Ironman Wisconsin 2007 Race Report

Ironman Wisconsin 2007
First of all, I want to thank all the friends and family that supported me over the past year in my journey towards another Ironman. I truly believe that a successful Ironman can be attributed by the support from friends and family.

I completed my first Ironman (the 2005 Ironman Wisconsin) a couple of years ago in extreme conditions where the weather reached the mid-90’s. To date, the 2005 still has the highest DNF (Did Not Finish) rate of any Ironman (approx. 20%). My time was 13:16 and I was thrilled to just make it to the finish line. After completing the event, I knew I would attempt another Ironman.

In 2006 a number of people in my triathlon club, KC Multisport, started talking about Ironman Wisconsin in 2007. Even though I had already done Wisconsin, the opportunity to train and race with a number of folks from KC was very tempting. So on Sept. 11, 2006 I signed onto Active.com and was lucky enough to get in. I later found out that the race registration filled up within 40 minutes of opening online.

It still amazes me how popular Ironman events are. In 2007, all North American Ironman registrations filled completely. For the 2008 Ironman Wisconsin, the event sold out in 23 minutes once it was opened online.

For the most part, training went well in 2007. I had increased the number of century bike rides (100 mile) to 4 this year and even achieved my goal of running a pre-race 20 miler 4 weeks before race day. However, I still felt under-prepared. My motivation to get into the pool and do my usual swim training was lower and my job responsibilities required me to travel quite a bit during some key weeks in July and August – weeks which should have been my “peak” weeks and required a little more consistent training than I was putting in. I relied on prior experience to make up for any lack of training.

Race Week
Like my previous IMWI, I planned on leaving for Madison soon after Labor Day to spend the week in Madison and enjoy the city before all the hoopla around Ironman started. I drove up to Madison on Tuesday with my younger brother, Brent.

The week consisted of a Wednesday drive to Milwaukee for a Brewers/Astros game. Brewers won 14-2.

Thursday began my Ironman preparation. After a rough 1.2 mile swim, which took me 45 minutes to complete, I picked up my race packet.

Friday included an even more windy swim, in fact, the water was so choppy, I only swam 15 minutes before I called it quits. But I did jog for 20 minutes (does that count?) Later in the afternoon, I drove the course with my friends Dave, Julie, Krissee, Glenn and Lynn. When we got done driving the course, we all thought, “well, that wasn’t too bad our training this year was comparable” I had even boasted about my intentions of using my big chain ring through the whole bike ride. That turned out to be a mistake. (Note to self, keep your mouth shut).

Friday night was the welcome dinner. We sat with the whole KC contingent which included the above individuals, plus Matt, Dave, Barry, Sarah, Michelle and Kirk. That night they announced that half of the participants (approx. 1100 out of 2200) were attempting their first Ironman. They also announced the youngest (18 year old male and 20 year old female) and oldest (65 year old female and 78 year old male) competitors. One individual even lost 80 pounds training for the event. That's more than half my weight.

Race Day
On race morning, I woke up at 3:30am. For some reason I didn't sleep very well the previous two nights. Oh well, I ate breakfast which consisted of a Poptart and bottle of Gatorade. I showered got dressed and was at the race site by 5:15am. I'm not sure about you, but on 99% of the days, I'm not even up for work at 5:15am.

I dropped off my special needs bags (one for the bike and one for the run). This year, I didn't put in as much junk into the bags. I just added some Endurolytes, gels and a bottle of Gatorade in each.

I then went to the transition area and put my water bottles on my bike and was ready to go by 6:00am. I looked for the other KCM members but didn’t see any of them. I found someone to watch my wetsuit so that I could make a pit stop. The line was so long it took 20 minutes before I got back to my wetsuit.

I sat quietly and went over my race plan. The plan was to stay steady in the swim, bike aggressively and hope for enough energy to make it through the marathon. The risk with any Ironman is going so hard your body prevents you from moving forward. (e.g. cramps in legs, stomach issues from nutrition, or over/under-hydration).

By 6:30am, I had made my way down the “helix” and found my KCM buddies. They were all in a group chatting and enjoying the morning. I don't know if they knew they had to cover 140.6 miles or not. They certainly didn't look like it. OK, maybe a few of them did. :)

We got into the water and had to tread for awhile. The announcer kept counting down the minutes and with 5 minutes, I swam away from the KCM group to get into my "position". While I was glad to hang out with them, I had to do my own thing to make sure I raced my own race.

At 7am the cannon sounded and the race started.

The swim this time was no picnic. Within 50 yards, I turned my head to breathe and someone’s hand/fist came crashing down on my eye, causing my goggles to fill with water. Doh! I had to stop in my tracks, tread water and adjust them. Since I wear contacts, my biggest fear is losing a contact and not being able to continue the race. With 2200 people in the water, stopping in a crowd of swimmers that just wants to go forward is very difficult. I had to avoid more hands, continue treading and adjust my goggles at the same time. Once I got them fixed, I was back into the swing of things.

The swim was still really physical. I can’t remember being bumped into or grabbed so many times in my life. I think I was “touched” in just about every body part (private parts included.) I was out of the 2.4 mile (3.86 km) swim in 1:18, a whopping 11 seconds faster than two years ago.

I exited the water and immediately ran to the wetsuit “strippers” – volunteers are lined along the swim finish to help athletes get out of their wetsuits. First the top is pulled down, and then I was ordered to lie on the ground. Two volunteers “ripped” the wetsuit from my legs and when I pointed my toes, my right calf started to cramp. Damn! Already? There was no time to worry about it. I still had 138.2 miles go to.

I ran up the “Helix” – a circular parking ramp that winds for 4 stories. Into the transition area, volunteers yell race numbers so that other volunteers can grab your gear bag. Once I got my gear bag , I ran into the changing room. Hey! There's Glenn. He even told me he saved the seat next to him for me. So I plopped my butt down, and a volunteer helped me with my socks, shoes, helmet, race belt and sunglasses. I loaded my pockets with GU, Endurolytes (electrolytes), and bike pump with CO2 cartridges. I made it out in 6:38.

It was then off on the bike for the 112 mile (180 km) ride around the "scenic" Wisconsin countryside.

The ride for the first hour, as we headed west, felt great, and I was moving at a very comfortable pace and passing people along the way. The hills were soon to come but the weather was nice. I focused on my nutrition plan which was to alternate between 2 Endurolytes and GU every 45 minutes. In between I would alternate between gatorade and water to ensure hydration. I had nutrition problems in a race just 3 weeks earlier, so I wanted to make sure I didn't fill my stomach with a concentrate of sugar. However, I also didn't want to overhydrate with just water.

I thought I was doing well, but by mile 25 I was already beginning to cramp in my upper legs. All summer I had never entered into distress on the bike ride so early. I knew I had to continue my nutrition and be patient. My plan on riding in the big chain ring quickly became a pipe dream and I shifted into my small chain ring.

At approximately mile 50, I headed for the second bike loop towards Mt. Horeb (or Mt. Horrible as I now call it), up to Cross Plains, through Verona and back to Madison. I felt tired, both physically and mentally. This felt like one of my worst rides of the year. But I was still making decent time.

The ride from Cross Plains to Verona was slow and painful, the steepest hills are located around miles 45 and again at mile 80. By the second lap, riding up the hills reminded me why the locals call them “the bitches”. I was riding up those hills in my lowest gear possible. When your riding up hills in pain and a foul mood, the enthusiasm of the spectators can be a bit annoying. I even remember two mountain bikers zip by me up the hills. (Mountain bikes should never be faster than road bikes!)

The saving grace was seeing all my friends on the course. On all three hills, I saw folks from KC cheering on the riders. I even got to see my friends from Minnesota in Verona. A special shout out goes to my friends Seth and Liza who drove out to the hills and brought my brother along with them. There were even people I had not met from KC yelling at me/cheering me on.

I finished my bike ride in 6:07, which was 10 minutes faster than 2005. I quickly got off the bike and entered transition. I think I actually threw the bike at the volunteer. If someone would have offered to buy the bike for a nickel, I probably would have sold it to them at that time.

From there, I put on my running shoes, chugged some Gatorade and headed out on the run. For some reason I didn't have the volunteer support this time in transition, but I was still able to get in and out in a reasonable time.

My legs had gotten a second wind, but I was still hesitant to push it too hard. So I alternated between walking and jogging, maintaining a 10.5 minute mile pace for the first half marathon.

I continued to see my friends, at the beginning of the run, around Camp Randall Stadium and on State Street. The crowds were incredible, and I’ll never forget hearing a KCM member using his megaphone to push me to maintain my running pace.

Since, each athlete’s race number has their names on it, spectators call you by name. Even if you’re walking the spectators are great encouragement.

I continued my hydration plan of taking in more Gatorade at each water stop, taking in GU. In fact, I was hydrated enough to taking “potty” breaks every 2 miles. I continued my walk/jog as best I could, but the second lap was wearing on me mentally. Even though I didn’t physically feel tired, my mind was pretty tired. I didn’t have the energy to run too long and my pace slowed to a 12:30 minute mile. I finished with a run of 5:03. With an overall Ironman Wisconsin time of 12:39:54.

Though I’ve had better days, I was happy to improve my time by 36 minutes. I think my overall patience on the bike allowed me to improve my run by 15 minutes.

I still feel like I can go faster, which means I’ll do another Ironman. (Just not next year.)