Ironman 70.3 Racine Race Report

Ironman Racine 70.3

The race was on Sunday July 21, 2013 so we headed up to Racine on Friday. It was a very long drive after getting stuck in Chicago for a LONG time! But we made it! Ate dinner and went to bed early and got a good night’s sleep.  On Saturday we went to the Ironman Village and picked up our race packets, did a little shopping (I bought an overpriced backpack that was worth every penny J ), ate some lunch, and then took the bikes to transition. Sunday morning was an early 4 am wake up call; we got up on time, packed up the car and off we went. Once we arrived I set all the gear up in the transition area, ate some breakfast, found the bathrooms, and headed off to the swim start area.

Swim (Goal – 1 hour) 1.2 miles

We made it to the swim start area around 6:30 with the race starting at 7 and my wave starting at 7:20. While waiting I was watching the lake water and trying to keep my nerves in check. The waves looked pretty rough! So instead of worrying about that I decided it was time to wiggle into the wetsuit. Well that is always a challenge and took my mind off the swim for a bit anyway! Soon came the national anthem and then the pro start and then my wave was called to line up. I talked to a couple people in my wave and everyone I asked had done this race before and said to just make it to the first turn on the swim (roughly 200 meters) after that it got easier (so they said). Before I knew it we were in the holding area and it was almost our turn. I just kept telling myself – just make it to the first turn. The first turn was about 200 meters in then there were 7 yellow buoys, a halfway point buoy, 7 orange buoys, and then the red turn buoy for the final 200 meters to the swim exit. The gun goes off and we head out into the water – did I mention the water temp was 66 degrees? BRRRR!!!!!  Wow! It’s cold! I walk out and the waves are just crazy. At some point everyone started to try to swim to the first turn buoy. Well, I didn’t really do much “swimming” it was more of a kick your feet and try not to get swallowed up by the waves – but you couldn’t get your head down in the water to really swim as the waves were just crazy! (Before this race I think I had only done 4 open water swims and one of those was not successful!) There were so many people that just grabbed ahold of the rafts before getting to the first turn; but I was determined to make it there. Well, eventually I made it and made the right turn and decided it was time to try to swim. I really had no clue how to swim with waves like these and water that was so choppy. So I just started praying (again!)! Well, that worked J because I managed to get into some sort of rhythm and started to swim to the next buoy and then the next on down the row. It was very hard to sight as every time you would look up there were waves so tall you could not see the buoys so I just looked for swim caps! I finally made it to the halfway point and all of a sudden my left calf muscle just seized up! Oh no!! I’ve only had that happen once before and I was in the pool. I had no idea what to do so I just stopped kicking (not that I had any choice as I couldn’t move my leg without pain) and used my arms that much more. Finally my left leg worked itself out a little and I was able to move my legs a little bit but that didn’t last long! Somewhere around ¾ of the way through my right leg did the same thing! Oh Crap! Really??!!! I had made it so far at this point there was no way I was giving up (besides I bought that backpack!)! So once again I stopped using my legs and just used my arms that much more. By the time I made it to the final turn my legs were somewhat usable again and I was so excited because I was almost done! The water was getting even rougher and I was getting really tired but at this point surely I could just float in right?!?! The last 200 meters was the hardest of all as the waves were crazy and I just kept choking on the water! I finally made it to where I could stand up and walk in but I forgot about my calves – until I stood up! Ouch! I couldn’t stand up! I’m really not sure how long it took me to stand up and be able to walk (well it was more like a penguin waddle I think)!  Actual swim time 58:34! Woohoo!

T1 (goal 5-6 minutes)

Well, I had not planned on how far the walk was from the beach to the bikes. I had also not planned on it being loose sand with no mats down. So, there was no running, I just walked in to the bike transition area. But, it didn’t matter because I made it through the swim!! I got to my bike, waving to my family, and rinsed my feet, put on my socks and shoes, my helmet, sunglasses and bike gloves, and my arm cooling sleeves (hot pink of course!). Grabbed the bike and off I went. Actual T1 9:09

Bike (goal 3 ½ hours) 56 miles

The start of the bike was uphill (of course!) but I was so excited to be done with the swim that I didn’t even notice the hill! The first few miles on the bike were quite a bit faster than goal but I blamed it on the fact that I was trying to hurry to the bathroom! I stopped at the first aid station and used the bathroom and took off again on the bike. I made it to mile 10 so quickly I was really surprised. I had been watching my bike mile splits and all were much faster than goal pace. I wasn’t sure this was a good idea as I didn’t think I could hold this for the 56 miles. But it was such a beautiful day and the weather was perfect for a bike ride! At the halfway point I was still smiling and my pace was still ahead of goal pace so I just decided to keep going at whatever pace I could manage! The bike course was not very hilly, had a lot of turns and the roads were pretty rough. I ate two packages of the cliff blocks and some pretzels filled with peanut butter. I drank Gatorade and water. It really seemed like no time and I was at the end of the bike part of the race! The end was at the bottom of the hill we climbed to begin with so it was very dangerous. I slowed down and moved way over to the side to get off my bike – good thing to because the people behind me crashed into one another. Actual Bike 3:15:53 or 17.15 mph! Woohoo!

T2 (goal 4-5 minutes)

Made it back to my spot in transition, put the bike on the rack, changed shoes, took off the helmet and gloves and put on my headband and hat. Waved to my family and off I went for the run. Actual T2 3:33

Run (goal 2:20) 13.1 miles

Ok, this was it! The run! I knew this would be tough but this is what I do, what I enjoy the most! Running! Woohoo! Whoa, wait a minute, what’s wrong?? My stomach. Oh no. Everytime I tried to run my left side cramped up. I was about a half mile into the run at this point. Well, this isn’t a good sign! So I walk up the first little hill hoping my side cramp will go away! I make it up the hill and run again, well sort of, not really. Ouch! I try everything I can think of to make it go away but nothing was helping. So, it was time to go up the next hill and I walked up it too. I knew that it was about a mile at the top of the hill and there was to be an aid station. So I made it to the aid station and grabbed some water and powerade hoping that I was just a little dehydrated and this would help. So I started to run again and it didn’t work very well but I just kept running and then walking again. I stopped again to use the bathroom and then back to the run/walk. I made it to the turnaround just after 3 miles and grabbed a bonk breaker and some water. I’ve never tried these but at this point I was willing to try anything! By mile five my left side was better but now my entire stomach hurt. Oh please don’t let me puke like so many others I have seen! Yikes! I made it to the next mile still doing a run/walk and it was time to turn and start the second loop. It’s really not fair to bring the runners in sight of the finish line and have us turn for a second loop! At this point, I can still make my overall 7 hour goal but with my stomach pain it was going to be tough. Up until mile 11 I did a lot of run/walk combinations with a lot of walk. The temperature had been warming up and I kept taking ice and putting it into my hat and walking through the water that people were spraying to cool down.  At mile 11 I had to pick it up and run in order to get in at 7 hours. So I ran, well, sort of! It was a slow and painful run but I was still moving. And I was about to be done with my first half ironman so I was trying to focus on that instead of my stomach! Mile 12, finally. One more to go. Finally I could see the finish line (again) and just started smiling again! I was super excited as I crossed the finish line! Woohoo! I did it! I crossed the finish line stopped running and grabbed onto a volunteer’s arm to keep from falling over! I kept moving forward and got my medal! Woohoo!!! Run actual 2:34:59

So overall my goal time was 7 hours and I finished in 7:02:08! I was very excited! I found my family, sat down and rested for a bit and somehow managed to stand back up and walk over to transition, get my stuff and made it to the car (slowly!).

This was an amazing day for me! I wasn’t sure I would even be able to make the swim and I had finished the race! I will do another half ironman again but as for a full ironman, I’m not sure, maybe, if my calf muscles ever forgive me!!