Ironman Wisconsin - TriathlonFull Ironman

The swim is always my favorite event. I don't think anything can prepare you for an Ironman swim though. The first loop was complete chaos! There were people everywhere and it seemed impossible to find an open area to swim. I didn't get any kicks to the gut or blows to the face or anything, just got swam on and ran into a lot. Now I know this isn't probably the best thing to do, but when you are in the moment, it's instinct reaction....so whenever someone would be swimming on me or grabbing my legs or something I would start kicking...pretty hard. I hardly kick at all when I am swimming normally, but when someone is on top of me, I will kick like hell to get them off. I can't help it. I think word must have gotten around to stay clear of me, because once I rounded the bouy to start the second loop, it was completely clear. I could finally start swimming instead of fighting!

That second loop felt great and I was enjoying every moment and with every turn I realized my first Ironman swim was getting closer to the end. I made my way to the final stretch and swam as far as I could before I had to stand up and I looked at the clock and it said 1:10! I was so pumped! I was hoping for anything under 1:15. It was hard to measure that distance in open water in training, but every time I had done that distance in the pool I did it in 1:12, so I wasn't sure how that would translate in open water. Faster apparently!!

I don't think you can avoid the chaos of swimmers at an Ironman, so there is nothing I could or would change.

I got help from a volunteer to stand up and climb out of the water. It took a little bit to get used to standing up again. I took off my goggles and cap and walked on over to the strippers and got stripped...that was cool. I stood up and started my jog/shuffle up the helix. My family and friends were waiting for me on the helix and when I turned the corner to see them, they were cheering soooo loud!! There was about 20 of them there. All I could do was smile and wave because it was so exciting to see them. They were awesome!

I then got into the Terrace and went to change into my bike gear. I had heard about how great the volunteers were in the changing tent, but I still couldn't believe how much they actually did help you. My lady helped me get all my stuff on, sprayed some sunscreen on me that I had brought, and sent me on my way. I didn't put my shoes on until I got to my bike because my bike rack was all the way at the front right before the bike mount. I didn't want to run in my cleats on cement for that long. It worked out just fine.

Nothing. That was a blast!

I started down the helix and saw my crew on there and I had to yell to get their attention. But when I did, they made their presence known! It was a great start to the ride. Then I rode the stem out to Verona. The only issue I had was when I was turning onto Whalen Rd. this girl decided it would be fun to pass me on the turn and then come 2 inches from my front wheel and cut me off. It kinda freaked me out a bit. When I got out to Verona I spotted all my green shirted fans and rode by with a huge smile on my face as they cheered me on. That was a big boost of energy. Then I started the loop and things went pretty well. Coming to the aid stations was fun because they all had a different theme. My favorite was the Pirates theme in Cross Plains. I think I laughed the whole way through there. I enjoyed the water bottle hand offs too, especially because it saved so much time! And the hockey nets to throw the empty ones in were a nice touch.

I made it out to the 3 hills and saw some of my teammates families out on the first one (Old Sauk Pass I believe). One of the guys had a megaphone and was yelling my name and cheering me up that entire hill. I was passing people, and I don't pass people, especially up hills! So fun! Then the next one (Timber Lane) I knew my peeps were waiting for me at the top of that one. I had them there because that is the hardest hill for me. I got to the beginning of the hill and saw my brother waiting for me. He spotted me and started cheering me on. He said he was going to race me up it, but that didn't last long :) I passed more people up that hill and seemed to make it up to the top without breaking a sweat. My big group of green spotted me and yelled soo loud! My father-in-law had a horn thing he was blowing into, and they all were just so great! I was making really good time. I was about 40 minutes ahead of where I thought I would be, and I was doing great! I made it up the last of the 3 hills and into Verona and saw a couple other friends of mine. Every time I would see someone out there for me it brought a huge smile to my face. It was so uplifting and so cool they came out to support me.

Then I made it to special needs and I just wanted to check in my bag to see if there was anything I might need. I didn't think I did, but it was special needs, so I wanted to check it out! That took all of 20 seconds and I went on my way. The wind picked up a bit on the second loop, but it was coming from the west so I knew once I got to Mount Horeb it wouldn't be a problem anymore. The crowds had thinned out a little bit from the first loop, but I knew my peeps would be out there. They were just as loud as the first time I passed them by!

I finished the 2nd loop and headed for the Terrace. I hadn't ever ridden up the helix, so I was anxious to do so. It was a lot easier than I thought. And when I made that final turn, my sea of green was there waiting and cheering for me! :)

My nutrition plan was to eat a PowerGel at every 1/2 hour and a pouch of Luna Moons and 2 salt tabs at every 1 hour, and drink water and Gatorade as well. That plan seemed to work out perfectly as my stonach didn't have any issues. I was a little confused that I never had to go to the bathroom once the entire ride, when normally I would have to go 2-3 times. I drank like 7 bottles, so I knew I wasn't dehydrated. I am guessing my body was just in cruise control or something. No complaints from me!

Not a damn thing. This is a tough course, but for some reason those hills seemed effortless for me that day. This was by far the most fun I have ever had on any bike ride, and especially ever on that course.

I got off my bike and a volunteer took my bike and I went inside to change. Another great volunteer helped me out in the changing area. I had her try and get my Garmin ready, but it was saying low battery, so I kept my other watch on just in case. I forced myself to stop at the porta potty since I hadn't gone to the bathroom since before the race started.

I guess bring my Garmin the morning of to put in my bike to run bag? I hadn't ever had any trouble with it not staying charged over night, so I wasn't worried about it. But it really didn't matter, my watch did what I really needed it to do anyway.

I started the run and my legs felt great! I was worried I was going to be hobbling around after 112 miles on the bike, but my legs felt super fresh. I saw my big crowd right away and I went and gave them high fives. There were so many spectators along the course I couldn't help but smile a majority of the time. Running through Camp Randall was pretty cool. It felt weird running on the field turf since I was so used to the concrete. A couple of my co-workers were there and they were so funny! They were jumping up and down and screaming-it was so cute.

I got to the State St. aid station and walked to take some water and my brother was right there giving me a little crap about walking. It's an aid station so it doesn't actually count as walking! :) I ran to the State St. turn-around and I heard the roar of my family from 2 blocks away. I went and gave my husband a kiss and gave everyone else a giant group hug and went on my way! I ran with my teammate Chuck for a little while. We kept yo-yoing back and forth and finally decided to just pace eachother. After a little bit he needed to walk so we split up again. I saw so many of my Endurance House teammates along the course. It was so cool to see them. They all looked fantastic! I made it to the turn-around and got to my special needs bag and got some more PowerGels and some chapstick. I am so glad I put that in there!

I saw my awesome family again and went on to do the 2nd loop. It was getting dark when I got to the State St. turn-around so I handed off my sunglasses when I got to my family. I knew that was the last time I was going to see them before the finish line, so as I ran towards them I did a flexed muscle pose and they went nuts!

I ended up running the entire course, except I did walk the 2 big hills on Observatory on the 2nd loop. I am pretty sure I was power walking faster up those hills than I could have ran them anyway. And I walked through every aid station (but I don't think that counts). When I got to the turn onto State St. and to the Capital I got chills and could not believe I was almost done! When I got to the Square it started raining, but my theory is that God was crying because he was so happy for me, so I didn't care! I saw my family as I ran down the chute and I had a huge smile and tears in my eyes as I crossed that finish line! It was the best!!!!

My nutrition plan was to have a PowerGel every 1/2 hour, a salt tab at every 1 hour, and drink water or Gatorade at every aid station. I never needed any of the other stuff they were offering, and I didn't want to even try since I was feeling so good. Don't fix what aint broken!

Again, nothing. I loved every minute of it!

My cousin was there to give me my medal, which I did not expect! I started crying when I hugged her. I got my photo taken and met up with all of my family. I found Josh and gave him a huge hug and kiss and kept right on crying! I took a bunch of pictures with everyone and then went to the food tent to get some food. That was definitely the hardest part of my day-trying to sit down and then stand back up again. I looked like a damn fool! After that I went and got a massage and that felt great!


Nothing.


This was soooo much fun! It was the second best day of my life (next to my wedding day of course) and my race could not have gone any more perfect. I finished about 1 hour faster than I thought I would! I have wanted this for so long so it was nice to have all of my training and preperation pay off in a very big way. Loved it!!!!!