Ironman 70.3 Buffalo Springs Lake - Triathlon

I am a self acknowleged slower swimmer so I hang out towards the back of my AG and then we are sent off. I wade out with the other slower swimmers and soon I am face down and into the race.

The course kept the buoys on my left and I breathe to my right so I sighted off the coast and would locate the buoys every 20 strokes. It went really well for me. I wasn't drifting off course but I kept to the outside where the clean water was.

Before I knew it my first turn buoy was coming up. I swung wide and stayed out of the melee. The rest of the swim went pretty much like this. Now and again I would get knocked around as a faster swimmer or two from the AG behind me would catch up to me. Didn't bother me, just had to swim my race.

The swim seemed to pass pretty quickly and before I knew it I was coming up on the exit.

I didn't know what my time was at the time, but I am really suprised it went so well. My first OWS of 1500 m. was only 1 minute faster so I improved a great deal.

Hit the transition area and took my time to make sure I had everything. Helmet and sunglasses check. Helmet check, shoes and socks....dang no sock. Put some body glide on my feet in hopes of staving off potential blisters. Grabbed the bike and headed out.

remember socks.

Forgot to start my Garmin. Right out of transition there is a real meat grinder of a hill. Luckily it happens when your legs are fresh so I managed alright. There are some decently steep hills and descents coming out of the lake bottom but once up top there were some smooth flatlands.

The wind wasn't too bad to start especially for the panhandle. Tried to find a comfortable rhythm and about this time I realized I never started my garmin. Cursed myself for forgetting to do so, and for good measure cursed myself for not remembering socks.

The ride out to the "split" was uneventful as was the first out and back. There was a canyon we got to ride through which the drop in was fun and climb out challenging but nothing to worry to much about.

Came to the second out and back and that was a different story. Shortly before hitting the turnaround there was a road called spiral staircase road. While not the steepest climb of the day it proved to be the most challenging for me as I couldn't see the top of the climb so I didn't know when it stopped.

I conquered it none the less, hit the turnaround and headed back for transition. Roads all in all were in pretty good shape except for about a 10 mile stretch of chip seal on this road. Not bad, just not good.

I had been hydrating well all morning and it finally caught up with me right before mile 40. I had to go and had no luck doing so on the bike. Hit the aid station and found there was only one port o john. I wasn't going to make it to the next one. Also I was third in line. Probably lost 5 minutes on the potty break but it would have been miserable without it.

Got back on the road and was really moving pretty good. Wind speeds had picked up as the day went on and while heading home it was at my back. That is until about mile 53 when I turned back to enter the park. I had been feeling really good until I made that turn and then was struck in the face with a wall of wind. For some reason or other there was just no life left in my pedaling legs. Time from this point on seemed to crawl and my legs were on fire to an extent I hadn't experienced in flat wind riding before.

I made those last two descents and climbs and rolled into transition feeling rode hard and put up wet. Heard the announcer calling out the race time of 4:11 and though I still had a chance to do a 6 hour HIM, but it would be tough.

When I got to transition I found I still had 2 full Gu packages left in my pocket. Not a good sign of things to come.

All the bike gear came off well, and then again bodyglided my feet. No blisters so far maybe this stuff was working. Realized I'd missed two feedings on the bike and thought that could be bad.

remember socks and eat better on the bike.

I knew going into this that it was going to be a struggle. Having found 2 surplus gel packs in my kit I knew I hadn't fueled well enough on the bike. Also I had an uncrustable for me in transition but stepped on it squashing it flat into the asphalt. Furthermore while no blisters formed on the bike I knew it was just a matter of time on the run. So I did the best I could and bodyglided my feet up and took off.

Miles 1-3: As I left transition the announcer called out my name and I thought "well here we go". I wanted to start at around a 9:45 - 10:00 mile pace. Half a mile in I looked down and saw my avg pace was more like 9:15 which I knew was bad. Had to make a conscious effort to throttle back, but the pace kept creeping back up. My legs just didn't have a spark and I knew my run was not going to go how I envisioned it in my planning. Aid stations were a plenty and well stocked. My hat is off to the coordinators, they really did a bang up job taking care of all athletes, even those of us a the back. Shortly after passing the mile 2 aid station the run hairpinned back around and up a long fairly steep climb. It was like a punch right in the gut, I was determined not to walk until the next aid station and began my jog up the hill. But as fate would have it my legs were shot and I found out how shot on the climb, and by the top of the hill I had started to walk. When I hit the mile three aid station I could feel the "hot spots" starting to appear on my feet.

Miles 4-6: These for me were the most soul sapping of the journey. My Sub 6 hour dreams, along with the hope of finishing close to 6 hours were now just a faded memory. Suddenly my goal of finishing between 6 and 7 hours was in danger. This portion of the run took you down into and back up out of either a big draw, or a little canyon. The downhill was okay as I kind of let my legs go and had momentum on my side. Passed by the Aloha water station and had a lady asked me "Hey Don, what can I get for you?" I told her "how bout a shorter run course..." to which she laughed. I knew whatever route went down had to eventually go back up and there before me sat the climb. Again it was a hodge podge of jogging, shuffling, walking up this hill. A little ways further and a turn down "Energy Lab" road which meant the halfway point was closing in. Passed by the 6 mile water station with the girls in the Tutu's and knew the second half was gonna get worse. The hot spots were gone, and the full on blisters had arrived.

Miles 7-10: I ran/walked out to the turnaround point. Took some time to hydrate and get a salt tab. Also got some Vaseline and took off my shoes to grease up the blisters in hopes of minimizing the damage. Found blisters on the tops and tips of 7 toes and my right heel had one formed up the size of one of those smashed pennies you can get at tourist attractions. Greased them up, shoes back on and away we go. Heading back to the 7 mile checkpoint I realized what a long 6.55 miles it was going to be. My legs didn't hurt per se, it was worse, it was like they were numb. There was just no fire in the pistons. I was working deals with myself, run for three power poles and then walk to the next one. This carried my back past the tutu girls and down into the canyon once more where I was really dreading the climb back out (which would be the last major climb of the day). Hit the Aloha station and the same woman saw me again and said "Don, I checked with the race director and can't get you a shorter run course, anything else you'd like?" I told her "how about a 4 mile piggy back ride?" She found it hysterical and gave me some water. I had neither the time nor the energy to let her know I was only half joking. Luckily the bothersome pain of forming blisters had subsided....mostly because they had all popped by this time.

Miles 10-finish: The last 5K I told myself as I hit the mile 10 aid station. I ran/shuffled toward the park entrance and notice a medic truck sitting there, he asked if I was alright and I asked if he had anything to protect blisters. He told me to stop and I took off my right shoe. He took a look and said "you don't HAVE blisters, you HAD blisters." we both had a laugh and he put on a dressing to cover the one on my heal and that helped a little. Over the race radio I could hear the chatter and heard 2 people calling it quits while I was getting wrapped up. "That ain't me, I ain't quitting" I could hear me tell myself in my head and away I went. The same climb that punched me in the gut at mile three was there again except this time as a downhill. Still after 10 miles on tired legs any elevation change to that degree up or down is not a welcome site. But down I went and then started the run of the lake perimeter. Saw some people passing by on their way out and thought at least I'm not them....I don't think they are going to make the cutoff. People kept encouraging me and while I do appreciate it I grew to loathe the comment "You're almost there". The word almost was being used pretty liberally and I began to ponder the broad definition of "almost". Regardless I made the turn and was headed down the southside of the lake. Its a park road full of little rollers, nothing major but they certainly didn't seem as steep or as frequent as I recall on the way out. As I neared the finish line I noticed a Lifeflight helicopter landed down in the park and then took off. I was hoping it wasn't a fellow competitor but I never did find out the reason. I took one final walk break after passing the one mile to go aid station and then drug my sorry carcass down the blacktop.

Nearing the finish I saw my mom, and sister and my 3 kids waiting for me about 20 meters outside the finish chute. It gave me the pep in my step I needed to carry me over the finish line after getting high fives from them all. Heard my name called out as I crossed the line and had my picture taken, got medaled, and grabbed my shirt and headed off to the med tent to get my feet tended too.

Wear socks and focus more on going out slow. Need more volume in my run training.

Hit the med tent and got some water. Kicked up my feet and had them dressed, and bandaged. Met a nice guy and he asked how I did to which I replied "I PR'd" He was shocked "really you PR'd on this course" so I broke down and told him it was my first. We had a good laugh and I waived off an I.V. and was on my way to meet with my cheering section. Got my crap together and headed out for the car. My sister took care of getting my bike back. As a side note that brutal hill right out of transition that I was worried about falling down on my way in and fought my bike up right out of transition was waiting on me again after the race. That was the fourth time that day I faced it and I think next year they should have a ski lift to take us up or something.


Blisters didn't help, but even if I didn't have them I don't know that the run would have been fast enough. My legs were done. Don't know if it was overcooked on the bike, but I also don't think I had enough long run experience, or long race experience for that matter. Had been doing only sprints before this with one Olympic that was a DNF because of a mechanical on the bike. Nutrition got off during the race and once I got off it never really got back on.


I went home and showered, iced all my joints, had a glass of Pinot Noir, took a two hour nap, and in the early evening went for about a 1.5 mile walk with my sister. I swore after finishing that maybe I had made a mistake registering for the full. However after my recovery I was as determined as ever. Also after swearing off the HIM distance, I had already registered for another one that evening.