Ironman Wisconsin Race Report

Finally, the payday for all of my training, recovery days, support from friends and family, early bed times and early mornings. Treading water, 6:57 a.m., at the head of 2,600 ironmen-to-be. What is usually a beautiful sight with the rising sun, calm water and blue skies, is now gray, windy, cloudy, and most notably: 2-3' chop in the lake. Nervous energy of those around me. Millions of hours of training culminating into 140.6 miles over the next 17 hours. No holding back now, with countless hours ahead of me but zero time to think about how hard this will be. BOOM! The cannon sends what little calm water is left into a fury of arm stokes, kicks, and otherwise flailing appendages.

We headed to Madison on Wednesday night to get situated. One of the things I love most about Ironman Wisconsin is the town. Pretty easy to get around, great restaurants, athletic-minded, and great beer. Rode the course on Thursday with my folks. Of course, I would flat my tires trying to pump them up pre-ride.Turns out my valve extenders were failing. Very glad that happened on Thursday so it wasn't race morning. Bought replacement tubes with long valve-stems to fit my Reynolds race wheels. Next up, my front brake would go out. So another trip to a bike shop and a replaced brake cable. Again, glad it was pre-race. I can only imagine hurtling down Timber Lane at 45mph with no brakes. With bike problems remediated, rested up, relaxed, ready to race. Or so I thought.

I thought it would be a good idea to get a pre-race swim in the lake just to loosen up. Turns out it was choppy that day as well, and I would stress a muscle in my shoulder. Quite painful, so much that I couldn't raise my left arm over my head. Thankfully I have some amazing friends who have a Chiropractic office in Grandville who came to cheer me on. Dr. Ronda from Dynamic Family Chiropractic is certified in ART and worked some magic. After a couple sessions, much better. Can't say thank you enough to her and JR for coming and willing to do some extra work to enable my big day. Deserving of more than this plug, but if you're in the GR area, you should check them out.