Ironman Wisconsin - TriathlonFull Ironman

I think I paced the swim well - I checked after the first loop and was at 31 min. A few elbows to the head, and someone tried to swim over me once, but otherwise uneventful. I did swallow a fair amount of water when the crowds were tight. Took a little time to settle the stomach when I started the bike. Tried to draft a bit - only successful for about 1/4 of the total swim.

Get into the water a little earlier - just to warm up.

Felt pretty good getting out of the lake, but stomach was a little queasy. Probably ran too hard up the helix, but the crowds were such a rush! My time was a little delayed as I had a hard time changing from the jammer to the 2XU shorts. Should have tried to dry off more. My assistant told me that the temps were already close to 70 degrees so I made the right decision in leaving the arm warmers behind. Lots of vaseline/DZ Nuts applied, too.

Maybe a little slower on the run up the helix to help the stomach out.

Took about 40 minutes to settle the stomach, only took in a half bottle of water in that time. Total of about 2500 cal for the ride - 5 bottles of Perform, two of water, 2 mini PayDays, 3 Mojos, maybe 3 gels and 5 shot blocks. Four endurolytes, too. Nutrition seemed just right for the ride, but I think I may have over-eaten, given my poor run perfomance. First 30 miles were very easy, and, as usual, was passed by at least 200 athletes during the first two hours. Kept my HR in zn 1, until mile 30, then went by feel. Probably a big mistake, as well. Looking at my Garmin, I spent almost half my time in zn 2 and half in zn 3. Again, paid for it on the run.

The hills were awesome - huge crowds were so fun to see. I had the biggest grin up every one of them. I know I pushed into zn 4 on each one, but never felt like I was pedalling that hard. Too much adrenaline, I guess. But, I never got out of the saddle. Dropped my damned chain on Timber climb, but it didn't take too long to recover.

For the last 45 min, I only took in a half bottle of water. Stopped to urinate at about miles 40, and 75 so I felt well hydrated. Loved the race wheels - rented Zipp 404s - they are so much faster than my training wheels :)

Lots of stomach issues on the run, though, so either too high of a HR on the ride or too much calories. Probably a combination of both. Overall, I loved the course, fan support, and the ride, in general.

HR was too high - just need to keep my ego in check. I was so happy with my time - I wish I could have kept the euphoria through the run. During my long training rides/bricks, I averaged 400 cal/hr and seemed to tolerate well. If I ever do this again, I may have to try to avg closer to 300-350 cal/hr.

Uneventful - decided to stay with the same socks and my 2XU shorts.

Ok - so a good swim and a great bike - should have led to a fun/relaxed run, right? First three miles felt good and I probably averaged about 8:30 pace. Not bad for me. Certainly not pushing too hard, but all of a sudden, the stomach feels like $hit. Hit the porta-potty for a little relief. Walked each and every aid station to make sure I was getting some nutrition with Perform. After the third mile, anything I drank really upset my stomach. Couldn't figure out why. Tried just water, then eventually cola, but nothing seemed to help. Even skipped a few aid stations, thinking maybe I had eaten too much. Really not much help. Tried one more porta-potty with only minimal improvement. So now, my run pace is down to 9:30 - 10:00 with some occasional walking. I was really starting to feel discouraged by the 13 mile mark. Saw my family at mile 12 and tried to keep my attitude bright despite the feeling of doom. But the cheering crowds and my family support seemed to help a bit.

Well, as I hit about mile 16(?), some volunteers at the aid station start yelling my name - I thought they were enthusiastically cheering for me, but they soon starting grabbing at me to get my attention. Turns out my brother (already a two time IM finisher) had dropped at that station. When I turned to see someone lying on the ground, I noticed it was him - lying near a huge pile of intestinal contents. Looked like he ate too much, too. Volunteers couldn't get in touch with his emergency contact and so he gave them my name/bib number. He ended up making it to a Med tent and then DNF'd, but ultimately recovered pretty quickly. I think I may have spent a few minutes chatting with him, before I went on my way. May have been 30 sec or maybe 10 minutes. I had no sense of time at that point. Despite the agony of seeing my brother down, it seemed to give me a second wind - who knows, maybe I just felt better because of the chance to stop running/walking for a few moments. From there, my mind was able to re-focus a bit and the last few miles didn't seem quite so tough.

The last climb up State street to the Capitol was shaky, but I wanted to run in with a bit of a kick. Damn near passed out as I crossed the finish, but I knew I gave everything I could that day. I had nothing left when the volunteers caught me.

As I had heard once or twice before, "there's no such thing as a good bike followed by a bad run." If you have a tough time on the run, something was screwed up during the ride. I guess that I'm living proof of that.

If I ever do this again, I'll need to keep the ego in check and ride easier, possible with less food.

I think I sat in a chair just past the finisher line for about 10 minutes - drinking cup after cup of cola. I couldn't even talk to my family for probably close to 5 minutes while I regained some strength. A little more fluids and a slice of pizza as I left the finish area.


Bike pace and nutrition


I can't imagine a better orgainzed and supported race. I have been to Lake Placid, as well, but would really like to see/participate in one of the non-branded IMs, as well.