Ironman 70.3 Kansas - Triathlon1/2 Ironman

The endless thoughts of self doubt immediately went away once the gun went off. Despite swimming in clearly the worst conditions I have ever experienced, I would say that this was one of the best OWS swims I have had. I was able to get in a solid group that stayed on each other's feet without being annoying. We worked as a group till the turn across, where we were met with 2-3 foot swells head on. My sighting sucked, and the group broke up. It felt like we weren't moving against the waves, but luckily the across section was short. The return stretch to shore was much more difficult for me, mainly because of again sighting. I ended up being pushed too far inward on the course, and kept zig-zagging around buoys to the next. Regardless, the swim felt almost effortless for me, and despite the slow time, I am very happy with it considering the conditions.

Sight for the buoys (not swimmers) and keep in mind the current/waves pushing me off course. I probably should have sighted more frequently on the way back.

For this race I couldn't care less about transitions. I took it nice and easy. I was honestly pretty happy with the time, considering I crammed all of the swim gear into the transition bag before I left and struggled with my shirt for at least a minute...

tri top without pockets... I don't mind swimming without a wetsuit, but having to put a tri top on soaking wet is hard for me. Apparently...

eff the wind.... That's all I have to say about the bike. Awesome course, challenging on its own, but adding the wind into the mix made it an extremely difficult ride. I was thankful having had ridden the course on a very windy day prior to the race, so I knew what I was in for.

I took it easy for the first 10 miles, made sure to get my nutrition and hydration in (and also noticed I forgot to velcro my aero bottle onto the bike.... fixed that mid-ride), and then just concentrated on my HR and cadence. The crosswinds were rough at times, and I often saw gusts nearly blowing people off the road. For once, I was glad I didn't have aero wheels or a disc...

At about mile 36, we turned into the brutal 5 mile stretch of hills. What made this worse was the 30 mph headwinds... I stayed in the granny gear for most of it and still struggled up some of the hills. The rest of the ride was great, especially having the tailwind. The hill at mile 50 was a death crawl, but I just coasted back to T2 after that, content with my effort. And amazingly enough, NO MECHANICAL ISSUES!!!

Maybe hydrate more. I noticed towards the end of the ride I was getting pretty hot, but didn't really notice any cramps till the run. I was happy with my time considering the wind conditions, and was ready for a 17mph average before the race began.

A little slower than I wanted, but I had to re-rack someone's bike that was in my spot, and put on socks, which I normally don't wear. I also walked through transition, just trying to mentally prepare myself for the second 13.1 I've ever done.....

At least jog through? Again, transitions weren't something I was overly concerned with...

I felt the heat immediately stepping onto the asphalt main road. I felt like I found my running legs fairly quickly, and maintained a 9:00 pace for the first 3 miles, taking in EFS shots and water at aid stations, and dousing myself with water. My pace began falling soon after, and the heat started catching up. At mile 7 the cramping started when my hamstrings seized up. I had to stop every 100 feet of running to stretch them out. After about 5 times, the cramps went away.

I avoided walking (other then aid stations) till mile 9, where everything was in lock down mode. I felt like I was on the verge of either cramping, throwing up, passing out, etc. At mile 10, I was in pure survival mode, making deals with myself to "run to the next cone and then walk". taking in cola and shoving ice down the shorts (worked like a charm). I somehow made it to the finish line, and tried not to look too tired...


Training, pure and simple. My run training had been lacking the last few months due to injuries, and it clearly showed. After looking at my logs, the longest run I've done since March was a 10 miler, so I knew at some point I would be walking. I was realistic with my expectations and will be more prepared for my next 70.3.

Found my fam and talked with them for a minute. I tried to explain to them that I wasn't an "ironman", only half of one (they didn't get it...). Saw Jon and Patrick, who both had great races, and also ran into Ryan who killed it. Grabbed some food which sounded awful, and tried to keep walking and standing to avoid cramping.


Training for the run, and the race conditions. Holy hell, did I pick a tough first 70.3 ?!?!


Just an awesome race. I can't thank the volunteers and spectators enough. The sprinklers and water sprayers on the run course were miracles! This is an excellent race venue, awesome and challenging course, and really a top-notch race. If I'm recovered by next year, I'll definitely be back!

It was also great camping and meeting so many other BTers! I highly recommend camping to anyone doing this race in the future, and hope to see everyone at other races!!!!