Ironman 70.3 Hawaii - Triathlon

Really cool swim start. The water in Hapuna bay is crystal clean and relatively shallow. I lined up near the start buoy at the front and jostled a bit with the other ladies because we kept getting moved around by the current. This one woman kept barking at another to get behind the start ling because she kept floating forward. Relax! We were all moving around.

The cannon went off and it was a pretty controlled start. There were about 500 women in the race total but not too much mashing around off the start. I cleared the main group relatively quickly and got in with a pack of around 5-6 and there was another faster group ahead of us. We caught the men that started about 7min before us before rounding the first buoy and then had to swim through the rear end of the men's wave for the rest of the swim.

Once we rounded the second buoy the chop picked up. My sighting was pretty good and I avoided too many collisions. Rounded the last buoy and headed back towards the finish into the sun and direct chop. You could tell the chop was really affecting a bunch of the men that we had caught up to because they were all bunched up together again rather than being more spread out. More boy contact happened here and it was more or less impossible to sight for the finish due to the angle of the sun. (Thank god I bought those polarized TYR sunglasses in California...worth weight in gold...). My friend said that the announcer was commenting throughout the swim that the finishing stretch would be the toughest due to the sun and the chop that we would hit. I was finally able to see the finish about 100m from shore. Swam as far as I could and high kneed it out of the water onto the sand. Ran under the swim finish and up the long alley in the sand through all the people. Saw my friend and gave her a "hang loose" and overall was feeling pretty good about myself.



Not much. It is a tough open water swim. Hapuna bay is relatively open so not as sheltered as other open ocean swims that I've done. It would have been nice to see a turtle though! Apparently Paul Matthews saw a Manta ray!

So made my way up the fairly long sand alley and quickly showered my body and feet off. I would hear the announcer making some comment like "make sure you have two hands on your bike at all times....make sure it's safe to drink". What? (Foreshadowing....)

Found my bike and got my gear on. I had to ask a volunteer to undo my speed skin. Spent a few extra moments reapplying sunscreen to avoid the ironburn that happened in California.

Could have been faster I suppose but it was a fairly long transition and I needed that sunscreen...

Ughhhhhh so fucking hard!

Ran out of transition with my bike and saw the swarm of people attempting to up hill mount their bikes. A volunteer helped me and boosted me up the hill until I could gain enough momentum. There was a crash already at the top of the hill. Looked like a guy rode into the fence on the side while trying to mount. My friend said a few people crashed trying to get on the bike once I was gone.

Started on my way from the beach to the highway into a direct headwind. It was a very slow start. Got on to the highway and had a bit more of a tailwind/crosswind.riding to the first turn around at Mauna Lani before heading north to Hawi. A few mechanicals on the side of the road already. I was feeling decent at the start but I was def clenching onto my bike due to the crosswinds. Hit the turn around and started my way north to Hawi....now the wind was a bit more headwind/crosswind.

The course is pretty unrelenting. It's constantly changing direction and is rolling. They aren't super steep for the most part but I don't think there is a section that could be considered "flat". It's beautiful. You can see the coastline and Mauna Kea and Haleakala on Maui for most of the time going north. (I blame those suckers for the wind). Any time I was feeling a bit overwhelmed by the course I first though "Pete Jacobs" and then looked at stuff for awhile.

The thing about being a swimmer is that you come out of the water before everyone else....and then get passed by 700 people..ish...I've learned not to get too depressed about this when the 35 year old men who are machines on the bike blow by and I feel like I'm not moving. The majority of the passers were men but 150 or so women went by me too. I get lots of comments about my swim. I appreciate the effort as the bike gazelles go by to lift my spirits about being passed. One guy caught me and looked over and asked "what was your swim time?" I said I think 33 and he said "damn, solid work..." And then coasted away. It's kind of comical. So I kept telling myself that "I kicked all these people's ASSES in the water...lol

My back was giving me a bit of a hard time after about 40km. My neck and traps as well as low back and hips. Not sure totally what that was about but I tried my best to stretch it out. I feel likely a lot of it was due to my death grip on the bike I had with the wind but not totally convinced it was just that. Due to this I wasn't super comfortable in aero for long periods but I got myself down when Crowie went by on his way back to Mauna Lani....hell if I was going to let Crowie see me not in aero...lol.

Lots of mechanicals on the side of the road and one guy who appeared to be having chest pain that medical was seeing to. I saw an ambulance head that way but not sure what the deal was.

The final ascent to Hawi is fairly tough...the direction meant a headwind so we were all bunching up. You could see the guys on the other side of the road whizzing past back downhill so I put a bit more effort in because I knew I was going to get to ride the wind back a bit. Lots of PETE JACOBS! Hit the turn around and the lovely descent from Hawi. Had a good 8 miles or so and then hit the rollers again. I think the wind was picking up by this point because I felt like I was getting thrown around a bit at parts. There's a brutal section leading into Kawiahae...it's ascending for a few miles and it was a brutal direct headwind. By this point no one was making huge leaps on me. The sun was becoming brutally hot even on the bike by this point and I was starting to get a bit nauseous and had a headache. I made it up the hill and onto the final stretch to T2. Honestly....all I wanted was off my bike.

I had a few devastating moments in my head over the final few miles...my legs were tired...my back hurt and I had this nausea and headache...and it was fucking HOT. I tried to snap myself out of it. Lots of PETE JACOBS! And verbally telling myself to stop it. STOP IT. FUCK. IRONMAN FRANCE IS IN THREE WEEKS...STOP BEING A FUCKING BABY. I had this weird 5 second cry...and then finished the last 3-4 miles fairly strong.

I'm not sure. It's a tough course and the wind made it harder...I think I did what I could.

Bit slow for a run transition but I took a sit down to get my socks on because I really wasn't feeling well. My head was pounding. I slopped some sunscreen on but didn't have the patience to rub it in well...so I looked like a zinc oxide ghost for most of the run...whatever...I didn't get ironburn. There were still quite a few bikes not racked around me so I felt better about myself that everyone else was suffering.

Sitting down was probably a mistake.

I honestly don't think I've ever been that hot ever. Not at Lake Placid...not in California...it was so hot by the time the run started. The only temp I could find said it was 34C/94F. I believe it and in the lava rock it was hotter.

But the volunteers were fantastic. The aid stations were full of people helping out and encouraging us to continue on.

I started on my way on the golf course. It felt pretty weird to be running on the fairways. They have a bit of spring that I'm not used to running on. The plan for the run was a 9:1 run/walk. I tried. Man I tried...but by 7min I was so, so hot and still a bit nauseous/headachy. So I walked a bit. Hit the first aide station and grabbed water, perform and some ice. Ice down my shirt and in my hands I jogged off to the next. This course is a bunch of winding out and backs with a section that is all paved road lying in the midst of a huge lava field. You can tell where I really started to hurt and feel this heat at around 4-5miles when I way slowed down. I hit the first aid station of this part and had a kid that was volunteering spray my back down with sunscreen. There were a few instances when I was running that I was feeling really faint and I knew that I was not doing a good job of keeping myself cool/hydrated so I went into problem solving mode of how to cool off better and be able to run for longer.

I ended up taking 2 water glasses, 2 ice cups, 2 sponges and a perform at every aid station and running about a 8:2 ratio. It seemed to help quite a bit to keep me cool. By the time I headed out of those out and backs I wasn't feeling too bad and surprisingly in relatively good spirits despite how hot I was. During walk breaks we were all having little conversations with one another about the heat, where we were from, etc. I think that helped. This one girl and I had been going back and forth with one another....her name was also Melissa which a lady behind us pointed out on one of my passes. Kind of funny...and will come into play later...(foreshadowing). Once back on the golf course it seemed to be relatively cooler than running in the middle of lava...surprise? I hit the out and back of the Petroglyph park not feeling too bad around mile 8-9. It was hot in there but I my cooling plan seemed to be working with all the ice and cold water. Some others were not faring so well by that point. I saw 3 ppl being taken off the course by medical for presumed heat exhaustion/dehydration.

So I hit mile 10 and 11 and knew I could put more effort in for the final two miles. I walked the aid stations at that point but nothing else and passed a ton of people. One lady made a comment as I ran by to another guy who must have said something to her to the effect of "what a speed rocket! It's those last couple miles I guess". I hit the final aid station and was told only a 1/4 mile left...I was skeptical and then more people told me the same. 1/4 mile? That's it! So I went on my mission to pick as many people off as possible. Guess who I caught!!? Other Melissa....haha. I gave my final kick and beat the guy you can see in yellow in one of the pictures that hopefully posts.

Finish line! Finish line!

Probably have figured out a better cooling strategy earlier...more drinking. I didn't have to pee for the entire race....so likely dehydrated...

My friend found me in the finish chute and I grabbed a cup of ripple chips. Sat down in the shade under a tent. Eventually got up to get my finishers meal. They have a pretty nice set up that you can pic from a variety of different options. I got an iron hamburger. I picked up a glass of my free beer but couldn't drink it. It just made me feel nauseous.

Gathered my gear and biked to our rental car and headed back down to Kona.


Wind, heat, wind, heat, wind, heat.


Race and atmosphere are awesome. Volunteers are awesome. Organization is top notch. Course was hard and made harder by the elements. I earned my finisher's hat on this one.

Toughest course I've ever done.