Ironman Wisconsin 2012
10:36
13th Overall 3rd Age Group
Kona Slot
I am very happy with how my race turned out. I had dealt with tendonitis in my right leg since April and sprained my foot less than 2 weeks before the race, so I was unsure of my running abilities going into the race. I went into the race with confidence in my swim and bike, but knowing that the run would be a wild card.
The night before the race I ate about 1.5 cups of rice pasta for dinner. Before bed I took 6 salt stick tablets. I set my alarm for 3:30am. I slept pretty well until about 3am. I woke up and laid in bed until 3:30am. Then I got up and started working on my pre-race breakfast (3 salt stick tablets, 3 Bonk Breakers, and a cup of super strong coffee). I packed up my remaining few things as I ate and we headed down to the race start. It was a very cold morning. I wore long pants, a t-shirt, and a jacket, but wished I had a stocking cap as well. My teeth chattered as I walked. I dropped off my special needs bags, put arm warmers in my T1 bag, pumped up my tires and put my nutrition on the bike. I was ready.
After the usual couple of bathroom stops I put on my wetsuit and headed down to the race start. I got into the water (which was actually warmer than the air) and positioned myself in the front row approximately 15-20 yards right of the buoy. The water seemed to fill up quickly with swimmers and I found myself getting pushed around a bit before the start. The cannon went off and we were on our way. I was surprised at how congested the swim was the entire way. I got kicked/hit in both eyes at different times during the first stretch of the swim. Even after I rounded the first corner it was still congested. Some guy swam over the top of me and I had to struggle for placement and air. I got dunked and swallowed water on a few occasions. It was almost as rough as Hawaii! Finally we rounded the last turn and headed into shore. I wasn't prepared to pass the Monona Terrace and then to have to angle back into shore after the last turn buoy, but I followed other swimmers and figured it out. I came out of the water and ran to the strippers who helped me out of my wetsuit. I ran cautiously up the helix and assessed my left foot as I ran. It was a little stiff, but not too bad. I got through transition relatively efficiently and managed to get my arm warmers on with the help of a volunteer.
As I rode out on to the bike course I was glad that I had put toe covers on my shoes and put my arm warmers on. It was chilly in the mid 50s. I biked fairly easily and under control as planned out to the stick. I took a sip of water around 20 minutes into the bike and then the first gel at 30 minutes. Once on Whalen Rd. I settled into my race pace. I felt strong and in control. I didn't look at my power meter as much as usual, but rode more on feel and made sure to cap the hills and not over extend myself. I focused on my cadence (tried to stay between 90-95) and my nutrition (gels at 30 minutes and 60 minutes, salt stick tablets at 15 minutes and 45 minutes, water every 15 minutes). The tape on my right aerobar came unraveled and I had to tie it in a knot to keep it in place. Frequently I had to redo the knot as it kept coming undone. I started to feel tired heading out to Mount Horeb on the 2nd loop of the bike and the wind felt like it had picked up slightly. I focused on getting to Cross Plains where I knew my family would be cheering for me. They were there as promised and rooted me on. I got a 2nd wind and continued on. As I descended a hill heading towards Verona I noticed a guy infront of me hitting the breaks and swerving. I came out of my aero position just in time to see a dog running loose on the course. Luckily I missed the other cyclist and the dog and didn't have to slow down that much. With approximately 30 miles left on the bike course I noticed that my right shifter was loose and rattling around. To my surprise it started to come out of the aerobar and twist around. I wondered if I should stop and get sag support. It was still shifting ok though, so I decided just to hang onto the shifter with my right hand and continue on unless it stopped working completely. Fortunately, it continued to work the rest of the way back to the Monona Terrace. The last 10 miles of the bike a girl in my age group passed me. I hung with her and eventually caught back up to her coming up the helix. As she dismounted in front of me she fell off her bike. I had to swerve to avoid running over her rear wheel and crashing myself, but was able to do it and dismount safely.
I ran into T2 and worked to get through there as fast as possible as I had just been passed. The other girl ran out of T2 ahead of me. I knew I would have to work to catch her on the run. I ran outside and passed her wtihin the first 1/4-1/2 mile. I felt strong running, but told myself to slow down. Apparently my body didn't listen very well because I ran the first mile WAY too fast (6:54). I told myself to slow down again and was only slightly better, but still too fast (7:27). After that I was able to settle into my pace. I passed another girl in my age group around mile 13-14. I was now in 2nd place. It felt easy to hold 7:45-8:00 minute miles until around mile 15. My legs started to slowly cramp. I was able to keep running, but by the time I reached mile 16-17 I had to walk the aid stations. The girl passed me back and I became 3rd place once again. The pain increased from there on. I tried to take in more salt tablets, but my salt tablets had melted. At one point I drank the melted salt tablets from my baggie and then semi-puked them back up. Later I tried to take a gel to see if that helped. Nothing was doing the trick and it got rough around miles 19-20. I told myself that I needed to keep running even if it was slow. This ended up being a good idea because I passed the other girl back once again and reclaimed my 2nd place position. My running pace fluctuated between 9-9:30/mile and thank goodness for my friend Arnie who was also racing that day! He had a few extra salt tablets that he was willing to share with me! I felt slightly better after that, but it was still very stiff and painful to run. With 4 miles left to go I was passed by another girl. At first I thought that the number on her leg said either 29 or 39 and was relieved that she was not in my age group. I took a closer look and realized that it said 34! I pushed myself to pass her on a down hill with about 3.5 miles left to go. She ran very strategically, about 10 yards behind me and matched me step for step. With about 2 miles to go, she made a move and passed me quickly. I could not respond and was running on empty...it was a feeling of desperation by then. (Only later did I realize that she slowed her pace once she got ahead of me and actually only ended up finishing about 1 minute before I did.) I was able to run the rest of the way into the finish with 3rd place in the age group and 13th overall. I was pleased with my race. I learned a lot from the run portion of my race about when to push and how to race strategically.
Thank you's:
Mike Pierson with Your Training Zone--coaching
Wheel and Sprocket Northshore--bike sponsor
Zoot--everything else sponsor. The compression socks were invaluable this year.
Matt for putting up with my nervous breakdowns throughout the season
My family including those present and the ones cheering from afar over the computer. I couldn't have done it without your support!
Elizabeth Hoffman, ART and massage therapist, for working on my leg most of the summer to get it healthy for this race
TriWisconsin triathlon club--thanks for the great support, awesome friends, and variety of training opportunities
I'm sure that I have forgotten others. To you guys I am sorry, but please know that I really appreciate you!
Important notes for next time:
- Food eaten day before race day--breakfast: large Starbucks mocha, lunch: Milo's lettuce wrap and lemonade, dinner: 1.5 cups of Tinkyata rice pasta with spaghetti sauce and a water bottle of propel.
- Breakfast race day: 3 Bonk Breakers and a cup of Shock coffee
- Nutrition during the race: 2 gels per hour at 30 and 60 minutes starting 30 minutes into the bike, 2 salt stick tablets per hour at 15 and 45 minutes starting 45 minutes into the bike, water every 15 minutes on the bike, alternating between sports drink and water and coke and water every aid station on the run. 1 gel on the run. Original plan was for only 1 salt stick tablet per hour on the run, but ended up needing much more than this. Probably took around 9-10?
- Start the swim on the inside of the buoy to avoid getting clobbered and drinking 1/2 the lake.
- Be more patient on the run and don't run the first 2 miles so darn fast! Mile one was 6:54; Mile two 7:27; Miles 3-10 was higher 7's; Miles 11-17 was mid 8's; Miles 18-20 were walking with 9-10-11 min pace - took in a gel and some ibuprofen to overcome pain in legs-hips-quads; Mile 21 it came around to 9's; Mile 25 was sub 8; Mile 26 8:17
- Put salt stick tablets and Ibuprofen in seperate containers. May not want to use zip lock bags again as water still got in there and melted everything--ew.
- Goal power was 170 watts with first half hour 140-150; race result was 156 avg/167 nor.
