As always, I started in the back and let the really agressive swimmers get out in front. My plan was to go wide, let things clear out and then find a good pace. Things didn't really work out that way. I had a lot of contact the whole way. I don't know if it was something about the single loop course as opposed to the old double loop, but I was unable to find consistent room to swim.

In the end, my time was almost exactly what I swam in O8. A mere 18 seconds faster. In the end that was ok because I expected the real gains to come on the next two legs. I got out of the water feeling great.

I remembered to stop and mooooo at the first turn this time.

Train more in the water. (That's part of my off season plan this year.)

Went fine other than dumping my nutrition out of my trisuit while running with my bike. A volunteer helped me and I lost maybe 10 seconds.

It is really hard to put in a great transition when you have to deal with that long run up the helix.

Nothing

I got a P3 for Xmas last year and have fallen in love with cycling all over again. I spent a ton of time in the saddle this year (for me), with a goal of improving on my 7:28:29 LP time. I had hoped to go sub 7. I was ecstatic with this ride!

I went out with a plan to "just ride" for 30 to 40 miles and then see how I felt. I wound up keeping that plan and extending the "ride" up to 56 miles. I felt great. We spent time training on the course his year, which really helped. I knew what was coming and how to prepare myself for each stretch. I stuck to my nutrition plan and felt great. I was stunned to get to the half way point and find I was around the 3 hour mark.

The second loop brought a little bit of suffering, but only on the long/grinding but not particularly steep climb in to Mt Horeb. I think that's the worst part of the course. Other than that, the second loop was a lot like the first. I felt so good that I tried to attack the course more on the second loop, while still keeping in mind that I had to run a marathon. It worked great. I stayed lose. Chatted with some people while climbing. Enjoyed the crowds. Generally had a great time.

Not much. I was thrilled with this leg.

Quick in and out. I got to see my family here, which really gave me a boost. It was great to have them there!

My plan was to run at a pace that would allow me to "run" the entire marathon. (Except when I walked for aid.) I wanted to avoid the run/walk trap of my last two IM's. That meant resisting the urge to take off with faster runners who started flying by me early on the run course. Early in the run my stomach was acting up a bit, and I used the first few aid station to calm it down with some coke. Worked like a charm.

The first loop was uneventful. I went slow, but stuck to my plan. I was really excited to make the turn while there was still daylight. This was a new experience for me and really lifted my spirits.

As is always the case for me, every mile after mile 18 was an exercise in suffering. I had to keep the internal dialogue as positive as possible and keep putting one foot in front of the other. I started falling in love with the chips and coke at every aid station as they were giving me small energy boosts. I gave in and walked Observatory Hill the second time through. (Seriously, who put that damn thing at mile 19?) Other than that I stuck to the plan and "ran" (to the extent 11 min miles are running) the whole marathon. Weirdly, my hands went numb in the last quarter of the marathon. That's never happened to me before.

I turned the corner to enter the finisher chute, found my family and went nuts! Skipping. Pretending I was an airplane. Yelling. I was absolutely overjoyed to see my finsihing time!

I shaved just 9 minutes off my 08 time, but given the bike leg I had I would have taken any time saving. My run needs to get faster, but I was VERY happy with this.

I need to figure out how to push myself harder on the run without blowing up. I'm not sure how to train for that, but I have two years to figure it out.

The cathcers held me up when I crossed and looked a little worried when they saw me. I wanted to just leave the finish area to see my family, but they told me the "rules" were that they had to hold me for a while. With hindsight I think they were BSing me to keep me there because I looked rough. I drank some coke, got one of those funky space blankets and was walked around by a volunteer for a while. He kept telling me I need to get my heartrate down because he could feel my pulse pounding in my upper arm.

After a while I had my picture taken and they let me go. I saw my family, hugged and kissed them and was feeling great, when all of a suddent things went sideways. My vision started to go and I thought I was passing out. I sat down against a nearby wall, and then laid down there for about half an hour while my family brought me drinks and debated whether to take me to the med tent. (I convinced them I just needed som time.) I slowly came back around though, and within 1 1/2 hours of finishing I was eating and then up to watch my training partner finish.


Lack of swim training and inability to push harder on the run.


I love this race. For anyone who likes a challenging bike course, I highly recommend Madison! As always the volunteers were incredible.

No Im next year. But I'm in for 2014!