Ironman Wisconsin - TriathlonFull Ironman

4 of my buddies and I all waded out into the water... tried to find a nice quiet comfy place to bobb in anticipation of the cannon (if you watched the beginning, there is no such thing as quiet calm bobbing...its a constant battle for position, which kinda stinks).

The cannon went off, and thus the wash machine began. The first 2 turns were nerve racking, and violent... and frankly i do feel like this was the most violent swim i have been in to date. After the 2nd turn, the field begins to thin, the hammer heads that go out too fast begin to fade, and the correct feet begin to appear in front of you. the back stretch of the first loop is what I would call the "relief" section of the swim.... cuz... the scary part is over... and now you just have to stay true to your stroke. Turn 3 was good, and frankly i started to get a bit excited, i felt like i had a lot left in the arms, and my breathing and everything was going quite well. I turned the 4th corner and just kinda started to stretch my glide and focus on my catch. the rest of the swim went well minus a giant breath of water (yeah, that doesnt work) and some choking that went along with it at the 6th turn. Hit the 7th turn and headed for shore... i was very very happy to see Sub 1:10 out of the water... and frankly one of my buddies looked a bit suprised to see me so early. it was a 7 min iron swim PR.

I would probably start closer to the Front outside.. we started about a 3rd back from the front on the outside, and a clearer shot woulda been nice, BUT whatever, I have 0 complaints.. altho, per the usual, being kicked in the face hurts.

The transition is long
the helix is funny.
the Lotion people are a bit um Over Zealous with the lotion, i looked like Casper leaving t1...

heh

I would ask them for a "little lotion please"

The bike started all right, luckily the wind was still low on the Connector. At mile 2 I was thrown my first curveball. I was in the aero bars and the left aero bar arm pad snapped off. I managed to catch it and put it in my pocket. I spent the next 11 miles pedaling and contemplating how I was going to survive 100+ miles without being able to rest in my rather comfy aero position. At the first rest stop (what, mile 12?) i used the race supplied allen wrenches to take apart my aero bars and macguyver them back together well enough that i was able to use it for the rest of the ride.... and the whole fix took probably 5 minutes. I was a bit more at ease after hitting that curve ball. So, i hit the loop, and actually just kinda stuck to the plan. I knew if I avg'd 150 bpm i would finish with an avg speed over 18mph... so that is what I did. The only real mistake I feel i made was not eating enough on the bike, and it would get me. (this is what they call foreshadowing:)) One of my buddy's finally caught me at the very end of the first loop, he was riding great, and within the first 10 miles of the 2nd loop i could no longer see him ahead of me. the lower half of the 2nd loop is where I would imagine most people suffered. There was a rather Steady headwind (forecast called for 10-20mph) and until you turned north around Mt. Horeb, it was pretty well horrid. Mt horeb was good, took a bathroom break, got back on the bike, and headed for the hills.. just kept trucking through the loop, got through the hills, felt good. got to the connector and had a nice tailwind allllll the way back. I soooo wish i woulda eaten more.

Eat... should have consumed MORE calories!!!!!

I am not sure what took so long..... i did use the bathroom which apparently took a while... OH, and I had to wait for the vaseline... (heh, that is funny to type... and well, read...)



move faster

The run started great... the first 3 miles flew by, the 2nd 3 miles also flew by... but I had this kinda, empty feeling... At the state street turn around I was feeling good, but i knew something was up. My pace was right aroun 10 min miles to that point, and stayed at that pace until about mile10... and the wheels began to come off.... at 11 i knew my stomach was no longer processing anything... I had been attempting to consume calories (all liquid) and they were just sitting in my gut. I kept up the jog (now at 11:30 pace) through the halfway point, I had a lead off the bike on my buddy dom and wanted to try and hold him off. I knew damn well that he is a much better runner than i. after I hit the turn around I saw dom at about mile 13.6 or so... and well, he looked strong, and i knew he was going to catch me... I ran until i hit mile 14 and I decided that if i wanted to finish strong.. i had to get the stomach working again so I walked.. and it was a miserable walk... i just was marching slow waiting for dom to catch me. at about mile 15 i felt a bit of a bathroom urge which frankly is a good sign. I got out of the john and felt better. Began to shuffle, which stretched to a jog.. then suddenly I was back at a 10:30 pace... YAY...

I Got to Camp Randall JUST in time to see Dom exciting.. bummer, he caught and passed me while I was in the john (not a very dramatic Pass I might add) So the run moved on. I kept moving and the 2nd time around the state street turn around dom now had a 6-7 min lead on me. I kinda laughed and said "if you are gonna beat me, you better PR". (he did in the end by 5 minutes) I just kept up my pace, felt strong again,, tired but strong. once I hit the 20 mile mark the world seemed like a happier place. I had a conversation after the "Crew Building" Water stop with Danny #123, and his girlfriend. It was fun to have some humor on the run. The rest of the run just kinda marched on, i felt good, I knew i was in the home stretch, and every step got me closer... 10k to go.... 5k to go.. it was great. As I was running up around the capitol i felt good. I finished strong and was thrilled to hear friends and family all cheering for me at the finish.

not much. i was hoping for 4:30.... i got 4:45... I am thrilled to death with the whole day.

warm down included having a LONG conversation with the "catchers" that were responsible for me (i love it cuz they are basically required to talk with you about whatever... and they are soo nice, and i just had a blast waiting for my finishing picture) it was crazy I probably just kept smiling like an idiot for an hour or so... I met my buddies, took a bunch of pics, hung out with family. and then when the cheering squad went home we cheered in another pal and we wend to the bar!!!!

beer has never ever ever tasted so good.


who knows...
training, genetics??

we shall see.... i doubt i have another 4hr PR in me :)

This race was a huge Redemption race for me. I finished in 16:23 in 2005. I am a happy fella right now.


I love this race. It is a truly incredible event.