My first Ironman 70.3 – the bike (miles 11 – 56) (6)
Who's that girl? I still have the sheets of paper where my husband calculated how fast I needed to ride and where I needed be at a certain time. We used the entire Moody Gardens Hotel Spa & Convention Center Galveston Island notepad to build our strategy. I remembered my Tough Cookie coach having a handy-dandy little TriCalc app on her phone and downloaded it to check my husband’s work. He was very proud of the results. Initially, he was against the app, now... Read More
My first Ironman 70.3 – the bike (miles 1 – 10) (5)
This is my transition area. I had to really squeeeeeze in. It's important to arrive early. I needed a little more space! By now, I consider myself an advanced beginner triathlete. I can still count the number of races I’ve done. My first was Skeese Greets, a super sprint, in 2008. In total, I’ve completed 3 super sprints, 4 sprints, 3 olympics, and 1 Ironman 70.3. That’s only eleven races but I think the half Ironman pushed me from intermediate beginner... Read More
It’s time to eat your veggies! Yes, it’s a Nutrition Challenge!
Add vegetables to your daily diet! You don't have to give up ANYTHING, just add the veggies! It’s time! The time is now! Our first challenge of the year is a NUTRITION CHALLENGE! I think we did pretty well last year. Personally, the Nutrition Challenge was a real eye-opener for me. I was made keenly aware of the lack of vegetables in my daily diet and that’s no good. Vegetables are our medicine. A plant-based diet is your first defense against disease,... Read More
My First Ironman 70.3 – The swim (4)
I'm out there somewhere! For most first time and new triathletes, it’s all about the swim. I am no different. By now, the local watering holes where the races take place–Decker Lake, Town Lake, Mansfield Dam and Lake Pflugerville, are fairly familiar to me but no matter how often I encounter them, there is still that feeling of forboding and regret. The Red Licorice Open Water Swim was at Mansfield Dam, where I train during tri season, but the water was almost... Read More
My First Ironman 70.3 – Saturday (3)
I wanted to hide in the jungle until after the race. I’m going to tell you something that you’re not going to believe or understand–maybe. The time limit for the Ironman 70.3 is 8 and a half hours. Here is exactly how it was written in my race packet which was emailed to me on March 17th: “The following cut-off times apply for each segment of the race. Swim: 1 hour and 10 minutes after the final wave start. Bike: 5 hours and 30 minutes after final wave... Read More
