Ironman 70.3 St. George - Triathlon

Took me a bit to get into a rhythm. My goggles fogged up a bit, that frustrated me but I just had to deal with it. I was in a later swim wave and many of the young gun swimmers were behind us--they caught up and of course plowed right through us, which is to be expected. I"m always in awe by how powerful really good swimmers are! I was still able to site OK through my fogged lenses.

Not much, I'm a slow but consistent swimmer, did my usual 'just keep swimming' mantra.

Another slower transition but slow was the theme of the day!

Hurried up

Well sheesh. This was hard. Up to mile 44 I felt like I was doing ok...the wind sucked but I was still doing fine. When I could I was eating bits of the bagel and peanut butter, not easy to chew bread while on the bike. I finally turned into Snow Canyon and up I went. At times I was at 3-4 mph but I did not get off my bike! Saw plenty of people walking the bikes up that last brutal mile but I was determined to make it and I did. I couldn't wait to turn into town--those last ten miles would be downhill and fast and the reward for all that work...until I turned and realized I was in a 30-40 mph headwind the whole way back in. Those last ten miles just sapped my mojo--what was supposed to be the best part of the ride was almost the worst part! It just sucked.

Nothing, I did what I could. The wind was just too much.

Finally was able to hit the bathroom...I had to pee the entire time on the bike. Yes, I tried to go while riding but just couldn't :-)

Hurried up

Well, this was in no way a run. I was done at this point. By the end of mile one I was thinking about turning around and walking back to the start, finding my daughter and calling it a day. By mile two I was looking for any IM official so I could tap out. By mile 3 I was looking for medical because I was trying to convince myself I was going into heat stroke so I could be pulled from the course and be done. By mile four I was looking for ways to cut the course and head back into town. By mile 5 I had quit 10,000 times in my head. By mile six I found 10,001 reasons to keep going. It was so hard. My feet were on fire, I kept burping peanut butter up into my mouth, I wanted to badly to find shade and sit down--but there was no shade. So I just kept trudging on. I jogged when I could, but mostly just kept moving forward. Finally, finally made it to that mile 12 and jogged it in. I was so glad to be done.

I'm not sure if poor nutrition was to blame, the heat, the wind, a combination of everything but I could not get my legs to run. I've never had to walk so much, even in the Ironman I did in 2015.

I sat in the fountains in the town square. Two adorable brothers, about ages 4 and 2, had water bottles and started dumping water all over my legs and my back...it was the best. They kept saying 'we'll help you cool off!' It was great...they were so cute and made it all better!


Ummm, as usual, my ability to perform faster!


The race itself is amazing. I don't think the course is too hard for me...the conditions were just really tough, plus my nutrition was a disaster.