IM Wisc Race Report 9/9/12

Thursday

My wife and I left Altoona and headed for Madison on a sunny beautiful day after dropping off our daughter at school.  Thursday I wanted to get through the athlete check in cause it always goes so much faster on Thursday vs Friday when greater then 50% of the athletes arrive.

From a logistical stand point I can't stress this enough if you can arrive at these events on Thursday vs Friday it will be so much smoother for you and less standing in line.

We arrived in Madison and got checked in to our hotel.  Note for logistic purposes there is no better place to stay then the host hotel which is the Hilton Monona Madison.  Nothing like waking up and being in transition.  After getting checked in and asking for and receiving a few perks from the front desk we unpacked.  If you are planning on staying at the Hilton please be sure and become a Hilton's Honor member.  Why?  Well there are often little perks like a free continental breakfast and more.  We then headed over to the Monona Terrace for athlete check in -- 14 minutes is what it took.  There was no line and no hussle bussle.  Friday the wait we were told by an athlete was just around 2 hours. We then quickly went through the Ironman Store and giggled at all the money being spent in the shop.  Giggled because at my first race that was us getting the T-shirts, stickers, and afterwards the finishers jacket.  A money trap.  Let me tell you if you are in no hurry to get the t-shirts, jackets, etc wait.  It will be online for 50% off.  No joke.

We got the chance to meet up with several we had gotten to know on the Ironman Wisc face book page Eric Knight and I have been managing since 2010 and it is already in full effect for 2013.  No joke we have added at least 50 to the page since Monday.  We then had our Endurance Nation team dinner at Grey's Tied House in Verona.  We had maybe 1/3 of the team join us but it was a great evening.

Friday
0830-We had a group swim in Monona.  A few of us showed and it was great to have Mary provide Kayak support for us.  We swam ~ 1 mile.  The water was around 72 degrees and I could see the person in from of me.

1000-Attended the 4Keys talk put on by Coach Rich.  We drew quit the crowd.  My guess is 75-100.  Coach had an athlete tell him-you have taught me more in 20 minutes then my coach has taught me in 2 years.

12:00-several EN'ers met up for lunch and discussed the course.

8:00 p.m. - Met several EN'ers and FB friends at the Great Dane for a few brews and laughs.

Saturday

• Goal was to have a very large breakfast.  Mission accomplished.  I swallowed scrambled eggs times three helpings, 6 pieces of french toast, bacon, toast with pb/j, and a fruit parfait.
• Sipped Gatorade all day.  No water.
• Briefly walked around the biggest farmers market in North America
• Mandatory bike check in and bags
• Lunch was pizza from pizza hut that we had delivered(mandatory)
• Supper was 3 Ensure Plus
• In bed by 2100 hours.

Sunday  Race Day
Woke at 0230 and had two bare naked fruit smoothies and back to sleep
Then woke up for the day at 0430 and had 2 Ensure Plus, two salt tablets, and a liter of Gatorade

Weather:
48 was the low and 73 was to be the high
Wind 8-18 mph out of the northwest and switching to straight north by 0900
Sunny and not a cloud in the sky

Race Weight: 160 pounds (note this was 12 pounds heavy then St George) I felt stronger and healthy though.

Bike: Cervelo Carbon P3 (White Lightning)

Gearing: 50/34 compact crank and 28/11 cassette.  I rode the course two days in July with a 53/39 and 28/11 and new that I needed to put the compact crank on to have a good run.

Wheels: Front-Zipp 404 Firecrest
Rear: Disc Wheel cover over a DT Swiss RR 585 with a built in power tap pro elite

Tires: Conti Grand Prix 4000
Tubes: The cheapest I could find and I am serious

Raced strictly with power, did not worry about RPM, Speed, etc.  Goal was to race at .70 intensity, to keep my TSS (training stress score) less then 300, and my VI (Variable Index less then 1.06.  All accomplished and will share later.

Nutrition: Infinite 270 cals/hr, One bottle of Perform and hour, one Roctane GU and hour, and a Honey Stinger waffle and hour.  Total of ~ 700 cals/hr.  No water intake at all until the run.  No salt tabs at all throughout the day.

SWIM: Goal 1:15     Actual: 1:14:46
The swim had changed from two loops to one loop this year.  It was broken down as follows.  First straight away was ~ 1000, then 200, then 1800, 400, and 600.  I actually started out wide and aimed straight for the first turn buoy.  I am convinced there is no special place to line up now in the swim for it was a battle from the cannon.  Was able to get some smooth water for awhile then cage match broke out, smooth water, and a cage match.  Proud to say I never once took a blow to the face, head, nutz, or noggin.  Delivered a good elbow and a few strong kicks though.  Was able to follow feet and body's a good chunk of the way.  Our first turn was fun cause a lot of the swimmers making the turn took a few seconds to let out a "Mooooooo".  Made me lol.

T1
Note Wisconsin has probably one of the longest T1's but is fun.  You exit the water, then the wet suit strippers are waiting for you.  You sit lay down and they pull off your wet suit for you. Then run up the helix to the top floor where you then enter the Monona Terrace.  You enter one room and grab you bike bag and then enter a second room to change.  From there you run out a door then back to the entrance of T1 to get your bike.  The helix is lined with spectators the entire way making the long run seem short.

BIKE: Goa:l < 6 hours      Actual: 5:59:01

So you get your bike and you then walk it to the mount line and ride it down the helix.  You then get on a bike path and this is a NO PASS ZONE.  You go under a small bridge and into the Alliance Center parking lot which eventually spits you out on Rim Rock Road.  The first 18 miles are called the "Stick".  My goal here was to relax, eat, drink, and be merry.  I stuffed myself with a Honey Stinger Waffle and sucked down a 20 oz bottle of Gatorade I had loaded on my bike earlier.  Note the stick has the start of some nice hills.  I couldn't believe peeps were standing up and grinding up these hills.  My thoughts were they have no idea whats coming.  

Ironman Wisc Bike Profile-Click to view

My goal was to ride the course at .70-.71 intensity which correlates for me around 180 watts.  I was not worried about my speed at all.  If I could ride my watts, smooth out the hills then we would be setting things up for a decent marathon.  My Goal was to keep my TSS (Training Stress Score) under 300 and my VI (variable index) under 1.06.  All this was accomplished.  There is a ton of free speed on this course if you truly know how to ride it.  Hopefully next year I can shave 15-20 more minutes off the bike. (Goal is to bust azz during my Out season that starts Jan 1) Noted the wind to come on more during the second loop but living in the Midwest and training in the wind all year it was not a big deal for me.  Heard lots of comments though about how horrible the wind was.  Coming off the loop for the second time and headed through Verona I noted the time and was very happy knowing I should be under 6 hours.  Once back on the stick I again drank the rest of my feed bottle, ate two Honey Stinger waffles, and finished off the bottle of Perform.  I literally stuffed myself plumb full.  I wanted to be topped off for the run.  Since the weather was cool I chose not to take in any additional salt supplements.  Back to the helix, riding up it was again lined with spectators screaming and yelling-loved it!!!  Ghost rode the bike and handed it off to a volunteer.

Bike Numbers/stats from Joule 2.0

Entire workout:
Duration: 5:57:58 
Work: 3557 kJ
TSS: 297.3 (intensity factor 0.708)
Norm Power: 178
VI: 1.05
Distance: 112.003 mi
Elevation Gain: 5371 ft
Elevation Loss: 5414 ft
Grade: -0.0 % (-36 ft)
Min Max Avg
Power: 0 433 166 watts
Cadence: 30 110 93 rpm
Speed: 0 47.2 18.7 mph
Pace 1:16 0:00 3:12 min/mi
Hub Torque: 0 36 7 lb-in
Altitude: 617 1032 787 ft
Crank Torque: 0 803 152 lb-in
Temperature: 60.8 75.2 68.2 Fahrenheit


T2
Ran into the Monona grabbed my run bag and into the changing room.  I decided I was going to be comfortable for the run therefore changed into running shorts and shirt.  Out the door, to the porta potty, gave my wife a kiss, and off I went.

RUN GOAL Sub 4 hour        Actual 3:57:22

Garmin file for the marathon   (click for details and map of marathon course)

I have to say I was feeling awesome from the start of the run.  I know my body well enough that I can't run the EN way of EP+30 seconds.  My body in training has wanted to go straight to 8:30-8:45 minute miles.  This was my 20th marathon and I always slow down the last few miles no matter what.  Therefore, my plan was to go out running 8:30-9:00 minute miles and just go with it.  The crowds reminded me so much of running the Chicago Marathon-they were lined on both sides of the roads, the college student were yelling at us from there apartment balconies, friends that had traveled from Des Moines to cheer were giving me prompts, they were everywhere!!!!!  I did walk 30 steps as EN teaches through each aid station and made sure I got some fluids down.  I alternated Perform, water, and coke.  Later I would combine the perform and water cause I was really starting to hate the taste of Perform.  Well before I knew it I was done with the first loop and seen my wife.  That was a great boost however I couldn't get to her cause she was by the special needs bags.  I told her I lost my GPS and that is why she was not able to track me.  She was keeping the social pages updated.  Well I told myself I was going to walk up Observatory hill both times.  I was able to smoke up it the first loop and then did walk about 20 seconds of it the second round.  I was able to get to mile 23 before the "SUCK" found me.  With three miles left I for some reason got pretty emotional and thought to myself the real reason I was running this race and the pain I was feeling was nothing compared to what the Children that have suffered and currently suffering and going through Cancer treatments had and having to go through.  Seriously got teary eyed and kind of bawled for a minute.  Mile 24 I stopped for my last big drink of perform, water, and coke-yep, I sucked it all down this time and off I went.  The last climb up State street, around the Capitol to the finish line was FOREVER.  Finally I could here Mike Reilly telling finishers they were an Ironman.  I slowed down for the 500 yard straight away down the finishers chute and damn it I soaked it all in!!!!!!!!!  Then there it was - Carl Noftsger from Altoona, Iowa you are an IRONMAN!!!!!!

Ironman Wisconsin Run Profile-click to view

I crossed the line and immediately locked eyes with my wife-Alison who was teary eyed as I was and there to the left were The V brothers and there wife's.  The catcher was there to stop me and I knew then it was over.  Going from moving for 11 hours to a sudden stop my body didn't really care for that so that dry heaving started.  I told myself to hold it in cause if I vomited that meant a trip to the med tent and I really didn't want to spend anytime in there.  Well after she was sure I was okay she whisked me off to the finishers picture and then released me to my wife.

Total time: 11:26:37

This race was a PR of 1hour and 37 minutes for me over Ironman St George that was completed in May.

The volunteers at this venue are above and beyond anything you have ever seen.  Top notch all around.

Ironman Wisconsin 2013 is a target race for Endurance Nation Athletes so it will be an EPIC Adventure.....

Next up is Ironman Cozumel on 11/25/12.  The next week will be spent recovering as stretching, soaking in hot tub, daily ice baths if warranted.  Week two back to swimming, bringing back in the bike with distance and slowly the interval work, and last but not least bringing back the run. 

Cozumel is a 1.2 mile swim out into the current then flip and swim back with the current, a 112 mile three loop bike course.  No disc wheels allowed d/t the severe cross winds on the south side of the island and a two loop flat and fast marathon.  Looking for good things to happen here.  Only downside is the heat and humidity.  Will need to dial in the nutrition with a higher salt base it looks like. 

See you on the roads.