As a first time Ironman participant, I searched for any tip I could find to make it a better experience. In the spirit of passing it forward, I thought I’d point out a few little things I wish I would have known before, during, and after Ironman Wisconsin 2013.
1. I didn’t study the swim course. This will gnaw at me for a long long time, so don’t make the same mistake.
The water was very choppy and sighting was difficult. In retrospect I should have floated out to the ski jump (maybe even walked up it for a better view) the day before (after they laid the course) and really concentrated on finding a sighting landmark. The minutes before the race are filled with jostling and talking out nerves. I sort of guessed at sighting the bridge, but it didn’t work out that great. I started 50 meters to the right of the buoys and that’s where I ended up at the turn.
The second thing I should have done on Saturday was take a short bike ride along that path and peered down the long back stretch of the swim course to find THAT sighting point. When I turned the corner in the water, I felt naked. Sighting the buoys seems obvious, but it didn’t work out for me.
2. I started in the middle of the swim pack, and too slowly. The middle adjacent to the ski jump, in and of itself, is not a bad place to start. The guy next to me said it was only 9 more meters from that point to the first turn when compared to starting on the inside buoy line. My problem was I started too slow and got mauled.
The minute I chose to start in the front, I should have realized that treading water for 20 minutes was a decent warm up and gone out fast for a few hundred meters to get some space from the crowd.
3. I didn’t pay attention to the wind. We had the wind at our backs for the first 20 miles of the bike and I probably could have used it a little more. I just didn’t think about it, and when I came in on that same 20 miles I wasn’t mentally prepared for it being in my face. I hear this is a common wind pattern at Wisconsin.
4. I didn’t use my big ring. I had been consistently throwing my chain (many have called this user error) in the weeks leading up to the race, and it happened the first time I tried to go into my big ring. I got paranoid and opted to conserve by spinning up and recovering down. It didn’t turn out to be a “terrible” decision because I was shooting for 5:50 and did a 6:03, but I could have gotten a little better momentum on some of the MANY downhills.
5. I didn’t wear a Garmin on the run. I was all over the place in my head, and even though I had fairly consistent splits, I think I could have done better if I knew my pace along the way. Again, I don’t think it “really” screwed me, but my average pace was 10 minute miles and I think seeing that on my watch all day would have annoyed me enough to push it into the “nines” a little more often.
6. I didn’t study the run course and take advantage of the right sections. There were certain places loaded with fans and others with slight descent that could have jolted my speed if I knew exactly where they were.
7. I didn’t have warm enough clothes waiting at the end. Even though it was beautiful weather, it didn’t take me long to start shivering. A hooded sweatshirt would have sealed the deal. After an hour, I limped back to the hotel to warm up and, after sitting for a while, couldn’t find the energy to go back to the finish line.
8. I forgot to unpack my T2 bag after the race. This is kinda nasty, but I had never dealt with transition bags and never thought to air it out. It was the first time I relieved myself on the bike and I did it multiple times, which left a stench that is not fully correctable.
9. I didn’t go back to the lake. I thought about that swim every day of the year and after I “conquered” it, I really wish I would have went back and soaked it in one more time. I love the water and Lake Monona is gorgeous.
10. I didn’t stay in town a couple more days. Even though I spent a lot of time in Madison as a kid, I forgot how awesome that place is. Everyone that came up with me loved it as well and I really wish we would have taken a couple days on the backside to decompress and experience more of the downtown.
** And I didn’t bring back enough cheese or beer.
I think a road trip is in order! I’ll drive.
dude… i’m in and you would LOVE IT
Hey! Great list… just to share, I was dropping my chain constantly and reacted the same way, “just don’t switch gears. ever.” I since did some research and had a chain catcher put on and it blew my mind how well it worked! Had to order it- K Edge, worth the purchase.
I really like your suggestions for the swim. When I did this race last, it was a two loop course and much shorter. so the sighting will be different for me next year. I’ll take these tips into consideration 🙂