the race. I walked the aid stations and tried to keep my pace to the next one. Just make it to the finish line. A few weeks ago I was very upset with my foot situation and was upset about the fact that I wasn’t going to be able to race to my potential. ….However, several things kept me in check. My injury is extremely minor compared to many of the ailments that people have.

After leaving town, the out and back course goes along the lake to OK Falls. I was happy to see a friend, Marky V, a pro triathlete, former Austinite with Wisconsin ties, on his run back in. Mark had an amazing swim and led the race on the bike. During my entire run South there was a very strong headwind. The weather report predicted the strong southerly wind which was supposed to turn to a northerly one in the afternoon. There were small swells on the lake and the flags were flying straight. I tried to draft off people and did get blown to the side a few times. It was just another challenge for the day. At the base of the climb at McClean Creek Rd I recognized the voice of a bystander. It was Peter Reid (former world champion) cheering for me! (I am sure that I was the only one that he was cheering for ). Everything helps on the run…. I continued to push the ups and downs down to the “hole” at the turnaround and special needs area. I grabbed my bag and pulled the emergency Red Bull out. I drank about a of it and picked it back up….time for the head home.

After about 1 mile in the return, the wind stopped. The “tail-wind” was non-existent. Everyone was “joking” about it, but oh well, keep it moving. Like clockwork, after hitting mile 16 (which is now my longest run in the last couple of years), my IT bands and hips flared up. The foot pain increased throughout the run and now I had complete lower body pain….and 10 miles to go. Aid station to aid station…..

I really had to dig deep during the run. Really deep. I prayed, used a few of my personal mantras throughout the run, “TriHarder”, “Never give up”…something Dave Scott wrote for me before my first tri in 1997, and I also thought about the reasons that I was doing the race. I have been coaching the Leukemia and Lymphoma Societies Team in Training since I moved to Austin. Lauren and I decided to use this race and the Nike Women’s Marathon (and half-marathon) as an opportunity to fundraise for the cause. During the run, I thought about my honorees and cancer survivors (my Dad and Leesa), as well as my first Honored Hero when I started coaching TNT, Jennifer Wilks. While Jennifer battled cancer for years, sadly, she lost her battle to cancer. During her funeral, cards were passed out with her picture and a poem that she wrote entitled “The Mountain”. I thought about her and her poem of climbing the mountain 1 step at a time. A little Ironman run isn’t anything.

POST-RACE

I finished the race in 10:14:52, a personal best. I was 111th out of the 2200 athletes racing (including pros) and I was 28th in my age group. The last 5 miles I was in so much pain, that to be honest, I didn’t really take in the moment. I just wanted to make it aid station to aid station to finish. I saw Lauren with ?5-7k to go? And was happy to see her, but just couldn’t say/respond much. In my past Ironmans I soaked up crowd in the finish chute, looked around, listened…but this one, I was completely zoned out trying to keep it going to the finish. The finish line photo sure does show that. After a few minutes of keeping moving after the race and drinking a recovery drink, I went for a massage to try and relieve some of the pain. I got a lengthy massage and was happy to be in a tent out of the pouring rain, as it started with about 1 mile to go and I was now freezing as I wasn’t moving any longer. After laying on my stomach during the massage, I realized that I could no longer dorsiflex my foot without extreme pain. It was now slightly swollen and red. There wasn’t any way I could put pressure on it. The massage therapist at the next table did the flick test on it (checking for stress fracture). Next, the wheel chair came to move me to the med tent. I knew that walking was out of the question, but just hoping that it was just revolting from the stress. A doc checked it out, I iced it for about 30 minutes and spent another 50 hunched over as the post-Ironman nausea set in. I just stayed out of the way with my ice and I tried to eat something so that I could take anti-inflammatories, but just couldn’t stomach food. The pain subsided and I was able to “walk” on it. I grabbed my bike, dropped it off at TriBike Transport, and walked home to shower/change to make it back to finish to see Lauren. I am sure that many of you will read her report. Her day started off well in the water, but she had a very rough day on the bike as her brake locked for the entire ride…..to the point that people would say that her bike sounded cool (thinking it was a disk), but it was the brake! Mechanical support couldn’t fix it, so she just kept going. A very emotional ride. She pushed through the run with extremely fatigued legs from the ride to put together a decent run.

FINAL WORDS

I am very, very happy with my performance. While it wasn’t the exact race that I had originally planned on, I am very happy with my time considering my injury and 7 weeks of run de-training. I had no idea what to expect on race day, as I was just going to do what my body would allow during the run. Thankfully, I was able to push through the pain with a respectable time. While I wasn’t physically able to reach my pre-injury goals, this Ironman was still a big PR for me, as I beat my previous IM time by about 1 hour and 24 minutes. The swim, bike, and nutrition really came together. It just shows that if you stick to your plan, make adjustments when necessary, you can do it. For this race I trained less than previous races, but much smarter. I would like to thank Lauren, my family, and friends for their support and motivation. Many of you played a role in this accomplishment.

Yes, there is still time to donate to our fundraising for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. I am currently at $2200 and my personal goal is to reach at least $3000. Please go to my fundraising website (http://pages.teamintraining.org/ctx/nikesf08/mpahnke) and donate online or send a check to me (5710 Chesterfield Ave, Austin, TX 78752) made out to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Yes, donations are tax-deductible. Thank you for your support!

BRIEF SUMMARY

Lauren and I signed up for Ironman Canada as an event to fundraise for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (along with the Nike Marathon and half-marathon). While I had a foot injury which kept me from running the 7 weeks prior to the race, I still had a personal best at the Ironman distance. My swim went well (69 minutes), the bike went great (5:05), nutrition was on, and I suffered due to the injury for the entire marathon (3:52). With a finish time of 10:14:52, I placed 111th out of over 2200 people. I was 28th in my age group (out of ~330). It was a PR of over 1 hour and 24 minutes. In the end, it was an effort that I am very pleased with. Yes, there is still time to support us in our fundraising.

Thanks to all of you that have already donated, and a special thanks to our corporate sponsors, Performance Wellness and Texas Sports and Family Medicine.