As a loyal reader, you'll know that Laine and I have been expecting a new addition to our family. The first question anyone asks when they find out you're expecting is, "Do you know what you're going to have?" We didn't ask to learn the sex of our baby at the 20 week appointment but knew we could always choose to find out later. So, we didn't decide not to find out, we just didn't decide to find out.
Some people would lobby for us to find out so that we could better plan and prepare for baby's arrival. On the other side, we heard that finding out the sex at birth was one of life's only surprises. We also heard a more strategic argument for not finding out -- you'll get way more practical gifts at your baby showers.
As I was driving to Peoria's St. Francis hospital on Thursday evening, Laine soaring above me in a life-flight helicopter, I couldn't help but chuckle at the thought that this was a way bigger surprise than finding out whether we were having a boy or a girl.
Hours earlier, Laine had come home from work with nausea and a headache. We talked to a nurse and were encouraged to check in at the hospital, which we did. They ran some blood tests, pressure, etc. and said we'd be spending the night to make sure everything stabilized. I went home to pack a bag but was still at home when Laine called to tell me that she was going to be flown to Peoria. I was back at the hospital before the flight nurses arrived to get her situated and was able to walk her down to the hospital exit before we parted ways, each taking our own way to St. Francis.
We're lucky to have such supportive family and friends and I felt especially lucky that Laine's oldest sister was able to meet her at St. Francis when her helicopter landed. I arrived a few minutes later and Laine and Jaime were already settled into a room in labor and delivery. The staff prepared us for the fact that Laine would not likely go full term and may deliver within the day if necessary.
Laine was a trooper those next four days. She was put on meds that made her feel awful but were good for the baby and she took it in stride. We could not have managed as well as we did were it not for the amazing staff at St. Francis. They were able to prepare us for the reality of what was going on while also reassuring us that we couldn't be in a better place. I found myself relieved instead of scared. This was not what we had planned but I felt a sense of calm knowing that Laine and our baby were being cared for by the St. Francis staff.
From Friday through Sunday, Laine's blood pressure dropped and blood work looked better each day. She even made the move back to real clothes after being in a hospital gown for a few days. But late Monday morning, things started to creep back to where they were on Thursday/Friday. The only cure for Laine was delivery, so that's what we prepared for Monday evening.
As a side note, I really can't say enough about our doctor and the staff. By the time we knew we were heading for delivery, we were as prepared as we'd ever be. I knew that I would be in with Laine but then follow baby to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), take some pictures, get her settled, then check in on Laine and show her some photos. They had assured us that the medicines they'd given Laine the past four days would help our baby's development and they were very positive about the expected outcomes.
The four hours leading up to delivery were the hardest because Laine was getting so sick. Baby Miller was definitely ready to make an entrance. When we finally got to delivery everything went quickly and before we knew it, the doctor asked "Dad, do you want to come back here and see or do you want me to announce if you have a boy or girl?" We asked him to shout it out which he did, telling us that we had a baby girl!
"Come on Dad" was the next thing I heard. I looked over my shoulder and saw a nurse heading for the door with our daughter. I kissed Laine, popped out of my chair, and followed the nurse to the next room where they prepared our daughter for transport to the NICU. "Get in here and get some pictures," the nurses instructed. So I snapped a few.
I call this one "The Actor"
Cozy and ready for her trip to her room in the NICU.
The nurses put her in a baby box and wheeled Linden into the delivery room for Laine to get a quick look at our daughter. That was a special moment that I'll always remember. Next, our entourage began the procession to the NICU, first pausing in the hallway to announce to that the arrival of our daughter, Linden Bloom.
The NICU is down two floors and about a 5 minute walk from labor and delivery, but it was an exciting walk. Linden was wheeled into her own room where she was weighed and measured. She tipped the scales at 2 lbs 13 oz and measured out to 15 & 3/4 inches long, so she's long and lean like her mom.
I spent some time with this new special lady before heading back up to check on Laine and show off some photos of our daughter. Laine was in good spirits and feeling comfortable.
Proud Mom & Dad holding Linden's knit touque.
My parents arrived and were thrilled to meet their first grandchild and see that Laine was feeling well. Laine's mom spent the night in her daughter's room and I spent the night in my daughter's room. With all the monitors and notifications lights and sounds, it was kind of like sleeping in a pinball machine, but it was still amazing.
The next few days can best be described as busy. Between moving rooms, visitors, vitals, pumping, visits to Linden, etc., it seemed like there was never a dull moment. I honestly can't think of a busier week in my life. A week ago, I wasn't sure what I was going to do with all my excess energy following the Ironman. Now I know that I was training for something completely different. Luckily, it has paid off.
We are expecting that Laine will be discharged from the hospital tomorrow morning, so we will take our first trip back to Bloomington in 9 days. We'll assess things there and settle in for the adventure to come.
The quick version: The race went almost exactly as I hoped it would go. I knew that if I had a great day, I could swim 1:15 and I swam 1:13. A good bike would take me about 6 hours and it took me 6:15, but that's because I had a 15 minute stop to fix a broken derailleur cable. A strong run would be about 3:30-3:40 and I ran the marathon in 3:30. So, my finish time was 11:13 though, in my head, my unofficial time is 10:58 adjusting for the equipment issues on the bike. :)
The long version:
First, I need to acknowledge how thankful I am for my wife. Laine is such a supportive, encouraging, motivating, and understanding person. I'm lucky to know her and honored to be her husband. I've always been a bit uncomfortable training for an Ironman race because it's one of the most selfish things you can do. I don't mean that people who compete in them are selfish, I simply mean that training for these events requires you to be selfish at times. Anyone who competes in an Ironman distance race shares their accomplishment with their friends and family.
My training plan for Ironman Louisville included more volume (basically, more time) than my training plan for Madison. My peak training weeks were between 16-20 hours and included several 5-6 hour bike rides and 2+ hour runs. Someone suggested to me that this kind of high volume training was "old school." I can't say whether that's true or not, but it seemed to work for me.
Laine and I drove down to Louisville on Friday morning, stopping at Arby's for lunch. We checked into the Fairfield Downtown Louisville and they were great. They had all sorts of perks for Ironman athletes that weekend: complimentary water and Gatorade all weekend (and beer after the race), grease rags, bagged breakfast Saturday evening/Sunday morning, late breakfast Monday morning, etc.
We unpacked and I checked in at the convention center. It was a bit of a mess because they ran out of backpacks (the big giveaway) and they also ran out of the bags used for transition, special needs, etc. You have to have these for the race (by their own rules) so I knew it would get worked out.
Next we went to the pre-race dinner and meeting. We saw some friends from the Tri-Shark Club in Bloomington and also saw Gena and Matthew Melick and Brian Rawlins. It was a new experience to know so many other Ironman racers.
There were a lot of great t-shirts at the pre-race dinner/meeting, but this one was by far the most hardcore and I liked it enough that I chased the wearer down for a picture.
The meeting wrapped up around 8:45, so basically bedtime. We headed back to the Fairfield to make some plans for the next day and wind down. It was at that point I noticed that the left side of the tire on my rear wheel was worn down to the point that you could see wire mesh under the rubber. This was obvious cause for concern and would need some attention. Laine, always the calming influence, told me that she'd take the bike to the repair store in the morning while I took a test swim in the Ohio River.
The Ohio River gets a bit of a bad reputation. Perhaps because you can find images like the one. It's a good photo for "I spy," though. I spy a dead fish, what do you see?
We spent the afternoon in the hotel, packing up my transition and special needs bags and eating Jimmy Johns. Next, we walked the bags and my bike to transition to leave them there, ready for the race tomorrow.
The Twanows and Dad got into town in the afternoon and we all walked to dinner at Pesto's at 4:30. We were the first ones seated but the room quickly filled with other athletes and families. We were back in the hotel before 7 and in bed by 9. Laine had placed an order for lime "IronVan" shirts for fans and had sent them out to family in advance of the race. It was so nice to spend the evening looking at photos of my virtual fans. I'm lucky to have such supportive people in my life.
Laine and I both slept well, but morning came quickly. I ate a piece of toast with peanut butter, honey and banana and drank a chocolate Ensure before heading to transition with my water bottles for the bike and my special needs bags. I dropped everything off, then Laine and I walked one mile to the swim start.
Athletes had to line up, single file, at the swim start. 3,000 of us standing in a straight line seemed to amount to about a mile and half. We must have walked for 30 minutes to get to the end. As a result, everyone in line was a bit giddy and laughing about how it felt we were in another town. The pro athletes started at 6:50 and the rest of the field began at 7, which is when we started to walk back toward the starting line.
As we approached the pier, the pace began to quicken. Before I knew it, we were splitting into two lines and jogging toward the water. I was suddenly on the pier and didn't think twice about jumping right in. Let Ironman Louisville begin! Wait...I didn't start my watch. Begin, now!
As with every race, the beginning of the swim was chaotic. There were people everywhere and we were swimming directly into the sunrise, so you couldn't see in front of you. By the time we made the turn, the field had begun to thin out but I'd already had to stop a couple times to dump water from my goggles. I imagined the Ohio River water in my eye and hoped I didn't develop an eye infection during the rest of the race.
The second half of the swim was really good because I was able to find open water and get into a rhythm. As I swam for the exit, a volunteer reached out to grab me but must have slipped because she disappeared under the water. Maybe a catfish grabbed her. I didn't stick around to find out.
I exited the water with a swim time of 1:13, which was two minutes faster than I thought I'd be if I swam well, so the day was off to a good start.
Triathlon transition areas are always a bit hectic. Official volunteers are calling out athlete numbers to other volunteers who run ahead to locate the athlete's transition bag. The athlete then transitions from a swimmer to a cyclist. In my case, this involved toweling off my head and feet (in that order!), putting on socks, taking out my helmet, sunglasses Illinois Wesleyan cycling jersey (had to represent IWU at Ironman) and shoes, and stuffing my cap and goggles in the now-empty bag.
I ran to a volunteer who was applying sunscreen to athletes (yes, that's a job) in just my socks and triathlon shorts, carrying the rest. Triathlon shorts, by the way, look like bike spandex but have minimal padding -- just enough to help on the bike portion but not enough to get in the way during the swim and the run. After getting my sunscreen, I put on the jersey, sunglasses and helmet, ran to my bike, put on my clunky cycling shoes, grabbed my bike off the rack and jogged out of transition.
There were tons of fans lining the transition exit, including the best fans of all -- the ones wearing the lime IronVan shirts. It's a very exciting time during the race because you're full of energy and fans are cheering you on. The key is to not get carried away. This is the beginning of a 112 mile bike ride, which I expected to take approximately 6 hours, so the goal is to exert a consistent, maintainable effort for the duration. Any spikes in effort will catch up with you later in the race.
I'm lucky to know some competitive triathletes through the Tri-Shark Triathlon Club in Bloomington. Chris Sweet is one such triathlete who also happens to work at IWU. He encouraged me to do a cycling "power test" three weeks prior to the race, to help me get an idea of how I should pace on the Ironman bike. The test was basically this: ride 25 miles as hard as you can. He had lent me a rear wheel and computer that would measure my power output in watts. Chris then gave me a range to try to stay in and suggested that I shoot for an average power of 185 watts.
I tell you all that because looking at the power computer was pretty much all I did for six hours on race day. I was able to rent a set of Zipp wheels with a power computer from the Tri-Shark Club. So, being only the second time that I'd ridden with a power computer this year, I was glued to the screen, trying to keep my effort in check. It's much harder than you would think. The bike course is quite hilly, much hillier than I'm used to, and going up a hill will spike your power. If you're not intentional about watching, you'll suddenly look down to see 385. Those are the types of spikes in power that will hurt you later on, so I stayed glued to the screen and took in the scenery on the flat parts of the course.
Riding at a consistent level of power is similar to driving in cruise control on the highway. There were groups of riders who would pass me going up a hill (because I'd be sitting back, trying to keep my power under 250), then I'd pass them when we leveled off or went down a hill just before they'd pass me back again. It could have been annoying, but everyone is so focused on their own race I don't think many people even noticed.
Some people have said that the Ironman is a bike race with a swim warm-up and a jog to the finish, wrapped around an eating contest. I've found that to be, at least partially, true. People who are strong cyclists have a distinct advantage. An average Ironman cyclist may take 6:46 riding 16.5 mph, where an elite Ironman cyclists may take 4:51 riding 23 mph (that's nearly 2 hours less time on the bike!).
I was able to improve my bike time from 6:41 last Ironman to 6:16 this year. I really like to think that I biked a 6:01 this year because I spent 15 minutes of my ride standing on the side of the road, watching the clock tick, as a bike tech fixed my derailleur cable. Here's what happened: around mile 70, I noticed that my rear gears were not responding well when I shifted. They'd take too long to change or they'd change on their own, especially in the lower, easier gears. So, when I was going up a hill and in the lowest gear, I took a look at my cable and could see (and feel) that the cable was frayed and appeared to be totally severed. I was still able to change a few gears (not sure how), but it was going to be a long 40+ miles if my rear derailleur gave out completely, leaving me without the use of 10 gears in back and only 2 gears to choose from.
Luckily, I came upon a rest stop (spaced every 12-18 miles) and there was a bike technician there. I asked him if he thought I could continue to ride or if I'd need to replace my cable. He said I definitely needed a repair and that he'd get to it after he finished changing the tube on another athlete's bike. Nothing much I could do for the 15 minutes I waited. Just drink water, use the john, and make small talk with the local volunteers, thanking them for their help. Once I was back on the bike, I was only 40 short miles from getting back off.
As I alluded to with the "eating contest" statement above, nutrition is critical to a successful race. Everyone has their own plan for what works for them. I can only tell you what works for me. In the morning, I eat toast with peanut butter, banana and honey, as well as 1-2 Ensure shakes. I sip Gatorade until we're inside of an hour to start, then switch to water and have a gel about 20 mins before jumping in the water. On the bike, I mix two concentrate bottles, each with 3 servings of Infinit. Each serving has nearly 300 calories and I go through one serving an hour. I pour a third of the bottle into the bottle between my arms (see pics), then fill the rest of the top bottle with water and blow bubbles through the straw to mix it. When I get to the run, I switch to gels. Each gel has 110 calories and I went through 10 of those during the marathon, taking them with water (not Gatorade). That plan worked for me at Ironman Madison and again this year in Louisville. A lot of people struggle with stomach issues during the day, so I'm glad I haven't had those issues.
I finished up the final 40 miles on the bike and felt strong, passing the many riders who zoomed past me while I was sidelined with a broken cable. Back in transition, I replaced my helmet with a cap, bike shoes with running shoes, and cycling jersey with a running top, and headed out for my strongest event -- the marathon.
It's hard to plan a pace for the marathon in an Ironman because there are so many factors at play, even before you take your first step. I had run a 3:12 marathon in the fall and was told that, at best, you'd hope to run 30 minutes slower in an Ironman marathon. So, I was shooting for between 3:30 and 3:40, which means running between 8:00 - 8:23 per mile.
A marathon is a tiring race, especially after swimming and running. I knew that, at best, I'd be able to keep a pace for a large portion of the race. But I worried that, like my last Ironman in Madison, I'd start out fast and gradually slow down. So, when my first two miles were 7:40, I wasn't too worried. I slowed to 8:00, then 8:06 but sped back up to put the next 3 miles under 8:00. The next 5 miles were all over 8:00, but at that point I was nearly halfway finished. The Louisville run course is set up so that you pass the finish line at the halfway mark before heading out for a second loop. This is also where Laine, Dad, Doc and Shirls were cheering, which clearly raised my spirits because the next mile I ran was 7:20, which I have to say scared me a bit. I knew that was too fast, but it also told me that I had more in me.
One difference between this run and the last Ironman run was that I walked through nearly every water stop (placed every mile). The temperature during the run was about 90. We had a very cool summer, which was great for training, just not great preparation for these kinds of temperatures. I knew that heat could be a factor, so every mile, I would dump a cup of ice in my hat and put it on my head, pour ice water on my shoulders and chest, and drink as needed. In addition to the 10 gels that I had on the run, I also tried to listen to my body and eat whatever sounded good, figuring my body knew best. At first, I craved banana, so that's what I ate. Next, I ate chocolate chip cookies (yes, they've thought of everything and have it on the course). Finally, I was grabbing pretzels and potato chips, clearly needing the salt.
I kept my head down and visualized all the photos of people cheering me on, sent days before by family and friends. I should also mention that Eric and Erica Gillhouse, two IWU alumni friends, were cheering out on the course, miles from the finish. It was always great to see them.
The miles fell away and soon I was running toward the "Mile 25" sign, knowing that I'd soon see my fan club and, then, the finish line.
You begin to see more people as you approach the finish on Fourth Street Live. At that point, I began to think about all the training and especially the time and planning that Laine and I had committed to lead to this point. Ironman racing may be one of the most selfish things one can do, but it also provides a great sense of accomplishment, which I imagine is what keeps people coming back.
I saw the finish line up ahead and smiled from ear to ear. I felt great but also felt like I'd left it all on the course. According to people on the internet, Ironman Louisville is one of the best Ironman finishes in the world. It may also be one of the hottest and claim the most DNFs but at least it ends with a bang. People, many who have been drinking for awhile, are cheering all around.
I finished with a spontaneous heel click and then grabbed onto the volunteer who was waiting for me. They always have volunteers at the finish because people are so often in need of immediate assistance. Though I looked and felt good crossing, I knew from Ironman Madison (where I nearly passed out) that things could change quickly. I took down some Gatorade and met up with the family and walked back to the hotel.
When I got to the Fairfield Inn, they had a guy serving beer, water and Gatorade at the door! I grabbed one of each and went up to the room to clean up for dinner. I showered and dressed and, while I was waiting for Laine to finish getting ready, I suddenly threw up into the trash can. It was odd because I'd felt so good and then had a few minutes of nausea and felt fine once more. I brushed my teeth and Laine and I headed down to Fourth Street to meet up with our parents.
The thing I was most looking forward to in training was having a beer on Fourth Street by the finish following the race. Unfortunately, I wasn't very hungry and didn't feel much like having a beer. Too bad too, because the restaurant we were at had great food and beer. Around 10:45, I realized that I was exhausted and just needed to head home. But as I started walking with my dad, I quickly found myself heaving into a garbage can on the street. Knowing that I must be dehydrated and wouldn't be able to replace what I was losing before going to bed, I went to the medical area and asked for a bag of IV. Most people coming in had just crossed the finish, so I looked a bit strange as I was showered and dressed in street clothes. Still, they hooked me up (literally) and, after the first bag, I asked if it would be okay if I had seconds. "You want another?" the doctor asked. "If it's alright," I said, "I mean, I'm already lined in here." They said that wasn't a problem and hung another bag up.
By the time I left, I felt great. I'm glad I had the IV because I felt great the next day and I know that if I'd just gone to bed, I'd have felt terrible. I found out later that nearly a quarter of the athletes ended up there and there was a very high number of athletes who didn't finish. So, I feel very lucky to have had such a good race overall and it was a bonus that I felt recovered so quickly.
After Ironman Madison, I remember thinking that I'd never race another Ironman again. After Louisville, I felt like I could sign up for one in the spring. I'm not going to though. I'm very much looking forward to devoting my time to being a dad instead.
Here's a compilation of videos from the day. Swim, bike and run start and finish. See if you can find me.
Laine and I found nursery furniture the way every parent of our generation does: on the internet. We happened across it one day (it was a "deal of the day" on woot.com) and both thought that, surprisingly, it could be just what we were looking for. We have a lot of wood in our house, so white seemed to be as good a finish as any.
We bought the entire set in one purchase and Laine picked it up from a store after work one day. (I should add that the entire set: crib, changing table, 'armoire,' and dresser, fit in the back of our new kid-friendly Mazda CX-7. Totally redeemed itself for being the cause of me trading in my Scion TC.) I had encouraged her to go alone, knowing that if a pregnant woman arrives alone to pick something like this up from a store, they're going to have to bring out the moving guys from the back to load up the car. This would be much better than me going with her, having these same guys size me up and walk away laughing at the thought of me loading them myself. So that turned out to be a good plan, because these boxes were heavy. We got them inside and into a controlled fall to the floor, where (most of them) remain to this day.
We spent one evening working on assembling the 'armoire.' Laine played the part of foreman and I was the muscle (if you couldn't tell from the pictures). It took a few hours but we finally assembled a finished product. (note: it now has shelves where that empty space on the right is.
These photos were taken of Jesse and Gibson at Nina and Graeme's rehearsal dinner in Chicago.
In my ongoing quest to obtain cool Illinois Wesleyan apparel, I've recently learned that the best route may be to create it yourself.
An alumna suggested that Illinois Wesleyan should have a cycling jersey. As a cyclist myself, I thought this to be a good idea and began a conversation with the University bookstore to see if we could make this happen. It took a bit longer than expected (about a year), but we finally put in an order. I think the bookstore was surprised by how many people wanted an IWU cycling jersey. I'm just glad that they actually fit and looked good because I was selling people on them sight unseen.
One of Laine's culinary life goals has been to learn to make pierogies. Mrs. T's frozen pierogies are a staple in our house and the only pierogies that I've ever known. (Side note: I just realized that Mrs. T's is a funny name. Could Mrs. T be Mr. T's wife?) I think that by roommate Piotr Dabrowski brought some pierogies that his mom made back to school one time, but that would have been the only homemade pierogi that I've ever had.
Laine remembers her that her Grandma Twanow and Aunt Elaine (aka Auntie Lainey) knew how to make delicious homemade pierogies, so when she came to town this year, Laine jumped at the chance to learn the art of pierogi making.
Our pierogies were consistently twice the size of what I've come to recognize as the typical Mrs. T pierogi, but they were quite tasty. We even made some desert pierogies. One had fresh berries and jam and I coined a delicious new creation -- the s'morgie (patent pending). The s'morgie is stuffed with chocolate, marshmallow, and optional smashed banana. I need to pitch that flavor to Mrs. T.
Last year, Dad registered and trained to compete in the Tri-Shark Sprint Triathlon at Lake Evergreen in Hudson, IL. This is a race that Laine and I have competed in for a number of years and have met a number of local triathletes through the Tri-Shark Triathlon Club and this race.
Our annual photo at the finish.
Last year was Dad's first race in years but he did great, surprising even himself. This year, Mother Nature threw some odds against us all. Bloomington-Normal experienced heavy rainfall off and on for a couple weeks prior to the race, which resulted in high levels of e coli in Lake Evergreen. The swim portion was deemed unsafe and replaced with a 2 mile run -- not Dad's favorite leg of the race. As any champion would, Dad put on his game face and completed the 2 mile "warm-up" run, followed by the 13 mile bike and 3.1 mile run, and looked good doing it.
We both survived and had a good time and Laine was there to cheer us on the entire way.
