Whirlpool Steelhead 70.3 Triathlon - Triathlon1/2 Ironman

This is my split for the run. No swim.

Strange to transition run to bike. Instead of having water and Perpetuem powder to mix in transition (thats what I did in my last 1/2) I pre-mixed it and put it in a small (very small) cooler in transition. The cooler leaked and got my stuff wet, didn't seem to keep my bottle all that cold. Maybe freezing it would be better? Also, I had staged my socks with powder in them to get on my feet better. Since I didn't swim, I didn't get to test that, but it seemed like it would work well.

Thinking about giving up on the Perpetuem due to the hassle of avoiding spoilage. We'll see, I really do like it.

I felt like I had a good ride. I improved my time over Gulf Coast by 10 minutes, what more can I ask for?

I'm not a big fan of 2 lap run courses. The whole first lap I spend dreading the second lap! But of course, the second lap can be spent telling yourself "well at least I don't have to run past THAT again." I wound up running behind two guys for quite awhile who were discussing the merits of an aero helmet for the bike. I couldn't help but chuckle to myself...if you're running as slow as me, you sure as shit don't need an aero helmet! ha ha ha!

I made a gallant effort to "not walk" during this run. Of course I did walk, but I would say I walked less. I did manage to cut 9 minutes off my Gulf Coast run time, so that is great. However, this is still nowhere near my stand alone 1/2 marathon time. But I suppose I shouldn't expect it to be.

Yummy plums and peaches in the finish shoots. I appreciated the little cold towel they gave me too, took my breath away when they draped the thing on me dripping with ice water. I had kinda planned to get an IV post race, but never really saw the med tent. I've since heard that official 70.3 races are not so free with the medical assistance post-race. Oh well, I survived without it anyway.


Great course! Beware of hotels in Benton Harbor. The Lake Breeze Inn is NASTY!! Run away!! You'd be better off sleeping in your car. If you're going to do this race, book the hotel a good 8-12 months in advance.