Ironman 70.3 Racine - Triathlon

Holy cow! This was the choppiest swim I've ever swam. I am not a fast swimmer by any means, but I generally feel comfortable in the water. I really surprised myself because I am not used to swimming in water that is this choppy. But surprisingly, I felt VERY comfortable, despite the gallons of water I likely swallowed. Also, sighting isn't supposed to be so hard in this swim, since it's a point-to-point and there are only two turns. But when you're getting a wave in your face every 10 seconds, sighting is very difficult. Also, I got kicked in the eye, so, that was fun, but I recovered quickly and got back to the daunting task of finishing. I loved that they had the first half of the swim marked with yellow buoys and the second half of the swim marked with orange buoys. The first half seemed to take FOREVER and I felt like I wasn't making any progress. However, I was soo RELIEVED when I finally saw my first orange buoy and came to the realization that I was over half way done with the swim. Hopefully this is the worst swim I ever encounter. Despite my 57 minute swim, I still feel like I did great, considering the circumstances. The best part was seeing (and hearing) my sister and my boyfriend cheering for me at the swim exit. What a great feeling!

I think I will make a point of making it out to the lake when the conditions are less than favorable and the lake is choppy. At least this way I'll be used to choppy conditions and maybe the next time I'm in this predicament it won't seem as daunting.

5:16 seems like a long time, but there was a good 150 yard run from the beach to T1. Especially since most of that was running on sand, which is a difficult task. I feel I did okay and hustled well. My transition area was set up perfectly and I had no problem getting off my wetsuit, putting on the sunblock, stuffing my tri pockets with nutrition, and putting my my helmet and sunglasses. T1 went smoothly for me. Thankfully I had practiced finding my bike that morning from the swim in. I had absolutely no problem locating my bike.

I would have liked to have a sub 4 minute transition, but overall, I'm satisfied with my time.

I averaged 17.21 mph. Not bad, I suppose for my first HIM. I had hoped to come in at an 18 mph average, but it's okay. I did pass a few people. This was a fairly uneventful ride for me. I lucked out and had no mechanical issues and no close accidents. I managed to maintain my pace with little pain. Amazingly I handled the water hand offs pretty well seeing as I had never practiced them. The first aid station hand off went perfectly and I managed to fill up my aerodrink while moving and still had enough time to dump the empty water bottle in the trash zone (don't want that littering penalty!). My second aid station hand off also went well, except, the guy that handed me the bottle hadn't opened it yet. So, I was squeezing it into my Aerodrink bottle and nothing was coming out. Anyway, I didn't want to risk an accident so I pulled over out of the way of other cyclists, opened the bottle and proceeded to fill up my aerodrink. My nutrition on the bike went very well and I had no GI issues at all. I ate a Bonk Breaker bite at the very beginning of the ride. Had a Gu gel at mile 15. Ate another Bonk Breaker bite at mile 30 and another Gu at mile 45. I drank 1 1/2 of my Aerodrink bottle of water and had 1 1/2 of my other bottles of Perform. Starting getting delirious at around mile 40, but that's pretty normal for me. My mind starts playing tricks on my on these long rides. Heard cheers from my friends at mile 53ish, it gave me an extra surge of energy as I approached the end of the bike. I really pushed it hard the last 5 miles or so. Also, as I dismounted I saw my training buddy Krista dismounting too! It was definitely a great feeling to see a familiar face!

I think I would push it harder. Next time I'll aim for an 18 mph pace. Other than that, really no complaints from my end.

Great transition, moved quickly and was pumped for the run. The race was ALMOST OVER and that was an awesome feeling! Just had to get one more discipline out of the way! I stuffed my tri pockets with 2 Gu gels and went on my way!

Move faster, that's all.

I felt fantastic at the start of my run having seen my sister and my boyfriend cheering me on immediately as I got on the course! Wow, what am amazing amount of SUPPORT from the citizens of Racine and run volunteers! The energy during the run was fantastic! Really helped push me to the finish! The aid stations were spaced just right and I took advantage of all of them, except for the first one. They were each about 1-1.5 miles apart. I took in every bit of nutrition I could at the aid stations. I had Perform, water, ice to shove down my tri suit, oranges (these were the best tasting things EVER), a banana, coke, pretzels and the little rubber sponge things the volunteers were handing out (soaked in cold water). People were out with hoses spraying people down. It was great, except for the fact that I had slosh feet and my feet were soaked which made me blister a little. My soaked feed definitely hindered me a little. I saw my training buddy Krista three times on the run. She looked like she was having a difficult time so I tried my best to encourage her and cheer her on. I ran great until the last 5k, which is when I started having random muscle spasms in my calves, but regardless I pushed through and finished the 1/2 marathon in UNDER 2 hours! What an amazing run! I really surprised myself. Running once was NOT my strong point at all and I finally have seemed to conquer it. It is perhaps my strongest suit now! As I crossed the finish line I teared up upon seeing my sister. I couldn't believe I had just completed a half Ironman! What an amazing feat! To make things even better, there were 7 people waiting for my at the finish line!

Next time I think I will pop a salt tablet as I start the run so that my calves don't spasm at the end. Also, I think I will avoid getting sprayed by hoses. My poor feet were blistered and raw at the end of that run and it really affected the 2nd half of my run. I am certain I could have finished a good 5 minutes faster if I didn't have the spasm and if I didn't have wet feet. Overall though, I really stepped up to the plate here to finish up the race.

My legs were totally like jello, so, I walked around a bit. I took advantage of the veggie sub sandwiches and bagels with peanut butter at the Athlete food tent. Afterwards my friends and I ate at a great local Racine restaurant called Yardarm. I had a beer and got some food in my belly and I felt great!


I definitely need to work on improving my swim speed, perhaps some speed drills are in order. I also would like to improve my bike speed. So, those are the things I will work on in the next few months leading up to IM 70.3 Miami, FL.


I cannot express how impressed I was by this race. The combination of organization and volunteer support really made this an extraordinary experience for me. I cannot wait to do this race again! The weather was perfect!