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.