Ironman Boulder 70.3

August 4th, 2018

I'll leave this here

The Half-Ironman Distance has been on my radar for a long time and in March I decided to take a stab at it over the summer. I chose Boulder 70.3 for a few reasons; the timing, it was long enough after the collegiate season for me to take time off and then still train,; the location, I have friends in the area and the destination wasn't too far; the course, a swim in a reservoir, bike course that was not too hilly but still had some climbing, and a looped run course, it seemed to be ideal for me. With this being my only race of the summer, my training was definitely geared this race. Admittedly, my motivation to train went through highs and lows throughout the summer, I tried to stay as consistent as possible. This summer my riding really started to feel good, and so naturally, I rode more. My swimming was static, and really just maintained it as much as possible from the spring, while my running on the other hand was almost neglected by me, which turned out to be a poor decision (as you can guess, but I hardly regret it).

Red Rocks Amphitheatre

The 12 hour drive on Thursday was uneventful and boring, but nonetheless, I was happy to have arrived in Colorado. Happy to see friends once again and grateful to have a house to stay in, Friday morning started with a quick shakeout run at Red Rocks Amphitheater. After breakfast, we drove up to Boulder to check out the race site and do all the things Ironman makes you do the day before. Upon our arrival at the reservoir, it began to rain pretty hard. Instead of riding first, we checked out the expo, I picked up my packet, and got everything else I would need for the next morning. By then, the rain had eased up a bit and it was time to do a quick ride. Although I did not ride on the course, a quick 30 minutes around the venue was all I needed to loosen up for the next morning. On the ride I noticed some handlebar bolts came loose and I made sure to go over all the bolts on my bike before checking my bike into transition for the night. After a few pictures (of course), I was ready to head out until the morning!

squad out in full force

Race morning wake up was 4:10AM and we were out the door by 4:45. We sat in a butt-load of traffic, since there was only one road to and from the reservoir, but still parked by 5:30, giving me almost 2 hours before I was to start. Pumping up my tires and loading my bike with hydration and nutrition, which consistent of a bottle of XRCEL, a bottle of water, a pack of blocks, and 2 broken Honey Stinger Waffles, and an empty bottle cage for the first aid station, the noble steed was ready to go. It was time to suit up and get ready to go. Finding my support crew on the beach (Hannah and Alex), I slid into my wetsuit and quickly got into the water to do 2 important things; 1) warm-up and 2) pee. After the two Pro waves were sent off, I positioned myself in the first corral in the 'Under 27 minutes' group, knowing that even though my swim was not exactly where I wanted it to be, I would certainly be under 27 minutes. As the time counted down, it was game time. The gun went off and as the eager ones up front, myself included entered the water, we immediately strung out. Being probably the 4th or 5th one in the water put me in a good position. A minute or two into the race I moved into fresh water to allow for my own sighting, and quickly realized I was right near the front of the pack, to my own surprise. The swim was a massive rectangle, so the two straights felt extremely long. By the time I got to the short section, I was sitting comfortably in second, about 5 seconds down from the first swimmer. The way back was an even longer straight, and it certainly felt it. Not being sure if it was me pushing hard or the altitude, I continued to stay on the gas, as the swim was definitely going to be my strongest leg - I had to capitalize. Swimming on the hip of another swimmer on the way back certainly helped me save some energy, although spotting became a little difficult, as I had to take his line, almost the whole way back. Emerging from the water in 3rd, I nearly slipped on the boat ramp, but caught myself before I actually went down and I could not be more satisfied. By the time I got to the wetsuit strippers, I had my Roka Maverick Pro around my waist, I picked my strippers carefully, sat down , and they ripped it off my legs and before I knew it I was running towards my bike. Luckily I remembered where my bike was, dropped my swim gear, strapped on my helmet, and I was on my way! 

right after I slipped before the mats

With that speedy transition, I was the first age grouper on the bike course - how exciting! When mounting Natasha (my bike), I kicked my rear bottle off from behind my saddle, but it was only water so no need to panic. Although being in this position was not unfamiliar for me, I was not going to take any chances at this point in the race. Only a few miles into the bike was I passed, and although there was no pressure on me before, I felt relieved to not be in first anymore. The longer I sat in the front, the more tempted I would be to stay there. Since it was my first 70.3, I wanted to be careful with my effort and race my race, with my efforts, not anyone else's. Throughout the bike, I never felt like I was ever pushing really hard, except on the uphills, which is really relieving since I was able to stay mostly relaxed for my longest leg of the race. Throughout the swim and bike, myself as well as other age group men picked off some of the female pro's, which was always a nice boost of confidence, expect when they draft off of you (which I photographic evidence of, if anyone wants to see). At the first aid-station, I needed water, considering I had kicked off my only bottle, but each of the three bottles I attempted to grab fell from the volunteers hands prematurely, so I had to settle for Gatorade, as I needed to stay on top of my fluid intake. Not only did I stay on top of fluid intake, but calories as well. Over the course of the bike, I ate 3 halves of Honey Stinger Waffles, with additional calories from my XRCEL bottle totaling about 600 calories on the bike. Over the last two aid stations, I took two water bottles at each, one to drink, and one to cool myself off with, which was dumped by the end of the aid station. Before I knew it, I was at the end on the bike, and riding back into transition, very happy with my ride. Check out my strava here!

aero af

Coming off the bike I felt alright, and I knew this was going to be the hardest part of the race, getting my running legs under me. I took my time in transition, gathered myself, and ventured towards the run course. After strapping on my Lululemon headband (#sponsorme), Foakleys, Garmin, and racebelt, I ran out of T2 double fisting my XRCEL. 

so good

The first mile seemed routine, like I was not pushing tooooo hard. But upon arrival at the first aid station, my body was saying otherwise. Downing one bottle of XRCEL, I chased it with water, took a cup of ice to pour down my trisuit, I began to run again, but just could not. Again, not being sure if this was because I was not in running shape, or the altitude, I mustered up the strength to run to the next aid station. After doing that and calling for more water and ice, I walked through to make sure I was taking care of myself and being smart. The rest of the first lap was slow and the goal was to make it to the next aid station without walking. I was able to do so, and the second lap began the same way the majority of the first lap went. By the second half of the second lap, I began to feel better (most likely because I was just yelling at myself, mentally for a long time). I was able to pick up the pace significantly between aid stations, and actually feel like I was doing something. At the last aid station, I saw some teammates, Nicole and Tito, who were good to see some friendly faces on the course! After that it was hardly more than a mile until I was done and made sure that I continued to push all the way to the line! I could not be happier to be done regardless of my time (4:48:57, officially) and how my run went. Check out the strava here!

mmm all done

Thanks to my parents for helping me out this weekend. Thank you the Alex and the Hoffman's for letting me crash in Littleton for a few nights, and Thuyminh for the place in Boulder, as well as Conrad for the Zenves! Shoutout to Zach, Nicole, and Tito for racing as well and all finishing! To Hannah for travelling for support! And Thank you to XRCEL for keeping my stomach satisfied and energy levels up for the whole race!

pro woman drafting??? Your call. 

What is next for me? The collegiate triathlon season starts for me on September 8th, in Hurricane, Utah with the Kokopelli Triathlon! Until then, I'll see y'all soon!