Boise Ironman 70.3 Race Report

Okay. So it's been a week since the race. I've had plenty of time to think about it. And to dry off.

This race was unique with a 2pm start time. I actually LOVED that.. because I really don't sleep well before the early morning starts. Who does? By the time you get the nerves settled and get to sleep, the alarm's blaring and you're in a rush to get to T1. So I absolutely loved the full night's sleep... having breakfast... and mosey'n on up to the swim start!

The swim took place in Lucky Peak Reservoir. Having grown up in Boise, I was quite familiar with what to expect up there.. chilly waters and a bit of current. Really, the temperature wasn't bad at all. Someone said 62 degrees... which is AWESOME! I wore a sleeveless wetsuit and had no trouble at all with body temperature! I did have some trouble with the swells, though. Right after we started, I got kicked or hit in the face... and that made my left eye super sore... not to mention that my goggles on that side filled up instantaneously. I swam about 200 yds before stopping to fix it (or attempt to)... wanted to get away from the mass! By the time I rounded the first of the three buoys the swells were pretty bad. I remember seeing a jet ski out there and blaming the guy on it for causing so much turbulance. But it wasn't his fault.. it was just the stormy weather rolling in. As I rounded the second buoy there was a kayak there "rescuing" a swimmer in my wave. We were the first wave after the pros.... and this gal was ahead of me... so she must've been a decent swimmer... but the conditions on those skinnier girls was probably a lot more than what my big frame had to deal with! I remember her saying "no.. I'm done!" ... and then the guy in the kayak waved for a boat to come over. The 600 or so yards between the 2nd and 3rd buoys was crazy. I just kept getting sucked out away from the straight line I thought I was swimming. Lots of other girls were stopping a lot too so I didn't feel too bad. I figured it would be a lot better on the homestretch after the 3rd buoy but it wasn't.... instead it was much worse. I felt a little sea sick to be honest... just kept going UP and DOWN and UP and DOWN. I kept stopping... to fix my goggle and to get my "bearings". My swim time was pretty icky as a result... 39:02. I'm sure I wasted about 3 or 4 minutes with all the stops. But oh well.. I was just glad to be done with that leg! I kept thinking... I'm gonna quit after this swim... but I trudged on.

Out of the water I ran.. up the carpet to the strippers - stopping on the way to give my puppy Bristol a kiss! The wetsuit strippers did their best to pull my wetsuit off (only one guy went one way with my right leg while a girl when the other way with the other leg giving me a cramp!) and into transition I continued to run. My T1 time was 3:02... not super fast... but not super slow for me either. I was content with that... I didn't sit down and tried my best to hustle through.

Off on the bike. And the adventure! Okay. The initial downhill was not wet. That was the first 4 miles or so. Then it started raining. And the wind started blowing. We had a few climbs... one up to the Birds of Prey area... and they challenged me. There were marshalls everywhere on the downhill sections. Coming down from Birds of Prey they posted no passing zones. People still passed. I was scared to death! By this time it was a torrential rain... and pea sized hail. The water on the roads was pretty significant.. and that road was like a corkscrew at times... so I wanted to be extra cautious. ON the backside of BofP area the rain REALLLLY started coming down. We were riding through a good 1-2 inches of rain on the roads... into thick black clouds littered by lightning! That was a treat. By mile 35 the wind became more of a factor too. By mile 40 I was getting cold. But then we wound back around by the airport and I KNEW we were in the final stretch. The entire run I kept telling myself I was DONE at T2!!! A lot of other people were saying the same thing as we chatted causually on the bike! It was absolutely MISERABLE out there. But something happened as I was riding down Federal Way and then Capitol Blvd. I was getting TOTALLY inspired by all the people.. and my sense of humor was returning. I was SMILING.. and cruising about 24 mph once again! I got to T2.. thinking I would cramp but didn't as I got off my bike. I remember I was pretty bummed because my splits were sooooo much slower than my goal times. By the time I hit T2 I was 20 minutes behind where I wanted to be... and not confident at all because the run, my nemesis, was coming up.

I jogged my bike into my T2 area... where my hubby and Bristol were standing by just outside the fence! I cracked a few jokes about my oncoming cold... possible pnemonia... and then laughed as I put "dry" socks on. Ya. It was still raining! My feet were completely numb! Off I went on the run!

Right out of transition I started running with a guy - Nate. He was running a pretty good slow pace. Now... keep in mind I have NEVER completed a triathlon by running the whole way without stopping. NEVER. not even a sprint triathlon. It's a mental thing... I just know I can't do it. But Nate and I were talking... and kept talking... and he inspired me. And at mile 11 I was STILL RUNNING. We were holding about a 9:45/mile pace.... just right. I wasn't even TIRED! I wasn't breathing hard or anything! I couldn't believe it! My right foot stayed numb for the first 8 miles... and really I was feeling okay. I kept challenging myself to "do another mile..." and Nate kept hollaring at me if I fell behind - which I did at mile 9. But I caught back up at mile 11... by that time Nate was struggling a bit and so hopefully I inspired him a little. We did a little walking between miles 11.5 and 12.5... just to get our "finish legs' going.. and then I finished the half marathon in 2:18... and the race in 6:16. That was a PR for me.... which I was ECSTATIC about because I had such a miserable swim/bike.

So... the crowds in Boise were TREMENDOUS! the streets in BoDo were jam packed with people... and so was the greenbelt for the entire run! There were packs of people on almost every corner on the bike, too.. and the swim start had another couple thousand spectators! What an incredible experience that was! It TOTALLY blew away Florida.. Texas... or anywhere I had been.

If you are looking for an amazing course... amazing support... look no further. I didn't want to do this race because it was in my home town. But it ended up to be an experience I will never forget. Weather and all.

Wow. I'm still glowing.