Ironman Wisconsin - TriathlonFull Ironman


View Member's Race Log View other race reports
Madison, Wisconsin
United States
Ironman North America
88F / 31C
Sunny
Total Time = 14h 12m 21s
Overall Rank = 1513/2600
Age Group = w45-49
Age Group Rank = 25/52
Pre-race routine:

What a ending for 11 months of couch-to-Ironman-training.

We flew into WI thursday afternoon - 8 hours of travel time. Glad we didn't check bags, they wouldn't have made the transfer in the twin cities! Darn heavy carry-ons, though. Friday, we drove the bike course - WOW. Hills. We'd planned on biking the run course, but Jeff needed a new tire, and they recommended he wait 8 hours for the glue to dry...so we took turns with shorts spins on my bike! Saturday we did a mini-tri - including a dip in the murky lake. yum. Veggies for the day. However, it was truly an amazing warm-up in so many ways....
I drove Jeff bonkers with my constant comments....this will be the last time I do(fill in whatever blank) before I'm an Ironman! He's probably happier than I am that I made it. Although, now I've started with the 'Now that I'm an Ironman.....'
Event warmup:

Hoping that sleep is overrated. I stared at the ceiling until 2 am,, Jeff was awake at 2:45. We were both up and eating weird food by 4:30. I even sent a facebook update! I've decided that just hauling our stuff down at 5 am qualified as a warm-up. 3/4 mile, mostly downhill. Made all of our drops, took pics, filled the bikes with air and food, looked to get BT tattoos, but Phil had issues ;-). We mosied on down the helix, stuffed our bodies into our suits (I do believe mine shrank!), and very slowly moved our way past and through the crowds to the blue/green/murky water. Yum. Just as the pro cannon went off, we were maneuvering pretty far out - looking for some relatively clear water. A quick kiss and a fast goodluck, and our cannon went off.
Swim
  • 1h 18m 8s
  • 4224 yards
  • 01m 51s / 100 yards
Comments:

Never saw Jeff again in the lake, but was well trampled, grabbed, kicked, pulled, hit and pulled under by quite many of the over 2500 swimmers. I think they going to need to either cut the number of entrants, change the venue, or go to wave starts. It was unreal. On a good note, I negative split the race! On a bad note, it means I checked my watch at the mid point. Bad girl, I know.
What would you do differently?:

Started farther outside or inside - kicked back harder!!
Transition 1
  • 10m 20s
Comments:

Volunteers were amazing! Once you made it up the pickin' helix they took over. Loved the wetsuit strippers.
What would you do differently?:

Move faster, but I'm not sure how. Did make a pitstop, and struggled a bit with the wet shorts, but I can't imagine that cost me much.
Bike
  • 6h 54m 59s
  • 112 miles
  • 16.19 mile/hr
Comments:

Wow, what a course. Relentless hills. Just enough flats that there wasn't too much momentum for the next one. Less than 2 miles in, in the no-pass zone, some guy tried to pass the guy behind me, and went down. Scary way to start the day. I can't get over how much fun I was having. Passing more than I got passed. The fan support was amazing....with names on our bibs, they were shouting out like we were rockstars. Much easier to hammer up a hill when they are chanting your name from both sides! Hit a rut at about mile 50, lost some of my food and meds - not fun. Learned at mile 57 that I am not coordinated enough to eat a PB&J sandwich AND climb a hill at the same time. Gave up the sandwich - guy behind me yelled that he would have eaten it! At mile 60 I lost my chain for the first of four (yes, 4!) times. LBS will be hearing from me! Fixed it, but I need to work on speeding that skill up! The last time it happened, tech support finally stopped. I was done, and he offered to 'check my work' and wipe the grease off my face. Lovely. He's lucky I didn't hurt him! I obviously lost some speed in the second half - more than allows for the chain, but I still felt strong. Probably could have pushed it harder. Wind picked up at about mile 60. Not fair, never got the tail wind! Finishing up the helix was tough, but training on our driveway helped! Warm and sunny on the course, and I did get a sunburn despite the wonderful volunteers who slathered me. By the end I was putting my chapstick/sunscreen on my nose, too! Picked up water at every aid station, I need to be more coordinated so that I can get food, too. Can't say enough about the volunteers and spectators - the energy was amazing. Even the cops were cheering at the interesections! I think I grinned for the entire ride, hills and all. Well, maybe not during the chain fixes.
What would you do differently?:

I'd push a bit harder, I think. Zip my bento box so I didn't lose food and meds. Double and triple check nutrition at home before the flight - we didn't pack enough, and didn't realize that in time to get more.
Transition 2
  • 05m 53s
Comments:

Another shout-out to the volunteers. Helped me off the bike, took off my Garmin...steered me to the bagroom, darn near carried me into the woman's change room. got me out of my bike shorts, into my run shorts...snapped on my run belt, and stopped me before I left with my gloves still on. "uh, miss, it's 90 out there, want to leave your gloves here?!?" Sunscreeners, 3 of them, got my legs, arms and face, and I was off.....like a snail.
What would you do differently?:

Nothing.
Run
  • 5h 43m 3s
  • 26.2 miles
  • 13m 05s  min/mile
Comments:

Well, the wheels fell off the bus. I went into the race with right leg issues - IT band, hamstring, piriformis - that I was hoping I'd be able to just push through and deal with afterward. I did to a certain extent, but really not to the point I was hoping for. Walked way more than I'd hoped to - but did a fair amount of running, too. figured my 3:59 mary would set me up for a 4:30 or so. Not so much!

Walked through every aid station,and then a bit. Ice in the hat, sponges all over, grapes, chips, water, chicken broth. They even had ice cream sandwiches out near the end!

Loved the trail part of the run, along the lake, the first time. It was really tough in the dark. Lights would have helped. I missed the cut-off for the glowsticks - yea!! but a headlight may have been nice! A nice surprise was the fact that I never tripped or fell - a vast improvement over my last few training runs. No IM skinned knees!

Loved the inspiration board - although Jeff's whole message didn't make it, they bleeped out one of his words. Surprise! Saw Jeff on the course 3 times - that was great. Kissed him twice - probably cost us both a minute, but it was a great boost! Guy behind me asked if I knew him, or if he could be next. I laughed about that for a while.

Followed Art/Bob's advice, and kept smiling.

It was HOT and MUGGY. Used sponges and ice at every aid station. Started on chicken soup at about station 20. Met some fun people, had some good chats. I'm wondering if I actually talked to some BTers - with 70+ there, odds are good. I did hear 'velcromom' - once on the bike, once on the run, so....maybe! Most was solo, and I just soaked it all up. My garmin beeped low battery at me 2 hours into it, but held up for the whole run. Nice! I was hoping to finish strong, but that didn't happen - not for lack of trying. bummer. Did make the last turn at a trot, and ran in. Heard them announce my age, name, first time status and 'You are an Ironman'! Song when I finished was 'I would walk 500 miles' which was very appropriate!! Three people had me at the finish line - I was shaking quite a bit. Got the pic, got the food, got my gear, called Jeff. He was looking for me in the medical tent. He of little faith....

Waited a long time for the massage - but it was great. Called the hotel shuttle, we didn't even want to try to walk back!! Washed off the lake, the blood, the sweat, tears (ok, a bit of an exaggeration, but it sounds good)and collapsed. What a day. 9 months to Couer D'Alene.
What would you do differently?:

Heal my leg before I ran. Somehow pick up 12 minutes to finish with a 13 first. That really did bum me out.
Post race
Warm down:

8 hours home....in the back of the plane where the seats don't recline.

Event comments:

I’m a 45 year old woman with Rheumatoid Arthritis. I am a wife, a mother, a daughter, a sister, a cousin and a friend. Now, I’m also an Ironman. Wow.

I had so much fun doing this amazing event with Jeff – can’t imagine doing it any other way. Coach Kevorkian came through, in a big way. Thanks, Honey!!



Profile Album


Last updated: 2008-11-19 12:00 AM
Swimming
01:18:08 | 4224 yards | 01m 51s / 100yards
Age Group: 19/52
Overall: 1108/2600
Performance: Average
counter-clockwise course....hard when you tend to 'swim right'. I think I added on a extra couple of hundred yards, but that shouldn't suprise anyone who has seen me in the open water! Heart rate stayed low.
Suit: full sleeve orca
Course: Murky, algae, dead body reportedly in there. VERY crowded, almost impossible to get clear water. Can't count how many times I got grabbed. A nickel for each and I'd be rich. One good kick to the face near the end had me up and gasping for air.
Start type: Deep Water Plus: Shot
Water temp: 75F / 24C Current: Low
200M Perf. Below average Remainder: Below average
Breathing: Average Drafting: Below average
Waves: Average Navigation: Average
Rounding: Below average
T1
Time: 10:20
Performance: Below average
Cap removal: Average Helmet on/
Suit off:
Yes
Wetsuit stuck? No Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: No
Getting up to speed: Average
Biking
06:54:59 | 112 miles | 16.19 mile/hr
Age Group: 26/52
Overall: 1648/2600
Performance: Good
My first 40 miles I held 17.3, and I didn't feel as though I was working hard. My heart rate stayed in the 120s and low 130s for the whole course. I think that the hills got bigger and longer during the second loop, and I'd like an explanation!
Wind: Headwind
Course: The roads were in terrible condition, saw lots of people lose bottles and gear to ruts and holes. Lots of jarring. Lots of people down - the ambulances stayed busy.
Road: Potholes Dry Cadence:
Turns: Good Cornering: Good
Gear changes: Good Hills: Good
Race pace: Comfortable Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 05:53
Overall: Good
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike
Running with bike
Racking bike
Shoe and helmet removal
Running
05:43:03 | 26.2 miles | 13m 05s  min/mile
Age Group: 29/52
Overall: 1564/2600
Performance: Below average
Pretty even splits
Course: I was feeling hills, no matter what the topo map says! The fans and volunteers were amazing....heard my name so many times!
Keeping cool Bad Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %3
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 5
Physical exertion [1-5] 5
Good race? Yes
Evaluation
Course challenge Too hard
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Good
Race evaluation [1-5] 5