Wisconsin 70.3 Race Recap

4:15:25. 3rd Overall, 2nd age group.

This race report is a week late, but still got it done.

Had a very up and down day at IRONMAN Wisconsin 70.3 (and it wasn’t just the hills). I had a sub-par swim, a blow up (and brake rub) on the bike, but finished with a strong run—eventually running down 3rd place who had a 5+ minute lead starting the run. I finished 3rd overall between some stellar athletes, Tyler and Jacob.

After the race I thought for sure that sub-8 was cooked. My performance was lacking and I’d have to do twice the distance in 5 weeks time.

After some ice cream and a few beers, I came around and was actually more confident after this race than going into it.

Sub-8 is still alive and I’m ready to get back at it!

Race Week

I signed up for IRONMAN Wisconsin 70.3 late. The race sold out back in June before I could get in, but I was able to get in through a sponsor.

My biggest question was how do I fit in a 70.3 race into my IRONMAN California block. Should I treat it as a training day? Go all-in and race it normally?

I decided to cut down my taper to only 2-3 days. Usually I’ll take a full week, but I wanted to make sure I got some early volume and intensity in earlier in the week before I cut things down.

I traveled to Madison on Thursday, and was able to check in for the race. I did an OWS of the course on Friday with a good friend, Craig, who had a great race at the IRONMAN on Sunday.

I was messing with a few things on my bike, which led me to not be able to get my typical shakeout ride in the day before. I only had about 5 minutes before the bike check-in cutoff when I dropped my bike off.

My brain was just not as focused all week as it usually is for a race. I had a lot on my mind outside of racing, that’s life. But I’m usually able to dial things in closer to race day.

Race Morning

The morning of the race, I woke up around 3:30 and had breakfast. This consisted of two muffins, some electrolytes, and a shot of Nomio (who doesn’t love broccoli for breakfast?).

I packed up my stuff and headed down to the transition area which opened around 5:30.

Once I got to my bike, I set up my bottles, pumped up my tires, set up my towel with my run transition, and put my helmet buckle over the bike rack. I was the first bike on the rack so I placed my transition towel next to the rack, instead of below the rear tire (more to come on this).

As I mentioned before, I wasn’t super focused like I usually am before a race.

Nonetheless, I met up with Sarah and my dad and then walked down to the swim start. I got in a short jog and did some stretching. They had a swim acclimization area, so I did a few minutes quick to get some water in my wetsuit and feel comfortable before starting the race.

Usually when I do this, it limits the amount of swim anxiety I get during the race. Well, let’s just say that didn’t happen.

Swim

28:34

1:29 min/100yd | 2nd AG, 19th Overall

I lined up 2nd in line at the swim start. Feeling calm and ready to go. I had just swam the course the day before, with no swim anxiety at all.

The first guys went off. Then the 5 beeps and it was my turn. I ran into the water and dove head first.

I got into a rhythm and was catching a few of the athletes who started ahead of me.

Then came the anxiety. For me, swim anxiety feels like a chill that runs through your whole body and zaps your energy. Muscles get tight, thoughts start to race, and I feel like I don’t have control.

This happens in most races for me, so I was luckily able to continue and just keep moving forward. By 10 minutes in, the anxiety was gone and I was back to just focusing on the race.

However, usually after this wave of anxiety and adrenaline, I’m unable to push a strong pace or effort.

I didn’t bother checking my watch throughout the swim, but knew I was losing time to the front of the race.

Only a few athletes passed me during the swim, which was encouraging, but I was frustrated that I wasn’t able to keep up with athletes of my similar swim ability.

T1

2:58

I exited the water knowing that my swim time wasn’t great (was hoping to be high 26’s or low 27’s), but knew that the front of the field wasn’t too far away. Definitely manageable.

I ran to the wetsuit strippers (forgot to tip them), and then made my way up the helix. For those of you who’ve never raced in Madison, there is a “helix” which is a winding ramp up to a parking garage.

I passed a bunch of people and got to my bike. My transition towel and all my stuff had been moved, along with my helmet which was now laying on the ground.

The referees or race staff must have moved my stuff during the swim.

I raced through transition, did a flying mount onto my bike and rode down the opposite helix.

As I was leaving transition, someone shouted that I was 2:30 back. I didn’t know if this was the leaders or the person in front of me. I thought “2:30, that’s not bad.” But it was about to get worse

Bike

2:20:21

24.26 mph avg | 3rd AG, 5th Overall

I biked strong out of the transition and slipped my feet into my shoes. I was passing a few people in front of me, holding strong power (300-320 watts). Legs were feeling good.

After winding through the first mile of the race, I noticed my helmet strap was flapping around in the wind. I immediately tried to buckle it, but the buckle was completely detached from the strap. “Fuck” I thought. “What do I do now?” I tried to tie a knot in the strap, but was unsuccessful. This was definitely sketchy while still trying to ride at the same time.

I pulled into a parking lot, which happened to be full of race officials and their motos. I yelled that my helmet strap was broken. A few officials came over to check it out. One official had a safety pin in her pocket and was able to safety pin the strap back together. Looking back this probably wasn’t the safest thing to do, but since it was the race officials, I figured it was okay.

This cost me a good minute standing still. Another minute the front of the race would be up the road from me.

A few athletes I had just passed a few moments earlier came by.

I got back to it, and was back into the race. I passed 2 athletes right away, but knew the guys up the road would now be 3:30+ ahead of me. “Still manageable,” I thought.

I rode strong for the next 30 minutes, hoping to catch glimpses of athletes cresting the hills ahead, or spotting a bike in the distance at a turn. No one.

I was getting frustrated that I wasn’t seeing anyone. By this time a few spectators told me I was the 4th bike to pass them. I knew Tyler Tanko and Jacob Captain were up the road, but was unsure who the other athlete was.

Must have been early in the bike where I still had hope

As I continued pushing, the gaps I was getting from the spectators weren’t decreasing. I had expected to close down time or at least catch 3rd place. No glimpses, just me and the road.

By mile 30, I was mentally exhausted and my legs were starting to give out. This normally doesn’t happen in a 70.3 race. I’m usually able to push the whole 2-2.5 hours and feel strong at the end.

I watched my average power drop every 5 miles. I have an auto-lap on to reset my average each 5 mile section.

It went from 311w, to 300w, then 290w, to 278w, and 275w. I was now riding lower power than my goal power for my IRONMAN (a full 112 miles) 5 weeks away. This was the final straw in the camels back. I was done mentally.

My power continued to drop as I rode home with my tail between my legs. I had conceded the race and kept looking back over my shoulder for athletes to come from behind and pass me.

No one came by. It was a lonely and frustrating day out on the bike.

As I rode on the final stretch, I was ashamed of my ride and didn’t want people giving me splits, knowing I had just cruised home in Zone 2 the last 30 minutes (230w avg for last 5 miles, my goal for the day was 310w).

T2

2:31

I racked my bike, put on my run shoes and went out trying to salvage the day. My thoughts were just to run at IRONMAN goal pace and make it a good training day for my race in 5 weeks.

I ran down the helix and started my watch. When I got to the bottom there were 3 ways I could go. There were no volunteers, little signage, and no direction. I picked the middle lane (wrong).

I ran towards the swim start but was informed to turn around and run back towards transition, I’ve missed the turn.

Frustrated, I yelled out there should be a volunteer there. Later, they ended up adding some signage and putting a volunteer at the turn (you’re welcome).

Run

1:21:05

6:12 min/mi avg | 1st AG, 3rd Overall;

As I ran past the first group of spectators, someone yelled out I was like 5:30 down from 3rd and I even dared to ask “how far back from Tyler?” I was told like 8+ minutes. This actually surprised me, I expected more after my ride.

I was hellbent on having some fun during the run, so I used the crowds excitement to pump myself (and them) up as I ran by.

Now out on the run course, I checked my watch and was close to my IRONMAN goal pace, but my HR was higher than I would have liked. It was a pretty humid day and my legs had just blown up on the bike, so I didn’t try to think much about it.

I just wanted to cruise this run and maintain my pace.

By the end of the first lap, I was getting splits on course saying that I was closing almost :30 per mile on 3rd place. If I kept running at this pace, I would be able to make the pass.

This was all the motivation I needed. It became a game.

I did my best to keep my body cool at each aid station, dumping water over my head and ice down my back.

Halfway through lap 2, I could start to see the back of 3rd place. I started counting the gap when he passed a certain landmark. At first it was :45 seconds, then :38, then :15. Finally, by mile 11.5, I was right behind him. I passed him and upped the pace a bit. By this point, my paces had come down into the 5:45 min/mile range.

I could hear him breathing hard as he jumped in behind me to keep pace. After about :30 seconds, the breathing stopped and I couldn’t hear his footsteps.

I kept pushing hard the last 1.5 miles, before rounding the corner to the finish line.

The Finish

4:15:25

2nd AG, 3rd Overall

The finish line in Madison is always iconic, with the capitol in the background.

I did some high fives, stopped to kiss Sarah, knocked my knee in the metal speaker pole, and walked towards the finish line.

I was super disappointed with how the day unfolded, but proud of the way I had finished and ran down 3rd place.

All in all, it was a really good training day, mentally and physically. I learned to not give up in the race. Even though I backed off on the bike, my bike split was still only about 4 minutes slower than the fastest on the day.

I wish I would have stuck with it and pushed through.

When I made it back to my transition rack, I found some encouraging evidence that maybe it wasn’t just a lack of fitness. My rear wheel had a bad rub. I spun the wheel and it just stopped. The rear rotor was rubbing, and so was a wire from my front derailleur.

Two completely avoidable mistakes. Two things I should have checked before the race. But it also helped explain why my power was strong early, yet I wasn’t putting time into anyone.

Another lesson learned after what might be my 30th or 40th 70.3 race.

Post-Race

I felt much better after the race was over. I guess having some sort of “excuse” for my performance on the bike (or lack there of), gave me some confidence that I can still execute in California in 5 weeks.

My run was pretty solid, with the wrong turn included, I still only finished less than a minute back of Tyler’s run time.

I was thankful to have Sarah and my dad out cheering for me during the race and was all smiles with them after.

I already had my Chattanooga 2027 Worlds slot locked up, so I was able to get my 2nd place Age Group award (after being the brunt of a few jokes from race announcer Tom Ziebart for my “slow performance” and “old age’). It was all in good fun

What’s Next

As I write this (1 week post-race), I’m four weeks out from IRONMAN California and feeling pretty good about my fitness. My biggest question right now is my run durability and fitness.

Can it hold up for 26 miles after a hard 112 bike ride?

That’s the fun part. I still don’t know if sub-8 is possible, but I’m excited to find out with the rest of you!

I’ll have a recap of this past week up training up later this week!

Thanks for following along.