The Road to my 70.3 Ironman

It was a little less than a month until my first Ironman 70.3 distance when I started writing this post, it is now three days away! I decided to make use of my Road ID tin by using half sized note cards that have the date on one side with a countdown number and on the reverse side has the workout that I am supposed to do that day along with a motivational quote. It has been a good way to countdown, get motivated, and prepare.

Motivation. Workout. Countdown. Tin.

On June 30th, I did my first open water swim. I have been in and around water all my life but this was a new experience for me because I have only competed in pools up until now. A mile was initially daunting but when you actually think about it in a pool it is around 1750 and the morning of the race when I could see the distance it became more tangible.
I had been looking at the Ironman cutoff times for the swim which for Lake Stevens is one hour and ten minutes after the last wave of swimmers starts which initially was what I was basing my goals off of. However, after completing my mile swim in 30min I have decided that I should not worry about the cut off time and focus on staying strong and mentally tough.

I recently went to Speedy Reedy and purchased a tri suit that I can wear throughout the whole race. It is in the photo below! I still need to rent a swimming wetsuit because the water will be colder than I first anticipated. Thats on my to do list for tomorrow as well as buy the food I will need during the race!

I have been reading blogs and watching youtube videos about Lake Steven's prior events. There was one blog that really scared me when I read the portion about the bike ride. The individual mentioned that the course was extremely hilly with sharp turns and because of rain people were crashing and falling of their bikes. As a very unexperienced biker I really don't know how I will respond to this but will try my best.

I have a couple friends that are coming to support me and help me out which I am thankful for because usually my family comes to races that have done in the past. For a race this big that I have never attempted before it is nice to know that people are there cheering for me and drive to and from the race.

I will be sure to write another post once I have completed the race recapping the swim, bike, and run portions. Hopefully it will be an upbeat post where I reach my goal times and doesn't recap a bike crash, technical problems, or somehow not meeting the goal times to complete the race.


Here are a couple of quotes that I like referring to the Ironman:

"Ironman also embodies motivation, willpower, perseverance, energy, strength, flexibility, the need to be active and the dream of finishing, all that are required in everyday life. The opportunities for transferring these qualities to the Ironman are therefore unlimited"

"If you want to do triathlon, then do the Olympic distance, but if you want to find a new life (and yourself), then do an Ironman"

"Triathlon doesn't build character. It reveals it"