The Calm Before The Storm | Team EN vs IMWisconsin 2009
We had a total of 13 athletes race on the big day. You can view their full results here. Photos from the weekend are being added to the EN Smugmug Account here, and we’ve even done a Triathlon Race Execution Radio Show on the event. Billy L fired up some basic YouTube footage of raceday here or you can watch the coaches version here. Even though it was a smaller group than our previous IMs the vibe of having so many members on site to cheer made the day, and the week, just awesome. This is evident in the fact that we had not one, but two “Thank You” Threads in the Forums. In the end it was an Ironman, and no one had it easy, but everyone prevailed…congrats Team!
Race Highlights: There are almost too many to list. From John D’s 40′ personal best despite a broken spoke (read report) to Adam B’s breakthrough race with a 10:16 and 41′ personal best (read report) to Matt Ancona meeting and exceeding all expectations as he won the M25-29 AG in 9:49 — a 2+ hour personal best from 2007! We had a blast hanging out at Mile 18 with everyone….
Race Day: It turned out to be a gorgeous day. High-60s to Low-70s for the first half of the day, it did warm up to low/mid-80s on the run…and folks were suffering a bit in the heat. Minimal wind on the day meant a gorgeous lake to swim in and decent day for riding. I think overall the times reflected that. But then, of course, there’s that marathon “thing” and anyone en route to crushing the day had to face some serious internal demons (as you can see from Matt’s pic below).
Rich and Patrick gathered the Team at Midtown Hill, which is mile 50-ish and mile 92-ish on the bike. This hill is the third consecutive one on the IMMoo loop. Seeing folks here is a harbinger of things to come. There were more people “crushing it” than suffering up the climb…but all the EN folks looked simply awesome. Nothing like a really hilly course to make quality pacing guidance — and good execution — stand out. Speaking of standing, here’s a suffer pic from the hill, first loop:
Race Week Build-Up: The whole week was awesome from the Team Dinner at the Great Dane to a solid Four Keys talk and more fun with EN folks all week. Wisconsin is a very unique venue in that the college town / setting really makes for a lively space to hang out before, during, and after the race. From bars to great food to lots of young people dressed up and running around town on a pledge mission, there is rarely a quiet moment!
2010 Plans for Tri Domination: It appears that Team EN’s incredible women’s contingent is planning an all-out assault on IM Wisconsin 2010. Something about Coach Rich wearing a speedo and afro at mile 18 should we get 10 women to sign up….and it HAPPENED! Let me be the first to apologize to all the other competitors who, in less than 12 months will truly know what suffering is. Can’t wait until someone fires up the poll on what color speedo / afro Rich gets to wear…Go Team Go!
Congrats again to everyone who raced. If you haven’t already, be sure to visit the EN website to download your free copy of our Ironman Transition Guide. The next stop on the 2009 Four Keys Tour is Ironman Florida in early November (RSVP here)…be there!!!
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