Overall Ironman Wisconsin was a great experience. I decided to do this race last year after getting involved with the USAFA Triathlon team. Each year the Academy sends a dozen or so cadets to race in IMMoo. How could I turn down the opportunity to represent the AF. I volunteered to haul the bikes up from Colorado so my adventure began five days prior to the race. The venue is well coordinated dispite the logistical challenge of the convention center and the parking garage. Our transition times were quite lengthy, but in the end everyone's faced with the same challenge. After deciding to start conservatively, the swim was pretty much uneventful. I actually decided to ease up at times throughout the swim, thinking my time was going to be slightly slower. After hitting the shore in 1:01 I gained some confidence heading up the helix. Ten minutes into the bike I had my first issue of the day; defective aerobars. I'm not too impressed with the Vuka extensions and elbow pads. The extensions came loose and floated around the entire ride. Nothing more frustrating then trying to shift and the shifter is upside down. The biggest mistake I made all day was the first half of the bike. After feeling pretty good in the swim, I bit off more than I could chew with the first loop. Cruising along at about a 4:45 pace I hit a wall between 50-70. After posting a 5:04, I was ready to get off the bike and start running. I began the marathon with Daniel (in photo) and ran the entire run with him. Daniel is a Swiss Army ER Doctor, who left for Iraq several days after the race for Humanitarian work. Daniel made this Ironman the most memoriable one I've had out of the nine I've done. I truly enjoyed our time together, especially miles 7-11 where I bonked pretty hard. After whoofing down several hundred calories I began to perk up although my left knee began to give out. Typically this type of discomfort would have affected my gait and slowed my pace; however, the SpiderTech Spider I was wearing gave me just enough support where I was able to maintain the same pace. My confidence grew throughout the remainder of the marathon. I was able to finish strong with a sub-7 minute pace for the last four miles. I finished in 24th place (9th amateur out of 2550) with a time of 9:37 (1:01 / 5:04 / 3:23). Now it's time to relax for several days before getting back on the horse. Kona...T-minus 24 days and counting...
Saturday, October 2, 2010
IMMoo 2010
Overall Ironman Wisconsin was a great experience. I decided to do this race last year after getting involved with the USAFA Triathlon team. Each year the Academy sends a dozen or so cadets to race in IMMoo. How could I turn down the opportunity to represent the AF. I volunteered to haul the bikes up from Colorado so my adventure began five days prior to the race. The venue is well coordinated dispite the logistical challenge of the convention center and the parking garage. Our transition times were quite lengthy, but in the end everyone's faced with the same challenge. After deciding to start conservatively, the swim was pretty much uneventful. I actually decided to ease up at times throughout the swim, thinking my time was going to be slightly slower. After hitting the shore in 1:01 I gained some confidence heading up the helix. Ten minutes into the bike I had my first issue of the day; defective aerobars. I'm not too impressed with the Vuka extensions and elbow pads. The extensions came loose and floated around the entire ride. Nothing more frustrating then trying to shift and the shifter is upside down. The biggest mistake I made all day was the first half of the bike. After feeling pretty good in the swim, I bit off more than I could chew with the first loop. Cruising along at about a 4:45 pace I hit a wall between 50-70. After posting a 5:04, I was ready to get off the bike and start running. I began the marathon with Daniel (in photo) and ran the entire run with him. Daniel is a Swiss Army ER Doctor, who left for Iraq several days after the race for Humanitarian work. Daniel made this Ironman the most memoriable one I've had out of the nine I've done. I truly enjoyed our time together, especially miles 7-11 where I bonked pretty hard. After whoofing down several hundred calories I began to perk up although my left knee began to give out. Typically this type of discomfort would have affected my gait and slowed my pace; however, the SpiderTech Spider I was wearing gave me just enough support where I was able to maintain the same pace. My confidence grew throughout the remainder of the marathon. I was able to finish strong with a sub-7 minute pace for the last four miles. I finished in 24th place (9th amateur out of 2550) with a time of 9:37 (1:01 / 5:04 / 3:23). Now it's time to relax for several days before getting back on the horse. Kona...T-minus 24 days and counting...
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Awesome post Scott, and awesome race! Can't wait to 'watch' you at Kona - it's going to be sweet! Have a great time with your family!
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