Barb's Race - Half Ironman - Triathlon1/2 Ironman

The swim start was pretty crowded. I had seeded myself right in the middle and got stuck in the pack for at least 4 or 5 minutes, so I just stayed calm and waited for a chance to break out. 15 minutes in, the waves were all mixed, since they were only 3 minutes apart - my wave was in between 2 half aquabike waves and the other 2 Barb's waves. I hit the turnaround a little after the 20 minute mark. For the first couple hundred yards of the return leg, my hands were hitting the bottom, so it was hard to get a full stroke. It seemed much less crowded after the turnaround, and I was able to spend a lot of time by myself in open water. Before I knew it, I was on my way out.

Nothing, except maybe seed myself a bit closer to the front. This swim was a PR by at least 3 minutes. I have no idea why that happened.

I love wetsuit strippers! That guy had my suit off in no time, then I ran down to my rack spot, did my no-frills T1 thing, shoved all my stuff in the bag, and took off.

Nothing!

For the first few miles, there were a lot of cyclists sharing the road with cars leaving the river, so it was pretty congested and it took awhile to get going at my desired pace.

I tried to keep my pace right on the line between comfortable and challenging, although at some points I gave it a little more effort. I did ride a bit more conservatively on some of the sketchier sections of the course - there were several patches of very rough road, and the course was littered with bottles. Being fairly strong on hills, I powered up them and passed many people. Aside from some annoying lower back pain, I felt very good on this ride.

I stuck to gels and water for the first two hours, then had a giant banana, which was the most glorious thing ever. After that I had a little more gel, then sipped gatorade mixed with water.

Side note - I had been forced to do some rather invasive work on my bike in the few days leading up to the race. Fortunately, everything functioned perfectly.

Nothing - it was a great ride, and I left plenty in the tank.

It was kind of a long run from the dismount line to my rack. I made it as quick as possible, putting on my visor and race belt as I ran out.

Nothing

Coming out of T2, I figured out that I could break 6 hours with a 2:08 run, so I needed to be running better than 10-minute miles. I tried to keep a 9:30ish pace, and for several miles I did this and felt very good. My feet were hurting a bit, but I had plenty of energy, the weather was cool, spirits were high, and I was feeling good. I took gatorade at the first couple of aid stations, and then started to alternate with water. Even though it was still cloudy, I was dumping water on myself and getting sprayed when the opportunity arose. Coming back after the first turnaround, I started to see other CCTCers.

About 6 miles in, I had my first coke. Then at the next aid station I had a banana, and more gatorade. I also had water, and I think this combo in a 10-minute period was a bit much. I was starting to hurt a bit more coming back into the finish area, but still optimistic about coming in under 6 hours. I ran toward the chute, then got my purple wristband and was routed back out for my 2nd loop.

About a mile in, I was really starting to suffer. I started to become nauseous and could feel my heart rate increasing, and I had to slow down. I wasn't sure where the turnaround was and started becoming frustrated, especially when I turned a corner and saw a hill. Fortunately, the turnaround was at the top of the hill - no timing mat, just a woman telling people with purple wristbands to turn around. I tried to pick up some speed coming down the hill, but at that point I could barely run. I forced down a bit of water at the last couple of aid stations, kept shuffling along, and tried to recover a bit so I could run faster during the last half mile. This strategy worked, my mood improved, and I celebrated a bit in the finish chute as I crossed the line.

I think I needed a more structured plan for nutrition and hydration on the run. Also, I think I may have gone a bit too hard during the first 10 miles. Still, my time that was less than 3 minutes off my PR for even a standalone half marathon, so I can't complain too much about that.

Got my medal (I think from Barb herself) and then made my way to the food tent. I figured I had about 10 minutes before my fellow CCTCers started coming in, so I got a giant plate of food and tried to take it over to the finish area. However, I was told by a volunteer that I couldn't take food out, so I inhaled my burger in about 2 seconds, and shoved fruit and a giant cookie into my back pocket. My crew started coming in, and we hung out, watched everyone finish, and then did the gear shuffle before going back to the condos to PARTY!


Following my post-Wildflower laziness and birthday week, I only did about 6 or 7 weeks of specific training for this race. I didn't really have any expectations going into it, and taking into account my 6:57:XX PR for the distance (at Wildflower), I set 6:30 as a loose goal time (factoring in the easier course). I truly left it all out on the course during this race, and I was really pleasantly surprised with my results. Even considering the wonderfully mild weather, I had no idea I was capable of doing this well. Now I am certain that with continued luck on the health front, a sub-6 70.3 is in my future.


This is a well-run race with a very positive and encouraging atmosphere. I would recommend it to female 70.3 newbies as well as veterans. It was my 6th, and I thoroughly enjoyed myself. Good times with my club as well - I had a ton of fun with the CCTC crew!!