Ironman 70.3 Disney Done!

Me on lap 3 of my Ironman 70.3 in May 2010

Well I ran my first Ironman 70.3 distance and lived to talk about it. What an experience. I have been training all year for this race and felt I nailed it. The race was at Fort Wilderness Lodge at Disney World. I initally thought I would get to see the parks and run through them, but nope, we never made it in to a park on the race. I did however spend a week after the race at Disney World with the family and had a blast (more on that later).

As my first Ironman 70.3 i was excited and did not know what to expect. The registration was very smooth and the volunteers were great. I checked out the Ironman store (and got out with only a water bottle purchased), the transition area and the swim start area on Friday.

Saturday the family and I went out to the Magic Kingdom and spent most of the day standing in lines, riding rides, and chasing the kids. I made it back over at 4PM to the bike check in. I was worried because my rear tube busted due to sitting in a hot car all day (yep, should have let some air out). I put a new tube in, only to have it get pinched and go flat also. I took my bike to the Ironman bike shop and of course I was not the only one with issues. That made me feel better, but then got the news that I would have to wait around till almost 7PM for them to help me out. I know I could change the tire myself, but after 1 failed attempt decided to wait it out. I was worried because I was out in the sun all day, was going to push back my dinner plans, and with my OCD about scheduling, this was all messed up.

I made it through getting my bike fixed, bought the guys at Ironman Bike Shop a pizza for some good karma (Thanks to bike tech Steven!) and checked my bike in. I headed off for some pasta and got to bed by 10:30PM

The day of the race I was up and ready at 4AM. I had called a cab company for pickup, but at 4:45 they were still not there. I started thinking, man this is a bad sign, but just as I started to think negative a radom cab came by and picked me up! I made it with enough time to get my gear set up in transition. The one thing I did was bring a pump. A very good idea. The one thing I forgot was that you can not see in the dark and at 5:30AM its pretty dark, so in the future I will bring a flashlight. The best idea I saw was the ones that go on your head. Perfect to give you light to set up your gear.

My wave was the last one to go off, so that means I got to wait nervous for about an hour while others took off. Needless to say I hit the bathroom a few times for good measure, applied sunscreen a good bit (although i forgot to re-apply at T1) and cheered on the others from Dynamo Multisport that were racing. When we got to take off, it was 7:24am and already warm and sunny. The swim was probably my favorite part of the entire race. As the last wave there was not a big crowd. I also took the advice of Matthew Rose, one of my coaches, who said to line up opposite the first bouy and just say a little wide. It might be a little longer distance, but no fighting for space on the swim. All the practice and whippings by Maria (my other coach) in the long pool paid of as I exited the swim feeling great.

The bike was pretty uneventful and what I considered to be fast, however after looking at my time, this is the area i can improve the most. I hydrated well and followed the coaches advice by fueling up on the first part of the ride. I was at a crossroad however around mile 25 as I had to pee bad! It took me 5-10 miles to figure out my plan. I figured I could not make it the other 30 miles back to transition area, and wondered what others did. I seriously thought about just going while on the bike, but that was gross and probably just plain dumb. At mile 35 there was water station and low and behold 3 porta johns! I figured hmmm those are there for a reason, so I took 3 mins and hit them up. That was the best decision I made on the bike. I felt so much better and figured I could make up the 3 mins now that I was not in pain!

The run was a 3 loop march of death for most people. It was great because you could go by spectators 3 times, it was bad because you felt like you were on a track. I got off the bike and my right food was sore on the outside edge, something with not pedaling right I am sure. It took a few miles to get that out of the way, but I kept my pace slower than I wanted to make sure I did not burn out. (Another tip from Coach Maria and Matt.) The race had plenty of water and ice stations, which helped with the insane heat. The worst part of the run was a mile or more stretch off road in a grass field with a stream. It was easy 10 degrees hotter with no shade. I saw several people collapsed with medical folks all around them.

As I started lap 3, I knew I had it in me to finish, and felt pretty good. As I was headed down the last half a mile, it was great to see other Dynamo team members cheering and great crowd support. My wife and kids were there and of course taking pictures. I finished with a time of 6:12. I wanted to finish my first race in under 6 hours, but felt good with my time as I was not in pain, to exhausted to walk, or sick. I felt good and know looking back I could have pushed a little harder on the bike and run.

Fireworks at Magic Kingdom

We spent the next week at Disney World exploring all the parks. It was days filled with walking and running around. I did a few small runs and rides, but the walking really helped. I came back rested (from an exercise stand point) and exhausted (from a kids standpoint). Since I did not put sunscreen on at T1 or T2 I am still rocking a nice bubba tan that looks like I wear a wife beater. Oh well, small price to pay for a great race.

Still happy on that march of death of a run!

Me and the Dynamo Ladies at Lake Lucy Swim