Ironman 70.3 Boise - Triathlon1/2 Ironman

Cold swim. But I deffinaty had the edge from all my coldwate ocean lifeguard training. All my pool time is starting to pay off. Maybe course was long b/c I was hoping for a 28 min time, or maybe the cold water and all the breaststrokers I had to swim over slowed me down? My stroke felt good though and found a solid rythm. Even though my time is top 3-4% of the field I would really like to have a more competitive time compared to the professional males. On this course that would be about three minutes faster so I still have a bit of work to do in this category.

I forgot to put on my googles so I swam with them on my forehead the entire time. Thats not good for drag purposes or for spotting buoys.

Wetsuit strippers were awesome! But the suit was stuck on my heels and when they were trying to pull it off they dragged me along the ground a little. But kudos to them for being there!
Because it was so cold I put on a long sleeve shirt and gloves for the bike. Paid off on the bike but made my T1 a bit longer.

I need to learn how to strap in with my pedals already on my bike.

My fastest 56 mile ride to date. Pretty awesome considering I was holding back a lot for the run. My RPE was easy/moderate. I was having so much fun on this bike course because I was passing so many people and it was so pretty. The hills were challenging but nothing that made my HR spike or legs too tired. I drank about 50 ounces diluted Gatorade Endurance and took 3 or 4 cliff shot gels w/caffeine. Felt like nutrition was spot on. The course had slight precipitation and was overcast/cool so my liquid intake wasn't as critical.
My bike never felt so smooth or my legs so fresh. My taper was perfect and I beat my 'fast' predicted bike split by 8 minutes! When I went back to transition to get my bike post-race I gave it a kiss on the top tube. I love my bike!

Train more so I go faster at same effort!

I switched socks so I could have fresh ones to run in. Didn't rush through T2 because I was preparing my mind for the fact I still had a half-marathon to run.

Don't be such a wuss and move faster in T2.

Let me start off by saying I have never ran over 9 miles and have only done over 8 miles twice. I also haven't ran over 4.3 miles in the last 4 weeks due to injury. Out of my 5 months of training I have been injured too bad to run for 2 of them.
With that said I am so stoked I did so well for me in this run. I felt really good on the course and was thinking '1/2 IM is way too easy for all the hype' as I was laying down 8min30second miles for the first 8 miles. And then mile 8 came. All of I sudden GI problems at the same time as a bonified BONK. I had to stop running b/c my GI was so jammed and head was spinning. I was putting down 12 min walk/run miles until mile 10 when I finally found a port-a-potty and unloaded. From mile 10-finish I was probably closer to 10min/miles because even with no GI problem anymore I still was in bonk mode. It took all of me in the last 5 miles but I knew that because of my great start to the run I woud still come in faster than expected. My goal was 2hr15 min and I beat that by 13 minutes!

Maybe switch up nutrition to avoid GI problems. But I am pretty sure the root of all evil came from my lack of run training.

When I crossed the finish line I had to be held up by a volunteer. He pretty much made sure I didn't fall and helped me over to get my picture taken. Then he led me to a chair to sit down and handed me water and gatorade. Wherever he is I am sure he has good karma heading his way. I sure was smelly but he didn't seem to care!
My eyes were watering and I was hyperventilating. A couple people told me to go to the med tent but I was done moving. I saw my girlfriend, Bernie just behind me and I limped over to her and asked her to go get me some food. She was very supportive and got me a couple slices of pizza and chips. Food never tasted soooo good. Stretched for about 2 minutes b/c I couldn't muster the strength to do more and I am paying for that right now. My legs are sore and IT bands are tight. Went back to the finish line and watched for about 10 minutes before getting more food then heading back to the hotel.


It was my first HIM so I didn't know what to expect. I never ran over 9 miles before so 13.1 after 56 miles on a bike was going to hurt. I also have not done much run training due to injury and have been cycling for less than 4 months. Also, the GI problem and bathroom break cost me a bit of time. I think w/o that 5:15 would have been a possibility.
Back to training for the full distance in Aug then it goes to 70.3 training only untl I reach my goal of qualifying for Clearwater, whenever that might be. (hopefully next year!!)


Need more port-a-pottys. Other than that this was a beautiful course and soooo much fun. Boise is gorgeous and I am so glad I picked this for my first HIM. I would love to be back here next June and try to finish better in my AG. I have a feeling this race will be getting lots of love from all the competitors.