Ironman Wisconsin: Prelude and Swim

Mr K, Karen, Baha, and I arrived in Madison on Thursday and were immediately smitten with how mild the weather felt compared to the furnace we had left behind in Texas.  The race venue was pretty easy to find and the Athlete Village was already quietly humming with activity days before the race.  Check-in was pretty quiet when we got there, so we moved through it pretty quickly.  It was an honor to check in at the All World Athlete table, which also allowed me a lower bib number and a sweet spot amongst the bike racks in transition.  We were too hungry to shop in the Ironman store, but we did happen to catch Mike Reilly there and I was able to get him to autograph a copy of his book for us.  This was my third Ironman, but it would be the first time for Mike Reilly, the voice of Ironman, to call me across the finish line. Our final housemate, Greg, arrived later that afternoon and we stumbled across some of the finest pizza in Madison that evening.

It was great to meet Mike Reilly, The Voice of Ironman

There are two big lakes in Madison - Monona and Mendota.  The swim was in Lake Monona and the house we were staying in was on Mendota.  There are bike paths and lanes all throughout the town, so it made picking up our bikes from Omar with I Love My Bike Transport easy as we were able to ride to and from the house down to the race area.  I can't recommend Omar enough, our bikes and bags arrived in Madison and then back home without any worry.  We drove the bike course on Friday afternoon, this always sets my mind at ease a little just to get a mental picture of what the roads and scenes would look like. I had heard so many people say how challenging the bike course is and it would be quite daunting but I also knew that it was nothing I couldn't handle.

The view from our house on Lake Mendota

I felt calm in the final days leading up to the race.  I had moments of "oh no, what about...." or "did I remember...." but I tried to maintain a balance preparedness while not spending too much energy worrying. I knew that it would be a long day and there would be highs and lows, but I would be doing something that I love. 

Just Keep Swimming

The alarm sounded ridiculously early on race morning, not that I was sleeping that soundly anyway. I'm fortunate that Mr. K is an excellent breakfast cook and is willing to make a small serving of scrambled eggs and toast for me before we head out to the race. Ironman Wisconsin is unique in that the transition areas are inside a ballroom in a convention center so we were able to hang out inside before heading down to the water.  Temperatures were in the upper 50s, which felt downright chilly to us. The four of us put on our wetsuits, posed for a few pictures, then headed towards our respective starting areas.

All smiles at the practice swim

Baha and I waited for the swim start together, Ironman uses a rolling start now and we seeded ourselves according to our planned pace.  It was hard to tell where the pace groups were as the people holding the signs were moving all over the place.  While we were waiting they mentioned an athlete who would be completing their 200-something Ironman that day.  I can't even begin to imagine what their life must be like and I wondered how long they have been doing this.  Ironman has only been around 41 years, that is a brisk pace!

I think that we noticed that the water looked choppy, but none of us really wanted to acknowledge it or talk about it.  One guy near us did note that we would be swimming the longest portion of the race into the chop.  We were in the lake the day before for a practice swim and the water was so perfect - there was sunshine and it was calm and beautiful.  I'm not sure what happened to that lake, but it was not the lake we would get for our race.  It was pretty cool to see Mike Reilly in the middle of all of the athletes, sending us off with such positive energy.  I love Ironman Day!!

"Put on your goggles" Baha said as I stepped into the water. Minor detail.

As soon as I started swimming, I noticed that it visibility was going to be a challenge.  Right away I could hear voices from the kayaks telling us to swim more towards the right.  The swim was a single large rectangle and I felt way on the outside during the outward bound side of the rectangle.  I could see other swimmers and kayaks to my right and I knew that as long as I could see them I wasn't too far out.  Buoy to buoy is the name of the game in a long swim like this and I got to work.  I felt like there were constantly people around me, but I held my own this time - unlike in the past.  I knew that life was going to get a lot more interesting when we turned the first corner because we would be starting to swim into the worst of the chop.

Racked and ready to go in transition

I was thankful to reach that first corner because that meant the first part of the swim was over.  Now to turn the second corner and swim that longest section that was directly into the chop.  It felt like a tough swim, but I didn't let myself dwell on just how hard it was.  Unlike cycling or running, it is impossible to talk to the person next to you and say "wow, does this seem exceedingly tough?" So I just kept my head down and just kept swimming.  At one point I noticed a sea of green caps (men) around me and very few pink (women) caps - and it reminded me that we need more women in Ironman. Lots of traffic, lots of contact, but I just kept swimming.  Halfway through this long stretch, the buoys turn from yellow (outbound) to orange (inbound) - this was encouraging because I knew it meant I was halfway through that long side of the swim.  It was difficult to see the buoys at times, so I just made sure that I could see swimmers and kayaks to my right when I was breathing.  At one point I convinced myself that the next orange buoy was really red (a turn buoy), but it just wasn't true and I grumbled to myself and just kept swimming.

I am really lucky in that I never experience cramps on the bike or on the run, but both my calves cramped a couple of times during this swim.  I must have been working that kick harder than usual? Finally I saw that red turn buoy in the distance and I swam with sheer determination to get to it.  I had not looked at my watch a single time because I just didn't want to know how far I'd gone - or better yet - how far I had to go.  I think that I really was in denial about how difficult it had been because when I finally did glance at my watch, as I swam to shore, I was disappointed that I was missing my time goal by more than 5 minutes.

I gave it my best kick as I swam towards the exit and as I went to put my feet on the ground, my left calf gave me one final cramp.  Thankfully it passed quickly and I saw 1:37:37 on my watch as I headed towards the wetsuit strippers.

Despite all of that, I still swam a personal best!  It just goes to show you how much I have improved as a swimmer since my last Ironman swim in Maryland two years ago (remember, the swim was cancelled at Chattanooga last year).  According to my watch, I swam 2.9 miles but I'm not sure how accurate that is with all of the other people around me and with the clouds in the sky. It was probably the worst chop that I've ever swum in and I held my own.  I can't think of a better confidence boost, I'm really looking forward to trying the distance again in much better conditions.

Now to focus on climbing the helix and getting through transition and to my bike at the top of the building.

2015: A Breakthrough Year!

I love data and numbers and each year I look forward to compiling them all to see just how my year "measured up." I suppose that is the therapist in me, looking for a way to quantify the sweat and work that happens in the days between January 1st and December 31st. That being said, the therapist in me also knows that there is way more to a year than simply a list of numbers.  They provide a great measure for us, but a list of numbers does not tell the true story.  This year was a "breakthrough" year for me as I experienced more growth than I knew was possible.  Just goes to show you that turning 40 does not mean that one has to slow down, quite the contrary! 

Run - my first love, always.
I'm not one of those runners who keeps a daily run streak as it does not fit my training style or purpose.  I think that a daily streak would turn running into a chore for me, and is the last thing that I want to do. I have, however, managed to create a bit of an annual mileage streak for myself. In 2010 I completed my first ever 1000 mile running year.  It felt like a nice base of miles and I decided to keep the goal for the following year.  In 2011 I trained for my first marathon and my mileage got a slight bump up as a result and it put me in the 1100 mile range.  Once again, this amount of mileage felt good to me and I decided to challenge myself to maintain it for another year.  I finished 2015 with 1123 miles which brings my 1000+ mile streak to 6 years and my 1100+ streak to 5 years.  Can you see my love of consistency?!  I am down 38 miles from last year, but my training changed a great deal as I completed my first Half Ironman 70.3 distance triathlon this year.  I need to look back and find my all-time mileage total, I'm estimating that it is approaching 7,600 miles since I started this journey in the late spring of 2008.  

The second half of the year brought growth as a runner.  I found myself in a bit of a plateau after 2014 and during the beginning of 2015.  I just didn't feel like I was progressing as much as a runner and I began to think that perhaps I'd leveled off and maintaining my current level might be the way to go.  My Redman 70.3 training brought a different approach as I trained by heart rate and time instead of pace and miles.  I actually slowed down for a while (which felt like a huge leap of faith on my part!) and ended up getting faster.  The DRC Half on November 1 was my fastest half marathon of the year and the Dallas Marathon Half on December 13 was my fastest half marathon since the Oklahoma City Marathon Half in April 2013.  I had some strong training runs in November and December and I'm feeling optimistic about the coming year! 

Bike - the biggest breakthrough.
My relationship with the bike can be described as complicated.  At first, the bike was all about fun and a way to recover from the long runs of marathon training.  I was "slow" but I was okay with that as speed was never really the goal.  I upgraded my road bike and grew a good deal in 2014 - it felt great, but I knew that I would need to be much stronger on the bike if I wanted to be successful at triathlons.  I also knew that the success on the bike is a huge component in a successful 70.3 so starting in early June I approached bike training like it was my job.  Once again, training by heart rate really helped me to gauge my efforts and know when I should be pushing harder.  Mr K was generous enough to loan me his tri bike and I learned how to ride in aero and how to eat and drink on the bike.  I spent countless hours on the mean streets of Frisco and Plano as each Saturday brought another long ride, I was lucky enough to have Mr K by my side for many of these adventures.  I long and steady and I rode hard intervals, I dreaded the Wednesday morning trainer rides - but I got em all done.  I'll never forget that one August day, dreading the red lights because standing still was unbearably hot and actually made my heart rate go higher than riding.  These moments could have broken me, but somehow I emerged stronger and more confident.  My bike at Redman 70.3 was the strongest ride of my life and perhaps one of the things I'm most proud of for the whole year.  I ended up with 1676.57 miles on the bike in 2015 - that is 535 more than last year. 

I have made it a goal to continue my bike fitness even in the off season.  Mr K and I have joined the Shawnee Trail Cycling Club and have been making it out to weekly group rides consistently.  It was on one of these Thursday night rides when it hit me how much I was enjoying my bike and that I had truly experienced a breakthrough year. 

Triathlon - my new love.
On December 30, 2014 I signed up for my first sprint triathlon - the St Paddy's Day Tri on March 15.  I had no idea how this simple act would enhance my life, I can honestly say that I fell in love with triathlon in 2015.  Needless to say, my first triathlon went very well - so well that I did my second triathlon in April (and found myself on the podium!) and signed up for Redman 70.3 shortly after that.  Yep, it felt like a huge leap to me too - the girl who ran 25 half marathons before running her 1st marathon - but it also felt right.  You've heard the saying: If your dreams don't scare you, they aren't big enough. I was nervous, but I knew that I could do it...and I did.  And I can't wait to do it again in 2016.  I don't know when or where, but I have plans and goals and I can't wait to get going on those.  I've been working hard to build the base here in the off season, it is going to be great!

I ran 14 races this year, including 4 triathlons, as well as 6 bike rallies.  Race distances include: 6 half marathons (life total of 55), 1 25K, 1 15K, 2 5Ks.  I swam 99.25 miles and I spent 85 hours training in the gym, mostly all at boot camp and Pilates.  My long-time trainer and friend moved away in August as she got the opportunity of the life-time.  You may have heard of Jen Welter, she was the first woman to coach in the NFL.  I miss her and our time in the gym together immensely, but I appreciate the strong "mental game" that she left with me.  It has been awesome to see her do her thing on a national stage and I wish her all the best. 

Like I said, the numbers are fun, but they do not begin to tell the whole story.  I could not do it alone and have run, ridden, and swum many of these miles with my best friend, husband, and training partner Mr K. We constantly push and pull each other and I could not imagine doing it without him by my side (or sometimes just in front of me). It was his gentle nudge that got me into the pool on that hot August day.  It sounds cliche, but I fully believe that I have been given the best group of friends on the planet.  It has been an honor to cheer them on, both in person and virtually, as they have managed to accomplish nothing short of the incredible just this year alone - we are talking 50 mile runs, 100 mile mountain bike rides in Leadville, and so many Ironman triathlons.  They push me (and sometimes pull me) and encourage me to go beyond what I thought was ever possible. 

Cooper Sprint Tri: Dress Rehearsal

I have had the most fun this summer training for Redman 70.3 Half Ironman.  I usually enjoy training, but this has just been such a blast.  I can think of only a few runs and bike rides that were just awful, and most of that had to do with the heat.  I am almost sad to see the training come to an end as race day approaches.  I intend to devote a blog post to training highlights, hopefully I can share that before race day on September 26.  As much as I've been practicing swimming, biking, and running (and often running right off the bike), I have not had many opportunities to practice putting it all together. I feel that I have improved a great deal since my last triathlon in April and I wanted to get another shot at doing everything in a race environment.  Fortunately for me, there was a sprint tri at the Cooper Center in McKinney this past weekend.  Looks like I found myself a dress rehearsal!

I arrived just after transition opened at 6:00 am as I wanted to have plenty of time to set up my area and get a feel for the race layout.  There were no other bikes the bike rack designated for my bib number so I was able to get the end spot!  The transition area was small-ish so it didn't matter too much, but I was excited to have a spot that would be so easy to find.  I wandered around a bit and visited with some friends as I waited for the race to start.  The weather was wonderful and the temperatures were in the upper 60s before the race started.  I shivered a little bit and wished for a moment that I had brought a light jacket.  Such a change when we have grown accustomed to much hotter weather!  Normally I would hang out with Mr K, but his mom-Linda was visiting us and they were coming a bit later.  No reason to wake her up in the middle of the night to get to the race so early. I had plenty of time to swim a warm-up lap so I took full advantage of it.  The pool at the Cooper Center is simply divine - outdoors and heated with wide, 50 meter lanes.  I did not want to get out after my warm-up because I knew how chilly I would be waiting for the race to start.

Swim
I never have time goals for the swim because I'm more interested in keeping a smooth, easy pace and good form.  This swim was 350 meters, so 7 lengths in the gorgeous pool.  I got very fortunate as I did not have too many people directly ahead of or behind me.  I was passed once and it happened to be at the same time I was trying to get around a slower swimmer.  Definitely not "smooth" in those moments, but I was able to recover my little pocket of space and swim on.

I was really enjoying myself and was a little bit sad when the swim was finished.  I could see Mr K and Linda on the side of the pool and gave them a small wave as I started the last lap.  I have to find time to get back out to that pool for a swim.  My official time for the 350m was 8:51, not blazing fast but important to note that at my last tri in April I swam 400m in 11:26.  Looks like my training this summer has made a difference.  Even better, I really enjoyed it and felt as if I met my goal of a steady and smooth pace.

Bike
One of my big goals for the day was to practice transitions.  My set-up worked well for me as well as thinking of top-to-bottom and vice versa when it came to switching from swim gear to bike gear.  My time in transition (T1) was 1:39.  Still not as fast as I would like, but way faster than the 3:00 from my April race.  The bike course consisted of two, six mile loops and had some pretty decent "hills" on the route.  I say "hills" because they are not really all that bad compared with other parts of town, but still enough of an incline to be challenging when put in a single six mile loop.  I got a good start and focused on pedaling hard and following all of the triathlon rules about passing and proper distance between bikes.

I didn't have any time goals here either, I just wanted to ride hard and see what I could do.  I was able to wave at Mr K and Linda as I came through the end of the first loop.  It was so nice to have them there! I passed several people, especially on the second loop which was more congested as most people were finished with the swim by this point.  I was only passed once, which felt pretty good!  My ride was over before I knew it - 37:27 was my time and my average speed was 19.23 mph. Of all the improvements that I have made this summer, I think that my bike fitness has been the biggest!  So exciting!

Run
My heart felt so happy as I headed back into transition because I was about to run - my favorite!!  I got in and out with a T2 time of 2:06, which was almost 30 seconds faster than my last race.  Not super fast, but getting better!  I didn't really know what to expect on the run as I have not been doing speed work in the same way that I usually do.  I have been training by heart rate the summer and that has meant bringing my run paces back a little bit in order to stay in my training zone.  Again, I had no goals for this other than to practice all of the transitions and test out my gear so I ran by feel.  I was passed early into the run by a 13 year old boy.  This guy looked like a pro - even handled the aide station so smoothly!  He ran beautiful negative splits and ended up about a minute faster than me on the run and 1st place in the 14 and under age group.  It is so impressive to see all the kids race at these events, they are really good at it too!  I was surprised to see that my 1st mile paced at 8:54 - a great start and that certainly inspired me to keep on working.

Much like the bike course, there are a decent amount of "hills" on the run.  I passed a few more people and was enjoying the cooler temperatures - no doubt that was helping my pacing as I had trained in temperatures that were over 20 degrees warmer much of the time.  There was a good deal of shade on this course as parts of it followed the running path at the Cooper Center. Mile two chimed on my watch  at 8:36 - yay for negative splits!  This run felt pretty short and I decided to push the pace when there was just under a mile to go.  I got a boost with a nice downhill coming into mile 3 and also from the sounds of the crowd and the race announcer.  Back to the Cooper track and through the finish line in 26:30 - not a shabby 5K!  My last mile came in at 8:16 so super yay for negative splits!  My run was a minute or so slower than my last triathlon in April, but I feel like the whole picture is much more balanced now.  In April I felt like a runner who also swam and rode a bike, but at this race I felt like a triathlete.

I had no idea how I did compared to the rest of the women in my age group.  The wonderful thing about triathlon is that everyone's age is written on their calf so you know who is around you.  I didn't see many women on the course as this race was 60-something percent men (according to the race website) and I certainly didn't see anyone with my age on their leg.  I was stalking the race results and was beyond thrilled when I saw my name in second place in my age group!  Looks like we would be delaying the post race brunch a bit as we stuck around for the awards.  It is hard to beat standing on a podium, it is one of those things that doesn't come around all that frequently, and I milked every moment of it!

My dress rehearsal race was a huge success.  While the distances were only a fraction of what I will put together on September 26 at Redman 70.3, it gave me a shot of confidence and also a glimpse of just how much fun that day is going to be - I am fired up now!!