Rev3 Wisconsin 70.3 Race Report

Matt and I had a blast this weekend at Rev3 Wisconsin!  From the location to the venue and the people everything was top notch!

Love the semi truck!

We set out after dinner on Friday for a nine hour drive to Wisconsin.  Thankfully we decided last minute to stop and stay overnight in Indiana.  That definitely helped break up the trip and let us get some more sleep prior to the race.  We arrived in Wisconsin around 11 am on Saturday and did the typical pre-race routine: packet pickup, 15 min bike ride, 10 min run, mandatory athlete meeting, etc.  Unfortunately we missed the practice swim, but we did go down to the lake to check out the water temp...mid 70's guaranteeing a wet suit legal race!  Before heading back to the hotel we did a once over on our bikes and racked them in transition for the night.

HI Indiana.

Love our sponsors!

Fernando all tucked in for the night.

My grasshopper friend/Fernando's personal body guard!

For our pre-race dinner we went to a fancy little Italian place called Sarentos.  I enjoyed my typical spaghetti and meatballs (sauce on the side) and Matt got his chicken parmigiana (no breading).  We turned in early knowing race morning would come much to soon...and it did.  No matter how many times we do this routine, 4 am will never be a pleasant time to wake up.

Transition was about a 10 min walk from where we parked so we made sure to get there with plenty of time to spare in case we forgot something and had to go back to the car.  We were probably one of the first 10 cars there ;)  Transition set-up went smooth and we had plenty of time to stand in line at the PoP's before heading down to the water, which was another quarter mile walk.  

Love me some Rev3.

Race morning at transition.

The Swim (42:09, 2:11/100m, 16/24):
The swim start was unique in two ways.  First, it took place at a place called Tommy Bartlett's where they host water skiing shows.  So there was a little grandstand and staging area where all the spectators could sit and watch.  Secondly, because of the location it was a time trial start with two athletes going off at a time, three seconds apart from the next two athletes.  This was nice because it avoided the chaos and full contact swimming that normally ensues during mass wave starts.  My age group lined up to start after the pros and all the amateur men and Clydesdale had gone.  For the most part I had clear water to swim.  Only a handful of times did I have to re-position myself because of other swimmers.  The swim was an out and back and was fairly uneventful.  My time was around the same pace I always swim.  I swear I am only capable of going one speed no matter how hard I think I am swimming (unfortunately that speed is slow).  What I really need to focus on is swimming straight and sighting better.  I spend more time going side to side and zig zag than I do making forward progress.  If I got my sighting down I think I could easily take 2-3 min off my swim time, if not more.  

The Bike (3:17:45, 16.99mph, 8/24):
Going into the bike I really had no expectations of time.  I knew this course was going to be tough and I knew there were three big climbs I would have to deal with.  My main concern was to focus on not pushing too hard and burning myself out for the run.  Even with the hills I actually really liked this bike course.  It was very scenic and had enough rollers and fast flats to make up for the longer climbs.  I did very well with my nutrition as well, taking in one or two PowerBar Cola Energy Blasts every 15 minutes and getting a sip of PowerBar Perform every half hour with some plain water in between.  The weather was a lifesaver for this course being in the 70's and overcast pretty much the entire ride.  I carried two water bottles and didn't need any more than that, so I was able to ride through the water stops.  

The Run (2:04:23, 9:30min/mile, 9/24):
I am happy to report that this was my best 70.3 run EVER!  My only goal was to run the entire thing without walking...not even at the water stops.  I finally FINALLY hit this goal!  My legs felt great and I made sure to keep my pace at a manageable rate so I wouldn't blow up half way through.  My splits were very consistent as well, minus the last split which was mostly uphill.  If you can't tell, I was stoked to finally have accomplished this...especially on this course which had quite a few hills.  Overall I felt great, even managed to take in  nutrition at mile 6.5, which is also a big deal for me as I usually am only able to keep water down at this point.  I loved the course and there were plenty of spectators and things to look at and keep me distracted along the way.

Overall (6:09:18, A/G: 9/24, F: 36/119, O/A: 223/409):
Overall I am very happy with my time.  I know it's impossible to compare races, but this was the same time I got at IM Muncie last year which was flat and fast.  This makes me think I would have had an awesome PR or at least broken that 6 hour mark had this been a flat course as well.  I definitely think the weight training and core work that Matt and I have included for the last month and a half have really helped my strength and endurance.  I have also been eating alot healthier which I know makes a huge difference as well.

Afterthoughts:

As always, Rev3 put on a fantastic event.  It was very well organized, well run, highly supported (I was impressed with fan support, especially on the bike course), and was well marked.  The venue was great and there were a million things to do for spectators or family and friends traveling with their athlete.  I have never seen so many water parks in my life!

Matt, me, and Carole (aka Mama Bear)!

I also enjoyed meeting up with the Rev3 staff and Age Group Team.  I have never seen a harder working group of people in my life.  This is definitely a class act group of people and there is some hardcore talent on this team as we had multiple people on the podium.  I am just honored to be included as a part of it!  

Post-race fuel source ;)

And finally, I can't forget about our amazing sponsors (click on the sidebar logos for links to the websites)!  Thank you to Blueseventy and SBR Sports (TriSlide, TriSwim, and Foggle) for keeping me afloat and with crystal clear vision during my swim.  Thank you to Pearl Izumi for their super comfy and stylish tri-kit and shoes (I ran in the PI Kissaki's and had no issues whatsoever).  Thank you to Swiftwick for keeping me blister free with their socks.  Thank you to PowerBar for fueling me during this event.  And thank you to NormaTec for aiding in recovery afterwards!

Loving my NormaTec Boots!