Race Coverage

Country Tunes, Bonus Miles, 5 Stages of Grief & Gorgeous Carpet...

Saturday, 25 September 2021 00:10

By Sara Carlson

Ironman Wisconsin, Sept 12th, 2021 race report 

This was my 5th Ironman. Every build for an Ironman is so different. This one was probably the race that had me the most nervous about my bike and run. I had hoped that the old Endurance Nation mantra, “fast before far" would ring true for me, because I really didn't log the long hours on the bike that I normally do. I came into the race with some pretty solid left lateral foot pain at the base of my 5th metatarsal that had started in the spring. Plain films in July were negative for stress fracture, so I modified my training & did all of my "runs" on the elliptical from 6 weeks out until race week. Let me tell you, that was not exciting...

September 12th. Race morning:

I naturally woke up just after 1:00 a.m. and decided to eat my pre-race food I had planned to get up for at 2:00 a.m. anyway. I had yogurt with slivered almonds, peanut butter and banana, and an applesauce pack. Back to bed. My race morning alarm clock went off at 4:30 a.m. I was able to choke down a peanut butter and honey bread, coffee, and some pretzel chips. My Ironspouse, Mike, dropped me off at the Monona Terrace helix just before 5 a.m. It was time to get race-ready. 

The swim:

I finally got smart and made my way down the helix to the bleachers by the swim start much earlier than I had in past years. Bonus! My hubs, kiddos, and some of our LAMS race family were there too!  READ MORE