Ironman 70.3 Racine - Triathlon1/2 Ironman

Swim felt great. I intended on pushing the first 200m, but never really felt like I was. Kept the same pace for most of the rest of the course, and it worked out. I felt strong and fast. Time reflected that. I did hit a few backups at one of the bouys without a route through. Ended up breast stroking until people moved around.

Practice sighting and open water navigation. Found myself zig-zagging a lot.

Pulled cap/goggles off at beach. Pulled down top of suit running up beach, leaving cap/goggles in sleeve. Dipped feet in wash tubs. Once in T1, had sunscreen applied to back by applicator, At bike, calfs cramped as I was trying to step out of the wetsuit; delayed removal and caught on heels. Applied sunscreen to knees gathered bike things and headed out. Once at the mount line, my wheel turned and unclipped my right shoe. Reset and powered up the hill. Strapped in at the top.

Practice wetsuit removal.

Went out strong. First 25 miles I was at 19.5mph pace. Forgot to remove foil from second gatorade bottle. Slowed me up as I worked to open it and then lost the cap. About mile 40 I started to feel really fatigued. took nutrition and Perform and tried to adjust my pace. Took advantage of the descents for recovery, ended up flying by a few people by simply tucking up.

Work on long ride endurance. Remember to test bottles before race starts. Hydration/nutrition plan worked. GU and 12oz gatorade/perform every 30 mins. 24oz water every hr. More liquid than I planned, but it worked well. No peeing issues as I sweated it all out.

Little slow getting my running shoes on. Reapplied sunscreen tot back/shoulders and left. Overall not too bad.

More sunscreen on arms. Figure out how to get my shoes on quicker.

First loop felt ok. Walked the hills and transitions. Second loop I hit a wall and ended up run/walking a large portion of the route. Negative thoughts started to creep in about mile 8. Had to push them aside and get back to running. Took GU every 30 mins, grabbed pretzels at the end of each loop (3.1 and 9.7 mi) banana somewhere around 11 mi. Lots of water. occasional perform. Ice in my hat when I had it, sponges in my shirt when they had them. "Sprinted" the last .2 miles to get ahead of the small group that had formed in front of me. Wanted to cross the line by myself and was glad none of them tried to overtake me. Lots more people walking the second loop than running.

I hate running. Practice more and learn to do it better. The heat sucked, but it was expected.

Went to the med tent for ice and a cool fan. Steeled my HR and basked in my finish. Went to the food tent grabbed salts stuff and fruit. Sandwich a bit later.


Heat. Bike endurance, run endurance.


Great first HIM experience. I think I'd do it again, though we'll reconnect on that in a few days/weeks. Very proud and happy for finishing as well as I did. Expo was a bit lacking, but everything else felt very personalized. Racine was very welcoming and accommodating. Lots of volunteers.