Ironman Wisconsin - TriathlonFull Ironman

hey, im not a strong swimmer so why should i expect a strong swim split, right??? wasnt totally happy with this time, but to be honest, not totally disappointed either. going in i knew that once i got out of the water, i would be an ironman!

um........swim a tad bit faster???

my god!! can we have wetsuit strippers for every race?!?!?!?!? now that was fun!! run up the ramp wasnt as hard as i thought it would be and to be honest i was planning on a bit longer transition times (aprx 10 mins each). have to admit tho that running with my bike for what seemed the entire length of the terrace, i did get a TAD bit emotional towards the exit when i saw my family (yes, even my father inlaw with the donkey ears and nose on)!!!

nothing, nadda, zippo

now is where the fun was happening!!! was having a pretty good ride (except for the warning for drafting i got on the way to the loop, seemed that when you go out to pass someone and hear a scooter coming up behind you fast, you cant tuck in back behind that someone you were gonna pass.......brief exchange, but all is well........) until just past the verona aide station on the second loop when something felt "funny". pulled up along another rider and asked him, "hey, my back tire look alright back there?" to which he replied,"um, no, really soft".......darn it i said and pulled over to deal with it.........*first poor decision* decided to just put air in the tire and see how it would do..put the cartridge on the tire, released the valve and.......nothing. crap!! empty cartridge. dug out the other one and put it together, but GUESS WHAT??? forgot to close the valve...so...air all over the place and one more empty cartridge. no more cartridges. guy comes over and gives me two (my finish, half of it anyway, goes to that guy, whoever he was.) get the air in the tire finally and away i go.....about 400 yds later i look down and am basically on the rim again. crap. pull over, replace tube this time, fill with air (no more cartridges again now and no other tube now either) and away i go. about 200 yds later.....POP..........crap. flat with the turn to go back to town right there... pull over and without thinking just start taking the tire off to take out the tube in hopes the maintenance crew isnt that far away, when i hear, "you got a flat? what kind of wheel you have?" i answer by holding it up and hear, "crap, different. if we had the same i would trade you wheels", which causes me to look up in astonishment and see a guy who is just on the course watching............he then asks if i had another tube and of course i had to say no so he jumps on his bike while saying, keep taking it out and i will be right back........comes back with two tubes and his pump and a cartridge. he helps me change the flat and fill up with air and away i go (i owe the second half of my finish to that guy, whoever he is. he really saved my ironman.) back on the bike i am contemplating pounding the last 12 or so and trying to get back somewhat on track when a little voice in my head repeats a phrase that someone sent me days prior to the big event. that phrase was simple "trust the plan until it breaks down, then move on to another plan". thanks joe!! from that point on i decided that the primary goal just became to finish and to have a fantastic time in doing so!!

not get flats, change the tube right away.......i was happy with this effort tho. i ended up wasting about 45 mins on that stretch alone.

again, planned on more time in the transitions. felt like i was taking longer........

nadda, nothing, zippo

was running just to enjoy myself. felt fine physically, some tummy issues, but nothing too bad. hit most of the walking buffet lines and scarfed good amounts during the run. saw lots of BTers including, mr2tony, running2far, force, jszat, peterak, scoobysdad, donkeywolf, judyjetson, pjgrande, whizz (knew her from her hair, she was almost right next to my family!) jmwebs, deanna, lara, maggyruth, amyjotri, travis and sandiVB....im sure im forgetting lots of peeps and i apologize if i missed you. saw josh and tammy on the run and they were looking smooth i tell ya!!! at the turnaround point i couldnt resist giving little toby a kiss on his forehead as his mommy was holding him in her arms! the ran down the row slapping high fives and such and then realized i was in the wrong spot!! jumped over the cones to get back on track and over the timing mats! ran with a guy from chicago for awhile, too bad he's a bears fan tho. got to the point about 3.5 to go or so and a lady randomly asks what time it was. i knew what she wanted to know so i said, no, no no, dont wanna know.......but someone said it anyway........he said we just hit the 12 hour and 32 min mark according to his watch. decided i needed to break 13 hours so that became yet another plan, which was accomplished. was great finishing and enjoyed my time out there tremendously. actually think i might have enjoyed this more than if i hadnt gotten the flats.....kinda odd, but hey, thats me.

was overjoyed to hear yams got his slot and finished 19th overall, you da man yams. nuff said.

was sad to come up behind and realize it was birkie walking, dealing with a hammie issue. he worked as hard as anyone out there. next year tho, that course is his.

all goes back to the flats on the bike.

walked thru the line, got my little bankey from some female and as she was asking me questions she gets bodychecked out of the picture by a crazed lady from the madison area that goes by the name of donkey deanna!! was great to be caught then taken over by a donkey and magster was actually right in front of me having caught someone else just moments before!! thanks guys!! came out of the finishers area and saw my shwimmycoacher there, got a big hug and then she pointed me to my family. was great to see them there at the end. walked over to the terrace and then it hit me. chills and shakes, had to sit down and wrap up in two bankeys..........but then all was well and went and got my bike (someone actually took one of my ironman water bottles.....man.....after that it was off to applebees for a big ol' greezy cheezyburger and a large choco milk!!!


flats on the bike, but im not complaining, IM AN IRONMAN!!


long lines at registration but other than that nothing bad for me at all, and even those lines werent all THAT bad. i had a blast doing this and even tho i might have been quoted about not doing another one, you betchya booty that i will be back to the moomoo!!! (maybe as soon as '09?)