Ironman Wisconsin Race Report

The alarm sounded at 4:15 am. I had been lying awake for several minutes waiting until it was time to get out of bed. It was a long night though a better night of sleep than usual given the circumstances. I was faced with my fourth Ironman. 140.6 miles ahead of me before I could rest. I was eerily calm, but impatient. I wanted to get the show on the road. I dressed and drank my first bottle of Ensure. At 5 am I waited in the lobby for my sister and the SkirtChaser to join me. We dropped off my "special needs" bag containing an extra tube and CO2 as we headed to transition. I never want a flat tire to be my reason for not finishing Ironman so I come prepared for 3 flats. I pumped up my tires in the bike area and headed down to the swim start area. I jogged a bit (in my flip flops) and tried to kill some time. I drank my second bottle of Ensure and began the process of donning the wetsuit.

With 30 minutes to go before the start, the pros were called to the water. Once they were in, the age-groupers were encouraged to make their way over the timing mat and into the water. I hugged my little sis and my guy and joined the herd of bodies moving en mass. At one point I notice a girl standing next to me; she is shivering slightly and has tears in her eyes. I remember this feeling like it was yesterday: a first-timer. The overwheming excitement combined with a consuming fear. 'Is this your first one?' I ask her. Her reply, yes. 'Everyone is feeling the same way', I say trying to reassure her. We jump into the water and I swim off toward the front of the line, trying to find some space. We watch the pros take off and listen as the Star Spangled Banner is sung. I hug my friend Jen, also a first timer, and wish her a good day. Soon we are counting down to our start.

The gun goes off. 5400 arms and legs begin pounding the water. The previously calm water is suddenly turned into a churning whirlpool. It will remain this way for the next 2 hours and 20 minutes. I try to maintain a safe distance to avoid being kicked or punched. With 2600 people, I find it's impossible to get into a rhythm. Just after rounding the second turn buoy I take a fist to the back of my head. Instant headache. I try to put my head down and not let it get to me. After this point, I'm able to move laterally and stay out of the main stream of people. I finish the swim uneventfully in 1:06. Slightly slower than what I was hoping for, but I was happy given the crowded nature of the lake.

My wetsuit was stripped by some experienced volunteers and I was headed up the helix. The helix is the circular parking ramp that we ascend into and descend out of transition. It was lined with spectators who were all screaming my name as I ran by. I immediately realized that plastering my name across the front of my sports bra was the single best decision I made in my race preparation. Directed through T1 by volunteers, I grabbed my gear bag and headed into the change area. The volunteer helped me with my shoes, helmet, jersey, and sunscreen and I was out in a flash. I grabbed E'ly who was passed off to me as I ran by and we rode down the helix onto the bike course.

Ahh, the bike course. It's long. It's hilly. It was warm and windy. It was a bit surreal. I tried to keep myself in check which was an odd combination of easy and difficult. On the hilly bits, I had to drop into my easy gear in order to manage the hills. So I definitely didn't kill myself up the hills, but they were challenging enough to tax my legs anyway. One thing I'm very proud of is I totally killed the descents. I owned them. Made them my bitches. Seriously, I'm a total wimp on down hills. Anything past 25 mph is sooo scary for me. But I made the decision that I was going to take any time those hills would give me so on some I continued to push the pedals all the way down the hills. On the steeper ones, where I ran out of gear, I tucked and coasted. Fast and furious. I didn't look at my spedometer but I know I got close to 40 mph on several of them. I cruised into Verona at the end of my first half clocking a speedy 3 hours for the first 56 miles. Yikes, I was thinking, way too fast. Can I hold this pace? I passed SkirtChaser who was cruising the course on a borrowed mountain bike. He yelled at me where to look for my sister and my Skirt-sister. They were on the corner with posters, encouraging me to "suck it up, Princess!" I gave them a big smile and a wave and took off into the second loop.

The second loop would prove to be much more taxing on my already tired legs. I continued to pound the descents and spin easy up the hills. The wind picked up and the sun was warming up the asphalt making the 'flat' parts a little slower than the first loop. One great thing about this bike ride was my nutrition was spot on. I took in 6 hours worth of Infinit over the 6 1/2 hour ride. I never felt GI distress. I think I could have taken in some extra calories to try to build up for the run, but I kept in mind that it's easier to overcome a bonk than over-nutrition. Overall I completed the second loop 30 minutes slower than the first and finished the bike in 6 hours 25 minutes. Woot! My second fastest IM bike split... on the hardest course by far! I cruised back into town and up the helix into T2. A volunteer grabbed E'ly from me and sent me toward the gear bags. I grabbed my bag and ran into the change room for round two. Off came my Vogue shorties and on went Blue Paradise. Ready to roll.

I ran out of T2 and saw my SkirtChaser and my sistas cheering me on! I smiled for the official cameraman and gave them a power pump for my photo. The run course was two loops. I settled into a pace, walking through water stations. I had a rhythm when runnning and then at every mile there was a banana, gatorade and water. It worked well. I passed a teammate around 5 miles, he was struggling with his nutrition plan and had been sick on the bike. I wished him well and continued on. I high 5'd my sisters at the mile 6 turn on State Street and cruised past the lake heading back toward the Capitol. I hugged the TiaraDitcher on her way through loop one, only a couple of miles behind me. Up State Street, around the Capitol, I could see the finish line and the clock reading somewhere around 10:05 as I made my turn into loop two.

I ran loop two just as smoothly as loop one. I had to slow down very briefly to take in some calories when I got behind in my nutrition, but after walking for no more than a quarter of a mile I was off and running again. Unfortunately I needed to pick the most calorically dense item on the aid station menu which happened to be chocolate chip cookies. So after 2 cookies and some water I was good to go again. Dan followed me on the bike for several miles of the second loop. He stayed off to the other side of the path to avoid getting in the way of the IM competitors. My sister was waiting for me at mile 19 and made the handoff of the infamous banner. I had rolled it tightly and secured it with rubber bands so it was like a baton. From that point on, I had a new focus. Getting to that finish line so I could snag myself a husband!

So here's where the story gets fun. The SkirtChaser and I have been together 5 years in October. 3 years ago, he wanted to get married but I wasn't ready yet. Thankfully he is not the type of guy to be offended or let his ego get in the way and we continued to grow closer together. He told me that when I was ready, I could ask him. I decided about a year ago that he was the guy that I wanted to be with and that I did want to be married to him. Never one to jump into something too quickly, I waited. My feelings continued to be affirmed throughout the last year and about 6 months ago I decided that I would propose either in Wisconsin or in Kona. After his accident in July, he had to drop out of racing Wisconsin and that's when my plan was finalized. I carried my banner reading 'Dan, Marry me?' and unrolled it for the last two tenths of a mile through the finish line chute. The announcer helped out a little by reading it over the sound system. He met me in the catcher's area and hugged me and said 'YES!' So I got the ring from my sister and got down on one knee, slipping it onto his left hand.

Our matching rings are white gold with the Ironman symbol on it. It's a symbol of who we are as individuals, and as a couple. Ironman requires commitment, dedication, sacrifice, compromise, hard work, love, sweat and tears. All the elements that are involved in maintaining a good marriage. Our commitment to each other has grown and we have learned how to support and carry each other through all aspects of our lives. I look forward to continuing my journey with him over many years to come.

As for Ironman, I finished in 12 hours 39 minutes and 26 seconds. Somehow, I can't seem to break out of my 10 minute window. (IM AZ 07 12:51, IM AZ 08 12:48, IM CDA 08 12: 41, and IM Moo 09 12: 39) I guess there is something to be said for consistency! I'll have another go around in November. Until then, I'm recovering quickly and am looking forward to getting back to training. Thank you to all my friends and family who support me in this crazy journey. I couldn't do it without you!