Ironman Madison 70.3 Race Recap

I did this race with my daughter Madeleine and my wife Susan. I am so proud of them both. They both had awesome times and finished strong.

My Race Report

Swim: I was worried about my swim and thought I would be super slow so I started with the 50-55 min group. It turns out I am faster than I thought and I spent most of the time hitting people’s feet. I have never been kicked so much in my life! Next time I will start in the group that I think I will finish with. I had a big smile coming out of the water. (No snakes)

T1: We ran up the parking ramp, it was quite a long way. I wouldn’t expect a quick transition in Madison.

Bike: I was the most nervous about the bike, mainly because I didn’t know how much energy I would need going into the run. The course was SUPER hilly and I was much slower than I thought. I was hoping for 18.7 mph avg and I ended up 18.1. At about mile 40 I realized that I still feel good and I have a lot left so I will pick it up. My avg power was 159W (I don’t know if that is good?) and my Avg HR was 117 bpm. I got 3000 ft of ascent! Note to self: I need to learn how to fuel and eat food on the bike ride.

T2: This was very confusing and there was no marked start line for the half marathon. I did run across a timing mat inside the parking structure but I just assumed it was for tracking. Because I didn’t know it was for tracking I sat around and fiddled with my hydration belt for a couple of minutes. (This is my only complaint about the organizers, everything else was AWESOME)

Run: I felt so good at the start of the run. I cam blazing out at an 8 min/mile. I felt so good that I didn’t believe I was running that fast. I asked the lady next to me if we were really running that fast or if it was the buildings. She, along with my first-mile split, confirmed that I was running a 7:50 pace. I eased into a comfortable 9-minute pace after that and spent most of my time talking to people, making jokes, yelling “GO GOPHERS”. At one point two ladies ran out SCREAMING for their friend. They ran with her and screamed GO CARLA GO CARLA for at least 50 yards. As I passed them I yelled “My name is Brent by the way” They started yelling “GO BRENT GO BRENT”. The guy next to me started to laugh.

At about mile ten I started to get some gut cramps. It was either gas or something worse. Like the runs or… you get the idea. I was afraid to fart. I really struggled with my pace at that point. At mile 13 (Yes with .1 to go), I got a huge cramp in my right quad. Other than that, nothing to complain about.

I missed my “A” goal by 5 minutes but I am super happy with the results. I was 18th out of 58 in my age group.

What did I learn?

  • I need to start with a faster swim group, and I need to join a swim master class.
  • I should lay it out there and not sandbag.
  • I need to bike more and do more BRCKS
  • Eat more food
  • Fuel more
  • Bike harder
  • As my wife always says “Just go faster”


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