Silverman 70.3 - Triathlon1/2 Ironman

Water temp was recorded at 75.4, so it was .7 degrees below wetsuit legal. I had forgot to pack my wetsuit for the trip however. Almost everyone else in my All World Athlete wave was wearing one. From what I hear, the course was a little long. Closer to 1.3 than 1.2, so that makes me happier with my time.

Once you got out about 100 yards the water was quite warm, about 80 degrees I would guess. I was comfortable without a wetsuit and would have been hot in one. The water was pretty clear so I was able to draft off of a couple different sets of feet which saved me some energy. Great venue for a swim.

I forgot to take my tylenol before the swim, and remembered it was in my side pocket after about 400 yards. So I reached in my pocket and grabbed them. They were less then half dissolved. I swallowed them with a little bit of lake water.

Had a little bit of trouble finding my bike, but after I did it was a normal transition. I had to put my shoes on while in transition instead of strapping in while riding because of the race's rules. T1 was made up of little p rocks but had rubber mats down in most places to walk.

I knew this bike course was going to be tough and it didn't disappoint. Right from the start came the hills. A LOT of hills. I ditched my front water bottle at the first aid station and grabbed a perform. My legs felt good at mile 20 yet, but started to feel some fatigue around 25. At each aid station I would discard my empty perform bottle and grab a fresh cold one. At the 2nd aid station (about mile 28?) I stopped to pee.

Miles 30-40 went pretty quick but things were getting tougher. I was able to speed past people going up the hills and would get passed going down, especially as I tried coasting down most of the hills. Topped out at 37 mph. After hitting the 3rd aid station around mile 41 I was ready to be done and my legs were starting to feel it.

The last 10 miles were by far the hardest. My legs were spent and the terrain was deceiving. It looked like we were going down hill, but we were actually going at a slight incline with a little bit of a headwind. There were no downhill sections to rest your legs either. By the end, we gained a little bit of elevation on a hill and I had to stand to get the power to get up the hill. The last 2 miles flattened out luckily and were easier. By the end I was absolutely spent.

I took in 5+ bottles of fluids (mostly perform) 5 salt tabs, 3 gels and half a banana. By the end of the ride my stomach was feeling sick from all the liquid.

I was really glad I swapped out my 12-25 for a 11-28 cassette. I think I would have been in trouble otherwise. I was really happy with my hydration plan. I feel like you should have gotten a medal for just doing that bike ride.

Decided not to take my feet out of my shoes before stopping (too tired?). As I swung my right leg over my seat my right hamstring cramped up bad and I had to walk through all of transition. I thought this was a very bad sign. But after I got my running gear on and peed again (I knew this was a good sign) I started to run and my hamstring felt good, no cramping.

Right from the start my running legs felt great. The first lap I was taking it easy and my legs felt amazing. By the 2nd lap they were getting tired but holding up, and by the last lap they were pretty spent and hurting. Luckily my stomach felt great and I was able to take in plenty of fluids at every aid station, including 2 gels, 4 salt tabs, half a banana and a orange wedge. I only cramped up a tiny bit on the last lap but ran through it to the aid station. After the aid station it felt good and could run the rest of the way.

I walked the aid stations and was able to run the rest of it. There were a lot of hurting people out there while I was on my last lap. I had the finishing chute all to myself and had an amazing experience.

I was spent after the toughest race I'd ever done, but I felt good. I was able to keep my body fueled and hydrated and didn't need any medical attention afterwards. I put some ice on my quads and did a tiny bit of stretching.


The hills and the heat.


I wanted a challenging race and I got it. This was a fantastic race. WTC always puts on an amazing race and they didn't disappoint. The post race food was good, although I hardly ate any of it. The whole race experience was amazing and would recommend this to anyone looking to challenge themselves at the 70.3 distance.