Ironman Steelhead 70.3 Race Report

Race results: 5:54:07 Placement: 89/196
Swim (1.2 miles): 39:41 (70th place)
Bike (56 miles): 2:44:11 (61st place)
Run (13.1 miles): 2:20:55
TSB: 6.7

I survived my first HIM.  Really happy with my placement as well. Being in the top half is not too bad for this being my first.

This was my first Ironman branded event.  These are expensive events, but the experience was well worth it.  The organization and execution was like nothing I’ve seen before with the local triathlons.  That’s no disrespect to those race directors, but Ironman branded event was at a whole new level. 

The vendor expo cost me some money.  Just about everything was 30% to 50% off, which is rare.  So I stocked up on some stuff that I really don’t need now, but know I’ll need in the future.  I’d like to highlight one item: Ironman Headsweats Visor.  I need a new visor badly. I had recently purchased an Under Armour visor that was designed for running.  It sucked.  Sweat ran right through and into my eyes.  It didn’t do anything.  Headsweats on the other hand, worked perfectly.  I never had a single drop of sweat get in my eyes.  I highly recommend this product. 

Okay, done with commercial.  Let’s talk race.

SWIM
Conditions in Lake Michigan were perfect.  Lake was smooth as glass and the water temp was a non factor.  My goal was 35 minutes, but I missed that by four minutes.  My swim was very methodical.  I just focused on my stroke and plugged away for 1.2 miles.  I passed a ton of people, but I stuck to the inside so rarely had to change my line to get around anyone. 

I was told that a few people swam to shore and DNF.  The swimming part is by far the most dangerous and the cause of many deaths this year.  So I’d rather see people be safe.  However, if some of them DNF because they couldn’t swim 1.2, well that doesn’t make sense.  A HIM is not something you sign up for at the last minute.  If you know you’re doing a HIM, I would think the swim would be something people would really really focus on.  I expect a lot of DNF during a sprint triathlon, but again, it’s better safe than sorry.

T1
I finished T1 just over four minutes. I didn’t rush through like I usually do. I knew it would be a long bike ride so I wanted to make sure I had everything. 

BIKE
The bike was good, however the roads sucked awful.  When they were smooth, they were really smooth.  However, when they were bad, they were warzone bad.  I felt like I needed ice for my nads after the bike.  It was terrible. 

My speed averaged 20.5 MPH, so it was a little slower than normal.  I feel like I could squeaked out more, but I was really focused on keeping a consistent tempo pace in order to have a decent run.  I had my GARMIN set to beep every 15 minutes to remind me to hydrate.  I had four water bottles on my bike: Two behind the seat and one on the seat tube.  These were filled with nutrition.  I had one bottle between the arms filled with water.  There was also a salt tab dispenser under that water bottle.  Every 15 minutes I’d drink, every 45 minutes I had a salt tab and a gel.  It worked perfectly.  Thank you GARMIN.

Only issue on the bike was getting really really hungry.  I didn’t use the aid stations other than grabbing one banana, but it wasn’t a very good banana and it didn’t tide me over for long. 

T2
Again, I finished in just over 4 minutes.  Didn’t rush anything because it was going to be a long run.  They did have somebody applying sunscreen at run exit which was really nice. 

RUN
The run was my main concern.  I had my GARMIN set to only show me pace and cadence.  I just focused on my form and keeping my cadence at 82.  Some miles my pace averaged 8 minutes, other miles it averaged 10 minutes.  Being an Ironman event, there was an aid station every mile.  There was a whole bunch of different things to pick from, however my favorite turned out to be Coke.  Never had that at an aid station, but it sure was a kick in the butt.  Loved it. 

The run course was really nice.  Other than one VERY steep hill, it was nice terrain.  The course included about 4 mile run to the Whirlpool Corporation campus and then two laps around the campus.  After I finished my second lap, I switched my GARMIN over too see my time.  I had 5k left to go and 40 minutes to do it.  I knew I nailed my 6 hour goal, as long as I didn’t implode.  I was hurting but pushed my pace down to an 8:30 average the last 5k.  The last mile seemed to last longer than the entire race.  Once I saw the finish chute though, all the pain went away.  It was an awesome feeling finishing this race.

Next year will be my first Ironman event.  I’m looking at either Wisconsin or Louisville.  For the rest of this year, my focus now shifts to Iceman. 

More pictures from the race here.