For this year’s Ironman Arizona 70.3 I had three goals.
- Finish the swim under an hour.
- Do better than the previous year.
- Have fun!
The 1.2 mile swim had a rolling start (athletes enter the water continuously one after another). The water was a bit choppy which must have intimidated some swimmers. As I stood in the queue line waiting for my turn I saw swimmers being pulled out of the water & their race day ended. As my nerves ratcheted up, I started doing lots of positive self talk – I told myself that I AM a strong enough swimmer to do this & I took some deep breaths. I stayed as calm as possible while I swam & focusing on my pacing plan. When I exited the water & saw my time of 56:19 I was on Cloud Nine! This was by far one of my best swim times EVER! Goal #1 accomplished!
On to the 56 mile bike which went really well! I felt very consistent throughout the whole course – even on the 2 small hills (I don’t even like hills!). One of the reasons my bike was solid was that I did a much better job this year with my fluid & nutrition intake. I ate & drank on schedule – fluid every 10 min & food every 60 min. This plan worked really well & I felt really strong coming off the bike. I was 10 min faster than last year!
The 13.1 mile run wasn’t bad…but it wasn’t great either. I had originally planned (and practiced for months) to do increasing run/walk intervals. But the 96 degree heat set in & my plan did not happen. I had to dial it back to 1 min run/1 min walk. Yes, I was frustrated…but I kept moving forward. I kept moving forward even when I was stung on the back of my neck by a bug & when I almost threw up trying to eat! All in all it wasn’t the run I wanted or planned for, but it was 17 min faster than last year!
Overall, I had a really great race. Even though it didn’t go exactly as planned, I was able make adjustments along the way which kept me on track. All in all, my finish time was 31 min faster than last year! Goal #2 AND #3 accomplished!