Ironman 70.3 Racine - Triathlon1/2 Ironman

For me the swim was perfect. It was faster than I swam in any of my training, even though I consciously tried to relax and conserve energy. I had no issues citing, and I had very little contact. In fact, when I came to the end, I was surprised it was over. The swim was my biggest fear when I started training, and it was by far my best and favorite part of the race.

The swim was perfect. I would do nothing different.

Half of the transition time was spent running from the beach to transition. I peed, changed, double checked everything I needed on the bike, ate a Power Bar, and drank some water. I was in no hurry, but 12 minutes still seemed long. In the future, I am sure I'll want to be faster, but I didn't mind in this race

Not much

I tried to conserve energy on the bike, because this was my first HIM, so I wanted to make sure that I finished. My biggest issue was with my feet. My shoes are old, and too tight, and my feet started to hurt. The pain got to the point where I got off at mile 35 for 5 minutes and got out of the shoes and rubbed my feet. This worked for 10 miles, and I had to do it again at mile 45. My nutrition and water intake were good. I felt good during the bike, and if not for the 2 stops my average time would have been as fast as any of my training rides. Overall, I was happy with the bike.

I would get better shoes.

Again, I drank water and ate a Power Bar. I also changed, put on Body Glide, and went to the bathroom. I was in no hurry, and my slow time indicates that. I did not forget anything again, however.

Not much. I'm not going to pee myself on the bike to save 45 seconds in transition until I can take 3 more hours off my time!!

Running a half marathon after going at it for four and a half hours was all new to me, so I didn't know what to expect. I had done several long training runs in the 12 to 15 mile range, but it was still a struggle. I planned on only walking through aid stations, and I was able to accomplish this. The first 4 miles were at a 12:00/mile pace, which I would have been happy with if I could have maintained it. By the end my pace was near 14:00/mile, and I was crawling along.

I wouldn't have done much differently on the run. I'm sure if I had been preparing for more than 6 months, and had any kind of base it would have helped.

I ate a meat sub and some potato chips, and then hopped in the car for a seven hour ride home.


I need more of a base in my training


Ironman put on a great race. Lots of volunteers, aid station, and Racine supporters along the course. The town was clean, and easy to navigate, and the people were friendly. Although the race got tough at the end, it's a day I'll never regret. It was the culmination of 6 months of working my ass off to lose 95 pounds, and it was concrete evidence that I had regained my life and health!!