Grand Rapids was the location of my first marathon 10 years ago and coincidentally it was also the place where I chose to do my first half iron-distance triathlon on Sunday, June 11. The Grand Rapids Triathlon is not an Ironman-branded race, but the half covers 70.3 miles just like the trademarked races. 

For years I’ve told myself that I could do it. 1.2 miles of swimming, 56 miles of biking, and a half marathon (13.1 miles) of running. I had done all of those things individually. I took a gradual step closer when I did a 1/3 iron-distance race in Ohio in 2021 and another in 2022. I thought maybe 2022 would be the year I would attempt a 70.3 but I didn’t commit to anything and another year slipped by.

In the fall of 2022 my friend Lisa let me know that a price jump was coming for the Grand Rapids Triathlon and her husband Anthony was going to sign up for the Olympic duathlon. Grand Rapids kept coming up when I tried to figure out where to do my first half and signing up early to save money would be smart. Instead of continuing to tell myself that I knew I COULD do it, it was time to finally DO it. I signed up on Halloween to get that price break and to make sure I would finally commit.

As the spring rolled around I had mostly neglected biking in favor of saving my legs (and time) for running as I prepared for the Boston Marathon in mid-April. I needed a little time to recover from that, then I suddenly had about seven weeks to prepare for the 56-mile bike ride. I peaked with a couple longer rides of 50 and 56 miles which reassured me that I could at least get through the bike segment. My regular swims are usually at least twice the distance of what I’d do in the race so that was no concern and running shouldn’t be either. I reminded myself that I had put in a lot of work and I should be fine.

The race is based out of the village of Ada, just outside of Grand Rapids. I went to packet pickup the day before the race at Legacy Park where Lisa and Anthony happened to arrive at the same time that I did. We caught up a little bit and Lisa was kind enough to take my picture with sweet Santiago, who I believe belongs to one of the volunteers. I had a Samoyed when I was a kid and seeing him made me SO happy.

I grabbed dinner at Noodles and Company and was thrilled to discover that Detroit Cookie Company was right by it. I stocked up on some treats to enjoy after the race. Then I settled at my hotel which was about 10 minutes away from the race site and I tried my best to get some decent sleep.

There is no on-site parking for the race so athletes are advised to use a shuttle. I parked in the shuttle lot around 5:30 and found some other athletes who rode their bikes from there to the transition area (less than two miles) which seemed easier than dealing with a shuttle. Rain had been a major concern of mine and I was relieved that other than a few drops, it held off before the race. 

I got set up in transition and used a garbage bag under my stuff and wrapped one over the top in anticipation of the rain. When I felt like I’d done everything I could, I started the walk to the river and Lisa found me. I was glad to see her which helped distract me from some of my nerves. 

Both the half and Olympic races took place on Sunday and mine started first at 7:00. I was thankful for the early start since it would be such a long day. We had a race meeting then lined up in pairs behind signs that corresponded with our expected paces. That helped keep things really organized and less congested in the water. Thanks to Stellafly for photos along the race course.

Every few seconds the volunteers released two of us and we went down a slight ramp into the water. We were off and swimming as soon as we got down that ramp! It was a little shock to the system but the water was around 72° in the Thornapple River and felt fine with my sleeveless wetsuit. 

Unlike the race I did a week earlier, there was no sun to battle and it was easy to spot the buoys and the path we should take. I had a few moments of getting closer to people than I liked, but spreading people out and sorting us by pace made the swim a breeze. I had 1900 meters to swim and my routine weekday swims have usually been around 4000 meters. I’ve been preparing for a 5K swim coming later this summer so this distance was no problem for me. I had a great swim at my last triathlon and I wished that this swim segment could be longer because I felt so good. It was a great way to start the race! 

I completed the swim in 35:49, a pace of 1:51/100m. My pace was a pleasant surprise because it was much faster than I ever do for that kind of distance during training. The race environment, a current in the river, and the wetsuit may have all contributed.

When I got back to the ramp at the end of the swim there were two volunteers ready to pull me up.

I unzipped my wetsuit and pulled my arms out, then sat on the ground so two more volunteers could yank my suit off. I’ve never experienced the convenience of wetsuit strippers and it was AMAZING! I usually struggle for at least a minute or two because I can never get the legs off over my feet. Thanks to the volunteers that thing came flying right off!

We had been told that a shoe corral would be an option because the transition area was around .35 miles from the river. I took advantage of that and had my socks and shoes off to the side as I exited the “stripping” area. Since I love to run so much, it felt great to go flying down the path versus cautiously doing so in my bare feet.

My first transition time of 7:05 seems long but that included the run back from the river. As I headed out to ride I realized I had messed up the recording of the triathlon activity on my watch. I marked the transition as I left the swim, then out of habit I hit the button again when I got to the actual transition area. That put me into bike mode, so when I left transition, hitting the button again put me into the second transition. There’s no going back to fix it. I fumbled with my watch at the beginning of the ride and got it into bike mode to record all but the first couple miles. I still wanted to have a good guide for my distance and speed even though the segment wouldn’t be fully recorded. I’d just do the same during the run – record it separately as a run activity.

The elevation map for the bike ride looks MUCH more severe than it actually was. When I scoped out this race initially, I realized that the climb of 200 feet occurred over 10 miles which really wasn’t that bad. The course had more rolling hills along the whole course than I realized it would have. That kept it challenging but it wasn’t anything too severe for me even though I ride flat routes the majority of the time. 

We rode on a two-lane road that was open to traffic. There wasn’t much and the police directed traffic at any big turn or intersection. It made me happy whenever I rode past a farm that had cows, goats, horses, and even some friendly dogs running along the fence. 

I knew 56 miles might take me close to 3.5 hours to complete and it was going to be a long ride. I was SO thankful that it was cloudy and cool because I had two bottles on my bike and worried that wouldn’t be enough. There were a couple of stops where I could have grabbed a bottle of water or Gatorade which was reassuring to know, but I ended up staying hydrated enough with what I had. I had eaten one Picky Bar at the hotel and another in transition before the race. I ate one after 20 miles on the bike and another after 40 miles which seemed to work well. 

As usual, I rarely passed anyone – they passed me. When some were still catching me halfway into the race I reminded myself that I must have had a really good swim to maintain a head start for that long. I know that the bike is my weakness and I went through my usual moments of thinking how slow I am but I tried not to dwell on it. However, riding into a headwind from miles 30-36 did not help my insecurity. I felt like I was dragging SO much and it really kind of sucked. I slowed to an average of 14-15 mph while I’d been more in the range of 16-18 mph in the miles prior to that section. When I made the turn off that stretch I was SO relieved. 

Then it turned into a matter of counting down what was left. 20 miles to go! 16 miles – that’s “only” an hour left! When I passed the 50-mile sign I celebrated and told myself I was awesome for having done that much. I was extremely ready to get off of my bike seat. At least the rain held off for most of the ride and it just sprinkled a little bit. I was worried about water on my glasses blocking my view and there wasn’t enough to do that. By the time I finished the ride and it was time to dismount, there had been just enough rain for the volunteers to warn that it was getting a little slick. I am SO thankful I managed to avoid that lack of traction during the race. I finished the ride in 3:23:47.

When I headed toward transition I found Lisa and Anthony waiting! It was so nice to see them and all I could say was that I hated sitting on the bike that long. Thanks to Lisa for snagging a picture.

I spent 1:54 in transition and groaned as I started to run. It’s never easy right off of the bike and it was especially hard after 56 miles. Even though it felt rough, I managed to run the first mile in 8:31 – not too bad. The run is usually my strength so I was glad to get to that part of the race. It went well for a few miles but there were some hills that started to slow me down. Both Olympic and half runners were out on the course and the half people had two loops to do. Even though I felt like I was struggling, I saw people who were having a harder time than I was.

The rain had picked up which I didn’t mind because at least I stayed cool. I ate Clif Bloks with 3x sodium every couple miles, drank an electrolyte drink from my hydration belt, and grabbed a cup of water now and then from the aid stations. After racing for so long I began to question if it was time to stop at a porta potty. I thought about how it might make the run feel more comfortable! I kept questioning it throughout the run but once I got to the last few miles I told myself I would be able to make it and couldn’t stop at that point. That’s one tricky part about doing a race that takes so long.

I kept running the whole time but it definitely got tough. By the eighth mile I slowed down to an 8:52 mile. I sped up a little, then had a couple miles over a 9:00 pace. I picked it up a little after that and it was probably a matter of the placement of the hills. They definitely wore on me. 

Whenever I wasn’t struggling too much I tried to smile, nod, or share words of encouragement with other runners. It’s cool how supportive people can be when we’re all pushing ourselves through the same difficult thing. I saw a guy who I recognized during my first loop so I was on the lookout during the second loop. I questioned, “Marathon Don?” when I saw him again. When he confirmed that it was him I told him that he was awesome. It was Don Kern, the race director of the Grand Rapids Marathon. It made me smile to see him out there and I caught up with him again for a short chat later as I left the race.

My legs were stiff and it was quite a grind to get through the run. I felt better running the Boston Marathon than I did running half the distance at this race. What a surprise – a half Ironman felt hard? I kept pushing and finished strong, running the half marathon in 1:53:33 and completing the race in 6:02:06.

At that point the feeling of accomplishment was minor since I was more preoccupied with feeling glad that I was done and wanting to sit down. Coming to a sudden stop after six hours of activity is probably not ideal and I wanted to make sure I didn’t fall over and pass out! 

I knew I should eat so I pulled myself up after a few minutes to check out the selection. I started with a muffin, croissant, piece of pizza, and chocolate milk. I went back for a second round of mac and cheese and another slice of pizza. 

Eventually I knew I better get up and I took another photo to celebrate the accomplishment.

After sitting in the rain for too long I knew I needed to get to the transition area soon to get my jacket. Temps in the 60s and a steady rain combined with my falling body temperature had me cooling down quickly. I didn’t want to move but knew I had to!

All of my stuff in the transition area was wet so that was a mess to clean up. Using the garbage bags had helped some though. I wondered if my legs would cooperate to ride my bike back to the car. Fortunately I was fine going at a slow pace in an easy gear and followed a couple other athletes who did the same thing. I was extremely thankful that the rain came later in the day because the lack of traction was noticeable for that short ride. It would not have been good for a 56-mile ride!

By the time I packed my stuff in the car, being cold and wet had become more problematic. Even though it happens often following my runs in cool temps, it’s worrisome when I start to lose color in my fingers. This phenomenon – Raynaud’s – tends to hit a little while after I’ve stopped activity and my body has cooled down too much. I had to crank the heat in the car for a good 10 minutes to bring the color back to my fingers before I started to drive home.

I definitely feel proud and accomplished for finally achieving this goal. Despite worries that I hadn’t trained enough on the bike, I knew I could do it and I DID. I certainly didn’t come away from the experience with ambitions to attempt a full Ironman. I won’t say never though. Nearly three and a half hours on the bike was more than enough and the half marathon that followed felt pretty rough. Yet it was rough in a good way that made me feel like a badass for pushing through. Part of me always questions what I could do to improve, driving me to want to tackle it again. I have a feeling there could be more 70.3 races in my future.

– Janet
Follow me on Instagram @janetboltz and Twitter @reidphotography