Ironman 70.3 Lake Stevens - Triathlon1/2 Ironman

Started a little slow, sighting every stroke and trying to maneuver into a good space. Found some feet and drafted pretty well until almost the half way point when I developed a cramp in the lower left calf around the Achilles. I'd never had a cramp there before, so it was really strange. Fought through it, but it got worse. Looked for a kayak so that I could stretch and rub it, but there wasn't one in sight. Put up with the pain and kept going, just dragging the left leg and only kicking with the right.

After about 300 yards later, it turned into a full calf cramp and the only way to relieve it was to point my toes towards the bottom of the lake - not very hydro-dynamic. Still no kayaks in sight so kept going with the cramp coming and going. About 50 yards from shore, the right calf also cramped. Ended up crawling onto shore and rubbing my calves before I could stand.

Warm up and stretch. I've never had calf cramps on the swim. I was well hydrated and the only thing I can think of is the lack of a warm up caused the cramps.

I was hurting coming into T1. When I went to pull my feet out of the wetsuit, the calves instantly cramped back up. Sat down and worked them off, but every movement seemed to bring on the cramps. Had my shoes clipped in and once I mounted, I found that every time I tried to get my feet in the shoes, the calf cramps came back. Finally got my feet in, but it took way too long.

Leave the arm warmers and a jacket in T1. Even though they didn't seem necessary before the swim, the weather changed quickly and they would have made a big difference on the bike.

A cold drizzle started soon after getting on the bike. It didn't take long to start getting cold - especially on the descents. Began to ride the breaks on the downhills after seeing a few crashes and the cold started to make me unstable. Started looking forward to the climbs to warm up, plus I was passing lots of people going uphill - only to have them pass me back on the downhill. The rain finally stopped at about 36 miles.

Wear the arm warmers if the weather is marginal.

Had trouble racking the bike, the bikes on either side were already racked and taking my space. Also had other people's stuff inter-mixed with mine and had to sort it out.

Get to T2 before my neighbors.

The cramps on the swim had a big affect on the run. They didn't cramp, but were so sore and painful it was hard to run. Heart rate and everything else was feeling good and it was frustrating because it felt like I could have had a good run - but I was balancing on a fine line between pain and injury with the left Achilles, so I decided not to push it since I wasn't going to set any records at this point.

Nothing, a pretty good run given the circumstances.

Went to medical and got some ice on the left calf. Stretched quite a bit.


The calf cramps on the swim and lack of weather appropriate clothing on the bike.


Seemed to be a lack of support on the swim course, but the support on the bike course was great - there were lots of people out there to warn about the sharp turns and slick conditions. Overall a very good race for racers and spectators.