Ironman Wisconsin!

One year after signing up and committing to Ironman Wisconsin, it's all over and I am successfully an Ironman. This post will be the full race report while everything is still fresh in my mind. Enjoy!

Thursday
Ironman weekend began for me on Thursday evening when I went to pick up the rental race wheels I used for the race. In my mind, the little cost for renting very high performance wheels couldn't hurt. At worst, they wouldn't be any faster than my normal wheels, and if they where faster I would be happy with any speed they gave me no matter how small. I went for the Zipp 404 wheelset, which retails for more than I paid for my entire bike. I put them on and went for a short ride to test them out. They sure felt stiff and fast. I finished off the night double checking that I had everything packed.

Friday
I packed everything into the car, threw the bike on the rack, and headed to the office for a half day of work. It was difficult staying focused for the morning but I did manage to get some work done. At noon I left the office and headed out to Madison for athlete registration, which is when things finally started to feel real. I had gone over the race many times in my head over the past year of training, but now that I was actually starting to go through the actions of the weekend it was a little surreal that the time was actually here.
Once in Madison, I went to the Monona Terrace, which is the central location of the race events. This is where a theme of the weekend first appeared... the lines. Registration involved waiting in line to sign waivers, to get weighed, and to pick up gear bags (swim cap, timing chip, bib numbers, athlete wristband). Overall, registration took me about an hour and a half.
After registration I relaxed in the car until the athlete dinner and meeting since it was cool and rainy outside. The athlete dinner began by... waiting in line to get inside and then waiting in line to get food. It was a typical pre-race pasta dinner and had some entertainment with some speakers and videos. It was good to go to as a first timer, but I would probably skip the dinner if I did the race again to avoid some of the chaos. The athlete meeting also was nothing too important, especially if you read the athlete guide ahead of time. The meeting got out around 8 pm and I headed over to David's apartment, where I was staying for the weekend.

Saturday
I woke at a normal time on Saturday around 7 and went out to the farmer's market on the capitol square to find some breakfast. I picked up some coffee and a pumpkin scone, and also two bags of cheese curds at Diana's request. I walked down to the Monona Terrace to sit and eat and was able to watch a lot of people getting in a final practice swim in the lake. I didn't have much of an urge to get in the water and didn't think that a short swim would do me any good at this point.
After eating, I went back to David's to get things ready for the race. For Ironman, we had to drop off our bikes and transition bags the day before the race to make things a little less hectic on race day. I also wanted to get a short bike ride in to make sure there were no problems with the rental wheels. The 15 minute ride went well and everything on the bike felt good. I packed up my swim-to-bike bag (helmet, sunglasses, socks, bike shoes, arm warmers, and race bib) and my bike-to-run bag (running shoes and hat). I also put in some extra nutrition (gels, salt tablets, and ensure) just in case I felt like I needed something in transition. I dropped everything off in transition at the terrace around 11 am and then went with David to meet up with Diana and Mom and Dad Mitsche for lunch on the capitol square. The three of them plus Cassie were camping for the night so we went to the campground to set up camp and relax for the day. I spent the rest of the afternoon hanging out in our hammock and reading/relaxing. This was also when Diana unveiled the custom t-shirts she designed and ordered for everyone in the cheering squad (even Cassie). Saturday ended with a nice pizza dinner and going to bed by 10 pm.

Sunday

Transition area around 6 AM

Race morning started off nice and early at 4 am. I slept relatively well but didn't need the alarm since I woke up on my own around 3:45. Breakfast was the standard coffee, banana, and bagel with jelly. I packed up the remaining gear I needed for race day and was out the door by 5. Outside was pretty quiet except for the howling wind out of the north. Already having wind at 5 in the morning meant it was probably going to be windy all day. Fortunately the swim was pretty sheltered and the water was still calm when I got to the terrace.Again, I had to get in line to get body marked with my race number on my arms and my age on my calf. Then I was able to get to my bike to pump the tires, add my nutrition, and make a final check of everything. I only spent about 10 minutes at the bike and couldn't really think of anything else to do or check so I said goodbye and left to meet up with Diana and the others before the start.

 

We all met around 6:00 and I picked up two ensure drinks from David that I forgot in his freezer; I wanted to put them in my transition bags to have during the race. Now having the drinks, everyone wished me luck and I went to drop the drinks off in my bags and get in line for one last bathroom break.

The Helix

I was through the bathroom line by 6:30 and then put my wetsuit on and began the mass march down the "helix" to the swim start. The transition area is on the top parking deck of the terrace and the "helix" is the winding car ramp to get up and down. It was a slow march down to the start and in a way resembled a herd of cattle (fitting for Wisconsin). Just before entering the swim I saw Diana along the side and got one last good luck before wading into Lake Monona.

Getting herded into the lake

The Swim

Treading water waiting for the start

The start is a deep water mass start where everyone is treading water. The swim is a 2.4 mile rectangle and I wanted to be close to the buoy line so I didn't swim any farther than I had to. It seems a lot of people had the same idea. I stayed about 20 rows back from the starting line since I consider myself an average swimmer. When the cannon went off it was absolute chaos. My goal was to just avoid getting kicked in the face... about 3 minutes into the swim I get kicked in the eye and my left goggle filled up with water. I did a quick dump of the water from the goggle and just kept swimming and avoiding flying appendages.

Mass swim start. I was most of the way to the right of this picture.

The first stretch was around 1000 meters and I think I only sighted once or twice to see if I was on track. The mass of people made it essentially impossible to go a different direction even if I wanted to. I was going wherever everyone else was going.

Absolutely crazy

At the first turn it was still just as crowded at the start and as I lifted my head to sight the buoy all I heard was other swimmers mooing. I later found out that it is tradition to "moo" as you go around the first turn buoy for Wisconsin.

Long back stretch of the swim

The far end was only about 300 meters and then it was on to the long back stretch... 1800 meters of straight swimming. Again, I was just swimming my own pace while avoiding hands and feet. Any time I thought I had open water someone would cut across in front of me or swim over my back. I swear some people were all over the place.
After the last turn buoy it was a short 600 meter stretch to land and I could start to hear all of the announcing. And then I could touch the bottom, I stood up, and the swim was over. It didn't feel anywhere close to an hour and 13 minutes because there was so much to think about. Overall the time was very solid for me and I was quite happy with it.
Out of the swim I peeled the wetsuit halfway off and then used the volunteer wetsuit "strippers" to pull the rest of it off for me. Then it was a run back up the "helix" to the transition area. The entire way up was packed with screaming fans so it was a lot of fun even if it is a pretty long transition run.

out of the swim

Transition 1

Running to Transition

Up the Helix

To the bike!

Into the terrace I ran into the bike transition room to grab my swim-to-bike bag and then ran into the changing area. Helmet on, glasses on, bike shoes on, race bib on, took a drink of the ensure, grabbed the arm warmers, and was out the door. Here is where the sunscreen volunteers are to lather us up before heading out on the bike. I asked them to cover any exposed skin... which I would later find out didn't include two spots on my back. Then it was off to the bike racks to grab my bike and start riding.

The Bike
I rode the bike course several times this summer so I was pretty confident going out onto the bike. The start is at the top of the other helix and then it's about a 14 mile ride out of town to the southwest to the town of Verona which is the start of the double loop. My plan was to ride the first hour an a half very easy, ride steady through the rest of the first half, and then keep the effort to ride the same split on the second half. The temperature couldn't have been better, but there was a pretty stiff north wind for the entire ride.

Out on the bike

I felt great throughout the bike and made sure to take in enough liquids and nutrition. I may have taken in a little too much based on how my stomach felt later in the run but that's all part of the learning experience.

Classic Wisconsin Backdrop

Fans!

The best part of the bike by far were the fans. So many people are out cheering from the families in their yards, the old people in front of the nursing home with their cowbells, and the crazy costumes on the hills. The three main hills on the course were packed with people like what you see in the tour de france sometimes making it hard to resist hoping up out of the saddle and sprinting to the top. Along with the complete strangers cheering, I saw Diana and the others several times during the bike.

Cassie showing support for her dad!

I never got too tired on the bike but my butt started to really feel it around mile 100 on the way back to Madison. I saw Diana and the gang one last time just before climbing the "helix" one last time to transition. Total bike time was 6 hours 26 minutes for an average of 17.4 mph. Again, pretty solid for me and I was quite happy.

Transition 2
Riding into transition I unclipped and handed the bike off to one of the volunteers to put it back on the racks. Then it was into the run transition room to get my bike-to-run bag and then back to the changing room. Bike gear off, running shoes on, hat on, drink the second ensure, and start to run out. That's when I saw that my friend Joe had just come into transition at just about the same time. I stopped for a quick chat and then ran out to the sunscreen people for round two. A quick stop at the bathroom and then out on the run.

The Run

This is when I realized that I may have taken in too much on the bike. My stomach felt awful for the first mile. At the first aid station I grabbed a handful of pretzels and sucked the salt off them as I ran. By mile two I felt much better and settled into a good groove. I saw a lot of people I knew along the course and saw the cheering squad several times. I walked each aid station and had a good first half of the marathon.
Starting the second half my legs really started to hurt. I never cramped up but I could feel that the lower volume of running that my training had. Mid summer I had a pretty bad calf strain so I really backed off running and focused on swimming and biking to let the calf heal. It showed during the race with my solid swim and bike and only half of the run.

Coming into mile 15 I had to walk and I walked for about a mile. After that I ran as much as I could and then walked. This point of the race was the hardest thing I've physically done. It was a battle to keep going but I never stopped making forward progress. I kept this up until about mile 22 when I got a second wind. It was probably the adrenaline of being so close to the finish. From here to the end I was able to run more but still had to walk. Again, the fans and volunteers along the run course were awesome. Everyone was cheering and reaching for high fives, even when I was walking.

To the finish!

Running the last mile to the finish it was hard to believe that the 140.6 mile journey was ending. That this morning in the lake I was at mile zero and now almost 13 hours later I'm about to be done. That one year ago I signed up for this race and spent that whole year preparing for this. As long as that sounds, the day felt like it went by very fast. I came around the last turn, saw the finish, saw I was going to be under 13 hours, and reached out to high-five everyone along the chute to the finish. The total run time was 5 hours and 4 minutes, which was about an hour slower than I would have wanted, but was about right given the amount of running I did leading up to the race.

The Finish
My total time was 12 hours, 57 minutes, and 8 second. Full results here. Coming across that line was a great feeling, and I know my body was thrilled that I could let it stop working now.

Overall I was extremely happy with the outcome of the race and it was an amazing experience. Two volunteers walked and talked with me for several minutes to make sure I was okay. I got my finisher medal, t-shirt, and hat, and they took my finisher picture. And then that was it, I was free to go. I made my way through the crowd to find Diana and got a big hug.

Must... try... to... smile...

I have to thank Diana for all of the support she has given me this past year to pursue this goal of mine. At times it feels like a selfish goal when I have to go for a long run, when I have to go for a 6-hour bike ride, when I have to wake up at 5 to go to the pool. I couldn't have done this without her support, and her home physical therapy throughout the training. Thank you Diana! I Love You!
I also need to thank everyone who came out to cheer.

Proud Wife!

The Mitsche's got a grand welcome into the world of Ironman and I know they were exhausted just from chasing me around all day cheering. The cheering was great and I appreciated all of it. Thank you!
I know that Diana is thrilled to hear that I didn't sign up for next year, and I don't know when I will do another full Ironman. For now the itch has been scratched. Hope you all enjoyed reading!