Ironman 70.3 San Juan - Triathlon1/2 Ironman

I positioned myself in about the third row back and almost all the way to the inside. I don't think that I'm an exceptional swimmer, but I figured I would be about right in the middle. The salt water had me feeling super-buoyant. Coming into this race, the swim was one of the bigger question marks in my head... would I be able to do it? What kind of time could I expect? How would my sighting be? I was about to find out.

They sounded the horn and I just sat there a moment and waited for those in front of me to get going. Within a second or two, I was impatient and just swam between a few guys, pushing them aside. I skipped the whole "sprint 200m and settle in" thing and just went right to settling into a nice, comfortable pace. I then made myself start sighting - something I had not worked on since the summer. It came back to me easily and as long as I remembered to do it, I tracked the course pretty well. On the out leg I hugged the buoy line the whole way. Of course, however, I swim like I golf... everything goes to the right. So, I spent a fair bit of time correcting myself. I only ever ended up way far off twice - once on the out leg, and once after coming through the bridge just before Swim Finish.

By the time I reached the first turn buoy, I had passed quite a few people and was surprisingly all alone in some weird no-man's land. There was NOBODY near me as I made the turn. A minute or two later I made the second turn and then my mind settled in to knowing that I was on the return leg. I focused on trying to stay long and smooth and focused on trying to feel the catch.... basically, I just did all the junk I do in the pool. I didn't go hard and I didn't push... I just kept going. With about a quarter mile remaining, you come into line with the bridge over the lagoon, and under it water flows in from the ocean pushing you away from the bridge. There were moments that I was certain I was swimming on a treadmill and at one point I swear I was swimming backwards. I started to feel the beginnings of some calf cramping just before getting to the bridge. Because of the added buoyancy of the salt water I was able to just stop using my legs completely for a bit and let them trail behind me... cramping abated. I swam probably 15 yards off course once I got to the other side of the bridge (just fighting the currents), but then I got back on track and pushed to the finish. Before I knew it, I was standing up and climbing the ramp out of the water. I paced it perfectly for me and came out of the water feeling very, very solid and ready to roll. I hit the Lap button on my 910 and saw my time and was very pleased.

Absolutely nothing. This was, quite simply, the most enjoyable swim that I can recall.

This was a LOOOONG run... perhaps as long as 1/3rd mile. Either standing up at the exit, or right at the start of the run to transition, I cut a toe. Sliced about a dime-sized chunk off the underside of my left middle toe. No real pain, and there wasn't enough blood to warrant worry, so I just ignored it. It would remind me every so often throughout the day that it was hurt, but it wasn't enough to slow down for.

I took my time in T1, rinsing my feet with an extra water bottle, being deliberate in making sure that I had what I needed, that I loaded my pockets with my new nutrition, etc... Then, I grabbed my bike and trotted to the Bike Out, crossed the line and then did the stop-and-mount. This was my first time riding with a behind the seat mounted water bottle, and so I wasn't going to try to leap onto the bike.

Next time, I would leave an extra pair of run shoes at Swim Exit for the run to T1. They allowed people to do it, though it was "unsecured" and "unofficial". I didn't have any shoes to leave there other than my actual Run shoes, and I wasn't going to risk leaving those there. I would also force myself to move a little faster... I could easily shave 90-120 seconds here.

This was "The Giant Unknown" for me. Was the training I did adequate? How would the all-indoor training translate to outdoor riding? Would I be able to figure out decent pacing?

The Bike and Run courses follow the same path for about 0.3 miles out of transition. The run then turns right while the bike continues straight and then takes a left onto a very bumpy road. So bumpy that I ejected my Speedfil A2 perhaps no more than 300 yards into it. It hit the ground, dumping water all over the place. I cursed, stopped, and picked it up. The straw was about 30 feet from the bottle. Got them both, reassembled, and got back on my way paying better attention the rest of the day to the position of my arms so that I'd catch the bottle if it tried that again. The part that sucks is that the straw would no longer hold suction. Water would not stay in it and every time I tried to use it, I'd get half air bubbling into it. Fortunately, I had two more water bottles, so I kept on going. As soon as I got onto the flats I broke open my first Bonk Breaker and tried to eat it. How in the Hell are these things popular? I found it to be nearly inedible, and with a broken aero bottle I couldn't easily get water to wash it down while holding the rest of the bar. So, I quite literally choked the one bar down as best I could and that was the complete extent of my nutrition on the bike, with the exception of some salt pills. I had two more bars with me, but couldn't bring myself to eat them. So.... I'm on the bike, have no real calories to put in me and a handicapped water source. Only 54 miles to go, lol!
I kept a pace/cadence that felt very easy and very relaxed. Once I got past the industrial areas, I settled into a zone and just took in the sights. This is one INCREDIBLE bike course. Palm trees and rainforest-looking vegetation on one side of the road, beautiful beaches and waves crashing on the other side, and squooshed iguana all over the roads. :)
In training, I'd recalled on here the axiom that 'x' amount of time on the trainer is like 'x amount outside. As such, the bulk of my trainer rides just happened to be about an hour and forty minutes (due more to the TrainerRoad workout chosen than a choice about time), but I figured that it'd have me "ok" for a ride of up to about 2 and a half hours. I had figured wrong. There is no x=x.5, or whatever, correlation. Time is Time. My average trainer ride was 1:40:00 and sure enough, I started feel fatigue at around 1:45:00. As I was finishing up the first inner loop, it started to rain. It stopped shortly after I started the second loop. The rain felt great, but then the sun came out and turned the course into a sauna. By the time I hit the last turn around at mile 36 to head "home", I was feeling it in the legs.... and then, the headwinds kicked up. I knew before the race started that there would be headwinds on the way back in, it's just that I didn't know they would be this difficult. I was quickly burning matches in my legs trying to hold a semi-decent pace all the while fighting the gusts buffetting my FLO90's and disc cover. The unsteadyness that the winds caused made it difficult to get to the rear water bottle while on the aero bars. Coming off them to get the bottle meant getting slowed to about 13mph. When I got to where I had only about 8-10 miles to go, any thought of hammering it home were gone. The legs were used up. It was around this time that the race started to look like an ITU event as peloton after peloton blew past me.... like, groups of 25-40+ riders. I finally made it back, nailed the dismount line and trotted my bike to the rack.

I totally hosed up using my 910's Auto-Multisport feature, so I don't have any Garmin data for the bike.

Train harder. Train a LOT longer.
Train and race with power so that I have some constant between indoors and out.

Knowing that my legs were fried, I took my time in T2. I racked the bike and took my time putting on socks and my shoes. Ditched the helmet and put on a white run cap in the hopes of helping with the heat & sun. Took an extra moment to do a quick mental check that I had all I needed and proceeded to start jogging the wrong way to Run Out. A volunteer quickly stopped me and pointed me in the right direction, and I was off and running!

Nothing at all.

"Running" is a misnomer. I was shuffling.
In training all winter long, I trained at paces anywhere from 7:15/mile to 8:30/mile for runs up to 16 miles. At the start of this run, it was hurting like hell to hold 9:15/mile. When I got to that spot where bike & run diverged, it was the start of the first hill..... and I walked to the top. This was a death march from the start. I walked every hill and every aid station. I chugged two waters, a Gatorade, and sometimes a Pepsi at every single aid station (3 of them that you passed four times each). I was dumping ice in my shorts, in my hat, holding it in my hands, volunteers were dumping water over our head, necks and shoulders a half gallon at a time. Staying cool seemed impossible. I was feeling lightheaded and dizzy several times during the run and about a half dozen times, I swear I was a millisecond from falling asleep on my feet. My eyes just wanted to close. The whole first loop was about "just keep moving" and "try to get cooled off". There was one part of the run that was on the outside of the old city walls and it was a freaking furnace. The walls radiated heat and there was ZERO wind and zero shade. At the last aid station of the first loop, I took a GU. I didn't think anything of it, but what seemed like only a few minutes later I actually started to feel better. It was then that it occurred to me that I hadn't had anything since that one BB bar on the bike. I took GU's at the next two aid stations as well and I was able to feel like I could move a lot better. Hitting the turn-around on loop 2 was a big boost mentally, but even so, I was checking the Garmin constantly those last couple of miles. "Just 3 more miles". Shuffle, shuffle, plod, shuffle. "Just 2.9 more miles"..... and so on. I did manage to run almost he last 2 miles non-stop. Finally, I was heading toward the end. I ran past the final aid station, up over that last hill (so rude to have that right before the finish, lol!) and down to the finish line and hearing my name called. I'd done it!

I don't know. I'm definitely trained for the distance; that much isn't a concern. I trained all winter on bigger and steeper hills than this race has.. what I don't have is an extra 65 degrees of air temp and a 1.21 Gigawatt light shining on my head the whole way.

My bad run started with bike fitness and almost zero nutrition on the bike.

I crossed the finish line, got my medal, my finisher shirt, a bottle of cold water, and a bottle of Gatorade. I exited the chute quickly, spotted the food tent but couldn't think of eating. I sought out the nearest bit of shade I could find, which was a tree and I plopped myself down under it. I chugged both beverages and then closed my eyes and took a nap. About 30-45 minutes later, I woke up and was ready to eat and generally feeling good.


Heat, humidity, nutrition, bike fitness... pick an order, I'm sure it'll be right in one way or another.


“Experience is something you don't get until just after you need it.”
-Steven Wright


This race was such a learning experience on so many levels. I learned a TON about myself, my training, and my racing... and not just at this distance. I look for my second HIM to be a LOT stronger :)