Sunday, July 21 was my first experience with an Ironman-branded race and it was a good one. The Sandusky 70.3 was my third half iron-distance race, but there’s something about that Ironman name that made it feel even bigger. It’s kind of like marathons – the small hometown races are still the same distance and provide the same accomplishment, yet running in Chicago or Boston with 30,000+ people takes it to a whole new level. Things went so well for my first 70.3 race in Grand Rapids last year that I decided I was ready to see what the Ironman experience was all about. I had initially been intimidated by the size and logistics of the Chicago and Boston marathons and ended up loving them, so I told myself that it would likely be the same with an Ironman race and I should go for it.

I chose the Sandusky race because it’s 2.5 hours from home which is an easy drive, I wouldn’t have to take any vacation time, and the course was billed as FLAT. Since I’m really not much of a cyclist, a flat course sounded ideal to me.

The race took place on Sunday and I had to arrive on Saturday to check in, attend an athlete briefing, and to leave my bike in transition. I got to town sometime after 1:00 so I would be there in time for the final athlete briefing at 2:00. I parked blocks away and didn’t want to have to go back to get my bike later so I took it with me to the check-in. As soon as you enter Ironman Village, you’re taken through a series of several tents of merchandise. It definitely was awkward having to wheel through there, but tons of other people did the same. I was relieved that they had racks for our bikes once we made it through so I could stash it there.

I collected my stuff which included a running shirt and a nice backpack.

I browsed through the merchandise and decided that I liked a shirt enough to buy it. I thought it was cool that the names of the participants were printed on the back.

By then it was time for the athlete briefing which was essentially the same thing as the pre-race meeting I usually attend the morning of a race. I learned that the water temperature was just a little too warm for wetsuits at that moment, but nights had been cool enough that it might drop enough by the morning. We were told to watch the app and the Facebook page for an announcement by 5:00 the next morning. They told us that there may be as many as 1,600-1,700 participants which stressed me out a little bit. I wondered if that would lead to congestion on the courses. The local triathlons I have done usually have several hundred participants at most, and that’s spread across a variety of distances. Otherwise, the info at the meeting was pretty standard and took us through the schedule and rules for race day.

The transition area was a few minutes down the street in a marina parking lot and that was where we went to get our timing chip and to rack our bikes. I’ve never had to leave my bike overnight before so that was something new. I guess it was nice because it was one less thing to bring with me in the morning.

I’ve gotten so used to my local triathlons where we started to spread out on the bike racks as we came back from Covid times. I usually have plenty of space around my bike but this race basically had the bikes crammed in from handlebar to handlebar. I freaked out a little bit wondering how I would have room for my stuff the next morning. It’s not like we ever have room for a bunch of extra junk and we’re supposed to minimize, but I have a nice backpack with all of my gear and knew there wouldn’t be room for that. I went back to the athlete briefing area and talked to someone who was answering questions. He said most people have a friend or family member hang onto their stuff. That wasn’t an option for me so I still stressed about it until I thought about how I could consolidate my stuff into a drawstring bag that I had with me and it would all be fine. It’s always the logistical stuff that I get hung up on the most.

I walked around a bit after that to see how the swim would work. We’d have a unique start to the race where we’d jump off a ferry boat to start the swim.

I scoped out the buoys that marked the course and saw where we would exit the water and run into the transition area. Getting familiar with the layout would help ease some nerves and help me feel prepared.

I stayed at a hotel 15 minutes away and settled in there with one of my typical “safe” pre-race dinners from Panera Bread.

The transition area opened at 5:00 the next morning so I left the hotel sometime after 4:30. Just before I left I got a notification on the Ironman app that the water temperature was 75.7°. The wetsuit cutoff was 76.1° so that meant the race was wetsuit legal. That extra buoyancy makes a huge difference so I was thrilled.

One of my logistical concerns was that I didn’t want to worry about trying to find limited street parking where the bike or run course might leave my car trapped. That meant parking in one of the designated lots that was nearly a mile away. The walk took less than 15 minutes and worked out just fine. I had eaten one of the protein Picky Bars right after I woke up, then ate another one of their normal bars in the car a little over an hour before I’d start the race. I ate a Clif Blok or two as well before leaving the transition area.

I usually pump my bike tires first thing in the morning before a race. Once again, because I was there solo, I didn’t have anyone who could take that pump out of transition with them. I was told that plenty of people would have pumps and I’d be able to borrow one from someone around me. That was the case, but the pump I borrowed was much different from the one I’m used to. As we tried to figure out what I needed, the woman drained one of my tires. Luckily someone else came over to help us and everything seemed fine. That was a little worrisome though! Maybe next time I’d just go over to a tent with bike mechanics to make sure nothing screwy happens.

Once my stuff was set up in transition, bathroom usage was top of mind. The lines for the porta potties in transition were pretty long so I had planned to head to the start early and use the ones near the ferry. I got there half an hour before the start and that worked just fine. From there I went to line up by a swim pace sign. Sorting people by pace is a HUGE help and since the swim took me 38 minutes at the Grand Rapids 70.3, I figured 37-40 minutes was the perfect place to seed myself.

I took some screen captures from the race’s Facebook page to show how the ferry was set up. We slowly worked our way from the street toward the boat where they had three corrals to funnel us into the water.

The fastest athletes started at 6:30, and I made it to the start by 6:45. I was a little intimidated by the thought of jumping in the water and hoped I wouldn’t have any issues with my goggles. They had ramps that sloped down toward the water and volunteers helped us on our way to the edge. It really wasn’t much of a jump and worked out just fine. It helped that they seemed to leave a gap of a minute or so after a bunch of people in front of me had started. That helped space people out before they let two people jump in every few seconds.

We swam out from the pier and stayed in a protected part of the Sandusky Bay. Aside from some ripples, the water was pretty calm. The water did get more congested than I’ve been used to in recent races though. After making the first turn, I found myself on the heels of one guy as another guy kept sideswiping me. When he got me in the mouth I got pretty pissed off which gave me a sudden burst of speed. I got around on the side somehow and found my own space again. I found myself closer than I wanted to be to people multiple times during the swim, but it went pretty smoothly for the most part. The actual swimming part of it felt great for me. 1.2 miles is shorter than my standard swims so it was a breeze. It was a little cloudy first thing so I didn’t have to worry about the sun making it difficult to spot buoys.

I got annoyed again just before the end as we swam into the marina where it got more narrow. I got stuck behind a guy who was slower, I had a hard time finding a way around him, and I just wanted to GO! I made it to the ramp where volunteers were great about helping us out of the water, then I started working my way down the sidewalk to transition.

It looks like I’m pretty consistent and my guess that the swim would take 38 minutes was right on. I finished in 38:43.

I spent 4:40 in transition and realized that I could pull off to the side in an open area to take my wetsuit off rather than trying to do it in the cramped area by my bike. The racks were marked well so I had no problem finding my bike. I got a strong little run in as I ran my bike from the rack out to the mount line, then I was off for 56 miles!

With so many participants I was worried that the bike course might get congested. I didn’t have any issues as I started and had plenty of space. Because I’m a decent swimmer but poor cyclist, I know it’s just a matter of time before people catch up to start passing. Plenty of people did, but I even passed a few people myself. That usually doesn’t happen much for me! I usually don’t worry about draft rules because it’s not like I’m catching up to anyone to draft off of them. However, during the athlete briefing I realized the Ironman rules can be pretty strict and people can be issued penalties. We were supposed to maintain six bike lengths between us. I got pretty worried when I would actually catch up to someone right as a bunch of people were passing me and I couldn’t go around. I hoped there wasn’t a chance I’d have to worry about actually breaking the rules. I’m such a poor cyclist that it didn’t seem to make sense that it could be an issue for me! I did see a vehicle or two drive by watching for violations.

One of my biggest concerns for the day was how my body would cooperate. Sometimes it can REALLY suck being a female athlete when the race calendar doesn’t line up at an ideal time for the body’s calendar. For a race that was going to take me six hours, there was no avoiding the fact that I would have to make a bathroom stop at least once along the way. I decided that I could wait until sometime during the bike segment and knew that there would be aid stations around 16 miles and 30 miles that would have porta potties. I hated having to lose my momentum, but I waited until the 30-mile stop and decided I’d just have to do it. Fortunately there was no wait and I was able to pull over easily without other athletes in the way. I lost two or three minutes because wriggling out of a one-piece tri suit gets a little tricky, but I got right back into the rhythm so the stop didn’t throw me off too much. I had been averaging around 17.3 mph up to that point and dropped to something like 16.9 mph. Eventually my average started to go back up though and I found myself at 17.3 mph again before the end of the ride. When I’m riding for well over three hours, a couple minutes doesn’t make THAT much of a difference in the scheme of things.

I chose this race because of the flat bike course and it certainly came through for me. Aside from a few stretches where the pavement had a little more texture to it, the whole ride was smooth and truly flat. I only got out of the saddle at one point for a short climb and that was the most significant “hill” along the course. I couldn’t believe it – I actually kind of enjoyed the bike ride! On a Sunday morning out in farm country, there were very few vehicles on the road. We basically had it to ourselves and it was amazing.

When it comes to fueling, I think for my other two races I’ve eaten two Picky Bars during my ride. This time I ate three, and as usual, I seemed to be okay with one bottle of water and one bottle with my electrolyte mix. It felt like my speed remained fairly consistent for most of the ride and I didn’t seem to tire out by the end.

I kept trying to do the math and realized that even with my quick bathroom stop, I would likely come in faster than the three and a half hours that the ride took me a month earlier at the Grand Rapids Triathlon. I might even make it in 3:20! It was a shock to find that I actually finished in 3:13! The Grand Rapids course is more challenging with some rolling hills, plus the wind really killed me for half of the ride this year. What a world of a difference it made to ride a flat course with no real wind. My bike time was 18 minutes faster!

I transitioned from the bike to the run in 2:13. I did plenty of groaning as usual as I tried to find my running legs after that much time on the bike. While it was an ideal day for racing with temps in the mid-60s to start, it was in the mid-70s and sunny by the time I started the run. The sun was directly overhead for much of the run so it got warm. I’ve been training in conditions that are warmer than that, but when it’s time to run a half marathon after already racing for four hours, it never feels great.

I started with an 8:20 first mile which seemed pretty solid for me. However, I also had hints of a side cramp building. That was a problem at the Island Lake Triathlon last month too. It took a couple miles for it to fade at this race. I ran the second mile in 8:35, then I slowed down to 8:51 by the third mile. It seems like I simply don’t have any real running speed in triathlons this year. I suppose the fact that I’ve barely done any speedwork could be a pretty big factor. Apparently slowing down did the trick and the side cramp faded. I seemed to feel okay enough for the first half of the run.

By the time I was nine miles into the race, I started to see my first miles over a 9:00 pace. At a certain point it becomes a battle just to keep pushing. The flat race course certainly helped, and there were a lot of awesome spectators lining the streets. A few had squirt guns, plus there were a bunch of sprinklers aimed out into the road and a couple people even had hoses. I took advantage of everything knowing that it helped cool me down.

It was wonderful to have water stops every mile along the course. I grabbed a cup to drink at every one and often grabbed a second to dump on myself as well. One thing that boosted my mood a little bit was getting to see Angela from Epic Races a couple times during the run. I knew that she was doing the race so I was on the lookout and enjoyed cheering her on when I spotted her.

We did two loops of the course and although I wanted to make a push for it in the last few miles, my stomach got a little iffy. I think my legs could have cooperated but picking up the pace seemed to irritate my stomach. As a result, I ran a pretty consistent pace ranging from 9:08-9:13 for miles 9-13. My calves felt pretty tight but I was still going pretty strong, especially considering how I saw plenty of people struggling.

I managed to drop my pace into the 8:30s for the last couple minutes at the end. It was pretty cool to have a finishing chute at the end of the race lined with spectators which gave it a bit of a marathon vibe.

I finished the half marathon in 1:56:46, and most importantly, I finished the whole race in 5:55:28 – under six hours!

I collected my medal and a very cool finisher’s hat then found a table to lean against for a few minutes as I tried to catch my breath. My body kept going through the race, then as soon as I stopped, it pretty much shut down. It’s as if it suddenly realizes what I just put it through then wants to deconstruct.

I worked my way over to the backdrop for a finisher’s photo then thought my stomach was mad enough that I better make a bathroom stop. It ended up being fine after all, but as I left the porta potty, my arms felt tingly. It felt like they were going numb from my elbows down. I thought it would be wise to sit down so I went over to the medical tent.

I mostly just wanted to sit down and the volunteers were kind enough to bring me a cold, wet towel and some electrolytes. I grew concerned about the numbness in my hands and arms because I’ve never had that happen before. It started to stress me out quite a bit as I sat there for a while and it didn’t fade. Someone checked my blood pressure and everything seemed fine so I decided to try getting up and see if I could shake it off.

I went to the food tent and was happy to see several options that I liked. I took my food over to a picnic table and the numbness started to fade. What a relief. I chatted with a couple athletes about their races, including a guy from Grand Rapids who was 70 years old and had won his age group. He was pretty inspiring and it was nice to talk to him. The food seemed great until it started to hit my stomach, then it really did get mad. You know it’s bad when I end up skipping post-race ice cream!

I was a bit worried about how my stomach might hold up for the 2.5 hours of driving, but at some point I knew I better collect my bike and other stuff and hit the road. I didn’t feel great, but talking with my mom for an hour of the drive helped pass some of the time and I managed to hold up for the ride home. By the end of the evening I had a headache starting to build, probably from the lack of food and hydration. The next morning I really wasn’t sore at all, but I was dead tired. It took a couple days to get back on track, and I probably could have used a day off after the race just to get more sleep!

Considering how I started looking into more Ironman 70.3 races the next morning, this race was clearly a good experience. It’s funny because leading into the Grand Rapids Triathlon in June, I questioned if I should even push myself through this distance anymore or stick with the more manageable Olympic distance. Yet a day after finishing this race, I was ready for more.

I think Grand Rapids was tricky for me because I spent the spring preparing for the Boston Marathon and neglected the bike until I recovered from that. I knew that I was going into that race under prepared. Then wind on the bike made it extra difficult. I still got through it and figured that I could consider it good training for this race, which could be more of a goal race. An extra month of training helped, and most of all, that flat bike course. I went from a 6:17 finish in Grand Rapids to a 5:55 finish in Sandusky and all of the time that I shaved off came from the bike segment – my swim and run times were pretty similar between the races.

I had hopes that I’d go sub-6 at some point so this was a pretty exciting accomplishment. Even though my body felt completely depleted afterward, I also felt extremely proud of myself. I told myself that I’m actually pretty good at this stuff so I should keep doing it. I have to admit that in my search for other possible races, the ones with flat bike courses are standing out the most. That’s what made this course more enjoyable for me, and if I’m going to do this crazy stuff, I should probably kind of enjoy it, right? I’m still debating if I should return to this race next year now that I’m comfortable with how it all worked or if I should try another location. I guess I don’t have to decide immediately, but it’s looking like I’ll aim for at least one 70.3 next year.

– Janet

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