EagleMan Ironman 70.3 Triathlon - Triathlon1/2 Ironman

Felt good on the swim. Would have been way too hot in a wetsuit. Took it really easy and just enjoyed being out there. I like open water swimming. The water was calm, found my own space, and breathing was good.

The only thing is that I'm sensitive to the smell of boat/jetski fumes. About halfway through, I started feeling a little queasy from it.

Nothing. Took my time since I knew it was going to be a long, hot day.

Stopped to pee at the porta pottie right after I got out of the water. Put on a lot of sunscreen since I figured I would probably be out there for at least four hours. The woman next to me told me to be nice to her when I passed her. I thought that was funny....she certainly didn't have to worry about ME passing her on the bike.

Ahhh, the bike. This was the part I was worried about. Got passed a lot early on, then I pretty much was on my own for most of the course. It was a long, lonely, hot ride, but I never considered stopping. My neck was starting to bug me about mile 20. Oy. Just kept pedaling.

I stopped around mile 30 to pee and refill my water. Really helped to get off the bike for a few minutes. Drank a lot of water and ate a GU every 30 minutes. I ran out of water with 6 miles to go and had to switch to watered down Gatorade. Ugh. Really wanted water instead of Gatorade.

So happy to finish the bike. I kept it really easy and my legs felt OK after I was done.

Uh, bike training would help.

More sunscreen, grabbed a GU, and was on my way. Unfortunately, since there weren't any other runners leaving T2, I couldn't remember where the run out was. I probably lost 2 minutes or so trying to find it.

Mentally, wasn't in a very good place leaving T2. Considered just turning in my chip since everyone else was finishing and I was just getting started on the run. Just finished a lonely bike and about to start another few hours on a lonely course.

Remember where the run out is.

Running through Cambridge was REALLY hard for the first few miles. So many people were on their way to the finish, I didn't see any other runners in front of me, and I started out with a negative attitude. Again, considered just calling it a day. I didn't even see another runner in front of me until I got to the barricaded section.

Started seeing other people I know out there (Christy, Steve, CJ, Slake, Becky) and that really picked up my spirits. CJ dumped ice water on me and it felt awesome. For some reason, I've never done that to try and cool off. After that, I was dumping ice and water on myself at every aid station. Took two cups of water at each station and ran with them & drank until the next aid station.

I did a lot of walking on the run. It was hot, but my legs and breathing felt OK. It was just difficult to run the whole time when everyone was walking. Saw Steve and Loki at the turn around. Big mental boost. Saw some guy approaching the turn around and he looked like he was running pretty well. Steve told me to not let him catch me... and I didn't. He must have faded pretty quickly because I thought for sure he was going to catch up to me.

Thanked all of the volunteers. One guy I'll always remember...middle aged, moustache, and he was picking up cups from the side of the road. He reminded me a lot of my cousin, Rick. I thanked him for being out there and he turned to face me, looked me in the eye, and said he really enjoyed being out there. I could feel his sincerity. Actually got a little choked up.

Made my way back into town, got sprayed with every hose that was out there. So excited to get to the last stretch. Wound up running into CJ and his buddy Scott again. Nice to see familiar faces out there. Came down the finishers shoot, heard people from the FeXY tent cheering for me (thanks Michelle & Scott!!) Felt great to finally make it to the finish line.



Keep running. My body could have handled it, it was my mind that gave in.

Got medal, BIG bottle of water, hung out in the FeXY tent for a bit, tried to eat a muffin, but it was too soon to eat and made me feel a little nauseous. Packed up all my stuff and stopped at Wawa for a sub and some mac and cheese. It was tough sitting in the car on the way home. My legs were not happy to be squished into a small space.


Training.


They really did a good job with this race. As one of the BOP people, they still had PLENTY of volunteers and water out on the course. Volunteers were friendly, encouraging, and always ready to hand out water and ice. Can't say enough good things about the organization and volunteers for this race.

So happy that I got out there and gave it a shot. It was a tough day because of the weather, but I had a long time to think about things and realized that I really do love this sport. No more racing without properly training. I'm ready to get back into it again. :-)