Ironman Wisconsin : Official Thread (Page 24)

I was definitely unmotivated for my workout today - 1 hr ride 25 km run (25 km = 15.5 miles).  I had to get up at 5 am to get it done.  ended up stopping the run at 20 km and doing the last 5 km later in the afternoon because my calf was hurting.   Generally, I am tired and sore these days.

Last week on my stand along 25 km run, I went through 4 20 oz bottles, 4 gus and 4 salt pills.  I'm a sweater.  yesterday on my bike, I went though 7.5 litres in just under 6.5 hours.  This heat is killing me.

It's scheduled to be open by Sept 1.  No idea if they're on schedule or not though.

If by TH you mean Town Hall rd then yes that is one of the alternatives.  The other is Malone Rd to Hwy JG.  Both are more difficult then Hwy 92.

I rode out Malone road last week,  its a constant climb all the way to Mt Horeb.  Think I'll go ride it again tomorrow....

That TH detour is a beast.  First time I've ever hit 50 mph on a bike, but the climb back up is brutal. 

Ha, that's exactly how I described in my log after riding it on back-to-back days last month.

Alright, I think you guys are just trying to scare me.  I have done a few of my long rides on the roads in the maps below, and the profiles look way tougher than the IMWI bike course.  Is the IMWI bike course profile deceiving or am I more than prepared and you guys just train on the flat land?

http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/113089631

http://ridewithgps.com/routes/1501396

Thanks

First timer - CJ

It doesn't look difficult on paper and no one hill is particularly difficult, but you never get a break.  You're always going up and down and turning with very few places to recover and just zone out for a while.  I found it to be more mentally difficult than physically difficult.  But I live in Iowa and we don't have large hills here, so maybe if you ride hilly terrain more often you'll be better equipped.  I will say my first ironman (on an "easier" course) I rode 15 minutes faster than I did the IMMoo course, and my bike fitness was MUCH better for IMMoo.

Let me preface this by saying I have only ridden the course once in training and am doing IMWI for my first time this year.  What I find interesting is that the Ironman page lists the profile as having 2,800 feet of elevation.  Last month when I rode the loop, my Garmin gave me 2,500 feet of elevation for one loop.  I did two loops so I come up with 5,000 feet of elevation which does NOT include the stick.  People call the stick flat, but I know it has rollers and would certainly add additional climb to the 5,000 feet I had for two loops.  I might guess the total elevation for the entire ride to be closer to 6,000.

I would think your ride of 8,400 feet would be at least as hard as the IMWI course (and possibly harder), but your ride could potentially feel easier if it has a lot of long downhills to recover.  The WI course doesn't allow you to relax much because it doesn't have very many long downhills.  Plus the minute you finish a downhill, it seems often you have another climb waiting for you.  Like the other poster mentioned, you are always going up or down.

I just feel like the course does a super job of beating you up over time.  It basically provides a lot of jabs to the body which really hurt over time.  I wouldn't say there is a single monster shot to the jawline that knocks you out, but the 3 or 4 big hills and all the rollers do require smart cycling.

So we are all on the same page, I will be happy with 17-18mph average for the ride.  Keep that in mind when judging ability, I'm slow.  With that in mind here's my description of the two options for the hwy 92 detour.  Both, IMHO, are much tougher then staying on hwy 92.

TH - crappy roads, several medium size climbs and one huge (steep, not long) downhill where you can coast to 40-50mph, followed immediately by a steep climb.  I actually got a little nervous on the descent, that has never happened before.

Malone - feels like one non-stop climb.  A couple of short downhills that are not much of a brake.  One longer downhill that leads to the final climb back up to Mount Horeb.  I prefer this route over TH because the roads are a little better.  

When mapped out individually, TH adds 3 class 5 climbs and Malone adds 2.  When added to the full map neither one has a classifiable climb.  

When measuring from the end of Messerschmidt Malone is longer and has more climbing (approx 20 ft) with very little recovery time.  TH is just a pain, literally and figuratively, in the A*#.

Malone will also allow you to make the trip through Mount Horeb.  TH will cause you to miss it completely.

I understand that Ironman Powerbar Perform will be the drink handed out on course.  Does anyone know in what sort of container it will be handed out in?  Will it be in a regular bike type water bottle, the normal Perform type bottle where you'd have to transfer it, or something else?

Thanks in Advance

Regular 20 oz bottles, but with a sports lid that twists open and shut. 

So the hard plastic type of bottles that you could buy at a gas station (I know I've never seen Perform at a gas station, but you get the picture I'm trying to paint) but with a sports cap that twists?  Any issues with it staying in a bottle cage?

When my brother did IM Louisville in '09 they handed out normal, squeezable, reusable Gatorade water bottles.  I was hoping it'd be a real water bottle here and not some disposable plastic bottle.

The bottles will look like this, only with the sports cap.  They fit just fine in my bottle cages.  My only complaint with them is that they're filled with Perform.

(ironman-perform-sports-drink1.jpg)

I found IMCDA to have the same issue as well. The official course listed 4300 ft climbing total.  My Garmin, as well as others I talked to showed a total of 5600 ft of climbing. 

Any others that have ridden the whole course have Garmin data? 

Thanks

Jenny

I concur.  Perform => not so good.

Thanks for the heads up, a sticky mess for 112 miles would by annoying.

Forgive me if this sounds like a stupid question, but are those bottles of perform available at the beginning before the race to load up your bike or are you suppose to use your own at the start?  Just thinking why throw away two decent bottles when I'm going to get cheap disposable bottles in return.

Sorry if it was mentioned earlier.  Is this detour just for riding the course now, or is it going to be in effect on race day as well?