Good Intentions

Forgive me readers for it has been 4 months since my last post...

As I begin my fourth year of multi-sport endurance training and my 36 weeks of training for Ironman Wisconsin 2010 (yes I'm doing it again), I think I have officially recovered from Ironman Wisconsin 2009. The last sign of recovery (for you squeamish types; you might want to forgo the next couple of sentences) my pinky toenail has finally fallen off this past week and the new one is coming in nicely. During the bike leg of last years event I developed some fairly severe foot pain. I developed a quarter size blister in the center of the ball of my foot which expressed itself during the last 30 miles of the bike and throughout the run. I tried to over compensate on the run which resulted in running on the side of my foot and rubbing my pinky toe. It turned black right away after the race and I figured it would fall off. I never imagined it would take 4 plus months to run its course.

Anyways, its a new year, and many have begun the year with good intentions. You have all made your resolutions. Whether it be to improve your fitness and health, go back to school, or work on your relationships with family or with God, we all have started out with good intentions. I recently received a little snippet and wanted to share it with you. Maybe it may help you turn your good intentions into reality.

Learning To Prepare For The Best

John Leonard

As I write this in early January in Fort Lauderdale, the air temperature is a “balmy” 42 degrees….well, balmy if you’re from Green Bay, Wisconsin, maybe. Here in South Florida, that’s a cold wave. We swim outside, and the water temperature is 75 degrees…..the heaters can’t keep up when the air is this cold. The wind chill factor, according to Channel 7, is…well, we don’t want to know the wind chill with a nice brisk 20 mile an hour wind coming off the Everglades.

My phone rings at 5 AM and a small voice on the other end asks plaintively, “Do we really have swim practice, Coach John?” Yes, we really do.

WHY? Is the next question, which I wrestle with myself on the 15 minute drive to the pool….why put teenagers in the water on this cold and nasty morning when both they and I would prefer to stay snuggled in at home for another hour or hour and a half.

Now, I KNOW why, but can I express it to my swimmers? Yes, I’ll try. Everyone, on the day after the high school state meet, vows that “next year” they will A) make a final, B) Make the meet C) win an event or D) write in your own goal here.

It’s easy to vow to do something the day after, when you are excited, full of the promise of life and get up and go. It’s a lot harder to REMEMBER what you wanted to do in early January when it’s 5 AM and cold outside. Then it’s a lot harder and a lot easier to rationalize, “it’s just one workout”.

The problem is, when teenagers begin to learn to rationalize, they get really good at it really fast, and pretty soon, the ACTION required to fulfill the commitments to those goals/dreams, falls prey to the rationalization. And after you rationalize the decision you want to make the first time, it’s so much easier to do it the next time, and the time after that, and pretty soon, the goal is just a dream, because you’re rationalizing yourself into thinking, “I’d like to do that if everything could be perfect for me, and it would never be cold in the morning, or no social events would ever conflict with practice, and time with my friends always went the way I want it to.“

But things never go perfectly. The ONLY thing you can successfully predict is that obstacles to your goal WILL come up, and little or nothing will go smoothly. And that consistency in preparation is the only way to raise the percentages of the chance you will reach your goal.

Read that again….”raise the percentages of the chance…” Not a guarantee. If it’s a good goal, there are no guarantees, EXCEPT that if you don’t prepare correctly, according to the plan, you won’t raise your chance of success, you’ll lower it.

So why go to practice at 5 AM in the cold? Because it’s part of the plan, and it raises your chance of success. But most of all, because you have told yourself that you will commit to doing it. And if you let yourself down, who won’t you let down? Prepare for a chance for success. And feel really good about doing that.

2009 Ford Ironman Wisconsin Race Report

It would be easy to fill this post with everything that did not go well for me yesterday, but I won't. There were too many good things and the number one goal of the day was accomplished, I Finished! And I heard Mike Reilly (the voice of Ironman) call my name as I crossed the finish line; Miles Burd from Cottage Grove, MN, "You are an Ironman"!

Pre-Race - The Parking Garage

Left the hotel without incident at 04:40 AM, I planned to park in the ramp I'd be using the last couple of days. It was right across the street from Monona Terrace near the bike staging area. The traffic was tough, as expected, me and 2400 of my fellow participants were all arriving for the long day ahead. I was about to turn into the garage when I saw the sign $4 advanced event parking. I did not even think about this. I left everything with Charlene. I had no money on me at all, and my heart rate quickly jumped into zone 4. I called Charlene (glad I had my phone) and told her the good news. Originally the support crew was not going to leave the hotel until 05:30. I pulled around the corner and there was an open parking spot on the street, right on the corner, and it was free. God was definitely watching over me this morning. I pulled in, thanked God, and immediately called Charlene back to cancel the emergency.

Pre-Race - Race Prep

There is a lot of prep for this race. You basically set up your transition areas on Saturday, the day before the race; your bike, swim to bike gear bag, and bike to run gear bag. When I dropped off my bike the volunteer helping me (great volunteers all weekend, thank you again!) said it would be a good idea to let air out of the tires and top them off in the morning. It was in the mid 80's Saturday and the bike staging area is all concrete. The last thing you need is a tire to expand and blow up. So in addition to bringing my special needs bags for the bike and run, I brought the pump and a gallon of water to fill my bottles. I used Hammer Perpetuim powder for nutrition and Gatorade G2 powder for electrolytes and had it in my bottles already. I just needed to add water, pump up my tires, and put the Garmin on the bike. I then visited my run gear bag to drop off the Garmin I borrowed from Ryan (thanks again Ryan), visited my bike gear bag and dropped off my cell phone which I planned to carry on the bike (just in case), dropped off my special needs bags (a couple of blocks away in front of the capital), and then, finally, dropped the pump and the rest of the water back at the van.

Finally, I could relax. I planned on meeting Charlene, Alexandra, Christopher, and my Mom before heading down to the swim start. As I was walking over to the pre-agreed meeting place I ran into Coach T. Thousands of people around and I run into someone I know (amazing). Teresa and Tina were volunteering today (again thank you volunteers!). I think I saw these two at least a half dozen times throughout the day cheering me on. Thank you! So after chatting with coach T for a bit I met up with the familyand got my final kisses and hugs in (thank you family for all the support. I'm grateful you were here with me and have put up with me over the last year, especially you Charlene!). Then I headed down to the swim start.

The Swim - 2.4 miles

The swim start at Madison is a deep water mass start. So at about 06:25 the pros got in the water. At 06:30 the age groupers started filing in and I was one of the first. The course at Madison is a large rectangle, the long sides of the rectangle are 1/2 mile long and the short sides are 0.1 miles long. You swim the course counter-clockwise and do two loops. The course is a few hundred yards from the shoreline. The starting line runs from the shore to the corner of the course. Swimmers can start anywhere from the shoreline to the corner buoy and behind. There is a water ski jump about 1/3rd of the way between the shore and the corner buoy, right on the start line, and this is where I planned to start. It meant swimming an extra 1/8 of a mile down the first side but I was willing to give up the couple of extra minutes if it meant less traffic.

The venue for the start is amazing. Monona Terrace has spectating areas on four levels. Behind Monona Terrace are several high rise hotels with viewing, and with the capital building in the backdrop, it is an amazing sight.

The morning was perfect, the water was calm, the sun was just coming up; truly beautiful. The water was a little warm, 75F, but manageable even in a wetsuit. The pros started at 06:50 to the sound of a cannon and the age groupers at 07:00. After the singing of the National Anthem we were off. I quickly found open water and swam pretty much unabated until the first turn. After that corner I decided to stay wide, which again added a little extra distance but avoided the extra traffic.

T1 Swim to Bike Transition

After getting out of the water volunteers guided you to the wetsuit strippers where two more volunteers pulled your suit off for you. Gotta love those volunteers. Then you run up the parking garage helix to the fourth level of the Monona Terrace parking garage. The helix is filled with cheering spectators. You then run into a conference room where more volunteers hand you your swim to bike gear bag. From there into the Men's changing room (another big conference room). Volunteers are there to help you, if you ask. When leaving the convention center out to the bike staging area some more volunteers slather you with sunscreen lotion.

The Bike - 112 miles

The ride starts with a spin down the opposing helix of the parking garage before heading out of town. The Ironman bike course is a lollipop shaped course. You ride the stick 14 miles from T1 and then ride a 42 mile loop, which you do twice before returning down the stick back to transition T2.

There are 87 turns on the bike course and I'd guess less than a few miles of flat sections. The course is continually rising and falling. There are not many huge hills up or down but there are few significant ascends and descends. You cannot put it in cruise control physically or mentally anywhere on this course. And by the way, the hills seem much bigger the second time around.

There are three fairly significant climbs that start about 10 miles outside of the city of Verona, which would be at about mile 40 and 80 overall. The climbs were lined with spectators, men in cheerleading outfits and bikinis, a woman dressed like a Harem girl, and plenty of other characters. It was a lot of fun to have the crowd cheering as you slowly ascended. It was just as much fun on the second loop as the first but the slow ascent was much slower. With 8 miles left there is one last significant climb and then from there pretty much down hill back into town.

With Monona Terrace in sight I was more than ready to stable my steady steed for the day.

T2 Bike to Run

Much like T1 the bike to run transition is in Monona Terrace. You run in and are handed your bag before entering the changing room. The volunteers provided me with some water and assistance with my gear. I changed and left the building for the run course were I was met with more sunscreen volunteers who lathered me up again.

The Run- 26.2 miles

The Madison run course is a two loop affair. The run course is relatively flat. There is one significant hill (Observation Hill) on the University of Wisconsin campus. This hill is at about mile 6 and 19 respectively. Which, by the way, is a beautiful campus, very impressive.

Some unique features of the course include a trip inside Camp Randall Stadium (home of the Wisconsin Badgers) where you run around the football field on the turf; pretty cool. There is an area I named 'Inspiration Mile'. Janus, one of the race sponsors, has a tent set up at the expo where family and friends can make signs. All these signs are placed along the path, this is at about mile 8 and 21. This was very cool.

There were a lot of spectators along the course and saw family and friends several times on the two loops. Aid stations were set up at almost every mile. The aid stations were very well- manned and well- stocked. Every aid station had sponges, water, Gatorade, fruit, pretzels, and potato chips. Some had energy bars and gu. During the second loop, chicken broth was available at most aid stations.

Finishing the last couple of miles or so in the dark with the State capital lit up coming up State Street is something I'll remember for a long time. The finishing shoot was at least a 1/4 mile long and lined with cheering spectators. There was a grandstand at the finish line packed with more cheering spectators and with the 'Voice of Ironman' Mike Reilly announcing every finisher's name overpowering it all. This was all visually and audibly amazing, quite the spectacle, and very welcome after a very long day.

Post-Race Thoughts

There are a lot thoughts bouncing around this head of mine today, the day after. Kind of feels like a bad hangover where you're trying to remember what exactly happened the night before.

But one consistent thought is; I finished and that was really my only goal yesterday, but I know I can perform at a higher level than what this day produced. This thought should not surprise any triathlete, runner, swimmer, or any other person on the planet that is looking to continuously improve themselves. But what I've learned over the past year or so is that training for an Ironman is a big commitment, and even though you try not to have it affect the other things going on in your life it does.

Your support system has to be strong, your commitment to training has to be unwavering, but most importantly you must work and focus on maintaining a balance between work, family, and training.

For now it is time for some R&R. I need some time to sit back and take it all in, to evaluate this past year, and then to plan what is next. So stayed tuned to find what happens next on this journey.

Swim 2.4 miles, Bike 112 miles, Run 26.2 miles, brag for the rest of you life!

Let the Count Down Begin

As I start writing this post there are but a mere 5 days, 20 hours, 30 minutes until the cannon sounds and the calm waters of Lake Monona start to churn, and the 2500 athletes become a human smoothie maker of sorts...sounds like fun...

This morning I started my final week of preparations. It's a taper week, obviously, and I had a mere 30 minute run today. My legs are feeling springy and had to hold back a bit. It was an amazing, beautiful morning for a run and 30 minutes seems oh so short!

I'm trying not to think too much about the actual race. There is plenty-O enough anxiety there but trying to push it out of my thoughts for now. For some reason the swim start has been keeping me up some nights. Can't imagine why...

Had the bike in for a once over this past week. Had a new rear tire mounted and purchased a new rear cassette. Kinda late in the game for a major change on the bike but based on my trial ride in Madison a couple of weeks ago a lower gear seams like a wise choice. I had the 11/23 cassette changed out for a 12/27. I must ride smart and focus on spinning up even the steepest climbs while staying in the saddle. I will heed the advice I've gathered combined with the first hand experience I've gained and will go into the bike with the strategy of JRA (just ride along). I will ignore the Ricky Racers that I will be surrounded by and ride like I have a marathon to run a little later in the day. Oh yeah, I do have a marathon to run!

I have not been able to avoid the weather watching activity which typically supplies very little useful information. But early indicators are for temps in the low 50's at the start with a high in the upper 60's, mostly cloudy conditions, and a 30/40 % chance of rain. My strategy for the weather; be prepared for anything and remember that the weather will be the same for everyone!

Just a couple of logistical items:

If your bored next Sunday, and tired of watching the Browns beat up on the Vikings and their "Cash for Clunkers" Quarterback!, check out live athlete tracking @ http://ironman.com/


It's not too late! If you would like to make a charitable donation to C.H.I.N - Congenital Heart Information Network, the charity I've partnered with, please proceed using the following link.
http://januscharitychallenge.kintera.org/wi09/imwhatim

34 Weeks in the Books

Well my training for Ironman Wisconsin is all but over. There are two weeks of progressive taper left before race day, Sunday, 13 September. It will be a small miracle if I can avoid driving myself or my family insane between now and then.

Today I ran the 28th annual Woodbury Country Mile (half-marathon). This was my third. When I did it the first time, I was not sure what a country mile was. Well, a country mile is an informal term meant to mean a great distance, significantly longer than a real mile. One possible origin of the term is that when one travels over unfavorable terrain the perceived distance between two points seems much longer, which fits this race very well. Not that your running through a corn field or anything, but the coarse meanders through the biking/walking trails of Woodbury, MN. There are lots of turns and plenty of short steep inclines and declines.

It was a cool start to the day (49 F), and I over dressed. It gave me an opportunity to practice my hydration strategy which I'm still fine tuning.

I parked at the club (Lifetime Fitness) about a mile and half away from the start line so I'd get a nice warm up and cool down in for the day. It would also allow me to get a short recovery swim in afterwards.

The race today produced a new Woodbury PR (-5:00 min from last year) and a new half-marathon PR (-3:00 min from New Prague earlier this year). My legs were tired from the start but I was able to find and maintain a rhythm. On a less positive note, I strained my right achilles, hopefully nothing a little R.I.C.E. won't fix; I'm sure looking forward to my two week taper.

Next stop is Madison, WI... all aboard!

Good Advice

The one consistent piece of advice that I have received from people I've talked to that have done Ironman Wisconsin is "Ride the bike course before the race". Well I'm not one who usually takes advice. I have a bad habit of doing things my way which typically means learning things the hard way. But this advice was something I planned to listen to. I just needed to work out when I'd get down to Madison to execute it.

I had the opportunity this weekend. It worked out that not only would I ride the bike course but swim, bike, and run the Ironman course. US Master's Swimming has been holding an open water swim in Madison for the past seven years. It is the same course as the Ironman course. So when I found this out I put together a plan to get there.

My plan consisted of doing one loop, 1.2 miles, of the swim (there was also the full 2.4 mile swim available), one complete loop of the bike, 72 miles, and one loop of the run, 13.1 miles. My plan was to swim and bike on Saturday and run on Sunday.

The Swim - 1.2 Miles
The swim course is a big rectangle. You swim it counter-clockwise, which is ideal for me since I favor breathing to the left. It was an in the water start, my first, same as Ironman. If you wanted your time to be an official US Master's time wetsuits were prohibited but the event allowed wetsuits and 85% of the swimmers wore them. My guess is that about the same number were using this event as a training day for Ironman and could care less about having an official time.

My goal for the swim; stay relaxed and warm up for the bike. I swam an acceptable pace but did not push at all. I focused on keeping my stroke long with good form. I know that the swim three weeks from now will be completely different. There were 350 swimmers for this event. There will be 2500 for Ironman and the bump and grind will be extreme (so I'm told). The water temp was a pleasant 71 degrees.

The Bike - 72 Miles
The Ironman bike course is a lollipop shaped course. You ride the stick 16 miles from T1 then ride a 40 mile loop (twice during the Ironman race) before returning down the stick back to transition.

I could not get over how many people were out riding the course. A lot more than those that did the swim earlier in the morning, that's for sure.

There are 87 turns on the bike course and I'd guess less than a few miles of flat sections. I only made the wrong turn FOUR times (sure could of used a TomTom). The course is continually rising and falling. I would not describe it as gently rolling, more like moderate rollers. If you like roller coasters you will love this course. There are not many huge hills up or down but there are few significant ascends and descends. You can not put it in cruise control physically or mentally anywhere on this course.

I was not impressed with the quality of the roads. I did not flat but I'd guess that there were several throughout the day. The course is made up of primarily older rural farm roads and there are some pretty bumpy sections. Anyone for a nice butt massage...

I've debated a bit about renting a set of ZIPP race wheels for the race. I've been hesitant to commit because I'm still not completely comfortable with cross winds when descending. I've experienced a few scary moments even with my TTR3 40mm deep wheel set. This weekend's ride has sealed the deal. No race day wheels for Miles. It was not a real blustery day but had to brake and be cautious on several steeper descends. I'll stick with my stock TTR3 wheel set this time.

The Run - 13.1 Miles
I bailed on the Ironman run...the run course is not ideal for a Sunday morning run. It is on mostly downtown Madison city streets and I'm sure will be a lot of fun on race day. So instead I ran around Lake Monona. I followed some markings on the pavement "LMR". I guess it stands for Lake Monona Run. It is a half-marathon course. Most of the markings were visible and I avoided the numerous wrong turns I made on yesterday's bike. A very enjoyable Sunday morning run in near perfect weather conditions.

It's hard to believe that there are only three weeks left before race day; one more full week of training followed by a progressive two week taper. Can anyone say butterflies? The butterflies have awakened from their cocoon...the question is can they fly?

GCT - Greater Cleveland Triathlon

When I was planning my race schedule last fall for this past weekend I penciled in the Cleveland race or Shoreview's Turtleman race as my two options. This race would be my final triathlon tune-up prior to Madison. I wanted a mid-distance (Olympic) race and both fit the bill. The final decision was whether we would make the annual trip home to Cleveland that week. When we finalized our vacation schedule, the Cleveland race was firmed up.

Last year, the swim was canceled due to rough water conditions. The race was changed to a duathlon consisting of a 1.25 mile run, 24 mile bike, 10k mile run. The Coast Guard is responsible to make the call. If they do not feel they can adequately monitor and keep the swimmers safe then they have to cancel or modify the swim. The main problem with this area is that there is no break wall and with Lake Erie being the shallowest of the five Great Lakes, water conditions change rapidly. This race has a MO of not getting the swim in. I guess that since it's inaugural year in 2003 the swim has been canceled or modified more times than not. This year was no exception.

A couple of friends were participating in the Shoreview race this year which was held on Saturday 08 August 2009. The swim was scheduled to be modified because of water levels in the lake. It was being shortened. Well, due to extremely poor weather conditions on Saturday the swim was replaced with a 50 yard water run. I have not had a chance to talk with my friends directly yet but I'm curious what exactly a 50 yard water run is? I did hear that the weather was so bad that the race was stopped before all athletes could finish. A strong thunderstorm rolled in while a significant number of participants were still out on the run. From what I've heard, maybe the race should not have even started. It seems to be just one of those crazy weather years.

For the Cleveland race, the forecast was for very warm, windy, and humid conditions, but most forecasts were calling for clear skies. Well guess what, the forecast was off by several hours and a strong cell was still over the area when we arrived at Mentor Headlands State Park at 05:45. It was warm, about 75 degrees with high humidity and was very windy with thunder and lighting and rain. You could sense that the swim was in jeopardy, but it had not officially been scratched.

After picking up my race packet and getting into transition, the inevitable announcement came that the race format was being changed to an Olympic and sprint distance duathlon for all. The Olympic distance would consist of a 5K run, 40K bike, 5K run. The sprint would consist of a 2 mile run, 12 mile bike, 2 mile run. The event was scheduled to have both a triathlon and duathlon, so the change was easy for the race directors, and everyone would be doing the duathlon.

The First 5K Run
Last year's Cleveland's race was my first duathlon experience. This year's race format was different again. As I stood at the starting line contemplating my strategy I was unsure on how to approach the first 5K. How hard should I push? The course forced the issue for the first half mile. The run starts on a 6 foot wide path. I did not start far enough up in the pack and was trapped behind some slower runners with little option but to bide my time. When the course opened up I pushed forward and settled into a pace that I could maintain.

The Bike (24 miles)
The bike course was the same as last year. The roads were wet, but the sun was out. The course heads south out of the park; the wind was out of the southwest and was a minor nuisance. The course is on good roads (mostly), and is up hill for the first half or so with a couple of ridiculously steep climbs. The climb at about mile 11 is fun (23% grade). These steep climbs are very short.

The Second 5K Run
A second chance; the run is identical to the first. It is an out and back run course. Nothing too exciting to report. This time traffic was not a problem. Legs felt a little heavy but I quickly got into a rhythm. Carried a water bottle and drank most of it over the 3.1 mile run. It was in the mid 80's with near 100% humidity.

Overall I was pleased with the result. My track workouts are starting to pay some dividends. I'll never be Usain Bolt but have definitely made some improvements. I was disappointed that for a second year I did not get to swim in Lake Erie. But the MO in Cleveland when it comes to sports is "There's always next year".

Door County - Half Iron - Race Report

The 2009 Door County, Half Iron Triathlon, the second annual half iron event. The race weekend consists of a sprint distance race (1/4 mile swim, 18 mile bike, and a 5k run) which is held on Saturday, July 18 and the half iron race (1.2 mile swim, 56.3 mile bike, and 13.1 run) held on Sunday, July 19. Apparently, the weather on Saturday was less then ideal and the swim was shortened to something less than a 1/4 mile. I'm glad Sunday turned out much better, but anyway.

The Door County Peninsula is often referred to as the "Cape Cod of the Midwest." This popular midwestern tourist destination offers an abundance of lodging, dining, shopping and entertainment options. The sandy shorelines and majestic bluffs along Green Bay north of Sturgeon Bay provide an ideal setting for a triathlon. With over 300 miles of scenic shoreline dotted with bustling harbors and quiet coves, Door County offers a wealth of water-based recreation.

Door County prides itself on its cherry orchards and a history of cherry growing that dates back to the 1800s. Soil and weather conditions - warm days and cool nights - influenced by Lake Michigan and Green Bay have created an ideal environment for growing these delicious fruits. Today with around 2,200 acres (8.9 km2) of cherry orchards and another 1,000 acres (4.0 km2) of apple orchards, Door County is filled with blossoms in the spring and is richly decorated with the fruits in the late summer and fall. Montmorency cherries are usually picked from mid-July to early- to mid-August. Early varieties of apples, such as Paula Reds, are harvested as early as late August. Golden Delicious are harvested through mid-October. Door County has five wineries and one microbrewery. We stayed at the Shipwreck restaurant which has rooms on the second and third floor of the building and is home to the only micro-brewery in the county.

On to the race:
The swim (1.2 miles)
The swim takes place in the bay. The course, after about a 150 yard out from the beach, parallels the shore in a counterclockwise thin oval. The water temp was 66 degrees, which according to USAT rules, gives the swimmers the option of wearing a wetsuit. The rule is, wetsuits are mandatory below 65 degrees and illegal above 75 degrees, optional in between. The water was very clear, the average water depth of the swim was 13 feet, and the bottom was clearly visible throughout. Once beyond the pier (out in open water) 2 to 3 foot rolling waves were consistent. Not something I've had much experience swimming in and took some getting use to. I encountered a few aggressive swimmers when swimming through some of the earlier waves. I was in wave 8 so there were almost 400 swimmers in the water before me. Over the 1.2 miles I had the opportunity to meet quite a few of them as I swam through.

The bike (56.3 miles)
The first question, why the extra 0.3 miles. A full Ironman race has a 112 mile bike, this being half you would think okay, 56 miles. It must just be the way the course worked out. This was a very nice bike course. The first half is pretty flat and fast, the second half is rolling, one slightly steep but very short (3/4 mile) climb at about mile 45, and a fast finish. There are a few sections where you cover the same ground going out as coming back but I'd guess 75% of the course is only seen once. The roads, with few exceptions, were very well maintained, free of gravel, and very smooth. It is an open course so you have to pay attention to traffic but all intersections were patrolled. I'd give this course a 9 out of 10 rating, very nice.

The run (13.1 miles)
Similar to the bike in that about 60% of the course was only covered once. It was kind of set up like an out and back except the back varied here and there from the out. The first half of the run had a lot of tree cover. It ended up in the mid 80's for the high with bright sunshine, so the shade was very welcome. The last 3 miles or so were in direct sun, so it got a bit warm toward the end. There are two significant hills on the run. One at about mile 6, significant enough to walk part of, and one that starts at mile 9.3 and climbs 200 vertical feet to mile 10. The saying here is, "You can't bluff the bluff". Oh my, I have not practiced anything like this. I did not see anyone run this hill. Some started to but quickly went into walk mode. There honestly is not much point to sky rocket your heart rate to the point of no return with 3 miles to go.

For me, the day produced a new half iron distance PR by more than 45 minutes. And I learned a few things along the way that should help me in September. Like, you need to actually drink on the bike. (I only drank 1/3 of one water bottle and paid dearly on the run for that blunder) And, oh yeah, this is only half, what the bleep were you thinking when you signed up for Madison?

In conclusion, I would definitely recommend this race. It is a wonderful setting, well organized, and a well attended race. If not for the half, then give the sprint a try. There are relays for the half also, if you have a couple of like- minded friends. Or if you're not into Triathlon then come for the scenery, cherries, wine, and micro-brew.