Ironman Wisconsin - TriathlonFull Ironman

My previous long triathlon swim was a 400M sprint where I was kicked in the face, saw stars, and ended up doing a lot of back stroke. Swimming 2.4 miles in the midst of 2000+ swimmers was a major accomplishment. Still very slow but have improved significantly. Swam inside the buoys (Coach J's idea) and only came out around the turn buoys. Pummeled, kicked, clubbed, and punched going around the first four turn buoys. Discovered a bump on my forehead today and nasty looking bruised finger and bruised legs. Hey, it was a blast. Never thought I would say the swim was the easiest part of the day.

Stay outside the buoys to get some better chances for a draft. I had fairly clean water but not many people to draft off of.

What took me so long? Stopping to hug friends after getting my wetsuit peeled, the long run up the helix, and a hug on the helix for both of my coaches, Coach J and my swim coach Mark. Rosie, the marathoner from Cottage Grove, was the volunteer who assisted me. She was AWESOME! I thanked her many times.

Who cares how fast the transition was. Showing my appreciation for my friends and coaches was far more important.

Really enjoyed most of the bike. Saw Whizzzzz at the Hwy 14 and McCoy Rd intersection. Two 10-minute potty stops for some GI issues and two more 5-minute stops. Strong bout of nausea at about mile 85. Switched to all water after that and was fine. Did great on the big hills that are repeated twice on the loop. Good cadence and maintained control of HR and breathing. Passed a lot of men on tri bikes going up the hills. Most of them suddenly became very determined to pass me back once they saw my age on my calf. The Team Swimfast bike jersey caused a lot of fun comments, especially, "Don't you think you need to bike and run fast too?". Coach J was at the bottom of Timber Lane and Mark was about halfway up the Hwy 92 hill into Mt Horeb. Amazing support from both coaches.

I need to build some leg strength over the winter. Being stronger on the bike will help my run. Legs were absolutely dead for the run.

I offered to give my bike to anyone who wanted it--I was ready to get off but felt better than expected. Transition was fairly fast and I had a great volunteer (Ironman vet 4 times). Thanked her numerous times.

Nada, nothing.

Didn't run nearly as much as planned. Right hamstring seized running up a hill. Left knee then decided not to cooperate with my efforts. Running was not an option after about the 14 mile mark. I wanted to finish without doing major damage to my knee. The course is fun and the volunteers and spectators are so supportive. Several things heard throughout the day: "you are so amazing", "you don't look 50", "you are an inspiration". Mike Reilly said something very interesting at the athletes banquet. The volunteers tell him how inspirational the participants are and the participants feel the same way about the volunteers. Thank you has never come out of my mouth as many times as it did yesterday.

Many of my subordinates from work were at the Capitol run aid station--more hugs and encouragement. Our neighbor was impersonating where in the world is Waldo. She was there for the swim, on Old Sauk Pass on the bike, and on State Street for the run. So many amazing acts of friendship, support, and kindness on a truly amazing day.

Do more long bricks. My body just was not ready to run 26.2 after biking 112.

Walked a little, saw Coach J for a nice big hug! Whizzzzz and Coredump were waiting for us at the end of the finish line area. Wonderful to see both of them and very thankful they stayed around until we finished.

Mike Reilly made a statement at the Athletes meeting, "The only thing you can control is your attitude, if you can do that, you will finish." He was right!


Age, inexperience, lack of longer training sessions, and perhaps some improper nutrition decisions. Not sure what caused my GI issues. Maybe doing 140.6 miles on one day?


The organization of the IM branded races is top-notch. Amazing how they keep everything so organized, on time, and efficient.