Ironman Wisconsin 2002
Pete Alfino

Well it is now five days post my second Ironman and I can't begin to describe how wonderful it was to cross the Ironman finish line again. It had been 10 years since my last Ironman and in-between I took 7 years off of racing. Everyone has a reason why they toe the line. I entered this race for several reasons. The first was that it gave me an opportunity to compete in front of my immediate family (my two children along with my mother, father and brother were in attendance). My folks have a cabin approximately one hour from the site and when we still lived in Chicago, Kathy and I used to do a lot of our training in the rural areas of Wisconsin. This race might be the only chance my parents would have to experience something that means so much to me. On top of this, my brother volunteered to be a finish line "catcher" and at times I wondered who was more excited about the race. Additionally, this race would fulfill a life long dream of competing in an Ironman with my wife of 11 years who I had met in a race almost 13 years ago. Some thought it was crazy that parents of two active kids would try to accomplish something as big as the Ironman, we just thought it was something we had to do in our life time. Finally, I needed to prove to myself, that despite being a father of two and the fact that I had retired from the sport of triathlon after my last Ironman in 1992 I still had the desire deep down inside to "just cross the line". In the end all of my dreams would come true.

Unlike my first Ironman, I was extremely confident that I had prepared adequately for this race. One of the first things I did was hire a coach who provided me a set of workouts each month. With his guidance, a patient family and plenty of help from friends, I knew I had put in the necessary miles to finish this race. The only question I had was how much would it hurt.

The weeks before the race are not easy to adjust to. You go from training 20 hours a week to about 5-6 hours. You start eating pasta and pancakes in quantities you thought weren't possible. With all the down time, you begin to feel fat and lazy. I had plenty of time to think about the race as I drove two days and then holed up in my parent's cabin for a couple nights. We registered, then completed one final bike check and then departed with our bikes the day before the race. With ominous clouds looming over head, we covered our bikes in plastic just hours before it would begin to rain. More rest, one last pasta dinner and then attempt to sleep.

Race morning arrives at 4:00 a.m. and eat at least three hours before hand, so your food can digest. Kathy and I, along with my brother and 9 year old son Nick headed out into a dark, cold blustery morning. My immediate thoughts turned to the bike since I had only packed a sleeveless jersey. After finding my bike bag and putting in a jersey with sleeves I found some friends who I had met on the Ironman Chat page some 15 months earlier. As we sat around amongst the competitors I felt confident and in control. With my wife by my side and sitting amongst friends what else would one feel?

As we headed to the water to begin the race, Kathy and I were separated by the 1800 other competitors who would be starting the race at 7:00 a.m. I tried to locate her without success and eventually headed into the water with approximately 10 minutes until the race start. I hung onto a boat to conserve energy and struck up a conversation with someone who was doing his first race. At one point I asked him if he could see the clock and he told me it read 6:59:35.. "" I'm 150 yards away from the starting line so I took off swimming. I paused when I heard the gun go off and saw our friends Scott and Kelli Messick who we had trained with through out the summer. I yelled something to them and jumped into the fray. Swimming 2.4 miles with 1800 people is like cramming yourself into your washing machine and trying to swim during the spin cycle. Open water swimming is always filled with bumps and scrapes and I always try to stay calm and focused. This swim was by far the worst I had ever experienced. My goggles were kicked off a few times and I was kicked and scraped in every body part. I was glad to exit the water in 1hour and twelve minutes. Not the time I wanted, but my goal of eleven hours would not be hurt by this swim if everything else fell into place. I ran up the beach and sat down to have my wetsuit stripped only to be run over by another competitor. I gathered myself and then proceeded up the helix (the winding ramp which leads up a parking garage) into the convention area were I picked up my bike bag and then proceeded into the changing room. Some genius decided to protect the carpeting by laying down plastic and had I know we were going to play slip and slide I would have been better prepared for my eventual fall! Ten minutes later I was on my bike and heading down the opposite helix and heading out on a 112 mile bike ride.

The first 20 miles of the bike were easy. At mile 20 I was averaging 21 M.P.H. and I though "at this rate I would brake the 20 M.P.H." goal I had established before the race. Unfortunately, the hills and winds took over and eventually I ended up averaging 18.8 M.P.H.. The bike course was hilly and you were constantly changing gears throughout the day. The headwind seemed like it was always in my face and although I never felt bad on the bike I never felt great either. The highlights of the course were riding through Verona were 2,000 + plus people lined the course for about 1.5 miles. The cheers were deafening and the support uplifting. I found myself on the second loop telling myself, just get back to Verona!! The last 12 –16 miles were uphill (this is probably while the first 20 were easy) and I anticipated getting off the bike and starting the run.

Back up the helix and out for the run. At the very first turn about a ¼ mile away I saw my brother who was video taping but still didn't see my kids. The first three miles of the run were a piece of cake then the hills came and I started to feel well let's just say, not so good. When you do a race of this magnitude you find out just what you are made of deep down inside. I began to wonder just how painful this day would be. At the 7-mile mark, Kathy was 8 minutes back and looking good. I kept waiting for her to come by and with about 6 out and back loops on the course we had plenty of time to see each other, exchange a wave or a hug and move on. As I approached the half way mark I saw my children for the first time that day. They were jumping up and down and basically going nuts to see dad. I stopped and gave them a kiss and proceeded on. After the race my mother and good friend Wade Smith who was standing approximately a block away from my family both told me I didn't look so good. My mom didn't think I would finish. I knew I would finish I was just wondering how much walking I would have to endure. As the day went on I felt better, the mental game was in full motion, "next time I see the building I will be on my way back in and on my way to the finish". The course was packed with spectators which always helps your mind deflect from the pain at hand. As I ran back through Camp Randall stadium for the last time I knew I was about 3 miles from the finish. At one point you turn a corner and see the state capital building, which was the backdrop for the finish line. One more turn and I could see my children jumping up and down and waving there arms. I stopped briefly to kiss my mom and dad, took off my cap and glasses and joined hands with Nick and Lauren and down the red carpet we went approaching the finishers shoot. I could see my brother beaming on the other side of the finish line. Arms raised, kids by my side we crossed the line in 12:06. Not exactly the time I was looking for but in the end it is the journey that matters the most. The kids and I quickly grabbed my finishers t-shirt, medal and headed back out to the corner to meet mom. Within minutes the four of us were heading down the red carpet again dancing to the music of "play that funky music white boy". Across the line, hand in hand just as we had talked about!!!

In the end we had accomplished what few thought we could do and stay married. The kids were exposed to arguably the hardest single day endurance race in the world. The journey was filled with new and old friends, family and a beautiful race venue! Crossing the line wasn't as difficult as it was the first time. I'm not sure exactly why but I do know it meant a lot more to me!I'll be back in 2003!!!