This all still almost feels like a dream, the race went far better than I could have ever hoped for. My crew was incredible in keeping me fueled and going for the entirety. I can not possibility thank Chad and Andy enough, this would not have been possible without them.
I went into the Washington Island Ultra with a goal of 17 loops, because I thought it would allow for some rest with some conservative pacing and frankly because it would put me over 200 miles, which was pretty neat. I was a bit fearful of cramping or bonking along the way, so I really wanted to leave some room for me to recover if needed.
Going into race day, I was anxious and ready to just get started. Having to travel, setup a camp, eat dinner, see off the 36 hour competitors, sleep, eat breakfast and then still wait around a couple of hours… gives you a lot of time to think. Doubt never really played into my mind here, but the enormity of the coming effort certainly did. I was well aware of how I felt coming out of 12 and 13 hours Ironman efforts, and here I was about to double that.
The morning started off with the swim. The water was like glass, and since this was in Lake Michigan, I thought I’d better take advantage and knock out most of the swim before the conditions worsened. Just before we hit the 10AM start time, a guy from the 36 group was swimming in and kicked up a rather large water snake at the swim out area. Not exactly the greatest sight to see right before heading into the water for 15 loops! Snakes don’t really bother me thankfully, I figure they’re more afraid of me than I am of them.
The swim went really well. The first couple of laps I was a bit quick, and Chad had me slow it up as I was coming in a little out of breath. After finding my pace I just enjoyed my time out there in the water. Going into this race I was prepared for it to be quite a cold swim, but the water temp was surprisingly comfortable. By the second half of the swim session, there was a noticeable increase in the size of the waves rolling in, nothing hard to swim through, but it really made me glad I started early to avoid the worsening conditions.
Swimming 15 loops actually went by really quickly, I was under 10 minutes per loop, even with grabbing some food and water each time through, it only took about 2 hours and 15 minutes.
Starting out next on the bike, I had an idea in mind for pacing based on WATTs, or how hard I’m pressing the pedals. My goal was to stick with a max effort of 140 with no minimum effort, base that just off of how I was feeling throughout the event. I wasn’t certain how hilly the course was going be, and was a little shocked to see about 400 feet per loop, meaning 6800ft at my target of 17 loops. Which, is quite a bit of climbing.
So, my first lap went great, it was a really beautiful course, well marked and a lot too look at through the trip. We pass through some amazing rolling hills, that has some pretty heavy tree cover and glimpses of the shoreline, and sunset when it came. There is a lavender farm and some hay fields. Another rolling hill section that you can build some speed into before coming across one of the coolest farms I’ve seen.
I kept to the pacing quite well and as my power started to slide, the time I was taking per loop didn’t seem to be too affected by it. This became a new strategy then of working smarter not harder. I took the hill climbing really easy, and the descents I started to do by just coasting. Loops were taking me just under 40 minutes to complete which lined up pretty perfectly with my plan for the day.
The first bike session I did 8 loops, then took a break to get some actual food in and change it up just a little bit by getting some run miles started. Andy made up some Mac’n’Cheese with hot dogs, and it was perfect, exactly what I needed at that point. The change in taste and texture from all the ‘race’ food was a wonderful break.
Setting off on the first couple of runs was also a really nice change. Top of mind again was pacing, I started out a little quick, like I usually do, but Chad got me on pace pretty quickly, and soon I settled into a rhythm. This first run was only 2 loops, for 4 miles, then it was time to get as many more loops in as possible before the sun went down.
About 7 pm, or 9 hours into the event I started off on the second bike session. This was now technically ‘night’ riding time, so all the lights had to be on. I was curious to see just how different things were to get riding when it got to be pitch black out. In a couple loops in I found out, it was actually pretty nice. I knew the course quite well at that point, and they had orange traffic cones setup at each intersection with puck lights under them so they glowed. Brilliant idea, and it was really easy to keep on track. While biking through the night I have a light on the front of the bike, and for just a little battery powered guy it throws out a ton of light. This was really the first time I got to try it out, and it worked really well on the first loop at lighting up the trees above me, not so much for the road though. Thankfully it was light enough to still see on that lap, and we were able to re-align the headlight for the rest of the night with a little makeshift shiv.
Throughout the night I tried to run as much as possible. This was the coolest part of the day of course, so it made sense to run then. Thankfully I was also able to have a pacer run with me. So Chad and Andy split time making sure I was only alone for about 2 laps of the entire race. The night was extremely humid though, we were all sweating like crazy even though the temp was in the low 70’s or high 60’s.
Since we are out on an island in the middle of Lake Michigan, there is very little light pollution, and I have never seen the stars like I saw them out there. Absolutely incredible! It’s a shame I wasn’t able to stop and truly get a good picture of it, but I certainly took some time to turn off the head lamp on the run and just take in the views. I almost stumbled off the road at one point even, while staring up and taking it all in.
Running through the night proved to be quite a mental challenge. While others are out there, all you see of people is some bouncing lights as you pass each other in the dark with a “you’re doing great” or “keep at it” words of encouragement. There are plenty of bats to keep you company though, they swoop overhead throughout the entire night attempting to clear the bugs from your path. I did spot one raccoon on the side of the road near a beach as well, he paid the runners no mind.
Throughout the night, even though I was trying to get as many loops running as possible, I did take a few breaks to get a bike lap in. About every 3 or 4 run loops was ideal. The break in pounding pavement really reset my ankles, knees and hips for the next round. And time on the bike through the night I took more as recovery, making certain to keep the power output quite low and coasting as much as possible. The tricky bit there was trying to do that while ‘blind’ as I couldn’t read the bike computer in the dark. Checking out the stats later though, the efforts didn’t drop by too much. While riding at night I did spot a silver fox though, little guy ran across the road right in front of me.
By the time dawn rolled around I was finishing up lap 17 on the run, my target for the event. At this point I needed 3 laps on the bike and 2 laps swimming to get them all up to 17. I was feeling surprisingly well. No cramping and my energy levels were holding on great, even if I was was getting extremely tired of eating all the salt and sugar. So before setting out on the next bike segment, we took another break to eat some real food. Andy made me up some instant potatoes and some chicken breast. The change in texture and flavors was indescribably great, even if I didn’t have much of an appetite to get a lot down.
Setting off on the next 3 bike loops I started to do some math. At this point, 17 loops was pretty much a lock. So I started thinking 18, possibly 19. Keeping to the same pacing on the bike, everything still felt good, hydration and nutrition were spot on. The entire race Andy and Chad had me eating exactly the right amount, and their efforts where paying off late in the race big time. It took 2 hours and 6 minutes for those 3 laps, bringing me into swim at 7:18 in the morning, with 2 hours 42 minutes remaining in the race, I needed 2 swim loops to get 17 completed.
So, back to the wet suit and back to the water. Getting a still wet, wet suit on while covered in sweat and race grime was a monumental challenge in itself. I planned here for 4 loops, get that 19 in, because of how the scoring in this race worked, you can do partial triathlons, but it must be in the ‘correct’ order, so swim, bike, run. An extra swim then would get me to 18 1/3.
17 laps were completed with 2 hours 20 minutes remaining in the race. If I pushed up the pace, it was possible to get to 19.
Back to the bike, my goal at this point was accomplished, and now this turned into an all out effort. After 22 hours of racing it was time to push with everything I had for the last 2 hours. If this meant cramps or bonking, or possibly even a crash on the bike, so be it. Now was the time to see what I was made of. So I set out hard, the watts climbed and my muscles resisted my efforts. Immediately my calves started to cramp, so I backed down to just under that point. It was tight and uncomfortable, but bearable and wasn’t going to stop me from continuing. I finished up that loop in 35:34, my fastest yet.
Off the bike, quick transition to run, 1 hour 27 minutes remaining. Starting out my calves where still on fire. I took a banana out with me, got that down, hoping it would be of some help before the end. Before a mile was out though I had to stop and stretch, just to alleviate some of the tightness. Back to running, and my shoelaces are bouncing everywhere… new shoes and in my transition haste I forgot to double knot them! Tie them both and back at it, hit the turn around and flew back to the transition area in the fastest mile of the day a 7:42 pace.
18 loops are completed at this point, and I have an hour and 8 minutes remaining to get 1 final bike and run loop completed before 10 am cutoff. It’s looking very possible. As I start out, I’m keeping in my the tightness in my legs, but other than that I feel fantastic. Tired, but not out of energy. More of a resurgence of will, I’ve set a new goal, and have every intention of hitting it. With no thought of future biking efforts I throw everything I have into this last push. Completing the final 19th loop in 34 minutes and 15 seconds, the fastest of my race. Rolling into transition I knew if the clock said 30 minutes, I had a shot at getting one more swim in yet. Before I was even off the bike, I asked Andy to grab a wet suit that hadn’t been used yet, hoping it would be easier to get into a sleeveless one while I was covered in sweat and race ick.
One last speedy transition into running shoes and off on the run. Somehow my legs were feeling looser than before, and even though I was pushing with everything I had, I still couldn’t match the pace from loop 18. But I did well enough to give myself almost 15 minutes to get that last swim in. I was elated, at this point the race was all but done, one more effort, one final push and I had plenty of time to get it done in.
While changing into the wet suit, it all started to hit me, the enormity of the past 24 hours. How quickly it all flew by, and how I could not believe I felt as good as I did. As I set off into the water Chad said to enjoy it, take it in as a victory lap. That really hit home. I was there. So close to the end, and I was going to try and hold onto this final lap as long as I could. Take in every detail, and just enjoy it.
The water was perfect as it was when we started. The weather was perfect the entire weekend, the crew was perfect in getting me everything I didn’t even know I needed, in pacing me, in encouraging me and in keeping it fun. As strange as it seems in this world we’re now in where most of the races are being cancelled, on a little island in off the tip of Door County Wisconsin, I may have found the perfect race.
If you’re interested in the numbers of the race overall, my Strava is public : https://www.strava.com/athletes/30152776
Distance totals came down to this:
- 20 loops on the swim – 5 miles in 3 hours 22 minutes
- 19 loops on the bike – 190 miles in 12 hours 39 minutes
- 19 loops on the run – 38 miles in 6 hours 21 minutes
Rob Hoehn 
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