Ironman 70.3 Steelhead - Triathlon1/2 Ironman

No swim. Waves were HUGE. 4-8 feet, breaking all over the water. Small vessel advisory- no boats or kayaks could get in the water. They made the right call, that water was NASTY. Way worse than in 2008. No one in transition was complaining about it- everyone just knew these waves were way too big. If you can't get a motorized boat in the water, how are 2100 people supposed to swim?

They started the race on the bike, and had everyone go off 2 at a time, every 5 seconds or so. They also went in bib number order, and I was 777. It took a while, but they had things under control.
This was an excellent ride! As soon as I got on my bike, I felt gooood. I was so, so happy to feel this way! My legs were poppin', my breathing was great and I had no stomach pains. Wow, it is a totally different race when your stomach doesn't hurt! I could actually think about my legs and bike, and could enjoy my yummy gu's, and I didn't have fantasies of crashing my bike into a ditch, just to stop riding like I did all throughout Musselman. This is what racing SHOULD feel like!
I passed a ton of girls at the start of the ride- most of the girls from my AG. My watts were way too high at the start, but I continued to ride at a steady 175-185 watts, so the average slowly drifted back down. I was passing people for the entire ride. Most were women from the older age groups, and just a few men. Due to the long line of people to pass (literally, for the entire course), the winds weren't nearly as much of an issue as they would be if I were all by myself. I know that this was a huge advantage, but I still rode legal the entire ride. I was just passing one or two people every quarter of a mile. I can't even imagine the immense advantage the men at the back had- not drafting like in other races, but just passing everyone legally.
Even with all of the passing, I kept my watts up really well, and pushed myself on the bike. I felt like I was flying, and keeping 181 watts actually felt easy. It was just wonderful to feel strong. I was having FUN! I also held strong for the whole ride, and only dropped a few watts at the very end, when we had to ride up the bike path to get to transition.

This was another bike PR- in time, speed and power- because the course was accurately measured. I technically rode this same time in 2008, but the coures was a full 2 miles short. My bike IS improving! Now I need to run faster....


Not ride at 200+ watts for the first 3 miles. Probably cost me a minute on the run. I also didn't run off the bike in my previous 2 weeks of training, which was just laziness on my part, but also cost me on the run.

Huh, I had no idea I was so slow! The transition area was a bit big, but still, I should've been moving faster.

It felt great to be out on the run, and I was still in such a good mood about my stomach. I could think about my legs and my lungs, and not worry about my stomach. I started off a bit hard, but it felt pretty easy. My goal was to be under 7min/miles for the whole run, and for the first half or so, I was right at 6:56's. I passed 2 pro women at the start of the run (they were on their second lap), so that felt pretty cool. At around mile 5, I heard little feet catching up to me. It was another pro woman, and she was moving at a steady pace, so I decided to try and hang with her for as long as possible. We were running about 6:50's, which is what my ideal pace was, and I made it with her for about 3 miles. I think she upped her pace at some point, because I fell back, but still felt like I was pushing pretty hard.
On the second loop, the run course got very crowded. It felt like I was flying by everyone, but when I looked at my pace, I was already starting to loose ground. Sometimes it's nice to have people to pick off, but at the same time, when everyone around you is walking or running a lot slower, it seeps into your brain to back off. I tried so hard to fight the fatigue and I pushed my legs as much as I felt I could, but I just couldn't get them to move faster. They felt on the verge of cramping for the last 4 miles or so, and I couldn't sustain my sub-7 effort. My effort level was the same, but my pace dropped. And with no one around to catch, it made the mental effort that much harder.


Overall, I put in a very strong effort on the run. I know I can run faster, so I now know in hindsight that I was just a bit too aggressive on the bike, I probably didn't drink enough, and I probably was just a bit too lazy in training.

After the race, I only had to wait a few minutes before Ryan was done. He had a good race as well, though he had some cramping on the run. He beat me overall, but I beat him on the run, so I'll take some solace in that :)
My parents were right there, cheering for us with Cody (the wonderDog). We hung out eating some food, waiting for the awards ceremony for a while. I was super excited to get first in my Age Group! I was 6th amateur, which was a little disappointing, but it also got me motivated to race again at Rev3 Half Cedar Point. I passed up the Vegas slot because it's just not in the budget for this year. Flying to races sucks, as does being a poor grad student :)


Overall, I enjoy doing this race. This is my third time racing here, and unfortunately, the swim has been cancelled twice. That is NOT the RD's fault- they had to make this call. But, it is something to consider when shelling out the money for this race. The bike is pretty easy, even on a windy day, and the run course is fair, but on the boring side. I do kind of like how the run is crowded though, because it's fun to see a ton of other competitors, and have lots of people around- you are never lonely on this course! The volunteers were amazing, the race is very well organized, and there is always great competition that shows up. I had a great time this weekend!