Ironman Wisconsin Race Report

This past week I have decided that Ironman racing is a cruel world. You work so hard for nine months or even a year for a day long race and then you are left with… what?

Only three days out from Ironman Wisconsin, I’m thikin’ I shouldn’t be writing this race report as I’m still re-living my mistakes from the race, not my accomplishments. Feelings of accomplishment and pride are too hard to come by when you did not race the way you know you should have and know you are capable of. Oh well here goes…perhaps this will be cathartic and bring out some feelings of accomplishment.

Well we arrived in Wisconsin on Thursday (Sept 10) and met up with our friends Randy and Erica (we were staying at Randy’s place, thanks Randy!!). We had a great cook-out with them with some exciting stories and events, particularly one story of a man drowning that I could not get out of my head…thank you SO much Erica ; ) and of course a visit from the fire department. Needless to say we were definitely starting out the weekend on an interesting note. It was nice and relaxing to spend an evening with our friends and not really worry about the impending doom of our race.

Thursday night we headed to bed rather early, because we wanted to get up and do a practice swim in Lake Monona and then get checked in. The practice swim went quite well, Ryan and I did one lap of the course just to get a feel for the water. Our laps were right on pace for what we wanted to do in the race so we were happy. On to athlete check-in. Athlete check-in went very smoothly and by 11 am we had signed our life away to the Ironman gods.

Following check-in I was anxious to drive the bike course and get an idea of the beast I had been told about. After getting lost and numerous arguments between Ryan and me, we finally managed to find the bike loop we were looking for. Driving the course was a bit intimidating as there were SO many hills on the course; and I’m not talking those measly rolling hills we all like, I mean “get your butt out of the saddle or you are going to fall on your face” kinda climbs. Trying not to get too worried I just reminded myself that I live in CO and we see hills (or mountains as we like to call them in the Rockies haha) like this all the time at home. I would keep this thought with me throughout the race.

Friday and Saturday went by really fast, where all we did was relax and try to concentrate on the task at hand. Personally I was having some trouble concentrating as I was more concerned with the aforementioned drown man. So back to that really quick, a man had drown in the lake that we were to swim in for the race and unfortunately his body hadn’t been recovered. The man drowned on Wednesday night in the area of the swim course. Now it’s said that a human body will float to the surface after a few days. Those few days would put the man surfacing the day of the race!! This, I could NOT get out of my head! I would be swimming in a lake, which I don’t like to begin with, that has a dead man in it, that could float to the surface at any given moment during the race!!!!!!! How could I possibly get that out of my head, yet again Erica I thank you for that information haha. This was terrorizing me throughout the whole weekend and including the race. But anyway I digress, on to the actual race! The alarm went off all too soon on race morning and Ryan and I were off to the race site. Like most races, I’m super nervous the days before the race but calm the morning of the race, this was pretty much the case. Once in the water, treading water for ten minutes, I felt comfortable and ready to race and somehow managed to push the dead guy out of my head. Before I knew it the canon sounded and me and 2,406 of my closest “friends” were swimming (or floundering). Surprisingly doing a mass start with that many people wasn’t too bad. Yea I got pummeled pretty good, but I didn’t panic, I remained confident that I could complete this swim with no problems….but then came the first turn. Nobody could swim the first turn; there were just too many bodies in such a small area, thus we were all bobbing along letting the current take us around the bend. Now during this “bobbing” I had two guys ask me if I was ok, this is definitely strange for a triathlon swim. I said that of course I was fine but I asked the second guy why he was asking me, his response “you have blood running down your face”. Whoa news to me! I did get kicked or hit, not sure which, in the face pretty hard earlier but thought nothing of it, but apparently my face had a different thought. Oh well I though, I’m not gonna let a little blood stop me, after all there are no sharks in this lake. So I swam on, my first lap I was so geeked to see 38 minutes but my second lap I got off course coming into the finish and ended with a 1:21. I think my official time was 1:22 something but I fell face first trying to get out of the water and I had to wait for my severe humiliation to pass before I continued. I really hope they got a picture of that, ya know for posterity sake. Haha ! Either way, not too bad of a swim and 15mins faster than my last race! Oh yea and no dead bodies, SCORE!!!

The swim start with 2,406 people

Transition was long, but oh well, onto the bike. Once I got my land legs back, me and my sexy machine began the looong ride. The first 56 miles of the bike I felt fan-freakin-tastic. I kept looking down at my odometer seeing 20+ mph and kept trying to convince my legs to slow down that I would regret going this fast later, which I kinda did in the end. Thus I slowed up the pace quite a bit, with the help of a very strong head wind, after the first loop of the course, but my legs still felt great and I was in a great mood. Ya see I have a “rainman” type quality to me that I like to count people I pass on the bike and run…so happily I rode counting people I passed (343) and deducting the amount of people that passed me (114 only 20 women). Good ratios in my book, this really kept me motivated to keep going and keep passing people. The only time I can say I felt fatigued and frustrated on the bike was the last 12 miles. I was thinking they would be easy miles, no hills, just coast to the finish, boy was I wrong!! Seriously the spawn of satan mapped out the last 12 miles of the course, I was out of my saddle climbing for like 6 out of those 12 miles. I really really do like climbing and would normally never complain about a hill but come on, at the end of a very hilly 112 mile bike who doesn’t want to just “coast in” to the finish? Well I finished the bike a bit slower than I had wanted averaging about 16.9mph but yet again comparing to my last IM, I was over an hour faster!!! Thus, no complaints here; although, I plan on really really focusing on the bike this coming season

On the bike, not the best picture.

Now onto the run, my favorite part of the whole triathlon….USUALLY. Coming off the bike my legs felt like I hadn’t exercised in a week, they felt so fresh! My first mile I did in 7:45 and I really had to tell my legs that I had 25 more miles left, there is no rush! Thus I slowed down to a very comfortable pace and greatly enjoyed the first 13 miles, I was even singing to the songs that they were playing along the course, my favorite of the day being “I Gotta Feeling” by Black Eyed Peas…very enjoyable! Although as I passed through the half mark I started to notice that my hands, fingers, arms, and feet were starting to tingle, very unusual for me, I’ve never had this before. Thus I stopped at the mile 14 aid station and asked a volunteer about it (mistake number 1). This dude totally freaked me out, told me that it was a heart problem and I definitely needed to walk or I could have a heart attack. This guy figured it was no big deal because even if I crawled the last 12 miles I could finish before the cutoff, grrrrr I didn’t just want to finish before the cutoff, but I also didn’t want to die of a heart attack, thus I listened to this dude and walked (mistake number 2). While I was walking I noticed I had a strong chest pain and started freaking out, but then finally after walking FIVE MILES I realized I had had this pain before and it was nothing but indigestion! DOH! Although my hands, arms, and feet were completely numb at this point. Getting frustrated that my legs felt so good and I was walking I stopped at the Mile 19 aid station and asked for a MEDICAL professional, not just some joe-schmoe, who knew NOTHING!! I was introduced to a doctor who I told my numb issues to and he told me that I was not going to die (imagine that) but it was more than likely that my heart was “overworked and underpaid” at the moment. Meaning my heart wasn’t able to pump blood to my extremities but this was very common and I was fine. Double DOH!!! Although he advised a plan of action of walking a quarter mile and running three quarters mile at a slow pace just to be safe. Him being a doctor and me being a doofus, I listened. It was so hard running a slow pace when my legs felt so good but at least I got the ok to run. The last couple miles I was feeling a mixture of bitterness for having to walk when I didn’t really have to and bliss that I was running again, albeit only three quarters per mile but oh well. Coming around to mile 25 and State street, I decided to screw the doctor’s orders and just go all out! That I did. Finishing so strong was bitter/sweet but I was just happy to be done and feeling great!

The beginning of the run, second runner from right.

Finishing the run strong!

After finishing I admit I was sleepy and slightly sore but I didn’t feel like I just did an Ironman. I felt like I just did a long training day at a leisurely pace. WTH?? UGH!!! Yes I finished my second Ironman, yes I bested my time by 40 mins, but I feel cheated. I feel unaccomplished. I feel like an ass! I'm not sore at all! Gee wonder if that says something. Mentally/emotionally I'm super disappointed and actually quite let down. I am VERY pissed at myself for not doing better. For some reason this year I felt I had something to prove, that I was better, A LOT better than last year, and I know I am but the results definitely didn't show that. UGH I'm just so disappointed. I want to do another race ASAP just to prove that I am better, just to myself though.

Please don’t get me wrong, I am proud of my finish, I am proud of how much work and effort I put into this sport but sometimes you’re your own worst critic and this is definitely the case. Expecting to do about a 12:30, and doing a 13:43, kinda stinks but I know with a little more hard work I can accomplish my goals.

Thank you to everyone who supported Ryan and I throughout this whole process. We are SO lucky to have friends and family that are so supportive.

Ryan and I after the race, do we look tired?? : )

Sorta...

Good grief I'm bad at keeping up with this sometimes. However, I have good reasons...sorta. Insufficient reason #1 I didn't have much to write about and insufficient reason #2 I am unemployed and have been busy looking for a job...sorta.

So in early June I got laid off from the worst job known to man kind. I liken it to a year and a half long hangover, yes that bad. But getting laid off has been the best thing for me, "a blessing in disguise" as my mom would say. I wouldn't have left the job due to the poor economy and would had been miserable for who knows how long, thus I'm happily taking this time off (sorta) and really focusing on things that I love, like training! 

Training has been fantastic! I'm really putting my all into it and finally seeing some results. The workouts are definitely not easy, but ironmans aren't easy. And they definitely take up a lot of time, however lucky for me, time is one thing I do have. 

Finally I am putting in those 20 hour workout weeks I should be. I think the biggest improvement has been the bike. Saturday I rode 86 miles at a very very good pace...sorta, well for me anyway, and I'm itching to get out there more and push it to see what I'm capable of. However, is this really a good idea, pushing the limits, when Ironman Wisconsin is only 6 weeks away??

I'm aching so badly to improve my pitiful IM time from the Great Floridian and know I can but I'm afraid of pushing too hard and "bonking" during the race. Thus when do you know when you are at your true limits before it's too late? 

I think I have just written the longest definition of a procrastinator. Too bad it took me getting laid off to really start getting into this training and unfortunately I'm paying the price of not knowing my strengths and weaknesses in time to really do great at IM WI. I know in the end I will do the best I can and that's all I can do for now, but damn, do I have to be such a procrastinator?

Well I will get my third chance at the IM distance next year at Lake Placid. I was in shock that I was actually able to get into the race and now I'm so excited...sorta. It's well known IM Lake Placid is one of the hardest courses and has a decent that will make me wet my pants, but I really am looking forward to the challenge of monster that is called "Papa Bear"...sorta.

Trainer, trails, trying

This weekend I finally got my butt out and did my long workouts.

My brake on my bike is funky right now and thus I was hesitant to ride outside therefore I rode the trainer. Although, I won’t lie, I prefer the trainer more often than not than going outside. I put in the movie Mama Mia (which I hadn’t seen and it’s great!) and pedaled away. For once I actually stuck to the exact workout listed and was definitely huffing and puffing at the end. A good 2.5 hours later I was done with the bike and happy that there wasn’t a run on Saturday’s workout. I finally pushed myself on a longer ride, imagine that! Good grief I can be lazy sometimes.

Saturday night we attended a “Polo Barn Party” for a children’s charity of some sort. The tickets were free thus the food was free and the beer was free…can’t beat that. So since I had worked so hard on the bike I decided I could afford to have a few drinks. As I enjoyed my numerous drinks, I made a fatal flaw of not thinking of the long run I had in the morning that would inevitably be done hung-over. Much to my amazement when I woke up in the morning I felt ok, a little dehydrated but not hung-over! Whoopee! Therefore, a bowl of cereal later and I was off on my 1.5 hour run.

Moving to a new area kinda sucks because you have to find new areas to bike and run, luckily we have moved to area that is much nicer for athletes than our previous place of residency. The run was all along the Bear Creek Trail which was actually a quite difficult run; I can’t recall a flat section on the whole 1.5hr loop that I ran, YAY for hills!! I was definitely feeling the hills, probably more due to the previous night’s boozefest, but doing mostly treadmill runs didn’t really prepare me for the natural terrain.

Side Note: No matter where I move to, I have found that I will always find a golf course to run on, whether I’m intentionally looking or not. I swear all tri- or running- geeks have a tendency to seek out golf courses! Well the trail I was on winded through the Bear Creek golf course and it was beautiful; of course very little shade, but really pretty.

In general I felt great on the run! My legs were feeling fantastic at the end, which rarely happens, and I was ecstatic. A long hard run complete and I wasn’t that tired afterward! Although to ensure my legs would remain feeling good for the rest of the day, I decided to “treat” my legs to an ice bath.

Hmmmm is it an ice bath or is it 3 minutes of torture (before numbness sets in)? I had forgotten how badly ice baths hurt until your legs go numb. YIKES! After I got in, during the pain, I was thinking how nuts I am to be doing this, even my dog and cat thought I was nuts; they just stood there staring at me with their heads cocked to the side just looking befuddled. However, after a few minutes went by the bath was complete bliss and best of all, it worked! My legs felt great for the rest of the day, not even a hint of fatigue, and they don’t hurt today (Monday)! I must make a point not to be a wuss and do these more often, they’re like miracle recovery for your legs!

After this weekend of trying but successful long workouts, I definitely look forward to what next weekend has in store for me and my legs! Until then I’m focusing on this week’s workouts, which look hard. EEK!

Success…small but good.

So I finally got my butt out of bed, two days in a row, and went to the gym before work to run! Major success for this girl who likes her 9 hours of sleep each night.

So why do I go to the gym to run and not just go outside in my very safe (low crime) neighborhood? Coyotes! And not like the sweet, dumb Wiley Coyote type, mean ones that eat “purse dogs” and kitty cats. We have tons of them around us. I know the majority are scared of humans and will run away but I don’t really feel up to taking that risk…alone….in the dark. I would consider taking Ty (the dog) but he’d probably run away too, that or try to make friends with the darn thing, thus to the gym I go.

I have to admit, I do love running on the treadmill, and I never have an easy day on it. I love being able to keep track of my pace, time, distance, and heart rate throughout the whole run. Being able to see my pace just keeps making me push that speed up just a little bit more every few minutes. By the end of any treadmill workout I’m sweating like a piggy and seriously out of breath, I love it! I love running outside too, especially for the hills, but sometimes the weather just doesn’t cooperate and there’s my trusty friend…the gym!

Speaking of the gym and running on treadmills, I have a rant that is dying to be typed out… I HATE treadmill peepers, ya know those people who run next to you and are constantly looking over to see what speed you’re at and your time/distance, just so they can bump up their speed to make sure they are going faster than you. This guy next to me this morning kept looking over and he didn’t make any attempt to hide his nosiness. He would look over at my speed and then bump it up by one every time I bumped mine up… poor fool I was doing intervals and was only half way through my workout when he stopped, gasping for air, and left. UGH! I usually bring a towel to cover the machine so I can’t see the time but none of my towels can cover the digital speed reading, but why should I have to cover anything? ‘MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS! I’m here for me, not to compete with you.’ How annoying. Oh well just gotta ignore them and continue doing my own thing I suppose.

At any rate, hopefully I can keep this routine of going to the gym every morning and of course, continue to get in my other workouts, swimming and biking, as well. I think this weekend will be a big run and bike weekend and surprisingly I’m looking forward to it!

See, he’s too sweet to fight off a big bad coyote, he gives Kona kisses!

Weekend whirlwind!

Last weekend we traveled back to da burgh to get some wedding details figured out and all that stuff out of the way. Well I am happy to report we were quite successful. We got to visit the church, meet with the priest, eat at the restaurant where the rehearsal dinner is, pick flowers, taste food for the reception, and most importantly I was able to find a dress! Whew! What a week/weekend!

As exciting as getting wedding stuff completed there was another much more exciting event that took place while I was at home; the birth of my first niece Meghan Elizabeth! Meghan was quite a surprise to my brother and his wife Erin (and the rest of the family) as they were full heartedly expecting a boy, but much to the dismay of all our predictions a beautiful baby girl was born. Meghan was a whopping 8lbs 3oz and 20.25 inches long. She was so healthy and big that she didn’t even look like a newborn, she looked like she was already 2 months old…she was perfect!

The minute I found out that it was a girl my mom and I ran out to Kohl’s to buy as much baby girl (aka pink) clothes we could find. It was so fun buying clothes for a baby and I can’t wait until I can buy her more and spoil her like good aunts should. My other brother, Shane and his wife, Nadine are expecting in September and considering I probably won’t be able to be there for the birth of my second niece or nephew, I was overjoyed to be there for Meghan’s entrance into the world. Come September I will have two babies to spoil and I couldn’t be happier!

The proud parents!

Meghan Elizabeth

Proud Grandparents

Meghan and me.

This is my favorite photo! Starting the girl early, she will be a triathlete!

Weekend of Races…

Wow what a weekend in the running world! Tons of people that I know were racing in Pittsburgh, Lincoln, or NJ and whoa, everyone did so well, I am so impressed. Whether my friends were racing for the first time , doing it just to finish, doing it for a cause, or doing it to win, they all did so SO well. This is why I love the sport of running (or Tri for that matter) anyone can do any race if they push themselves just a little bit, and what’s even better, the support and encouragement all runners give to other runners it’s just amazing! Yea if you run, or do tris, you are in a fantastic community of people, a community of constant support, whether you know it or not. This great support in itself should be enough motivation to go out and run that extra mile.


I can honestly say at this point in my life I get as much satisfaction as watching a friend do a race as when I do one myself. Yea when I’m watching I want to be out there racing too but I love to see someone cross that finish line that would have never dreamed it possible until they tried. The long and short of it, I’m very proud of my friends and their accomplishments this weekend! You motivate me to go the extra mile! Thanks! : )

Shower, shower, shower...

Wake up, shower, work, train at lunch, shower, back to work, train, shower…see the pattern. That’s a lot of showers. I take, at absolute minimum, three showers a day! I don’t know if my hair or skin can take it anymore. My skin is always dry, but I have lotion so no big deal, but my poor hair; it’s starting to get all dry and brittle and fall out! YIKES! I’m going bald because of exercise…interesting. And the damage that chlorine does to hair alone is just cruel but add on three showers, yea I repeat, my poor hair. There must be a solution that will not compromise working out but doesn’t cause immeasurable harm to my hair. I know there are tons of you out there with the same problem, so what’s the solution? I was told that if I didn’t shampoo in all three showers that would improve the health of my hair, but is that true? Or will I just have to live with the fact that my hair will be crap for entire seasons’ worth of training? Ideas?