Ironman Wisconsin - TriathlonFull Ironman

Some early thoughts about starting really wide and avoiding the scrum Willing to give up a little yardage and time to save strength from battling the masses.. Not afraid of contact...very comfortable with mass start...but no need to duke it out with everyone..Started a little wider then 07...just to the shore side of the ski jump, about 2-3 rows back.. I asked about their expected times and got sub 1 hr behind me and 1:10's in front, so i figured no one was really placed right. I had hoped for about a 1:06 to 1:08 time...Anyways, gun went off and got some pretty open space quickly..kept breathing and stroke was nice and smooth and decided to move a little closer to buouys. Problem was between no visibility and the 2500 people starting on race days, just overall too packed. Able to draft for a while here and there...but my stroke is much better when i can stretch out my arms and not worry about hitting someone or not getting kicked. So I made the decision to stay a bit wide. I was pretty much on the outside the whole time...Rarely saw anyone on my right except for the line of boats and spotters. Just kept my stroke smooth, breathing comfortable. After first lap felt pretty good and after the 1/2 way pt of second loop, decided to pick it up a bit...started using my legs a bit more as i turned back toward shore...when i got pulled out saw 1:04 and was quite please...headed for wetsuit strippers...saw john, clay, bill, and ran up to helix.

Not much. Swimming got sacrificed a bit in training, so cant be upset with 2 min faster...Could have been a little bit tighter on my lines...probably swam ??extra 50-100 meters...but probably thats on high side..

Wanted to make this a bit quicker than last time...didnt change clothes..saved some time. Volunteer opened bag, pulled out stuff. Took a minute to get socks on..probably should have just ridden without but its only a minute.. had some motrin that i though i put in tri top pocket i was going to take first 10-20 minutes but somehow that did not make it. Took 1/2 bottle of infinit while changing...ran out, got sunscreen, skipped portapotties. They had trouble getting bike off the rack...seat post is so high you have to turn in sideways or pull bike out backwards...Since there were still bikes on both sides, volunteer could not figure it out.. I got it, thanked him anyways. As i hopped on the bike, saw my niece and nephew and brother-in-law , waved and off i went.

skip socks, skip sunscreen, have motrin on bike

This I though was going to be the big unknown. I though i knew how the run would go (until the temps were forecasted). My training rides all sub 17 mph (but with stops). New Zipp in back plus riding with powermeter and the 12-27 cassette were all new things to work with. I knew i was going to be passed. I was passed last time by about 1500 people..it was difficult mentally to deal with...but i promised myself to stick to the plan. 160-180 watts (had done 160 on last 90 miler). Stay below 240 on hills. Well, felt great on way out...knew there was a bit of tailwind...avg 19mph and watts only 140.....Early small hills no problems with the 27 cassette. Stayed seated, spun, and got passed a bit but no problem...It felt EZ! Stuck to nutrition...3 cliff shots blocks every other 15 minutes (margarita for extra salt) and 1/4 infninit bottle + carbopro the other 15 minutes with 1/2 tsp of extra salt for the heat) for 450 cal hr. Water to keep the osmolarity down. First 30 minutes my back up water bottle on rear cage got launched but not worried...Water available every 10 miles on course. After the 56 miles (19mph pace with one stop to pee), a couple of things.. First, nutrition plan holding up fine. Overall felt good, but neck was getting achy. Third, right knee was hurting...This happened last time but at mile 100 and i had no problems during training with this. A little concerned (figured out why this happened later) but kept on pedaling.High cadence over 90 seemed to make it worse but mid 80's seemed to be the right balance. Fourth, i was nailing the course. I thought i was going to be timid on descents with the turns after my crash a few weeks back...but able to really maximize my speed, kept good lines, conserve energy. Fifth, could feel those warm breezes and was getting really concerned about the heat. Last, something was not adding up with my pace and watts. I know the wheels help but this was more of a boost than i thought i should get...19mph, 147 watts? I began wondering if meter wasnt calibrated? But hr seemed to correlate. Well i took the speed as a gift. Saw Peter, Clay, John, Bill on the hill on Timber, Keith Bowersox (surgeon from work) was on last hill both times. Saw family second time through Verona and Maya ran along trying to keep up with me on the grass while I was getting waterbottles...She can really fly... Second loop a little toughher but switched to gu's instead of cliff shots and grabbed my second bottle at special needs. Knee pain came and went and was getting annoying. Could feel the heat and it was wearing a bit. Gu's and infinit were harder to choke down last hour and 1/2 but instead of stopping like 07, changed to every 20 minutes and kept on pounding it in. Refilled aero each aid station and used a bottle to splash on my back to cool down. Last 2 hrs really couldnt get aero except for extended downhills. The stick back in was really a drill. Mentally, physically. Back, neck, Knee all not feeling well and was really ticked i didnt have the motrin..The wind was tough and in my face and pace was markedly slower. Then with about a mile to go riding back along the lake...i hear my name shouted out from the bus on the street next to me. There is Team Topin!! Beck and Maya, My sister...Very cool...and the batteries were recharged as i rode up the helix 35 minutes quicker than last year, nothing to be upset about.

Not sure... Ended up with my legs cooked for the run, but think that was due to the heat overall and not from overdoing it on bike. Overall avg watts 150? so well under target. Id love to have the core, back strength to hold aero more consistently

agian, this was 10 minutes in 07, vowed to be quicker. Got off bike and was stiff! Got my bag, and went to put on amphipod belt and visor. Had a plastic baggy with gu's, salt stick, and one set of cliff blocks and tube of Nuun. Figured id sort it out while running instead of in t2. Got my motrin, took some water. Got sunscreen, hit the porta potties. then started to stuff the gu in my pockets. 5 steps later they popped out...This sucks, Bent down,got them, stuffed in tri top pocket and ran out with a lot of stuff in my hands.

speed laces would save about 30 seconds, but didnt train with them. Not having my gu come out of my pockets

Well the run was both my biggest disappointment and also, what im most proud of. I had some weird thoughts of getting close to a 4hr marathon based upon training pace. I thought even under horrible conditions i would be able to hold 10min mile pace..boy was i wrong.

I cam into the run worried about the heat and salt. Because its been so cool for most of summer and during training, i've not supplemented with and never took salt tabs. Also, was not able last time to really get enough calories of fluids in just at aid stations. So I made the decision to wear a fuel belt and run with all 4 bottles in it. Water in one, to be refilled as needed and 3 8 0z bottles of normal strength infinit. Roctane gu's (with more Na) and the salt stick. I was also gonna carry nuun tabs (last min decision) for more Na if needed. Problem number one was could not find enough space on me to store everything. Ditched the nuun tabs cause too big, too fizzy the night before when I tested it so goodbye. Fuel belt had been comfortable in training but today it felt heavy.

First mile felt good..8:30 clip..hr mid 140's..Cooled down with sponges and tried to get a rhythm.. Hard on state street with everyone cheering, and just excited to be off the bike. Its also a little downhill. Anyways, second mile quite a bit slower and I said uh oh.....nothing hurting but really feeling the heat..Stuck with the plan though...Walk the aid stations, and alternate between water and calories at aid stations. Made sure to grab sponges and cool down and tucked 2 in my tri top each time.
My temperature was keeping in check pretty good..Sipped some infinit and was ok...finished a gu, and an 8 0z infinit first hr for about 200 calories. Walked hills, bascom etc and just struggled to find a good rhythm. Noticed hr dropping but couldnt get legs to move faster. About mile 9 and 10 felt a little goofy. Tingly in legs hands...worried about sodium. Popped some salt stick tablets at aid station 11 or 12 and really perked up. Had some good paces going for next 2 miles and wanted to take more but realized i dropped the salt stick somewhere...bummer... got special needs and took out all the roctane (more Na) and tucked them under trishorts on legs. Grabbed a film cannister of ecaps (only 40mg Na each...bummer) and took off. So, made a decision to focus on a goal for each aid station. (salt, calories or water) Popped some ecaps right away on the capitol. and again felt better but needed calories.Saw Team Topin again around the capitol and running back on state street. Saw Beck and the kids and even though on the other side, walked over and gave Beck a kiss, hugged the kids, almost smooshed Maya as she was trying to videotape. Madison just said...keep going...keep going...and I did. Now i needed calories. Tried a gu...almost puked...ok..gu not working. Tried oranges...worked last time..nope...stomach not right...Ok...really need calories now...Tried pretzel (salt and calories..), had to stop for a second after that one...no more solid food. So sipped on infinit inbetween stations, went back to oranges and they worked for fuel, ditched extra weight on fuel belt, focused on keeping cool with the sponges (worked great during the day but I would pay for it after mile 15 when i soaked my shoes and ran with wet socks the rest of the way. On they way out to picnic point on the lakefront path, i kind of got a rhythm and tried to see if i could get my hr rate up. Worked for a bit and had a few nice (relatively) mile splits but again legs could not sustain that pace. It became harder and harder to start running after the aid stations...I granted my self 10 steps after the stations but no more...I knew if I started walking, that was it...and i was going to keep running. I trained to hard to walk...This was the mental challenge...this was kind of the moment i was waiting for....last time when it was tough, I walked. I thought i was pushing myself, but in hindsight....i was kidding myself. I walked cause it hurt, not because i couldnt run...I realized, this was why i chose to do it again... So i ran...(well tried to...it was running to me at the time..but not sure 11-12 min miles are really considered running...but it wasnt walking...Again, the goal, run till the aid stations, walk 10 feet past, then get it done. Got a boost by passing a fair amount of people at this point which who were walking Thought there was a chance i could finish in daylight, but sun was setting fast. Last time i walked quite a bit the last mile so i could make sure id run it to the finish, but this time i was going to finish the same way i had run this race! When i turned the corner to the finish, saw Madison on the sidewalk running along (outside the course!). Heard my name called out loud and no one was around. Its slightly downhill at this point i now realized which along with the crowd really lift you up and i crossed almost exactly 1 hr quicker then 2 yrs ago...The catcher caught me and asked if i was ok..Actually i wasnt...My legs were cooked. Mentally i was fine but i just wanted to sit. They wouldnt let me. They wanted to walk me over to medical but said I really just need to get off my feet. They got me some water and i went to Madison by the fence and gave him a hug. I found it strange that there were no chairs, but i guess they dont want a bunch of people hanging out in the finishers area cramping up...Probably a good idea...Anyways after about 4-5 minutes felt a little better and could stay on my feet.

keep shoes/socks dry. Dont lose salt stick. Train more in hot weather

Family was there as well as my coach... Talked a little bit briefly, and then grabbed some food. Family went back to hotel, and my dad and I grabbed my bike and bags and walked back to hotel. It was here that i noticed my seat was moving quite a bit laterally. This was not subtle. Somehow i didnt feel it while riding but my guess is this led to my knee pain on the bike. Had i known, i had an allen wrench to fix it. Took off my shoe and saw huge blister and my second toe swollen and bloody and bruised and looking quite nasty. Showered, got some dinner, got kids to bed. And went out to watch midnight finishers with schmize, coredump and whizzer.


training in hot weather. Still not sure If i had a true salt issue or sugar issues. No major GI issues....No bloating, no gas (unlike 2007). Nausea at times and a little unsettled, but compared to other out there, my stomach was doing great. The tingling i felt is symptom of both electrolyes and hypoglycemia and probably was a combination of both at different times.


Although not the run i wanted, it was the run i needed. I really felt i was faced with several challenges i had to deal with on the fly. Keeping cool, the sponges worked great...I felt hot, but never overheated. The salt issue i had several options, ditched some that i knew would work early. When i lost the salt stick, had a backup with ecaps in special needs. The glucose issue tried several different things (gu, oranges, grapes, sipping infinit, then back to oranges) till i found one that worked. But more importantly with 4 miles to go, i did not want to run anymore. I was done...I hit my wall..but i still ran...Not fast, not pretty, but i ran..On this day, with that heat, with my training, that was the best time in me....without a doubt.


I finished in 07 knowing there was another IM somwhere in my future.
I dont feel that anymore.

mile split hr
1 08:30 146
2 09:51 144
3 10:11 144
4 10:34 144
5 09:59 144
6 11:11 139
7 10:10 145
8 10:13 143
9 10:51 138
10 11:15 133
11 09:50 140
12 10:29 139
13 11:09 137
14 11:02 129
15 10:27 135
16 11:36 139
17 11:14 129
18 10:34 130
19 12:47 123
20 11:22 126
21 10:46 128
23 12:51 120
24 11:43 123
25 12:46 117
26 12:26 122
27 14:25 90