I don't usually write race reports, but I read a TON of Wisconsin race reports before the race, so I feel compelled to put one out into the world for future racers.
I've also had a harder than normal time letting this particular race go. I'm hoping the process of writing everything down will help me look forward to Chattanooga 2020!
I used TriBike transport to ship my bike, and they were set up along the trail right next to the swim start. That made things doubly easy, as I could check my bike out from them, go on my practice ride, and drop it back off with them while I swam.
There are port-a-potties set up by the swim area, and triathletes can also use the restrooms in the Monona Center. Or, in true triathlete fashion, one man just stripped and changed in the crowded Monona Center hallway, literally steps from the restrooms. The woman I was walking next to looked over and said, "Is that really happening?"
Yes, yes it was.
All true (mostly).
Rollers: True, lots of rollers. It's a fact They just keep coming, and I never felt like I was on flat long enough to build momentum.
Flip side - those rollers make for some amazing rural Wisconsin views.
I've also had a harder than normal time letting this particular race go. I'm hoping the process of writing everything down will help me look forward to Chattanooga 2020!
Why Wisconsin?
Team Z was doing Tremblant this year, so Wisconsin wasn't the obvious choice. I generally prefer team races – it’s just more fun to train with teammates all summer, and there’s no better pick-me-up than seeing another Zer out on a course on race day.
Plus, I realize now that I rely quite a bit on the team and my teammates when it comes to things like, oh I don’t know…reading the athlete guide and knowing important information pertaining to the race.
Team Z was doing Tremblant this year, so Wisconsin wasn't the obvious choice. I generally prefer team races – it’s just more fun to train with teammates all summer, and there’s no better pick-me-up than seeing another Zer out on a course on race day.
Plus, I realize now that I rely quite a bit on the team and my teammates when it comes to things like, oh I don’t know…reading the athlete guide and knowing important information pertaining to the race.
Basically, my parents live about 4 hours from Madison and I
wanted to do a race that would get me closer to them.
The added bonus: Discussions with Coach Ken clarified that Madison would be a good course for me. I’m not a super strong cyclist, but I do like
hills, so a hilly course evens things out a tiny bit. Also, Madison is only 3 weeks after Tremblant, so I would still get to mostly train with the
team.
Venue
Madison is a cool city (a fun college town vibe with a ton of midwestern nice), and
the race is right in the middle of everything at the Monona Terrace Convention
Center, a beautiful building perched on Lake Monona.
I like things un-complicated, and this race set-up makes
things VERY un-complicated.
EVERYTHING happens at the Monona Terrace Convention
Center.
All of the pre-race events are there (including the athlete
briefings, which are INSIDE with a/c and plenty of seats for everyone!).
You can do all of your pre-race workouts (swim, bike, run) from there.
The swim starts and ends there.
The bike starts and ends there.
The run starts there and ends at the finish line (which is a
whopping 1 block away).
If you have friends or family cheering you on, they could
basically just walk around Monona Terrace all day and see you 6 times.
My Sherpa did just that, and still managed to find some good
bars nearby.
Uncomplicated is good.
One of the things I kept hearing about was the helixes –
everyone was stressing out about the darn helixes!
If you google Monona Terrace, you will see that the building
is a little strange (in a cool way). On
several levels, half the building is conference center and half parking garage.
In order to get up to/down from the parking areas, cars have to drive up or down spirals on each side of the building – those spirals are the oft referred to helixes. The transition area is on the 3rd
level of the building (bikes are racked in the parking garage and transition rooms are inside
the convention center - yes, carpeted changing rooms), so you have to run up the helix after the swim and you
have to bike up/down the other helix for the bike.
It’s a pretty unique set-up, and I admit, all of the hype
made me nervous.
Truth: I have virtually no memory of running or biking in
the helixes – that’s how little of an impression they made in the moment.
Pre-Race
We spent a couple of days with my parents in Minnesota and
then arrived in Madison on Thursday early afternoon. We went straight to packet pick-up when we arrived in town. I usually
get to packet pick-up on the more congested Friday, so I was shocked to find no
line.
Over the course of Friday and Saturday I got in some solid
pre-race shake out swims and rides. Lake Monona is open for swimming all day
long, so it’s easy to get your practice swim in. There is also a bike path that runs right
past the convention center (and goes all the way around Lake Monona), which makes it easy to bike and run from right there as
well.
I used TriBike transport to ship my bike, and they were set up along the trail right next to the swim start. That made things doubly easy, as I could check my bike out from them, go on my practice ride, and drop it back off with them while I swam.
There are port-a-potties set up by the swim area, and triathletes can also use the restrooms in the Monona Center. Or, in true triathlete fashion, one man just stripped and changed in the crowded Monona Center hallway, literally steps from the restrooms. The woman I was walking next to looked over and said, "Is that really happening?"
Yes, yes it was.
In the week before the race, I noticed some aches in my
right leg (specifically my right calf). I’ve had ongoing tight-calf issues so I
played it safe and didn’t do any runs on Friday or Saturday. Instead, I booked a pre-race massage, which
I’ve actually never done before. It was
amazing, and I fully believe that her focus on my calf, contributed to it not
giving me any issues at the race. Huge thank you to Debbie the massage
therapist!
The rest of the time basically involved me just being
anxious and moody (per usual), seeing some Madison area friends, eating boring and predictable food that I
knew wouldn’t cause race issues, and an emergency trip to Dick’s Sporting Goods
to buy running shorts for the race (because somebody didn't use their packing list).
Swim
4:30 wake up call - it's race day!
I double checked my bags and bike - everything was good to go, so I changed into my wetsuit, gave Dave a big hug, and headed to the start.
At first, the swim start felt like chaos. Wisconsin is a self-seeded start, with 3 people going off at a time.
I double checked my bags and bike - everything was good to go, so I changed into my wetsuit, gave Dave a big hug, and headed to the start.
At first, the swim start felt like chaos. Wisconsin is a self-seeded start, with 3 people going off at a time.
Since Louisville 2017 was also self-seeded, I thought I knew
what to expect. Wrong.
In Louisville, there were clearly marked
lines – this is the line for under 1 hour, this is the line for 1 hr-1:10, this
is the line for 1:10-1:20, so you knew exactly where to go as soon as you
got there.
In Wisconsin, there were no signs and no lines. When I got
to the start, I saw that people were just randomly walking into the starting
chute, so I did the same thing and stood there confused and kind of
annoyed.
The pros went off at 6:40 (tears, nerves, excitement).
Once they were on their way, people with signs magically
appeared from the front of the chute area.
Where had they been? Shouldn’t they have been here an hour
ago?
Then, the strangest thing happened:
As the sign holders made their way down the packed chute,
people arranged themselves…
and everyone was calm…
and everyone was polite…
and there were even clear gaps between the different time
groups.
By 6:45 we were all organized.
Who knew?
As the individual groups got closer and
closer the start, the mass slowly merged into 3 lines. At the start, there were 3 mini chutes, with
volunteers monitoring. Every 5 second
there was a loud beep and the 3 people at the front of each line ran into the
water.
Just before running into the water I got a high five from
Mike Reilly. If that’s not good race ju
ju, I don’t know what is.
Swimming and I go way back, so I’ve been lucky in
that the swim has always been really enjoyable for me (see previous post). I value that time as an opportunity to
settle in and center for the long day ahead.
After being anxious for a solid month (or two months…or year), the
waiting is finally over and the race is in progress. You have been tapering and waiting for days before the race, and the minute you start swimming, you are finally actively getting closer to accomplishing your goal. I love that feeling.
This year has been a little bit different, in that I had a TERRIBLE swim at Rumpass in the spring (involving a mini panic attack). That experience added a level of fear that I haven't had to wrestle before. I was hoping to get past that and have the type of swim I love.
This year has been a little bit different, in that I had a TERRIBLE swim at Rumpass in the spring (involving a mini panic attack). That experience added a level of fear that I haven't had to wrestle before. I was hoping to get past that and have the type of swim I love.
The Wisconsin swim is a big counter-clockwise rectangle –
one time around. The first stretch of the rectangle is
the side closest to the Monona Center, which is cool, because people are
standing all over the building cheering.
The 3-at-a-time/5 seconds apart plan turned out to be pretty
amazing. It was the least congested I
have ever felt for an IM swim. Everyone was
spaced out really, really well.
With friendly faces cheering us on and a clear path in the water, the
unsettled feelings from Rumpass were fading and I felt really good about how the swim was going
to go.
As I started to make the first turn, I was planning to moooo
(you are supposed to mooooo going around the first turn of the IM Wisc swim because...you know, Wisconsin...cows),
when I was slapped by a huge wave and swallowed a big gulp of lake water.
Oh, ok Lake Monona, so that’s how it’s gonna be.
I don’t have too much more to say, other than from that
first turn on, it was probably the
roughest/most unpleasant Iron Man swim I have experienced.
None of the race reports I had read from past years mentioned rough waters and none of my practice swims in
Monona were rough, so I think it must have just been a bad morning. I was definitely feeling nauseous from the rolling, and I
did veer off track a few times, but I overall stayed positive and didn’t let
the conditions get to me.
Huge props to the rescue paddle board volunteers
who clearly have better balance than I ever will. Wondering how the heck they were able to stand up helped distract me from my nausea.
Huge props also to the volunteers helping people out of the
water. If it weren’t for them, I might still be out there trying to find my bearings and get out of Lake Monona.
Lesson from the swim: Sometimes a bad race experience is the
best preparation. If I hadn’t had/fought
through my issues at Rumpass, I’m not sure I would have been as prepared for
not-perfect conditions at Wisconsin.
T1
As stated, I don’t remember feeling tired or bothered by
running up the helix. I do, however,
remember people cheering. They allow a
line of spectators to stand all along the outside edge (on the running
helix…not on the biking helix, because that's an accident waiting to happen), which is super fun.
I had a great T1 volunteer in the changing room. She basically dumped the contents of my T1 bag on the
ground and said, “Ok…point to what you want.” Perfect!
I have since heard from another triathlete that she tapes $5
Starbucks gift cards on the inside of the T1 and T2 bags to give to the
volunteers who help her. I wish I had
done that and will definitely do it next time.
Bike
Ok, I'm out of T1, have my bike, I'm cycling down the helix, feeling good, no problem, and on my way to an awesome
bi…..
and I drop my chain while shifting from the downhill to
the flat road…right in front of the gazillion cheerers waiting to see their
favorite IMers…and it’s taking me WAY longer to fix than it ever has before
because everyone is watching…
ok, NOW I’m on my way.
As I mentioned earlier, cycling is my weakest of the 3
disciplines (and, lucky me, it’s also the longest of the 3 – woohoo!)
The Wisconsin bike course is a lollypop. Straight out, two loops, straight back.
I read a lot of race reports from Wisconsin, and everyone highlighted the same points about the bike course: it’s full of rollers, there are some technical turns,
you are never doing the same thing for long, and you have to be patient for the
first loop so you can be strong for the second loop.
All true (mostly).
Rollers: True, lots of rollers. It's a fact They just keep coming, and I never felt like I was on flat long enough to build momentum.
Flip side - those rollers make for some amazing rural Wisconsin views.
Technical Turns: True, but technical does not necessarily
equal terrifying and dangerous. Between reading about the turns in advance and driving the course, the turns (2 or 3 extreme turns each loop) were front and center in my list of things to fret about. One of the race reports talked about cyclists
(plural) wiping out, and those words kept coming back to me as we twisted and turned in the car.
Back at the hotel, we wound up in the elevator with another athlete who asked me how I was feeling. I told her how scared I was about the turns. She told me not to worry too much. She had done the race before and “they are much scarier in a car than in a bike.” I’m not sure why I believed her, but I did. And you know what? She was totally right. Having driven the course, I knew exactly where the turns were and knew how to prepare for them. On a bike, they were no worse than some of the sharp turns from our training rides.
Back at the hotel, we wound up in the elevator with another athlete who asked me how I was feeling. I told her how scared I was about the turns. She told me not to worry too much. She had done the race before and “they are much scarier in a car than in a bike.” I’m not sure why I believed her, but I did. And you know what? She was totally right. Having driven the course, I knew exactly where the turns were and knew how to prepare for them. On a bike, they were no worse than some of the sharp turns from our training rides.
You are never doing the same thing for long: 100%
accurate. I generally like lots of
changes when biking (anything to take my mind off of being on the bike),
but this was a lot - shifting constantly. Even Lake Placid has
longish stretches of the same thing. I just never felt like I could settle in and think (or even eat a Gu...hence my nutrition issues below).
You have to patient for the first loop to save for the second: Yes, to an
extent. I was overly concerned about not putting it all out there on the first loop and, as a result, didn’t push myself hard enough. As I have mentioned numerous times, the
bike is my weakest discipline, but I have worked on it quite a bit over the
past 5 years. While this course is challenging for sure, and you do absolutely
need to use caution not to overdo it, you also have to trust yourself and trust
your training. It’s never fun to look
back and ask yourself if you could have pushed harder.
For this point in particular, it would have been REALLY helpful to make a trip to Wisconsin to ride the course ahead of time.
For this point in particular, it would have been REALLY helpful to make a trip to Wisconsin to ride the course ahead of time.
My race nutrition plan consisted of Gatorade Endurance and Gu (both were also on the race course), and Clif bars at transitions and Special Needs. Race day
was much cooler than I expected or trained for (mid-60s all day). As a result, I didn’t drink much the first
half of the race. That was a problem
because, per my nutrition plan, I was supposed to get 90 calories an hour from
my liquids. I was very much aware of
what I was supposed to be doing, and that I wasn’t doing it, but I didn’t do
anything to solve the problem until the halfway point, when I used special
needs to get back on track.
I was happy that I had also packed a just-in-case peanut butter sandwich for special needs, although I'd forgotten how hard it is to eat a peanut butter sandwich quickly. During the 10 hours (give or take) I spent in special needs gulping down the sandwich, one of the volunteers made fun of me for both taking a long time and chewing in time to the music they had playing, which cheered me up. Have I mentioned how consistently great IM volunteers are?
I believe the lack of nutrition in the first loop impacted my strength on the second loop (my legs felt weaker than they should on the rollers), but getting a lot in at special needs and being consistent the second loop, did get be on track for the run.
I was happy that I had also packed a just-in-case peanut butter sandwich for special needs, although I'd forgotten how hard it is to eat a peanut butter sandwich quickly. During the 10 hours (give or take) I spent in special needs gulping down the sandwich, one of the volunteers made fun of me for both taking a long time and chewing in time to the music they had playing, which cheered me up. Have I mentioned how consistently great IM volunteers are?
I believe the lack of nutrition in the first loop impacted my strength on the second loop (my legs felt weaker than they should on the rollers), but getting a lot in at special needs and being consistent the second loop, did get be on track for the run.
IM crowds are
always fun, and Wisconsin is no exception. It was a chilly day, and the same guys who dance around in their underwear to cheer you up a hill on a hot day,
still came out in the mid-60s. My favorite moment was a family of 4 (the
youngest was pretty itty bitty), standing in front of their house, wearing neon
wigs, all jumping in perfect timing to “Jump” by Kris Kross. Now, that’s a cool family.
Also, some fun new triathlon signs:
Smile if you peed on your bike.
If you are still married, you didn't train hard enough.
Hurry up, I want to go home.
Also, some fun new triathlon signs:
Smile if you peed on your bike.
If you are still married, you didn't train hard enough.
Hurry up, I want to go home.
Lessons from the bike:
- Race reports are a great resource, but they can also create unnecessary fears/expectations. Take the advice, heed the warnings, but don’t take on additional fears.
- Nutrition
plans are only helpful if you follow them (and you will only follow them
on race day if you follow them as diligently on your practice rides too).
- Add “Jump” to your workout playlist.
T2
I have zero memory of T2. My volunteer must have been great,
because I don’t think I was thinking super clearly but I left the changing area
wearing my running shorts, my running shoes and my race belt, so somebody was
on top of things.
Run
Happy sigh…this is the part of the race when I feel my very
best - no choppy water, no mechanical issues, running is just you and the road.
Even with my worries about the calf issues, getting off of
the bike is always a huge relief and the run is where my race really begins.
The Wisconsin run course looks messy on paper, but it was
actually very clear and I never felt confused about where I was going.
It’s two loops, so you have to do that agonizing IronMan
thing of running right past the finish as you are starting your second loop
(sooooo close, yet sooooo far).
Some of the run is on the streets around the capitol
building, with lots of restaurants and businesses and people cheering. A bit of the run is on the UW campus (you get
to run a lap in the football stadium – go Badgers!), including 2 big hills. There is also a really nice stretch on a
trail along Lake Mendota (not to be confused with Lake Monona, where you swim), where things are a little bit quieter…a good time for
those of us who are introverts to re-charge.
In Louisville, I took the first lap way too fast and paid
the price with a scary high heart rate on the second lap. I spent last year working on pacing and focused
hard on keeping things under control. It paid off with an evenly paced run and no
heart issues. The aid stations were
pretty much every mile and, despite the cool temperatures, I walked through all
of them, taking a few gulps of Gatorade each time – according to plan. The two hills in the section on-campus are pretty
steep, so on both laps I ran the first one and walked the second (people who
were running weren’t going that much faster than the people walking).
Speaking of the hills, on the first lap a gentleman was standing by the bigger of the two reminding us to “make friends with this hill…you’re gonna see it again.”
Pretty much the opposite of the people who yell "you're almost there" when you both know that you are absolutely not almost there.
His honesty made me laugh, but it was also a good reminder to pace.
Pretty much the opposite of the people who yell "you're almost there" when you both know that you are absolutely not almost there.
His honesty made me laugh, but it was also a good reminder to pace.
Once you’ve gone up the hills, there is a downhill, taking
you past the 3 floors of windows of the UW library, where you see aisles of college
students spending their Sunday afternoon studying. Even on the 2nd lap of an IM run, I was pretty happy to not be in there.
I do much better with run nutrition than bike nutrition (as eating a Gu while running is far less likely to end with road rash and a broken bike) - liquid at every aid station and a Gu every hour. I also took some salt from the Base Nutrition tent on the second lap, which was a nice boost.
I do much better with run nutrition than bike nutrition (as eating a Gu while running is far less likely to end with road rash and a broken bike) - liquid at every aid station and a Gu every hour. I also took some salt from the Base Nutrition tent on the second lap, which was a nice boost.
Lesson from the run:
- Pace
is key. Stay calm and keep moving forward.
- Smiling
makes it more fun. A goal going into
this race was to smile more and it’s amazing how helpful it is, particularly
on the run. So many people who were
cheering noticed that I was smiling and cheered extra hard, which made me
smile more.
Finish
There is absolutely nothing like an IronMan finish line. I cried at Tremblant, Placid, and Louisville, and I cried just as hard at Wisconsin. That feeling of complete joy is the payoff for months of hard work.
Final Thoughts
In terms of logistics, Wisconsin is a great race - super easy.
In terms of racing, Wisconsin is still a great race - but not super easy.
On paper, the course isn't the hardest I've done, but it's challenging in ways that I haven't experienced before and still can't totally explain. I think it played with my mind more than any race ever has.
If IM Wisconsin is on your list (and it should be, because it's great), I would highly recommend waiting until a summer when you can get yourself to Madison to swim/run/ride the course in advance of the race. Knowing (actually knowing...not just reading about) what was awaiting me on the course would have been really helpful.
I would also recommend booking early at the Hilton Madison Monona Terrace. Remember how I said that everything happens at Monana Terrace? If you book early, you can stay there too.
We stayed .8 miles away, which was still pretty amazing, but 0 miles away is better than .8.
In conclusion - thank you IM Wisconsin, for a truly great racing experience.
Thanks to my coach, Ken Mierke, for his always amazing training.
Thanks to Team Z and Coach Ed for the support and fellowship.
Thanks to Dave, my faithful Sherpa.
Moooooooo!
There is absolutely nothing like an IronMan finish line. I cried at Tremblant, Placid, and Louisville, and I cried just as hard at Wisconsin. That feeling of complete joy is the payoff for months of hard work.
Final Thoughts
In terms of logistics, Wisconsin is a great race - super easy.
In terms of racing, Wisconsin is still a great race - but not super easy.
On paper, the course isn't the hardest I've done, but it's challenging in ways that I haven't experienced before and still can't totally explain. I think it played with my mind more than any race ever has.
If IM Wisconsin is on your list (and it should be, because it's great), I would highly recommend waiting until a summer when you can get yourself to Madison to swim/run/ride the course in advance of the race. Knowing (actually knowing...not just reading about) what was awaiting me on the course would have been really helpful.
I would also recommend booking early at the Hilton Madison Monona Terrace. Remember how I said that everything happens at Monana Terrace? If you book early, you can stay there too.
We stayed .8 miles away, which was still pretty amazing, but 0 miles away is better than .8.
In conclusion - thank you IM Wisconsin, for a truly great racing experience.
Thanks to my coach, Ken Mierke, for his always amazing training.
Thanks to Team Z and Coach Ed for the support and fellowship.
Thanks to Dave, my faithful Sherpa.
Moooooooo!
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