Ironman 70.3 Timberman - Triathlon

Waited a long time to use the ports-john before getting ready to warm-up

After going to the bathroom (lines were crazy long... lesson - go early, as soon as you feel the need), started getting wetsuit on and passing my stuff off to Dalia; used spray body glide - worked well;

Went for a warm-up swim, which was great; water was a little cold, so was good to get adjusted to it

Prior to swim start, had a Gu Roctane with caffeine and a Reboot - these seemed to work well

Wave began race in about waist height water - took the opp to get myself wet and adjusted to the water again; lined up towards the back of the pack and to the left away from the buoys - strategy was to take the first 2-3 buoys away from the crowd until it spread out some, prob around buoy 2 or 3 - this strategy seemed to work; gave Dalia many waves good bye and went off with the horn

Swim was overall amazing!!! It seemed to be over before i knew it. I took it relatively easy the entire way, trying to remain cognizant to keep myself slow and steady; had only a few pick ups, but everything felt comfortable the entire time - relaxed; repeated some mantras but mostly went through body checks throughout swim - wide arm entry, looking up, watching hand enter, not dropping hand, high elbow, full push follow-through, etc.

Gender rank: 766

At first turn, took the turn way too wide.... went far out away from the rest of the pack; at first thought this was good, bc i had my own space; soon realized i was way too far out and losing all drafting ability; took me a while to get back into the pack, and had swam prob 3 buoys by the time i did.... i didn't need to go that far out

Also, at one point another swimmer brought me under the water... as he was swimming alongside me, on his pull grabbed my hip to propel himself forward... caused me to go under for a bit, but recovered quickly

Wetsuit strippers saved a lot of time - they were great, but cramped my right hamstring while getting up off the floor... need to be careful about that

Missed the clip-in once or twice... could have been smoother

Nutrition - Had two bottles of coconut water with honey (approx 100 calories each); one bottle of water; three half bananas from the aid stations; two bonk breakers; four smoothie packets

Back started to sieze up pretty early on and got progressively worse; debated pulling over at the medical station (first aid station out and last one back) but ultimately didn't

Stopped at one porta john to pee, which took a couple of minutes

Ride was overall beautiful and i definitely took my time to appreciate the beauty

Gender rank: 994

Figure out my back situation and what to do about it - maybe need a new fitting

Had to stop and go to the bathroom in T2... a couple people in front of me formed a line so waited a few minutes for it



I had decided not to take my watch on the run; as i approached T2 on the bike, i realized that i was within 6 hr time if i pushed on the run, so i took the watch - it turned out to be a distraction... i should have stuck to my plan

Legs were definitely tight on run from the bike, but never cramped in any particular area; cramping has always been an issue of mine, so this was good! Stopped at each aid station for water and nutrition and walked for a few seconds; definitely went out too fast in the beginning... need to get that under control; right foot toes started giving me problems by mile 6 - by end of race, all three middle toes were blistered and had to be drained - made the last 6 miles very difficult; was overall tight the entire run... stopped to stretch on a couple of occasions; tried soda in the last couple of miles and this seemed to work well without bothering my stomach too much (had tried in a practice run previously)

By the end, wanted to push a little harder and see if i could hit that 6 hour mark, but i just didn't have it in me. I've never felt exhaustion like that. It wasn't that my legs were cramping or that i was particularly fatigued in any area, but just overall exhausted and didn't have anywhere to draw from... i wonder how much of this can be overcome mentally...

Gender rank: 819

Have to figure out my toe situation in my right foot

Finish line - Victor Cruz salsa move and a big pound and picture with Andy Potts - really nice guy; recovered my energy for a few minutes; stretched with Dalia; went to medical tent for my toes; stretched some more; went to have a burger and two beers!


Back pains on the bike and right toes blistering on the run


Rumors were floating around the race that this would be the last one... we'll see!