Ironman 70.3 Rhode Island - Triathlon1/2 Ironman

The swim was a clockwise rectangle in a lake. It was about typical for how lakes go in terms of cleanliness in these things. It wasn't as nasty as I had been reading about, but it wasn't beautiful either. The swim out was straight into the sun so I couldn't see anything. I basically swam on the outside a little bit and sighted based off where the guy next to me was going. Fortunately he went pretty straight, so I think I did too. I'm not a great swimmer, so I was pretty pleased with my time considering no wetsuits. I came out fresh and ready to go on the bike, which is always a good thing.

Not much really. I should probably learn how to be a better swimmer though.

Not terrible, but could trim some time off here.

I had a good ride. The bike is my strongest sport and I usually let myself fly a bit harder than maybe I should. Since I started so far back and ride pretty fast, there was a TON of traffic to go through. That usually makes me work a bit harder, so I didn't mind. The course was rolling hills the whole way, but I thought overall it was a fair course. I only had to drop to the small chainring once on a hill about half way through the course. I did not like the intersections where they coned off and made us stay right with all the traffic in the road. It was really narrow and tough to pass. We went over this causeway at about mile 40 and it was one of the most scenic things I've ever seen on a bike course in a race. Absolutely beautiful. However, after mile 48 the bike the course turned into a disaster. The "no pass" zone from mile 48-49 was insane. As soon as I hit that section I lost a full bottle out of one of my back cages. Fortunately I didn't need it. It was really slow through this section and it lost me a couple minutes probably. And once you get through that section he roads into Providence aren't much better. Narrow shoulders that are coned off and pot holes everywhere. There were also three railroad tracks that were all at a 45 degree angle to cross where you had to really slow down and be care. I thought the run in to town was pretty dangerous.

Offer to pave the roads in Providence prior to race day.

Again, not bad but I should shave a little time off here too. I have to run with socks though, so I take the time to put them on.

Considering how hard I pushed on the bike, I was quite happy with my run time. It is a double loop course. There is a relatively long hill up from for about 1 - 1.5 miles then you run to a turn around and go back down the hill. The bottom 2-3 miles are pretty flat. It was hot and sunny and my legs started hurting around the turn around. The second time up the big hill my legs really wanted me to stop. The water stations were spaced out kind of funny. You'd hit a couple really quick and then go a while without one. The cold sponges were great though. There is a bit of a kick up a hill for about a quarter mile to the finish line that I really thought was going to put me over 5 hours, but I gritted my teeth and pushed up it as hard as I could. I took in three gels during the run. I probably could've had one more but my stomach doesn't always like gels when I run. The double loop made it spectator friendly and it was nice to see my family multiple times during the run.

Maybe another gel or two running.

I sat in the shade and drank water for about 20 minutes. I didn't even think about stretching. After I decided I wasn't going to throw up I went and got some food.


Having two transitions to set up was a bit of a pain. The busing for spectators made it difficult for them to watch the race as well. The course was nice, minus the last 8 miles of the bike. The volunteers were great and there were a lot of them. Overall I think it was well run and a pretty good race.