Ironman 70.3 Racine - Triathlon1/2 Ironman

Had a GU and some water right before start. I knew I was one of the very slowest swimmers and there were 6-7 waves of 30-39 AG behind me. So I tried to swim wide, but I drift right so I kept ending up in the midst of the oncoming waves. More jostling and traffic than I'm used to. But I enjoyed the swim. The water temp felt good and I was relaxed. I knew if I just did my thing I'd be very slow but would finish fine - and that's how it went. Buoys were on right and I breathe right so that was nice, too

I don't think I'll ever get much better at swimming.

Long jog from beach to transition area. I don't remember where the timing mat was. One of the other ladies in my age group who finished the swim before me was still there because she couldn't find the top to her aerobottle and was kind of frantic. I helped her look for about 30 sec but then got my stuff together and left.

I didn't think I spent 9 min in transition - don't know what took me so long.

Right out of transition a very short, steep hill but I was in the right gear and spun, spun, spun. I was doing fine the first 15 miles but I fell just before the 1st aid station. Nothing serious but it looked worse than it was because I had blood running down my arm and leg. At the aid station, the medic wanted to clean me up and I said "No No - I want to cross the finish line bloody - that would look cool". Haha I was already fading half-way through - it was so hot. Maybe GU and water wasn't enough. Finished with a very disappointing pace. But was grateful I wasn't one of the racers I saw on the side of the course being treated.

Need to ride more with more speed intervals

I hardly remember T2

When I finished the bike, I honestly thought I might not be able to finish the race. The 1st couple miles were bad (big hill) and it was very hot (91) but after I stuffed some ice down my back at the 2nd aid station, I perked up. I got into a run/walk routine and actually passed quite a few people. I kept stuffing ice down my back and was feeling pretty good about the run going better than I had expected at the start (although certainly slower than I would've liked). Appreciated the cheering I got at the finish (in spite of my very slow time) and the announcer made a big deal of my age.

Under the circumstances, I was happy with my run.

When I got back to the bike rack, one of the other ladies in my age group was there. She was a DNF (heat and asthma issues). She told me to be sure to go to the awards ceremony because I would get a trophy and they were really nice. I had known I would place because there were only 3 in my AG but I didn't know I'd get a trophy. It was super cool. I started to leave after the awards ceremony, and the 1st place lady in my AG stopped me and said she wasn't taking the World slot so I could have it. I thanked her but told her this was my 1st half and I thought it was really hard and I just wanted to get back to sprints for the rest of the summer.
I splurged and got $49 worth of take-out from Waves Pub in downtown Racine (great menu) and ate it all (2 desserts, of course)


heat and old age and I need to get better on the bike


I had never done an Ironman sponsored event and I was very impressed. It was very well organized. Traffic control was great (I heard they hired 60 policemen), the course was very well marked and coned. Aid stations were frequent and very well stocked on the run - they still had ice for the very last runners.
I just gave it a 4 because I think they should have had one more aid station on the bike course and the really, really bumpy section at about half-way.