Ironman Wisconsin - Triathlon

The mass start was crazy, full contact. People swim like a-holes - stopping to sight, followed by a giant scissor kick to your face. I'll take the start as a trade off for all racing against the same clock. That made it much more fun than other races. I'd say the crowd was less violent after 800 yds but then got bad again as we all tracked the finish gates. I'm sure I swim all over the place so I have to count on the crowd to some extent. As far as speed and timing, my first IM goal was to race with decent pace and form while keeping my breathing & HR in check. easy enough

Get in the water sooner and work my way into a better position to start. Also work more on form to be able to swim straight without sighting so often.

The volunteer help was incredible for the entire day. T1 is multi-staged so it's so long. I wasn't concerned about my time for a first IM. Times I saw from previous years were more in the 10-15 min. range so I was thrilled.

I could always transition faster but it's a nice breather before taking on the next 10-11 hours.

I took the time to experience the course a few weeks early which helped a lot as an inexperienced cyclist. I fear the downhills more than the ups. I had to yell at some people riding 3 across up the hills so I guess I climbed them well. The crowd is great. An IM bike is never ending. My computer went out here and there due to low battery so I didn't know my mileage. What I thought was the last 5 miles turned into 20. Never have I been so excited to run a marathon. Again, no hard goals for my first time. I rode harder than I had trained but still managed to save some for the run.

More experience will teach me how hard I can push the bike and still run well. My bike is slower, out of proportion from the rest of my racing.
Going to the bathroom is an obstacle I can't quite solve.
More technical bike experience would be a huge help for me. I bet I could cut 20 minutes with better up and down shifting, anticipating hills.

Awesome feeling just to get off that darn bike. The volunteers were great here once again.

Could always be faster.

It was hot by the time the run started. I had dreams of a 4 hr run. A 9:00 pace sounds so easy but of course I knew to expect the unexpected. I did hold that "run" pace not including bathroom stops, water stops, and a walk up Observatory Hill. I had no way to know how I would feel after 8-10 hours. I kept taking the salt. Actually lost all my salt but ran into a friend to give me a refill. I could not stomach another gel or Perform. I didn't know if I was taking in too much or too little but my stomach was starting to get angry. I walked the aid stations and continued to drink water and tried other things like bananas and pretzels. My legs were still moving so I felt that I had trained properly for the run on its own.

More nutrition training on long workout days.

No physical warmdown.
Instant nausea, my head was spinning as if I was drunk. I couldn't eat and wished I could throw up. It took about 45 minutes of rest plus some broth to get right again.
I was eating and walking for the remainder of the evening. Post-Post race I did not sleep, general exhaustion for a few days.


The experience to know the balance of exertion from one leg to the next. General bike experience would also help.


With no experience, I hoped to break 12 hrs based on my training. Sure it was hard but I didn't experience a collapse or mental breakdown expected after reading other race reports and online forums. I'll be able to reevaluate and tweak my training to give it another go next year.
The race was coordinated very well. I watied in so many long lines but at the same time there seemed to be a million volunteers so it seems they did the best they could. My only complaints had more to do with hotel costs and minimum stay requirements. I didn't find it necessary to sign in 2-3 days early just to make me hang around in town all weekend.