Obviously, I had put in a buttload of work (more than I ever had for any other race), but it didn't seem like enough knowing what I had actually planned to do. But then I almost flirted with overtraining like 5 weeks out and then my peak was probably my worst peak of any IM build and then my neck freaked out on me and well. Nerves were a thing.
I continued to loosely work out in taper, but if I wasn't feeling something, I definitely cut it short or skipped it. Like the run I should have in theory gotten in the Wednesday prior (but a long-ass drive and then trying for food prevented that and okay yes I could have stayed up later and done it but that seemed counterproductive to me).
I did my best to keep nerves at bay in Madison, and my ridiculous M-Dot cheering hat (seen at the bottom of this post) helped out a lot. It's almost impossible to take yourself too seriously wearing a hat like that and I wore it around Madison a ridiculous amount. I'm not kidding.
A lot of anxiety started kicking in at our usual breakfast-for-dinner the night before. Some of Brandon's cousins came out to cheer me on and we all met for food. They're talking about coordinating places to cheer and it started stressing me out. Like guys, figure this out without me. If I see you on the course, great. If not, great. Just ... no. I told this to Brandon after we left and he said he'd do his best the next day to keep me out of it.
Race Day
Transition opened at 5am and so did breakfast. Brandon and I split up - I went to go get food while he got coffee and dropped off my special needs bags (that drop off was a few blocks away from our hotel/the race start). I barely choked down my scrambled eggs and orange juice. My brain knew to get food in, but the body tried to fight it.
I left breakfast and walked across the skyway over to Monona Terrace. I went into transition and put hydration and nutrition on my bike as well as pumped up my tires. All told, this maybe took me 10 minutes. I was thinking if there was anything else I needed to do, and the answer was no. I didn't want to stress myself out puttering, so I left. I went into the convention center to dump off a few other things in my run and bike bags (like my handheld for the run) and then met up with Brandon.
I found a former SFQ teammate to body mark me and then we found a corner in the convention center hallway to sit in until about 6:10ish. I went to the bathroom a few times that morning and once more during that waiting period. Eventually, it was time to start moving again. I put my wetsuit on and we walked down the stairs toward the swim start.
Brandon stayed with me as much and as long as possible, pretty much until it was about time to go into the chute. At the athlete briefing, it said we could do a warm up swim behind the start, but there wasn't anything labeled and I didn't feel like climbing over the rocks into the lake and risk hurting anything (cut the bottom of my foot on a rock on a pre-race swim on Friday). So I didn't bother with that.
Cousins Peter and Nicole met up with us sometime before I got in the water, but I forget if it was before or after the pros started. I think after. I seeded myself in the 1:40-1:50 swim corral, thinking that was a fair choice.
Me. Also ... hey ... I think I know that woman in the foreground. (photo: husband)
Yep, it was Susan Haag, doing her ... 116th (or something like that) Ironman. (photo: husband)
The last bit in the corral was actually a huge onslaught of nerves and I was repeating every mantra in the mental book.
Strong. Swift. Capable. (the one I've said going to bed almost every night this year)
It's my day to be brilliant. (Shinedown lyrics and my theme for this race)
Be a fighter, backbone, desire. (also Shinedown lyrics and a mantra I came up with a few years ago)
Thankfully, this worked well enough to calm me down going into the water.
The Swim:
A few people around me seemed concerned about the swim and for good reason - the wind was starting to kick up on us.
We found out later that we had up to two-foot swells out there (uh, yeah) and Brandon said he saw a few white caps on the water.
The swim is basically 1100m out, turn and swim 300m, turn and swim 1600m, turn and swim 200m, turn and swim the final 662m to the exit (counterclockwise).
It was hard fighting for space in that first 1100m. I've been fortunate so far as to not have gotten kicked/punched in the face in an Ironman. Well, that ended this race (happened twice)(once for sure in this section). I also felt my neck starting to chafe a bit about 1000m in (pretty sure there was a buoy about every 100m), but my stroke was a little wonky due to the water conditions.
I moo'ed at the first turn buoy, as you do.
The next 300m were fairly uneventful. As it worked really well at Coeur d'Alene, I counted the buoys every turn. So 1, 1, 1, 1, etc. until the next buoy and then 2, 2, 2, 2, etc. and then started a new count at the turn buoys. Makes me feel more like I'm in a pool and it gives my brain something to focus on other than "holy shit it's ridiculous out here and I probably should have taken Dramamine before this stupid swim."
The 1600m back stretch was into the wind and quite hysterical, actually. Sighting became tricky as I'd look up to sight and be in the bottom of a wave and see nothing but water. I was fortunate enough to keep stride with a few guys during this stretch which helped. It was weird going for a stroke and either hitting water quicker than you'd think or hitting air when you thought it would be water. In general, though, I think I did a really good job of swimming with the flow of the water as I didn't panic at all.
Of course, it also proved to me what I've known for years - the more ridiculous the conditions, the better it actually is for me because at that point, what can you do but laugh?
I felt my right armpit chafing some - I think due to the change in stroke adapting to the conditions - but I knew there was nothing during the swim I could do about it.
I forgot that there was a 200m and a 662m section (for some reason I thought only one turn to the finish; not two), and they dragged on a bit, but it wasn't terrible.
(I also once again had a triathlon swim where I didn't question my life choices during it, which, given that swim, is kind of surprising tbh. Oh, and the water temp, because we all care, was 69 degrees.)
White arm is me. Coming into the finish. (photo: husband)
I got out and it wasn't as bad standing/walking as I thought it would have been after a swim like that.
Checking the watch. Of course. (photo: FinisherPix)
Time: 1:49:26 (71st division, 402nd gender, 1645th overall)
T1:
This race has a stupidly long transition. Get out, get wetsuit stripped off, run up the helix (curved parking ramp), head into a ballroom, get your T1 bag, head into a different ballroom to get changed, run out past porta-potties, around a corner into the bike area, grab your bike, and run down a long ass lane of a parking level before crossing the mat and going down the other helix.
Peeled and running off. (photo: husband)
Waving back at B yelling at me. See that curved thing? Yeah, I had to run all the way up to there. (photo: husband)
I ran most of the way, but did end up walking a bit of the helix. Chatted with a few other people joking that I'm glad I wasn't seasick after that swim. Knew I had a swim PR at that point, so I was super happy. I got ready to ride fairly quickly. I had arm warmers in my bag, but decided to not use them. I left the convention center and made a beeline to the porta-potties to go change my stupid tampon (dang being a female). Brandon caught me post-porta-potty and on my way to the bike.
Shorts were wonky because wet tri shorts suck to pull up. I also couldn't deal with them until special needs. (photo: Brandon)
I tried like hell to keep transition to under 10 minutes and I thought I had it ... but the official results said otherwise. Boo.
Time: 10:04
The Bike:
Oh, the bike. I knew it would be brutal. 16 miles to Verona, two 40 mile loops of country road hilly nastiness, and then 16 miles back to Madison.
The first 16 miles actually breezed by. Suddenly it was like wait, what? We're here already?
The first loop wasn't even all that bad, either ... yes, there were climbs, but I know how to climb. The descents did have a lot of turns at the bottom of them (which was annoying), but I still got some decent speed. The problem for me was that there were a lot more false flats than I think I expected and as we all know, those are my kryptonite. Blargh.
I kept waiting for the Three Sisters (Bitches) because I couldn't remember where they were on course and I eventually found them ... but again, I didn't think they were as terrible as advertised.
What WAS terrible was some of the road quality. Holy bumps. I couldn't pedal some descents and use momentum since I was out of the saddle to save my crotch on the shit roads. Grosssss. I did see Brandon and the family cheering squad at mile 40ish which was great. Not too long after that, I got passed by SMASH pro Alyssa Godesky who said hi as she did.
Early on in the bike. Doing the ol' Macca "Like a Boss." (photo: FinisherPix)
In front of some cornfield somewhere on the first loop. (photo: FinisherPix)
Climbing some hill, trademark wonky helmet in place *facepalm*. (photo: FinisherPix)
Soon enough, I was rolling back through Verona onto the second loop. I saw everyone in front of Rocket Bicycle Studio and Brandon sprinted from there around the corner to special needs in order to say hi.
Grabbing some much wanted Dr. Pepper. (photo: husband)
I tried not to spend too much time here although I'm pretty sure I did get off my bike at the end of special needs to pee for the first time all ride. I knew one of my bike downfalls in previous races was me dillying at aid stations just wasting time and I didn't want to do that this race. This was my first stop on the bike and I planned it to change out my bottles and get my chips and Dr. Pepper.
The second loop was definitely harder than the first loop and mostly because it started precipitating on us. I don't know if I would officially classify it as "rain," but it was enough to get enough condensation on my Garmin to make it tricky to read it and have enough drips hanging from the front of my helmet. Oh and to make the roads just that much more treacherous.
In fact, I almost crashed out twice. Once was around a corner at the bottom of a descent where I had to hit the brakes fairly hard to avoid hitting some woman going way wide (wasn't going to pass on the inside and she made it impossible to pass on the outside); realized I was going to nail a cone; swerved; almost died. The other time was also on a curve after a descent where I kinda ended up in someone's driveway. After that, I slowed things WAY down on the descents. Which sucked.
I only stopped once more to pee (mile ... 80ish?) which I didn't want to do, but my bladder was crying out so badly, so I did. I waited until an aid station without a line, though, as I wasn't taking any extra time than necessary.
Looking a touch more miserable. (photo: FinisherPix)
Clearly don't remember a camera otherwise I would have tried to smile. (photo: FinisherPix)
The rain meant there weren't nearly as many crowds on the second loop, but I think that also was because I'm fairly back-of-the-pack, too.
Other random tidbits:
- The crowds on the second and third of the three main hills were AWESOME. Particularly on Midtown Road.
- Speaking of Midtown ... I actually have a relatively respectable placing on the Garmin segment for that stretch. I passed a few people climbing.
- Related: SMILE GOING UP EVERY HILL. I swear it helps.
- The stick going back to Madison? Shitty. Especially so with a bit of a headwind.
- Kinda stopped eating with about 10ish miles to go. My poor crotch was just DONE with the shit roads.
- Got a headache at like mile 40 of the bike and it never truly went away.
- Pretty sure I drank and ate the most in this race out of any IM I've done. A piece of pickle chicken (pickle juice-soaked Chick-fil-a chicken patty) or bite of a plain Bobo's bar every 10 minutes (rotating between the two so as to not get overly sick of sweet or salty) ... with me eating probably about two chicken patties worth and almost two full bars ... as well as four bottles of fairly concentrated Skratch and two bottles of water. Still might not have been enough, but I'm happy that I'm finally starting to get there.
The ride up the helix back to transition wasn't nearly as bad as I was thinking it was going to be, so that was nice.
As the husband said, I looked tired but not defeated. (photo: Brandon)
Time: 7:36:02 (56th, 333rd, 1550th)
T2:
I tried to speed through transition as best as possible, but my compression socks were not cooperating with me. I was also kind of helping my (very sweet, but very green) volunteer out, so that took some extra time. Whatever.
I had a tampon and considered changing it ... but didn't want to take the time so I just kept going.
Off I go! (photo: Brandon)
Time: 7:58
The Run:
I got a little confused with the run as we crossed a mat and then ran through the bikes ... but it was part of the run so whatever.
This is also why T1 is so long. (photo: Brandon)
I actually ran a lot more than I was expecting coming off the bike. In fact, my Garmin had my first mile as a 10:56, which is CRAZY PANTS for me in an IM. The first few miles of the run are mostly downhill, so I was able to run quite a bit. I talked to Brandon a bit after getting on the Madison streets, but I just wanted to get going on the run course.
I sorta maybe felt like pooping for most of the first half of the run, but I ended up being okay.
This run was the first in an Ironman where it wasn't my favorite leg. The UW campus was a lot hillier than I expected (like holy crap) and it had a lot fewer spectators than advertised (although that could have been the weather, too).
I did see a few friends here and there out on the course (Jen, Loberg, Taryn, Susan), so that was really nice. I got a lot of "love your kit"s all day - clearly I was the best dressed. I also got "best skirt out there" (no I wasn't the only one), which is GOOD, because I was wearing the newest iteration of the Skirt Sports race belt skirt (as opposed to one of my retro ones) in honor of founder Nicole DeBoom, who won the race 15 years earlier wearing the very first running skirt prototype.
Running through Camp Randall I think would have been cooler had I been a (college) football fan.
I saw Brandon again about a mile after the stadium (so 4ish).
Took an ebike to find me. (photo: husband)
From this point, it was winding through the UW campus. We ran past some intramural fields (where some kids were playing cricket - that was cool) and dealt with some killer fucking hills before popping back out on State Street for a small out and back (where I also saw Brandon again).
Weeeeee. (photo: Brandon)
From there, it was off to the Lakeshore trail that skirts behind the campus and eventually meets back up to the path we were on earlier (the one by the intramural fields). I actually enjoyed this section - nice and peaceful. I'd like to go back there and just walk it when I'm not, you know, racing an Ironman.
This race photog had a hysterical set up. I don't remember what it was, but I remember it made me laugh. (photo: FinisherPix)
In full disclosure, I'm also not showing you the unattractive downstride photos. Sorry not sorry. (photo: FinisherPix)
Not too long after this (I think), I ended up walking with a guy named Randy. He was doing his first full and we started chatting and I hadn't had a race buddy yet so sure why not ... but he was only walking at this point and I decided to walk with him for a while. My feet hurt, sure, but I could have kept walk/running. But I also know how it is during your first IM and I thought it would be nice to keep him company (and I felt a little guilty as he mentioned that it's hard to find someone to walk and chat with). So I spent probably more time than I would have liked with him.
A pleasant surprise at probably around mile ... 11ish? whatever mile the Kohl Center is ... was seeing my old editor from USCHO, Todd Milewski. I found out from him that Badger women's hockey coach (and Miracle on Ice star) Mark Johnson was actually racing, which was totally cool*.
Nearing the turnaround for loop two. The guy in the Zoot kit is Randy. (photo: husband)
The start of loop two is brutal as you look like you're running toward the finish line and then NOPE U-TURN BITCHES.
I stopped at special needs right after - not only to say hi to the husband (and bye to cousin Nicole), but also to grab my makeshift holey ski sock arm warmers as the rain was fairly steady at that point.
Randy and I got separated at the turnaround, but I was okay with that.
I ended up finally using a porta-potty to poop about a mile after special needs, but that was my only bathroom stop on the run, so that was nice.
The second loop was a grind. If I had been doing a lot better on time, I seriously would have considered taking a short nap on the side of the course. I was weirdly exhausted (which, you might think, DUH LOOK WHAT YOU'VE BEEN DOING ALL DAY, which, point, but I'd never dealt with that before, so it was weird, okay?), but just kept moving.
Other points of note:
- crowds were a bit disappointing. Maybe because of the lateness of the hour, maybe because of the rain, but I was told that the quietest part of the run was Camp Randall. That Lakeshore path after dark was SUPER silent. And a touch creepy.
- Didn't eat and/or drink nearly as much as in previous races, but that might have been weather. Got grapes maybe three times and chip stops were similar.
- Chicken broth was maybe out at only three run aid stations on the second loop. FAIL.
- Once again, I was able to beat the tracker's estimated time for me finishing, being able to pick it up decently well in the final miles.
The finisher's chute was everything it always is. My aching feet ached no more. I passed one woman right before the carpet, but was cognizant enough to slow down to let the guys in front of me have their moments (otherwise I would have been right in their photos).
Plus I got in my leap.
(all subsequent photos are FinisherPix.)
If I had known they were doing this shot, I would have delayed a bit more so as to not have that dude in the shot.
Time: 6:04:56 (61st, 388th, 1575th)
Overall Stats:
Time: 15:48:24
64/76 division (F35-39)
371/461 gender
1606/1823 overall
On a brutal day on a brutal course ... I still managed to PR. Let's play the comparison game, shall we?
Swim 2013: 2:02:48
Swim 2016: 1:51:33
Swim 2019: 1:49:26
In some of the crappiest swim conditions I've faced, I still managed a 2:07 swim PR. Was I hoping/expecting for a bigger swim PR given the amount of swim training I've put in this year? Absolutely, but the fact that I still did PR in those conditions is a testament to the amount of work I've put in to become a stronger swimmer.
T1 2013: 11:24
T1 2016: 5:39
T1 2019: 10:04
Probably a longer transition than AZ (and I didn't have a foot to get taped up) and much longer than Boulder. Really unless it's the same race with the same transition zone, these are impossible to compare.
Bike 2013: 7:26:02
Bike 2016: 7:28:32
Bike 2019: 7:36:02
Ten minutes slower than AZ (and ... 8:30? slower) than Boulder with fewer stops. But also on one of the harder bikes on the circuit. I knew what I was getting into with this bike going into this race ... but I can't lie to you and say I'm happy with this time. I really wish I would have done better. Just more work to put in for next time ...
T2 2013: 7:52
T2 2016: 9:25
T2 2019: 7:58
... see above. Maybe next race I'll do calf sleeves instead of compression socks to save some time. Who knows.
Run 2013: 6:07:29
Run 2016: 6:17:41
Run 2019: 6:04:56
Through most of the run I thought my run PR was a 6:05ish so I was trying like hell to beat that. Which, of course, I did ... but I'm also very happy to see that my PR was slower than I thought which means that even purposefully walking for a few miles ... I still managed a 2:33(?) run PR. Which I am SO HAPPY with.
All in all, that adds up to a 4:26 race PR.
And I know I can do better. But maybe not for another few years.
* and I totally beat Mark Johnson by like 45 minutes. Woo!
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