Wasn't too horrible, a fair amount of contact but no one shoved me under. I did take an elbow to the left eye--my goggle got jammed on even tighter. Didn't want to break the suction so I just left it. Good thing I had the goggles on! Like last year I did a lot of defensive swimming on the first stretch so it came up fairly fast. Everyone was mooing like crazy on the first turn, had to doggy paddle as it was so congested. I was pretty much inside the buoys the whole way which worked out fairly well. Seems like I didn't swim out of my way as much as usual. Was awesome that it was overcast as the sun coming up makes sighting really hard. Still had a hard time seeing the buoys, but just followed the crowd. The wind was making some pretty big waves, on the 3rd stretch, I had to skip some breaths as there was a wave in my face when I tried to breathe. Bilateral or left breathing sure would have helped! That 3rd stretch was so long! I looked at my watch as we were going past the terrace and saw I was at 1:03. Wow, my friend Craig does the whole swim in 56 mins; he was already through transition and on the bike! Made the 3rd turn and that was just a short stretch, 4th turn was fine. Was able to pee along there so I saved time with that.

Like I say every year, do SOME swimming! I only swam a couple of times this year, no drills or speed workouts, just a mile on 2 occasions. I just don't think spending time on workouts reaps the same time savings as say, doing a bike or run, so I don't waste my time on it since I'm already an "average" swimmer. Also should have put body glide on my armpits--the left arm warmer was chafing, have a pretty good abrasion there.

Because it was fairly choppy, I was pretty dizzy when I got out. They had volunteers in the water to help us up, so I went to them so they could scoop me out. Once they let go, gravity got me like last year, and I fell back into the water. Was able to get myself up before another volunteer got to me, and climbed out. I couldn't find the cord for my wetsuit, so I had the wetsuit stripper undo it for me. A 2nd volunteer came and they got my arms out, I lay down and they got my legs free. Very quick. I pulled off my goggles and cap as I jogged up the helix. Jackie was there, cheering like every year! Got into the building, a volunteer gave me my bag and I went to the changing room. Awesome volunteer got all my stuff organized and handed it to me as I requested it. I learned that it helps to tell them exactly what to do in the order you want or you just get confused. I changed my shorts and applied body glide there, dried off while she got my sunglasses out of my shoes then body-glided my feet and put my socks on. Helmet on, race belt with tracker on, sunglasses in hand, shoes in hand, and out the door. Stopped by the sunscreen people on the way out even though it was overcast. Since my bike was only 1/4 of the way to the bike start, I carried my shoes as I jogged through transition. I yelled out my number, so when I got to my rack, I put my shoes on and the volunteer had my bike all ready for me. Walked that to the bike start, clipped in, and went down the helix!

I spent a lot of time drying off, putting on more body glide on crotch and feet. Also had volunteer spray me with my sunscreen. Could have skipped that or the people outside I guess. Otherwise, not really sure--I'm just slow in here!

Wow, after last year's bike trouble, I was a little wary this year. Someone's tube exploded as we were setting up our bikes this morning, and there were several people on the side of the road on the first few miles. The guy behind me had his tire pop on the first mile and he pulled over. Luckily my bike did great, the problem was with ME! The wind was around 16-20mph out of the ENE. This was great at the start as it was mostly at our backs. I felt good, was taking the hills very easy. Went into the small chain ring for a lot of the easy hills. Got to the BP in 55 mins which I attribute to the tailwind. Then to the cow sign in 1:39, which was the same as my training rides. The first loop went well, probably went too hard on the 3 big hills because the crowds were insane--screaming, cheering, running along side--didn't realize how hard I was working at all! Janel and friends were on the first hill--she was dressed in a devil costume and was poking riders with a pitchfork as they went by--hilarious! She ran beside me up most of that hill which was great--I just had the last bit to go without her and everyone else was cheering and motivating me to get up it. When I got to Verona, the street is closed off and people line both sides--very Tour de France--and they were screaming as well and music was blasting. I pumped my arm and they cheered even more--I accidentially rode over a pothole since I was so busy with the crowd and almost lost my balance! Ok, lets watch where we're going! Forgot to check my watch at the BP, but at special needs it said 4:02 so I was right around 3 hours for the loop. Headwind was a pain on a few of the stretches, but not horrible. Legs still felt great. Since I hadn't had "great" bathroom luck this morning my stomach wasn't quite up to par. At mile 25 I thought I saw Steve pass me, and that's around where my stomach started to cramp up--just like the first year. I know that if I eat too soon I will have stomach issues, so I only had a few tiny sips of water and Gatorade on the stick. Once I hit the loop I took about an ounce of Hammer Gel--orange flavor--and then started with the bigger sips of water and Gatorade. I figured it had to be the Gatorade, so I cut that out completely. At mile 30 I started on the sandwich, and had more of that just after Stagecoach. I was still getting really sharp stomach pains, so I decided to take in a little bit of Coke at that time--that did the trick! Stomach settled down so I finished the right half of the sandwich (the tape was coming off and I was afraid I'd lose it), had another ounce of Hammer Gel, and a fair amount of water on the first loop. I also had a couple of bananas, and took in salt after Stagecoach as well.

So as I got to Special Needs, I felt like I needed to poo, so I stopped at the Porta. It's so nice, they have volunteers hold your bike for you. I decided against grabbing my second sandwich. I still had a half left for the second loop and my stomach seemed to be handling things at this pace. I honestly have no idea if I had any luck in the porta--definitely some gas--I still felt like I had to go but didn't want to spend the whole day in there so I finished what would be my last bathroom stop of the day. That took about 4 minutes. I got to the cow sign in 1:45 this time, which would actually be 1:41 if I took out the bathroom stop, so still riding consistently. I was now sipping on Coke every now and then as well, and stomach was fine. I was wearing my arm warmers and couldn't tell if I was hot or cold. On the first loop the bank said it was 68 degrees, was 71 second time around, so it definitely wasn't hot, but it was extremely humid. The wind was good at hiding that, so I really couldn't tell how much I was sweating and if was taking in enough fluids. I grabbed water to refill my aerochamber, or a banana at each aid station.

Finished the second loop at 7:05. Not bad at all--for me. Now the stick back in. My legs were pretty tired by this point, I did a lot of stretching in the seat on any downhill, and my feet were burning--just overall hot, not like one particular spot. My butt really wanted to get off that seat...there was just 1 specific position that was even tolerable anymore. Normally the stick isn't bad--I do drop to the small ring 4x but now, with the headwind--it was horrible! I basically stayed in the small ring the whole way back. I felt like I was hardly moving! It got better once I was heading straight North as it was more of a crosswind, but I was still SO done with the bike. I ran into Steve on his bike with 1 mile left to go. He said Kelly was about 10 miles behind me. It was so good to see him--I forgot how miserable I was for a few minutes. Just a little ride left to get to the terrace, up the helix, and there were the bike catchers! I rode into one of them--I got my right foot unclipped, but it took me 3 tries to get the left one out. That's really the first time I noticed my surgery spot. After I got off the bike and started heading into the terrace, all the bike volunteers lined up and made a bridge of high 5's for me to run through. They were all yelling and cheering for me--I high 5'ed them all and started bawling. When I got in the building, they thought I was hurt, but I reassured them I was just so happy to have the bike done! I ran into the transition room, someone handed me my bag, and I crossed over to the changing room. 453 people had passed me on the bike.

Where do I begin? I simply need to ride more. Life definitely got in the way of my long rides all spring and summer. I have Drew on my weekends off work, plus he had his soccer and baseball games. The yard was consuming--it was all I could do the keep the lawn mowed each week, much less hauling dirt and mulch, keeping the weeds at bay, maintaining the inside of the house, etc. If it wasn't for my parents coming to visit in August, I wouldn't have been able to ride as much as I did, as they watched Drew a few times so I could workout.

A volunteer took my bag as soon as I got in the room, told me to pick a seat, and followed me to it. As she took all of my stuff out of the bag, I took off those shoes that were killing my feet--felt so good! Next I took of my bike shorts, applied more body glide, and put on my running shorts. Helmet came off, and my visor went on. Bike socks off, body glide on, running shoes on. While I was doing that I had her put my sunglasses in my bike shoe since it was still overcast out and I wouldn't need them at all on the run...that was kinda nice! I called ahead that I wanted ART, but none were available, so I got a massage therapist. I left the changing room and right outside the door was the therapist, so I lay down on her table and told her to crank on my thighs. Man, I thought she was gonna kill me! I told her to go as deep as she could, and she did! It felt like labor pains, but I needed those muscles worked through. I actually was moaning and doing labor breathing! She probably spent 3 minutes on each leg which obviously ate into my transition time, but without the massage I doubt my legs would have survived the marathon. I thanked her profusely and head out the door. Normally I use the porta here, but since I'd gone at the start of the 2nd loop (which was 4 1/2 hours prior), I really didn't have that much, and I didn't want to waste anymore time so I skipped it. I was still wearing my arm warmers as I knew the temps would be dropping to the low 60s, which was good as I was very chilled, with my teeth chattering, as I started on the run.

It would be ideal if I didn't have to spend time getting a massage, but I think it saves me on the run. The downtime also cooled me off a lot on the start of the run, which was not pleasant.

I grabbed a sip of water at the start, and my legs felt pretty good jogging. My teeth were chattering so I needed to warm up. I could now feel how humid it was out. As I got up that first street, I saw Patty F! Big hug! Jogged past the finish line and tried not to think about the fact that Craig had finished 10 minutes ago! State Street was awesome as usual--tons of people cheering, and as I turned off there I saw Roy and Drew! I gave Drew a hug and kiss--he said "Mommy, you smell like peanut butter & jelly and sweat!". I had warmed up by that time and was pretty sweaty. Roy took our picture, and I took off. I felt good, and knew I was probably running too fast. I passed Eddy going the opposite direction at mile 2--he was finishing his second loop. I was running the same pace as a gal named Becky, and she and I were chatting over the next few miles. I actually got ahead of her as my pace was slightly faster, then I slowed a bit so we were together again. Gradually, her pace was picking up, and I started to get diaphragm spasms--not sure if it was from talking or not, so I told her I couldn't talk anymore. My back started to spasm on the left around mile 8, and I decided I should walk a bit, so Becky went on ahead. My legs were really tight as well, so I actually stepped off the course onto the grass and spent a few minutes stretching on mile 9. I decided at that point I had to be more conservative--if I held too fast of a pace, I risked muscle cramps and spasms and that could end my run. I knew for sure at this point that today was truly a race just to finish--that any time goals were out the window. I was fine with that--disappointed, yes--but knew that because of my lack of training that simply finishing was the most realistic goal. So I tried to jog anything flat or downhill, and walked any uphills and aid stations. I followed my usual nutrition plan...water at every station, and alternating coke and broth. I also took a banana every 3rd station or so. Stomach seemed to be doing fine, but legs were so tight and tired...felt on the verge of cramping up. It's a fine line--you have to take in enough sugar and salt, but too much and your stomach can't handle it. I ended up walk/running with "Robert" from Miami, and had a great conversation about the years he lived in Romania. He held a pretty doable pace, but I was worried that I wouldn't be able to hang with him much longer.

I had a really tough time coming in off the first loop--this is where the mental games really began. I saw Roy and Drew again at mile 12 and stopped to give Drew a hug and kiss and had another photo taken. Robert went on ahead. Roy asked when I would be done, and I said I'd be happy with midnight. He couldn't believe it would take me that long as I had 4 hours to do a half marathon, but my legs were already spent. That depressed me, and all the spectators were cheering to go--you are almost done! Thats the hardest thing about this course--everyone thinks you're finishing, but you still have a whole loop to go...13.1 more miles. It is overwhelming. Fortunately, Jackie was a block up, and she walked with me, giving me a pep talk, reminding me it's just 'baby steps'. She actually ended up in the finisher chute, and had to stand by special needs until I came back around. Steve and Kelly were in the chute, so I waved to them, then stopped for hugs after the turnaround. Poor Kelly had gotten pulled off the bike course at mile 102 at 5:00pm as she only had half an hour to finish the last 10 miles. Jackie joined me at special needs, after I took my pink long-sleeve shirt out of my bag, and we jogged for a bit as it was flat and downhill--more pep talk! I saw Roy and Drew again at mile 14. For the next 2 miles, I tried to jog when I could, but my jog was slower than people who were walking. I was just so tired. My body was exhausted, and I was mentally exhausted as well. I looked at the grass on the side of the road, and just wanted to lay down and sleep. I very seriously considered quitting. I have already done 3 of these...why do I need to complete a 4th? Everyone knows I wasn't able to train...no one will fault me for quitting. All the people watching me online want to go to bed...I'm just keeping them up. And so on, as I almost gave up. But then I got to mile 16, which means I just had 10 miles left. 10 miles isn't that far. Then at mile 17, I only had 9 miles left...single digits left! Mentally I turned around, and began to think more positive thoughts. I started to think about everyone watching online who was cheering and praying for me. I thought about Drew, who would be at the finish line...what kind of role model would I be if I quit? And this was my last race...I have never had a DNF before, do I really want to end my racing career with a DNF? And vengeance played a part too--I wanted to show Roy that I didn't' need him...I could do this race without his help--I could do it on my own. And I wanted to finish for Kelly and Jeremy who got pulled off the bike course--I wanted to do it for them. My body wasn't working any better, in fact, I felt more and more like my muscles would lock up, but mentally I felt a lot better. I kept singing Matthew West's song "Strong Enough" in my head, and thought of all the people who were praying for me. I knew God would keep my legs from failing me and carry me though. It also helped that Steve appeared on his bike again around mile 18; he rode with me on and off for those last few miles, pushing me to jog on the flats. It was becoming a true battle against the clock. I had to keep 19-minute miles or less if I was going to finish before midnight. As I got to the last mile, I realized that this may not be my worst Ironman time ever--I had a chance to beat my 16:49 time from my first race in 2009. I started to jog once I got past the Capital aid station, and Roy and Drew were at the 2nd last turn before the finish. Drew gave me a huge hug and kiss and told me he was proud--they ran ahead to their usual spot at the final turn as I came down the chute high'5-ing everyone. I gave Drew another hug and high-5--even Roy put his hand up for a high 5, then I made the turn down the last 2 blocks of the finisher chute.

This is the part that makes the 140.5 miles before it worth this last 1/10 of a mile. Both sides of the chute are jam-packed with people who are screaming and cheering and waving. Hands are sticking out all the way down for high-5s. Mike Reilly announces "Hope Wegert, you are an Ironman", although I didn't actually hear him over the roar of the crowd (but other people assure me he did). You forget how exhausted you are, all the muscles that hurt, and how weak you feel. The crowd lifts you up and time slows down just a bit. I always start to sob as I come down this stretch. Steve was there on the right with his hand out--let the high 5's begin! I look at the people in the crowd wanting high 5's who don't even know me and stayed up until almost midnight to watch me finish. They are smiling, some are crying watching me cry, and it's the most amazing feeling of accomplishment you can imagine. It is what makes me want to keep coming back to this race...

As you get right to the finish line, there are photographers and lights in your face, and the ironmanlive camera is there too. I knew my parents were watching from Florida--I tried to give a wave and said a quick prayer of thanks to God who had carried me here. The "catchers" came up on both sides of me and grabbed my elbows, to be sure I could still stand. The gal ran to get my finishers awards--the medal, hat, and t-shirt. She also got me a water. The guy helped me hobble over to the finisher photo area so I could have my photo taken wearing my medal and hat. I just tried to keep my legs moving--in previous years I got faint and nauseated when I stopped, and have had to lay on the ground with my legs elevated for 1/2 hr to get blood back up to my brain. I was starting to get cold so I asked a racer where she had gotten her mylar wrap, and she gave me hers. I felt ok so long as I kept moving, so I left the race area and found Steve, Roy and Drew. Drew told me how proud he was, and I cried some more. Roy then left with Drew since they still had to drive home (we had already cleared with Drew's teacher that he be able to sleep in on Monday and come to school after lunch), so Steve waited while I went into the food tent to grab a couple of subs and a chocolate milk. He was parked in the Monona terrace parking lot, so we went into the building, down 2 flights of stairs (ow, ow, ow), and up a ramp to his truck. Thankfully he had already claimed my bike and bags earlier in the night, and taken those and Kelly and her bike back to the hotel. I put the seat back and my legs up on the dash while he loaded his bike onto the rack, then took me back to the hotel. I felt OK, so I just had him drop me off (he had to drive all the way home yet and had to work tomorrow morning). When I got up to the room, I realized I had no key, but I heard Kelly had the TV on so I knocked. I didn't want to knock too loud as it was 12:30, but she didn't answer, so I kept knocking louder and louder till she finally came to the door--she had crashed! I took a super hot shower as I was really chilled, and just stood in it for at least 20 mins. Then I put the water on cold and let that run on my low back and legs for a couple of minutes. It felt so good to be clean! I ate my sub with a vitamin water and did a little stretching. Then I crashed! Only to wake up in an hour to pee. Crash! Wake in another hour to pee.

Well, it's a fine line out there. You can go as hard as possible for as long as you can, but if you destroy your legs and they cramp up. your race ends right there. Or you can go more conservative--balance the calories and salt in with what you are burning--and hopefully go indefinitely. I knew I wasn't conditioned enough to do the former, so I stuck with doing the latter. Sure, could I have run more or gone faster? Probably, but the risk of not finishing this race wasn't worth my trying to get a faster time. Surprisingly enough, only 5 people passed me on the run...and I beat my first year's time by 40 seconds...

Alarm went off at 5:30am Monday so I could head over to the terrace to check out the finisher's gear. I already have a finisher's jacket, but since this is my last race I wanted to see if they had anything cool. I ate my other sub on the way, then had an egg/sausage english muffin from their 'buffet'. Got a t-shirt and a long-sleeve shirt, as well as a water bottle for Steve. Legs felt amazing well...could zip up and down stairs no problem. I went back to the hotel--it was only 8:00 and Kelly was still asleep, so I went back to bed as well. I woke up at 10:30 and Kelly was awake, starting to pack up. She had a work meeting and had to get going. I ate a yogurt and my leftover ravioli, packed up, and checked out right about noon. Bye bye Ironman...I'll miss you...


Life got in the way. I knew a year ago when I signed up that I would be getting divorced, but I didn't realize that Drew would essentially be with me every moment I wasn't at work. In order to get any training in, he either needed to be at camp or I had to have a sitter watch him. Since I work every other weekend, the weekends I'm off I have him, and can't do any training at all. Plus trying to keep the inside of the house together and do all the yard work (that had been neglected for years), it was just hard to find time to train. Drew's sports are more expensive too, now that he is on select teams, so I just don't have enough money to pay for his sports and my race entry fees as well. So I came to the realization that between time and money, I need to retire from racing completely--not just Ironman, but all the little weekend races too (again, need a sitter to do them which isn't fair to Drew). I will still work out when I can, but no more races...at least until Drew is old enough to take care of himself. Thankfully my feet held out with no issues at all! I had no pain at the surgical sites, and I just ended up with my usual pinky toe blister on the left. I had left the big callous there before the race so I never even noticed it forming. If anyone ever needs foot surgery in the Milwaukee/Waukesha area, I'd highly recommend Thomas Pietrocarlo, DPM. I was able to do this race less than 1 year after having bunion surgery with a pin and wire on BOTH feet!


This is a very tough, technical course. You need to train like crazy to do it justice. The volunteers and crowd support are second to none, however, which really helps you get through (although it dwindles significantly by the time I get to the finish). Ironman is really taking advantage of it's name, and the prices are getting out of control as people will pay whatever they ask. Hopefully by the time I make my comeback (assuming I do), the prices will be coming down, or I'll just stick with local races. I really did enjoy myself, though, and the Ironman distance teaches you just how strong and resilient of a person you are...