IRONMAN WISCONSIN 2010 about the course and more

Details for Sunday, September 12

Sunny skies. High 78F. Winds WSW at 10 to 15 mph.Evening: Isolated thunderstorms during the evening, then skies turning partly cloudy overnight. Low near 55F. Winds WSW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 30%.

It's shaping up to be a great weather day for Ironman Wisconsin 2010. The temperature if it stays near 78F is neither too hot or too cold and winds appear to be reasonably calm. I don't think there is an Ironman race in history that was ever windless, so 10-15 mph is not so bad.

If the rain (30%) happens later in the day it can sometimes help runners. If it falls during the bike it's not quite as great.

Best of luck to everyone in Ironman Wisconsin 2010---especially all you first-timers.

Ironstruck Ray

Now that Ironman Canada and Ironman Louisville are in the books for 2010, it's the turn of the Ironman Wisconsin 2010 to be center-stage in the world of triathlon.

On Sunday September 12, 2010 the gun will sound for another one of those incredible Ironman swim starts.

No matter what part of the world an Ironman is taking place it is always a tremendously exciting time for all those involved. That includes the organizers, volunteers, and of course the athletes and their families and friends who will be there to cheer them on.

I was at Ironman Canada in Penticton 2010 and witnessed first-hand many great performances by pros and age-groupers alike.

I'm sure we will see the same in Madison.

THE SWIM COURSE

The Ironman Wisconsin 2010 swim will take place in Lake Monona and will be a two loop counter-clockwise swim. I never could understand why the Ironman swim direction is counter-clockwise in some Ironman events.

To me that just means it's harder for many of the swimmers to stay on course. That in turn makes more work for the volunteers out on the lake who are trying to keep everyone going in a somewhat straight line.

It's a well known fact that most swimmers breathe to the right because most people are right-handed and that's their dominant side. So in effect, every time they breathe on a counter-clockwise course, the are looking "away" from the course markers.

However if they were swimming clockwise they would be looking "toward" the course markers. It's been my experience that it's far easier to stay on course when this is the case.

The only alternative is to learn to bi-lateral breathe and for many people this is a stretch as often the novice Ironman has to learn how to swim period in order to do the Ironman.

Adding on bi-lateral breathing is just more of a challenge and takes more time than many novice ironmen might have. Often someone will take just one year to have their one shot at an Ironman finish line and training time is at a premium because of family and other commitments.

I'm sure there is a good reason for race organizers to design swim courses this way and most likely it has to do with the available space on the beach for the swim start.

Sometimes the beach size and angle of the start are more conducive to a counter-clockwise swim direction.

One more worrisome thought I might have about the direction of the swim in Ironman Wisconsin 2010 is the rising sun. I have never done this course but have talked at length with those who have and they said the glare from the sun made things even more difficult.

For myself, I would avoid counter-clockwise swims as I have always had a hard time adjusting to them for some reason. I also have trouble looking into the sun.

I actually competed in the inaugural and second Ironman CDA races and both of those first two years the course was clock-wise. I actually had my best ever swim time on that course and it is two loops as well.

For some reason they changed it to counter-clockwise after that. I really like that race and the volunteers and would recommend it to anyone.

As for myself, I would not go back to Couer d'alene unless it goes back to clock-wise. Especially when there are other courses like Ironman Canada that are clock-wise and less of a struggle for me as I have always been a crappy swimmer and need every edge I can get.

Here is a map of the Ironman Wisconsin 2010 swim course. The Wisconsin race organizers should be commended. These are the best and easiest to read race maps I have ever seen.

THE BIKE COURSE

From all accounts the Wisconsin Ironman 2010 bike course will be the same as it always has been and from all accounts it does not appear to have the long endless climbs of Ironman Canada, but has lots of "rollers".

In some ways it sounds a lot like the Ironman Couer d'alene course with its fast, sweeping downhill turns that pretty much force you to brake or else disaster might be the result.

I don't think it matters which Ironman bike course you happen to be on. They are all 112 miles long and they all have to be given proper respect or else you will be on the marathon death march.

This is one of those courses where is sounds like you can get out of the water, get on your bike and really fly for about 30 kilometers.

Of course that does not mean you should do it. That's a recipe for disaster and unless you are a pro or very accomplished cyclist, it's best to take it out easy and mete your energy out over the course of the day.

See my book "Ironstruck...The Ironman Journey" and read the Ironman on a Glass of Water section.

Here is a map of the Ironman Wisconsin 2010 Bike Course.

Run

Pretty much the entire Ironman Wisconsin 2010 run course takes place in the Madison downtown and college campus area.

Like the swim and bike portions of the race, you will be running two laps. The start will be at Monona Terrace and take you past the State Capitol building.

From there runners will head past the capital on State Street and then towards the Camp Randall football stadium.

After leaving the stadium, runners will head toward Lake Mendota and the Temin bike path.

This is where you will find some very steep hills. In any Ironman race it only makes sense to take it easy on the really steep hills.

This marathon course is no different and don't forget you will be doing the steep hills twice on this double loop course.

The downside of double loops courses rears it's ugly head in the run. In almost every double loop course you will be taken right past the finish line and then will have to run away from it and do another loop.

I came across that in Ironman CDA and I had to grit my teeth when I ran past the transition area entrance twice before heading back out onto the highway.

HERE IS THE MAP OF THE WISCONSIN IRONMAN 2010 RUN COURSE

AID STATIONS

You will the aid stations are about one mile apart on the run in the Ironman Wisconsin 2010 event.

On the bike course they will be spotted every ten miles or so.

As far as nutrition it's much the same as every Ironman race, however what's available can vary year to year should the sponsorship change in any given race.

Bike Aid Station

Ironman PERFORMWaterPower-Bar GelPower-BarBananas

Run Aid Stations

Ironman PERFORMWaterColPower-Bar GelPretzelsChicken Soup BrothOrangesBananasPower-Bar

As you can see, the replacement drink of choice for Ironman Wisconsin 2010 is Ironman PERFORM.

This is a good example of having different sponsorships. Another year or perhaps another Ironman race might have GATORADE as the sponsor supplying electrolyte replacement drinks and that's what you would find on the course.

With this in mind it wouldn't hurt to find out what drinks they are supplying on the course ahead of time if you plan on using what's available at the aid stations. That way you can train with it and find out if it agrees with you.

For instance, if you trained all year with Gatorade it would make good sense to bring your own for use in the race and not go with what is being supplied.

WEATHER CONDITIONS

It's always a good idea to try and find out ahead of time what the long range weather forecast is for race day.

Of course it can still fluctuate, but if the race venue has been in a serious heat-wave that looks like it might still be around race-day at least you can be somewhat prepared.

The same thing applies if it has been unseasonably rainy and cold. In that case you might need arm-warmers for the bike.

Average September Weather

Typical air temperature varies between a high of 71 and a low of 48.

For the most part, September in Madison is generally very mild.

It is pretty dry with low humidity and calm winds.

As far as the swim goes, you can expect the water to be quite warm and into the upper 70's.



I hope you take the opportunity to have this 7 Part e-Course articles sent to you. You will receive one every three days so you can have a glimpse of what you can expect on your Ironman journey. Best of all it's free and there's not enough free stuff in the world these days.

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