Ironman 70.3 Florida - Triathlon1/2 Ironman

Easy swim! I swam with my tri top on, though I wish I hadn't since I definitely felt the drag from it. My main thought was on the run leg so I went conservative on the swim.

Swim without the tri top. My top can fully unzip and I've practiced putting on after getting out of water and have been able to do it without much loss of time. I'm not sure why I decided to swim with it, but I won't be next time.

My right ankle has been hurting for the past week and a half or so and after getting out of the water and running to my bike I got a little worried how the run would turn out since it was bothering me all the way through transition.

I guess if I had a choice I'd hurry up a bit. The thing is it was raining a lot right before the race so I kept all my stuff in my bag and had a plastic bag over it which slowed me down quite a bit.

I originally planned on going a little slower, around 3:10, but I felt great during the bike leg. I never got out of breath except on whatever hills there were (very small hills!). There was some headwind here and there but there was a good amount of tailwind to even that out. I didn't really know how hard I pushed until the second I dismounted, then I felt how heavy my legs were! I think my nutrition was ok, I took a gel every 35-40min and drink about 1/2-3/4 a bottle of Ironman Perform (provided by the course) every hour.

I would put more time in the saddle during training, I know I didn't have nearly as much as I should have leading up to the race. Also, I think I would need to use the electrolyte tablets around the last hour of the bike since I did start to get cramping on the run!

Once I got off the bike I knew the damage was done! I had gone a little too fast and my legs were quite heavy. Everyone else around me was walking their bike to their rack so I did the same. Once I got to my space I pretty much took my time putting on more sunblock and making a bathroom break.

All in all I don't think that taking my time during transitions made a difference in how I would feel during the race so I really need to work on speeding things up!

The first two loops went well (as well as it can after 56mi of biking!), but the third loop was brutal. My loop splits were 8:39 / 9:15 / 10:53 so yeah, I walked a good part of that last one. I started getting cramps in my left quad a little into the run but didn't bother me too much, but during the last loop my right quad started cramping, too. Also my ankle pain that I was dreading the thought of during the bike was surprisingly manageable throughout the run. Even though I hoped for a better run leading up to the race, I expected worse due to my ankle so I'm happy about how it all turned out.

I probably need to get in more electrolytes especially since I sweat so much. I never needed them in training, I guess because I trained through a Chicago winter, but I will consider them next time.

Nothing specifically, just did a lot of walking to get my bike from transition back to Tri Bike Transport and then to the buses.


Ankle injury and not enough electrolytes.


Not the races fault that it didn't start on time. There was a good amount of rain and lightning in the area at the original start time. I would do this race again if I lived closer and am able to train in warmer climates, but living in Chicago I learned to look for a HIM distance race that is held at a much later date!