Ironman Wisconsin - TriathlonFull Ironman

Ironman swims are creature with their own mind. They have a bad reputation for being violent. I expected the worst. Being out there swimming with 2,600 of your friends who are all wanting to go to the same place. You know what though? It wasn't that bad. I got bumped a lot but never hard. I didn't get punched, pulled on, or swam over. I've had a more violent swim at the Chicago Triathlon with the muscle bound clydesdales swimmers.

I swam not too far from the bouy line. After the initial madness the first few minutes I had water of my own to swim in. I was breathing more often then I wanted to but not overdoing it. At the first turn bouy there apparently is this tradition to... Moo. I guess we're cattle at IMOO? When I get there people are mooing and I look up and there is a person in a cow-costume on one of the boats. Lap 2 thinned out somewhat, and while it did seem like a long time to swim, I wasn't ever at the point where I'm wondering if the shoreline moved. I'm helped out of the water. I glance at my watch as I get out and it's what I expected nearly on the nose. ROCK!

I get out of the water and I'm not disoriented as I expected. I think this is because our swim coach instructed us to kick harder the last couple of hundred yards to get blood flowing back into our legs. Anyway, it worked. I run over to a wetsuit stripper. Most of them are working in pairs, but I get the end girl and she's working alone. And she's slow, and not so strong. I got more peeled then anything.

Learn to hang on to some feet. Figure out how to not necessarily become faster but feel "fresher" coming out of the water to the bike.

One of the things that makes Madison unique is the helix. It's a 4-story parking structure with a ramp you run up to get to the top of the building where transition is. It makes for a longer transition time. I was feeling pretty good, so I did a slow-jog up the ramp. I enter the room that has our gear bags and someone calls out my number. My bag is waiting there by the time I get there. I enter the women's changing area, look around and there is my friend Laura (Whizzzzz!) who is volunteering. Yeay!! So good to see a familiar face! She is happy and calm. She sits me down and dumps out my bag. I start asking her silly questions about what I should put on, and she tells me what others have been doing. I decide to take the extra minute to put on bike shorts since it's going to be a long day. I also change into a jersey and arm warmers. I tried to do this all quickly. Put on my socks, race belt, helmet, and run off to my bike with shoes in my hand. Thanks Laura!!

I start approaching my bike and someone calls out my number again. By the time I get there It's being handed to me. That's service for you. Those volunteers are a well oiled machine! I jog with the bike wayyyyyy to the other end where the down ramp exit is. Another volunteer holds my bike while I put my on my shoes. I didn't want to run that long distance in the shoes. I go to clip in and my husband is there by the top of the ramp cheering loudly with some other people. "Go Debb Go!" I clip in less then elegantly because I'm trying to figure out who the heck is cheering over there for me. I wave! Down the ramp I go... Bike time! My favorite!

Not change find something to wear all day. Maybe bring 2nd race belt for the bike so the run one can be pre-organized.

The bike course starts off kinda unique. Down the ramp onto a bike path. Then a no passing zone. Then through a parking lot. Wait. Is this cyclocross? A mile or two later you're finally on the actual road. It makes for a slightly slowed-down start, but I it gives you time to ease into the bike. Lots of sharp turns to deal with though. A few spectators and bikers call out that they like my arm warmers. They are black and white striped.

I bike on the "stick" portion of the course for about the first hour until I get to the more familiar loop portion. I've ridden nearly the whole course in training a few times over, so I'm somewhat familiar with the course, and how I usually feel biking it. The part of this race I was least worried about was the bike, and this is where I started seeing signs of possible trouble.

My HR is still high. I'm told by everyone that this is normal. Especially in the first hour or so, so I'm expecting it. But we start getting into hour 2 and it's not going down. I'm holding off. Pacing well. Taking it easy and my heart rate is still in the 170s. I can't really back off any more then I am, so I just continue on. Every time it gets in the high 170s I back off again. The first 4 hours on the bike my Garmin says averaged 171. Why is it this high? My perceived rate of exertion did not match.

I stop after 2 hours to mix a bottle of Infinite. I didn't carry two bottles because I didn't want to carry the extra weight. I was already heavier then I ever planned on being on race day. I'm carrying an extra 45-pounds up and down this non-stop hilly bike course. I pop into the porto for my first visit.

While this course is hilly I handled it very well in training. There are maybe three hills that are worth mentioning as challenging. During training they were not a big deal. On the second loop they are usually notably harder. So I get to the hills on the first loop... and it FEELS like I'm on loop #2. This I think was where I started to doubt what was going to happen in my day. I knew I was going to have trouble on loop #2. My heart sank a bit. Was my HR causing this? Did I have too much caffeine? Adrenaline? Medications? Swim fitness poorer then I knew? All of the above? I can't dwell I just need to keep going.

I get by the first two hills and see my coach on the third one... She's cheering/yelling but it's taking all my effort just to keep going forward so I didn't even get a chance to say anything to her. I probably looked like hell. Once over the hill things start getting a little warm so I roll down my arm warmers. I pass my husband for the first time. He Cheers. I wave. He's Wearing a t-shirt he had made for me that says "Go Debb Go". He appears to have a newly purchased mega-phone. The cow-bell for geeks.

There is one hill I like. A favorite hill on the course but it's one I don't ride over but past. The view is stunning. It's basically a cliff but it's covered in grass. One day when I was out there training there was a cow in the middle of the cliff face. Just standing there. Mountain climbing cows? Cool. No cow today though. I bike through Verona with the tour-de-france like cheering crowd. Unfortunately at the time I'm trying to dump a bottle of water in my Speedfil, and I sorta miss some of the rock star feel of it.

I finish the first loop. And stop at special needs. I dump my arm warmers in the bag. I take a new bottle of Infinite which I had wrapped in a towel, and put in a gallon bag with ice from the hotel. It was still nice and cold! Sweet! I looked at my "treats" I had packed. Ritz Bitz-Cheese Crackers, Cookies, PBJ Uncrustable... No I was not in the mood for treats. I just wanted to get going quickly, and I knew time was precious. I didn't even get off my bike. Those calories we're just "extra" anyway. I had been following my nutrition plan flawlessly.

My nutrition plan was approx 275-calories an hour consisting of 1/2 bottle of Infinite, 20 oz +/- of Electrolytes (Nuun), half a package of either Clif Bar or Shot Blocks per hour. The new Speedfil bike bottle I got was working well for the Nuun. I'd stop every 2 aid stations and make sure it was filled. It held 40 oz, so I was pretty much never risking being out of water. You drink it through a straw so you don't even have to slow down to drink.

So now I'm on loop two. This is really the only time I ever started to get physically upset because it was the first time I realized I really wasn't sure I was even going to make the bike cut off. I didn't cry or anything, but I did the quivery lip for a moment and then shook it off. I was damn well going to do everything within my power to try and make it so let's not focus on what could happen. Lets make what I want to happen happen. I was a bit frustrated because I am capable of a way better bike time, but I had to give that up.

Stop a second time for the bathroom. Didn't want to but that's what happens when you're well hydrated (this is a good thing). Look in the mirror. I look red-faced and sweaty. Bad. It's now 80 degrees out which doesn't sound hot, but it was. There wasn't much wind to cool us off and the sun beat down on the black-top. Even the spectators we're baking a bit, but heat wasn't really my issue that day.

Time to stop and mix one more bottle of Infinite. I make an executive decision here that luckily worked out in my favor. Instead of stopping to mix it, I was going to grab the course drink since I only have 2 hours of bike time left. I've tested this drink out on a 70 mile ride only once, so this is why it's a somewhat questionable decision, but my thought process is if I stop to mix the bottle and miss the cut-off my race is done anyway. Sadly it was a awful flavor, but it sat okay in the stomach.

Now I'm at the hard-hills a second time. I make it up one. The other I have to walk halfway up. This annoys me to no end because not once did I have to walk on the hills during training, and of course this is where I see my friend Laura again. She walks up with me makes sure I'm drinking my nutrition. I tell her I think I can make the cut-off but I don't know about the run. She pep-talks me and off I go ego bruised and humbled by the hills just a little bit. The very last steepest hill I also have to get off and walk halfway. It's short. I'm walking nearly the same speed as some people are biking up it. Is this walking because of the high HR? Don't know.

Major hills finally out of the way. Time to head back. I see Greg again on the course with oh yeah, you know it... the mega-phone. I think I saw him a total of three times. Twice on the second loop not too far apart. He cheered and waved and made me feel special.

About then a course marshal rides by and says "You have to ride 15 mph to make cut-off" I nod... He was kind enough to make sure it registered in my tired little head "Okay?" he says... I nod my head again. I know at this point and the course is very minor rollers, so I know I'm going to make it despite my poor over-all bike pace. My Garmin said I averaged 14.5 mph if you exclude the stops. During my Half Ironman in July I had averaged 16.5.

And... so I make it.

I have to ride up the 4 story helix once again. I thought this was going to be hard at this point after riding 112 miles, but thankfully it's not as bad as it looks. I was worried about what was ahead of me but I was happy to have made it off the bike and I would get to at least get a taste of the full ironman experience. Swim. Bike. Ouch. (run). I wanted it all.

Apparently my 2 bathroom stops and one stop to fill bottles cost me 21 minutes. Too much wasted time probably could have cut that in half. As far as the HR? Just try and peg down the cause. Try long rides with minimum csffine.

I grab my gear bag and find a volunteer to help me. She asked me how it was going and I told her I didn't think I'd make the run as I was feeling off. She helped me get changed. This transition was much quicker even though, I choose to change out of the bike shorts and jersey into a run top and capris. Slip on my running shoes, and I grab my stuff and go.

Again not change outfits. Not arrange things in pockets have a 2nd race belt "ready to go"

'm off on the run. I'm not a great runner on the best of days. I'm slow. I'm Athena. I've done the half marathon distance in training runs without walking much, but running after 10 hours of exercise is a whole other ball game. I pretty much knew from the beginning this was going to be a walk/run/survive thing it was just a matter of how much run.

I run for a bit and see my husband. I stop to walk and talk with him a moment still carrying my stuff in my hands. I had not yet stuffed into my race belt and pockets. I told him I wasn't sure I would make it, and that I was out of gas. I tell him I'll do my best. I arrange all my GU Gels and the little paper-slips Greg had printed out for me to read into my pockets. I'm in the downtown area where the crowd is, so I start running. Nearly right away my back starts bothering me. It was not bothering me on the bike. It's uncomfortable. I walk. I try doing intervals but my back starts to get worse right away. I never had back issues running off the bike before. I do intervals for a little while and it just gets worse, so I try power-walking for awhile, and I was going at a fairly good clip (4 mph). I kept this up for awhile... perhaps too long.

I run into Greg again. I'm not quite aware of how much time has passed or where on the course this was. He tells me I'm running behind on time and I have to make up some. That's all the encouragement I needed to start running again, and it wasn't easy. Ow. My back. Ow. I just decided to run what ever intervals I could. Was this a mistake being so lax in how long I ran or walked? If I had pushed it my body more I might not have made it as far as I did, so I think it was an OK call. At the time it sounded right. I was just doing was going to work with the pain I was working through. So I ran, but it was random.

At this point my back was seizing up so that if I relaxed my body my entire back leaned me forward and in order to stand straight up-right I had to seriously use muscle power to keep myself up. (So basically I was fighting my body) Every now and then I would stop and do a sort of back bend to try and stretch out my lower back. People would pass me and cheer and a few people offered tips "Leaning will make it worse" As if I had a choice? I was trying to keep upright! :)

I make the first cut off 6.35 miles in. Okay, time to buckle down because if I want to make the next one halfway through at mile 13 I'm going to have to keep making up time. It's going to be a close one. I made it this far, but I have to stop at the bathroom or I won't make it that far so I do so quickly.

My husband finds me again and says "You made up 5 minutes of time - Where are you getting this from?!" My back is really going downhill though. Hard to run when you can barely stay straight. If I put both my hands on my back and lean back into it I can sorta run that way... so I do.

I'm passing several of my Wellfit training buddies on the run. I'm so focused on just moving forward I don't register faces on my own, so I'm glad when they see me and call out. I hesitate to name them all because I don't want to forget anyone, but THANK YOU! :) It cheered me up every time I saw one of you guys. You all looked great out there. Better then me anyway.

Nutrition wise I am stopping at every aid station. I'm trying to remember to take a Gel every 30 minutes but it's harder to remember then it is on the bike, so I may have missed one but I got most of them in. I was drinking water at every aid station and salt pill every 2 stations. At that point the magical chicken broth appeared and it wasn't even dusk yet. The aid stations are a buffet of choices. Food doesn't interest me though. It pretty much hasn't all day long. I grab pretzels a few times. I figure they are salty. I pass by cookies over and over. (and I LOVE cookies!)

Mile 13 cut off. I squeaked by. Half a marathon done! I have to pass the finish line. Spectators cheer... You're almost there! One More mile! Over and over. At one point I turn around and I say... "14." I think the poor guy felt bad. That wasn't my intention but you know the brain fog that happens. A volunteer overheard and said "that's OK I'll be here next time you run by" and somehow it helped, and she was indeed there and called out for me when I went by.

They make you run halfway down the finishers shoot to do the turn-around. I actually had to stop and ask a spectator... "Is that the finish line?" "yep" "um, did I miss the turn around?" "No, it's down there too" "OK, thanks"...

Special needs bags again. Same food "treats" passed by. Not interested in the special foods, but I do take out the Advil I had in there. I know you're not supposed to race with it but I was keeping hydrated well and I needed them. I put them in on for an emergency (and they didn't help at all! Boo!)

I pass the inspiration mile where there are thousands of signs made by family, friends, enemies... whoever wanted to make one. I know Greg made one on Saturday so I focus on scanning the signs for his figuring it would probably be obvious. Luckily I found it about half way down on the first side. "Go Debb Go". It looked exactly like his t-shirt. Cute. Okay, I hope he only made one sign, because I'm done looking at them. There are too many! I then pass by the electronic sign where you pass by a matt and it brings up a message if someone left you one... That was cool!

At this point my run intervals are pass 4 cones running... and walk 8 cones.... and repeat. Lots of walking in-between. My Back. Ow. Stop. Stretch. Rince. Repeat. Try and keep upright. It probably wasn't a pretty site. People were great though calling you by name and encouraging you. One guy I passed said to me "I've seen you all day.... You're going to do this". Another guy asked me if I was having fun... I said "Sorta" he said "I'll take it".

Stop at the bathroom one last time (my 4th stop that day). Whoa. Once you stop moving at this point everything got a little disorienting. I brace myself a bit on the side of the bathroom until I feel steady.

Running is really hard now. It's dark out. I pass through the woods in the darkest part of the course. They have it lit up, but it's still kinda creepy in the shadows. Some kids hanging out playing music and singing. The spectators on this course throughout the day are unreal. It's one big party! I pass a lady on a bench who looks like she twisted her ankle. She had people helping her. She was crying out in pain. I felt so bad for her. People were running by with glow necklaces on. How did I miss getting a glow-necklace?

I talk to one guy who's had a really bad day we talked about what pace we had to keep up to make it. (About 4 mph) normally on any given day this would so easy, but not so much when you're entering hour 15 of the run. I told him I had to slow down and he went ahead. I started to get a little wobbly at this point. That is unless I kept moving forward so I tried not to stop or turn too much. Tell the feet to keep moving and they will.

I was pretty aware now that it wasn't going to be my day, but I was determined to make it as far as I could. I knew there was a cut-off looming but I thought it was 11pm, and I wasn't sure what mile it was at. I find Greg again... and he walks down the sidewalk talking to me. At this point I've slowed to a walk that is, well slow. Window-shopping slow. There is no way I can get close to 4-mph, so I'm aware the day won't end as I hoped. I don't even remember what we were talking about at this point, and we wonder up we see a cut-off time matt but it's been pulled to the side. The time is 10:33? Maybe even 10:32.

It was unceremonious. They are still moving the things around. (that's how close I was to making the cut off) I get there and it registers to me what's happening. The nice guy was like "I'm really sorry but..." and I said "Oh, the cut-off was 10:30?" "Yes, I'll have to take your chip I'm sorry" "It's OK, but what Mile are we at?" "19 I think" Greg who is still there says "19.2 actually I just saw the map" "OK, I just needed to know how far I got thanks" He takes off my timing chip.

There was some talking back and forth asking if I needed a ride anywhere, but I looked and I can see the Captial building a block or two away. I said that's OK we can walk. No weigh in to see if I was dehydrated or anything. I told Greg I didn't want to go to the finish line to watch. Not because I was a bad sport, but because I need that moment for myself. I want to earn it at a future date.

Not sure much would have changed here with circumstances. Next year I will develop at better core strength and try to stick more to the intervals.

And... That was it. 133.6 miles of an Ironman. 7 miles from the end. Missing a cut-off by 3 minutes. I was not devastated. A little sad, but I knew I was physically capable of doing it, and that made me feel better. If it wasn't for the heart rate issue or my back pain on the run It probably would have been OK but both together took me out. It just wasn't my day. When your doing a race like this and your skill level is closer to cut off times then most... missing them is a risk you take. When you look at where I've come from the changes have been amazing. A few years walking 3mph for one mile was exhausting. Today where I moved 133+ miles with my own body power in ONE day!! I feel like I've already won.

And somehow in the end making it close to the end seemed fitting in a poetic fate kind of way. When I signed up a year ago I never had the intention of doing this race at this weight but last year was a slow weight loss year for me. My weight loss journey has not yet ended, and neither has my ironman journey. It just seems fitting somehow. In the end this is a story of a work in progress, and I'm OK with that.

And of course... You know it. I woke up Monday morning and signed up for next year. 2011. It's my year.

Thanks to everyone who's been supporting me here on BT through out this fun year. I hesitate to name names because I don't want to leave someone out, but your inspires and advice have meant so much to me!!!


#1 WEIGHT, #2 HR Issues, #3 Core strength #4-#50 WEIGHT WEIGHT WEIGHT


Hard to imagine a better Ironman. Crowd support amazing, Volunteers spectacularly organized. I do wish they would stop taking away some things like the free CD-Recaps.