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October 12th, 2019: Kona Hawaii

There are moments that mark your life. Moments when you realize that nothing will ever be the same again. Time gets divided into two parts. Before this day and After this day. To recognize such a moment shortly after it has passed is a gift. However to know beforehand that a moment like this is about to happen is an incredible blessing. October 12th 2019 was one of these moments!

A Journey that started in the snow in Iowa, March of 2013 ended up with a run down Ali‘i Drive in Kona Hawaii in October of 2019. This is where the finish line is for the Ironman World Championship. I completed the Ironman World Championships in Kona Hawaii. My finishing time was 12:53:57.

Revised

I have been busy Chasing this dream the past 6 years. The journey started as a choice I made back on May 22nd of 2013 to Attempt a single Ironman has now turned into over 6 years of hanging out with some of the most amazing people. I have decided to get back to documenting this journey on my blog and today I am here to say Hello Again. The past 6 years have been filled with many challenges and many setbacks and yet here I am less than 90 days from jumping in the ocean in Kona Hawaii to start what will be my 14th Ironman 140.6 race at the Ironman World Championships!

Over the next few Months I will update what is happening with my current training and I will also post stories about Special events that I have done in the past 6 years to get to this race.

I have tried countless times to sit down and write a race report in the 2 weeks following my Ironman race. So instead of a normal race report I want to tell you about a journey.  This is a journey that started 17 months ago and continues to this day.  I have found that crossing that finish line in Madison Wisconsin was not the end of the journey but rather just another of the many highlights that I have had the opportunity to enjoy along the way. The best part about this journey is how many wonderful people I have met as I traveled the path that led me to that finish line. I have formed friendships that will last far beyond triathlons and races. When I started this journey I was focused on getting to that finish line to be done and be able to say that I did something amazing. Funny thing is that the highlights of my day were not until after I crossed that finish line. This is just a small part of the journey and a story about only two of the hundreds of friends I made along the way.

Long before this day as I was on one of the many training rides I rode with Julie I made her a promise. I said if I can still move once I finish this race I will come back out and find you and give you a big hug on the run course.   The night before the race as I was talking with Katie she nervously asked me to wait for her at the finish line. I agreed and told her I would. There were many more stories like these of friends I would talk to and encourage during the race however these two ladies had become like sisters to me over the course of the summer. We officially met at the MT Horeb Kwik Trip on the very first loop of my first trip to Verona for a training ride on the Ironman bike course back in May.  I finished that loop riding with them and we talked and laughed about anything and everything you could imagine. We rode another loop that day along with another friend Dell. From that day on we kept in contact almost daily for most of the summer. We would bounce ideas off each other and use each other for motivation to get out there and do the workouts even when we did not feel like it. We met in Wisconsin many more times during the year to train together and laugh and share cheese curds and a cold beer or two.

Julie on left Katie In middle and Me on right

Our first swim in Lake Monona Julie on left Katie In middle and Me on right

Cheese Curds and Beer at Greys Tied House

When you prepare for a race like an Ironman they tell you that you will have dark moments during the day and during those dark moments you need to have that “One Thing” you can focus on to get you to push through those moments. So as I get ready on race morning I was thinking a lot about the promises I had made to these two ladies. I was determined to keep these promises at all cost. So my “One Thing” was really “Two Things”. Finish the race with enough energy to still be able to walk and to keep my promises to Julie and Katie.

Julie Katie and Me on Saturday before the race in Monona Terrace

I had a race plan and I was going to execute it. I wanted to swim the 2.4 miles in 1 hour and 20 minutes. I wanted to bike the 112 miles in 5 hours and 45 minutes and I was going to do the math when I ran out of transition to pace my run to finish my race in 11 hours 45 minutes. The overall goal was to not be in the medical tent or carried away from the finish line. I knew if I made these time cutoffs that I would have time to get back to my room and shower and change clothes and come back to the finish line and start tracking both Julie and Katie along with looking for the countless other friends I had still out on the course.

Race Day:

The Swim:

As I sat in the water waiting for the cannon to blast to start the swim portion of the race I was totally at ease. No stress at all. It felt like I had been there before and I was ready to take on this long training day. My mind was totally calm and I even found myself getting bored during the swim portion of the race. Sure I was getting hit and kicked by others swimming around me after all there were 2826 other swimmers trying to swim 2.4 miles as fast as they could too. The swim portion was awesome and I had tears in my eyes as I walked up the boat ramp through the swim finish arch in 1 hour and 20 minutes and 8 seconds. Part one of my plan was complete! Mission accomplished! I walked up the helix which is a four story parking ramp spiral where we had to run through a crowd of family and friends cheering us as we got ready to change clothes into our bike gear. As I got almost to the top I spotted my Son David and Friend Ann yelling at me. I pointed at them and continued on to the top where to my surprise I found Katie. She had finished the swim in about the exact same time as me and we shared a hug  as we ran into the changing rooms.

T1:

I spent 13 minutes and 20 seconds in the changing area and running out to get my bike. They call this T1 or Transition 1.  It was hard to get my clothes on over my wet body. I wanted to make sure I took my time and get everything I would need for the 112 miles on the bike.

The Bike:

I started down the Helix and out onto the course. There were bikes everywhere and we were on a narrow bike trail so I just sat up and pedaled with the pace of everyone. This was a no pass area as it was far too dangerous and you were not going to win the race in this part but you could certainly end your day with a crash here. Once we got onto open roads I got into Aero and started pedaling. I had a max pace of 20mph that I was aiming for on this the first part of the course. I wanted to do the first four hours at this pace. The goal was to slow slightly on the 5^th hour to allow the legs time to recover and then push the last hour as I headed back into Madison and the end of the bike portion of the race. I would ride hard until I came to a big hill then I would sit up and shift to my easiest gear instantly and pedal at a high cadence up the hill. I got passed by many people as they pushed hard to get up the hills and then I would pass them and leave them behind as I was still pedaling on the crest and downhill portion after the hills and they were coasting as their legs were fried from the hill climb. I saw a few friends on the hills and Tiffany a friend from Iowa and someone I had logged countless hours training with was on the last big hill of the loops. She ran alongside me as I climbed and encouraged me and told me I was killing it. It was great to see her on the first loop as that gave me something to look forward to on the second loop. On the second Loop as I climbed that same hill I saw another friend John who grabbed my arm and gave me a nice shove on the rear as I passed him on that same hill. I remember thinking where were you on the other hills I could have used the shove there too after I pedaled away.  I rode back up the helix at the end of the 112 miles on the bike and was pleased to see that I had done my goal time on the bike. I finished the bike portion in 5 hours and 42 minutes46 seconds. I handed my bike off to a volunteer who was there to rack our bikes for us and heading into the changing area of T2.

T2:

I changed out of my bike bibs and jersey and changed into my running shorts and shirt. I grabbed my race belt and some gels for the run and headed out of T2 in 5 minutes and 23 seconds.

The Run:

I started the Marathon 26.2 mile run and headed up towards the capital. I looked at my watch and quickly did the math to figure out what I had to do to reach my goal to finish in 11 hours and 45 minutes. I calculated that I needed to average 10 minutes and 2 seconds per mile pace to finish in that time. I quickly decided to hold back a little on the first half of the run to save my legs and try to finish strong and still running. My goal was to get to the half way turn around and then to recalculate my time I had left to reach my goal. I finished the first 13.1 miles in 2 hours 12 minutes and 5 seconds at an average pace of 10:05 min/mile. I knew I had to speed up for the second half but did not want to push myself so hard that I crashed and had to walk. So I stayed at a steady pace and tried to gain time were I could without getting into that grey area. As I rounded the Capital for the final time and entered the finishing chute I started to sprint to get past a group of runners so that I could have this moment all to myself. As I crossed the finish line I looked up at the clock to see those magical numbers 11:44:09. My official chip time was 11 hours 44 minutes and 11 seconds. I hit every goal I had on the day to this point.

Ironman Wisconsin 2014 Finish Line 11:44:11

Finishers Medal

Dave and Ann were waiting for me at the finish line in the VIP area and we talked for a while as I ate pizza and chips in the finishers tent. I talked with a few other friends about the race too. David and Ann went to get my bike and gear and we met back at the apartment so that I could change and shower. They left to drive home as they both had to work the next day and I showered and headed back to the finish line.

I now started tracking Julie and Katie and heading backwards on the run course. Once I got to State street I waited there as I was finding many friends pass me and I would cheer for each of them as they ran by. I was the most anxious as I waited there looking for Julie to run out of the darkness on that street. When I saw Julie I yelled at her and she ran up and we had the biggest hug ever. I told her she was doing awesome and to keep going. I said I would see her at the finish line in a mile. I cut across the blocks to get to the finish line ahead of her and as she ran down the finishing chute she found me and ran over and gave me a high five.  She had a smile on from ear to ear. It was so surreal to fulfil that promise I made months before to find her on the run after I finished. I met Julie and her Husband Pat and two daughters and other family and friends at the finisher’s tent and I got another hug and you could just see the pride and sense of accomplishment as she smiled and talked to everyone.

Julie and I after the Finish line!

Julie giving me a High Five as she runs down the finishing chute. I am wearing the white finishers hat on the right.

Julie headed back to her room and I started tracking Katie again to see where she was on the course. I had a friend Kerri who was volunteering on the run course so I went out and found her so we could hang out and wait for others to finish. We were there watching for Katie when out of the darkness she ran around the capital and headed down the finishing chute. She was high fiving everyone and then stopped short of the finish to greet her parents for a moment. Then she turned and ran through the finish line.  I saw her parents waiting by the side so I stayed back for a few minutes to allow them to have their time to talk. I went over and we talked about the day and how awesome it was to share this journey. We shared a hug or two and I stayed and I talked with Katie and her parents for a while and then they went back to her hotel to get cleaned up.

Katie and I at the Finish Line!

Both Julie and Katie had exceeded their expectations for the race and they both had awesome and well executed races. It was such a privilege to be a small part of their journeys to that finish line. Who would have known back in May that on this day I would feel more pride and sense of accomplishment watching these two ladies cross that line than I did when I crossed it myself.  What started out as a journey to find out how far I could push myself turned into so much more as I found myself more concerned with getting others to that finish line? Who would have known when I started training that I would share such an emotional journey with so many people I never even knew before I started.

Thank you all for sharing your journey with me! I look forward to where life will lead us in the future and feel confident that our paths will cross again many times!

Until then,

I will See You at the Finish Line!

Dave

I have been trying to find new ways to help out with the efforts of Above + Beyond Cancer. This is something that is important to me and I would love some new ideas on how to raise money for their mission. I am finding that I am not very good about asking people to give money but I need to work on this.

https://www.crowdrise.com/IronmanWisconsin/fundraiser/davidrodda

Please click the link above to find out more about them.

See You at the Finish Line!

Dave

IMT Des Moines Marathon 2013 Results: Today I ran my first Marathon. What an experience and I learned more than I could have ever imagined about myself. The day was cool and I was running close to an 8 min/mile pace for much of the first part of the race.

I was on pace to beat my time I set out to run up until mile 17 when my body started hinting it was not happy with me. At mile 22 both calves locked up with cramps and I went into survival mode. I was no longer running but willing my legs to keep going. After I crossed the finish line every muscle in my legs decided enough was enough. My Official chip time was 3:48:07 and I am ready for a hot bath.

Pre-Race rest day today: IMT Des Moines Marathon is tomorrow. As I sit at my computer today thinking about what I am about to do tomorrow I find myself looking back at all I have done in the last 7 months? It’s kind of surreal to think back to the day I bought the first pair of running shoes to start training for the Dam to Dam 20k race back in March. That was exactly 7 months to the day from tomorrow. 214 days that I have had so many amazing things happen in my life. Tomorrow I will find myself standing with many other crazy runners getting ready to start a 26.2 mile journey into the unknown. The Marathon will be my 11^th race in 5 months since I decided to get off the couch and see if this old man still had anything left in the tank. I have lost 50 pounds logged countless miles on both the bike and on foot. I have swum miles upon miles in both the lake and pools. On March 22^nd I went out for my first run and could not run a full lap on the track. My knees hurt and my body ached just trying to run ¼ mile. I went home that day thinking I would never be able to run a mile. Boy was I wrong! The Message I hope people get when they read this is not of me talking about all I have done but rather of me talking about what I could have missed this summer if I had not been inspired by a friend to get out of my comfort zone and push past the artificial boundaries we place on ourselves. If I can do this, then who can’t?  It all starts with the decision to take the first step. Get out and do something and live life like it was meant to be lived!

I will end this post with one of my favorite quotes about running a marathon:

“At mile 20, I thought I was dead. At mile 22, I wished I was dead. At mile 24, I knew I was dead. At mile 26.2, I realized I had become too tough to kill.” Author Unknown

Start your journey today to find yourself and become the person you were meant to be! What do you have to lose? Nobody gets out of here alive anyhow so why not live today to the fullest?

See You at the Finish Line!

Dave

PS. If you are at the race look for me wearing my new Above and Beyond Cancer shirt. This will be my first race of many that I will support them in their fight to show that their is so much life still to live after Cancer has touched your life! Look for my new post explaining more about this awesome group and how I plan to raise money for them during this amazing journey to Ironman Wisconsin 2014.

If you would like to learn more about their mission please visit their website at http://aboveandbeyondcancer.org/ 

Above and Beyond Cancer

Hy-Vee Triathlon 2013 Race report: Today I did my First 5150 Olympic distance  triathlon. It consisted of a 1500 meter swim, a 40K  bike and a 10k run. The race was held at Grays Lake in Des Moines, Iowa.

Pre-Race Report: The race was delayed 45 minutes due to a thunderstorm that came through at 4am. The water temp was 86.5 degrees so the race was not wetsuit legal. I felt good about the race and was confident heading into transition to setup my gear. I met up with some of my morning swim group and a couple other Zoom athletes in transition and walked together to the beach to the swim start. My wave was third from last so I had over 1.5 hours to warm up in the lake. I actually warmed up three different times to try and stay loose.

Swim Report: The swim start was a time trial start. We lined up with three others in our age group and were sent running into the water to start our race. I lined up with two people I knew were faster than myself so that I could swim behind them and have some room at the start to get into my rhythm and get comfortable. The swim went great except for one minor problem. My goggles were fogged up so bad I could barely see the turn buoys. The Turn buoys were bright green and the line buoys were orange. After I turned at the first turn buoy I sighted something green off in the distance and started swimming towards it. The waves were hitting me in the face when I looked forward to sight as we were swimming into the wind. After what seemed like way too long I noticed I was swimming all alone so I stopped and took off my goggles and looked around. I was way off course and what I thought was a turn buoy was actually a volunteer in a green t-shirt the exact same color as the turn buoys riding a jet-ski. I had to swim back onto the course and head to the actual turn buoy which added some time to my swim. When I got around and was almost at the finish line I hit ground with my hand and stood up and ran a short distance before going back to swimming. All in all it was a great swim for me as I was totally comfortable and kept a slower pace so I would be fresher for the bike. I finished the 1500 meter swim in 40 minutes and 30 seconds. I had done my first swim without any panic and it felt great  to get over that brick wall.

Transition 1 Report: When I got out of the water I sprinted up the hill to get into transition. This short sprint left me gasping for air a bit more than I wanted. When I arrived at my bike I sat down and drank a bottle of my energy drink and changed into my biking gear and grabbed my bike and headed out to Bike out. Putting socks on wet feet is a time consuming thing. I will correct this next year so I don’t have to have socks during my races. The time it took for me to catch my breath and get out of transition was way too slow at 4 minutes and 47 seconds. I really need to work on this part of my race as I am giving free time to the others by taking so long. I tend to forget this is a race and I talk to others around me far too much.

Bike Report: The bike portion of the race was very windy. While waiting for the swim start we could see the pro cyclists coming in and many of them had bloody legs from falling. So I told myself to take it very safe and not push the turns too hard.  I started out passing people from the start and only got passed by two people on the bike. The wind really cut down on the time but I was very happy with my pace of 20 MPH and finished the bike portion in 1 hour 14 minutes and 29 seconds. During the bike ride my left leg started cramping and it was a concern for the run so I took the last mile really easy and really spun my legs to try and wake up my left leg. When I got off the bike my left leg was almost totally numb.

 Transition 2 Report: I ran my bike from the bike dismount area into the transition area and placed it on the rack. I removed my bike shoes and put on my running shoes. I put on my visor and grabbed my handheld water bottle and put on my number belt. I finished another bottle of my energy drink and headed to the run out. I am not sure where I lost so much time in T2 but my time was far slower than I had hoped. This was by far the largest and busiest transition of any race I had done so far. My time was 3 minutes and 3 seconds.

Run Report: We ran along the trail that went downtown and then looped back. I started out conservatively as I wanted to make sure my left leg was able to get me to the finish line. I overcompensated with my right leg and this caused my right leg to start cramping also. Once this happened I was in survival mode on my run rather than racing. I just wanted to finish now so I stayed at a slow but comfortable pace and just kept going. As I came over the bridge that took us close to the finish line the crowds were amazing. I started running faster and could see the finish line. As I got onto the finishing carpet about 200 meters from the finish line another  runner flew past me and next thing I knew I was in a dead sprint trying to beat him to the finish line. I had planned on running slowly across the finish line so that I could get a good finishing picture. My sister was there waiting on me to get my picture. That plan went out the window when the competitor in me took over. We sprinted past at least 20 other runners and I passed him just before the line. We ran so fast that my sister did not even see me cross until the announcer said my name. I finished the run part in 53 minutes and 44 seconds.

Summary of results:

Swim 1500 meters: 40 min 30 sec

Transition 1: 4 min 47 sec

Bike 24.8 Miles (40K): 1 hour 14 min 29 sec

Transition 2: 3 min 3 sec

Run 6.2 miles (10K): 53 min 44 sec

Total time: 2 hour  56 minutes  32 seconds

I finished 350 out of 827 and 29 of 70 in my age group.

Summary of the day: Now that I am swimming more comfortable in the race I need to really work on getting some speed into my swim. That will take lots of time in the pool this winter but I am confident I can get my swim time down by about 10 minutes which will make a big difference in my finish time. The swim is the first thing you do and it sets the stage for the rest of your day. I am determined to become a swimmer not a triathlete that survives the swim.

I still need to get some speed in my bike however I am really happy with my progress so far. I maintained the same MPH average in this race as I had done in the shorter sprint races. I have to keep telling myself that 5 months ago I did not even own a racing bike. I am still at the beginning of this journey and I have so much more I want to do.

I need to work on my running a bit in the race. My focus this race was the swim and my run showed it. I need to keep pushing instead of running with the pace of those around me. Getting out of the water with a slow time and starting in the rear of the swim puts me on the run with many good swimmers that run slower. So I don’t really have a rabbit to pace me or to try to catch. I find myself running with the others in the race and let my pace slow when I do.  This is something I will work on for the next race.

Final note: Even with the issues and things I need to work on I finished the day with a great sense of accomplishment. I completed my first Olympic distance triathlon in under 3 hours and I did it with a smile on my face from the time I went into the water till the time I crossed the finish line. This race was so much fun and getting to join my swim group at the finish line for the awards ceremony was really cool. Many in our group got medals for finishing in the top three of their age groups. It was really great to see all the success our group had.

My swim coach Scott Avitt and myself as I finally caught him in the race of all places on top of that bridge we had done laps under swimming from the beach to the bridge so many mornings at 5am in the dark. The things he taught me while treading water under that very bridge helped me to get past my swim panic issues. I would have never made it to that bridge during the race without his encouragement.  It was so fitting to see him on the bridge and to find a picture of that moment was priceless. He has become more than a coach and I am proud to call him a friend!

Side Note:  If you read my last race report from Bluff Creek Triathlon you read about a young lady I stopped to help on the run. Since that race we have trained together and she is part of my swim group also. It was incredible to see how far she has come in just three weeks from that race. She had a big smile on her face as she sprinted across that finish line and she looked very happy as she stood on the podium at this her first Olympic Distance race with a second place silver medal around her neck for her division. Tiffany is going to do some remarkable thing in her life. Her drive, determination, and willingness to put in the work to get to where she wants to be motivates me to push myself harder every day.

Tiffany and me at packet pickup before the race.

See You at the Finish Line!

Dave

Hy-Vee Triathlon 2013 full race workout: Today we did most of the course for the upcoming Hy-Vee World Championship 5150. I will be competing in the age group division of the race next Sunday. I was with a coed group of 20 people and we did the whole swim except we finished back at the beach where we started instead of the transition area on the south of the lake. Once we finished the swim some of us got on our bikes and we did the 25 mile loop of the bike race portion of the race. Then we got on the trail and ran 4 miles to get our run in. The actual race is 6.2 miles.

It was a great day to test out the different parts of the race and get a few last minute preparations out of the way.

Now I start my taper into Race week. All my training is mostly complete. I have done the hard work now it’s time to go do it in a race next Sunday. My training for this week will be less intense and I will have more rest days. Sometimes taking rest day sis the hardest part about training for a race.

See You at the Finish Line!

Dave

Hy-vee Olympic Distance Triathlon 2013: Just finished a 1300 meters swim a 25 mile bike and a 2 mile run all on the Hy-vee triathlon course. I only have two more weeks until my first Olympic distance triathlon.

I was feeling fatigued from a late night 8 mile run last night that did not get done till after 11pm. I have to pick up my kids on Fridays and by the time I had a chance to do my run workout for the day it got late. When I started the swim I had to roll to my back and regroup a bit but got right back in and finished the swim without any problems once I got into aerobic breathing. I did look around and see where everyone was quite a bit as this was the largest training group I have trained with in the water. I did the 1300 in 28 minutes. We had 14 people in our group this morning and it was a beautiful morning to swim. The lake was calm and the water is still warm.

After the swim we jumped on our bikes and headed out to ride the 40K route of the triathlon. Traffic was very busy and we heard some words of encouragement as the cars went by. A few even thought we were number one. A short distance into the ride one of the guys had a pedal come loose so Scott and I stopped to help him with his bike. I got the pedal back on and fixed and then Scott and I formed a line as we leap frogged each other to catch back up to the group. We were cruising at a good speed and caught them before they got out of the park on the route. That was fun to ride with another person who can set a good pace on the bike.

Once we completed the bike ride a few of the group stayed around to run the trail loop around the lake. We did a short run to get our legs used to running after the bike ride. We ran 2 miles at a comfortable pace and the trail was quite busy with runners and bikers.

It was nice to get out and preview the course for the upcoming triathlon and it was a great group of people of all ages and abilities to train with. I got my but chewed by Scott about looking around too much on the swim but I was expecting this and would have been surprised if he never said anything. He tells you when you do great and he tells you when you suck. I like that about him and his way of coaching you. He does not expect you to do anything he isn’t doing right alongside of you.  

1300 Meter Swim

25 Mile Bike Ride

 

2 Mile Run

See You at the Finish Line,

Dave

Today I went out with my swim group at Grays Lake which is the site of the 2013 Hy-Vee Olympic distance Traithlon. I wanted to test my theory of the start slow and taper slower without doing any kind of warm-up. I had a great swim and swimming with others allowed me to swim a bit faster once I got into my calm breathing. I started out so slow everyone left me in their wake. I was behind the pack for most of the swim however I did do 2130 yards in just under 43 minutes. That is an average pace of 33 minutes for 1500 meters. So the moral of the story is that the slow start actually took time off my mile swim and not just seconds but it cut more than 10 minutes off my mile from yesterday.  Starting out very slow and getting into your rhythm is the key to the rest of your swim. Most in the group only did 2000 yards however due to my lack of swimming in a straight line I got a little more distance.

Today was the closest I have come to simulating an actual triathlon start with no warm-up. I felt good even though I had some worries about going without the usual time to get used to the water.  I was surprised that my time was that fast as it felt like I was just taking it easy. Just over two weeks to go until my first Olympic distance triathlon and I am feeling really good about my swim.

See You at the Finish Line!

Dave