IRONMAN WI 70.3 Race Report: Amanda Allen
Date: 11 JUN 2017 BIB: 281
Results URL: http://www.ironman.com/triathlon/coverage/athlete-tracker.aspx?y=2017&rd=20170611&race=wisconsin70.3&bidid=281&detail=1#axzz4kDPyxv3j
Gear:
Wetsuit – Zoot ZForce
Goggles – TYR Special Ops 2.0 Tinted lens
Bike – 2016 Cervelo P3 with Di2, Powertap P1 pedals
Shoes – Asics Gel Kayano with Lock Laces
Race Type: A
Race Goals: Finish a challenging, hilly course near my hometown in Wisconsin in under 7 hours
Weather: 92 degrees with humidity
Course Description:
Swim: The one-loop rolling start swim takes place in Lake Monona, the same lake used by IRONMAN Wisconsin. Swimmers will start on Olin Park Beach and finish at the concrete boat ramp navigating the counter-clockwise course marked with buoys every 100 yards. Spectating will be easy using the natural banks along the shore and swim exit.
Bike: Riders leave Madison to the south using the Capital City Bike Path and travel scenic country roads through the Village of Oregon and west over the challenging Observatory Hill. Returning through the Town of Paoli and through Alliant Energy Center, riders finish using the bike trail under John Nolen Dr. to Olin Park.
Run: A counter-clockwise loop of the iconic Lake Monona Loop. Passing through Monona on the way back to Madison, the run course is scenic and challenging. Spectators will be plentiful in the many parks and great neighborhoods along the course.
Pre-Race Events/Schedule:
I arrived to the race site on Friday for a Sunday race. I was able to get checked into my hotel then headed to the expo. I got checked in then headed to the Smile Train tent to recruit for 2 hours prior to dinner reservations in town. I went to dinner for a traditional Italian meal with chicken and pasta (Chicken Piccata). I had Tiramisu for dessert.
On Saturday, I had breakfast with the Smile Train crew. I went back to the hotel to get my stuff laid out and put stickers on bike and helmet. I headed to the race site for bike/run brick and bike drop off. I had a front flat while using a borrowed bike pump prior to my workout. I changed my tube and was glad at this point that I bought that spare tube at the bike shop in Kenosha. I made a mental note to bring that spare tube race morning. I was able to get in my bike and run without any issues. My support crew showed up right at the end of my run so I met them at the expo after I dropped my bike. I went to the athlete briefing and then headed back down to transition to meet Coach Dave, who was helping athletes in transition. We headed back to the hotel to change. I stopped at the grocery store for morning nutrition then headed to Perkins for some pancakes. I ate strawberry pancakes and drank lots of water. I headed back to the hotel to pack up gear for race morning and put on tri tats. I was in bed at around 9:30pm.
Race Plan:
Swim: I was swimming faster recently so I was hoping for around 44 minutes. Rolling start so I wanted to seed myself appropriately.
Bike: The bike course looked hilly from the elevation map so I knew I would be putting in some hard work here to save my legs enough for the run. Goal time was 3:40:00.
Run: The run course looked relatively flat with some gradual hills. Goal time was 2:30:00 as I knew I would struggle with hills on the bike.
Nutrition: I drank a Gatorade protein shake in the morning as well as a Naked juice. I sipped on Gatorade all morning. I had a GU gel when leaving the hotel and then again at the race site about 1 hour later. I planned to take in Gatorade Endurance on the bike and run with a little water added for hydration.
Race Day Execution:
Warm-Up: The swim warm up was cancelled as the EMS crew could not get to the race site in time. Stretched out arms and got them moving prior to putting the wetsuit all the way on.
Swim: Time: 43:54; Goal 44:00. The swim was a rolling start and I seeded myself appropriately for my expected finish time. The water was very shallow where we entered and had to walk about 100 ft prior to the lake being deep enough to start swimming. Most people were walking out as far as they could before swimming but Coach Dave warned me about doing that much walking in sand due to a nagging hip flexor injury. I started swimming before anyone else around me and the water felt nice. I was nervous and excited for the day so my breathing was quick initially. I calmed down easily and told myself to keep swimming and spotting. The way out to the first turn bouy was pretty easy. I made the turn and immediately noted that the water was more choppy due to the boats. I was swimming relatively straight about half way to the next turn buoy when someone swam across me and knocked off my goggles. I had to stop to readjust twice before they were back on my face without leaking. I was able to get refocused and made it to the second turn buoy. The area back in was a little more crowded. I tried to swim straight and avoid hitting other people (or getting hit). I felt someone scratch my left foot as was getting closer to the swim exit. The pain was sharp so I knew they got me pretty good. I got to the swim exit and went to hit the lap button, realized my watch didn’t record anything. Bummer.
T1: Time: 5:04. I pulled my goggles up and took off my watch. I got half way out of the wetsuit and stopped by the wetsuit stripper volunteers for the rest. Wetsuit in hand and watch back on my wrist, I jogged to my bike (also restarted my watch).
Bike: Time: 3:32:31, Goal 3:40:00. There was a huge dip to run down then up to exit transition with your bike. Bike mount line was just after this area. I mounted my bike and was off to tackle “rolling hills”. I was surprised that the hills were not rolling and mostly just seemed like an uphill course. There were some people talking on the bike especially as we battled tough hills towards the end of the course. At one point around mile 35, I decided that I wanted to be done. There were people walking bikes up the hills and cramping on the side of the road. One lady threw her Hot Shot to a guy cramping in a ditch on the side of the road as we trekked up yet another hill. The down hills weren’t all fun as some were into sharp 90 degree turns mid-downhill. Garmin says my max speed was 43.5 MPH which was likely the downhill that I “woo-hoo’d” all the way down. I pedaled on the downhill as much as possible mostly for recovery for my legs. My right quad cramped on two occasions but it was not bad at all. I kept going and felt motivated each time I saw my support crew, who scrambled to see me at bike mount, twice on course, and at bike dismount. After 2600ft of elevation gain over 56 miles, I smiled at bike dismount because I just wanted to be off that course!
T2: Time: 2:57. I went back down that huge dip into transition to rack my bike. I took off my helmet and replaced with a visor and sunglasses. I slipped on my running shoes, grabbed my run belt, and was off.
Run: Time: 3:03:34, Goal 2:30:00. I felt good for the first mile then started noticing the heat. I had been using water to cool myself during the bike that I didn’t notice how hot it had gotten. I was running through sprinklers that people had out and my feet were soaked by mile 2. This is also when I noticed the pain in my left foot from the swim scratch and a blister under my big toe start to form. I kept running from aid station to aid station but by mile 6 my left foot was in pain. The blister felt like it was under my first and second toes so I could not push off with that foot unless I rolled out to use the outside of my foot. The outside of my foot quickly became sore, then painful. I walked some uphills and ran downhills. I jogged between aid stations and walked the aid stations to get ice, water, and Gatorade. Ice went down the front of my top and water went over my head. After drinking the Gatorade, I would fish out ice to keep in my hands to stay cool. I saw Kristina from Smile Train about one mile out from the finish for some motivation to run a little faster. The finish line was at the top of another hill: go figure. I saw my family and friends waiting as I entered the finisher chute. Again, more smiles because I knew I made it to the end.
Overall thoughts:
This race was my most challenging race to date. I had some trauma in the water that I had never experienced but thought I handled very well to get refocused. I did well on a very hilly and technical bike course with over 2600ft of elevation gain. I thought about quitting or crying multiple times; I had a lot of self-talk to get me through as well as motivation when seeing my support crew out on the bike course. My legs felt good coming off the bike, but quickly went south as my cut foot and blister caused my run form to suffer. I’ve learned a few lessons from this race that I will take forward. One is that I should change my socks on a hot, humid day where I dumped water on myself for 56 miles on the bike even if I don’t think they feel that wet. Second, I need to ride more hills (or stick with the flat courses). Third and probably the biggest take away is that my mental game is strong and I’m capable of handling a challenging course. Finally, I’m not ready to take on IRONMAN Wisconsin…yet!