Ironman Kansas 70.3 - Triathlon1/2 Ironman

Gave the hubs a kiss and wished him luck on his race. Ran down the chute because I could not hear the announcer, luckily I was not the only one and still got lined up before we entered the water. Got in the water and felt good for the most part, just nervous as all get out.

The swim was going ok, I'm not the strongest of swimmers so I just knew I was going to have to hold a pace that was comfortable for me and leave it at that. I was doing pretty well until I rounded the first left turn. I could not really tell when I was on another swimmer so this became a problem when I started going over another swimmer (sorry) and she gave me a swift kick in the sternum. After that I knew I was in trouble, I started dry heaving in the water and coughing, I could not catch my breath, grabbed a kayak who had spotted me and clung for dear life. Thought I was doing better and tried to start swimming again but once again started dry heaving and coughing. At that point I knew my race was over and let them take me from the water, especially after the guy in the kayak looked at me and asked me to make the smart choice and call it. So I did, they dragged me onto the jet ski and towed me into the dock where I sat there coughing and dry heaving until they got me transport to the med tent.

Not get kicked in the chest, make sure I have a wet suit at every race I can use one.

For my first HIM, I felt pretty defeated. My hubs had a good race and made a new PR.

I spent 2 hours in the med tent trying to get my coughing under control. Finally started feeling better and got to watch my hubs race for a bit. Met the swim director who told me point blank he was glad I pulled because hes seen others get seriously hurt later on trying to race through something like that. He was still concerned about me and tracked me down later in the day to make sure I wasnt still coughing and could breath.

All in all this first attempt at a HIM was defeating to say the least. I am hoping to re-attempt at the Longhorn in my hometown in October. I will def be spending a lot of time in the pool to make myself feel more prepared.