It’s 5:30 am, rain has been coming down for hours. As I pull into Chad’s driveway there’s a single car parked there. Everything is still and quiet, the only sound is the rain. Opening the garage door, I’m stunned by the light. Jake, Chad’s white German Shepard hears me come in, and starts barking, as he always does. There’s a quiet tension in the air, not the excited buzz before an Ironman event, but a sense of calm anticipation for what the day is going to bring. While Ryan and Chad are prepping the bike, I take a step back out into the rain and head over to the pond, within the darkness, you can just make out the rain droplets coming across the pond surface in sheets. Headlights break the gloom, the first of many to arrive. They’ve come like me, to help support, crew, cheer, and see one man set out to complete what he’s worked the entire year for, 140.6 miles.

With the first hints of light coming through the cloudy sky, Ryan took to the water. The previous week brought overnight temps into the 30’s and the pond was a balmy 62 degrees. Even in a wetsuit, it is on the uncomfortable side to put it mildly. While a small crowd huddled under umbrellas counted down the clock to 6:30, the day began with a short sprint and dive. Chad’s pond is quite large, but 2.4 miles is a bit larger. To complete an iron distance swim here requires about 5 1/2 loops. Ryan knows these loops all too well, all of the swim training over the summer has been in this pond, and within the past month, more and more has been in complete darkness to ensure completing a 2 plus mile swim before heading to work.

I just start daydream about everything… there was no one next to me in the water so I spent most of my time trying to figure out who was wearing what jacket and who was using what color umbrella… It was unique in that respect, it was the first time I’ve ever swam out there where there were people out there watching us swim.

Throughout the entirety of the swim, the rain never let up. While this isn’t a problem for Ryan, in the water, where’s he’s wet. It did mean a lot of wet spectators. At least there was Chad’s house and garage to to out of the rain. If this was at an actual event, you’re certainly stuck out there. I for one, certainly needed a change of clothes after T1 and before setting out onto the bike course.

Cycling in the rain can actually be fun, for short periods, when there’s a fire and dry clothes waiting for you. Cycling in the rain for 112 miles knowing there’s a marathon in wet shoes awaiting you, isn’t nearly as much fun. Ryan took off like a man possessed, diving straight into the leg of his race like he was on a mission, which he was.

My first thought was that my bike was getting dirty, I spent a few hours trying to get it cleaned and polished for race day and it only took about 20 seconds to get it dirty… the first mile and half were pretty depressing because it’s all gravel the whole way.

As I continued to leap frog him with my car, filming and shouting words of encouragement, it looked as though he was quite enjoying himself. Each time we’d pass through where his family and friends were gathered, there was a palpable feeling if joy. It really can’t be stated enough, just how great it is to have spectators along the course on a long race. While this certainly wasn’t like a regular Ironman event, those who were there, made sure they were heard and seen, which was just fantastic.

After the first mile and a half, the bike was definitely the best part of my day. I felt I didn’t ride as much this year, but getting a new bike and proper fit, I was able to ride aero a lot more this year. My mood was pretty solid the whole time.

Somewhere around 43 miles into the bike leg, I got out my bike and joined in the wet fun. The rain was still coming down, but fortunately the temperature wasn’t too bad. It was quite nice to be moving. Joining in I was a little shocked at the pace Ryan was keeping, even through the rough conditions, the miles just started to slip away. Riding with, I hoped to give Ryan a little bit of a mental break, having someone to talk to, like you would have on a normal race is great to lift your spirits. We did have some great conversation, and I think I lifted his mood. These 27 miles went by so quickly, I really wanted to stay out with him and just keep going. While the rain was still coming down, Ryan rolled on, solo once again with another 40+ miles to go. The road ahead was about to get tougher, as the closing in the 100 mile mark always does, fatigue starts to creep in.

While driving to try and find a park for the location for transition 2, the sky let loose. The rain was coming down so hard I couldn’t even see to drive at 25 miles an hour. I can only imagine what must have been going through Ryan’s thoughts at this point, but knowing him, I’m sure he was laughing at the sky, channeling is inner Lieutenant Dan, challenging it to bring more.

It was kind of comical in a way… it could not have come down any harder, I’m sure cars could not see, it was raining that hard. But I remember laughing about it, because at this point nothing really shocks you, I mean, how hard can it rain?

Standing with the crowd of about 20, awaiting Ryan’s arrival at T2, there was a nervous excitement in the air. Checking the radar, it looked as though the rain was going to stop at any point, like the last deluge was going to be the end of it. I was hopeful that the run at least would be a bit less wet.

Ryan rolled in victorious. It is really hard to understate just how exciting it is to get off the bike after 112 miles, especially 112 hard, solo, wet miles. Chad and I ushered Ryan to a little shelter to get the shoes & socks changed before setting out on the run. This may have been the quickest transition in history. Ryan grabbed a sandwich on the way out, eating while walking. Chad was going to run the marathon with him, but wasn’t quite ready to roll yet, so I told Ryan just to keep going, we’d send Chad to catch up with water. At this point, it is important to just keep moving. The ‘run’ would start soon enough, but even walking, is progressing towards the finish line.

Ryan’s run consisted of a 13.1 mile out and back, with pre-determined groups of supporters every mile to 1.5 miles for water and food if needed. Chad ran with for the entire marathon, and the two settled into a great pace quickly. While the ran was still coming down, there were periods were it seemed to lighten at least. While running though, if the pavement is wet, your feet are going to get wet, best to just suck it up and accept it.

I remember being happy and almost laughing when we were on the Cedar Creek trail… it has no camber or pitch to it, it’s almost like running through a creek, is what it felt like. There was no running around puddles anymore, it reminded me of when I went to Tough Mudder, you know in your mind you’re going into it. It was silly how much water you were running through.

Around 8 miles in, another friend for Ryan’s, Audra joined in for the remainder of the run. It’s so nice to have company along for these long runs. Even just getting fresh legs in can help lift the mood. I had a short opportunity to jump in for about 1/2 a mile, but was excited to splash about in the puddles for as long as I could before getting back to the camera.

I did not feel well on the run at all, it plagued me the whole way… the first 10 miles weren’t horrible, but I could feel it settling in the guts… I don’t know where it came from, the nutrition was the same as before, so it was pretty shocking… Maybe about mile 16 or so I had to stop and walk because it hurt.

While the run out certainly isn’t easy, the run back I could tell was getting harder. When you’re 10 hours into a race any number of things can start to go wrong. I wasn’t certain what exactly Ryan was going through, but having been through this myself, I knew it was hard and getting much harder yet before that finish line. Having been out doing videos and supporting (cheering) all day, I figured it was time for a Culvers (Wisconsin Burger Place) stop, and made sure to get some extra fries. As I rolled up beside the group of runners, offering up the golden bits of salty fried heaven, I could see Ryan’s eyes widen. Getting a break from the liquid calories and ‘race’ food throughout a really long day like this makes for an amazing treat and greatly increases your mood!

We’re getting close now, I know I can make one more stop for doing a video before I need to get beat them back to the finish line, one more cheer, one more push. It’s all about guts now. The determination to continue forward, the will that compels you to put one foot in front of the other. The rest of the world drifts away, until there’s only a singular drive, finish. I could see how difficult this was in Ryan’s face, but that determination was also there, he was close enough to taste it now.

I was very relieved at that time to see everyone, I just wanted to be done and go drink some beer honestly… I felt like the race went pretty well, but it was neat to see the kids and the silly string and everything. As soon as I crossed the finish line I had my emotional time, like I did last year, but it was short lived, the thought went through my head that there’s a lot of people here that have either been here all day or are leaving shortly and I needed to go back and talk with them and give hugs.

Surrounded by family and friends, with music pumping and everyone cheering, Ryan completed his second Ironman.

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