Ironman Wisconsin 2018 - Race Story

Mad Town

Madison is only 4 hours away from home and it took until my fifth full distance race to go and check it out. I am glad that I did. You would be hard pressed to find spectator support that surpasses the level of Mad-Town. The Badgers won the day before the race, so that made the people even more amped up. The race had been in question for the month leading up to it because of the insane amount of rain the area was getting. The lake we would be swimming in was over 100 year flood stage and sandbags were everywhere. I am thankful that we were able to do the whole race in the end!

 If anyone knows me, they know I am not the biggest fan of the cold (or anything below 70 degrees to be honest) but for some reason running a marathon in the 60s seems to maybe have been a good thing! I guess I am from MinneSNOWta anyways. 

My Love

You got some work to do Olive Garden

Staying in Columbus with my family made it feel like home and all the pre-race madness went smoothly. We had dinner at Benvenutos which is an Italian kitchen, and it was incredible. Something about that bread I tell ya. The only thing that was disappointing was the fact that my Garmin 520 Head unit crapped out on saturday so I would be riding with no heads up display and going on feel. Thanks a lot Garmin.

The morning of, was simple and stress free as we made our way to Monona Terrace, where all the race happenings were, and I went to my bike and threw a bottle with Herbalife Prepare in it, on the bike to last until the first aid station. I use the aid stations, for Clif bloks, Gatorade and water on the bike. The fam and I popped a squat for about 30 minutes inside and then I found my pal Garrett and we headed down the the swim start together. Unfortunately got caught up in the 1:20 area in the corral and knew this swim would not be fun, as I would have rather been at the hour mark, but I guess that is what I get for lolly gagging around. 

Although I had to work around hundreds of swimmers, It was a rather uneventful swim. I never felt like it was too choppy but the sun did blind me a couple times. I bet it was a pretty awesome sunrise for the spectators! I kept my line the whole swim and came out a little behind where I wanted to be. But it is a long day and I was ok with it.

#wattieink

Riding with arm warmers on, because I was not about to get cold again, I headed out of town and onto the course that everyone said had terrible roads. Ok, Well these were not terrible in the simplest sense of the word, there were a couple stretches that were a little bumpy but nothing that would make you white knuckle or have to scooch around on the seat. I can easily say that most of these were better roads than at home! The hills were pretty manageable. It was the wind that seemed like it was in your face the whole day. Back to those three hills that we climbed, the crowd was insane, like this is Wisconsin tailgating at its finest. Then come through Verona and have that humongous crowds cheering as you go by was another great feeling. I had imagined that the hills were a lot bigger. The difference was that we were never really on a flat for more than a few miles at a time. It was always up and down this way and that, turning all the time. No rhythm was possible. The hardest part of the ride for me was the last 12 miles back to T2. Here I thought I was at almost mile 108 or so just to see the 100 marker and already want to be off the bike. Ultimately making it back thankful to be off the bike and ready to run. I went through my Herbalife bottle by the 2nd aid station and consumed 2 bottles of gatorade and 2 of water while mowing down 4 packages of clif bloks. Probably still not enough, but I am getting there.

For the first time ever I felt as if I could maintain an ok run and finish the race strong. Taking off and into town, the crowd support was once again apparent as there were people everywhere, on state street, around the capitol, along the lake and everywhere in between. I got to the state street turn around and the fam was there along with teammates cheering us on. Cory caught me here and motored on ahead and had a stellar run. I am glad that we got to share a bit of time on course, just a little! Taylor was also losing her mind for us at this point and that was awesome, Joe gave me some splits and then it was off to the next 20.

 After seeing them at about 6 miles, we ran past the school, in Camp Randall (soooo silent), along the lake, back through town and onto the second lap. I started the second lap with the mindset of counting down each mile since we were halfway done now. I walked at the end of every aid station to make sure I get everything i need in me, and it was surprisingly easier than ever before to pick it back up again after I stopped walking. The pace was pretty consistent and it never felt too out of control. I chomped on more bloks throughout the run and definitely could notice a difference, since before I had usually just gone for liquid calories during the last leg. My mom did remind me to keep up on the nutrition the first time through state street and I am glad I did, it was not a miserable finish like usual. Back into downtown and around the capitol building I gave it everything I had for the last 5k. Coming down the carpet with the capitol in the background was a great way to end a solid day. I am so thankful to have been able to run down the finish chute and not feel like complete death. 

 5 Ironman Down, a zillion more to Go!

Sometimes you don't finish where you would like on the results list but in the end, I got to enjoy the day with awesome teammates, great friends,an amazing family and wicked crowds all day! 

Ironman number 5 is complete and I have learned something from every one. Some day I will be able to put all the pieces together and have a day I am truly proud of. 

Lover every one of you

Until then... Thank you to team Wattie Ink for allowing me to be part of something very special. I am so thankful to have met so many rad people through this team and hope to continue to grow with it! That was my last race of 2018 and I am glad it ended that way. Here's to team wattie ink rocking 2019!

Team!

Thank you Mom, Dad, Rene, Jim for all the help and love and support every single day. Mads I know my good luck charm was not there but I never forgot about you!

Taylor, Cory, Rosanne, Joe thanks for being awesome teammates and friends! 

I promise to keep ROCKIN THE W as long as I can!

Ironman Boulder 2018 Race Story

A Boulder Original

Lefthand

Third time is the charm right? This would be my third trip out to BoCo for Ironman and every year was going a little better than the last with racing, training etc. I felt good coming out this time around and was ready to see what my body could do come Sunday. Mads and I packed up our sick minivan, which was amazing because I didn't have to break my bike down at all. And headed to North Platte, Nebraska, lovely, lovely Nebraska... we went for a run to get all that driving out of the legs and pretty much just chilled. We got into town Friday morning and did all the necessary things. Went for a swim that night and it felt so good to swim in an outdoor lap pool! Saturday rolled around and I got up early to make final checks on the bike and then went for another outdoor swim because if it is there I want to use it! Mads and I drove to the res and dropped all my bags and bike off and said siyanara. Decided to go for a little drive/adventure after we ate lunch at Noodles. Headed up to Nederland and then across to Ward and I can see why any Colorado cyclist loves riding those roads, I'm envious. It was a good way to relax and get a huge headache, gotta stay up to code on that H2O consumption! 

The face says it all

Sunday Morning came around and I got up at 3:30 and ate some picky oats and a Banana, no coffee, which was a wise choice and I think I will stick to that next time too. Off to the high school at 4 and found a parking spot pretty easy, got onto the shuttle bus to the res and was there before I knew it. The sun was coming up and it was a gorgeous sunrise, gave positive vibes for the day ahead! I met up with some team mates and pumped up my tires. We got a quick picture and headed to the swim start. On the way there I saw Taylor and Richard and they had encouraging words for the day and just like that, I said goodbye to Mads and knew I would see her out there a lot on the day. 

Swim was nothing insane, I lined up right behind the sub hour swimmers as I hoped to keep them in touch. Elevation may not be a factor for everyday living out there but I could definitely tell it got a little harder swimming that it would have been at home. I wanted to swim under an hour and had prepped a long time for that but kind of had in my head that I NEED AIR. I got to about 1600 meters before I smacked some dude with my arm and it hit the lap button on my watch, which if you have a Garmin, moves you onto T1. So I guess I had a really long T1 that involved a lot of water walking? Not a huge deal as it was the time that mattered. I swam past a ton of people, maybe ones who went out to hard and faded but I will always save a little for the last few hundred meters. Nothing else really stood out during the swim and I came out with a new Swim PR, so not a bad start. 

Two loops of fast and not so fast, hills and not so hilly, false flats and straight aways. It was not very technical other than the u turns that I think could have been made a TAD wider. Anyhoo, did a little jaunt through the res park and then headed out to do some work. I felt great for most of the ride. and never really felt caught up with other riders. Did some passing and got passed by a couple guys, John Kelly passed me and finished second Amateur so I couldn't be too mad! (especially cuz he rides a Felt) There were a couple times when we headed away from the mountains and hit warp speed, then turn around and grind back out to 36. I started taking in some calories after about 45 minutes and continued to eat Clif Bloks the entire ride. I just prefer them over gels for obvious reasons. Every three or four miles I would eat one or two Bloks, that made for a lot of Blok Consumption. It took until around 35 miles for me to be able to pee which was a godsend. You know that feeling when trying to exercise hard and you have to pee, yeah not a good one. Once that was over with I felt a lot better and was ready for loop two. Every aid station I went through I grabbed one bottle of water and put it on the downtube then a gatorade and put it between my arms then one last bottle of water to spray on myself and drink as much as I could before tossing it. It was getting hot by now and I had lost lots of salt that I would probably need later on! Lap two started and the wind decided to start having its way with me and all my friends. I held onto a pretty solid average speed for the first lap and did not let my power get too out of control, but on that second one I could start to feel the effect the wind was having on the sections of the course that had been more manageable before. 

Inspiring Picture Break

I kept up on the fluids and my nutrition, I can honestly say I have a hard time getting it right with enough calories on the bike, I know I do not get in enough. I found it motivating on the second lap passing the first lap people, just to give you something to chase down all the time is huge. The false flats from loop one seemed to have become even more fake and the small kickers from before felt like roundhouse kicks now. But it was still 100% enjoyable! Coming back onto the road where we had the whole thing to ourselves I tried to get myself amped for the run we had ahead. It was smooth and you could get into a good rhythm so that is what I did. Was a tad confusing for some people on where to go to start your second lap, first lap, go to the finish but I think I did it right! Off the bike with a pretty decent split and another PR. Now to go deal with the devil...

Hot Hot Hot

Coming out of T2, I had my little cooling towel and my flask for fluid in my hands, as well as some bloks in my mouth and the white towel they gave us, yeah too much. I ditched the white towel a little later at an aid station and consumed the bloks, put the blue towel around my neck and only had the flask, there much better. I started out right at 8 minute per mile pace which I hoped would not slip top much throughout the day. Runing from the res into town to the creek path was basically running on the surface of the sun. But I love the sun so that was cool. I'd say the hardest part of the run was out on the path the second time, in the open with no one around and the sun literally baking you while you "try to run". Back to about 8 miles in and we get onto the creek path and start our rounds out there, it is a much more happy place given all the people and aid stations seemed like they were closer together here. Also, the creek made it a little cooler in this part. I saw Mads probably 5 times on the run. When the school bus went by after the res and then every time she was cheering her head off Made me smile, maybe not on the outside every time but on the inside for sure. Headed back out into what I think we should call No Mans Land, and people were looking like they were on a death march. It was not about as hot as it would be today and thankfully I probably wasn't going to die. The genius race directors had an aid station where they gave us socks full of ice to hold onto or wrap around you for the run. It was amazing! I used that thing the whole time, refilling it at every chance. Forward to 23 ish miles and I was in the hurt locker big time, Was not feeling to hot, although I was on fire. Kenny Withrow had some encouraging words for me and that kept me going, he always knows what to say I swear! I saw Richard and Taylor again and they made a happy difference early on. Last mile I saw Mads one more time and she said it is right there and then proceeded to run outside the finish chute with a huge backpack on. Barely even noticed the Anderson family when running down the chute but managed to get a few high fives in the process. Wow it was over for the fourth time, and It definitely has not gotten any easier.

What can I say, Ironman is hard. It is a long day and there is a lot that can go wrong because so much has to go right. I think I am about 60% of the way there on understanding how I need to race this distance and I will not be stopping any time soon. I did end my fourth go around with an Overall PR and some new found motivation. 10:08 only one logical goal.

Thank you so much to my sister, without you there I would not be able to do it. When is the first Sherpa Class? I am glad I have my best friend, sister and Good Luck charm all in one! Lettuce do it again soon! Sherpa Pro

Brad and Kayde for letting us crash at their house again and making us feel like family when we are visiting. It means a ton to have you supporting me and I am so grateful to have such awesome people as friends.

Everyone who encouraged me on or high five or any sort of cheer, made a huge difference, most of them know how hard it is and what a small gesture like that can do for moral. So y'all rock!

Team Wattie Ink, I am proud to represent this team every time I get to suit up. I feel privileged

to be part of such an awesome group of genuine people. Congrats Tom, Karin, Cory, Francesca and P.M.A, dude we basically did the whole race together and I am so happy to have that to look back on! Looking forward already to the next time I get to race!

Mom and Dad thanks for the support of everything , It will all be worth it, I promise!

We ended our trip by heading back to my favorite restaurant In the world, Mama Roses in Estes Park, which is a Gem in its own right. Got some sick fanny packs and headed back to Rapid City then Home. It was quite the journey and I cant wait to do it all again! Boulder round 4! 

This guy is an inspiration to me!

Oh you bet I will be back again

#SALTY

Coolest sister ever. Love you Mads

Ironman World Championship 2017 Race Story!

Swim Start

It is pretty cliche to say that back when I started triathlon in 2013 that this Kona was a dream to me. But when in reality, the first time I put a bib on and did my first ever race, I only had the slightest clue of what an Ironman even was. Let alone the World Championships. But in 5 years of triathlon racing, that is exactly what had taken over my life. This race has a lot of hooplah, so lets go!

I traveled from Minnesota to Kona solo, which was not the most fun experience ever. I also spent the night in the San Jose airport, the floor was not soft FYI. The destination was worth it, going  somewhere I had never imagined visiting was amazing, let alone doing an Ironman there. As soon as I landed it was crazy. Get the bike call up Blake and Kia and get to the pier to swim! Met up with Jacob at the pier, he is another athlete that I met back here at home at the pool, and found out we were both racing. So we went for a quick swim, mainly so I could get over a little big of jet lag/soreness. Later that night I headed to the Wattie Ink house for a Luau and although I was dead tired, it was a fantastic party and teammates and I received a traditional Hawaiian blessing. Thursday was the day when I went and checked in and walked Ali'i drive and the expo. Went for a quick ride with Coach Flanny and  waited for the parents to arrive. They would be getting a rental car so I did not have to burden Blake and Kia for rides anymore! Mom and dad arrived at about 5 o clock and about 2 hours later Mitch arrived! Everyone was super tired, so Friday came quick!

On friday we headed to the beach. It was a ton of fun body boarding in the waves, nothing like that in Minnesota! I doubt a lot of the athletes were getting tossed by the water the day before the race, but I couldn't resist. I got a quick ride in to make sure the bike was all functional. I have to say, when I went to drop it off at transition, it was a pretty cool feeling seeing all the bike companies taking pictures and notes of bikes. Then having a volunteer walk you through transition making sure you are comfortable was very nice. Later that night Maddie arrived from North Dakota and I could finally sleep knowing the whole crew was there!

To do this race the justice it deserves in a typed race report is impossible. An incredible experience I will never forget and will work my butt off to return soon.
Race morning was awfully quiet, I think given the circumstances and the task at hand had me more focused than ever. I got dropped off at the transition so I could go put my bike nutrition in place and go get body marked. Little did I know this would be the last time I saw my family until 11 hours later. I looked for a while to see if I saw them but when I realized I was not going to, I decided to look for Jacob instead. (Jacob is a friend I met here in MN and we are close-ish in age and I am sure glad I met him before this thing. We swam on Wednesday when I arrived and it helped get me settled.) Anyways, I ended up finding him and we entered the water together and watched the pro cannons, we chilled out at the start line and waited for it. Then boom, insanity immediately ensued, never experienced that many people trying to be in the same place at one time before. It was awesome. It was craziness until I got to the boats then the field spread out. This is when I felt like I made up for some time I lost coming out. Exiting the water with a swim PR was wicked!

The ride is all its cracked up to be. Hot, windy, Hot, few hills, lots of sun, oh and Hot. It took a little to get my bike legs underneath me, and once I crested Palani, I had a rhythm going. Not a whole lot happened on the ride, crazy to say but I probably was looking at the ocean and enjoying it a little too much. But I thought I would soak it all in while I could. I think at about mile 45 Jacob came past me and exchanged words of encouragement. We started up the ascent to Hawi and I could not believe I was actually riding up this place I thought was a myth. I can assure you though, it is a real place! The descent from Hawi was crazy fast and I definitely enjoyed going 30mph+ for a good 20 minutes. Then came the long arduous task of making it back to T2 without losing it. I handled the wind pretty well and thought I rode a solid 112 miles. I came to about 90 miles and Jacob was crawling and told me he had cramps. I encouraged him along and knew I would see him later on.
Coming back into town was awesome because of all the people lining the streets and just knowing who was out on course racing with you. I will gladly say I took an extra minute or two in T2 to compose myself for what was about to come. And headed out that tent into the Sun.

Feeling the pain and wanting to throw it all away.

 Running on Ali'i drive is something of legend. Doing it during the race is legendary, so I can add that. It only felt like the inside of a Sauna on Ali'i, running the out and back with thousands of people cheering really keeps you going. Jacob, like I figured, caught me a couple miles in and we decided to run together as long as we could. That lasted about 10 miles before his cramps were so bad I had to tie his shoe for him. The day was just beginning. I came to where mitch and my family was and needed some major help. It was the hardest thing I had ever done and I still had 16 miles to go. Eventually I made it up Palani and with a new spirit decided to go. I ended up running to every aid station from that point on and taking my sweet time at them. The energy Lab was only like running on the surface of the sun, so yeah, it was warm. Coming back on the Queen K with sponges everywhere and the finish only miles away, I got a high five from Craig Alexander and thats all I needed to get me to the finish. I ran with my soaked feet as hard as I could the last two miles and oh was it a Magic feeling running down Ali'i drive that final time. I can not even put into words the feeling that hit me when Mike called my name and it was all over. To see the lights, and cameras and all the people was too much. Indescribable. I shed a tear crossing the line and was caught by teammate Jerry Bartolome, who is a saint. My IT band held up and did not bother me the entire time.

Commence tears....now.

The race was done and it has taken a while to sink in. I got to see what a true championship race is and it did not disappoint me. It was the hardest thing I have ever done and I can not wait to do it again.

 Thank you to My sister for always being there for me as well as my parents for supporting me in this crazy sport. Mitch, you are one hell of a friend and I am so glad you got to experience this with me. To Blake and Kia, I know it was a vacation for you but it made a world of difference to see you guys and enjoy the island with you. Jacob, we did it bro!

And to Heather, Wattie, Flanny and all of my Wattie Ink Teammates, I have never felt so much love in my life from a group of people. It is amazing what we can accomplish with a little positivity and good vibes. Heres' to you and to everything we will do in the future.

70.3 World Championship/Summer Racing Story!

Reach for the Banner!

Fourteen Months ago, my body had no idea what it was in for over the coming months. The reason that time frame was so important: that is when I qualified for Chattanooga, In July of 2016. Long time to get ready, right?!

Two Ironmans and two 70.3 races later, I somehow made it alive to the weekend I had lost focus on so many times. I think when a race is so far off, it can be hard to stay focused on that one goal. It was probably a good thing I had races to keep my motivation high and the work, well, hard.

I'll start off with a few short snippets of a few of my summer races, that did not really meet my expectations.

Branden, Starky and I

That hurt so bad!

Racine 70.3 - I got to race with one of best friends in his first sorta half distance race. Since the swim was cancelled, for the second year in a row, it was basically a time trial. I managed a solid AG placing and Branden is off to Worlds in South Africa next year, awesome man. This run was incredibly painful as I had just started down the road of IT Band issues.

Nothin better than swimming in the lake!

Hoot Lake Sprint - Love this race because its at my cabin. And during vacation. Win-Win. Hard to say this was enjoyable because of my Knee pain, but my Mom, Sis and Branden were all there racing. That made it worth it. They all placed in their AG and that was so cool to see.

Young Life Olympic - Given the status of my knee still at this point, I knew coming into this race I was not going to do the whole thing. I considered it a strong Swim-Bike training day and was pleased with how that went. I was in 2nd place overall through the swim and bike, then I proceeded to run 1 mile out of T2 and turn around and call it. Such a hard thing to do, but there is a bigger picture this year. Props Branden, I think we know your distance.

My name. Exciting I know.

The 70.3 World Championship was going to be an experience. I had never flown with my bike before, never used Uber, and never raced a championship event. The trip down went pretty smoothly and my bike arrived, I got it built and went to the Athlete Briefing on Thursday night. This is where I truly got a grasp on how big of a deal this race was. There were thousands of people at the briefing

and Mr Paul Kaye was on stage. This was legit. Friday I rode most of the climb up Lookout Mountain just so I knew what I was in for. It was long and steep. Sweet. I still am dealing with my IT band, as it just does not go away! I also swam in the river on friday morning and the water was warm! I could not wait to get in.

Saturday I watched the womens race and saw the pro finish. Also watched my awesome teammates crush. Saw a couple others and cheered them on across the wooden bridge, Paige and Rachael were rocking. It was super cool to be able to watch everyone the day before I had to tackle the same course. I took my bike for one last check over and took my bags and bike to transition. Since my AG was second to last in the water, we were right next to the bike out/in. 

Race day got up at 5 a.m because my hotel was only a mile away and I did not start until 9 anyways! Got down to transition and watched the male pros take off and come out of the water, KA-NEW-TAY was flying. So glad I got to meet him after the race! 

Into the sun, rad.

I started at 9:15 and dove off the start dock and began the upstream swim. It was noticeable that the current was effecting every part of the swim. I exited the water slower than I would have liked, but I think everyone felt that way today! T1 was up a seriously steep bridge and my bike was all the way at the exit, so I had some work to do.

I am visible.

Rolling through town for about 5 miles was just to prepare you for the major climbing we had in front of us. I hit the bottom of lookout mountain and just sat in and started spinning, did my best to keep a steady rhythm and not get too over worked. I was not able to shift into the easiest gear in the back because on my ride up on friday I kept dropping my chain off the front chainring when I was in the easy gears. So I had to climb in the second easiest gear, which was noticeably more strenuous and my cadence was not super high. At least I was not on an 11-23 in the back! I crested the main climb and began the rolling section on Lookout. This was already quite the effort, and we still had 1k or so until we descended down. At the aid stations I grabbed gatorade and a bottle of water, there is something amazing about ice cold gatorade on the bike, I don't know why this makes me happy, ha but it does! 

The descent was radical, weaving in and out of cars whilst going 45 mph is crazy. All I could do was hope I did not get schlapped and end up a pancake. Well, I survived and was happy to be on a more steady pace when I hit the bottom. The last part of the ride was extremely familiar as it was the same roads we used in May when I raced the 70.3 here. Still swerving through cars coming back into town, which I don't understand with a CHAMPIONSHIP event, whatevs. Legs felt pretty toasted as I came back into transition, but alas, there was work to be done!

Here I go again on my own.

This dude was unreal.

Now was the time to see how my knee was going to hold up. I had done my best to tape it up and use "good form". I knew this was not going to be the fastest race of my life to begin with and I could not be upset on this day no matter what. Mom and dad were right there as I started the run and gave me the encouragement to do my best and run my own race. Most of this run course was similar to the race in May, so I knew what to expect for hills and what not. The first mile of mostly uphill wasn't too bad and the next mile out on the highway and then onto the riverwalk was solid, but then my IT band said nuh-uh. We stopping now. I was carrying a wrap that if this happened, I would tighten it around my leg and see how that helped. My pace slowed after I put it on, but I did not stop. It is very frustrating when you know the fitness is there, but you can not tap into it, no matter how much you want to. This pain was just too overpowering for that. The first lap went by and we went up hills then down them, over and over. Going across that wooden pedestrian bridge and seeing the parents gave me a boost for the next lap. I wish I could say I saw a lot of people that I knew on the sides, but I felt like I saw more of them the day prior than today. Lap two was more of the same, do my best not to break something and just keep chugging along no matter how many people ran by. I was moving the strap up and down every mile or so to try and find the right spot, and just as I passed mile 12 I found it. It was like I could run for real. So that is what I did the last mile. I made it look like I was actually racing coming in, even though the previous miles were not optimal. 

Finish chute and crossing that line was relieving and exciting. I wish I could have performed to my standards but I felt as though I had more to give and I just could not do it. It sucks dealing with something like this, especially at such a critical time in the season. Mom and Dad, thank you for being there on the course and at the finish line, since you know what I am going through and how much it effects my motivation and moral. 

These last races have been hard, physically and emotionally. Once you race at your best, it is not the same racing sub-par. I still love this sport so much and know that I will recover and come back stronger than ever! Having one month to go until KONA really puts the pressure on to get this IT issue worked out and have enough strength to not only get through 26.2 miles but race my best possible Ironman. 

Hawaii, I am coming for you! I am scared? Yes. Am I ready? Totally. Is it going to be one heck of an experience? UH You betcha. See you in 30 days.

Thank you Heather, Wattie and Flanny for the sweet kit and for all you have done for our team this year.All of my team mates know how awesome it is to be part of this squad. Mom and Dad, I super appreciate you coming down to watch me race and be behind me no matter what. Mads, I know you were watching in ND too, you rock !

Good looking crew.

Ironman Boulder 2017 - Race Story!

All I can say is: WHAT. A. SPORT.

Driving from Minnesota to Boulder, Co with my sister this weekend to race 140.6 miles, was a trip I will never forget. It would be the chance to see if the months of preparation and training would pay off. 1,000 miles of driving later we arrive at our home stay for the weekend, which was fantastic. Thank you Brad and Kayde for allowing us to stay in your home for the weekend, so grateful for your hospitality. We stayed about 20 miles from the race venue, which is a solid distance to cover, especially when it takes an hour to travel that far here! Being here 10 months ago, I sort of remembered how to get around... Sort of.

PRE RACE:

WTF are u guys doing here

every squirrel has their tree.

The days leading up to the biggest race of my life were perfect. 90 degrees and sunny, just how I like it. Friday I picked up my packet and the oh so coveted race bag (see above). Solid bag this year. We sat and listened to the athlete briefing, watched the pro panel, and walked around the Pearl Street Mall. Called it a day after that and ate Qdoba, (monster burrito), and finally made it to the house. It was so nice to be able to relax and have what feels like family now, making you as comfortable as possible. Saturday I got a short ride and run in, which is more difficult to do around Denver than I thought, and headed to the Boulder Res to say goodbye to my steed and drop the gear bag. We hung out a bit by the water and my god it was windy. Really hoped it calmed down. Next stop was to the high school, dropped the run bag and perused Pearl Street again. It was HOT, perfect. Chilled by the ripping boulder creek and enjoyed the sun and the farmers market. Decided to head back and I ate at Noodles. Made a stop at Lifetime and my sister and I got a quick swim in, we were amazed by the size of the place! Got back to the house and relaxed to get ready for the morning!


RACE DAY:
Just like that, it is 3 am and you are ready to go. If only it was that easy. I think I ate a picky bar and a banana? Maddie and I drove to the car to the high school, we parked on the same street every time, how lucky. Got on the buses and were shuttled to the res. Got to my bike and put my concoction of Herbalife Prolong/Drive and Powerade in a cage and put some clif bloks in the box. (that rhymed) And now the hurrying was done now it was the waiting part. Standing and watching everyone, knowing exactly what they are thinking, probs freaking out about something. Along comes Jerry Bartolome, first time meeting him and his contagious attitude. Oh about an Hour later, I was finally able to head to the swim start. Saying siyanara to mads and getting the good luck from her is all I needed to get into that water.

Calm before the storm

SWIM:

mads made me smile every time i saw her

Cannon goes off and we start rolling into the water, I can't wait for a mass start swim. The water was perfect for a wetsuit and I never felt uncomfortable. Having the times split up a few seconds was smart I think. They sent the sub 60 min swimmers first then my group, the 1-1:15 peeps. I new I would be at the front of this group, but not yet to under an hour. I'll get there! Walked into the water, I didn't roll, and just like that the day had begun.  I had only swam in ope water once this year before an that was in Chattanooga. Did not seem to make to huge a difference. Rounding the first turn buoy seemed like forever, haha buddy, you've got a long ways to go. Maybe that was just the warm up, because I felt pretty good he rest of the way. No weeds out at the far end of the swim this year, so I did not have a wrestling match in the water, at least not with plants. Could not really find any feet this time around and swam solo the whole swim. Came around the second turn and picked it up a tad; I headed straight for the exit and managed a respectable 1:03:09
Good enough to be first out of the water for the 18-24ers this year.

Bike:

food goes in mouth right

Time for the real work to begin. T1 I took my time and made sure I had everything, slapped my shoes on my feet and awkwardly ran to the mount line with two mini clif bars in my teeth. The plan was to get progressively quicker over the three lap course. Two solid climbs that if you had not done them before would get you seriously frustrated. Damn you false flats. On the first lap, my legs felt like tight rubber bands or something like that. This was usually how my rides went, I always felt bad for the first hour or so, then loosened up. Such was the case today, the first lap was hard and then the following got easier. It was cool to come past all the spectators at the res three different times, getting a good boost each time I heard mads cheering.
On to lap two where things were quite a bit different that lap one. I'd say it was about 50 miles where the proverbial wheel fell off. I got a flat, rear. The biggest day for me and this gets thrown in. I had a replacement tube and co2 and I believe, this was the fastest I have every changed a flat in my life. I lost about 5 minutes total here which over the iron distance is less of an issue in my AG. OK, whew now that's out of the way. But after something like that I always get super paranoid. And keep checking my rear tire to makes sure its still inflated. fast forward 13 or so miles and things slow down again. The tiniest piece of metal has punctured my dreams yet again. This time I have no replacement, only the feeling of my hard work, out the window. I literally wanted to cry. The only good part of this was I was at an aid station where one volunteer radioed the sag vehicle to come save my life. He was only like 4 minutes away. I watched as the athletes flew by me, standing still. I have never felt this bad in a race. I hope nobody ever has to go through this. When he showed up, I had removed that damn piece of metal and was bleeding from it everywhere. He was like an angel that has been sent from heaven it seemed. He tried to make light of the situation as he changed the tube, joking about my wheels, which I probably tried to joke back. Now I was not even paranoid anymore, I was on a mission, to make back the time I had lost. Feeling like my race had already slipped away, I had nothing to lose. I came through lap two and heard maddie yelling again and that's what I needed to let it freakin rip on lap three.

getting down to bidness after two flats

I did my best to make time up on this lap and focused on staying aero. I saw lots of peeps out there and hearing their support was so cool. Rachael, Ernie, Steve, Aaron thanks! I caught a few of the people who passed me while I was at my funeral. And made it certain I was on a mission. The last little part of the bike was through a path and down through the city, the path was impossible to hold speed on so I just ate some stuff. Then I got to the bike dismount, thank god. That was over; every triathletes nightmare. My time was 5:27:34 which translates to 20.5 mph. Because of those two flats, I lost 16 minutes. My garmin shows 5:11:00 which is an average of 21.9 mph. I lost 16 flipping minutes.

sickk kit wattie

RUN:
Got off the bike with  one thing on my mind, time to make that time up. The volunteer in the change tent helped get all my stuff out and ready. I used the bathroom, smart to do this before I got out running. I made it a plan to walk at least a little bit in every aid station, and I stuck to it. The first few miles went by fast, and I was keeping my pace consistent around 8:30. Through the whole marathon my pace did not deviate from the 8:30 - 9:30 mark. With a few outliers near the end. I never truly felt bad on the run until later on. The cheering was awesome, every time I saw someone I knew it gave me extra motivation. I saw maddie along the creek path right away. Then it was two out and back sections and back uphill towards the halfway turn. I knew this would hurt when I came back around the second time. Every time I passed a mile marker, made sure my legs were still attached. The first half went by smoothly and sucking down gatorade, redbull, water, sometimes cola at aid stations. I carried a salt tube with me and took a lick every mile before I reached the aid station. I kept it mostly liquid on the run other than a few clif bloks. Oh and some grapes around mile 23 or something, barely even remember that. Back for lap two and still managing a respectable pace I got to see team mate Matt Britton, hand slap and keep it up. He crushed it. By the time I got to the 19 mile mark it was all about beating the next mile, the next mile, one at a time. That would get me to the finish. Truly, seeing my sister cheering every time I ran by just as loud as she had the first time I saw her in the morning out on the bike, made all the difference. She said see you at the finish, and those words stuck with my the last 3 miles. Hearing all the go Wattie cheers was awesome too.

wattie love is real

Obviously the final miles are the hardest, but my hamstrings wanted nothing to do with running anymore and felt like now was the best time to make their thoughts known. I had to stop to stretch them out a few times, each time it was harder to get the struggle bus moving again.
This race though, it does something to you. I was not about to give up, fighting the legs every step. To finally run back down hill towards the finish was amazing. Thanks Kenny Withrow for pushing me down that last mile.

One last cramp in the hammys to make sure I did not forget, and I got across the finish. WOW. Gave everything I could. I squeaked in under 4 hours at 3:59:36




10:39:29





To say I went through all the emotions in one race is fair. It was all worth it in the end. I did not know my placing until about 3 hours later when my sister told me, she knows I don't like to know right away. How was that possible? With everything that happened and to win my AG? Never in a million years. I was so happy, pretty much speechless. All the hard work paid off and I could not believe it.

top 3

We are going to the place everyone dreams of. I know I do. KONA. The World Championship, I will be there along side the best in the sport. How unbelievable. I am so so so grateful.

To say the support everyone has given me is amazing, is not enough.

Maddie was there the whole race, cheering, motivating and getting me to the finish. I 100% hope to make you proud and we get to go to freakin Hawaii!!

she took all the pictures and she is the best sister in the world. love you mads!

Mom and Dad and family always give their support in loads, thank you so much for everything. I know you couldn't be at this race but mads made sure to make up for it. You are always proud of me and that makes me keep going.

Team Wattie Ink Has transformed me into a mismatched un-represented athlete to one that is lucky to wear the coolest stuff around and be supported by some amazing sponsors. Racing on course with a team is so cool.

Jerry, Matt and Becky. It was so cool to meet everyone and finally find out what this Jerry guy is all about, we are lucky to have his enthusiasm and love on the team. Matt, congratulations on making it back, can't wait to suffer out there with you.

Everyone who cheered out on course or from home, I heard every one of you. Thank you!

4 Months to become a stronger and faster athlete. ALOHA KONA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

watching the finish

breakfast burritos and
Jerry are the bomb

badlands

awesome crew

rock the W