Ford Ironman Wisconsin : Official Thread (Page 8)

If the logistics and finances of volunteering are ok for you, I highly recommend it for the chance to experience an IM before participating. However, not everyone has the luxury to do it so online is fine. If you are ready right at noon local time to sign up you should get in. I signed up for IMAZ yesterday and it only took 5 minutes, no issues. Good luck!

It got significantly colder in my neck of the woods (Cadillac, MI) yesterday. My morning run took place in a brisk 16 degrees (F) this morning. Made me wonder how the rest of you were faring. Hope everyone is healthy, happy, and significantly warmer than I am. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving everyone. Oh and if you guys are still going to Madison to ride the course this week, have fun and don't freeze to death.

Hi everyone. I just did Ironman Florida successfully 15:15:09 as I got very very conserative at the last 1/3 to ensure nothing could go wrong and make me dnf like I did on that horrific course in SGUT my first try.

I want to try to maintain my cardio fitness at this level during the winter so I don't have to build it back up again. Does anyone know of an effective maintenance program like 2 long weeks 1 recovery week or something like that so when I have to get ready for Ironman Texas In may there will not be much to build back up. Then I will be doing other events until IMWI?

GRB1....need to pick your brain since last year was your 1st IM and it was I-Moo. Besides the mass swim start, what else do you suggest us first-timers should focus on to be better prepped for the race. I hear a ton of comments about the hills on the bike course. Did you train on the course? Did you have any big surprises that you wished someone would have told you about before the race?  Of course, if you're in M 50-54 AG, feel free to BS and  send me in the wrong direction, after all , it's still a race I'll find you after they let me leave the medical tent...if I can still move. Thanks for whatever advice you can give and representing the US Navy!

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Not doing it this year, but volunteering so I will start following the thread.

1. Did IMWI in 2010.
2. Yes.
3. To be a great volunteer and hook up with my many friends I met this year doing it.
4. Location, time of year, crowd support.
5. No, but I will glad to share my experience.  Though slow by some standards, I executed a nearly perfect race this year!

IME, it was helpful to have ridden the Verona loop several times.  I did four loops over two days last July and that was enough to get a good feel for the course.  I didn't ride the "stick" section until race day since it's relatively tame.  

1. No coach
2. Training w/ power meter, not planning to race with one
3. Considering a couple of Rev3 Knoxville, TTT HIM, Kansas 70.3, Muncie 70.3 in addition to a few shorter local races
 

Just out of curiosity: why are you training with a power meter, but not racing with one? It seems to me as though if you were going to train with one and monitor how you're doing all year with it that it would be important to have during race time, especially with the added excitement of a race making perceived exertion somewhat skewed. I know that you have completed Ironman races before so I'd like to know your reasoning. Is it because you've got a power meter on your training wheels, but not your race wheels?

I'm old school and prefer to race by feel.  I don't think a PM provides much benefit during the actual race.  The benefit of a PM is in the training leading to the race.

As far as race day excitement goes, most of that is beaten out of me during the swim.

Ted,
With regard to the bike course, yes I did train on it.  However I only rode the course on two seperate occasions.  Once I did the stick and loop (1x) and closer to the event I did the entire course stick and loop (2x).  This does help in that you gain an appreciation for what you will be facing come race day.  As mentioned by some others, the course is basically comprised of rolling hills with 3 big climbs.  It is very difficult to drop into your aero bars and get a steady pace going for hours on end.  You will be shifting on a frequent/constant basis.  Additionally there are a number of turns on some of the big down hills so your not going to be able to carry huge speed and run out big gears.  This being the case I would advocate gearing your bike on the conservative side with a slant toward spinning up the hills.  Even for experienced cyclists you will find it difficult to spin out a big gear 53/11 on this course.  

One more note about the course, it is ridden by a large amount of bikers every week during the season.  This being the case I think the locals are getting a bit tired/pisssed off dealing with all the bikes on the course.  There have been a number of cyclists who have had some close calls with the traditional haters in pickups honking/yelling while riding by.  If at all possible I would advocate for a group ride over going it alone.  This being the case I train closer to my house, about 30 miles away, which has very similar hills/layout and basically no traffic.  Not a huge issue but something to be aware of.    

Something I forgot to mention on the swim.  GET IN THE WATER EARLY!  I planned on getting in the water about 10 minutes early.  This didn't happen as there were about 500 people lined up waiting to enter through the timing ramp/mat  when I arrived. Remember there will be 3000+ people all trying to enter through the little archway/mat leading up to the race.  It seems like everyone had the same plan as me, that being arrive 10 minutes early prior to the start.  Basically I was about 10 feet into the water when the starting gun went off.  I was subsequently mauled by the hundreds of people still entering the water at the same time.  Not a great way to start the event.  I will be heading down to the water at least 20 minutes prior this year.  This will give me some time to acclimate and get the heart rate under control prior to starting.

The run is great and has great support.  You will be hard pressed to beat the environment on State street at any venue in the US.  People will be line up 5 deep on both sides cheering for you during the day.  As night progresses the crowd does thin but is still awesome. 

With regard to surprises on the run, well it is a pretty flat course overall, but observatory hill should be back in play this year.  It had construction last year and wasn't a factor so that will be new for me as well. 

Nutrition will be a huge factor and is a topic of discussion all by itself.

Excellent info.....much appreciated!

1)I'm not using a coach this year just doing as much research/reading as I can on my own. I don't have time or money for a coach (I'm a junior in college). 2) I'm strongly considering buying a power meter, but think that my budget will make me refrain. I've already spent a considerable amount of my savings on Ironman gadgets, but think that a power meter would be a very valuable bike tool. 3) I am running a marathon in April, doing an Oly tri for Memorial day to refine transition technique and for fun, hoping to get into either the HHH or insane terrain challenge (200K bike races) for June or July respectively, I'm also considering throwing a HIM in, but will probably just end up doing homemade tris to better suit my budget.

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Greg's write up is really spot on. I want to second getting into the swim early. In 2009 I got in about 5 minutes before the Pro start and treaded for 15 minutes. I didn't find it tiring at all and it allowed me to get a good start position. In 2010 I was less anxious and lingered a little too long with my family so I didn't get into the queue until the Pro start and I almost didn't make it into the water. I basically stepped in, the gun went off and I started swimming. It was really stressful and not a great way to start, so get in early! There are a lot of first-timers in WI and they hesitate at the water's edge.

The bike course is challenging, but mostly from a technical aspect (not to downplay the 5,000+ feet of climbing!). You are always shifting, turning, climbing, descending. I can't think of a nice flat stretch where you can just cruise in aero. The first time I rode it I felt it was harder than LP, but now that I've done both courses several times and raced both races, I think LP is a harder course and I ride it much slower. It seems WI is more suited to my abilities. I can handle the constant rollers and technical aspects better than I can tackle the long climbs in LP.

I recommend hammering the downhills that are safe to hammer, which requires really knowing the course. Ride your first time cautiously and learn the turns and challenges. There are a lot of downhills that end in a sharp turn unfortunately so you will find yourself doing a lot of climbing without momentum. I was out of the saddle a lot. But others are fantastic and you can ride hard enough down to basically sail up the next roller. I love this bike course, it's one of my favorite rides.

The run can't be beat. Like a stand-alone marathon and the energy is incredible. You can walk observatory or just run slowly, it's a nice break. It's not that bad, but it was much nicer not having it this year!

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It's all good advice. I hammer every hill possible on this course to ease the constant climbing. I think you'll really like the course, it couldn't be more different than LP so it makes it a lot of fun. I have a feeling you'll ride it very fast. Thankfully they put very clear warnings on the more dangerous downhills.

I just ran 6 miles on the course. I did the Capitol loop, State Street and the path on Mendota. It was all covered in snow and couldn't have been more different than race day!


Edited by LazyMarathoner 2010-12-05 2:31 PM

Lots of turns and shifting and minimal aero sounds like a road bike should be considered (vs. a tri-bike).  Any thoughts on this from you Madison veterans?

You'll see a decent number of folks on road bikes for sure, but still a lot of tri bikes. I actually prefer a road bike in general and do about 80% of my annual miles on it and just enough on the tri bike to be able to race on it. I still do IMWI on the tri bike though, I feel like it's a bit more efficient and I come off more prepared to run. I've done a few centuries on my road bike and always feel a little beat up at the end, so that's just my preference. It all depends on your individual strengths and how you feel on each type of bike.

There is that long, flat, straight section on Stagecoach Rd.  Unfortunately, that stretch of pavement would more appropriately be named Rumble Strip Rd. 

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Edited by Fred Doucette 2010-12-06 2:32 PM

Wow, reading these posts about the course is giving me butterflies!
This is great motivation for when I'm on my bike trainer looking out at the snow, or climbing into an icy swimming pool at 5 am.

Edited by buhl0006 2010-12-06 2:32 PM