Ironman Wisconsin - TriathlonFull Ironman

I thought a lot about where I was going to start for the swim and I ended up between the buoy line and ski jump about 10 yards off of the start line. It seemed to be a decent place because there would be contact and then some clear water for awhile and stayed close to the buoy line and sometimes on the inside of the line the rest of the swim. I probably kept around the same pace the entire time and was close to my goal of 1:20. Overall the swim was a non-event which is exactly how I wanted to start my long day.

I did Moo around the first turn!


Swim more to get faster!

It was great having the wetsuit strippers! I did a slow jog up the helix and enjoyed the crowds. I found a volunteer in the changing room and he helped me get my stuff together which was great. I put my shoes on right away and ran in them. I had planned for 15minutes in T1 and I was way below that!

nothing

I rode this course at least 8 times this year so I knew what to expect and how to pace myself depending on the conditions.

The first part of the course felt great and I was trying to hold myself back because I have a history in races where I start out to fast and end up bonking towards the end. I did have to stop and use the bathroom at the special needs stop the first time I passed it. I got back onto my bike and started riding again and was feeling average for most of the first lap. I hit the first big hill in the exact time I wanted which was good and bad. It was bad because I knew I was pushing harder then I should have and I would not be able to keep this pace going for another loop. I finished up the last 2 big hills and the first loop feeling ok but getting tired.

I started the second loop and really had to use the bathroom again which I suppose it a good thing. The special needs stop had a line so I waited till the water stop before G to go. I got off the bike and started cramping right way so I went to the bathroom and then stretched as well. After I got back on my bike I knew that I needed to slow the pace down in order to make it through the rest of the day. Also, I knew the wind had picked up and coming out of the worst direction because it would be hitting me from the front and side most of the time and never at my back. As I was working my way to Mt. Horeb for the second time my legs started to tighten up so I tried to stand up on the peddles and do what ever I could do to loosen them up. By the time I made it to Garfoot on the second lap I had to get off my bike and do some walking and stretching because my legs had completely locked up on me. I was stopped on the side of the road for a good 5 minutes before I was able get my legs feeling ok to start again. I was able to finish the second loop without stopping anymore but the legs were still really tight.

Right before I made the turn to start my way back to Madison I stopped one more time to stretch. I was also given some salt tabs as well that I took to see if that would help me. I actually felt good coming back into Madison having the tail wind and really picked up my pace.

Splits:
BIKE SPLIT 1: 54 mi 54 mi (3:13:58) 16.70 mi/h
BIKE SPLIT 2: 94 mi 40 mi (2:53:01) 13.87 mi/h
BIKE SPLIT 3: 112 mi 18 mi (58:23) 18.50 mi/h

I am not sure why I was cramping so much on the bike because I never had that issue before. Overall, I was only about 20 minutes slower then my goal pace and with the 4 stops I was still happy with my time.

I was slow getting off of the bike and walked through T2. I was surprised to see all the people laying around and some people actually sleeping. I found a chair to sit on and did my thing. I got some sunscreen on and used the bathroom again and off I went.

Nothing. I was moving slow but that was fine because I wanted to make sure I didn't forget anything.

This is where my race didn't go as planned. I started running for about the first 2 miles till I started to cramp again. I was taking salt tablets, eating, drinking and nothing was getting rid of them so after the State Street turnaround I told myself to walk the rest of the first loop and try on the second loop. I was able to walk at a really fast pace without any issues and the rest of body felt great so figured it would give my legs a chance to recover.

I started the second lap and started with the shuffle run and it was not feeling good. My body started to feel like it was shutting down and I was getting sick so I slowed down. I tried to run a couple of more times but it was the same thing with getting sick so I just told myself that I would be walking the rest race to make sure I finished.

When I hit the Capitol square for the last time I started to jog because of the all the energy in the crowds. As I started I had my training partner catch up to me a slap me on my butt and said "lets finish this together." As we were running down the finishing shoot I was just trying to take it all in and enjoy the moment!

Splits:
RUN SPLIT 1: 8.9 mi 8.9 mi (1:50:59) 12:28/mi
RUN SPLIT 2: 13.2 mi 4.3 mi (1:00:42) 14:06/mi
RUN SPLIT 3: 21.95 mi 8.75 mi (2:12:50) 15:10/mi
RUN SPLIT 4: 26.2 mi 4.25 mi (1:00:03) 14:07/mi

Run instead of walk. Also, my goal was to finish so I didn't push myself to run because I was afraid I would DNF.

Sat down on a curb and had a coke.

I waited around for my other friend to come in who was having a very bad day. He came in at 16:15 and I meet him in the finishing area and made sure he was ok. Went home at 11:30pm exhaused and took a shower and went to bed.

I am excited for finishing my first Ironman and happy with how the day went overall. I do not have any regrets regarding the race and not sure if I ever plan on doing one again. I enjoy the shorter distance races and plan on going back to them next year and work on my speed.