A few years ago I completed an a triathlon with the same distances as an Ironman 70.3. It was the Brineman Half and it was organized by TriUtah so it didn't have "Ironman" in the name. It was a great race but I was sad to not be able to call it an Ironman. I knew there was an official Ironman 70.3 in St. George every May and I set a goal to complete it someday. Having a race in May is very tricky! That means training through the cold, wet winter. In January I had started to think hard about registering for the race. I knew I would have no problem with the swim or run but I was worried about the bike. I usually only bike in the summer when it is warm. I have a stationary bike though so it would be possible to train through winter indoor and then hopefully get some good weather to also ride outdoor.
I signed up for the race in February and started including exercise on my stationary bike. I built up slowly and after a few weeks I was biking 3 hours at a time on my stationary bike indoor. That was madness. I had shows to watch but it is not as enjoyable and riding outside. Thankfully there were some good weather days when I got to go on 3+ hour rides outside on my bike.
By the end of April I was ready for St. George Ironman 70.3. The race nerves were intense though. I felt like a little fish swimming in a big pond. Also I usually ride my bike on paved trails but the course for this race was on big and busy roads. The whole week before I was so anxious and nervous for the race, more than normal.
Marshall and I drove to St. George on Friday after getting the kids all off to school. We went to the expo first to pick up my packet and listen to the athlete briefing. This was helpful to make sure I knew all of the race details. Then we took my running bag to Transition 2.
This is the parking lot of Transition 2. There are lots of bike racks set up and everyone's running bags on the ground. Mine was right in the middle of this area.
Farmstead is next to this parking lot so we went there for lunch. I like Farmstead so much and so it was fun to go there with Marshall.
After that we drove to Sand Hollow to put my bike stuff in Transition 1. It was so exciting and fun setting up my bike, putting stickers on it and looking around.
We looked at the swim course after and I was so intimidated by it. It was a windy afternoon and the water was choppy. It looked so far.
We drove the bike course after I got everything set up at Sand Hollow. It was so helpful to drive the bike course. I looked at the map before but it was hard to tell the different turns, out and backs, etc.
We went to dinner at Honolulu Grill. It is like Mo Bettahs. I wanted chicken and rice so it was perfect!
I booked the hotel in Hurricane when I thought we could park at Sand Hollow. Then a week before the race I found out everyone had to be shuttled from St. George. It was too late to change the hotel at that point. So we stayed in Hurricane.
That night the race nerves and anxiety were at an all time high. I prayed that I would have peace, comfort and calm. I wanted to make sure the nerves and anxiety were just due to the race and not the spirit telling me I shouldn't do it. I took time to visualize the whole race from start to finish. I visualized all of the transitions and gear I would need.
Despite being nervous, I fell asleep pretty easily and slept well. We got up at 4:00am! I felt calm and excited when we got up. I was so grateful my prayer was answered! We drove to town square in St. George. We got to ride the bus together because spectators were being bused to Sand Hollow as well. It was nice having Marshall with me for all of it. He was so prepared with a little camping chair and blanket. I bundled up until it was time to get my wet suit on. I had my bike stuff all set out and my tires to the right pressure. I was impressed though how organized this race was and how many resources there were for all of the athletes. I took my bike pump but I didn't need to. There was a whole wall of pumps, and jugs of water to fill up water bottles. Marshall couldn't come into transition so I hung out on the side by him.
It was so beautiful watching the sunrise. There was a slight breeze but thankfully the water was calm.
At 6:45 I got my wet suit on and left transition 1. I was feeling really good and ready. All of the athletes lined up according to swim times. I thought I would take around 40 minutes so I stood by the volunteer holding the sign 40-43 minutes. This ended up being perfect because it took me 42 minutes to complete the swim.
The race started at 6:50 with all of the professional athletes. The age group athletes started at 7:00. I was pretty far back in line so I didn't start until closer to 7:40.
Every 5 seconds they would have two athletes enter the water. This made for a much safer swim. The other triathlon I did was not as organized as this. I felt like people were swimming over me, hitting me, kicking me, etc. I felt like I had more space this time. I still had to watch out for other swimmers but it was better. The buoys were spaced out so I kept looking for the next one and taking it one buoy at a time. The water was 62 degrees! It was cold! The wet suit definitely helped. I warmed up within a few minutes so I wasn't freezing but I definitely never felt hot.
The course was a triangle shape. I swam out passing the yellow buoys to the red buoy then over to the other red buoy. Then followed the orange buoys back. It felt good getting out of the water. They had volunteers helping take off wet suits. These volunteers were the best! They were awesome at their assignment. A nice lady helped me get mine off very quickly. My official swim time was 42:16, pace 2:11min/100m.
I ran to my bike, dried off, put on socks and cycling shoes. sunscreen, sunglasses and my bike helmet. I drank a bottle of water, ate an applesauce pouch, and headed out of transition. Marshall got this picture of me running down the aisle.
I loved the bike so much. The weather was perfect, I felt good and my bike worked perfectly. I was so worried I would get a flat tire and not know how to change it. I saw another guy's chain come off after a few miles and I was praying that would not happen to me. Most of the course was very fast. Lots of downhills. It gave my heart a nice break so I would have energy for the run. Every ten miles I ate a fruit bar. I took drinks of water every few miles. It was a hot day so I knew I had to stay hydrated. A couple of the downhills were more steep than I was used to and I was a wuss. Other athletes were flying by me going 40+ on their bikes and I was going closer to 25.
Marshall was a great supporter and photographer! He found places along the whole race course to take pictures of me. He's so great! There was a lane blocked off and I felt very safe the whole time. I stopped around mile 33 to go to the bathroom. Thankfully there was a bike rack next to the port a potty and it's a fast stop.
The slow part of the race was mile 41-44 through Snow Canyon State Park. It was a long slow uphill climb. It was very hot and the sweat was running down my face. It went well though even though it was slow and difficult. The rest of the bike was downhill to Town Square. My time on the bike ended up being 3:37, pace 15.47 miles/hour.
I parked my bike in Transition 2, took off my cycling shoes, put on my running shoes, applied more sunscreen, put on a hat, and left transition.
The run course was 2 laps. Half was uphill. It was in the 80s, no clouds, a little breeze and the pavement made it feel even warmer. I told myself I could run as slow as needed but I would not walk. I also knew I wanted to keep my heart rate in a good zone so I would help my whole body feel good. In some of my training runs my heart rate raced and I did not feel good or strong. There were aide stations every mile. I drank water every time, Gatorade every other time and dumped water all over to keep me cool.
Marshall was around the course cheering from me as he rode his ebike to different spots along the course.
My official run time was 2:10, 9:52 min/mile pace. This was significantly slower than my training runs. I blame the hills and the heat. When I trained I didn't run as many hills as I should have. Also it was much cooler. Despite being slower, I was grateful I finished the race, grateful my body stayed strong, and grateful I felt good after.
My total race time was 6:43:35. I was 30th out of 50 women in my age group. I was 229th out of 359 females, and I was 1,053rd out of 1,580 athletes total.
Such an accomplishment! I feel so grateful I completed it. I'm so thankful everything went well, I was safe, and so thankful for all of the support.
The thing I love about triathlons is that I'm not as sore after, and I can walk and run pretty soon after. When I run a marathon I can't walk, sit, stand, move, and it takes a few weeks to get back running.
