Ironman Wisconsin - Triathlon


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Madison, Wisconsin
United States
World Triathlon Corporation
70F / 21C
Sunny
Total Time = 13h 51m 44s
Overall Rank = 1460/2800+
Age Group = M40-44
Age Group Rank = 235/
Pre-race routine:

Great night prior to the event. Went out for pasta with Marla, Jolene, Carol, Ali, Stosh, Sarah, Jody, Mark, Nicole, Ty and Jill. Got a few cards, some cowbells, and a nice poster from the Miracle League of the Lakeshore. Loaded up with some carbs including a Guinness and then it was back to the hotel for some ZZZ's. In bed by 9:30pm and up at 5:30am. Slept good and felt rested. Woke up and had my morning coffee, some Cliff Blocks, a banana and a Gatorade with Carbo Pro to take to the terrace. Went down to transition, pumped up my tires to 95 PSI and off to the terrace. Helgi, Gorder, Brad Deja, Jed, Wilkes, Pat Fry were all up there. Good group of people and then the posse showed up. Time for some pics with the guys and then with the crew and it was then time to head down to the swim. Marla and Jolene walked me down as far as they could and then I headed to the swim entrance by myself. I was on my way.
Event warmup:

Walked to the waters edge during the National Anthem and then out into the water. Swim/tread water for about 3 minutes and then I was off!
Swim
  • 1h 30m 41s
  • 4224 yards
  • 02m 09s / 100 yards
Comments:

Wow. What an experience. Gun went off and it was a little battle for a couple hundred yards. I then thought I weathered the storm as I had open water around me and was able to get into a groove. The groove lasted about 400 yards and I was thinking to myself that this is great. Open lane, able to settle in and felt great in the water...and then it was rugby time again. Lots of bumping, kicking, punching, etc. It didn't let up until after the halfway point. The rest of the swim went pretty well and I was amazed how relaxed and comfortable I was. Took the last turn around the bouy a bit wide and had to fight the current to get back towards the buoy line. I am positive the I could have had 10 minutes taken off of my time if I would have taken that corner better.
What would you do differently?:

Sighting with my swim can always be improved upon. Other than that, I don't think I would have changed anything.
Transition 1
  • 12m 21s
Comments:

Good transition. A little weird as Ironman is a different triathlon transition than any other race. Walked up the Helix as best as I could as suggested by Craig. After a bit, I couldn't walk anymore and had to jog. Got into the Monona Terrace and grabbed my bag and headed to the changing room. Found an open spot and changed into tri shorts and tri top. Volunteers were great to make sure I took everything out of my bag and was ready to go. Also a little weird changing in a big open room but oh well. Helmet on out to the ramp, sunscreen on and off to get my bike.
What would you do differently?:

Run more into the changing room. Maybe save a minute or two by picking up the speed a bit.
Bike
  • 7h 19m 48s
  • 112 miles
  • 15.28 mile/hr
Comments:

Holy shit balls was this slow. Felt great the whole ride and no wonder why. This was the slowest I have ever biked. Oh well. Plan was to cover the distance and have enough left to not hate the marathon. There were a couple times where I held back just to save my legs. I remember saying to myself that Wow...I feel really good. Of course I did at that pace...lol. Left Madison just spinning the pedals and "just riding along". Hit the loop and thought I went into a decent pace but must not have. Made the mistake of not inflating my tires fully and that hurt. I had about 85#'s of pressure in my tires that are designed for 170#s. Ouch. Tires actually squeaked going up the hills and sounded like rubbing a balloon. Stopped at three rest stations and got my fluids mixed, took my Gu and hit the porto potties.
What would you do differently?:

As much as I hate my pace on the bike, I wouldn't change a thing. The race was enjoyable and I had a great experience. The one thing I might change would be to pre-mix all my fluids and just stop at special needs to get three new bottles.
Transition 2
  • 05m 24s
Comments:

Good transition. Rode up the Helix, handed my bike off and headed inside. Grabbed my transition bag, put the shoes on, hat, glasses, shoes and off I went.
What would you do differently?:

Nothing....pretty smooth.
Run
  • 4h 43m 30s
  • 26.2 miles
  • 10m 49s  min/mile
Comments:

Run went well. Marla and Jason said I left transition looking upset but didn't really feel it until about a quarter mile into it. Lower back was a little stiff but the main issue was my stomach. It cramped up pretty badly. Found out later a lot of people had the same issue with the Perform drink. If it wasn't for that stomach cramp, the run would have been great. Felt fine otherwise. Tried everything. Ginger, Gu chomps instead of Gu, water, soup, Perform, cola...finally after about Mile 8, it went away. I was worried that I wouldn't be able to take in fluids for a while there. The next goal was then to just get to the half way point. All my training was better after I got through the halfway point of all my training efforts. The second half went fairly quick considering how dark it got. Trail was pitch black at points. At about mile 19, I crested a hill and heard a huge crowd roar. It was my route rocking crew and they were all wearing Gene Simmons masks! And they WERE LOUD! It was great. Definitely road that energy into the finish. Got to Mile 24 and said that was it, no more stopping at water stations, just head into the finish. Turned the corner and had a woman right in front of me. I remember reading articles that said to make sure to give the other athletes "their moment" so I backed off a bit. She started to slow too, so I slowed more. Then some ass hat came by and tried to pass us both. Because of that, none of us heard the "you are an Ironman" but rather had all three of our names rattled off. Crossed the finish, got my hat, t-shirt, choco milk and a huge hug from Marla. That was the best!

What would you do differently?:

Avoid Perform on the bike.
Post race
Event comments:

Excellent race. Fairly well organized (not as good as ours in Door County but pretty good). Volunteers rocked it. Most of all, my #BSCRAZY crew was the bomb! They made this race. Thank you to Marla, Stosh, Sarah, Ty, Jill, Mom, Dad, Steve, Jason Woelfel, Mark, Nicole, Jody, Todd, Julie, Parker, Carol, Jolene, Kuklinski. Marla put together one hell of a crew and I could never recreate this part of the experience!




Last updated: 2014-09-23 12:00 AM
Swimming
01:30:41 | 4224 yards | 02m 09s / 100yards
Age Group: 282/
Overall: 1925/2800+
Performance: Good
Suit: DeSoto T1 Two Piece suit
Course: Big rectangle that starts and ends at Menona Terrace.
Start type: Deep Water Plus:
Water temp: 71F / 22C Current: Low
200M Perf. Good Remainder: Good
Breathing: Good Drafting:
Waves: Navigation: Good
Rounding: Average
T1
Time: 12:21
Performance: Good
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
Wetsuit stuck? Run with bike:
Jump on bike:
Getting up to speed:
Biking
07:19:48 | 112 miles | 15.28 mile/hr
Age Group: 301/
Overall: 1966/2800+
Performance: Below average
Wind: Little
Course: Hilly course. 16 mile route to the west of Madison and then two loops around Verona and Mount Horeb. Then 16 miles back to Monona Terrace.
Road: Smooth Dry Cadence:
Turns: Good Cornering: Good
Gear changes: Good Hills: Average
Race pace: Comfortable Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 05:24
Overall: Good
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike Good
Running with bike Good
Racking bike
Shoe and helmet removal
Running
04:43:30 | 26.2 miles | 10m 49s  min/mile
Age Group: 235/
Overall: 1460/2800+
Performance: Good
Course: Fairly flat course around Madison and the capital. Loops around numerous times which was great. Lots of chances to see the peeps cheering me on. Had lots of great friends cheering and even had Brett Maxwell, Craig and Mark Wafle each run with me for a few yards. Crowds on State Street were awesome.
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 3
Physical exertion [1-5] 3
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: Good
Race evaluation [1-5] 5