I had assumed that because it was a self seeded rolling start that we would have been more spread out along the swim course, however this might be my fault because I started with the group that is about 15 minutes behind my typical pace. I had been swimming next to a guy who was almost the exact same pace as me for the 200-300 yards leading up to the first turn. This was nice because he was on my right and because I typically breathe on my right I could site a little less since I could see him every time I took a breath. Just before the turn he decided to flip over onto his back and as he did this his hand and arm hit my head and somehow my goggles got tangled around his fingers and pulled off my head. Luckily the strap was wrapped around his hand so they did not sink and he stopped to give them back to me. This was a little jarring and it took me a bit to get back into my rhythm for the rest of the swim. I felt like I was swimming much faster and straighter than I actually was because I ended up turning the 4224 yard course into a 4687 yard swim! When I got out of the water I expected to look down at my watch and see that I had swam about a 1 hour 20 minute time rather than a 1 hour 33 minute time.

I should have lined up earlier so that I could have started with my estimated finish time better. I had to start with the group about 15 minutes slower than I was hoping to be and I think that this slowed me down a little bit. I had to swim around quite a few people which I think slowed me down a bit.

I did not have a volunteer in T1 so my time was a little slower than I had anticipated, however it went fairly smooth. I was hoping to spend about 2 less minutes in transition but I think that the extra few minutes allowed me to collect my thoughts and mentally prepare for the bike.

I probably could have saved myself a little time in T1 if I had looked for a volunteer and asked one to come over and help me.

The bike has always been my strength and favorite discipline in triathlon. This is where I can normally make up time on other athletes and give myself a little head start for the run so that I don't get passed by as many people. My goal was to finish the bike in 6 hours so my time of 6 hours and 8 minutes is not far off. I started out very strong heading out the stick to Verona and on through Mount Horeb. The three sections that I can normally count on being fairly quick for me are J, KP, and Stagecoach, however because of the weird weather pattern we were having there was a headwind on all three of these roads. I struggled to maintain the average speeds I normally ride on these roads because of the wind. I should have paid closer attention to my power and heart rate and taken it a little easier on these sections. Overall, the first loop went very smooth and I was pleased with my hydration and nutrition plans that were both feeling great. I stopped at special needs and refilled my bottles of tailwind, restocked my bento box with bars and blocks, picked up my pickle juice, and had the volunteer read me the wonderful note that Teagen had written me and left in my bag. That was the biggest morale booster of the ride for me and is something I will ask for on any race that has special needs bags. The second loop went pretty smooth and I was pleased with my performance. I pushed the second loop a little harder than I should have and towards the end of the second loop before starting the stick back I could feel that I had used more energy on the first loop than I should have. The stick back to Madison was nice and quick, however I should have saved some of that energy from the first loop and used it to make the stick back even faster. Overall I averaged about 210 watts which is about 75% of my FTP and on several training rides I have been able to ride a sub 6 hour and average closer to 190 watts average. This could have saved me a lot of energy for the run.

I would not push myself so hard with the windy conditions, I should have saved some more legs for the run.

This is the first time I have been in a race where a volunteer takes my bike at T2 and racks it for me! That was so nice to have someone do this for me. Luckily in T2 I had a volunteer helping me which kept me much closer to my 10 minute goal. I did have to stop at the porta potty in T2 which added a little bit of time, however that is not something I would have changed, that had to be done!

There is nothing that I would change about my T2..

I found it curious that my heart rate and step cadence averages were the exact same. My run time was about 45 minutes slower than I had hoped for but it was still not too bad of a run for me. I was feeling really good and sticking right with my run/walk plan of run 4 minutes and walk 1 minute as well as walk the aid stations. I was also keeping right on pace to finish right around the 5 hour mark until about mile 14 when my stomach started to hurt. It started with pretty bad heart burn and my stomach was very acidic. I slowed down a little as this seemed to help and started eating chips and pretzels at the aid stations to help with the acid. This helped with the acid but turned the GI issues into cramping rather than acid. Between mile 15 and mile 22 I stopped at 4 port-a-potties until the cramping finally went away. Because of the severe runners ischemic colitis I had experienced earlier in the season and spending 3 days in the hospital due to blood loss I was probably a bit overly cautious and slowed down even more than I needed to. I was going to do anything I could to prevent that from happening again. When I made the final turn onto State and could see the capital it was like I got this enormous boost of energy and all of a sudden it didn't even feel like I was running anymore. Right then my watch died and stopped tracking my stats, but it also stopped telling me when the run/walk intervals should happen. I was so close that I didn't even care and just ran the rest of the way in. There was a kid, probably 10 - 12 years old, working at one of the last aid stations with his parents who handed me a cup of ice and said "You are going to be an Ironman" with more enthusiasm and excitement than I have ever seen. I simultaneously got a huge rush of energy and almost started crying! That was exactly what I needed to hear right then. As the day went on and it got later in the evening, most of the spectators from the run course had moved to the finish line to see their athletes finish and to cheer everyone on, this left the course a little more empty which allowed me to get in my own head a little. I imagine that this kid did not know how important his comment would be to me, but it got me out of my head and back into the excitement of the day. I am very grateful for all the volunteers and spectators.

I should have included something in my special needs bag to help balance out the acidity in my stomach. I know that my stomach gets very acidic and should have been prepared with a bottle of ensure or some sort of bread product to snack on. I also should have started taking cola and fruit a little earlier in the race, I did not start eating fruit or drinking the cola until around mile 15 and I think that would have been helpful to have started earlier.

I was so excited that I had just finished the race that I did not take the time I should have to stretch at all, and I paid for that on Monday following the race. Dave Hebgen was at the finish line volunteering as a catcher and was able to catch me and walk me through getting my medal, shirt, hat, and pictures. That was pretty amazing that it worked out that he was there. After getting all this and grabbing a space blanket because I was freezing I tried to eat a piece of the pizza but it did not sound good so I just drank a Sprite and found my family to watch Teagen and some of my other teammates finish.


Due to a couple of injuries and health issues through the season I was not able to complete all of my run training and this hurt me pretty bad on race day. Early in the season I developed Achilles tendonitis which prevented me from running for about 3-4 weeks, then not long after that was healed I spent 3 days in the hospital with severe runners ischemic colitis and could not run for 3 more weeks, then about 6 weeks before Ironman I pulled my hamstring which stopped me from running for about 2 more weeks. I should have taken a little more time off after pulling the hamstring to let it fully heal because it was giving me trouble and a little pain through the rest of the season and on the IM run as well.


Ironman Wisconsin is the best spectated race I have ever been a part of, between the fans and the volunteers you feel like a superstar the entire time! This is the first race I have had an indoor transition area and that was a game changer. Having carpet, chairs, and A/C in transition was so nice. Now that I have completed Ironman Wisconsin I fully support every athlete who says that this race has the best volunteers and that the spectators here are amazing. I know that I am biased because this is my first full Ironman, but I have to say that Ironman Wisconsin is the best triathlon in the world!