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		Ironman Madison Wisconsin 2004 Starting this report takes me well back in my training. Anyone who has ever done an Ironman knows that the real test doesn’t come on race day alone, it begins months in advance. So this is were I’ll begin. Don’t worry; I’ll try to keep it brief. My season began with a few running races that seemed to show I was in just as good, or even better running shape than ever. Leading into the Lakeside sprint I felt like things were progressing well. Had a mentally tough day there, but managed to regroup for a few more running races. Tri training had been showing some real promise at this time also, so I felt good going into the Peterborough Half IM. Those of you close to me know that it was a really difficult weekend for me, and those of you not so close, well just know that it was a real struggle just to get to Peterborough. Feeling like I really needed to test myself, I decided to go to Collingwood and see what I could pull off. That day things turned around for me. I wasn’t too happy with the swim, and the bike felt even worse, but I had to try and salvage the day. Starting the run over 5 min down I thought I would be racing for 2nd. But at the turn around I realized I had to either settle for a mediocre season, or go for it right then and there. Well, I went for it. And I’m glad I did. It wasn’t the fact that I won the race, but it felt good. See I’ve skipped a big part just to get to here. 7 days before going to Collingwood I tore my left Achilles tendon. I hadn’t biked or ran since the Sunday before, and the swelling had just gone down the day before. So I raced because I had such a bad day in Peterborough. I knew that I’d have to deal with my Achilles again, but also had this feeling that it would be getting better soon. So with the help of one of my colleagues, Don DiGiueseppe, I managed to hold my body together for a little while longer. The next week I turned 35 on the Sunday. I’ve always wanted to race on my B-Day, and it just so happened there was an 8km RR in Exeter. I spent some time there in grade 3 and 4, and just so happened that this is were I first started running. So I HAD to do this one, even if I jogged it, which I did. This day was so much fun, esp. since my parents were able to come and look after Sage while I ran, what a great feeling to have my little girl at the finish with such big hugs and kisses for her dad. Ok, so I’m getting off topic, but that happens when I talk about Sage……J I ended up taking a total of 3 ½ weeks of no running or biking!!! This is certainly not the best way to prepare for an IM. My Achilles didn’t really feel good enough to train properly until 3 weeks out from IM. So, while I would normally be getting into a taper, I’m trying to get my body back to training again. In a desperate test of my fitness I decided to do the Parry Sound Half IM 2 weeks out from IM. I stuck to my plan of swimming hard, biking the first 70km hard and then cruising until the run, running the first 10km hard and cruising the rest of the way in. I was really happy with it. Nothing really hurt my Achilles, and I felt pretty strong on the hills on the bike. The downhills of the run felt abit touchy but I managed to have a pretty good day. The next 2 weeks went by without any major incidence. Erin and I left for IM with a lot of questions within our abilities, but also feeling very excited to finally go to IRONMAN. The big day was coming and all we could do was roll with what ever came our way. We’ve both been doing fairly well at taking all of the punches thrown our way, from some really ridiculous accusations, to our own lack of faith in our prep for IM. But I guess that is what you can expect from a small town like St. Thomas…….but, just so everyone is clear on this, Erin or myself are not on any type of performance enhancing supplements! I do take my training and racing very seriously, but not serious enough to trick my own DNA. Those of you close to me know, that I don’t even take Advil or Tylenol…… So, if anyone has anything else to say on this topic, feel free to give me a call or email me directly instead of going through the old school gossip channels. Ok, enough of that, I just felt I had to get that off my chest……… We arrived late Wed night at Angie and Chuck Diggs in Verona Wisconsin. Next morning after spending abit of time getting to know our new found support crew, we were off to Lake Monona for a swim. Just as we were getting ready for the swim, we ran into Jan Strangmueler. This was great because I hadn’t seen him for two years, (we shared a home stay at IM Florida). Erin, Jan and I went to splash around for about 30 min or so, and we all agreed that the water felt great. This was a good way to start the day. We ran into Dave Harju and chatted for abit before getting our race kits. What a beautiful city! Erin and I did some sight seeing tonight knowing that it would be best not to spend too much time on our feet the days leading up to the race. Next morning was pretty much the same, except that as we were getting to the water for our morning swim, we ran into pretty much everyone from London and St.Thomas, either before or afterwards. Again, a really good swims, trying not to take things too seriously. I find it better to relax and joke around a lot leading up to major races. As we finished our swim we ran into a couple of friends from Chicago and did our last run with them. This helped scare the shit out of us, as we seemed to find every hill surrounding the downtown area. Still felt better getting in some time on our feet. Tonight’s dinner was great, we managed to find the London crew. Mid way through we found Erin’s St. Thomas connection, on stage!! Mike Reilly decided to get a first time IM competitor on stage for a bit of an interview. We were surprised to see it was Bridgett!! Good representation for Canadians and esp. those from Ontario!! I never really felt nervous for this one, (my 5th time starting an IM). Even the morning of the race things just seemed to go smoothly. I guess because we were both just happy to make the starting line. It was now a matter of enjoying all the hard work we’ve put in over the preceding year. I love doing triathlons, and the good thing about IM, is that it lasts soooo much longer. Plenty of time to soak up the good vibes from all of the great spectators. Floating in the water, just a few minutes to go, it’s nice to see that Chuckie “V” and Nicole Deboom had the same idea as I before racing, have fun. A couple silly jokes and off we go….. Mid way through the swim and I’m starting to realize that I’m here for the real deal, no faking an IM….. Out of the water with no real problems and onto the long run to T1. The bike just never felt right. My quads were cramping within the first 10 miles…..this is not good. I start to think, this is going to be a long day, and it was…….Even when the pros have bad days we still have to follow different rules than the age groupers. I mention this because one guy decided to turn IM racing into a full contact sport, and I found myself being shoved as if I were in a sprint finish at the Tour De France. Weird. Funny thing was, even with my sub par performance, I ended up passing him later on in the bike. Speaking of the Tour, the crowds on the hills were amazing, cow bells and all! They made some of the steeper ones go by with a lot less effort Starting the run I thought I could try and salvage a decent run. Well, that idea went out the door by about 4 miles. So I then settled in for a long walk/run. I kept thinking how funny it was, all of us out here wearing our high tech clothes, walking! I did actually see a couple of women power walking, and you know what, they were smiling! I kept thinking everyone I know would catch me, and I was actually looking forward to seeing them. Erin finally came up to me at about 12 ½ miles. She tried to get me to run with her, but the cramps in my legs I felt early on the bike, well, they were still there. It took some convincing, but she finally went on about her business. So, within 13 miles she put almost 30 min on me, hehe. She really does have a faster marathon time than I do….. Coming into the finish, I didn’t feel all that great, I mean, happy. I was just glad to be done, I just felt done, in so many ways….. As if there was no emotion involved with this IM. It took so long to gather all of our bags and get back to the car. We both felt sick and obviously physically drained. I had to lay down in the grass about 400m away from the car, because I couldn’t make it, I had to rest. I owe a big thanks to Erin for going on and coming to pick me up. Sounds funny doesn’t it, but, I’m serious……Back at Angie and Chucks for a hot tub before bed. Next day and we shifted our focus from race prep to celebrating. Talking with the other pros later and it hits me, how nice it is to meet people from countries like the Czech Republic, Croatia, Australia, and even the odd American, (hehe, just kidding). So we have another long drive to look forward to get home. Managed to save getting lost until after we went through Chicago. I really had a great time in Madison, hopefully this race will get into my sched again next year. I really want to thank Angie and Chuck Diggs for welcoming us into their home. And All of my sponsors, Adidas, Runners’ Choice, Hwy Nineteen, Superfeet Footbeds, Endurox R4, and London Honda, without your continuing support I wouldn’t have made it. Also, all the people I’ve trained with, thanks for pushing me. I look forward to getting back out and enjoying some quality miles very soon. The season isn’t over yet. I still have the 25km Vulture Bait Trail Race and the last 10km of the Runners’ Choice series to go. Then I can look forward to winter. Thanks again. Shawn Reeder