Ironman WI Race Report: The Finish and Post Race

Moments after crashing through the tape, I was swarmed. Heidi and Karen - friends and fellow triathletes - caught me. Everything was happening so fast. It was very weird to go from constant motion to being completely stopped. The adrenaline needed a few moments to slow down and I was disoriented for a moment.

Heidi and Karen were wonderful - they got me a mylar blanket, my medal, my finisher's hat and t-shirt. They ensured that my chip got removed and that I got a finisher's photo. Then they pointed me in the direction of my family. There were people everywhere. It was overwhelming and exciting all at the same time. I was missing one person though - Petra! Petra is a good friend and athlete (she's doing IM WI 2008!!!) who was going to catch me at the finish. I wanted to see her. Heidi and Karen said she was around and suddenly there she was.

I wasn't prepared for the huge bear hug that I got from her. Man, did it feel good though! I was done. I was an Ironman. And I had never felt so lucky in my entire life! Petra showed me to my family. It was great to finally get to hug and talk to my whole family. I had seen them all day, but now I got to spend time with them. It was great! The cameras were going, which was fun at first. After about 10 minutes though, I had met my limit on photos. Darla and Ed both came over as well. It was so great to see them both. They are some of my dearest friends and it really meant everything to me to share this moment with them.



I was disappointed though. I had lost David at the finish. I was hoping I'd see him again, but with these crowds I didn't feel very hopeful. Moments later David and his wife appeared! We exchanged hugs and thank yous and even clicked a few pictures. What a completely wonderful day!

It just keeps getting better - Jim, Dana, Isa and Sisa appeared! They had seen me finish. The finish for me was such a blur that I never saw them!

About an hour later everyone dispersed. I went back to the terrace to pick up my gear and change my clothes. I ran into many friends and congratulated them on their races. It was so hard to believe it was over, but I was going to continue to ride this high as long as I could.

I went down to the finish for a little while with my Mom and John. I wanted to stick around and watch everyone finish, but the day was catching up with me and we headed home around 10pm. I got home and went straight to bed and slept through the night.

Post-Race

The soreness only lasted for a few days and it wasn't as bad as I had expected it to be. Mostly I was just wiped out. I spent a lot of time sleeping for several days after the event. I swam once this week and rode once. Both went well but it has been nice to take a break from things for a week or so.

Rather than ramble on and on, I thought I'd list the things that stuck out the most about Ironman Sunday. Consider it the Top 10 Things I got out of Ironman...

1) Friends and Family - This is by far the number one thing that mattered throughout this day. It is what kept me going and kept me excited about my day. I've always known I was lucky to have such a great group of friends, training partners and family, but IM really reinforced this.

To each of you who were there on Sunday - spectating or racing: Without each of you, I couldn't have done this. And it certainly wouldn't mean as much to me if I wasn't able to share it with each of you. Thank You....



2) It's 90% Mental, 10% Physical - I may want to revise that a bit because Ironman is definitely a very physical event, but it's all about what's inside your head and your heart. If you set your mind to something, you CAN do it. It may not always be easy, but it's never out of reach. I never thought I could swim 2.4 miles in a lake, with 2400 other people...but I did. I never thought I could bike 112 hilly miles and still be walking when I got off my bike...but I did. I never thought I could run a full marathon after swimming and biking...but I did. 3 years ago, I never would have imagined doing Ironman, but here its already a week later and I'm wondering where it all went.

3) Triathlon keeps you young - As I sat at the awards banquet on Monday morning and watched the groups of athletes come up on stage, they had one thing in common. None of them looked their age. Each and every person looked fit, strong and healthy. I hope that 20 years from now I am still fortunate enough to be participating in such an amazing sport...and being fit, strong and healthy.

4) Ironman is a good addiction - When I signed up, I never thought I'd do more than one. I wasn't sure I'd enjoy the distance and really believed it was a one time thing. After completing it though, I can say this with absolute certainty: This will not be my last Ironman. It was an exhilarating experience and I enjoyed the challenge. IM WI 2009....here I come!

5) Life passes you by too quickly - So, I didn't need an Ironman to tell me this, but throughout the day I kept thinking 'Wow! This is going so fast'. Despite it being hard and painful at times, it still amazes me how quickly the day went. Life is the same way - it is flying by. It's easy to get lost in the day to day crap and all the small stuff. Sometimes we need to remind ourselves to enjoy the moment, because before we know it, it's over and life has already moved on to something else. Every time I felt pain or frustration during Ironman, I reminded myself to just live in the moment. I'm glad I did, because I think I got so much more out of the experience.

6) I'm an athlete. Who knew?! - When I was a kid, I was never in sports. I never did well on any of the physical fitness tests they made us take while in school. I was very mediocre in Track and Cross Country. I hated pain, I had no focus and had no idea what it meant to truly endure something. Before 2 years ago, I never swam. I hated the water, hated putting my face in it and wanted nothing to do with a lake. Here I am though - I'm now an Ironman. I am an athlete. I have focus, I know what it takes to endure pain and face a huge challenge.

7) Success is up to you....and the weather gods! - Going into Ironman, I had 3 very successful races. I had fun, reached new levels and felt very solid about my plan going into Ironman. Of course, I still had my doubts - 140.6 miles is a long way to go and anything can happen. At the end of it all though, I knew myself well enough to know when to push, when not to push, what to eat, what not to eat...I knew all the little mind games I needed to play with myself to get me through the day and most importantly I knew to be prepared for anything. And, I knew I would and could adapt to whatever happened that day. I am very thankful to the weather gods for blessing us with a beautiful day. It was nice to have one less thing to think about.

8) Volume isn't the only way to train - I had moments throughout the summer where I thought that I needed to be doing more. Many of my fellow triathletes were training 18+ hours per week. I was only doing between 12 and 14. I have no doubt that this approach was the best approach for me. I was able to attack key workouts with more strength and focus. I have my coach, Jason, to thank for that. Though I didn't always follow his plan to the letter, I have no doubt that my success was due to his guidance and careful planning.

9) Number One Best Moment of my Life (so far..)

10) I can't wait for next year! - I plan to take the next 7 weeks and have a very casual approach to training/exercise. I will do what I want, when I want. But then, it's time to get serious again. I want to work on a few things over the winter and go into the spring season with a solid training and racing plan. I'm not sure what I'm all going to do next year, but I plan to race more than I did this year and focus more on the Half Ironman and Olympic distance races.



Well, that's it. That's all folks. I've enjoyed writing down my experiences over the last year. It's been wonderful to share it with all of you and am always excited to hear such nice feedback on the blog.

I will not be posting anymore in this blog. I will however start a new one. I haven't finalized all the details of it yet, but stay tuned.

Thank you for joining me in my journey! It was quite the ride (and swim...and run...)

Love and Best Wishes,

Andrea
Ironman Wisconsin 2007 Finisher
#2072

Ironman WI Race Report: The Run

As I was heading out of T2, I was not looking forward to the run. I just couldn't wrap my head around the fact that I now had to run a marathon. I crossed the timing mat and it was on - the final segment of my Ironman.

The crowds were thick and every step I took someone was cheering for me. At first I looked every which way thinking that I knew the person cheering. Since our names were on our race numbers, everyone cheered. I did recognize some faces in the crowd as I came around the capitol for the first time. Maggie and Shelley were cheering at the corner of State and Mifflin. It was really great to see them.

As I headed out on my first loop, the first 3 miles were really tough. I originally wanted to try and not walk as much as possible, but I felt as though I needed to. So, that set the tone. Every aid station from here on out was walked through...I saw the male and female leaders on my first loop. They made it look so effortless and easy. I was definitely in awe.

I came towards Camp Randall on Loop 1 and the Fleet Feet crowd was there cheering loudly. Donovan was also there and ran with me for a bit. What a difference that made. It definitely lifted me up. We get to run through Camp Randall, which was a very surreal experience. Usually, Camp Randall is a sea of red and white. But on Ironman Sunday it was empty. Only a small group of runners filled up the enormous space.

The next 3 miles were a blur. I saw friends, stopped at aid stations, took my GU, experimented with Pretzels (for the salt) and kept moving along. I was just trying to make it to State Street - the next spot I'd see my family. State Street was awesome. The people were packing the street and sidewalks. It was loud and everyone was cheering. I could feel my stride picking up a bit as the adrenaline picked up. What a rush! As expected, I saw my whole family there cheering. Darla came out and ran with me for a bit, which was great. I needed the lift and the running partner - even if only for a few steps. State Street was over in what felt like the blink of eye. I started making my way back out to Picnic Point. As I went through the Headhunter's aid station, my friend and swimming buddy Scott was announcing the names of athletes as they went through. It was a good feeling to hear my name as I was heading away from State Street.



On the way out to picnic point, I got to see several of my friends and training partners on the run. Ed, Matt and Jessica were all looking good on the run. They looked relaxed and steady. At this point, I think I too had settled into a stride that was comfortable. Well, maybe the right word is tolerable. My feet still hurt and I occasionally had stomach rumblings. This always made me wonder if my nutrition plan was going to blow up at some point during the run. Afterall, I still had about 16 miles to go.

Around mile 10, the thing I needed most was plodding along University Avenue - my friend and fellow triathlete, David. David and I met in the last 2 miles of High Cliff and got each other through that race (see Race Report from June). We were overjoyed to see each other and agreed to stick it out together. The miles started to breeze right on by until we hit the turn around near the finish. David and I caught up on our day and talked about our individual race plan/goals for the day. They were perfectly in sync.

At the turn around near the finish, I again saw tons of family and friends. It was very uplifting and a good feeling to know that we had one loop under our belts. At special needs I pulled out my Sprite, some salt, some pringles and some mini Snickers. I shared all these items with David as he didn't pack a Special Needs bag and his stomach was upset. We took a quick break and kept on moving.

Miles 14-17 were my lowest points of the day. My hip flexors started to tighten up and I needed to walk more than I wanted. At this point, I had surrendered the idea of a time goal. My ultimate goal was always to finish, but I think it's only normal that you set some time goals for yourself based on what you think you are capable of. I set mine pretty realistically, but when everything is hurting and you are walking it all goes out the window. It becomes about survival.

David kept me moving and focused on getting back to State Street. I started experimenting a bit more with food/drink. I was eating more pretzels and even tried some Coke. The Coke must have done the trick, because I felt much better after that. On the trip out to State Street, David and I recruited a few other athletes. We met up with Brian from Canada and Rob. The four of us walked the Observatory Hills together and made our way toward State Street. We agreed that we could pick up the pace for the crowd, but had to slow it down again once we completed the State Street run.


State Street was an adrenaline rush again! This time my family recruited everyone around them to cheer for me as well. It was a great feeling to have everyone cheering for you. As hard as it was to keep running at that point, it was so FUN. I had never had so much fun. As we headed away from State Street, Brian said to me 'Man, it's good to run with you. You have quite the cheering section'. Nothing like Home Field Advantage.

Around Mile 20, Brian took off and David and I kept making our way forward. Less than 6 miles to go. David reminded me of how much time we had to break 13 hours at this point. It was doable, but I didn't want to hear it. I just wanted to finish. I didn't want the pressure of coming in under a certain time to be hanging over my head. The miles ticked away and it was getting dark. They had started handing out glow bands to the athletes who were still out on the course. David and I opted not to take one as we were closing in on the finish.

Mile 23.....Mile 24....only two to go. We walked through the last aid station, but didn't take anything. Even water didn't sound good to me at that point. I was just wanted to get up to the Capitol and see my family. I got a little choked up in the last 2 miles - I was about to be an Ironman. The moment I had been dreaming about for a year was just minutes away from being a reality. Mile 25....we are going to be Ironmen! David and I spent much of this last mile telling each other how much it meant to run together. We got through those last 16 miles together! Without David, I'm not sure how I would have gotten through the last 16 miles of the marathon. The constant support and encouragement was amazing. I felt so lucky to have finished out this journey with a great athlete and person.

We hit State Street for the last time and I was counting the blocks. Two blocks of State Street, Three around the Capitol, and then....the Finish. The crowds were still strong on the upper section of State Street. They pushed as along.

We passed by the aid station on Mifflin, when David's wife Allison came along side us. She said 'You have 4 minutes to break 13 hours, if you pick it up now you can make it. Come on!'. And she took off....David followed and my legs argued, but started picking it up. Allison kept saying 'Come on Andrea! Come on!'. I said 'I'm coming, I'm coming'. At this point David's coach came out and started pushing him to sprint. They started sprinting. I knew I didn't have it in me to sprint, but I just kept turning the legs over. I had to finish. Just before making the final turn, I saw David was stopped. I think the sprinting had caused his upset stomach to catch up with him. I kept going. I had to finish and I couldn't stop my legs from moving.

I saw Darla at the corner and then, there it was....the Finish Line. I saw the clock and it read 12:58:40. I was going to make it under 13 hours! I don't remember much after this. The lights were bright, I heard Mike Reilly say my name, I have no idea what song was playing, I don't remember seeing very many people after the turn even though the finish area was packed with people. I had done it. I was an Ironman...I crashed through the tape and it was over.

It was everything I expected and hoped for...and more!

Up Next: The Finish and Post Race.

Ironman WI Race Report: The Bike and T2

The Bike

I finally managed to clip in and start my way down the helix. I proceeded down with caution and I could tell there were several anxious men behind me waiting to pass. There is no passing on the helix, which I'm sure frustrated the daylights out of the men with fast bikes with scary looking wheels. Once down the helix the bikes went sailing by me. Moments later another woman had fallen on her bike. So we were riding around her. There were also quite a few dropped water bottles to navigate through as well.

The way out to Verona was a blur. I saw several friends out on the course during this stretch - Mary, Analise, Dan....I also made use of the first water station. I stopped to use the port-o-potty. To my surprise and delight a volunteer held my bike while I was in there. WOW! That was cool. I killed two birds with one stone here - a little bathroom stop and my first croissant sandwich. Yum! I breezed on through Verona and began Loop #1.

Before I knew it, I was approaching the last major hill on Cty G. I shifted down into my small ring, since there was no need to crush the hills so early in the bike. As luck would have it, my chain fell off when I made the switch while going uphill. I clipped out, fixed the chain and somehow managed to get going up the hill. I got up the hill and began a nice descent until I hit Hwy 92. I again shifted into my small ring for 92 as it's one constant climb into Mt Horeb. A few friends came by during this stretch - Pete and Ed blew right on by me. It was awesome to see friends out on the course and to see them doing so well.



The bike was going fast. I was already coming into Mt Horeb. This would be the first spot that I would see my family. And sure enough, they were there in full force - cameras ready and cheering loudly. My friend John had even made it out at that point, so it was great to see him waiting there. I also saw Judy at this point - another great moment. The hill was packed with people - so packed that you forget you are climbing a hill. I slowed down at the aid station and took some water. To my total surprise, my friends Jim and Dana had come out to Mt Horeb with their daughter Isa. What an awesome sight! The next several miles were spent thinking how lucky I was to have so many great people in my life!

Loop #1 was just cranking right on by. We finally hit Garfoot and had a nice long descent and some flats before the 3 dreaded hills - Old Sauk, TimberLane and Midtown. I've heard that these hills get pretty crowded. I was a little nervous about people watching me struggle going up a hill, but what can you do other than keep going. These three hills turned out to be the highlight of the course. They were jammed with people. I saw SO many people on these hills - Maggie, Shelly, Cindi, Darla, Karen, Aggie, Donovan, etc...It was such a rush, I honestly forgot I was climbing a hill. In fact I couldn't wait to get back around to these hills to see all those people again. How cool was this?! On Midtown, I saw Danielle and Ed. Ed ran alongside me for a bit, taking pictures and updating me on his son Ben. After cresting Midtown, it was all downhill into Verona. This was the next spot I'd see my family and I couldn't wait.

I was just about to climb the last little hill on Cross Country when my family appeared. Aunt Lisa and Uncle Mike first, then my parents and then my Mom and John further down the road. Going through Verona was awesome. It was like the Tour! There were barricades set up, the streets were blocked off and people were lining the roads to cheer us on. I saw some friends from work out there and also heard the announcer call my name. I started to head around to Old PB to start my 2nd Loop. Holy cow - the bike was half over!

I stopped off at Special Needs where I had a bag packed with some goodies that I'd need for the 2nd half of the ride. My friend and training partner, Howard, was sitting in the grass enjoying his sandwich when I stopped. It was great to catch up for a minute and see how he was doing. I didn't stop long and then continued on. I wanted to get this thing done.

The 2nd Loop was not as much fun. Everything hurt a little bit more, the wind picked up and I slowed down a bit. It didn't matter though. I just had to keep moving forward (thanks Ang!) and using my PowerTap as my guide. Again, this loop flew by. I just tried to focus on getting out to Cross Plains again. Those three hills were so motivating and the next spot that I'd see my family. The course definitely started to clear out a bit at this point - especially in the Mt Horeb area.

I made it to the three monsters again and the crowd was still very energetic and packing the hills. I again saw my friend Darla on 'Bitch' hill. This time she ran alongside me offering words of encouragement. It was really great of her to do that. It definitely made me feel special and very loved (sorry if that's cheesy, but it's true!). My family was also there and again, kinda spread out. How nice to see all of them again.

Verona had cleared out a bit by this time, but there were still plenty of people to make it exciting. I passed the 93 mile sign and wow - I had just gone the farthest I'd ever gone on a bike before in a single ride! My feet finally started to hurt at this point, but I had less than 20 miles to go. I had to just hang on and ride smart. I still had a marathon to run. That's right - the marathon. (Shudder!)

I was in very familiar territory now. I rode on Whalen all the time and could ride this road in my sleep. It was nice to have that sense of familiarity. Actually, it was pretty nice to know this the whole ride. I knew what I was in for, when to push, when not to push, when to enjoy the descents and when to work the hills. I was coming up on the last big hill of the course and the last spot where my family was supposed to be. I was about 1/2 mile away when I could see their cars lined up on the road. I knew they were there. In fact, they were almost the only people there. My friends Doug and Laura were also there cheering. It was a great push before going up that last big hill.



I hit the 105 mile point and knew I had only 7 miles to go. 7 miles - that's nothing! Less than 30 minutes and I would be preparing to run a marathon. These last 7 miles whipped by. It was a complete blur. Before I knew it I was riding up the helix. I dismounted my bike and was more than happy to hand it off to the volunteers.

T2

T2 was very much like T1. I grabbed my gear bag and headed into the change room. Again, I had my own personal attendant and she was wonderful. She put my socks on, packed up my gear bag, listened to whatever babble was coming out of my mouth at that point...She was great! I got dressed and headed outside. Volunteers applied sunscreen and I hit the port-o-potty. I headed for the run course...

26.2 - here we go.

Up Next: The Run (or The Run/Walk)

Ironman WI Race Report: Swim and T1

The Swim

....the cannon went off. It was actually very anti-climatic in the water when we all started. I didn't really hear the cannon from where I was in the water. My only clue that the swim had started was that everyone started moving forward.

I was remarkably calm at the start. The first 20 strokes were without incident - no kicking, bumping, flailing arms, NOTHING! I thought I had positioned myself well and just might have a clean swim. That dream was very short-lived. Within a minute, all the swimmers converged and it was chaos. There were bodies everywhere - arms, feet, legs, it was pure chaos. But, it was manageable chaos. As long as I didn't stop, I was fine. If I stopped, I was certainly going to get trampled. The only thing to do was to move forward and keep on swimming.

The lake was very calm, so despite all the splashing of the athletes I never had a problem breathing or swallowed too much water. The first lap flew by. It took all my energy just to focus on moving forward and trying to find a clean lane to swim in. Every corner was congested and we practically stopped moving. I found I was surrounded by mostly men and they were brutal. Several times I had someone try to pull me backwards and swim over me or I had someone kick violently when I accidentally touched their feet. At the end of the first loop I got punched in the nose. Ouch! I popped my head up with the intent to fire back, but really, I don't know who did and it wasn't intentional. So head down and move on to lap 2.

The second lap flew by. I weaved a bit. Sometimes I was on the buoy line, sometimes outside it, sometimes inside it...the whirlpool effect that I heard about definitely held true. I thought the second loop would be smoother and it sort of was, but there was still quite a bit of contact around the corners and closer to the buoy line. Before I knew it, I was headed towards shore. Just a few more minutes and the swim was done. I got up to the swim exit and looked at my watch. It read 00:00:00. I must not have pressed the start button hard enough. So, I looked up at the clock - 1:11:36. I was ecstatic to see that time! I thought for sure the swim took longer than that and didn't really think I was capable of hitting 1:11 considering all the congestion on the swim.

I ran over to the wet suit peelers, stripped off the top half and let the volunteers rip off my suit. In just moments, it was off and I was headed up the helix. It was exciting! I saw so many friends and family - Darla, Aggie, Jerry, Kate, Ryan, Jim, Ellen, Dad, Mom, Aunt Lisa...I will say though, running up the helix hurt! When I finally got into transition, my calves were so sore. I thought they were going to cramp up!



I ran in to grab my gear bag and headed for the change room. Each athlete has a personal attendant. My attendant was great. She helped me get all my gear out, got me water, put sunscreen on me and packed my swim gear up. The volunteers were fabulous! We could not have survived the day without them!

I ran out to the bike transition area and immediately saw Angie cheering loud and proud! What a rush! I had to run down quite aways to get my bike. When I finally got to my rack, the volunteers didn't have my bike out, but I grabbed it and continued toward the mount line. When I got there, Rachel and Jordan were there cheering loudly! How cool was this?! I was doing Ironman and many of the people that I know and care about were out there cheering loudly!

I tried to get clipped in and my cleats were slipping a bit. I finally got clipped in and started my descent down the helix...

Up Next: The Bike

Ironman WI Race Report: Pre-Race

I decided awhile ago that I would write up my race report in 'Chapters'. I tend to write quite a bit and figured it would be easier for everyone to sift through smaller posts rather than one monster entry. So here goes....

Thursday

The excitement began on Thursday in full force. I kicked off the morning with a short, but fun run with my friend Darla. I then drove down to the first Gatorade swim of the week. Wow - the buoys looked so far apart and suddenly it was very real - Ironman is here and just moments away!

Later that morning my friends Steve and Jesse picked me up so we could go down and register. Registration was exciting and a piece of cake. We cruised through the lines and the reality began to sink in when they put the silver bracelet on our wrists. We were in! We hit the gear shop, purchased a few items (that of course couldn't be worn until after we finished) and headed back to work. It was impossible to concentrate for the rest of the work day.

Friday

Another fun-filled day that only built up the excitement further. I went down to the Gatorade swim again, but this time just to watch friends and hang out. There was something magical about just being around all the athletes. Following the swim, many of us headed up to Marigold Kitchen for breakfast. The whole place was filled with Ironman athletes. Everyone was there - Jessica, Pete, Stacy, Howard, Katie, Becca....

I spent the rest of the afternoon gathering up necessary food supplies and some last minute gear. I worked on putting my bags together - everything laid out on the bedroom floor, trying to make sure I didn't forget anything and that I had my bases covered.

Before the athlete banquet, we met atop the Monona Terrace for some photos. It was a beautiful evening with blue skies, comfortable temperatures and calm water. It was amazing to look out over the water and see what we were going to do on Sunday. The thing that was the best though was the cameraderie. Everyone was in great spirits and having a great time. I knew that no matter what happened on Sunday the most important thing was all the great people I had to share this with.



The banquet was awesome. The energy was definitely in the room. It was absolutely electric and crazy to think about what it was I was about to participate in. Over 1100 of the athletes there were doing their first Ironman. The oldest female was 64 and the oldest male (A LEGEND - Frank Ferrar!) was 77. Last year there was only 1 Mexican athlete and this year there was over 350 athletes from Mexico. Wisconsin still took the top spot for the state with the most athletes with over 500 athletes! A grand total of 2472 athletes were registered. Two of the athletes there were about to do their 50th Ironman! That's inconceivable to me! 50!!!! What a terrific night!

Saturday

Saturday morning I headed down to the Gatorade swim for a short workout. I met up with Wes and his sister Marci. We swam for about 20 minutes and I then took my bike out for a test ride. There was so much excitement in the air. The athletes were everywhere and I saw many of my friends working the Gatorade swim tent. It was awesome to see so many friendly, supportive faces!

While taking my bike out for a spin, I noticed that my PowerTap was having a hard time finding a signal. I immediately checked in with Angie at the swim area and she thought it was the hub batteries. After a bit of a wild goose chase, I got the necessary batteries and took my bike and batteries over to Machinery Row. To my surprise and delight, David Kohli was there and available to change my hub batteries! David built my bike and my wheels, so it gave me great comfort that he handled my bike. After the mini-crisis was over, I dropped off my bike in transition and headed out to lunch with Peter, Kathryn and my mom.

Later that afternoon, my parents and grandparents showed up in Madison. I took them downtown and showed them the activity around the Terrace. We then went out to a few of the spots on the bike course so they knew where they were going on Sunday.

In the evening, the whole family came together for dinner. It was wonderful. My grandparents, parents, Aunt Lisa, Uncle Mike, Cousin Amelia, Uncle Karl, Carrie and Elizabeth were all there to share in the celebration. It was really excellent to have the whole family together!

I headed home and was in bed by 930pm. I think I fell asleep pretty quickly and woke up only a few times. Just a little while before waking up, I dreamt that I missed my alarm and woke up at 6am. Fortunately, my alarm went off a few moments later...and it was 4am, Race Day.

Ironman Sunday

The alarm went off at 4am and I hopped out of bed. I immediately began my morning routine. I brushed my teeth and made my bed. I changed into my tri shorts and sports tank. I filled up my special needs bags and checked everything twice. I put a bagel in the toaster and finished filling up my Morning Gear Bag. I did a final check of everything ensuring that I didn't forget my wetsuit or anything else that I would need that day. Everything was a go...I headed out the door around 445am.

I arrived downtown around 5am and the streets were already buzzing with tired, anxious and excited athletes. I scored a sweet parking spot on the street just blocks from the finish line. After parking the car, I headed for the special needs drop area and dropped off my bags.

Next, it was off to bodymarking. Bodymarking took just moments and I was off to my bike. I needed to fill up my tires, put my food into my bento box, load up my water bottles and attach my bike computer. It was very exciting, but I still wasn't as nervous as I thought I would be that day. I was surprisingly calm and simply excited about the day!

I then went inside to place a few items into my gear bags. I ran into my parents, Uncle Mike, Aunt Lisa and Amelia in the hallway. We snapped a few photos. I then headed for the port o pottys and walked my family out. They went off to grab a spot on the helix while I went inside to relax and wait to get ready.

Inside the Terrace, I ran into many of my friends - Ed, Matt, Peter, Wes, Jesse....We found a spot in the main hallway and hung around. Some listened to music, stretched, chatted, went off to the bathrooms until it was time to go!



At 615am, I got into my wetsuit, applied the body glide, grabbed my cap and goggles and we headed down the helix. What a cool feeling going down the helix. The crowds of spectators were large and people were already getting in the water. I gave my mom a quick hug on the way down. I saw plenty of friends on the helix - Darla, Aggie, Kate, Ryan, Jim...it was so exciting. So exciting that I ended up tripping over a big orange cone. The rest of the way down Peter made a point of announcing every cone. This ensured I didn't face plant before the swim.

We got down to ground level and dropped our dry gear bags. In just minutes we were crossing under the arch and moving into the water. I swam out towards the inside buoy line about halfway back. Wes and Peter were behind me, but I never saw them again.

I had about 20 minutes to just float around before the start. I swam a little, floated a bit, and just took it all in - the sun rise, the calm waters, the packed Terrace, all the athletes still pouring into the water. At first I felt like I had a ton of free space where I positioned myself, but the water got more and more crowded. The pros went off at 650am and the excitement began. Mike Reilly was riling up the athletes and the crowd on this beautiful Madison morning.



We totally scored on the weather. It was calm, partly sunny and going to be in the low 70s. Absolute perfection. I felt a few butterflies just before the cannon went off, but mostly I felt a rush of excitement. I was doing Ironman. In just a few short moments my day would begin. I could hardly believe the moment had arrived. But, I was ready for it. I was ready to become an Ironman. Moments later, the cannon went off and the sea of athletes took off!

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