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 Swim
Comments: My plan was to take a good line, and just swim easy. I swam easy, and felt good throughout, but I picked the worst line just inside the bouys, and ended up being in the most crowded area of the water. There was a lot of contact with other swimmers, and I had my goggles knocked off, not once, but twice! What would you do differently?: Take a better, less congested line further from the buoys. Swim faster so as to not be right in the middle of the crowd.  Transition 1
Comments: This was fine. My swim time put me into the changing area at the peak time for congestion, so it was a little cramped in there, and I had to wait for spot to open up to sit down. I didn't really rush thru here either though. What would you do differently?: Improve my swim so I get into T1 before all 2000 other people seem to arrive at the same time. Move faster.  Bike
Comments: My plan was again to ride well within my fitness and ability level. I had to keep telling myself that if I rode too hard, I would be walking on the run. This worked for the most part, as I never really found myself "racing," and my heart rate stayed in the upper 130's except for the climbs when it peaked into the 140's. I hydrated well, kept up with my nutrition, and felt good throughout. My back stiffened a bit at about the mid point, and I took some tylenol at the 2nd pass of special needs. Seeing my family at the top of the climb of Timberline at Old Sauk was awesome. I got really emotional and got a rush when I saw my boys cheering for me. This was a good place to have supporters, so I need to remember this spot in case I ever race IMWI again. What would you do differently?: Not much. Coming from Chicago, the hills of Madison are a challenge, and I think I did the right thing by not pushing them too hard. I think if I had ridden "hard," I could easily shave 30 minutes from my bike split, but would have added much more than 30 minutes to my run. This was a good race plan for me, and I would repeat it next time. Transition 2
Comments: T2 was going well, and I was ready to walk out when my training partner Ron came in. I decided to wait for him for a few so we could run together. What would you do differently?: Move a little quicker.  Run
Comments: I ran the first 3 miles or so with Ron, and we averaged a little over 9 min/mile pace, and I felt really good. Walked the aid stations to make sure I got in what I needed. After about mile 3, Ron said he couldn't hold that pace and we split. I tried to pace my bike segment correctly so that I would be able to run the whole marathon, and I pretty much had it right on. I would run from aid station to aid station, walk there to take in food and hydration, and then start up running again. I was pretty successful with the strategy, running at about 9:45 per mile pace, then walking for 30 seconds or so. The last few miles, I walked the whole length of the aid stations, where as in the earlier miles I started running right after finishing drinking, but I'm happy to say that I ran this marathon. Not a fast run, but it was my first IM. The crowds were awesome along Main street and were really motivating. What would you do differently?: Bring my own nutrition. Not EVER, EVER drink that powerbar brand endurance drink again. It was nasty. Post race
Warm down: Hugged the kids and family. Ate some pizza, and loaded up the stuff into the car. Quads were tired but I felt pretty good. I was really happy to be an Ironman! What limited your ability to perform faster: Poor swimming, race nerves, conservative strategy. I'm really happy with my race, but as always with hindsight, I wish I had broken 12:30. Next time I will! Event comments: Great race and a great course!!!! Profile Album Last updated: 2009-10-09 12:00 AM
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United States
Ironman North America
78F / 26C
Sunny
Overall Rank = 891/2792
Age Group = 40-44
Age Group Rank = 153/399
Got up at about 4. Made coffee, started to apply sunscreen, applied body glide all over, and started to eat and hydrate. The cinnamon raisin bagel with peanut butter bananas and honey didn't go down as easily as it usually does.
Got to the race about 5. I got dropped off on the wrong side of Monona Terrace, and had to hop a fence to get into transition to put my bottles on my bike. Then went out the same way and straight into an open, flushing bathroom inside the terrace! I knew I was gonna have a good day with bathroom karma like that to start! Kept hydrating, nibbled on a bar, and loaded up with endurolytes. Met Karol around 5:30, hung out a bit and talked, then got suited up and headed down to the swim start. Ran into a few people I knew, got and gave a few hugs, then got in the water.
Got into the water a little too early, and had to float/dog paddle for about 10-12 minutes before the start. That was it for warm up.