2010 Ironman Wisconsin Part 1

This is part 1 of my Ironman race report. I'll do my best to get the other parts up as quickly as possible but because I have so many photos to go through it may take longer than I would like.

We left for Madison on Thursday September 9th, a little later in the morning than I was hoping for at 7:30. Packets were available for pick-up until 4:00, and although I wasn't planning on getting mine until Friday, it would have been nice to sneak in before everyone else arrived in town. The drive west through Ohio was without incident and soon we were welcomed to the crossroads of America: Indiana!

The drive through Indiana, much like Ohio, was uneventful. We were able to enjoy the scenic farmland and RV manufacturers that is northern Indiana. One of these days we're going to stop and visit the Motorhome and RV Hall of Fame!

Gary, Indiana, on the other hand, was a colossal crap-hole. It was a huge eye sore and smelled bad. But we knew to expect that so we stopped for lunch and filled up the gas tank before getting that far.

We followed the directions of Gyna, our GPS, who wanted to take us on the scenic Chicago Skyway. It sounded much more impressive than it actually was. Why is it even called a Skyway? I could see the downtown skyline but I was more concerned with driving in the congestion that is Chicago. We had stop and go traffic for miles and it took us at least half an hour to get through Chicago.

Someone told me the Sears Tower had changed it's name, but we still found it!

I will admit, Chicago is very impressive. I wouldn't want to live there though.

Finally, after many hours on the road and $26.00 in tolls, we reached Wisconsin!

Arriving in Madison.

I was able to snag a room downtown at the Hyatt Place Hotel when one became available about 4 weeks out from race day. Otherwise we would have been staying at the Staybridge Suites East, about 8 miles from downtown. Our hotel was superb! We felt almost spoiled staying there. It was a brand new facility, immaculately clean, with all the amenities we could need. And the staff was some of the most helpful and friendly we've ever met! We had a king room with a sleeper sofa, plenty of room to put all my gear, and free Internet to stay connected.

The view out our window.

There were some very hip and stylish condos right below our window.

For dinner Thursday night we decided to walk over to an Italian restaurant called Paisan's. It was only a couple minutes walk just around the corner a bit.

They had beer.

And martinis!

Bailey was enjoying the bread and I nearly cleaned my plate. The first of a few large pasta dishes I would have to enjoy before race day!

After dinner we walked down the street to the race site. They were still in the process of setting up everything.

An empty transition area. This thing was HUGE! (And this is just looking one direction!)

We took a few minutes to walk around the Frank Lloyd Wright designed Monona Terrace. It was a fantastic venue and really ended up working well as a race site.

Overlooking Lake Monona. This would all be lined with spectators for the swim on race day.

Looking back at the Wisconsin State Capitol. Both Mrs. P and I thought this was probably THE cleanest downtown area we've ever been to. We felt so comfortable walking everywhere that weekend!

We returned back to the hotel and went for a swim. The pool was small but Jr. P and I had fun and it relaxed me so much I was able to sleep well that first night, which is something that doesn't happen much for me in hotels.

Stay tuned for Part 2!