Heidi Marcus IMWI Race report
IMWI Race Report
Ironman #3
It was 20 years ago that I graduated from UW-Madison and one of the key reasons why I wanted to go back and do this race. My good friend at work Alan Brown had done the race a handful of time and I told Alan a few years ago that once I got some experience, I would do it. If I say I am going to do something....I do it!
Many say this bike course is one of the most difficult on the ironman circuit mainly because you are constantly having to change your gearing. You are always turning, climbing, descending and then turning again and I had never made more gearing changes over the course of 112miles.
I signed up for this race a year ago and shortly after I did, I took on a new role at my company that has required a lot of travel. I knew that it would be challenging to get in all the training so I needed to be okay with that if I was going to see the race through. It kind of felt like I was studying for a test and I had only done enough to studying to get a B, if I was lucky maybe a B+. I was hoping my experience might come in helpful as well.
I arrived in Madison on Thursday night and had the good fortune to join up for the Endurance Nation team dinner which is the training program Brad and I have used for the past few years. The team is amazing and there were over 45 of us racing in EN kits, so there would be lots of support and friendly faces on the course. Coach Rich from EN had some great advice and although I have read and followed a training plan for all 3 races, sometimes on race day, I like to forgo the rules and do what comes naturally. For some reason, I knew that the advice Coach Rich was extolling was imprinting on my brain and it just clicked. This was his advice:
1. Be aggressive on your swim start and seed yourself with faster swimmers
2. Ride the first 20 miles of the bike course like you have a bucket of chicken on your aerobars (I don't eat meat so I was envisioning a bucket of corn), take it super easy, then go ninja on mile 20-80.
3. Ride the course the way you SHOULD for an Ironman not the way you COULD.
4. Don't slow down at mile 18 on the run
My first ironman was all about survival. Clearing the keen descent and not getting struck by lightening.
My second ironman was a total blur, I was so upset about Brad's bike crash and what a horrible week we had had, that I was doubting even being out there.
This time around, the strategy made complete sense. The weeks leading up to the race were tough, I had a trip to LA, my mom was in the hospital and we were all SO worried about her and I hadn't worked out at all for the the 3 weeks prior. My last long ride was the Friday before Brad's race in Mont Tremblant. I did get in one 18 mile run. I was seriously doubting my fitness but my body felt good and I was down to race weight for me.
Friday morning, I met the EN team for a practice swim. I liked the lake, calm water, comfortable temps and poor visibility, which I like because I don't like to see anything swimming in lake. Word was there were lake snakes. I checked in, got my number and picked up Suzy Cervelo (my bike) from Tri Bike Transport. Saturday morning took Suzy for a quick spin to check my gears and dropped her along with my t1 and t2 bags in transition. Most people have a big lunch and rest in their hotel room the rest of the day but I can't sit still very long so we took the kids for cheese curds and a great lunch (I even had a beer)and hit Camp Randall to watch the Badgers crush Akron. It was awesome! Later I had an early dinner at the hotel and Brad took the kids out while I had a little time to myself. I was making sure I had my PB&J which I had planned to eat around mile 60 at Bike Special needs. I decided not to use my run special needs bag.
I didn't sleep a wink the night before the race which is totally unlike me and I had an elevated heart rate the entire night. I got up at 3:45am, got coffee at the IM bfast they had set up in the lobby for the athletes. I went back up to the room at sat quietly in the bathroom with my coffee and forced myself to eat a bagel. I tried not to wake the kids and Brad. The triathlon gods were reminding me that it was time to get my $hit together because the weather was absolutely perfect. Not a cloud in the sky, temp at 50 at the start with a high of 73. Dream weather for an Ironman. I still wasn't really feeling it. For my first two races, I envisioned the finish line for months leading up to the race. For this one, I couldn't get to that point, I had a hard time seeing it.
I packed up my wetsuit and the nutrition for my bike, kissed Brad and the kids bye and Brad told me they would be there to see me come out of the swim. Although Brad was the best Sherpa ever and he was so supportive, I think I like it better when we race together. Then usually he is the nervous one and I can keep us calm. This time around, it was just me and I was alone.
I nearly had a heart attack when I went to put a little air in my tires before the race and accidentally let all the air out of my front tire three times. I borrowed someone's pump that had a screw top and I obviously didn't know what I was doing. My arms were tired from pumping it back up 4 times. Thank goodness one of the guys from EN helped me and we got it fixed. I met up with my friend Alan at the bike rack and we walked down towards the water. We had about 20 minutes to kill so we chatted about the day ahead, he was incredibly calm and I was getting very antsy. We walked outside to meet the EN team for a team picture and we huddled together to wish the group luck and have fun out there. At that point we walked towards the water and everyone was getting in for the Mass start. I said goodbye to Alan as I knew he would be in front of me most of the day and I had hoped to see him somewhere on the run. This is Alan's 6th time racing IMWI, he's been a great friend and mentor since I started doing Tri's. We chuckled about the fact that we had talked about this day nearly 4 years ago and here we were.
I stood right in front of the veteran who sang the national anthem and I took a minute to think about 9/11 and how much has happened over the past 15 years. I wasn't so excited the race fell on 9/11 and would have preferred it to be a different day but at the end somehow it made the course extra special that day. I got into the water about 4 minutes before the race start. I wasn't really sure where to seed myself. I remembered what coach Rich said so I saw an opening close to the front where there were more women and men and I waited for the cannon to go off.
"BOOM" and I hit my watch and I swam.
My swimming has come a long way. I truly enjoy it and I have a calm come over me during the swim. It's the only part of the race I don't worry about. There was a lot of full body contact and I tried to make sure I didn't get clocked in the head by a guy with a big fist. I accelerated into openings when I saw them and then tempered my pace. I had heard that at the first turn buoy people mooed and you know what...they did loud like giant cows it was a riot! I kept swimming until the next turn buoy and then began the long part of the course that everyone swore felt like it never ended. Not once did I breastroke and I kept my head down the entire time. By the time I got to the last turn buoy I was confident that I was having a good swim. I could hear Mike REilly announcing the athletes at they crossed the timing mat. I swam right up until the water hit my waist, checked my watch and couldn't believe it. I was thinking I would swim 1:15 at my best and it read 1:12. That is the fastest I have ever swam, ever! Mike Reilly called my name and the crowds were insane. There were hundreds of people lining the helix that you run up (like a corkscrew in a parking garage) cheering like crazy. Just as I got to the top I heard Brad scream out my name. I was so glad to see him and waive and for the first time in the day, I thought "GAME ON!"
Because It was only 50 degrees I decided to wear a bathing suit under my wetsuit and change entirely out of it for the race so I could be dry. I was a little worried it might be hard to get on a sports bra while I was wet and hoped that volunteer could help. I was so fortunate to have Briana (the volunteer) to meet me as I entered transition and she grabbed by t1 bag. She dumped the entire thing out and I told her I was going to get buck naked in transition and she made a joke that there is an anything goes policy in here. She was a massive help. Got dressed quickly, she helped with my shoes, sports bra and the rest of the stuff, sprayed me down with lotion and out I ran to grab my bike. More awesome volunteers yelled out my number and as I ran down towards the end of the transition area Suzy was passed to me and ready to go. There quickly, Brad and the kids yelled out and I waived and I rode the helix down the other side to head out on the bike. A few days before the race I did a bike recon car ride with a few folks from EN. I kind of wished I hadn't seen the course because It looked really tough and there were some sizable rollers that had big climbs and fast descents. There was also one massive hill with a 17% grade called Barlow and many folks were talking about walking their bikes up the hill, I would meet Barlow at mile 40.
So off I was riding (with my bucket of corn) getting passed by tons of people who might not swim as fast but will smoke the bike. I'm not a strong cyclist, I'm very cautious and frankly I don't feel safe until I'm at mile 100 and I'm heading back to transition with a few to go. About 10 miles into the bike a motorcycle pulled up next to me with a video guy on the back. They asked if they could interview me and if I would tell them "my story". It was brief but cool and I shared that I was a UW grad, hadn't been back in 20 years and I heard you got to run through camp Randall at the race and I came back to do that. Little did I know that that short clip made it into the IMWI race day video that they showed at the awards brunch the next day. I guess that can't interview you if you bike real fast. ; )
The bike was pretty uneventful. I don't ride with power or any electronics, just by feel. I know my HR numbers pretty well by now and can guess very closely where I am. I took it easy riding the bike I SHOULD not the bike I COULD. The best part of the bike was the crowd support on the hills and through the towns. The support doesn't even come close to any other race I have done. The folks in Wisconsin take this race seriously and they had out the best costumes, signs, music, tailgates and cowbells everywhere on the course. Any sizable hill felt like Tour de France and they were going to cheer you up every hill and make you laugh while you did it. When I got to Barlow at mile 40, I was feeling good and I powered up the climb and enjoyed every minute of it. I hit close to 40 mph on some of the descents. At mile 59 Brad and the kids took a bus out to the town of Verona and I easily spotted them with their IronMarcus t shirts on . I stopped quickly to take off my vest and arm warmers, kiss them all and off I went. a mile later, I stopped at bike special needs, refueled and again with the help of another awesome volunteer names Matt enjoyed my PB&J. He was making jokes the entire time and had me laughing while I was switching out my nutrition. He even swatted a bee off of me that was trying to get to my Gatorade.
The last loop of the bike was not as bad since we had the wind at our backs and the the 20 miles back to Madison was a slight is negative downhill. As I climbed back up the helix, the cheering was awesome and there was Brad to greet me and I hobbled off the bike to kiss him. My legs felt like jello and my feet were cramping.
Ran into t2, not much to do but put on my shoes, belt and visor and out I ran to begin the marathon. Brad had gotten the kids over near the run start so I could kiss everyone again and the kids were very enthusiastic, "mom, you are doing so awesome!" Off I ran, I remembered coach Rich reminded us to run really easy the first 6 miles and try to get as much nutrition in as possible. I have a very bad habit of running way to hard on all my races out of transition, rarely has that been a good strategy. I had talked to my friend who is a Gastro doc and she told me if my belly wasn't feeling great off the bike to try Phazyme chews. I had been using them for a few weeks with success and had hoped it would calm my stomach from all the Gatorade and gross chews that I had been eating. The first 3 miles were tough but the crowd support was incredible and here I was running down state street with lots of people cheering my name. At about mile 4 my feet and body felt much better and I was taking in Gatorade and salt. I had the chance to run into Camp Randall at mile 4 and run the field, it was SO cool! I then ran out to observatory hill which I walked and up and down library mall and state street. Then onto lake shore path along lake Mendota for a few miles before heading back to state street. For a UW Alum, it was incredible! It was at this point I saw my friend Alan. I figured he was on his second loop of the run but unfortunately that was not the case. He flatted at mile 6 and went though 3 tubes before it was fixed, cost him an hour. In true IM fashion, he shrugged it off and kept on running. Alan still had an awesome race and finished with a smile!
At about mile 9 as I was heading back into town, my stomach was not happy. I got really queasy fast and dogged behind an utility box and dry heaved for 2 minutes. Nothing came out but I felt SO MUCH BETTER. I know, totally gross, this is the life of an Ironman. I saw way worse on the course all afternoon and into the evening. As I rounded state street and the crowds picked up I saw our team leader Mariah who came and ran with me for a block, she is a hoot and super cheerful and told me to keep drinking coke. I then headed into town right near the finish line and rounded the corner at mile 13. 13 down, 13 to go. Brad was there, no stopping this time, I was laser focused and wanted get er' done as we say at work. Last 13 miles were different, you can feel the finish line as you start to head back to town. As I was making my way back towards camp Randall, I passed 3 college guys sitting out on their lawn watching the race. With them they had a gorgeous golden retriever and a 6 weeks old golden puppy. I had to stop to pet the dogs, this was the cutest puppy I had ever seen. In fact all day, there were tons of dogs out on the course, it was great, they always made me smile. They actually say it's one of the most animal friendly races. There were tons of dogs staying at our hotel and one dog food company was a sponsor for the race. I asked if I could pet the dog and I gave him a little squeeze. I was going to have the guy text Brad a photo of me with the puppy but I know Brad would have said "WTH are you doing, RUN!" I waived by to the pups and kept running.
Last run through Camp Randall, most folks were walking, I was feeling my best at this point on the run, easy pace, running most of the mile and then walking slowly through all the aid stations. During the bike portion of the race I met a 23 year old women. I told her how impressed I was that she was racing and I couldn't have imagined doing this at that age. She told me that her brother was diabetic and he did the race last year. She was inspired by her brother to race with him this year. As I ran around the field I saw them walking together side by side, he was 21 years old. I got choked up to think how supportive they were with each other. They weren't feeling great but they stayed together the rest of the run and finished it out side by side. Just amazing.
The sun was setting on observatory hill and as I ran back though library mall and lower state street the crowds were wild. They were high fiving you in the street and screaming your name. I was moving and taking it all in. As I headed back to lakeshore path it was dark and I wanted to get out of there quickly. After my swim exit, this was the second time of the day I looked at my watch. I had 3.5miles to go and I was just around 13 hours. At that moment I realized that unless I stopped I was going to PR the race. Coach Rich says race day is not about fitness, it's about execution. I had executed against the plan and was going to finish soon. Last 2 miles into town I was running, made the turn onto state street for the last mile. Mariah from EN was there to give me a big cheer and high five. I picked it up, a few fist pumps to some wild crowds. I rounded the Capital, past run special needs and as I entered the shoot, there on the left were Brad and Avery to cheer me on in. And for the 3rd and final time for now....Mike Reilly said "Heidi Marcus.......YOU ARE AN IRONMAN!"
Suzy Cervelo and I are taking a sabbatical from long course racing next year. I have some goals around short course racing I would like to achieve and I believe this is more manageable with my new job. I also want to support Brad when he decides which race he will do, likely an Ironman. Brad and the kids are the best Sherpa's and support team that anyone could ask for, I am so grateful to have their love and cheers. Reflecting on the race, I might have earned an A- and I'm very happy with how it turned out. Thank you for your support and cheers along this journey.
Swim 1:12:31 (Hoping for 1:15)
Bike: 7:02:50 (Aiming for 7:00)
Run: 5:15:21 (Tough goal 5:00)
total 13:49:31 (PR by 16 minutes)
Ironman #3
It was 20 years ago that I graduated from UW-Madison and one of the key reasons why I wanted to go back and do this race. My good friend at work Alan Brown had done the race a handful of time and I told Alan a few years ago that once I got some experience, I would do it. If I say I am going to do something....I do it!
Many say this bike course is one of the most difficult on the ironman circuit mainly because you are constantly having to change your gearing. You are always turning, climbing, descending and then turning again and I had never made more gearing changes over the course of 112miles.
I signed up for this race a year ago and shortly after I did, I took on a new role at my company that has required a lot of travel. I knew that it would be challenging to get in all the training so I needed to be okay with that if I was going to see the race through. It kind of felt like I was studying for a test and I had only done enough to studying to get a B, if I was lucky maybe a B+. I was hoping my experience might come in helpful as well.
I arrived in Madison on Thursday night and had the good fortune to join up for the Endurance Nation team dinner which is the training program Brad and I have used for the past few years. The team is amazing and there were over 45 of us racing in EN kits, so there would be lots of support and friendly faces on the course. Coach Rich from EN had some great advice and although I have read and followed a training plan for all 3 races, sometimes on race day, I like to forgo the rules and do what comes naturally. For some reason, I knew that the advice Coach Rich was extolling was imprinting on my brain and it just clicked. This was his advice:
1. Be aggressive on your swim start and seed yourself with faster swimmers
2. Ride the first 20 miles of the bike course like you have a bucket of chicken on your aerobars (I don't eat meat so I was envisioning a bucket of corn), take it super easy, then go ninja on mile 20-80.
3. Ride the course the way you SHOULD for an Ironman not the way you COULD.
4. Don't slow down at mile 18 on the run
My first ironman was all about survival. Clearing the keen descent and not getting struck by lightening.
My second ironman was a total blur, I was so upset about Brad's bike crash and what a horrible week we had had, that I was doubting even being out there.
This time around, the strategy made complete sense. The weeks leading up to the race were tough, I had a trip to LA, my mom was in the hospital and we were all SO worried about her and I hadn't worked out at all for the the 3 weeks prior. My last long ride was the Friday before Brad's race in Mont Tremblant. I did get in one 18 mile run. I was seriously doubting my fitness but my body felt good and I was down to race weight for me.
Friday morning, I met the EN team for a practice swim. I liked the lake, calm water, comfortable temps and poor visibility, which I like because I don't like to see anything swimming in lake. Word was there were lake snakes. I checked in, got my number and picked up Suzy Cervelo (my bike) from Tri Bike Transport. Saturday morning took Suzy for a quick spin to check my gears and dropped her along with my t1 and t2 bags in transition. Most people have a big lunch and rest in their hotel room the rest of the day but I can't sit still very long so we took the kids for cheese curds and a great lunch (I even had a beer)and hit Camp Randall to watch the Badgers crush Akron. It was awesome! Later I had an early dinner at the hotel and Brad took the kids out while I had a little time to myself. I was making sure I had my PB&J which I had planned to eat around mile 60 at Bike Special needs. I decided not to use my run special needs bag.
I didn't sleep a wink the night before the race which is totally unlike me and I had an elevated heart rate the entire night. I got up at 3:45am, got coffee at the IM bfast they had set up in the lobby for the athletes. I went back up to the room at sat quietly in the bathroom with my coffee and forced myself to eat a bagel. I tried not to wake the kids and Brad. The triathlon gods were reminding me that it was time to get my $hit together because the weather was absolutely perfect. Not a cloud in the sky, temp at 50 at the start with a high of 73. Dream weather for an Ironman. I still wasn't really feeling it. For my first two races, I envisioned the finish line for months leading up to the race. For this one, I couldn't get to that point, I had a hard time seeing it.
I packed up my wetsuit and the nutrition for my bike, kissed Brad and the kids bye and Brad told me they would be there to see me come out of the swim. Although Brad was the best Sherpa ever and he was so supportive, I think I like it better when we race together. Then usually he is the nervous one and I can keep us calm. This time around, it was just me and I was alone.
I nearly had a heart attack when I went to put a little air in my tires before the race and accidentally let all the air out of my front tire three times. I borrowed someone's pump that had a screw top and I obviously didn't know what I was doing. My arms were tired from pumping it back up 4 times. Thank goodness one of the guys from EN helped me and we got it fixed. I met up with my friend Alan at the bike rack and we walked down towards the water. We had about 20 minutes to kill so we chatted about the day ahead, he was incredibly calm and I was getting very antsy. We walked outside to meet the EN team for a team picture and we huddled together to wish the group luck and have fun out there. At that point we walked towards the water and everyone was getting in for the Mass start. I said goodbye to Alan as I knew he would be in front of me most of the day and I had hoped to see him somewhere on the run. This is Alan's 6th time racing IMWI, he's been a great friend and mentor since I started doing Tri's. We chuckled about the fact that we had talked about this day nearly 4 years ago and here we were.
I stood right in front of the veteran who sang the national anthem and I took a minute to think about 9/11 and how much has happened over the past 15 years. I wasn't so excited the race fell on 9/11 and would have preferred it to be a different day but at the end somehow it made the course extra special that day. I got into the water about 4 minutes before the race start. I wasn't really sure where to seed myself. I remembered what coach Rich said so I saw an opening close to the front where there were more women and men and I waited for the cannon to go off.
"BOOM" and I hit my watch and I swam.
My swimming has come a long way. I truly enjoy it and I have a calm come over me during the swim. It's the only part of the race I don't worry about. There was a lot of full body contact and I tried to make sure I didn't get clocked in the head by a guy with a big fist. I accelerated into openings when I saw them and then tempered my pace. I had heard that at the first turn buoy people mooed and you know what...they did loud like giant cows it was a riot! I kept swimming until the next turn buoy and then began the long part of the course that everyone swore felt like it never ended. Not once did I breastroke and I kept my head down the entire time. By the time I got to the last turn buoy I was confident that I was having a good swim. I could hear Mike REilly announcing the athletes at they crossed the timing mat. I swam right up until the water hit my waist, checked my watch and couldn't believe it. I was thinking I would swim 1:15 at my best and it read 1:12. That is the fastest I have ever swam, ever! Mike Reilly called my name and the crowds were insane. There were hundreds of people lining the helix that you run up (like a corkscrew in a parking garage) cheering like crazy. Just as I got to the top I heard Brad scream out my name. I was so glad to see him and waive and for the first time in the day, I thought "GAME ON!"
Because It was only 50 degrees I decided to wear a bathing suit under my wetsuit and change entirely out of it for the race so I could be dry. I was a little worried it might be hard to get on a sports bra while I was wet and hoped that volunteer could help. I was so fortunate to have Briana (the volunteer) to meet me as I entered transition and she grabbed by t1 bag. She dumped the entire thing out and I told her I was going to get buck naked in transition and she made a joke that there is an anything goes policy in here. She was a massive help. Got dressed quickly, she helped with my shoes, sports bra and the rest of the stuff, sprayed me down with lotion and out I ran to grab my bike. More awesome volunteers yelled out my number and as I ran down towards the end of the transition area Suzy was passed to me and ready to go. There quickly, Brad and the kids yelled out and I waived and I rode the helix down the other side to head out on the bike. A few days before the race I did a bike recon car ride with a few folks from EN. I kind of wished I hadn't seen the course because It looked really tough and there were some sizable rollers that had big climbs and fast descents. There was also one massive hill with a 17% grade called Barlow and many folks were talking about walking their bikes up the hill, I would meet Barlow at mile 40.
So off I was riding (with my bucket of corn) getting passed by tons of people who might not swim as fast but will smoke the bike. I'm not a strong cyclist, I'm very cautious and frankly I don't feel safe until I'm at mile 100 and I'm heading back to transition with a few to go. About 10 miles into the bike a motorcycle pulled up next to me with a video guy on the back. They asked if they could interview me and if I would tell them "my story". It was brief but cool and I shared that I was a UW grad, hadn't been back in 20 years and I heard you got to run through camp Randall at the race and I came back to do that. Little did I know that that short clip made it into the IMWI race day video that they showed at the awards brunch the next day. I guess that can't interview you if you bike real fast. ; )
The bike was pretty uneventful. I don't ride with power or any electronics, just by feel. I know my HR numbers pretty well by now and can guess very closely where I am. I took it easy riding the bike I SHOULD not the bike I COULD. The best part of the bike was the crowd support on the hills and through the towns. The support doesn't even come close to any other race I have done. The folks in Wisconsin take this race seriously and they had out the best costumes, signs, music, tailgates and cowbells everywhere on the course. Any sizable hill felt like Tour de France and they were going to cheer you up every hill and make you laugh while you did it. When I got to Barlow at mile 40, I was feeling good and I powered up the climb and enjoyed every minute of it. I hit close to 40 mph on some of the descents. At mile 59 Brad and the kids took a bus out to the town of Verona and I easily spotted them with their IronMarcus t shirts on . I stopped quickly to take off my vest and arm warmers, kiss them all and off I went. a mile later, I stopped at bike special needs, refueled and again with the help of another awesome volunteer names Matt enjoyed my PB&J. He was making jokes the entire time and had me laughing while I was switching out my nutrition. He even swatted a bee off of me that was trying to get to my Gatorade.
The last loop of the bike was not as bad since we had the wind at our backs and the the 20 miles back to Madison was a slight is negative downhill. As I climbed back up the helix, the cheering was awesome and there was Brad to greet me and I hobbled off the bike to kiss him. My legs felt like jello and my feet were cramping.
Ran into t2, not much to do but put on my shoes, belt and visor and out I ran to begin the marathon. Brad had gotten the kids over near the run start so I could kiss everyone again and the kids were very enthusiastic, "mom, you are doing so awesome!" Off I ran, I remembered coach Rich reminded us to run really easy the first 6 miles and try to get as much nutrition in as possible. I have a very bad habit of running way to hard on all my races out of transition, rarely has that been a good strategy. I had talked to my friend who is a Gastro doc and she told me if my belly wasn't feeling great off the bike to try Phazyme chews. I had been using them for a few weeks with success and had hoped it would calm my stomach from all the Gatorade and gross chews that I had been eating. The first 3 miles were tough but the crowd support was incredible and here I was running down state street with lots of people cheering my name. At about mile 4 my feet and body felt much better and I was taking in Gatorade and salt. I had the chance to run into Camp Randall at mile 4 and run the field, it was SO cool! I then ran out to observatory hill which I walked and up and down library mall and state street. Then onto lake shore path along lake Mendota for a few miles before heading back to state street. For a UW Alum, it was incredible! It was at this point I saw my friend Alan. I figured he was on his second loop of the run but unfortunately that was not the case. He flatted at mile 6 and went though 3 tubes before it was fixed, cost him an hour. In true IM fashion, he shrugged it off and kept on running. Alan still had an awesome race and finished with a smile!
At about mile 9 as I was heading back into town, my stomach was not happy. I got really queasy fast and dogged behind an utility box and dry heaved for 2 minutes. Nothing came out but I felt SO MUCH BETTER. I know, totally gross, this is the life of an Ironman. I saw way worse on the course all afternoon and into the evening. As I rounded state street and the crowds picked up I saw our team leader Mariah who came and ran with me for a block, she is a hoot and super cheerful and told me to keep drinking coke. I then headed into town right near the finish line and rounded the corner at mile 13. 13 down, 13 to go. Brad was there, no stopping this time, I was laser focused and wanted get er' done as we say at work. Last 13 miles were different, you can feel the finish line as you start to head back to town. As I was making my way back towards camp Randall, I passed 3 college guys sitting out on their lawn watching the race. With them they had a gorgeous golden retriever and a 6 weeks old golden puppy. I had to stop to pet the dogs, this was the cutest puppy I had ever seen. In fact all day, there were tons of dogs out on the course, it was great, they always made me smile. They actually say it's one of the most animal friendly races. There were tons of dogs staying at our hotel and one dog food company was a sponsor for the race. I asked if I could pet the dog and I gave him a little squeeze. I was going to have the guy text Brad a photo of me with the puppy but I know Brad would have said "WTH are you doing, RUN!" I waived by to the pups and kept running.
Last run through Camp Randall, most folks were walking, I was feeling my best at this point on the run, easy pace, running most of the mile and then walking slowly through all the aid stations. During the bike portion of the race I met a 23 year old women. I told her how impressed I was that she was racing and I couldn't have imagined doing this at that age. She told me that her brother was diabetic and he did the race last year. She was inspired by her brother to race with him this year. As I ran around the field I saw them walking together side by side, he was 21 years old. I got choked up to think how supportive they were with each other. They weren't feeling great but they stayed together the rest of the run and finished it out side by side. Just amazing.
The sun was setting on observatory hill and as I ran back though library mall and lower state street the crowds were wild. They were high fiving you in the street and screaming your name. I was moving and taking it all in. As I headed back to lakeshore path it was dark and I wanted to get out of there quickly. After my swim exit, this was the second time of the day I looked at my watch. I had 3.5miles to go and I was just around 13 hours. At that moment I realized that unless I stopped I was going to PR the race. Coach Rich says race day is not about fitness, it's about execution. I had executed against the plan and was going to finish soon. Last 2 miles into town I was running, made the turn onto state street for the last mile. Mariah from EN was there to give me a big cheer and high five. I picked it up, a few fist pumps to some wild crowds. I rounded the Capital, past run special needs and as I entered the shoot, there on the left were Brad and Avery to cheer me on in. And for the 3rd and final time for now....Mike Reilly said "Heidi Marcus.......YOU ARE AN IRONMAN!"
Suzy Cervelo and I are taking a sabbatical from long course racing next year. I have some goals around short course racing I would like to achieve and I believe this is more manageable with my new job. I also want to support Brad when he decides which race he will do, likely an Ironman. Brad and the kids are the best Sherpa's and support team that anyone could ask for, I am so grateful to have their love and cheers. Reflecting on the race, I might have earned an A- and I'm very happy with how it turned out. Thank you for your support and cheers along this journey.
Swim 1:12:31 (Hoping for 1:15)
Bike: 7:02:50 (Aiming for 7:00)
Run: 5:15:21 (Tough goal 5:00)
total 13:49:31 (PR by 16 minutes)
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Comments
HM, was a pleasure to meet you, Brad and those two beautiful kids! Thank God they take after you! :-)
Interesting to know you work with Alan. He and I chatted briefly about what he does for a living....
Loved reading your well written, detailed report! It appears you are not the only one that stopped to pet the dogs while executing and IM! Maybe there's some kind of secret in that which I need to look into!!
Can't believe you and Brad both pulled off tough IMs this year while holding down professional jobs, raising two kids and leading the Facebook community in Pushup challenges simultaneously!!! Obviously I still have room to stretch myself!!
Sincerely, congratulations on a well earned PR and superbly executed race!!
SS
Heidi, it was so great to watch you on this journey back to WI and to see how well it turned out! Congrat's on a PR! Thanks for all your positive mojo along the way! Great to meet Brad and those two cute kids of yours!
Congrats on your pr, super smart execution and all on your college campus! Awesome!
it was great seeing you on the run course, always with a big smile! The pics of you and team marcus on the UW campus say it all. Glad this race was a positive for you on so many levels. I remember seeing someone with dogs on the course and knew what was going to happen! Looking forward to more fun training with you guys!
I really, realy enjoyed reading your report. You write much gooder than I do. Congrats on a great race, fighting through on a really tough course. Now I know where Brad gets all his toughness. Celebrate this achievment for a while.
Mike
Grats on your 6' PR !
Your kids are awesome to follow their both parents to that kind of events, you both are showing a great example of an active life to them - grats !
Rest well
Good luck with the new job!
Heidi, Great report and really a great race. It was great to see you and Brad again. Your children are fantastic. You really nailed the race.
I loved reading your report. I covers everything a great person and athlete can go through in an Ironman. I particularly enjoyed how much you are able to express love and affection while pushing physically to a PR race. I bet you have the biggest heart humanly possible. Your family is so lucky to have such a loving person.