IronMan Cozumel - TriathlonFull Ironman

The swim start was kind of spread out. There was a fence under the pier you could hang onto. I chose to swim away from shore to find a clear spot of water. It was a beautiful sunny day and the water was warm and crystal clear. I kept looking down and just taking the amazing underwater sights in. Once the gun went off it got insane. The way out, we were fighting the current. It was a really physical swim with a lot of arms and fists flying and punching. Once we rounded the buoys and had the current with us, we were flying. As I approached the 3rd turn buoy, my sighting got way off. I had a hard time seeing the buoys on this swim and had a hard time having a sense of where I was on the course. Made the final turn for the last way back. The swim went by really quickly. I think having the amazingly clear water definitely helped. The entire swim, you could stare at the beautiful coral, fish and see the scuba divers. You could hear the crowds as we approached the pier and the exit steps. Got to the ladder, took a peak at my watch and was over the moon with the swim time! Especially since I felt like I swam off course a bit.

Not sure I seeded myself well. Maybe it would have been less physical closer to shore. Who knows. Once we turned the first buoy, it wasn't as physical so maybe I made an ok choice. Not sure I'd do much different. Good swim for me.

Ran through the bag racks and grabbed mine. Easy to find being I was on the outside rack. Ran into the T1 tent and found a seat. The volunteer in the tent tried to help me, but really just kept trying to re-bag my stuff. I kept having to say "un momento". Got my stuff back in the bag and the volunteer handed it to me. I was so confused on what to do with it since in the US, they take your bag for you. Shortly realized we drop it at our bikes and they collect it after the swim is over. Saw Laura run out of the tent right before me so I knew she had a good swim. Had to seek out sunscreen before I left and convinced them to rub it on my shoulders and arms (they didn't seem too interested). Grabbed my bike and ran towards the mount line.

Nothing. Pretty good T1 for me which included putting on bike shorts (swam in tri top and bathing suit bottom). And I actually ran throughout all of T1.

This is probably the part of the race I can't recall as vividly as I would like. Started out on the bike feeling good. Rolled my arm coolers up and enjoyed the tailwind. I was ready to eat every 30 minutes and take salt every hour. Once we made it to the east side of the island, the views were amazing, but there was a crazy strong cross wind. I felt uneasy being in my aerobars as the wind would gust. Just kept moving forward without worrying too much about the wind. Made the turn to head back towards town. The locals were all out on their front steps and sitting on their cars cheering us on. Once you got into town, the crowds were awesome. Playing music, cheering, yelling. It was great! Our hotel was right on the bike course and as I rode by finishing the first lap, I saw our group of spectators out front cheering wildly. As the day continued, it was getting warmer and the sun was blazing. I could feel myself getting a migraine. I kept trying to hydrate and take salt. The water bottles I used were really hard to squeeze and get any of my liquid nutrition out. I got frustrated with them and eventually threw them out, taking Gatorade from the course instead. At each aid station, I would take a full bottle of water (they were real bottles with ice) and I'd drench myself with the water on my arms, chest, legs and in my helmet. By the time I got to the next aid station, I'd be dry again. The second and third loops brought a headwind. While that could be demoralizing in it's own way, I was able to get aero and stay down versus trying to fight a headwind. Somewhere on the 2nd or 3rd lap on the east side of the island, I was trying to get my salt out of the container, hit a bump and lost them all. Was a little concerned with that as it was sunny and hot, but there wasn't much I could do. Third lap was similar to lap 2. As I made the turn for the last long-ish stretch back to town and T2, you could see the skies were dark in that area. It started sprinkling, then raining, and eventually downpouring. Laura Cortina, a teammate of mine, caught me with a few miles left on the bike as it started raining. We rode in together as the rain was pouring down and the streets were flooded. I remember taking corners of the streets in down and having several inches of water there. We pulled into T2 and the dismount line and there was a little traffic jam due to the weather. Gladly handed off my bike and grabbed my T2 bag.

Not loose my salt. Make sure the water bottles I use don't suck.
It is very typical for me to get a headache when I exercise in the heat and sun. I tried to stay on top of it with hydration, salt and excedrin migrane, but just wasn't successful. I wanted a faster bike time, but am happy with how the bike went (although the 3rd lap was boring).

Laura and I were in the T2 tent together. I remember as we were getting off the bike, she warned me she was going to pretty much get naked in the tent and I told her I'd be doing the same thing. We were drenched and I felt like I was moving so slowly. I changed my bike shorts to tri shorts, put my nutrition in my pockets, took a GU and put on dry socks and shoes (not really sure why). I hit the port-o-potty before leaving the tent. For some reason, I figured it would just be a quick 5 minute rain shower they usually get in the tropics. Yeah, not so much. As the volunteers pulled the tent open to let me out, it was still downpouring.

Hustle, but honestly, I'm kind of ok with my T2 time.

Starting the marathon of an Ironman with a migrane sucks ass. I started running and was immediately soaked. The roads had so much water in them and it was just impossible to keep your feet try. I soon saw Sissy and Barb and it was a welcome sight. The rain kept coming and there was inches of water in the roads. The manhole covers were floating up and people were running out putting cinder blocks on them. The cross streets made small rivers crossing the run course. I've never seen anything like it. My head was throbbing and my stomach wasn't cooperating. I just felt nauseous. Additionally, I had been battling somewhat of a foot injury a few weeks before the race and I was waiting for it to start bugging me.

A few miles in, we got to a low lying part on the course which lead to lots of water. It was nearly up to our knees! I could not believe it. There was really nothing to do but laugh. I started to see familiar faces out there - Tim, Brad, Heidi. I saw Craig and Amy and was so happy to see them on the run! The rain eventually stopped and it was warm, humid and sticky. Hit the turn around point and saw Reid (another teammmate) spectating. Was so nice to see a familiar face on the sideline.

My legs were not cooperating and while I tried to just run, I soon switched to my typical 8 minutes walk/2 minutes run. I had popped a bunch of meds earlier along with some salt and my headache was finally starting to subside. My stomach wasn't great which made eating a mental challenge. I was back at the "lake" area heading back to town. It was annoying to have the deep water at this point in the course. Just as your feet would kind of stop sloshing around, they'd get soaked again. Back in town, I saw more of our spectators and made the turn for lap 2. I remember stopping to talk to Sissy and Nate and Sissy was cheering I was on lap 3. Unfortunately not. Out and back and more of the same. I was having a hard time keeping cool. I'd grab ice at each aid station. They were in huge bags. I'd eat some and put some in my tri top. I wasn't consistenly eating which I knew had the potential to come back and bite me. About mid-way through the run, my foot started aching and then hurting. I tried to keep with the 8/2, but wasn't sticking to it as good as I had done in past races. Back in down, the crowds were great with loud drums and lots of cheering fans. Made the turn again for the last lap which was both a good and bad thing. I was ready to be done (you make the turn within sight of the finish line), but I knew this was my last lap. Out and back I went. It was dark and lonely. I still felt like I was overheating. The "lake" was still there, but the water wasn't as high (only up to our ankles on laps 2 and 3). My stomach still wasn't cooperating. I remember on the way back into town with about 2 miles to go, the sewage smell was strong and I nearly lost it. Enjoyed the final mile and ran nearly the entire way. I made the left turn towards the finish line instead of the U turn for another lap. I heard Brad, Sissy and our group cheering from the stands. I tried to take the finish line in and had a smile ear to ear as I crossed the line.

Not quite sure. Not stop eating would probably be a good idea. The run on this course was a huge mental battle. I know I am capable of a way better run than this and I think that's what was so frustrating. I didn't have the run I was capable of. My head, stomach and foot didn't help make the day easier.

Crossed the finish line and had intense foot pain. I stumbled through the finish area to get my medal. In the US, you get 1-2 people catching you and escorting you through the finish line area. Here it was kind of a free for all. I found my way into the med tent just to sit for a few minutes. I had to ask for directions to get out. I was obviously a little out of it as I completely bypassed the food, getting my finishers shirt and leaving (also passing the massage tent). Once out, the finish line area is hard to navigate around. I limped back to where I saw our group in the stands, but couldn't find them. I went back around to the finish area exit and still couldn't find them. I sat on the curb and cried - partly out of pain, not finding my family and not having the race I had hoped. Got my bike and bags and finally found Brad and Sissy to walk back to the hotel.


Heat/sun = migraine and stomach issues. I think my foot injury also hindered my marathon. I was hoping to break 13 hours and didn't have the race I had hoped or I felt like I am capable of. That being said, I am still happy with my effort and this is a PR. It is always an amazing experience to be out there with Brad, Tim, Laura, Heidi, Craig and now Amy. Even a bad personal race is a good race if I am out there with them.


This was our first international IM and there were good and bad differences. It was amazing to be out there with our group and what could be better than finishing an IM and spending another few days at an all inclusive resort. Hard to top the post-race recovery.