6:07:09

After spending 8:42 in T1 getting ready to bike, completely changing clothes and making sure my nutrition was tucked safely in my pockets, I headed out of the changing room and onto the terrace. The atmosphere was electric and you couldn't help but feel pumped! Stopped quick at the sunscreeners to get lathered up and then it was off to my rack to jump on my trusted steed. Everything went off without a hitch and I was soon rolling down the pavement, heading out of Madison towards Verona and the awaiting hills.
The first 16ish miles were pretty uneventful, just had to get the bike legs under me after swimming, but being mindful not to push too hard, especially so early. Again, there was some jockeying for position as there were many bikers around and drafting isn't legal. If you got caught committing a penalty (there were officials patrolling the course) you had to stop at a penalty tent and serve up to a 4:00 penalty depending on the infraction. When you get passed it's your obligation to fall back to a minimum of 4 bike lengths and if you're doing the passing you have to get it done within 20 seconds. With the crowded roads this early on it was a little difficult to abide by all the rules, but there wasn't any blatant disregard that I witnessed. For the most part, triathletes are pretty good at policing themselves. I was warned by an official at one point to fall back, but thankfully didn't get shown a penalty card. I didn't think I was doing anything wrong, was boxed in after just turning a corner, but penalties aren't challengeable so I tapped the brakes a bit and let those in front of me get a little further out front. No biggie.
After leaving Verona the smaller, rolling hills began. I was rolling pretty good, feeling strong, and passed others more than I got passed; a definite confidence booster.
The first major spectator spot was Mt. Horeb, approx. mile 29, and I knew there would be my cheer crew there along with Tim's, my main training partner throughout the season. Entering Mt. Horeb is the first somewhat significant climb. I shifted into granny gear and just spun on up, picking people off as I went. Team Juice (Tim's cheer crew) saw me coming and let out a cheer and of course that fired me up so I rode strong by them.



Just a few blocks down I could pick out my orange wearing maniacs and we were able to wave and yell at each other as I zoomed by. Feeling good and strong at this point, averaging 19.5 mph!





Shortly outside of Mt. Horeb the real hills begin! There were some quick descents where I hit 37+ mph followed immediately by granny gear climbs. It was a technical course in that you have to know where to expend your energy and pay attention to shifting gears so your chain doesn't fall off, a lesson I learned on some training rides out here earlier in the Summer. Those lessons paid off and I didn't have any such issues on Sunday!
Shortly down the road there was a rapid S-curved decent where if you didn't know the course beforehand you better have been paying attention to the "Slow Down" signs otherwise you could've easily ended up in a tree on the down slope! I'll admit I used my brakes a fair amount through this section even while still clipping along around 30 mph. Got through there safe and sound and back to flat roads approaching Cross Plains.
Team McIron's 2nd cheer spot was near Cross Plains, approx. mile 42. I knew where they were going to be and I was able to spot them from a distance before they spotted me.

The orange shirts again, and the Irish flag waving at the end of a long pole were easily identifiable. They saw me coming, we yelled and waved again, it recharged my batteries and rolling by I went. At this point it became a mental game. I knew the 3 toughest climbs lay shortly ahead so I just told myself to take 'em 1 at a time and soon enough it would all be over.
The first one wasn't too bad, or as bad as I remember during training rides. Tim and I have an inside joke about that hill (it's really not that funny, you had to be there the original time for it to mean anything so it isn't worth explaining now) so I just talked to myself about that and with the crowd along the edges here it was fun to climb. It's even more fun to pass people on the uphills when there's crowd. I wasn't purposely pushing hard to "show off", but it just happened that my effort carried me past others.
There was another major hill where the crowds got a little thicker so their energy helped there and the 3rd major climb, considered the "Tour de France" hill was even more fun. Along this one the crowds were really thick and the bike lanes to get up were tight. We could reach out and grab someone on either side if we wanted. They were cheering and yelling for everyone and genuinely wanted you to push it and do your best. There were a lot of guys that were dressed up in dresses, bras & underwear, superhero costumes, anything to lighten the mood and get a laugh. It was a nice distraction to see the crowds really getting into it and gave extra motivation to want to perform well for them.
Shortly after this climb we were rewarded with the fastest downhill section of the course. I topped out with a white-knuckled 44 mph! I hit a small little bump and thought I was going to lose it and go ass over tea kettle! Took mental note of that section and vowed not to hit that spot on the next loop.
From here there were some uneventful, but quick miles and we were shortly rolling into Verona again, approx. mile 54. This is the major spectating spot as there were shuttle buses hauling spectators from downtown Madison out to Verona. I knew I'd have a few more Team McIron members out here so I wanted to show them I was still going strong. It's also a fast section, smooth road with a slight decline, so I was worried I wouldn't see them, or more so, that they waited all that time and wouldn't see me. Didn't want them to think they were out there for nothing! Thankfully, we did see each other, they were loud, and once again I was re-energized.
Lap 1 done.
Lap 2 didn't go quite as well, not that there was any drama or it was disaster. The exertion was starting to take it's toll and I made a conscious decision/effort to take the 2nd lap a little slower to hopefully preserve some energy for the remaining miles and the run that was still ahead. I struggled a bit from miles 65 thru 80, but was able to catch a 2nd wind after that. I truly believe it had a lot to do with my cheer crew and feeding off their energy! I saw the bulk of them again in Mt. Horeb and Cross Plains and then the same cheerleaders in Verona (thanks Marcy, April, SAB and John for hanging out there for 2+ hours waiting for me to come around again!). I was also talking to myself a little bit and got a stare or two from others who passed me. Just repeating 1 simple worded mantra told me by a fellow triathlete who's better at this whole endurance event game than I am (thanks, Jens, it worked!).
Finished up the 2nd loop (avoided that 44 mph bump!) and started heading back to downtown.
At mile 110ish there was 1 final bridge to go up and over and then it was smooth sailing through a parking lot and along the lakefront. On the opposite where the bridge met the road there happened to be another good bump. About 50 yards in front of me I saw a guy hit that bump, lose control of his bike, go down, and the guy right behind him didn't have a chance to react either and he ended up crashing over that guy as well! They both went down hard! There was a policeman controlling traffic at the nearby corner and he immediately called the medics, but how sucky would that be to crash at mile 110 of 112?! I paid a little more attention to that spot as I rode by and finished up my ride w/o incident.


Riding up the helix to enter T2 I started shifting my focus to the run and what that would entail. I already knew I was probably in trouble because of my nutrition, but I was just going to have to tough it out and see what the whole "running" portion was going to bring. First things first though, getting off the bike and getting used to using my legs to run and not ride! I'd pay good money if anyone got a video of what my first few steps looked like. I know they weren't too graceful and I wobbled and even chuckled at myself at that point. Ahhhh, good times.
Finished the 112 mile ride in 6:07:09, an 18.3 mph average. I'll take it!

Coming Soon: The Run!