2009 Ironman Wisconsin: Race Report Part II

On the day before our race, Saturday, September 12, 2009, J and I had decided to take advantage of the Gatorade Practice Swim. The practice swim was essentially a free swim of the course in Lake Monona and began at 7:00 AM.

For J, this marked a big step. Up to this point, he had done a couple of open water swims sans wetsuit, a couple of pool swims with wetsuit, and of course the requisite pool training. This would be the first time he was in the murky water of a lake, the same lake in which he would be covering 2.4 miles the next day.

So that he could get the hang of things, I stayed with him and we took our time going once around the loop. J quickly got the hang of the nature of swimming in the lake, which was something considering you could barely see your hand outstretched in front of you. Being that this was J’s first organized triathlon, I did my best to put him through his paces to try and demonstrate what may occur on race day. With him swimming straight ahead, I swam all around him, hitting his arms and torso, pulling on his legs and pushing him off course. If you’ve never been in a triathlon with a mass start or even several people starting at once, this is incredibly useful so that when race day comes, you’re not shocked at what goes on. Suffice it to say that J did an amazing job of keeping his cool.

After going around the loop once with J, I wanted to finish the distance (2.4 miles) and do the loop again myself, this time at my own “easy” pace. This loop also went well. I took it nice and even, making sure to work on sighting because we were in the water at roughly the same time we would be there the next day and the sun was presenting some major challenges. My time for that loop was about 29 minutes. This was a reasonably acceptable time for a practice swim, especially considering the water temperature was about five to ten degrees warmer than I could have like, though still wetsuit legal.

At 10:30 AM, I, along with some twitter buddies and people from this site, had planned to meet at the Newton booth in the expo. So, I swung back by our hotel to pick up Danielle and drop off J. We then headed back to the expo where a few of us met. Among those there were @triboomer, @nickjantz, @kevsbrtny and @chrisdandeneau. It was a lot of fun hanging out and taking a few minutes to get some pointers on the course from those more experienced than I. Danielle and I

also got to spend some more time talking to the Newton folks where we both met Newton Co-Founder and CEO Jerry Lee. We also got to hang out more with Tory and pick her brain about all things running and triathlon. One thing you must know about Tory is that even standing still beside you, she looks like she could kick your ass in any race, any day.

After the meetup we headed back to our hotel to get some food and to get our bikes and transition bags ready for drop off which took place that afternoon from 10 AM to 3 PM. A little explanation of the “bag” situation; when you check in, in your race materials you are given  five plastic, drawstring bags. They are designated as follows:

Bike Gear Bag (T1)
Bike Special Foods Bag
Run Gear Bag (T2)
Run Special Foods Bag
Morning Clothes Bag

The gear bags are pretty self-explanatory, holding whatever you need for your transitions. As for the “Special Foods” bags; these were not necessarily for food, but rather for whatever you think you may need halfway through the bike and again, halfway through the run. For instance, in my bike bag, I had an extra tube, in case I got a flat and was down to one tube with me on the bike (better safe than sorry!). The other thing in my “Special Foods” bags included: (Both) Chia, Probar, Beta-Alanine, Pepto chewables (run) Shot Blocks, Pedialyte. If you look closely, you can see an enormous problem I ran into during the race. As for my bike, I did a close inspection and a short ride to double check everything. I also removed my Speedfil since I’d be taking it with me in the morning.

The “Special Foods” bags did not have to be dropped off until race morning, so the transition bag drop off was rather easy. Just go the proper room and put your bag in the area for your number. The bike drop off was just as easy, although I did forget a bag to cover my handlebars  to keep them dry overnight. Thankfully, Tory (bless you Tory!) came through with a plastic bag!!

I then headed back to the hotel to relax and do nothing. This sort of worked. J and our two other friends who were racing, JR and Cass, were going to drop off their gear and then go drive the bike course, which was a VERY necessary activity for this particular course. I decided to go with them and asked them to give me a call when they got back. They returned at about 4:45 PM and we headed out to drive the course.

I won’t go into too much detail of the course here because I will talk more about it in the next segment of my report. Suffice it to say that this course is much more difficult than you’d think. It’s not that the hills are so steep or huge, it’s just that they don’t stop. The course is beautiful, to be sure. Lot’s of rolling cornfields and plenty of cattle that I’m sure turned more than one stomach on race day! The drive took about two hours, to do one loop or the two loop course.

Once we got back to the hotel, it was time for food and rest. Danielle and I headed out for some dinner where I got a big grilled chicken salad. The whole day I had been hydrating with a 2:1 water to Gatorade mix, and I was worried that I’d have to up twenty times during the night to use the bathroom. Luckily, I only had to go once, and with my alarm set, it was time for bed.

Part III coming soon!