Ironman 70.3 Des Moines - Triathlon

This swim went SO much better than Buffalo. I stayed calm through most of the swim. My navigation was really good. I got a bit flustered around the first buoy. So I took the 2nd one wider to stay calm. I found myself several times trying to pass between two large men and feeling squeezed or afraid I was going to get kicked or hit. My first 500 was solid. I struggled in the second 500. But the remainder I got into a good rhythm and had a strong finish.

My OWS. Start in a slightly faster wave so I don't need to do as much passing. Do 3 swims/week rather than 2. And try to start doing a longer swim session each week.

It was a LONG transition, 0.63 miles. Most was sidewalks that were mostly clear. But I still had to jog carefully. I used my road shoes and it felt like it took forever to get them on with my socks. And all my gear was in clear plastic bags to stay dry in case the rain started again.

Put sneakers near the swim out so I could slip them on and run faster. Figure out my cleat/pedal situation so I can use my tri shoes again.

It was a little crowded coming out of transition where the roads were narrower and people were trying to clip in and get up to speed. I stayed upright so I could navigate the congestion more easily and brake if necessary. I passed many people. Once I got out of the park, I brought the effort down, drank some, got into aero and tried to calm things down a bit. I didn't push it on the hills. My HR stayed in Z2 most of the time. And my effort level felt comfortable most of the time. Once I hit the turn around I was still feeling good. I saw Teresa just before that and she was looking great. Getting closer to the park and descent was sweet and my speeds picked up which was super fun.

Get my cadence sensor working on my Garmin. More Purple Patch live and VOD bike sessions. A LOT more time in aero outside closer to my race to prepare my neck. Get a new aero helmet that feels better. Get workable cleats on my tri shoes. Get power pedals. Practice changing bottles on tri bike. Train outside with regular tires and save race wheels for races. Get more comfortable with higher sustained efforts on the bike.

There was some mud coming into transition. But I ran through it. Someone said it felt like a CX race. Found my bike easily. Switched stuff over pretty well.

Could be faster. But mostly went pretty smoothly.

It was hot out there. There was a little shade but a lot of sun. I knew what I had to do. I stuck with keeping my HR in below z4 and walked the aid stations alternating water/powerade and taking ice most of the time to put in my pockets and eat slowly. My pace was pretty fast for the first 3 miles and then started to slow. Around mile 7.5 my stomach started to feel a little oogy, as if I was taking too much. I slowed down the liquids and took some coke a couple of times in the second half. The last mile I picked up the pace again and ran strong to the finish. I LOVED seeing so many people I knew today during the run—Jeff, Teresa, Beth, Camille, Dotty, Sara, Talline, and Bill 3 times.

Not much. Felt much better than I usually do during the run. Maybe keep the pace in check in the beginning so I don't go out too fast before my HR catches up. But mostly I ran it really smartly with the terrain and weather.

Water, a little walking, food. Felt ok. Never felt like I had sausage fingers.


Push a little harder on the bike, smoother swim


I would do this race again. First IM branded race and it was run very smoothly, especially considering the weather delays. Parking/transition/finish/swim were too spread out. But that was all communicated ahead of time so no surprises.