Ironman Wisconsin 2021 - Triathlon

This swim was pretty uneventful. The lake was a little choppy and there were some pretty good swells closer to Monona Terrace on the return side, but nothing too crazy. I didn't feel like it was particularly crowded either, probably because I was seeded appropriately. The kayaks on the out section were maybe a little too close in, so that the course was pretty compact, but I suppose that helped with sighting and staying on course. I was also glad that I chose to wear my full-sleeve wetsuit.

I'm happy with this swim. It was slower than the last time I did this course (1:27), but on par with my swimming abilities this year. The only thing I'd change would be to put more bodyglide on my neck - I got some chafing on the right side.

Well, this was ridiculously slow. I stopped just before getting to the helix to take my wetsuit off - there was another girl doing the same so we acted as each others' wetsuit strippers - that helped a lot. Running up the helix was fine, getting my T1 bag was no problem. But I must have entered a time vortex at this point to take so long. What in the world was I doing??? I know I took my sweet time toweling off my feet and applying sunscreen, but 17 minutes worth? I also stopped at least twice while walking my bike out to take my bike shoes/socks off to get more grit out them. I can't stand cycling with debris in my shoes.

I think the index card checklist I made to help "streamline" T1 ironically made it more cumbersome. I need to simplify the stuff in my T1 bag next time and make it dummy-proof so I don't even need to think about it. But at least I was comfortable getting on the bike this time.

I loved this bike! I hadn't ridden this course for over 10 years so it was really fun to do it again. I felt pretty good the entire time, paced myself well, and did my nutrition just as planned. Stopped for the first time at special needs to grab my pre-frozen gatorade and peanut m&ms, use the potty, and reapply sunscreen. This all somehow took me 6 min. I think maybe next time I should pack an almost-empty spray sunscreen bottle, since that might be quicker. I stopped one other time around mile 85 for another quick potty break.

I felt great on the first loop and still pretty good on the second. Seeing Lisa cheering me on in her cow costume on Timber Lane hill #2 on each loop was great! And the Midtown Rd hill was amazing the first time around - I felt like I was climbing one of the Alps in the Tour de France with all the cheering crowds. The second lap was a different story - almost all the spectators were gone and there was a speaker playing an Erectile Dysfunction ad rather loudly. Quite a change in atmosphere from the first time around! lol

The most annoying part was when I realized around mile 108 that there were still 6 miles left (i.e. this course was longer than 112 miles) thanks to the 70.3 mile 50 sign. I was really confused by that - apparently it was somewhat publicized that there was a longer detour, but no one I talked to knew about it. That was really annoying because I was trying hard to get done before 7.5 hrs and that made it more difficult. But I still made it in the nick of time, and saw Lisa cheering for me as I pulled into transition!

I think I did very well in pacing myself overall. I felt well-prepared for all the hills since I rode so many in training. I would have liked my overall speed to be faster, but it is what it is. I still felt strong getting off the bike in T2, so I think I did a good job of not over-doing it. My rolling pace was 15.4 per my Garmin (I forgot to turn off the auto-pause feature). Again, I'm happy with that, given my current fitness level and the difficult course.

Another ridiculously slow transition. And I didn't even apply sunscreen here, since it had been so overcast all day (and even sprinkled a little bit during the bike) and was already 4:45pm. I did wet wipe my face, which felt amazing after the bike. And I did a full change + visited the potty. I think I could save a lot of time if I got a really good trisuit that I could just wear the entire time. Maybe next time!

I didn't run any of this transition and it was pretty long (had to go across the length of Monona Terrance twice). I'm sure that also contributed to the slow time. But I just didn't feel ready to run yet.

Oh, the marathon. I've been battling injuries in my left calf and right foot for a couple months, so I knew it wasn't going to be pretty. But I started off strong, and ran the first mile before starting a run/walk combo. I actually didn't feel too bad at this point, and didn't even take any pain meds until later in the run, I can't remember exactly when. (I had taken a couple tylenol and ibuprofen hours earlier on the bike).

I ended up running with a guy named Joshua (HS principal from Chicago) for several miles in the first lap, since he was doing a run/walk and was a very positive person. At some point he wanted to walk a little longer and I decided to go on ahead and didn't see him again until after the race. I was on my own then for a long time. I got to the turnaround and by this point, my stomach wasn't feeling great. It wasn't bad per se, but just... unsettled, and nothing sounded good. I grabbed my clif bloks, an extra bag of OTC meds, my headlamp, and a little baggie of shelled pistachios just in case, but never ate them.

As I was heading out for lap # 2, I saw Amber on the side cheering me on, which was nice, but also confusing/disappointing, as that meant she hadn't made the cutoff somewhere. I didn't see Lisa here as she was volunteering at the finish line. At this point it was starting to get dark. I stopped around mile 14 and took some Pepto and visited the port-a-potty, since I was feeling gassy - thankfully that's all it was!

I did a lot more walking here, sometimes only a 2:2 ratio run/walk. I was definitely hurting more at this point, and the second lap gets dark and lonely so it's easy to slow down. I took more Pepto a few miles later and that helped settle my stomach, but I couldn't eat anything from about mile 20 on. All I had from that point on was Gatorade and chicken broth. Around mile 21 at the farthest turnaround point, I got another girl (Emily from Chicago) to run with me. I figured that it was going to hurt either way, so we might as well run and get it over with. We stuck together for most of the next four miles, keeping each other accountable to run, and only walked the aid stations. We picked up a few other stragglers here and there, but ended up all separate by the end.

I was really proud of myself for rallying in the last 5 miles and running most of them. I was very emotional coming around the capital into the finish chute. I had the entire chute to myself and high fived people along the way and just felt amazing. The finish line chute definitely made all the pain and struggle worth it!

Got my finisher's hat, shirt, and medal, and got my picture taken. When I left the finish area Lisa and Amber were right there. It was so good to have my friends there with me! We walked back to Monona Terrace to pick up my bike and our gear bags, and then just went back to the hotel. We all showered and cooked some frozen pizzas and sat around eating and talking about our days.


This was a well-run race and despite some challenges (not having as many volunteers) I felt like it was still very well-supported. I was happy to be able to race in Madison again!