Lake Stevens 70.3 - Half Ironman

http://www.lakestevens703.com/
1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike, 13.1 mile run

This was my A race for the year and all my training was geared for this. Before the race I was feeling pretty good and was not nervous like I thought I would be. I dropped off my bike at the transition Saturday afternoon and spent the rest of the day getting my stuff ready, relaxing, and eating.

My goal for the race was 6:30, but I would be happy to just finish. I was very excited to attempt this long race.

I woke up at 3:20, ate a pancake and got all my gear ready and headed out. I setup my transition. It was great that both the racers beside me didn't show up so I had a ton of room around my bike. I spent a good amount of time stretching and I also got in the water a couple of times to get used to it.

Swim: 42:30

I had done two 1.2 mile swims in the previous couple of weeks and felt good about them. I jumped in the water and held on the dock. I didn't want to waste energy treading water and I thought it would be best to start in the back. The gun sounded and I was off. There was the usual bit of bumping to try and get position. I swam for a few mintes and then when things opened up I started to move left to follow the buoy line. It was so nice to find the line and not worry about spotting since I'm not very good at spotting and it tires me out a bit. I got behind another swimmer and followed them for most of the way out. There was some bumping into me but nothing too bad. I reached the turn very quickly. I was very happy to be heading back to shore. Right at this point things got ugly. The faster swimmers from the previous heat caught up to me and all slammed into me. They made no effort to go around, a few of them just swam right into me. I was very pissed off. I moved out of they way as they were not going to go around. It seemd to take a long time to make progress back to shore. I was still feeling good and popped my head up a couple of times to see where shore was. I saw that I was getting close. With about 200 meters left I could feel my left calf starting to cramp. I stopped kicking with it and tried to bend it forward a few times to stretch it out. It was starting to lock up. I fought it to the end and luckily made it out ok. I felt like I did a great swim. I came out of the water feeling pretty good and was able to run to my bike.

T1: 2:13

I was pretty fast here and had no problems at all. Great transition.

Bike: 3:19:24

I knew the bike would be tough as I rode the first lap a couple of months before and I was shocked at the number of hills. As usual my hamstrings were killing me for the first fifteen miles, but I felt I was going fairly quickly. The hills were relentless and I was being passed by quite a few people. I tried to focus on doing my ride and making sure I had proper nutrition and hydration. My plan was to drink two bottles of carbo pro + accelerade mix and one water I got at the bottle exchange. With the water I ate a pack of clif blocks. My stomach felt a little upset through most of the bike, but my energy was high. Near the end of the first lap my back was really starting to hurt. I hit the 28 mile point and my time was 1:35. I was pretty happy about that as I was in a bit of pain and thought I wasn't able to go that fast. The next lap proved to be rough for me. My back was really holding me back and I was getting worn down by the hills. I was thinking I just needed to get to mile 40, get over the last big hill and cruise on in. I struggled through the end and ended up being about 8 minutes slower on the 2nd lap which was a bummer for me. I really wanted to be about the same. I pushed it a bit the last five miles and was thinking I can't believe I have to run a half marathon now.

T2: 2:31

This went pretty well, I took my time and had forgot to put my ibuprofrin in my shoe, but I found it quickly and it was no problem. Overall a decent transition.

Run: 2:06:10

I started the run and was surprised how much energy I had. I felt pretty good for the first half mile. I then hit the slow slight climb and my achilles started to kill me. I kept running and was hoping I wouldn't have to stop. I had to walk for a bit up a couple of the hills in the first three miles, but I noticed that didn't help my achilles pain one bit, so running it would have to be. the first slight downhill provided great relief. My achilles started feeling better and my left foot was no longer numb. I ran by the JFT2 cheer team and it really pumped me up. 1/4 of the way done! I walked through each water station, had a sip of water and dumped the rest on my head. That felt really good. I went with two gels which I don't really like but i couldn't eat another damn clif block. I did the long climb on the first loop and that was tough. At the start of lap two I felt really good. the second loop went by pretty fast. I mustered up a little speed for the last couple of miles and was so pumped to finish. I finally got near the end and gave a good sprint, or it at least felt like one across the finish. I felt like I might puke and I was stuck in this huge crowd. I finally made it out and sat on a stump until I caught my breath and felt better. I was surprised how good I felt. I ate three pieces of pizza, that was the best pizza I have ever had. I had some aches and pains, but my no major pain. I was more just tired from waking up so early, my body seemed to handle the distance fairly well.

I am so proud of myself for completing this race. What a great feeling of accomplishment. I also have huge thanks for my team and friends cheering me on. That really helped.

Overall Time: 6:12:46