Timberman 70.3- I did it!

1.2 miles of choppy, panicked (at least the first half!) swimming, 56 miles of biking through NH hills (and more hills!) in the rain, and 13.1 miles of running along some scenic lake-side roads with some more hills thrown in....that is Timberman 70.3 2010! There really are no words to describe the feeling of finishing my first half Ironman...my guess is this picture explains it all!

Trifitness was well represented at Timberman this year, with at least 15 of us racing, and many more friends and family members there to support. It was extremely motivating to see so many friendly faces on the bike and run course, and to have an almost college-dorm like atmosphere with so many of us staying at the same hotel!

Race morning brought cool temperatures and gray skies, and had me hoping for no rain. I set my transition area up and then had a long time to wait for my swim start as I was wave 11 out of 18. I watched the pros take off, and then headed back to the car to keep warm. I spent about 10 minutes warming up in the water and then nervously stood with my group. The gun went off and I headed in close to the front of the pack on the inside near the buoys. After a rough 1/4 mile or so start where I had to talk myself out of the panic, and talk myself into staying in the race, I settled in and then began to enjoy the swim.


After the swim, I headed out of the water to my first ever experience with wet-suit strippers! I'm glad I had asked Gus what to do- I took my wetsuit off to my waist, flopped down on my back, had the wet suit pulled off, and was quickly on my way. What a time saver! Quickly headed out to the bike....and that's when the rain began to fall....

All in all, I really enjoyed the bike course. I love hills, and this course was full of them! I was having a great bike split until about mile 40, when I had my first crash. A man in front of me was wobbling up the one of the steepest climbs, I went to pass him, and down he went...taking me along with him. I found out later from a girl behind me that I flipped over him and somehow managed to escape with just some scrapes on my elbow and knee (and my bike is fine!) That shook me up a bit and took awhile for me to settle back in, but I managed to finish the rest of the bike in a decent time.

The run, for me, was solid. Long distance running, after my college sprint/jump career, is always a challenge, but I did as many 10-15 mile runs this summer as I could. My goal was to walk the aid stations and steep hills, and run the rest, and I pretty much accomplished this. The run was actually a lot of fun, filled with an a capella group, snow ball tossing, music at every turn, tons of spectators, and my Trifit crew! Only tough part is coming thisclose to the finish, only to head back out for your 2nd loop of the run...so tough mentally!

I enjoyed this race more than I could ever have imagined. I learned a lot about myself and my limits, about patience and pushing beyond my comfort zone, about getting back on the bike (literally) when it is most difficult, and most of all, about enjoying the experience and taking it all in while you are out there. There were times when I thought there was no way I would ever be able to finish this race, let alone do well, but I truly surprised myself.

What's next? How many 70.3's can I fit in a year?! I really found that I love this distance, and am planning which races to do next year...definitely Timberman again....other races TBD!

Special thanks to Gus for getting me through my first half IM, for waiting for me even though he finished 2 hours ahead of me, and for patching me up post-crash :)

Results:

Swim: 40:59

Bike: 3:14:17

Run: 2:25:15

Overall: 6:26:18