Everything leading up to the race was solid. After a final hard 100 mile ride the weekend prior, I took a heavy taper with 2 rest days leading up to the race. I stayed at my brother Brett’s house with his girlfriend Becca and was treated like royalty. They even turned the house temp down for me to sleep better! Two nights out I ate my traditional Taco Bell and the night before I got my sub from Firehouse.
The day
before the race was the 70.3, and I had several friends racing. I got up early
to get my final ride and run in, then went to the bike course to cheers
everyone on. I tried to stay off my feet as much as possible, but it was hard
with all the excitement. I got to see my dad finish before dropping off my
gear, then we hung out for a bit before getting dinner and winding down.
That day
I was having some lower back tightness, so my wife Ty spent over an hour
working on it for me. She also spent another hour stretching me out for the
finishing touches.
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| I was clearly freaking out |
Race morning was smooth with no issues of hiccups. I ate 2 pieces of bread with a banana and peanut butter along with a cliff bar the second I woke up. We left my brother’s and parked a little farther away where there was zero traffic or stress. I got all my gear setup, and we sat in a quiet part of the terrace for me to go through mobility without whacking anyone. Once it was go time, I suited up and walked down to the start. After a few tears I gave everyone several hugs and off I went.
The swim (58:44 - 17th OA): Right before entering the water, Ty gave me one last shout to send me off. There was quite a bit of bumping until the first buoy, then everyone found their space. I was on and off different feet quite a bit and felt like I was slipping back in the group. It wasn’t that windy, but the top side of the loop felt very choppy and I took on a bit of water. I swam with my watch covered, so I had no concept for how fast I was swimming. But, I could feel it buzz every 500 for a sense of how far I’d gone. On the 2nd loop we merged with the 1st loop swimmers and navigated the best I could. Each turn buoy was very congested and had someone resting on it, but I felt like I got around them efficiently. Anytime I had some open water in front of me, I’d elevate my pace, otherwise I felt like I was swimming quite slow. In my mind, I was coming out of the water around 50th. Even so, I was stoked to PR my swim in under 59 minutes when I split my watch.
T1
(5:06): I got
my wetsuit down efficiently as the peelers were very close to swim out. They
got it off in 1 try and I was off. I passed a lot of people up the helix and
absolutely love/hate running up it. The crowd support is incredible. The
volunteers in the change tent were awesome as well, helping me get everything
sorted. This was especially helpful since I decided to borrow a buddy’s aero
socks the day before. Thank you Brian Willing!!! I ran with my shoes in hand
across the top of the parking garage and put them on next to my bike rack while
a volunteer grabbed it for me (and turned my Garmin on!) After grabbing my
bike, I noticed another athlete (who won’t be named) with his shoes already
clipped in. At IMWI, this is not allowed unless you are competing in the pro
field… Needless to say, I moved up 9 positions to 6th with the 3rd fastest
transition. 1s slower than someone who did a flying mount ;)
The Bike
(5:06:08 - 4th OA): I started my bike computer at the bottom of the helix and
took off way too hard, 40W above my target for the first mile or so. Once I
settled down and got through the bike path section/sharp turns, I was right
where I wanted to be. There weren’t too many athletes around me, and I remember
passing a few and getting passed by 2. The stick out was light headwind, so my
pace seemed very slow but my power was spot on. I had 1 guy sit behind me for
the first 20-30 miles, but I was happy to just push my numbers without anyone influencing
my effort in front of me. In 2 different spots I was riding back behind someone
myself as the race official came right up next to me. Both times he gave me a
thumbs up to indicate that I was the within the legal distance. As I came to
mile 40, I knew my crew would be waiting with an update. Ty told me 7th, and at
that point I actually assumed AG instead of OA (thought there were 20-30 people
ahead from the swim still). Going into my first time up the 3 big climbs I felt
incredibly strong and did my best to keep the power controlled under 300W. As I
came through Verona to start my 2nd loop, Ty told me I was in 4th and 10
minutes back. This was good news to me that James Burke was *only that far
ahead halfway through the bike, so I expected him to maybe take another 5
minutes the 2nd half. Planning ahead, I knew I wanted to be within 20 minutes
starting the run and I was confident I could close that gap. Next to mile 80 I
saw them a 3rd time and same story, 4th place but 9 minutes back. It was around
this time that my power started to slip a bit and I was concerned about forcing
it too much to run anyone down. I really took my time up those 3 climbs again
and was ready for the home stretch. When I got back to the stick, 2 sets of
spectators told me I was in 4th place and only 3 MINUTES back from the lead. I
wasn’t sure I could believe the gap closed that much in 20 miles while my own
power was dropping. Once the 2nd group said the same thing, I was incredibly
motivated and felt like a win was within reach! The last 10 miles we had a
generous tailwind pushing us home, and I focused on the bumps and staying safe along the bike path. By the numbers, I landed at 214W average and 223 NP
with an average speed of 21.9mph. This was about 25W higher from when I raced in
2021.
T2 (2:06):
Before the helix, I got my shoes loosened and started pedaling up. As I got to
the top, I attempted to pull my feet out and was met with some nasty leg
cramps. I wasn’t sure I’d get on top of my shoes in time but managed to get
them off and barely got my leg over in time. A very slow dismount, so I may
pull my feet out before the helix next time (yep, see you in 2024). The bike
catchers were all cheering me on, but no one offered to grab my bike. I was about
to leave it along a wall when one of them came to and let me hand it off. When
I got to the change tent, I saw James still there putting on his shoes. I wasn’t
sure what to make of this as I now had no idea who the other 2 guys were ahead
of me. Having my socks already on, I blew through the rest of transition with
the fastest time of the day.
Run
(3:00:56 – 2nd OA): Now keep in mind here… I’ve never been in the top
5 coming out of T2. After splitting my watch, I saw 2nd place running
across the top of the parking garage. I knew right away my pace was quicker and
closed the 50 meter gap before we even hit the exit. I told Ty I would at least be satisfied with
my race if I got to run with one of the lead bikes, and that box was
immediately checked. I must’ve been a little too quick because I didn’t see my gang
by the run out for an update. Regardless, I knew the HR target and started to
execute. As I was running by the capital, I was able to get an update telling
me I was 3 minutes back from 1st. I jokingly asked a few volunteers
if I looked faster than him, and I was given a “yeah, you’re flying”. The first
2 miles were downhill and clicked off a pair of 6:30 miles. A few times I was able
to see 1st up the road and got a 2.5-minute and 2-minute split about
a mile apart. I knew I was closing at least 30s/mile, so I stayed patient and
kept my HR under control. This was the best feeling for the first half of the
run…Telling myself, you need to ease up, don’t go to hard. Consciously holding
myself back meant I was feeling strong, I didn’t over-bike, and I felt like I
was floating out there. As I got to the base of Observatory Hill, I made
contact with Kyle in the lead. We exchanged a few words, and I went to work up
the hill. When I finished the twisty descent, I looked to the top and he hadn’t
made it up yet. With no one ahead of me, my focus switched to who might be coming
from behind (a thought I’ve never really had before). It was so cool running
with the motorcycle up the road and my bike escort Thad right behind me. I got
to my favorite part of the course which is the out and back up State Street. I could
see my friends and family up the road, and everyone just exploded. It was
surreal to be leading an Ironman with 20 miles still to go, and the run leg my strength.
The energy and excitement had me feeling like I had already won….but Matt, this
is an Ironman let’s not forget. I couldn’t get a gap time since I was the FIRST
across each timing mat. Again, never been in these shoes before. As I continued
around the top of course, my next focus was getting halfway. As I passed the
BBMC tent, my buddy Dustin said he’d have my gap when I came back around. 8 minutes…What
is happening?!? As I got back to the capital, I was still feeling good as I
grabbed 3 more gels from my special needs bag. I pulled more energy from the
crowds and I really felt that rush as I was met with athletes on their first loop.
I split a 1:28 that first half, just over 6:40 pace…but I started to unravel at
mile 15. Running on the turf in Camp Randall Stadium seemed to take all the
energy from my legs, and that float left me. Instead of being able to elevate
my HR up a notch, it dropped. What I thought was going to be an “easy” jog to the
finish turned into a grind. When I got back to Observatory hill, I shuffled up
at a 10 min/mile. It was a controlled stumble on the way back
“Who
cares about breaking the tape...”
“You don’t
want it that bad...”
“We’re
fading, just give up...”
I did my
best to snap out of it, drawing on my community back home intently refreshing
the tracker. I also started my runner math. With 10K to go, I knew I could give
up 1 min/mile and didn’t think James would be running faster than 6:30’s. I
convinced myself 7:30 pace is all I’d need to seal the victory, and any time
under that was additional insurance. I don’t remember much other than being
completely numb to cheers and it felt like I was running 9’s. Looking back, my slowest
split was only 7:27… but it felt so much worse. On the final out and back, I
was turning away as I saw James for the first time just coming around the corner.
I calculated a 9-minute lead with that final 5K. I still felt threatened, so I
kept pressing but couldn’t get my HR up or go fast. When I hit mile 25, it was uphill
to the finish and my hamstrings simultaneously cramped. I panicked at the thought
of walking it in and performed an awkward straight legged run until it subsided.
When the capital came into view, for the first time I knew the race was won. I
closed the uphill section in a 7min mile and came around that final turn…
The
Finish (9:12:58 – 1st OVERALL): The cameras, lights, red carpet, and the
TAPE outstretched waiting for me. Words cannot describe what I felt in that
moment. The pain melted away, I pumped my fists in the air, and I was on top of
the world. When my feet hit the carpet, I saw Ty standing there next to the
media, big smile on her face waiting for me to finally grab that tape. Some
last second high fives and I was the 2023 Ironman Wisconsin Champion. To come
back to my first full on September 10th, no pro field, and my wife
there to hang the medal around my neck… Embracing her at the finish line, tape
laying at our feet, was the happiest moment of my entire life. WE did it.
Kudos if
you made it through all of that. I tried to leave nothing out so I can read
this again and remember as much as I can. My friends and family were all there
for me celebrating and losing their minds. Emotions flying, tears rolling, and hugging
everyone in sight. I can say with 100% confidence that I could not have done this
without you all. Whether you were there or back home, I drew on your energy the
entire day. I don’t want to list names for fear of leaving someone out, but you
know who you are. I am going to continue to soak it in for the rest of the week
before picking apart my performance. My run should have been better on the back
half, but on that day…it got the job done. This was the perfect end to my
triathlon season, and I look forward to working towards Kona 2024. I’m sure
there will be a few more people paying attention this time.
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| My Team |
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