Whirlpool Steelhead 70.3 Triathlon - Triathlon1/2 Ironman

I forgot my watch that I was going to wear for this section, so it was weird not to have any idea how much time had gone by. I took it nice and easy for the first 1/2 to settle in. The waves were big enough so that most of the time when I would look up to sight, all I would see was a wave of water.

The second half I picked up the pace and started drafting off someone. I accidentally kept hitting her feet, so I tried to pass, but we ended up being the same speed, so I dropped back to take advantage of the draft. I ended the swim feeling good and ready for the bike.

The swim time included the run up the beach (deep sand uphill!) to transition.

Remember to pack my watch, not bail out on so many swim workouts this year!

An okay transition. Suit got stuck for a second, but all else was fine.

Wipe my feet off a little better, the sand would haunt me later...

So, the bike was where I was hoping to make the biggest improvements in my HIM experience...I spent more time on a trainer this past winter than I ever have, and I had to substitute in more biking when I couldn't run this spring with an injury. And the first 2/3 was amazing...and then promply went downhill.

Some highlights:

I ended up losing the black foam lid to my aerobottle when I took the lid off (stupid mistake) to pour in my Infinit instead of pouring it through the lid. I only realized what happened after I kept getting splashed by drink on the bumpy parts of the road.

2 deer ran across the highway just a couple miles into the bike. Maybe 100 or so feet ahead of me and right in front of some other cyclists. That would have been a crazy collision!

The trench in the road at mile 18-ish was pretty bad, I saw a girl changing a flat on the side of the road - bummer. They probably should have laid down some plywood or something because it was pretty bad.

Just after mile 28 I saw the aftermath of a bad crash...2 bikes down on the side of the road, 1 guy laying down and not moving. After I turned the next corner, I saw the ambulance coming...hope he was okay.

On the last section heading west before Blue Star, the wind had really picked up. There were no trees around and I was getting hammered by the cross wind. And then we made the turn onto Blue Star Hwy....

We had been monitoring the forecast and knew this would be the toughest section, but man, did I underestimate it. I was going 13 mph downhill. Brutal. Weather.com showed 19 mph winds with strong gusts during the hour I was out there. And it felt like a wind tunnel between the trees. Totally demoralizing...and the real bummer is that we never got that kind of tailwind to make up for it in the beginning since the wind picked up through the morning and we only had about 7 miles of NE biking.

So, no sub-3 hour ride for me, but I just tried to focus on maintaining an easy-ish effort to not blow the run too.

Turn off the wind.

The run back to my spot hurt my bare feet...they were pretty numb and my legs were fried just a little.

Not much...pretty quick considering the long run.

A pretty solid run for me considering the bike mayhem. I think under perfect conditions, I could do sub-2 hours, but today was not the day for that. The course had changed since we did it in 2007, so there was 1 more big hill to do twice after exiting the campus...great.

I had some bad achilles tightness for about 4 miles...bad enough that I was worried about finishing without walking, but I took it easy and it passed.

And that's when I noticed the grinding sensation on the bottom of my right foot. Some sand that I hadn't wiped off in T-1 was caught between my sock and the sole of my foot and felt like sandpaper. When I looked at it post-race, I had the biggest blister I've ever had.

My nutrition was pretty good until I started getting hungry for solid food around mile 9...that's pretty weird for me, I'm a liquid and gel girl. So I took my chances and tried a banana. It was amazing...just what I needed.

I was able to pick up the pace after mile 10 and had a great finish...even passing 2 more girls in my AG within the last 1/2 mile.


Not much...this was a pretty good run for me.

Waited for Eric at the finish...the wind picked up again and the rain really started coming down. By the time he finished, he said my lips had turned blue. About 5 mins later, his had turned blue too. Nice...matching blue lips. So we took a warm shower outside the bathrooms and I changed into dry clothes. We got some lunch, ate quickly under the pavillion and got outta there. It was a big bummer to have to ride the bike back to the car even if it was only a mile. Everything hurt.


Brutal winds on the bike, inconsistent training...especially swimming. A bit surprised that it was still a PR overall (only by 4 min., but still a PR!), all of it from a good run off the bike.

Someday I will have a sub-3 hour ride and a sub-6 hour HIM...


I love big races and Steelhead does a really great job. It never felt crowded on any part of the course and there were plently of volunteers.