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Ironman 70.3 Boise
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Ironman 70.3 Boise - Triathlon1/2 Ironman
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 Swim
Comments: I jumped into the water to start acclimating as soon as they let us. We had to wait about 5 minutes before our start. The water was cold (about 57 degrees) but not that bad. The chop on the lake was making me nervous. The horn went off and I kept myself toward the outside and rear of the pack. The chop was horrible! There was a head/crosswind on the way to the first turn. I tried to do freestyle, however, every time I went to take a breath I wound up swallowing loads of water and coughing really hard! Then I tried breaststoke but the waves were hitting me strait in the face! Then I resorted to a side stroke! Gawd, how degrading!!!! After rounding the first turn, the wind was pretty much at full force. I saw a few random whitecaps in my struggle to sidestroke. I tried to do freestyle again, but it was in vain. After rounding the second turn, the wind was blowing from behind and across. This should have been a good thing! Not so. The jetskis and search and rescue boat were busy flying back and forth picking out swimmers and in their haste to help the flailing, they were creating a pretty big wake. Again, I could not judge when I was going to get a wave so freestyle continued to elude me. After rounding the third, and final, turn, I had an honest tail wind. I was to pooped to freestyle at this point so I just breast stroked my way in. My time sucked so why wear myself out more before I get on the bike! I cried because I really should have done better. The water temp didn't bother me at all. It was the choppy conditions that got me. Thank goodness for wetsuit strippers!!! They are awesome!!! What would you do differently?: I couldn't really do anything different. Well, maybe go swim in Big Lagoon on the yuckiest of weather days!  Transition 1
Comments: No problems getting my bike stuff on and my wetsuit into the bag. I walked over and handed my stuff to my husband. Still no sense in hurrying out of T1 after such a long swim. I needed to regain composure. What would you do differently?: Nothing. Well, maybe hurry a little if the swim had gone good.  Bike
Comments: I was pissed about the swim so I went screaming down off the dam at 40mph for about 3 miles. I passed a bunch of people. Then up an easy 1 mile hill and then flat to slightly rolling until about mile 15. Then it was an easy to moderate climb up to the Birds of Prey Center at about mile 17.5. I really had to pee from about mile 5 so I had to jump off and dash into a toilet here! Man! How much water did I drink during that swim! Hydration is not a problem right now! Back on the bike, I headed back down the hill to the base of the worst climb on the whole course. It was 1 mile long and moderately steep. Nothing terrible. I was easily passing people up the grade with no problem! Back down the other side and then some long flat to rolling terrain till mile 40. It started raining on me about halfway through the ride. Somewhere along here, I had to pee again. WTF!!! Found another toilet. Continued on a couple of fairly steep rollers to mile 45, follwed by flat to slightly uphill to mile 50, and then downhill to T2. The rain didn't bother me since I ride in the rain all the time. What would you do differently?: Nothing. I came in at the time I wanted to. I could have gone harder but I didn't want to screw up the run. I knew I was fatigued from the swim. My nutrition was perfect. I had a gel every 30 minutes and drank cytomax or water every 15 minutes. Perfect! Transition 2
Comments: Not bad. Had to put all of my cycling stuff back in the bag and hang the bag on the bike. What would you do differently?: Nothing.  Run
Comments: I was tired. My time sucked. All I wanted to do was finish the race. My first mile was 9:30. I knew I was never going to keep this pace so I decided to walk through all of the aid stations which were placed every mile. I was at 30 minutes by the time mile 3 rolled around. The second lap was hard. You have to run almost to the finsh line before starting lap 2. It was discouraging knowing that I wasn't finishing. By the time I got to mile 8, I wasn't watching my time any more. I was upset since I am able to run a sub 8 minute mile for 8 miles and now I was well over a 10 minute mile! Oh well. Those shin splints over the past couple of months didn't help. (At this point, I was ignoring my screaming shins.) Mile 12 was a wonderful sign to see! My husband was at mile 12.5 and I sprinted to the finish!!! He couldn't keep up with me through the crowd! I guess I had plenty of gas in the tank! :) I alternated every station with water at one and gatorade at the next one for the whole run. This worked well. What would you do differently?: Heal those shins so I can do some better run training. Post race
Warm down: I cried at the finish since I have been wanting to do this for a few years. Finally, I did it!!!! A volunteer took off my timing chip while another one put the medal around my neck. Then the next one put a silver space blanket around me! Blah! Get that thing off of me!!!! I'm to bloody hot!!!! And I've gotta pee again!!! What limited your ability to perform faster: Shin splints, bad water conditions. Event comments: Boise is a FANTASTIC race! You should do it if you can. I read that it is going to be on May 30, 2009. The volunteers were wonderful! The spectators were wonderful! The whole city was excited to have us there! It was simply great! Last updated: 2007-10-30 12:00 AM
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 2008-06-03 3:53 PM |
Elite  3913     far northern CA |  Subject: Ironman 70.3 Boise |
| 2008-06-03 3:55 PM in reply to: #1442586 |
Sensei Sin City | Subject: RE: Ironman 70.3 Boise Cangrats again! Maybe I will travel up there next year for something new. That swim look like it murdered you - sorry to see that - I know how rough that can be..... Edited by Aikidoman 2008-06-03 4:01 PM |
| 2008-06-03 4:29 PM in reply to: #1442586 |
Pro 4353 Wallingford, PA | Subject: RE: Ironman 70.3 Boise Wow! Sounds like a really tough swim! Way to pull through! Congrats on your 70.3 finish!!! |
| 2008-06-03 4:43 PM in reply to: #1442586 |
Expert 941 WA | Subject: RE: Ironman 70.3 Boise wow, this race sounded like a real exercise in fortitude! you are one tough chica for sure!!! i hate choppy water, it's so horrible when all the waves just go in your mouth, you are such a trooper!! congrats on your first HIM finish, i am sure the next will go better! you are a rockstar! |
| 2008-06-03 5:11 PM in reply to: #1442586 |
Pro 4343 Olney, MD | Subject: RE: Ironman 70.3 Boise Tracy, you did great! You finished a very hard challenge when many others gave up and went home. Forget about that swim under terrible conditions (I know all about side stroking when I should be doing FS). Heal up and you'll kick @ss next time! Congrats! |
| 2008-06-03 5:16 PM in reply to: #1442586 |
Expert 892 | Subject: RE: Ironman 70.3 Boise Way to suck it up, Tracy! That swim sounds horrible... kudos for sticking it out and finishing. Thanks for sharing your RR... well done! |
| 2008-06-03 5:42 PM in reply to: #1442586 |
Extreme Veteran 335 Toledo, Ohio | Subject: RE: Ironman 70.3 Boise Awesome job with those conditions thrown at you! You are really hard-core and a real inspiration! Way to shake off the swim and get back into the race. It is frustrating to have to run with injuries, you did a great job working through that.... hope you recover quickly from that! Thanks for sharing the race report! |
| 2008-06-03 6:21 PM in reply to: #1442586 |
Melon Presser 52116 | Subject: RE: Ironman 70.3 Boise Congratulations, Iron Lady!!! (yes, it's an ironman branded event so you are an iron lady) What a tough race! I would have been had at trying to plan for 2 transitions, frankly. Way to go for sticking it out through that nasty swim, and then pulling off a great bike and run. I do know how demoralizing it is to come in for that 2nd lap ... kudos for keeping on, keeping on. YOU ROCK!!!!! |
| 2008-06-03 6:37 PM in reply to: #1442586 |
Expert 1028 Chandler, AZ | Subject: RE: Ironman 70.3 Boise Congrats on sticking with this race. I saw 3 people pulled from the water and two had white caps. A total of 27 did not make it out. The cold, wind and choppy water was not an ideal way to start a race. You did it! |
| 2008-06-03 8:34 PM in reply to: #1442586 |
Veteran 149 Quebec city | Subject: RE: Ironman 70.3 Boise |
| 2008-06-03 9:44 PM in reply to: #1442586 |
Veteran 109 Jackson, WY | Subject: RE: Ironman 70.3 Boise Way to go Owl_girl. I also struggled (big time) with the swim as this was my first triathlon and I was not prepared for the difficulty sighting and seasickness...what a mess. At least the cool/overcast conditions made the bike and run a pleasure. Maybe I'll see you there next year??? |
| 2008-06-04 12:24 AM in reply to: #1443400 |
Member 219 Nampa, Idaho | Subject: RE: Ironman 70.3 Boise I'm glad you enjoyed the Boise area! I was there as a volunteer but plan on participating as an athlete next year! It was nice to read your race report |
| 2008-06-04 11:02 AM in reply to: #1442586 |
Regular 62 Lewiston, ID | Subject: RE: Ironman 70.3 Boise Nice job Owl  |
| 2008-06-04 11:12 AM in reply to: #1442586 |
Master 1619 Hingham, Ma | Subject: RE: Ironman 70.3 Boise What a great accomplishment. You should be very proud of yourself. Congrats. |
| 2008-06-04 3:57 PM in reply to: #1442586 |
Veteran 245 Eden Prairie, MN | Subject: RE: Ironman 70.3 Boise The swim sounds brutal!! Way to hang in there and finish. That's a long way to swim on your side. |
| 2008-06-04 7:45 PM in reply to: #1442586 |
| Subject: RE: Ironman 70.3 Boise Congrats on the finish. That was a tough day and to get through it will make your next one that much more enjoyable. |
| 2008-06-05 11:17 AM in reply to: #1442586 |
Master 1759 Byhalia, Mississippi | Subject: RE: Ironman 70.3 Boise Reading about the chop reminded me that the sheriff in the rescue boat kept zipping back and forth after the third turn causeing a wake I just knew was going to drown me! However - we made it and have out first HIM in the bag! Great job! On to the next! |
| 2008-06-06 4:33 PM in reply to: #1442586 |
Champion 6285 Beautiful Sonoma County | Subject: RE: Ironman 70.3 Boise Oh, I almost started crying reading that! How fantastic that you did as well as you did on the bike! And you dealt with the swim as best as you could. And you got through the run, which I understand is really all you can every hope for in a HIM.
YOU ROCK!! (Owlie-Says-You-Rock.gif) Attachments ---------------- Owlie-Says-You-Rock.gif (56KB - 39 downloads) |
| 2008-06-07 10:02 PM in reply to: #1442586 |
TinkerBeth 23096 Liverpool, New York | Subject: RE: Ironman 70.3 Boise Awesome job! |
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United States
World Triathlon Corporation
65F / 18C
Precipitation
Overall Rank = 884/1006
Age Group = F 35-39
Age Group Rank = 54/86
We arrived in Boise on Friday evening, checked into our B & B just a few blocks away from T2 and took off to drive the bike course. The course looked pretty good. The hills didn't look bad at all. In fact, they were not as steep as those at home. Yippee!! We went out for dinner that night and then had a good nights rest.
On Saturday morning, we ate the wonderful B & B breakfast!!! Yummy!!! What a great place! We walked down to the Boise Center for the 9AM athlete briefing and then I stood in line FOREVER at packet pick-up.
The race was divided into two transition areas so everyone had to get their bikes up to T1 at Lucky Peak Reservoir and then get their run gear to T2 in downtown Boise. All of the T2 gear had to be in a color coded bag. Nothing except the bag could be on the ground. Hmmm. Had to make a quick mental note of my T2 location. OK. I'm near the stop sign. I can remember that. My husband acted as bike sherpa on the hike up to T1. The parking area was at the base of the dam and we had to walk up a gravel road to T1. The race officials said it was a 1/2 mile but it was longer than that. I set up my bike, noted my T1 location, and then watched the tail end of the practice swim. (I wish I could have gotten there sooner.) The water looked like glass. The course looked very similar to Pacific Crest Oly so I wasn't worried at all.
We went back to our B & B and my husband went for a bike ride while I organized the rest of my T1 equipment in its bag. (More info on this later.) I went to bed really early after a pasta dinner.
We drove up to Lucky Peak at 5:30AM. As I got out of the truck, I noted how windy it was. This was not a good sign. I was pretty worried about the swim at this point and we hadn't even made the trek up the hill.
At T1, I got my bike gear organized as best I could in the black bag and hung it on my saddle. (Only one tire could be touching the ground.) I got my Cytomax set up put gels in the bento box. I grabbed my wetsuit, caps, and goggles and got in the loooooong line for the toilets. Geez, do they really only have 3 toilets?????!
I climbed up the big berm to get in my swim group and saw how choppy the water was. The flag was flying strait out! Yikes! Not good!