Grand Columbian Triathlon - Half Iron Distance - Triathlon1/2 Ironman

What a great swim! I haven't had a swim where I felt strong, the water felt good, and I was able to draft well in a long time. I apologize to the woman who let me draft off of her up until the first buoy. . . I think that I hit her a couple of times ;) After the first buoy, I found some feet bubbles that were going just the right pace and followed them almost all the way to the finish. There were a couple of times that the buoy line disappeared, but I managed to spot off of the next buoy and when the line reappeared I was right on it. Yay!

When I got out of the water and looked at my watch, I was elated! What a great swim, and I didn't even feel tired. What a change from last year at Lake Stevens. I attribute it to all of the long open water swims that we did at Beaver Lake. Thanks for getting me out there Leslie!

Draft off of the kick bubbles the entire time rather than along side of the swimmer that I draft.

This race has a strange transition set up that through me off a little bit. Rather than keeping all of our gear in the transition area by our bikes, each transition area has a "bag" that you pick up, and you get ready in a changing tent. The changing tent was comfy and nice, and it made it a little easier to change shoes, but it also allowed me to "doddle" a little too much.

I would pack my helmet, gloves, and sunglasses in the T1 bag.

Overall, an enjoyable ride. I am SO glad to have ridden so many hills during training.

I need to upgrade my hydration set up. I've always used a hyration pack on the bike, but maybe it's time to train myself to reach down for the bottle. I also need to get some aero bars. I think that especially on such a windy course, aero may have been helpful.

This is where the transition "bag" concept really got me! First, I grabbed the wrong bag when i went into the changing tent. Fortunately, my bike was very cloase to the changing tent, so I ran back and grabbed the right bag. I then changed shoes, sprayed some sunscreen on me, and I was off. But then I looked down to see my Garmin, and I wasn't there! Ugh! I ran back to the transition area, grabbed my watch, and put it on. I jogged/put on my Garmin and started running.

Everything! Double check to make sure I have the right bag, start removing my Garmin from the bike as I rack the bike.

The run portion of the half ironman is always tough. The legs and body are worn out, and just don't want to do anymore! At the beginning of the run, I felt some cramping in my chest. I'm not quite sure what triggered it-- maybe it was changing position from bike to run with a little fluid/food still being digested? I'm not quite sure, but I was able to run through it, and that pain was gone within the first five minutes of the run.

I ran through the first two aid stations without stopping. That was probably a mistake, as by the third station, I felt thirsty and HOT. I grabbed two waters and took a couple of sips, and dumped them on me. This is where I felt the worst. Mile 3 and I was miserable! Fortunately, at the next aid station, I discovered that they had ICE! From every station there on, I had one gatorade, two waters (two sips and a dump), and two cups of ice (dumped the ice in my sports bra, hat, and down my pants--hey, whatever works, right?!). I started feeling much stronger by mile 5, and realized tht I was gonna make it, and that I could probably still PR! Yay!

There were two steep ascents on the run course, and I walked them in order to keep my heart rate down a bit. I think that really paid off, as I passed many runners who had run up the steep hills during the downhill/forthcoming flat.

I finished the run strong in order to make my overall time goal of under 6:40. My last 0.24 miles were at an 8:27 pace. . . If only I could hold that pace or the whole race! Maybe some day :)

From now on, I will always stop at the first aid station.

I was so happy to see Kirk, Renee and Lisa at the finish line. It's so great to finish a race with welcoming friends! I stood at the finish line to cheer on Janet and Leslie as they came in, then we all walked down to the lake, and soaked our tired legs in the cold water. It felt great!


The heat got to me at the beginning of the run, but I'm happy with how I managed to deal with it. I'm SO glad that it wasn't any hotter out. In fact, there were times during the day when the sky clouded over and there was a nice breeze.


I'm not a big fan of having transition bags, but it's probably just because I'm not used to it.

My only other complaint is that the post race food/festivities were not closer to the finish line. The post race grub was up the hill by the transition area, so there was no way to grab a piece of watermelon (which was awesome) until I left the finish line area.