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Race Reports for Ironman Wisconsin 2011

[1]
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Race rating (4)
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[2]
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Race rating (5)
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  • Organised?
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  • Lots of volunteers to help?
  • Plenty of drink stations?

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  • Overall course based on my ability:

  • Comments: I loved this race and loved the whole experience.
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[3]
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  • Comments: Overall I was happy with race as my first Ironman. I made some mistakes and learned some lessons but it all worked in the end. The support that I received from friends, family and other BT'ers was unbelievable, I can't thank all of you enough. I first had this goal 29 years ago watching the Ironman on TV and can't believe that I was lucky enough to be able to give it a go and accomplish it. Not to be melodramatic but it was one of the best days of my life (aside from my kids and getting married). On to IM Lake Placid for 2012 and then back to Madison in 2013...god willing!
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[4]
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  • Organised?
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  • Lots of volunteers to help?
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  • Comments: This was my second IM-WI with identical results. I finished dead center in the middle of the finishers and in the middle of my age group. I think that's a decent result. I'd train more and be faster if I had the time, but I think I maintained a good life balance while feeling well-prepared for the race. For those in a similar situation, from Jan 1 through the race I biked 2588 miles, ran 574, and only swam 44. I'd recommend more swimming, but swimming is the most inconvenient sport for me. IM-WI is the most amazing race in terms of fan and volunteer support. It feels like everyone on the course cares about you finishing the race.
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[5]
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Race rating (5)
User photo
  • Organised?Yes
  • Events on time?Yes

  • Lots of volunteers to help?Yes
  • Plenty of drink stations?Yes

  • Post race activities? Good
  • Overall course based on my ability: Just right

  • Comments: My final thoughts: As I alluded to before this journey did not come perhaps as easy as some other people. I had several testing points along the way that just might have stopped many athletes. I wanted to share some of those moments with you….. This race report is about my 1st Ironman journey. The “journey” as I call it had many highs and many lows. One thing is for sure, I have worked so hard to get to this point. This point was the ability "just to get 'er done." During this journey there have been simply amazing days of what I would call terrific training sessions. And there were days, well were training was bad enough to call it quits and get into a real demanding sport like maybe checkers or tiddlywinks. I had done a few sprint tri's before. Last summer had worked towards and completed a ½ Ironman in Door County, WI. I did train and completed what I thought to be a good showing to continue on with a dream of mine, to complete an Ironman. Completing the ½ Ironman was a high point
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[6]
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  • Organised?Yes
  • Events on time?Yes

  • Lots of volunteers to help?Yes
  • Plenty of drink stations?Yes

  • Post race activities?
  • Overall course based on my ability: Just right

  • Comments: This race was fantastic again. The volunteers were amazing, things were organized, and the day was all about celebrating the athletes and their accomplishments. They have gotten rid of a few of the perks that helped justify the hefty registration fee you pay for an IM branded race (no inspirational mile, the electronic sign that reads a message someone has left for you only worked for the first loop, really limited selection of finisher gear, stuff like that), and I would encourage them not to get ride of anymore, but it's still a top notch event. Those things are minor. I'm glad I was a part of it and I would absolutely recommend the race to someone considering an Ironman.
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[7]
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  • Organised?
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  • Lots of volunteers to help?
  • Plenty of drink stations?

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  • Comments: After 2 straight DNF's (finished 15 minutes after 12 the first year and missed a run cutoff at mile 18 last year) I did it. I trained so hard this year compared to past. It was the most satisfying feeling to know that I worked for this. I am not a good athlete, and some people make this look easy. It is never easy for me. No part of it is easy.
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[8]
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Race rating (5)
User photo
  • Organised?Yes
  • Events on time?Yes

  • Lots of volunteers to help?Yes
  • Plenty of drink stations?Yes

  • Post race activities? Below average
  • Overall course based on my ability: Just right

  • Comments: Would love to do Madison again. Maybe in 2014.
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[9]
Reported by:
Race rating (4)
User photo
  • Organised?Yes
  • Events on time?Yes

  • Lots of volunteers to help?Yes
  • Plenty of drink stations?Yes

  • Post race activities? Good
  • Overall course based on my ability: Just right

  • Comments: I felt the "mob" scene during the swim and the micro-managing of bike spacing (draft patrol) were inconsistant. I can't understand why the organization continues with a mass swim start which hardly is conducive to a quality individual swim, yet micro-manages the bike portion when there are a couple of miles of bikes wheel to wheel not due to intentional drafting. A biker is forced to perform above or below capabilities. Within the first few miles the motorcycle patrol was warning people of the "20 second rule". One patroller seemed to acknowledge the obsurdity of the rule given the conditions.
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[10]
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  • Comments: I hate Observatory Hill, but it's good to have it in the run course. Its presence made the course MUCH more challenging vs 2010. The volunteers and fans on this course are super. Meeting Fred and Bryan (mndiver) at the Friday morning swim was a big highlight of the trip. Great guys.
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[11]
Reported by:
Race rating (5)
User photo
  • Organised?Yes
  • Events on time?Yes

  • Lots of volunteers to help?Yes
  • Plenty of drink stations?Yes

  • Post race activities? Good
  • Overall course based on my ability: Just right

  • Comments: I love this race! Fan and volunteer support is phenomenal and the course/venue is great as well. This won't be my last IMWI that's for sure. While it wasn't the result I wanted, I will remember this one more. I regret allowing all the negativity to pervade the extremely long marathon, but also proud of myself for pushing through and continuing on when physically things were not going so hot. All I could think of were the friends and family I would disappoint if I threw in the towel. I especially knew that I was tougher than that and that I wouldn't forgive myself if I pulled the plug early. I truly believe you learn more about yourself going through hardship and adversity and will come out the other side better for it. When I am ready for IM again I will be back to redeem myself.
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[12]
Reported by:
Race rating (5)
User photo
  • Organised?Yes
  • Events on time?Yes

  • Lots of volunteers to help?Yes
  • Plenty of drink stations?Yes

  • Post race activities? Average
  • Overall course based on my ability: Just right

  • Comments: I finished about 19 minutes faster than last year. I think I was much fitter than last year and was happy to finish after a tough day. I probably left about 20-25 minutes on the course due to the mechanical issues on the bike and poor nutritional prep. Overall I was happy with my performance, I had a PR, improved my performance within both my age group and overall rankings and did so under some tough conditions.
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[13]
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  • Organised?
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  • Plenty of drink stations?

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  • Comments: Ive had a little bit of time to think, reflect. Back home and dealing with active family issues in between dressing changes for the wounds.. Thats all they are...just a flesh wound.. Not really that big of a deal. I didnt break anything, battle through delerium, uncontrollable vomiting, dangerously low Na levels...just scrapes...just skin...it stings...but no pun intended...its superficial..I ran/walked a painful marathon..thats all i proved to myself. I didnt quit when it got hard, but im not sure i truly overcame any major obstacles. I lived up to what ive watched my son do..not give up when things are bad/tough...but truthfully that is what most parents do right? Why are these things important? Now i need to figure out why I do these things...why this IM distance is important to me. Why i want to train that way. The "journey" has been important and enjoyable although the balance has always been a challenge.Why do I try to balance high maintenance kids, bzy job with weekend calls,
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[14]
Reported by:
Race rating (5)
User photo
  • Organised?Yes
  • Events on time?Yes

  • Lots of volunteers to help?Yes
  • Plenty of drink stations?Yes

  • Post race activities? Average
  • Overall course based on my ability: Too hard

  • Comments: I love this race. I love the town, the volunteers, the spectators... they are all amazing. Yes, Ironman is expensive, but it's an experience and a lifestyle not a just a "race".
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[15]
Reported by:
Race rating (5)
User photo
  • Organised?Yes
  • Events on time?Yes

  • Lots of volunteers to help?Yes
  • Plenty of drink stations?Yes

  • Post race activities? Good
  • Overall course based on my ability: Just right

  • Comments: They say you only have one first Ironman, and to really just enjoy it. And I sure did. And I am so glad I picked this race. To share this with my partner, Kathy, my good friend Suzy, to have my crazy mentor group going nuts with worry when the timing device showed no forward progress and they all thought something had happened to me until someone got a hold of Suzy's husband Paul and there was a collective sigh of relief. I owe gratitude to Kathy for being as patient and as supportive as possible when it counted most. To Steve Janowiak, my coach who has been instrumental in helping me to achieve this dream of mine. To Suzy, my good friend, who is a tremendous person in every way. For carting us all over town, but moreso for making my IM experience so less nervewracking than it could have been by keeping me calm, especially on race morning. To my crazy MG, you guys rock. Sorry to scare the bejesus out of you! To my Mom and Dad, who taught me as a little girl, to reach
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[16]
Reported by:
Race rating (5)
User photo
  • Organised?Yes
  • Events on time?Yes

  • Lots of volunteers to help?Yes
  • Plenty of drink stations?Yes

  • Post race activities? Good
  • Overall course based on my ability: Just right

  • Comments: This was a great day in my life. I have worked so long and so hard to get to this day. I did not mention very much above the spectator support, but that is only because I had so much to say. I loved seeing all my friends and family out there. All my fellow Donkeys cheering for me on the sidelines, at the aid stations and even from the ones in the race really helped me to keep going. I actually looked for them where I thought there were standing on the run course when I looped through more than once. My family was there in big numbers as well. Not only were my wife and kids there, but my parents, my brother and his wife and daughters, my cousin and her husband, my other cousin and his family, my Aunt and Uncle and even my other Aunt and Uncle flew in from California to be there for the race. It was great seeing them multiple times out there keeping me going. While running I kept repeating a line from a song which is actually a ballad from the 80's, but it was true - "Sometimes I
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[17]
Reported by:
Race rating (5)
User photo
  • Organised?Yes
  • Events on time?Yes

  • Lots of volunteers to help?Yes
  • Plenty of drink stations?Yes

  • Post race activities? Good
  • Overall course based on my ability: Just right

  • Comments: Great race and fun location, and as always big thanks to the volunteers that make it happen!
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[18]
Reported by:
Race rating (5)
User photo
  • Organised?Yes
  • Events on time?Yes

  • Lots of volunteers to help?Yes
  • Plenty of drink stations?Yes

  • Post race activities? Good
  • Overall course based on my ability: Just right

  • Comments: LOVED THIS RACE! The lake was beautiful, the bike was rolling and fun and the run was just plain fabulous. The crowd support was amazing. The post-race food from WTC was weak, but there are tons of awesome restaurants in Madison, so we went to the Great Dane, which was fabulous. Some other racers gave us an ovation. : )
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[19]
Reported by:
Race rating (4)
User photo
  • Organised?Yes
  • Events on time?Yes

  • Lots of volunteers to help?Yes
  • Plenty of drink stations?Yes

  • Post race activities? Good
  • Overall course based on my ability: Too hard

  • Comments: Tough IM course to pick for my first, and last;) Some of the aid stations ran out of ice by the time us BOPers were getting to the end. Right size tshirt weren't available near the cut off time. Heard the med tent closed at 11:30, which is not good for those that really struggled to finish. Positives: AWESOME race support, AMAZING spectator support, great venue, I like the looped run course so I could see lots of people I knew out there.
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[20]
Reported by:
Race rating (5)
User photo
  • Organised?Yes
  • Events on time?Yes

  • Lots of volunteers to help?Yes
  • Plenty of drink stations?Yes

  • Post race activities? Average
  • Overall course based on my ability: Just right

  • Comments: 2nd IM race and it was awesome! The crowd support in Madison is truly amazing. IMKY was good, but this was truly incredible. The energy level from the volunteers and crowd kept me going and made me smile the entire time.
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[21]
Reported by:
Race rating (5)
User photo
  • Organised?Yes
  • Events on time?Yes

  • Lots of volunteers to help?Yes
  • Plenty of drink stations?Yes

  • Post race activities? Good
  • Overall course based on my ability: Just right

  • Comments: Redemption up for my slow 2008 race and DNF in 2009! So sweet to have everything sync up for once! Not the best time but not the worst and above average. Had to wait 20 minutes for more pizza to arrive. My wife and family rock! Thank you for your wonderful support, I couldn't have done it without you!
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[22]
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  • Organised?
  • Events on time?

  • Lots of volunteers to help?
  • Plenty of drink stations?

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  • Overall course based on my ability:

  • Comments: I had heard that IM Wisconsin is an awesome experience. I built this day up for a long time and it was every bit as good as I thought it would be. I feel very fortunate to participate in an event of this magnitude. Thanks to all the volunteers, fans, IM, and especially my wife who gave up a lot for me to do this. I will not do this next year for sure, but might try it again sometime there after.
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[23]
Reported by:
User photo
  • Organised?Yes
  • Events on time?Yes

  • Lots of volunteers to help?Yes
  • Plenty of drink stations?Yes

  • Post race activities? Good
  • Overall course based on my ability:

  • Comments: I still love this race but believe I will be taking a hiatus for awhile. During the race I swore off IM racing, but you know how that goes. I will more than likely do the distance again, just not sure it will be Madison. Can't wait to come back next year as a spectator and volunteer. I want to thank The Donkai Nation for all they did. The friends I have met have been incredible and it was so helpful to see them so often in the course. My friends Darrel and Heidi Barlage who drove all the way to Madison the morning of the race to see this crazy event. Of course my brother Kevin for taking off work and spending so much time on the course. Finally Kelly, Aly and Nik. Without all they do for me and all their support I could not do this. I love you guys.
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[24]
Reported by:
Race rating (5)
User photo
  • Organised?
  • Events on time?Yes

  • Lots of volunteers to help?Yes
  • Plenty of drink stations?Yes

  • Post race activities? Good
  • Overall course based on my ability: Just right

  • Comments: RACE REPORT Ironman Wisconsin 9/11/2011 Total time: 14:54. Place 13th in 60-65 age group. Upper third Nothing is impossible. I don't care what you think you can't do. You are wrong. I went from being a 400-pound morbidly obese man at 54 to an Ironman two weeks shy of my 60th birthday. I have set the appointment for the tattoo. I earned it with a lot of help from my wife/manager Kathy, coach Stan Watkins of Vision Quest and a host of friends, mentors and supporters. The Ironman is the hardest, best thing I've ever done. Cancer prepared me. Pain truly is temporary. One other trait that is essential - Johann Bruynell said embrace trouble as if you planned it that way. Stay positive, deal with one is and not what you wish it to be, and keep moving. The secret to becoming an Ironman is to start swimming when the cannon goes off and don't stop until
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[25]
Reported by:
Race rating (5)
User photo
  • Organised?Yes
  • Events on time?Yes

  • Lots of volunteers to help?Yes
  • Plenty of drink stations?Yes

  • Post race activities?
  • Overall course based on my ability: Just right

  • Comments: This was absolutely the experience of a lifetime. It exceeded all expectations and was in many ways both easier and harder than I thought it would be. I had the biggest grin on my face all day...and still do as I sit here writing this report. :) I can't finish this without giving a shout out to my hubby who has been an absolute rock for me throughout this crazy Ironman journey. I was an emotional wreck for the last couple of months of training and he was never anything less than supportive and understanding without asking for anything in return....there is no doubt that he is my biggest fan. I am one lucky Ironwoman. Now back to real life....
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