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Brandon's IMMI Race Report

Brandon Whitby’s

2019 Ironman Wisconsin Race Report

Planning and Lead up

Fiona and I have been racing Ironman’s for a long time and have raced all over the world in some very cool destinations. Ironman Wisconsin, for many years was on my “to do” list as I’d heard about the course and liked the time of year. The issue was that much of my racing focus was to race well enough to qualify for Kona. This meant that it never worked out. I’d typically be trying to qualify for the current year (Wisconsin is one of the first to award slots for the following year) or I was already qualified, and Wisconsin was too close to race then recover for Kona. Last fall, Fiona and I knew that we would not be trying to race Hawaii in 2019 as we had already started to rebuild our house and life just would not permit proper training and racing early season to even attempt it.

This created the opportunity to race Wisconsin with the idea of trying to secure a Kona 2020 spot. Even though I tried to convince Fiona to race, she wasn’t interested. She was too busy working on our house details (I’m not into the details) and looking after family. Since I wasn’t interested in going alone, I figured I’d try to convince my Muskoka training buddy, Jon to come along. I don’t think I finished saying the words “Ironman Wiscon….”, and he said, “I’m in”!

The training leading up to the race was very slow to get started. With no time away from winter and us not living in our own house, training wasn’t convenient and was easy to neglect. On numerous occasions, Jon and I talked about getting serious and consistent but were slow to make it happen. As I’ve done these events so many times, I know what it takes pull it off. Training really got started in May. I started with just trying to be consistent with regular exercise for the month and if I could do that then I’d enter the race in June. By this time, Nigel, Ali and Jon’s dad Bob were talking about racing it too so that helped me buckle down and get the workouts in given it was my idea.

Summer training went pretty well. My weight was coming down. Typically, I race in low 150’s. In April I topped out at 172lbs. Not something I’m proud of but we had a rough winter and spring. Given I was not leaving myself with tons of time to prepare, I decided to add a training camp away in Colorado in August. Timing would be ideal, and I respond well to camps with large training volumes. The last couple of weeks of training went really well so I knew that the time spent away was paying dividends. My swim improved back to the level I’d normally expect, and my bike numbers also got easier. Even my running was feeling pretty good. Fitness wise, I was feeling that I was in a good enough shape that if I execute properly then I should have a shot to be competitive. I turned 50 this summer which put me in a new age group. One less Kona slot than 45-49 but it meant that I didn’t have to race Nigel!

Madison Wisconsin proved to be a great city and the venue was very cool. I was getting the updates from Jon and Nigel who arrived on Wednesday and did all the recon for me. I flew in on Friday with Ali, which got us there around mid day. No time to mess around. Registered, jumped in for a quick swim then out for dinner for Nigel’s birthday. Saturday was the typical routine of short workouts then bike and bag drop off. Early to bed after watching Women’s US Open tennis and a dinner on the BBQ at the hotel.

Race Day

I slept pretty well and was looking forward to the day. Breakfast was lighter than a normal race morning. I just wasn’t hungry and didn’t want to force it if my tummy wasn’t keen. No nerves or stress about it and figured I’d deal with whatever the day threw at me on the course. There was rain in the forecast but not till later. It was a cool morning, damp and overcast but not raining. Nigel, Jon and I talked about easing into the day with a plan to swim steady but not hard. Ride fast but focus on being aero and efficient. Needed to stay within ourselves in order to nail nutrition which would set us up for a proper marathon. Sounds easy.

The swim turned out to be a washing machine type of swim. Large chop all the way which made sighting and swimming steady nearly impossible. Not ideal but figured that I’d do my best to stay relaxed, swim efficiently and just get out knowing that others would be slower and likely more frustrated than me. At approximately halfway of the large one loop swim as I tried to sight for buoys, my back spasmed. I’ve had the issue for a long time, and I’ve had episodes at races before but not ever during a race. I stopped swimming, rolled onto my back to try to get it to calm down. It felt like a long time but was probably only 30-45 seconds of not moving but felt like forever. Rolled over and managed to swim the rest thinking about how I’ll try to get through the day. Swam just under 59 min which was the second slowest of my 34 Ironman swims. Standing up at the end of the swim I was very sore. My back hurt which caused me to go very slowly through T1 and wetsuit strippers.

The ride plan was to race a little under my typical average watts. My concern was that I didn’t have a lot of long rides in me and didn’t want to fade in the last hour. I rode very comfy at the start to let my back and legs build into it. It wasn’t long before Nigel came by me (probably around 3 or 4 km) then Jon came by around at around 10 km. It was good to see them but knew I wouldn’t see them again till the run. Have a good day guys! For me the ride went really quite well. The legs felt decent after about 40 min of trying to find them. The course was fun. Lots of hills, turns and tons of people out cheering on very rural sections. I must say that it went by very fast. Lots to see and focus on. My nutrition was good, my spirits were in a good place and more importantly, my back was behaving. I wasn’t even thinking about it anymore. I rode well and ended up being about 10 watts lower than my plan. Tactically, I felt this was fine given the amount of passing on the second loop and my desire to try to have a good run. The last hour was difficult and I was really looking forward to hitting T2. My bike split of 5:17 was pretty good knowing my watts were a tick lower than planned. I knew a technical course like this would provide me an advantage over others so was pretty confident that I was at or near the front of my age group.

The marathon is where I really wanted the day to come together. Even though I wasn’t running the best I’ve been in prior years, I was confident that I would be able to run well. Running through T2 was not pain free though. Standing up again really hurt my lower back. I left T2 slowly running with very crooked form. I thought of my buddy Ralph who runs crooked all the time and somehow still enjoys it. (Haha, Sorry Ralphy). After a couple of miles, my form returned, my legs were happy, and my pace quickened effortlessly. My confidence was high after being told by a spectator that I was leading my age group by 13 min around the eight-mile mark. I saw Nigel then shortly after Jon. I was hoping they were both in good positions and feeling good. By the time I reached halfway, the lead had increased to 17min. Still feeling good, my confidence grew that I could finish off this race in grand fashion. Mentally, I was calculating a split of approx. 3:25 (even with a slow couple first miles) so I was pumped to be going well and feeling strong. Then………around 16 miles, my back goes into spasm again. I’m forced to stop and try to get it to relax. I went from believing I was going to nail this race to wondering if I’d be able to finish in a matter of moments. It was an incredibly long 10 miles to the finish. Painful and mentally exhausting. I went from running like a champ (for me) to shuffling along trying not to bleed time to 2^nd place. At 22 miles, I was told that my lead was now 9min. Ouch. In the end, I lost 2 minutes per mile over the last 4 miles but managed to hold on to win my age group by less than a minute. My run split of 3:42 was not what I was hoping for but was good enough to win my first age group victory of all my ironman starts. Yeah!

Last year I missed winning IM Boulder by 26 seconds, so I’m very happy with this result. The day was such a roller coaster for me. From feeling great and relaxed to not knowing how I’d get it done. I guess this is where experience really pays off. After finishing and hearing that Jon also won his division and Nigel took 2^nd, I was super happy knowing that our goal of securing #NRGkona2020 slots was achieved. Seeing Ali and Nicole on the marathon also helped as they were both smiling and cheering. Thanks Ladies. Congrats also to Bob (Jon’s dad) for getting it done.

Thanks to Fiona for her support and guidance. This one was not ideal on our life this year and without her support and understanding, it never would have happened. These races, the training, the commitment and resources are draining on every family, however, I do believe that it’s all worth it. The experiences, lessons and examples set are truly life changing for ourselves and those around us.

Kona 2020 is now the focus. I’ll put out the disclaimer now. To all my fellow athletes, I’m going to nag the crap out of you to make sure you do your best to join us at the pier next October. Let’s make it a huge NRG crew on the big island. Mahalo!

Stay fit and healthy,

Brandon