Ironman Wisconsin - TriathlonFull Ironman

I swam about 2/3 of the way out on the start line and found some relatively clear water. This was not a good choice, because I was too far back. I'm not fast, but faster than the really slow people, so quickly ran into a traffic jam after the start that took a while to get past. Time went really fast waiting for the cannon, then all of a sudden we were off. Except for the initial traffic, the washing machine was not as bad as I had expected. Altogether I got clobbered three times--direct hits on the goggles, so nothing more than my bell rung.

First several hundred meters were chaotic but we were making progress; I could swim relaxed whenever space allowed. The first leg out felt slow, and then I made things worse by accidentally veering towards the first turn buoy, where I ran into a huge crowd. I went wide after that. The legs coming back were directly into some good swell and chop that the fetch down the lake was generating--a real challenge that felt like true open water. First loop was just under 38 minutes. Second leg got crowded again, because my speed is the same as the great middle of the 2500-person pack. (Largest IM start ever, they said.) Second return leg was even rougher than the first as the wind picked up, so it was good to make the turn for the finish.

Total swim time was 1.19.11; at 2.05/100m this was relaxed and just where I wanted to be. No HR to report because it got erased on my HRM, but it felt pretty easy and I'm pleased.

It was raining lightly as we ran up the helix to T1. Actually I walked most of it, not being sure of getting my HR back down. This, plus the extra time it took to dress for the cold bike ahead, made my transition time truly awful. Grabbed the bike and enjoyed riding down the other helix, the only dry descent of the day.

Between excitement and the swim it took me a while to get HR down. It was windy and raining from the start of the bike, and got worse. After the ride out to Verona, the first loop of the bike was wet and cold, but I still managed to keep HR under control, even on the climbs--I was pleased with this. Nutrition and drinking went fine--too much water, in fact, because I had to keep stopping; I guess I wasn't sweating much at all in the cold.

I got passed by people of every age, shape and size, as I expected, but wanted to have a strong second loop. We had about 30 minutes of dry skies, then the rain and wind started again. I had on two layers, including long sleeves; the brief respite let me get warm and dry enough to make it through.

I had a brief moment of panic when I thought I had ridden past the bike special needs station. But it turned out that it was a little further along the course than I had noticed. The second loop got harder and harder because of the cold and the wind. Also, the whole bike presented the one thing I didn't feel prepared to deal with: long wet descents off the many hills. This scared the bejeezus out of me with my poor handling skills, and I lost a lot of time because of it.

By the end of the second loop and heading back, I was pretty well soaked and chilled, which made it hard to keep the pace up, or to push hard. Total bike time was 8.01, which I am not proud of. But I did pace myself and showed patience, and was just well enough prepared for the cold that I could recover in T2. Second loop was slower than the first; I estimate that in better weather I'd have been 30-45 minutes faster overall. I guess the course was beautiful; I was mostly concentrating on staying upright. Bloomington hills are perfect training for the terrain, incidentally.

T2 was long but it seemed essential to get warm and dry. My hands didn't work--the worst was trying to unbuckle my chin strap, which took four tries. Chose three layers for the run, including two long sleeves, and an ear warmer I had improvised from an old bed sheet the nervous hotel gave us against bike grease. These turned out to be excellent choices; with a hat and clear lenses on the glasses I was damp but warm and comfortable on the entire run.

Did I mention that it rained on the whole run, too? This is their idea around here of 30% chance of precipitation: a steady downpour all day. Astonishing support from locals out to cheer and especially from the volunteers, who must have been even more miserable than we were, but stuck it out anyway.

The start of the run was good--too fast, of course. I ran the first several miles with a woman clearly on the very same pace as I was; chatting helped ease me into the run. The course was a good tour of town, with entertaining stretches on two parts of State Street, various parts of the campus, and a lakefront. First loop was 2:30; HRM was completely flaking out, but kept settling back at 146 at the easy steady pace I was trying to maintain.

I kept my focus on the start of the second loop, considering the first just a warmup. Run special needs was welcome, with an extra pair of socks pressed into service as gloves and some more gels along with a note from a friend I'd printed out.

The first few miles of the second loop felt about the same; the work started at about mile 16 for me. On both loops I walked only the hills and aid stations, with three short walks in the second loop--it was just too hard to get started again to risk stopping any more. Saw my wife on State Street at mile 20 or so--in front of Starbucks, of course--this really helped keep me going.

Last three miles were the most painful thing I have ever done, plain and simple.

Overall I had enough gas to keep up the pace on the run but my legs were exhausted and painful, so HR for the second half was about the same, and the pace definitely slowed. But my overall run time of 5.17.27 is only 17 minutes slower than my best open marathon; a little more strength and I might have matched that. This was beyond my most optimistic predictions.

The run down the finishing chute was thrilling--I heard myself say "Holy f@#$" when I turned the corner and saw that I was going to finish in that scene. Mike Reilly mispronounced my name but got "Ironman" right, which is all I cared about.

My wife was right there at the finish. I got a finishing picture taken, then we gathered my bike and gear--it took two trips in my fog--got some food, then walked back to the hotel. Long hot shower, believe me.


Everything you have heard about the weather was true; I don't think anyone could have designed a more miserable day for an endurance event. But you take what you get.

With better weather--less draining and tension-producing cold and rain, my time would have been a good bit faster, I think. But I am still pleased not even to have flirted with the cutoff, and the goal was to finish a first iron-distance race.

There was a sign on the course that said "Having fun isn't always fun." That about sums up the day because it felt like an extra accomplishment to have dealt with the conditions. I felt well trained to finish feeling OK--I'm sore but not hobbled, and was still on my feet at the end. Nutrition, electrolytes and hydration (except for too much water on the bike) went perfectly, and I had no GI issues all day. Drank 16 scoops worth of Hammer SE, about 16 gels, a bar, and a lot of chicken broth--a potentially risky experiment but warming and salty, and a godsend on the run. Switched to the course's Gatorade Endurance in the last six miles when I ran out of gels, but with no ill effects by that point.

I could not have done this without support, especially from my wife, who put up with both the training and race week. My coach Steve Fluet had me really prepared; Dave lent me race wheels; Gary has been behind me from the beginning; and friends have bucked me up, always. Thanks to all of them.