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 Swim
Comments: Rough swim, didn't put too much effort in since I was all over the place and it was hard to time breaths--didn't want to burn up all my energy, esp since I had just spent 45min shivering while awaiting the start, and another 45min before that. Surprisingly didn't gulp any water, but did miss breaths from time to time. Finger tips were numb like usual--left index and middle were really bad, right index less so. Wish I knew what that was about. What would you do differently?: Well, I literally swam once since IMWI last September. The wind and waves were definitely a challenge, and my horrible navigation added a ton of time too. This was my worst swim ever, but I didn't push that hard so I'm actually OK with it.  Transition 1
Comments: Coming out we went up the boat ramp which was really rough concrete. Got my land legs back pretty quick and unzipped my wetsuit but didn't pull arms out right away since it was so cold out. The whole path back to transition (grass) was now mud. Found a wetsuit stripper on a fairly grassy patch, pulled out my arms and lay down, she and another gal got my legs out and pulled me up by my arms. Thanks so much! Tried to say way to the side of the mud trough, but the fence feet were sticking out so had to watch for those. Feet were solid mud, and the path between the bike racks was all muddy now too. Shoot! Luckily it wasn't raining, so I pulled out my bike bag, sat on the big towel, rinsed my feet w the peri bottle and dried them w same towel, got socks and shoes on, put on my pink chamois shorts, blue shell, helmet and glasses, and pink gloves. Tried to find the least muddy path, but the out line was all mud and nowhere else to go. There was a 'river' in the ditch right outside bike out so my shoes were soaked. Oh well. What would you do differently?: I spent a ton of time opening bags, closing bags, covering them with other bags (in case it rained again), cleaning off mud, and walking through the mud paths (too hard to run in the bike shoes since you sunk deeper into mud). I knew it was gonna be a long transition so didn't worry about it. After seeing my swim time, I knew I wasn't gonna break 7 hrs.  Bike
Comments: Overall it was good, I was just steady, stood up on a few of the hills even though I could just grind up them. Legs actually felt great the last 10 miles, felt pretty strong. Feet were numb, esp the right, and I didn't notice my heel at all. Crotch was killing me, not as bad as I'd expect but glad I had the pink chamois for sure. What would you do differently?: Not much for these conditions. It went pretty good. Actually thought I'd be over 4 hours from that headwind. Transition 2
Comments: So right after dismount we had to go back through the muddy 'river' ditch, shoes got soaked. Aisles were all mud so I just went down the 3rd one to get back to the far south aisle which was pure mud. Tires were caked, they brushed against all my gear as I racked my bike. Luckily there were only a couple of bikes back so I had a lot of room to work with. I think we had 4 empty slots on our rack--David's rack only had 3 bikes cuz so many people bagged it! (my age group started w 85 people but only 50 finished). Some guy was outside the fence yelling to keep socks and shoes off, that they had water outside the Run Out to rinse feet. I probably stood there a minute trying to decide what to do since as soon as I got back grabbed the 'run bag', took off my helmet, put on the visor, clipped on the race belt, and stood there holding my shoes debating whether to put them on. Looking at the solid muddy aisle, I knew my shoes would get muddy, but just how badly? And what if there wasn't water once I walked thru w my bare feet? I decided to take a chance, so after taking off my bike shoes and putting them under plastic (still thinking it could rain any minute), I peeled off my wet socks, grabbed my running shoes, and went down the chute, that initially was mud up to the top of my feet. When I hit the Run Out, a kid had a gallon jug w water and he poured it while I rubbed my feet. Once they were 'good enough', I found a spot on the concrete to sit down and put my wet socks back on. A spectator was so sweet--he had a pack of kleenex and asked me if I wanted a tissue to dry off with. Since my socks were so wet, it didn't matter so I declined so someone with dry socks could use it instead. Once my shoes were on, I got up and looked at my watch. I had just wasted 1 min 30 sec dealing w my feet/shoes on the run clock that should have been on my T2 time. T2 was slow too due to having to unpack/and pack everything (and my shoe debate). What would you do differently?: As above, mud issues mainly, knew this would be a slow transition (should have been 1.5min slower, actually--instead my run time got screwed)  Run
Comments: Mile 1: 12:40:57--hit the watch late plus 1:30 shoe time Mile 2: 7:21:92--part of mile 1 belongs here Mile 3: 9:17:88 Mile 4: 9:51:11 Mile 5: 9:37:36 Mile 6: 10:02:75 Mile 7: 9:55:17 Mile 8: 10:07:10 Mile 9: 10:13:11 Mile 10: 10:05:12 Mile 11: 10:14:03 Mile 12: 9:59:25 Mile 13: 9:45 (checked my watch at the mile marker but didn't push it to get a 13.1 time) Mile 13 and 13.1: 11:17:15 --so 1:32 for the last 0.1--not surprising as it was uphill and I went really slow.... What would you do differently?: I probably needed more fluid, I was down 2# when I got home despite having had 3 little water bottles and 2 half subs and chips. I was sweating like crazy. But I felt good all the way so it was probably fine. Just gotta keep pushing and looking only at the current mile--can't get overwhelmed with the big picture. Was very happy to get a PR, which is really a 2:09:18 cuz of the shoes, but the 2:10:48 is what stands in the books. Post race
Warm down: As I was crossing the finish line, I saw David and Craig on the left, and David had a medal around his neck! My photos are funny cuz I had this look of 'oh no you didn't' and I pointed at him. Pretty funny. I had 2 catchers who gave me water and my finisher's hat, and a mylar wrap, I had to stand so the other volunteer could get my chip, and my left calf gave a hint of cramping. I stretched it and no further issues. David and Craig came over--Craig took some photos, but I had to keep walking. Because David couldn't walk at all, I was just walking circles around them as we talked then we went into the food tent. I had a turkey sub and chips, and 2 small bottled waters. I stood the whole time and kept moving my legs while David and Craig sat. It was about 3:30 and because awards were at 4 we decided to just stay there instead of trying to get clothes from transition and come back. The wind was blocked in the tent pretty well so it was fine. At 4:00 I wandered until I found the awards stage down the hill toward the boat launch, so we went there and watched Craig get his 1st place award. He was just a little miffed that David beat him on the swim (and won the Roka prize). We found out the Roka "first out of the water" would be mailed to David, so we left then, taking a long time to get to transition since David was limping so bad. Stopped at the porta to finally pee. Had a fair amount which was good since I hadn't peed since the swim. I took my shoes and socks off and went in barefoot since it was so muddy, and tried to carry my bike but the tires just were caked with mud and it got all over the brakes too. Didn't want to ride it like that. Gathered up the gear without spreading too much mud, luckily had packed extra plastic bags to keep stuff separated. David rode back to Aliant since he couldn't walk, and I walked with a couple of guys from St Louis. Stiffened up a little on the car ride home, but then spent the next hour and a half hosing down the bikes, shoes, bags, doing laundry, soaking the towels, etc. Finally got into the shower around 7, David heated up leftover spaghetti from last night and made a salad, had dinner. Heel was very sore, thought it might keep me up, but having to pee in the night is what woke me. What limited your ability to perform faster: The morning weather was awful! 621 people took their bikes and left!! The wind was a beast, and 57 more people quit after the swim. Transition was a mud pit, gear was soaked and muddy, so just not a very pleasant situation. The cool temps were unique though, as the past 2 years it was almost 90 degrees and humid, so that allowed me to have an awesome run. All said, it wasn't that bad, and I was glad I had stuck with it. The volunteers were amazing. I can't believe they stuck it out--they were freezing and wet but stayed to help us. Madison is the best community when it comes to the volunteers, for sure! Event comments: The course is hard for me but the location can't be beat since I live here, so I'll probably do it again even though it is expensive. Madison's volunteers are THE BEST! Because of the weather I had slow swim and transitions, but it gave me a PR on the run. Plus overcoming the weather and the mud showed me how strong and resilient I can be! It was a good day! Last updated: 2017-08-21 12:00 AM
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United States
62F / 17C
Precipitation
Overall Rank = 1194/1508
Age Group = 50-54
Age Group Rank = 29/50
I checked in and got my wristband on Friday afternoon (took the day off). Jason's commencement was Saturday at 1 and wasn't sure how I would do that plus bike check-in so just wanted it done. Turns out I needed a ticket to his commencement so couldn't go anyway, but no lines so that was nice. Friday night was Ross's grad party, so ate a ton of Mexican and 2 Spotted Cows.
Saturday we had a salad for lunch, then went to Alaina's grad party. Had a hot dog and slaw salad and cake there. Got to Olin right at 4--David was the last one to check in. Racked our bikes--5th row down, 10th bike in. Took the computer off and put it in the Bento box since it was gonna rain all night, and had an Orange Hammer and Vanilla Gu in there as well. Stopped at Simply Swim on the way home so David could buy new goggles--bought clear Caymen's since it's supposed to rain all day tomorrow. Dinner was spaghetti w meat sauce, cheesy garlic bread at home. Got everything organized. Rain was in the forecast for the entire day, so I packed each part into it's own bag to keep stuff dry. Swim bag had wetsuit, cap, goggles. Bike bag had shoes/sox, helmet w clear glasses in it, blue shell, pink gardening gloves, and pink chamois shorts--big towel to sit on and small towel to wipe feet. Peri bottle in backpack. Run bag with running shoes, race belt, and visor. Had a body glide in small front pocket. Made 1/2 PBJ sandwich for the bike, put in bag but left it open so it could dry out a bit. Had another plastic bag packed with
quart of Fruit punch gatorade, 2 water bottles of water, flask w Coke, small profile container with the 2 straws, a banana, and then the sandwich. Went to bed around 9pm and actually slept pretty well.
Set the alarm for 4:15, put on my Couer top and shorts with Marji's sweatshirt over. Pink flip flops. Used tri slide to crotch and chest--ended up working great. Forgot to spray it on my neck. David made French toast, I had 2 pieces of that with PB and maple syrup and half a greek yogurt. Had a good poo. Brought a banana and had a big bite while in transition. Left the house around 5am. Got to the Alliant around 5:30, it was pouring out, and the busses weren't moving (apparently they delayed them cuz there was lightening and they didn't want people out in the transition area). Wore a rain poncho but got pretty wet. While on the shuttle, realized I hadn't cleared my watch. UGH! MAKE A NOTE TO REMEMBER THIS! And this is how stupid I am in the morning--it said 33 "slots" left, my brain subtracted that from 50 so I thought I only had 17. Decided I would lump the swim, T1, bike, and T2 together, so I'd have 14 left for the run. Duh, actually didn't figure this out till I'm typing this and my watch says I still have 15 slots left. Anyway, the Shuttle took us to transition just after 6, got body marked and grass was very soaked and a little muddy. Had put a bag over my profile container, but they had removed it so there was rainwater in it. Oh well. Put Fruit Punch Gatorade in the small container (note for next time, use Coke instead) and filled the big part up to the crack with water. Flask with Coke, nothing on the back. Had made a PBJ sandwich on wheat (half) last night and left it open in the bag so it would dry up a bit. Put that into the Bento box cuz taping it to a wet bike wasn't gonna happen. Ate a big bite of banana and gave the rest to David. So many people were leaving with their bikes, the Swim In was jammed up and there was a big line to get out of transition. Turns out 621 people DNS'd. I decided I'd do the swim, but if it was still pouring when I finished I would bag the bike--gentle rain and I'd keep going. Another 116 ended up with DNF, 57 of them quit after the swim. Apparently a lot of people started the swim then turned around after a couple hundred yards as it was so choppy. Anyway, because David was going to start in front, we needed to get to the beach, but after arriving they announced they were gonna delay the race 1/2 hour as visibility was poor and the kayaks/boats couldn't see us. It was raining and so cold--we were shivering. We had to stand there for 45min until the 7:30 start. We found Craig and hung out with him. I finally had to leave the chute and lined up with the 36-40min folks. Had to wait 43 min until I got to the start, at 7:00 I slowly sucked on an Orange Hammer gel (without water). I had to pee so bad this whole time, but didn't want to deal with the portas, so just held it till the swim. There was a corral we had to go into, and then it became single file down the hill to another corral then start was 1 at a time. The hill was so muddy, we had to hold on to the side rails or we'd slip and fall. That caused a delay in getting people going.