Ironman Wisconsin - TriathlonFull Ironman


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Madison, Wisconsin
United States
World Triathlon Corporation
72F / 22C
Sunny
Total Time = 10h 15m 53s
Overall Rank = 74/2452
Age Group = 40-44
Age Group Rank = 11/393
Pre-race routine:

Mom and I were both Up at 2:30 (wanted to sleep until 4, couldn't), glass of water, vitamins, one saltstick, toilet. Big piece of cranberry walnut bread and two small yogurts.
Parked right next to Rob and co and went to transition. Pumped up the tires, loaded the Bento with gels, and filled the aero bottle with water. Down to the start, handed off my clothes to mom and got in.
This would be my 8th triathlon; 2 sprints, 3 HIM, 2 IM prior.
Event warmup:

A few pushups to get the triceps and pecs going.
Swim
  • 1h 00m 35s
  • 4224 yards
  • 01m 26s / 100 yards
Comments:

Lined up about 10 feet from the big buoy and three rows back. Never done a mass swim start before. Total chaos, full contact for what seemed like 3/4 of the swim. Dunking, kicking, grabbing all the way. I felt like I wasn't swimming at all, just surviving. It seemed like I was getting passed constantly and I was sure I'd go 1:15. Previous IM times were 1:00 and 1:03 at Louisville. Shocked to see 1:00xx when I got out. I don't seem to gain much from the wetsuit.
What would you do differently?:

Line up further back or dead front.
Transition 1
  • 08m 23s
Comments:

Slow T1. I ride in bibs with a singlet and chose not to swim in the singlet due to the temperature. Putting the singlet on while wet was a pain. Also put on Desoto wings which was time consuming.
When I got to my bike a volunteer was standing there and said I had had a front flat and that it had been repaired. No idea how that happened in the 90 minutes I had been away. I thanked them profusely and went on my way.
What would you do differently?:

Wear the singlet and wings under the wetsuit.
Bike
  • 5h 34m 53s
  • 112 miles
  • 20.07 mile/hr
Comments:

AP 209 NP 219 I was shooting for NP 225 and leading up to the race was feeling so strong I thought I would be able to do it easily. In the end I struggled to do 219. First hour was good, after that I had no legs.
Having my friend Rob's wife Mary run up Timber with me was the highlight of the ride. Otherwise I couldnt wait for it to end.
Total bike nutrition: 2 Lara bars, 1.5 bottles Perform, 1 gel, 5 saltsticks. 154 calories per hour. I weigh 180.
What would you do differently?:

I don't think I took in nearly enough calories and this is what caused me to feel so poorly for the majority of the ride. I was holding back on the calories to assure no stomach problems on the run. Final 30 minutes was only 192W. While the ride was more painful than I would have liked, I'm happy with the speed given the wattage and my size, 6' 3" and 180 lbs. My new lower position paid off.
Also, I needed an 11-28 cassette (already on order) instead of 12-27. I like to really spin up the hills and I was forced to coast in places I should have been pedaling because I spun out my 50-12 gear.
Transition 2
  • 03m 41s
Comments:

Got off the bike and legs buckled, felt awful. Ran in to change and came out feeling great.
What would you do differently?:

Don't change socks
Run
  • 3h 28m 21s
  • 26.2 miles
  • 07m 57s  min/mile
Comments:

Came out of T2 knowing I was going to have a great run. I don't know what causes my legs to burn so bad on the bike even at low wattage but whenever that happens I can always still run well. Plan was to hold back the first 6 miles then start working. When I realized the last 3 back to the starting point of the 2nd loop were all uphill I decided to hold back until loop 2. Saw Mom on State St and she told me i was 14th on the swim and that i looked great. First 13 I felt amazing, knew I still had a lot left. Picked it up at this point running several mid 7s by taking advantage of the descents. I had no idea what place i was in but knew i had a shot at about 10:15 overall. Ran up Observatory the 2nd time which Rob had told me was all but impossible. I was pumped to have done it. My plan was to see mom again at mile 20 and find out what place I was in to decide if I needed to bury myself. I never saw her so knew I had to bury myself. At this point it became much more difficult and going really hard actually meant just keeping the same pace. I was glad to have negatively split the run. Rob is probably going to tell me I didn't go out hard enough. Previous best IM marathon 4:03.
What would you do differently?:

Possibly go a little faster earlier and risk blowing up. By pacing the way I did I guaranteed myself I wouldn't be forced to walk and I had just the right amount of total agony. Maybe I'm just afraid of the pain.
Post race
Warm down:

Saw Mom as i crossed and could see how amazed she was at my time. I still had no idea what place i was in until she told me. I got to see her phone with the tracking page and saw that i had passed 6 people in my age group in the last 6 miles which I was ecstatic aboutt. Walked around a few minutes, rinsed off face, picked up bike, went to eat. I only peed once on the bike and once at mile 1 of the run. The cool weather makes a huge difference for me.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Not enough calories on the bike, non-optimal gearing.

Event comments:

Awesome town, hard course, bumpy pavement, great fan and volunteer support, great weather. This was a 50 minute PR on a harder course but with better weather than Louisville. I need to try a flatter course to get more competitive. Overall it was a great performance for me and I felt I made huge gains over last year.
Huge thanks to my Mom for making the trip and helping out so much and a big hats off to my friend and training buddy Rob who destroyed the race with a 9:29.




Last updated: 2012-09-14 12:00 AM
Swimming
01:00:35 | 4224 yards | 01m 26s / 100yards
Age Group: 15/393
Overall: 99/2452
Performance: Average
Suit: Full
Course:
Start type: Wade Plus:
Water temp: 0F / 0C Current: Medium
200M Perf. Average Remainder: Average
Breathing: Average Drafting: Average
Waves: Navigation: Good
Rounding: Good
T1
Time: 08:23
Performance: Bad
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
Yes
Wetsuit stuck? No Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: No
Getting up to speed: Good
Biking
05:34:53 | 112 miles | 20.07 mile/hr
Age Group: 25/393
Overall: 123/2452
Performance: Average
Hourly average power: 219, 211, 210, 207, 206, 192 last 35 min
Wind: Some
Course: Constant rollers, a couple 5 minute climbs, all manageable with 34-27 gearing.
Road: Rough Dry Cadence: 84
Turns: Good Cornering: Good
Gear changes: Good Hills: Below average
Race pace: Hard Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 03:41
Overall: Good
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike
Running with bike
Racking bike
Shoe and helmet removal
Running
03:28:21 | 26.2 miles | 07m 57s  min/mile
Age Group: 11/393
Overall: 74/2452
Performance: Good
HR 146
Course: Hilly
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 4
Physical exertion [1-5] 4
Good race? Yes
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities:
Race evaluation [1-5] 5