Ironman 70.3 Lake Stevens - Triathlon1/2 Ironman

The fog on the water made the swim very difficult. It was almost impossible to site at all. There is a buoy line in the water for the rowing club but everytime I got anywhere near the buoy line I started getting climbed on so I tended to stay away from it which probably caused me to swim more distance than I needed to. At the turn you were now looking directly into the sun which coupled with the fog on the water caused me to be near blind. At some points I was just using another swimmer who I believed was over the buoy line for sighting. Overall though I felt good and never stopped during the swim. At the exit I got to where I could stand up and then began to walk and it got too deep again so had to swim another five feet or so, kind of wierd. I kept trying to tell myself that I won't need my arms anymore after this leg so go go go.

I may have fought to stay on the buoy line a little harder. I think I swam crooked for a good part of the swim which can really add some time.

Transition went well. Had a bunch of crap on my feet from my run to the bike. Had gel inserts in my bike shoes that kept catching on my feet because my feet were wet. Ending up just yanking the inserts out and went with no socks. Big decision was whether to put on the long sleeve bike jersey cuz it was fairly cold out still. Went without it and think it was the right decision.

Make sure the inserts were in the shoes correctly or just take the inserts out all together. May have worn socks but toes were numb by the end of the ride anyway so probably wouldn't have mattered.

I did not preview the course, which I think I'm glad about. It was a very scenic ride. Even though you are not really there for the scenery you can't help but take it in. I kept trying to remind myself to take it easy on the first lap because you feel good and people are passing you and you want to go but I don't have enough endurance to do that yet. I had to pee really bad for the first 15 miles so I asked a couple people on the bike about porta potties on the bike, which apparently there were two but I couldn't make it so I stopped at about mile 15 to go and I'm glad I did. I took 3 power gels and some salt sticks on the ride but overall I did not feel in trouble at anywhere on the bike. For some reason I had it in my mind that there were two huge hills on the second lap. I got back toward town and realized the second one was all in my mind so that was a pleasant surprise. Shared some gatorade with someone who dropped his bottle right after transition. I figured it was better we both got half of the bottle vs. me all and him none.

I did get tricked a little bit after the second lap and back into town. There were a couple of smaller hills but I was under the impression once you finished the second lap it was just a short ride into town. Which I suppose it was but it seemed a little longer than I expected.

Stopped to pee a second time at about 45 miles in. I guess that means I was hydrating enough. Again glad I stopped as riding with a full bladder just is not much fun. I think the time spent going was well worth the feeling.

Ride faster but with my fitness level I think I was where I should be.

No problems in transition.

At first I was feeling fine but as I was running the out and back near the lack on the climb back up the hill my left hamstring locked up on me. I felt it starting to grab a bit so I tried slowing down but it didn't help. The more I went the more it grabbed. Of course my worst nightmare is that it wouldn't let up, but it did!!! I was glad about that. Sister Madonna was right there going out on the run loop when it locked up and she gave me some encouragement. Imagine that having a 78 year old encouraging me. I think she is amazing.

The rest of the run was pretty uneventful. I just kept running and felt great when I finishes. I kept looking at my watch because my previous best 70.3 distance was 7:02 and I kept calculating what my finishing time would be. I knew I was going to smash that previous best but by 51 minutes I would have never guessed.

I needed a few more salt tablets in the last half of the run but other than that just lose some more weight. I was 229 for this race and need to be nearer to 200 or less.

Tried to find the wife and kids but with no luck. I told them I wouldn't be done until about 6.5 hours so they weren't anywhere around thinking they had more time. I was again just screaming inside that I had knocked that much time off and felt really good about it.


Good race overall, I'll do it again. More porta potties on the bike course would be nice.