Ironman Wisconsin - TriathlonFull Ironman


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Madison, Wisconsin
United States
World Triathlon Corporation
72F / 22C
Sunny
Total Time = 16h 10m 24s
Overall Rank = 2223/2839
Age Group = M40-44
Age Group Rank = 372/384
Pre-race routine:

***Warning this is very long winded***

My "Pre-Race Routine" started all the way back in September, 2011. I signed up for my second ironman event after talking a buddy in to doing this race with me for my second and probably last time (yeah right).... My training was going pretty good, a few little injuries and illnesses over the winter, but my "real training" wasn't going to start until June.

When June came, I was pretty fit and was ready to ramp things up. Things were going along pretty smooth until June 22nd. I had to drop off my truck at the dealership for some service work and needed a ride home. I asked my dad to pick me up at the dealership, which he eagerly agreed to do. My dad arrived in his 1991 Alfa Romeo convertible, which he restored to be just like his 1971 race car, sans the roll bar, that he got rid of just after I was born.

On the way home, my dad pulled over and told me to take the wheel (you see where this is going)... well 4 miles later while going around a 90 degree right hand curve the car got loose on me and ended up in a ditch on top of us. My dad broke his neck in 2 places and had a compound fracture to his upper arm. I had a concussion and a big cut on my head which required several stitches. I also had numerous facial injuries, I still think at least one fracture to my cheek/nose area.

Anyway, this put a toll on my training. I was able to get back to work about 2 weeks after the crash, but had decided that ironman was probably out... actually this was the first thing I told my wife when she arrived in the ER... I signed up for the Racine IM 70.3 which was a few weeks later. I showed up for the race determined to not use my crash as an excuse. Well I ended up DNF'ing. My first DNF, and I was devastated.

I kept training and building my mileage slowly. In August, a friend asked me to ride a 90 mile road "race" with her here in WI. That was my line in the sand - If I couldn't do that ride, IMWI was OFF! I ended up riding with her and had a very nice day, slow but nice. And I was pretty confident I could do the mileage in Madison

One more 100+ mile ride and I was feeling ready for the IMWI hills.

Fast forward 2 weeks, I arrived in Madison. I knew I had under trained for the race and decided that my only goal would be to finish better than my crummy time in 2010 (http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/discussion/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=228044 ).
Event warmup:

On race day we arrived at the race site at about 5:30. Did the usual stuff, dropped off SN bags and loaded up our bikes. Because I had a newbie with me, I walked him through getting his bike ready and the way SN stations worked. This was probably more helpful to me, that it was to him. I had no stress! We got our wetsuits on at about 6:15 and started making our way to the water and said our good bye to our families. - We were in the water about 4 minutes before the gun went off. So no real physical warmup...
Swim
  • 1h 23m 27s
  • 4224 yards
  • 01m 59s / 100 yards
Comments:

The race directors changed this swim course from a 2 loop to a single loop, probably with the goal of spreading people out. That wasn't the case for me. My swim times were significantly faster going in to this race than they were in 2010 and I was expecting a time closer to 1:10 - 1:12. Well, I was in traffic for the whole swim, felt like I just went 6 rounds with an MMA fighter. I wasn't terribly disappointed by my swim time as it was still faster than 2010.
What would you do differently?:

I would line up as close to the buoy line as I could. That seemed to be the only place I could break free of traffic and really get in to my swim.
Transition 1
  • 11m 48s
Comments:

11:48 seams a little slow, I really thought it was faster than that... I felt like I had a good transition - keeping in mind that I wasn't in too big of a hurry, knowing that I'd be out on my bike for most of the day.
What would you do differently?:

I don't know if I'd do anything different.
Bike
  • 7h 48m 21s
  • 112 miles
  • 14.35 mile/hr
Comments:

No matter how often I ride this course, I can't seem to improve my bike times and I always seem to run out of steam on the second loop. Keeping that in mind, I rode MY race and kept pedaling.... I ended up dropping a couple minutes from my 2010 time.
What would you do differently?:

I think I need to work a lot harder on my bike.
Transition 2
  • 18m
Comments:

By the time I got back in to T2, I had a terrible cramp / pinch in my neck. Got changed in to my running clothes, then hunted down an ART guy to help me with my neck. Unlike 2010, I don't think I got any relief....
Run
  • 6h 28m 48s
  • 26.2 miles
  • 14m 50s  min/mile
Comments:

By the time I got off of my bike, I knew I was in good shape to finish and finish with a time better than 2010. I walked and ran for most of the run course. Found a few people to talk to and pretty much kept a positive attitude the whole time.
What would you do differently?:

Run more
Post race
What limited your ability to perform faster:

Lack of training and motivation.

Event comments:

I love IMWI and will certainly race here again. I really hope to improve my times, but I'm beginning to believe I'm stuck in the 16's....




Last updated: 2012-09-11 12:00 AM
Swimming
01:23:27 | 4224 yards | 01m 59s / 100yards
Age Group: 265/384
Overall: 1469/2839
Performance: Good
Suit: Zoot Prophet - Full
Course: Single loop in Lake Monona
Start type: Deep Water Plus:
Water temp: 73F / 23C Current: Low
200M Perf. Good Remainder: Good
Breathing: Good Drafting: Bad
Waves: Navigation: Below average
Rounding: Average
T1
Time: 11:48
Performance: Average
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
Wetsuit stuck? Run with bike:
Jump on bike:
Getting up to speed:
Biking
07:48:21 | 112 miles | 14.35 mile/hr
Age Group: 362/384
Overall: 2116/2839
Performance: Average
Wind: Headwind
Course: The Madison bike course is referred to as a "lollypop". It consists of a 16 mile "stick" section which connects to a 2 loop 80 mile course, then the 16 mile stick back to transition.
Road: Smooth Dry Cadence: 85
Turns: Good Cornering: Good
Gear changes: Good Hills: Bad
Race pace: Comfortable Drinks: Not enough
T2
Time: 18:00
Overall: Below average
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike
Running with bike
Racking bike
Shoe and helmet removal
Running
06:28:48 | 26.2 miles | 14m 50s  min/mile
Age Group: 372/384
Overall: 2223/2839
Performance: Below average
Course: Pretty flat with the exception of a small hill on the UW campus.
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 3
Physical exertion [1-5] 4
Good race? Yes
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Good
Race evaluation [1-5] 5