2009 Ironman Wisconsin Race Report

Ironman Wisconsin this year was Ironman start #17. I had a few goals for this race…which will follow.

#1 – To be in the first chase pack.
#2 – To NOT blow up on the bike.
#3 – To race MY race.
#4 – To WIN.

Well, I scored 50% on this test, which would mean that had i taken any other test at any school i attended growing up, I would have failed miserably! But this was Ironman and while I was looking to ace this test, I was really just hoping for some solid steps forward…and that I did achieve! Here’s how the day went down.

Okay, race morning….I rolled into a super secret parking spot that I cannot reveal because it is always open on race morning. It is only 1 block from the start and if I told you I can guarantee I wouldn’t be able to park there next year!! BTW – I heard about the spot from one of my athletes! Thank you Roz!

As I am walking down to transition I am thinking to myself how quickly the year goes by. It seemed like only last month that I was walking down to the Ironman transition….and no it was NOT because I raced an insane amount of IM’s this year again… ;) This was my first.

I got most of my stuff out of the way and then went to get my tires topped off by the mechanic that was stationed next to our rack….I have to say that this is a huge luxury to racing at the front of the race. Well anyway, my tire was getting filled with air and when we went to pull the “crack pipe” adapter off, it took about a 6″ section of disc cover with it :) AWESOME, I thought….i then asked for the duct tape! That stuff fixes everything, right!?! So 4 pieces of duct tape later, my ghetto ride was ready to roll.

I headed down to the swim start and got ready to roll. The swim was wetsuit legal and the water temp was about 76*….this was gonna be great! I mean don’t get me wrong…I only swim with paddles and a pull buoy, so if we had not gotten the wetsuits and actually had to SWIM, I would have been dropped like a bad habit.

So gun goes off and I find myself next to Will Smith, who I knew was a sub 50 min swimmer and swimming with him would do nothing good for me….I kept it steady and backed off a touch while I waited for the group to come through…I found a gap and just like i was driving on the interstate, and merged in with only one kick to the goggles. Perfect, ALL IM starts should be like that!!!

The highlights of the swim were 2 stops…once for clearing the goggles at about 1k and then to try to keep my cap from falling off ;) which i didn’t succeed at…oh well!!! I will say the water felt much cooler than this.

I got out of the water at the front of our pack and did my thing through transition….I always advise athletes to take it easy up the helix, but i really wanted to be at the front of the chase pack and I knew I would be ok with this short period where my heartrate would reach about 800bpm. I succeeded and rolled out with many of the favorites. Goal number 1, check!

From kilometer 1 I felt good. I sat at the back of the group for about 15 miles and then decided for whatever reason that I should go to the front…partly because I hate sitting in and I also wanted to break the group apart…STUPID!!! You cannot drop a pack of 7 at 20miles into an Ironman unless your name is Chris Lieto or Norman Stadler. I now know I have to wait until about 80 miles into the bike!

Anyway, I rode in 3rd or 4th for most of the first 45 miles while slowly clawing back the 2 leaders up the road.

Then around mile 45, while riding up a steep uphill, the 4th place rider sitting on my wheel came around and apparently I ‘cheated’ and drafted…while going 8mph, on a hill of 15% grade, i was riding too close! WHATEVER, but it is what it is!

“Well,” I thought. “Now I have the experience of getting a penalty and maybe it will allow me to rest up a bit and take in some nutrition.” Two problems…..one, I got a little heated and proceeded to drill the the next 15 miles to the penalty tent…two, i didn’t have any nutrition left when i got there!!

Now I had to sit…for the LONGEST 4 minutes of my life…maybe! I sang the Jeopardy theme song, I joked with the locals and did a lot of staring at the stop watch….i know my antics were appreciated…but I also knew I was losing valuable time. After I got out I decided to get right back at it…..fast forward to the end of the bike….

Get ready….

Here it comes….

Wait for it….

I did NOT blow up on the bike!!!

What!?!?! Yes, your eyes are not playing tricks on you. Blake Becker did not blow up on an Ironman bike ride. I split 4:48:34 + the penalty on this tough course…which was a 30minute PR for me on that course. So goal number 2, check!

Now it gets ugly…proceed with caution. From the first step of the marathon I knew that was it. I think i might have literally said “Whoa!” within the sit few steps. I took in 30 Power Gels on the bike, but apparently not even that could save me. I started with a HR higher than I saw on the helix and to make a long story short, I went from slow to slower on the marathon and ended with a nice 6.5 miles of walking as a cooldown. Thus i had to for-go achieving goals 3 and 4 this year.

Anyway, I now know that it is possible for me to have a great race at this distance. I just have to use my head and take my own advice….which is similar to what others have told me for years! I also know that I race better at 165lbs, than I do at 155lbs. I think that I just needed to prove that I could ride hard for 180k and not blow up….now that it is out of the way, I can focus on things that really matter, like running well after it!!

Congrat’s again to everyone on their races, all the local spectators and volunteers, in addition to my family and friends for their never ending support! You guys are what make it possible!

Stay Tuned….

BB

For my 14th Ironman, 2nd in Kona and 1st here as a professional, I decided to drop in last minute.  Sometimes this yields your best result.  There is no time to let the anxieties of race week build, there is no time to doubt the work you have done and there is no time to get bored.  There is just enough time to land, unpack, make sure everything is working well and then…before you know it, you are in the water waiting for the cannon.

Travels this time around were a little crazy.  After a delayed start to my 3 flight adventure, I just made my connection in Denver, with about 20min to spare.  I sat on the plane wondering whether or not my bike had made it over with me.  I chose not to worry about it, since there was nothing I could do.  Turns out this was a smart move…my bike made it over in time.

The race conditions are looking pretty favorable for a fast day on Saturday.  There is a big swell on the way, but it is not suppose to arrive until Sunday, so the water is going to be fairly flat.  The trade winds have been light and there has been some cloudy cover.  The only negative to this has been the VOG (volcano fog)….which makes for a hazy sky and also gives the lungs a little burn.

All in all, i am ready to rip…..645am sat. www.ironman.com

Thank you everyone for all the great emails and texts!

Cheers,

BB

10 days to go until ‘the big dance’ over in Kona and I am moving pretty well right now. Besides power numbers that are about 10% higher than the summer (278 watts for 4hrs15min…up from 251w this last summer), I am swimming well and I would classify my running as solid.

One key that I have discovered is that I have a tendency to go into races a bit overcooked.  This was apparent after seeing life best numbers following a 2 week IMWI taper, a bad race, then 10 days of recovery.  Most would lose fitness in that time, but that is just what I needed to recover in time for Kona.  This is something that many of you may want to look at if you are ‘flat’ or have a poor performance on race day.  10% undercooked is a LOT better than 1% overdone.

For me, a lot revolves around the 180k ride.  The fact that I am feeling strong here, gives me a lot of confidence for Oct. 11. I am building each week as i get closer to the race and will just do a short rest before game time.

I am very excited to toe the line again and will check in again in a few days.

Cheers,

Blake

www.blakebecker.com

Black Becker

The Trek Store EAST- Madison, WS

July 3rd at 6:30pm (approx. 45-60min)

Free

2008 Ironman Coeur d’Alene Race Report 

10th Professional – 9:26:30 

I thought I should write a race report before I forget more of the details from this last weekend. Each Ironman that I race, I find another piece or two to “the puzzle” of having a great race. This time was no exception. Improvement is ALWAYS good and this race was just that. It was my first top 10 professional finish, it was a PR on a tough course and it is the first time that I have qualified to race in Kona as an elite.

All week everyone worried about the water temperature being too cold, but when we arrived at the start line on Sunday morning, it was back up to 59*F…perfect temp to me. The swim started off pretty well considering it was a beach start…I don’t do well with those. I missed the front group of guys that broke away, but ended up in the second pack about 4:45 behind. There was a wicked current that seemed to push us all over the place, so everyone came out a bit slow. I exited the water in 9th and hustled through T1 to make it out onto the bike in 7th.

Onto the bike I felt pretty good. I was really looking forward to the ride, as it is similar to what I have been training in. I let a few guys go, who were HAMMERING the first section, and just stayed steady. Having my Power Tap is a HUGE key to doing this. I stuck to my plan and rode along in 9th or 10th spot for most of the ride. I started to bring back time on a few guys up the road, but at about mile 70 I started to get tired. I just tried to take advantage of the downhills, stay aero where I could and keep on top of my nutrition. I wasn’t sure what was going on, but I just stayed positive and in the moment. The last 20mi were back into the wind and this section was pretty tough for me.

I got off the bike in 10th and was soon out on the run with Olly Piggin. We chatted a bit in the first few miles and had similar paces. The effort and pace seemed good, but I didn’t have the rhythm that I wanted. I hoped that I would find my groove and could settle in. I was pulling back time on the guys up the road, but then the wheels started to come off a bit. I knew I was in 9th or 10th, so I just focused on running as strong as I could. I was happy with my ability to not back off mentally when it got tough, this is easy to do. Soon, I was in the last mile (a looooooong downhill that feels awesome on the legs) and before I knew it, I was done.

I want to thank all my family, friends and sponsors who support and believe in me and my future in the sport. Timex, The Trek Store Madison, Blue Seventy, Coffee’s of Hawaii, Twin Six, SaltStick, Berkeley Running Company in Madison and my coach, Kurt Perham, for all his guidance. 

I want to give a huge shout out to the Fortis family for hosting me. You guys are awesome!! I also want to thank Sue Hutter and her family for setting everything up and always making sure that I had everything that I needed. 

One more fun fact: Tom Evans, who won, is 14yrs my senior :) Needless to stay I am just beginning!!! 

Next up is Ironman Wisconsin on Sept 7 and Kona on Oct 11!!