Ironman Wisconsin - TriathlonFull Ironman

What can I say that hasn't already been said? The mass start was incredible! There were thousands of spectators lining Monona Terrace and the swim start area. I'm a right-side breather, so it was cool to see that mass of cheering bodies every time I took a breath! The start was crowded, but not too bad. I never got beat up, which was nice. I followed some pre-race advice and just counted my strokes. The swim was over in no time.

I should swim more. I was pleased with a 1:15:42 considering that I never swam more than once per week. Also, I should have had at least a few swim days where I swam the full 2.4 miles. That was the first time I ever swam more than 3000 meters at a time. I was pretty amazed at how easily I managed to get through it without stopping and hanging on a buoy or kayak.

Unfortunately, there was no "shoes on the bike" for us AGers. I'm not used to running in my bike shoes, but I managed. The fun part was just getting out of the water. My back was a little tight from being so buoyant for so long. The wetsuit peelers were great! The run up the helix was not bad at all, but just a little slippery. I'm a little surprised that my time was as high as it was. I guess I just need to get faster at running both with the wetsuit and once I'm in the bike shoes. I guess faster swimming would help, too. It's not easy to run fast with a bike when there are hundreds of other people streaming into line with you.

Not sure there's much to do differently, just do it a little faster.

I really loved this bike course, but it was punishing. I'm used to riding hills in Austin, but the constant rollers out in Wisconsin were unrelenting. I'm amazed at the number of really fast cyclists out there who don't ride hills very well. I'm sure some of them were trying to stay within FTP ranges, but I played leap frog with a bunch of people on the big hills. They'd smoke me on the flats and downhills, and then I'd spin easy passing them like they were standing still on the uphills. Maybe I should have pressed more on the down hills and flats, but I got off the bike feeling fresh, so I'm not complaining. Also, I had a very tight back from about Mile 25 until the end. It made it impossible to stay aero for very long, so I'm sure that affected me a bit. Still, I thought a 6:04 bike time was conservative, but respectable, considering the punishing nature of that course! To those guys that rode faster (especially in the low 5's and high 4's), I salute you. That was something else!

Given my condition entering the race, there wasn't much I could do differently. I made a conscious effort to dial it back to avoid overdoing it, and I think I succeeded. My legs were never in serious pain on either the bike or run. I think in training, I need to take care of my leg muscles more. I never really felt loose and ready to race. My muscles were tight (not painful) and knotty for weeks before the race, and nothing I did seemed to relax them. I need to mull that over, and perhaps do more focused bike training. I think a 5:30 split, even on this course, could be doable for me if I have the right conditioning.

Not much to say. I had a perfect dismount and bike hand-off. Had a little trouble with my socks, but it didn't cost me more than a couple of seconds.

Nothing.

My IT band issues from BSLT 70.3 in June and my calf strain two weeks before IMoo really limited my long run training and hurt my confidence going in. The sad thing is that the calf strain was a fluke that happened during a light, easy morning jog. Just one of those things. Although I never had any IT band issues at IMoo, my calf was constantly reminding me that it was just a whisker away from cramping up and ending my day. Any time I felt even the slightest twinge, I would stop running (okay, jogging), and walk it out. As a result, I never had a serious problem with the calf, but it did slow me down.

Healthy, I think I might have been able to squeeze out a 4:30 to 4:50 marathon, but with the leg issues, I was fooling myself to think I could do that. Then, I had GI issues at Miles 3-4 and 6-7. That cost me a lot of time walking, and if it hadn't been for Bruce from Tomahawk, WI (Bib 1259, I think) letting me run/walk with him from Mile 9 to Mile 21, I might have been in for a 6 1/2 hour marathon walk.

Also, since my 12-hour goal was gone pretty much by Mile 3 of the run, when I caught my brother at Mile 17 of the run, I opted out of getting the fastest time I could and just hung out with him (he had melted down with severe stomach upset) and walked the last 5.5 miles to make sure he got in okay. It made for a great finishing photograph as he and I each carried one of his 11-month old twins across the line together. It was cool to hear Mike Reilly call out both our names and say "You are Ironmen" together. I think it was almost sweeter than if I'd actually made the 12-hour goal . . . . . . nah, probably not!


I plan on doing some focused run training over the next two years before I try my next IM. I think with a little work, I can get a much better marathon feel. With a solid 6 hour bike, I should be able to do a 4 to 4 1/2 hour marathon with no real problem (assuming I'm healthy). I just don't run enough to do that. This needs to change.

Warm-down walking around the finish; some Cold Stone Creamery vanilla ice cream with Reese's Peanut Buttercups mashed in; a nice hot shower; early to bed!


Periodic injuries and lack of knowledge of how to properly care for those injuries. Lack of run training in general. Overtraining on the bike in terms of intensity and undertraining on distance.

Hopefully, I learned a lot from this experience and can translate it into a helluva PR next time around.


NAS and Ironman in general gets a bad rap for having expensive races that sell out too fast and shut out a lot of would-be racers, but I never felt screwed over by anything. They have a first-class organization and know how to put on a helluva great race. The weather was pretty much perfect this year, in stark contrast to the last 2 years. It couldn't have been much better for racing.