Ironman Wisconsin - TriathlonFull Ironman

This was the most crowded swim I have ever done! First 1200m was a washing machine. Found a pair of feet that were moving at a comfortable and somewhat straight pace and followed them all the way to the finish!

Possibly seed myself farther back, as I felt like I was run over by several swimmers...

This went good. It's a long run through T1 (I'm guessing at least half a mile?). Saw my brother and the girls with their signs right before the bike mount!

Nothing.

I thought this was going to be my strength this year, but.... Started with a flat right away which I changed and moved on. Tail wind on the way out which was nice. After about 10 miles, my shifter went kaput and I could not shift out of my big ring. This hurt on the hills and I could feel my knees aching around mile 40. Tried manually moving the shifter but had no luck, so just plugged through it hoping to find a bike mechanic - which I found around mile 50! The guy fixed it (tightened something?) and I was off feeling good for about 5 miles... until it locked up again. OMG. Found a bike mechanic again around mile 80-85 and this guy did a good job, fixed the problem, and I was fine for the rest of the ride. Unfortunately, spending 2/3 of the race in my big ring only didn't sit so well with the knees and I would pay later. Finished strong and felt good coming in. Drank only water, had my PB & J sandwich, some bananas, and then gu chomps later on - nutrition was perfect. The big rides this summer helped a lot and I feel that I rode my best in spite of mechanical failure beyond my control!

I will work on learning how to fix the bike stuff myself. And every year I tell myself "more hill training".

All I could think about coming into T2 was how badly I wanted advil/ibuprofen for my knees and of course I forgot it at the hotel. Asked everyone in T2 for advil with no luck. Changed quickly and felt good. I put wet-wipes in my bag to wipe the salt off my face and glad I did that. Had a pee and headed out on run.

Put advil in my bag.

Knees were not well right from the start but figured I would do what I could. Started out running and walked the aid stations and hills. I actually felt pretty good. Walked observatory drive and rolled my eyes at the crazy people running up that big hill! Knee was aching pretty bad by about mile 9-10 and I knew it would be tough and I slowed considerably. The girls and my brother were waiting at the turn around. Got a kiss from the youngest, then the oldest says "What is taking you so long?!"... uh... sorry sweetie, can I have a hug? Second lap started ok... enjoyed all the signs on the course. Met up with another walk/runner and we tried to motivate each other to keep running. Walked up observatory hill again and then started running quickly down.... then bam - the left knee kicked out and I stopped dead and tried not to cry. Walked it out, but then every time I tried to run, the knee would hurt a bit and I'd shut it down. Tried to pick it up and run along the lake but only experienced a repeat of what happened on the downhill. This was so demoralizing, as I felt good cardio/endurance wise but the joints just wouldn't play nice. Managed to find a comfortable power-walk pace and then later found that I could run 4 lightpoles/walk 4 lightpoles comfortably. Brought it in slow so that I could run down the finish chute high-fiving everyone. For the first time ever, I had to hold back tears when I finished. The girls and my brother were there at the end which just made my day!

Pack advil. Don't underestimate the downhill sections.

Got some chocolate milk, took my finisher photo with the girls, then grabbed my gear and went back to the hotel. My legs hurt but I truly felt fantastic otherwise.


My weak knees did not like me.


I love this race. The course is so difficult, but all that does is make me want to do better. Spectators are fantastic.