Three down, Two left - my St. George recap

Finally a nice hat I can wear! Love it:)

This past Saturday was the St. George 70.3 half ironman.  I was doing this race strictly as a training race for IM CDA in June.  My plan was to have a good ride not pushing too hard and finish with a strong run.  The plan worked out perfectly.  It was a tough course on both the bike and run.  The bike course had a lot of uphills and some fast descents.  The uphills I am very strong and seem to get up faster than everyone. Downhills I am not so good. A combination of being light and being a chicken make for a slow decent.   At the end of the ride they had an 8% 4.5 mile climb up Snow Canyon.  It was a killer climb and I even saw several people walking.  I guess they didn't train enough or were from Florida. There must have been a lot of beginners in this race because in the swim I saw so many people struggling.  I was one of the last waves going off and I saw so many people doing side stroke, back stroke, and breast stroke. It was challenging to maneuver around all of them.  What a pain in the butt it was like I was going through a video game. I was trying to avoid them and avoid the people doing breast stroke with the side kick that can be deadly for any free style swimmer cruising by!  I did the full Ironman there the first year they had it.  That was the  hardest day of my life and my slowest time in an Ironman. I almost died in the swim as my legs cramped from the cold.  I made it to the end barely but had to be carried out of the water.

My Ironman at St. George
Bad Day!

I had hypothermia coming out of the water and that started my day from hell. I was shivering for the first 20 miles on the bike and that was with leg warmers, toe covers, a long sleeve shirt, jacket, arm warmers and gloves.  It was a 2 loop bike and 2 loop run course.  The bike course was so hilly it didn't leave much for the run. I am a strong cyclist and it took me 6 hours and 40 minutes.  My fastest bike time in an Ironman was 5:35.  This Saturday the bike course was slightly different but not much easier.  The run course was pretty much the same as the full ironman but Saturday we only did one loop.  During the run I was thinking about how happy I was since I only had to run one loop.  Maybe that is why I ran so fast.  I ran 1:52 on a really hilly course. I was pleased with my time and overall finish of 5:30 and 9th in my age group.  I have already completed 2 half ironman this year and 1 full.  I have one more full in a few months and then Worlds 70.3 in September.  Three down and two left!

Whitney and Terri

I had several clients who did the race too.  Terri and Whitney did the relay and they did awesome!  Frank, Nancy and Tim did the race and they all did great.  There were so many people from Vegas and the Las Vegas Tri Club.  It was really great to go to such a big race and know so many people. The Las Vegas Tri Club got an award for first place in Division One!  

Frank and Whitney

Each race I learn from and clients learn as they race more.  There is a fine line managing your effort in the swim and bike to leave something for the run.  Your nutrition is so important not only the day of the event but leading up to the event.  Keep training, keep practicing and stay strong.