Ironman 70.3 Timberman - Triathlon

I started to the far right and back 60% of the swim wave. on start I kept the buoys to my left to keep clear of all the people, I would swim inside the corner buoys and take them on my right side. Water was incredibly visible, I could easily see 15 feet to the bottom and both sides of me. I made sure to sight every 5th stroke but buoys being spaced every 100m made it very easy to sight. 200m from the swim finish I stopped kicking and emptied my bladder into the wetsuit so I wouldn't have to go to the bathroom on the bike leg.

nothing, perfect swim for me

T1 was a bit slower than I would have like but it got the job done. The wetsuit strippers pull my suit off and lost my swim cap but I wasn't about to waste time trying to find it. The KT tape that I had applied to my right foot had fallen off during the swim so I had to put my socks and plantar fasciitis on during the transition. There was a big backup up of people trying to leave transition so I took a detour through the pros area and got out quickly.

more waterproof tape to hold KT tape in place.

My goal for the bike was to nail nutrition and heart rate to prevent bonking on the run. The heart rate goal was to keep 160 bpm as a max. I was a bit high on the 3 climbs in the 1st 12 miles but was able to hold it in check the rest of the ride. It was important to not blow up on the bike because it was going to be very hot for that time of year. Almost everyone saw a 3-4 mph drop on the back half of the bike because it was all uphill. My goal for the bike was to drink 6 bottles, I got 5.5 bottle down; of this 3 gu brews, 1.5 Gatorade endurance and 1 water. Nutrition was 5 gu roctanes (3 lemonade and 2 sea salt chocolate), 1 cliff banana beat ginger food pouch, and 4 anti fatigue caps. As soon as the bike started I took a lemonade roctane, then every 11 miles I alternated lemonade roctane and sea salt chocolate roctanes and cliff pouch at mile 33. The totals for this were 1030 calories, 1920 mg sodium, 925 mg potassium, and 234 grams of sugar. The roads were good overall, only a tiny bit of rough road on the way back in and on the way out. I didn't fell comfortable going over 40 mph on the descents so, on the big drops I was sitting up on the hoods and trailing the brakes, I did get passed by a couple guys going 50+ mph. I was also surprised to see lots of people walking their bikes up the 9% grades.

I might have been able to push the last few mile a bit harder but I don't regret my decision to conserve.

Pulled into t2, didn't try a flying dismount because I had a long run to the back corner of transition and didn't want to get my socks all messed up for the run. Took the bike gear off and swapped my castelli body paint jersey for my AAA tri team top, laced up my hoka cliftons, and then got sprayed down with sun screen. As I was leaving I grabbed my salt stick with 3 antifatigues in it and my base salts bottle. I was too aggressive and broke the cap off my base salts bottle which caused me to lose 2/3rds of my base salts.

not spill my base salts

Again, the goal was to keep heart rate <160bpm. I wanted to finish in <2 hours but with temps in the high 80's I knew that would be a test, especially with minimal running for the last 5 weeks leading into the ironman due to plantar fasciitis. My goal was a cup of Gatorade endurance and a cup of water at every aid station. I didn't carry any roctanes because I knew they would be on the course, I took one at mile 2 and mile 8 which was perfect. I took coke at mile 3 and mile 10. Since I wasted most of my base salts (usually 1 serving every mile) I switched to taking them every 2 miles, this was good until I made the turn for the second lap and I could feel my body shutting down. I took 3 shots of base salts from mile 6.6-8, then as I cam to mile 9 and hit the sun big time I dumped the last 2 servings into my mouth and pitched the broken base salts tube. I took antifatigues at mile 2, 5, and 8. At mile 2, 4, and 7 I got to see my wife and best friend cheering the brains out and ringing cowbell which made it perfect, the were set up on top of the hill in both directions which was very helpful. after I got up the hill and they weren't at mile 10 I knew they went to the finish line, at mile 12 I went for it as hard as I could, I felt the plantars start to ache but I figured push it hard now and have a week to recover. The support on the course was awesome as there were people and good aid stations, the best support was the residents that set up sprinklers and hoses to spray us down. Sponges were great but not at every aid station, I alternated 2 sponges in my visor and 2 sponges inside my HR monitor (these helped keep my HR low)

not have plantar fasciitis heading into a ironman. however given the 5 weeks prior to the race I couldn't run at all because it felt like a knife was going through my heal. To combat the PF; I went to physical therapy 6 times which consisted of iontophoresis and some electro shock therapy. I got a Strasberg sock which wasn't helpful, then replaced it with PF night splint plastic boot. Also, heavy doses of ibuprofen, stretching, and ice treatment. Last was custom insoles, PF arch sleeve and KT tape for every run. I ran at 85%.

Walked to the lake and cooled off. Got a ton of food and sat in the shade waiting for my 2 friends to finish.


The hills, the heat, and plantar fasciitis.


This is a great venue as always by ironman. The course features 2500 feet of serious climbing on the bike and some tough hills and heat on the run. Parking is a challenge for the venue. My goal for the race was 5:20 +/- 10 minutes, so I'm pretty ecstatic with my overall finish time.