Ironman California 70.3

So I finished it in one piece, and I felt WONDERFUL throughout the whole thing. Here is the full fledged race report:

For several days before the race I had slept very little because of other stresses going on in our lives. The day before the race I decided to take a nap because I knew I would suffer on the little sleep I had. Chris took the kids down to the beach while I tried to nap, but I was too amped up to nap. I rested and cleaned up and felt a little better. Since I was so tired, I got to bed at a decent hour. I slept good that night, especially for it being the night before the race.

I woke up at 5 something, got ready, and force fed myself breakfast. I met 2 of my friends in the parking lot and we rode our bikes the mile or so to the transition area. I had almost 2 hours before my swim wave started. I set up my stuff, got body marked, and was soooo incredibly freezing that I was shivering uncontrollably. I put my wetsuit on an hour early just to try to warm up, but still I was soooooo cold. About 10 minutes before my wave started I went to the starting chute and started getting excited. I was so nervous about being in the freezing water that I put on 2 swim caps and a neoprene cap too....big mistake. When I finally stepped into the water to swim to the start line, it felt WARM since I was so cold. The cold water was one of the things I was the most worried about, and it turned out to not be that bad.

I started out strong. I swallowed some salt water a few times, but it wasn't too bad. At the turn around I looked at my watch (I'll never do this again), and I was at 21 minutes, which is about what I expected. By then the ocean swells were pretty big and the testosterone male swim heats were starting to catch us. Those men were MEAN! They were thrashing and swimming over all us ladies, and there was an awful lot of grabbing going on. I got salt water in my goggles. My eyes started to really sting. The 3 swim caps were so tight and cutting off my circulation, and the sun was glaring right in my eyes. I was absolutely miserable. Swimming is usually my strongest of the 3, but it ended up taking me almost 30 minutes to swim back.

I was super slow in the first transition because I really needed to get my bearings after the swim. I bundled up thinking I was going to be freezing. That was my second big mistake.

I started on the bike not feeling super good, and quickly realized I was overdressed. Off came the arm warmers. The bike course was so beautiful. Most of it was through Camp Pendleton, which is breathtaking. It's almost completely undeveloped. The course had a lot of hills, and most people were walking their bikes up them. San Juan county has prepared me well for the hills! I needed to pee when I got to the 2nd aid station, but I thought I could hold it until the next aid station. I got to the 3rd aid station and guess what? Yup, they didn't have any port-a-potties there. I was DYING. I made it though, and had an OK transition time even with all the peeing!

The run ended up being wonderful. I felt good and didn't need to walk at all (except for when I took my gels). It was right along the boardwalk, and we felt the ocean breeze the whole time. I felt strong and great. By the end my knees hurt so bad, but I was able to push through it and even pass several people. My time for the 1/2 marathon wasn't great by running standards, but considering 6 weeks ago I thought I would be walking the entire thing, I'm feeling pretty good about it!

So there you have it.... 1.2 miles of swimming...56 miles of biking.....13.1 miles of running, and I made it!

Here I am at the end of the run feeling pretty darn good. No, I'm not trying to make a fashion statement with the knee socks. They are compression socks and help with muscle fatigue.


After the race showing off my medal and my strong guns!