Pacific Crest Half Iron - Triathlon1/2 Ironman

Felt great! Going into this swim I was really freaked out because the water was only 1 degree warmer than CDA last year and I hadn't swam in my full sleeved wetsuit in almost a year. Once again it saved the day. I stayed pretty warm, caught a few good drafts between Buoy 1 & 2 and then again between 2 & 3 so I only swam 50% by myself. Decided pre-race to devote my swim singing to Michael Jackson so I sang my favorite songs of his in my head while I swam. Slowed down a few times to pee, otherwise I felt strong and came out of the water ready to ride!

Spend more time swimming :)

This race has a split transition so you have to pack all your swim gear into a bag before speeding off on your bike. That slowed me down just a minute or so since my wetsuit didn't want to get into the bag :)

Not much!

This bike course kicks ass!!!!!! It is absolutely the most beautiful, most challenging, most fun course I've ever done. You start your ride at 4200 ft so you've first got to deal with the altitude. Then you spend 27 miles traveling through beautiful pine forests, past 7 lakes and the Deschutes River. Simply spectacular scenery. 3 short climbs take you about 700 ft up over 3 miles before you get a short break to enjoy the beautiful fields and snow capped mountains around you. From there it was up to the entrance to Mt Bachelor which was at 6500 ft. 1500 ft of climbing over 3 miles. Brutal! That's all I can say - this was the hardest climb I've ever done. I was in my lowest gear and still just barely turning the pedals for what seemed like 20-30 minutes. The payoff?????

Once you get to the top you have 20 miles of downhill/flat and they aren't kidding when they say you can make up for lost time here. Going into the race my LMT (who's done the race before) told me to stay steady on the climb and then use my size to my advantage, push a big gear and just fly down those last 20 miles and that's exactly what I did.

It was like a roller-coaster ride. My top speed was 45 MPH, I never got out of my aerobars or touched the brakes (a first for me). It was AMAZING and super fun!!!!!!

Once I started the descent I could see that I was picking off people left and right so I made it my goal for those last 20 miles to do the attacking and not let anyone catch me. WOOO HOOOO!!!!! Wouldn't you know I made it to transition and dismounted right at 3:30. I was so excited! This bike course is 58 miles so not only did I go 2 extra miles, I climbed up a mountain and did it at altitude. Definitely the best bike ride ever!

Continue to lean out so I have more power for the climbing. Otherwise nothing. I far exceeded my goal for this ride!

Lots to do here! Besides getting all my bike gear off and getting my feet lubed up and new socks and running shoes on. I also had to re-apply sunscreen (a lot of good it did), Bodyglide myself and load my still cold Fuel Belt bottles into my Fuel Belt.

Maybe I would move faster - otherwise I didn't want to forget anything and keep in mind I've not had to do my own transitions for a long course in a while so I had lots of little things to do myself:

Sunscreen
Load Fuel Bottles into Fuel Belt
Body Glide Inner Arms and Thighs
Etc....

The run was a death march. As soon as I left transition and started running I had to walk. The heat and humidity was oppressive. The altitude was making it hard to breathe and I was like OMG this is massive sucktitude!

Took a few minutes to walk and gather myself and then started on my 3/1 intervals. Saw my husband and friend Scott before mile 1 and they were next to a guy with a bag of ice - WOO HOO!!!! Stuffed a handful down my sports bra and felt a bit better. The course is super spread out so there's not a lot of spectators and it's pretty desolate. I tried to stick to my run/walks as long as I could but anytime I'd get to an incline I'd just walk.

At about the 4 mile mark I was really starting to cook out there and like a mirage my friend Eric showed up on his mountain bike. He rode ahead of me and chatted with me for a bit about the swim and the bike, slowing down when I'd hit a walk break or get to an aid station. It was amazing - having some steady conversation helped distract me from the blast furnace I was running in. We talked to other racers as they passed me or I passed them (rarely!) and I ticked off the miles as we went from 5 to 6 to 7 and on and on. The course is pretty isolated as you get to the outer parts of the resort and I was so hot that after my bag of Mike & Ike's broke I just focused on moving forward and staying as cool as I possibly could. The sealant on the path was melting under my feet which was so not awesome!

Considering the altitude and the heat, I think I did awesome. It was my best 1/2 marathon in a 1/2 IM so far which is saying something since this one sucked :)

Definitely not lose my bag of Mike & Ike's - otherwise, I was a bit light on long runs but I honestly don't think that affected me here. It really came down to the heat and the altitude and there's not a lot I can do about either of those things.

Got a cold towel and a bottle of water and walked around a bit. Took an ice bath and ate very salty spaghetti when I got home. Yum!


The heat and the altitude were both key. I can't do anything about either of those though so I was really pleased with the day :)


This was a fantastic race! Really well organized, tons of volunteers, breathtaking scenery and super challenging course. I will definitely be coming back :)