Ironman 70.3 PA
Ironman 70.3 PA Happy Valley PA (2025) (FIRST RACE IN new
age group as a 50 year old!)
I am so excited for this race report. This race was really
special in so many ways. Some initial info: the last 1/2Ironman distance race I
did was in 2022. Previously I did one a year, but then I took a break for a few
years (plus covid), and lately I have just had other priority races that I preferred
to sign up for. A ½ Ironman is really a big commitment and the ones that are
most convenient geographically to get to happened to be in the calendar time of
kids graduating, kids in their sports seasons/ tournament time, etc. I signed
up for this one for a few reasons: namely
it was held almost exactly 75 days before Ryan’s Aunt’s 75th
birthday and she lives near Penn State, where the race would be- so it would be
a perfect time to go up there and celebrate her (plus Ryan comes from a PSU
family, so I figured it would be looked favorably upon!!!!!) AND…….. I am turning
50 this year and I wanted to do a solid 70.3 distance as a “big thing” for
myself😊
(among others!)
I knew my race goal was to FINISH. I am no longer interested
in being full throttle all eyes on the prize training- I train really hard and
focused, and I care a lot, but I also have a realization (thank God by age 50 I
have gotten here) that I can only do what I can do. I want to challenge myself
and put it all out there knowing that I gave it everything and see where the
cards fall. And at the same time, honor my
limits especially with my hip/back – I know I cannot cross a certain line of speed without an exponential risk of injury,
so my speed will now always be limited. I have learned that is okay and I would
rather participate at a level that maybe once would have been disappointing to
me, rather than push myself too much and risk the ability to be out there.
I began training over the winter- Jan/Feb timeframe- and
things were going really well. Until I got sick. Then I was on my way back (hopefully)
and sprained my ankle quite bad. So, this was a huge concern. I didn’t even know if I’d be able to do the
race. Once I got to the point that I could, I realized that I was going to use
this as an OPPORTUNITY- to do every single thing I could to train what I could
until I could run again. I cycled, swam,
strength, rehabbed, I was possibly even MORE committed. I really got back into
long hours on the bike, which was really a blessing in disguise. I’ve not been nearly
as committed to biking the past 5 years, so it was really a nice different
direction to go with my training.
I trained hard, committed to the plan I made for
myself. I made a promise to follow my
plan as I would expect someone that I coach; meaning- life happens, so maybe a
workout blows up, and you do what you can and adjust if things need to be. I
trained with high expectations of myself to prepare fully and execute the
training.
RACE WEEK: I was ridiculously terrified and obsessed with
the weather report. Any thought that I could do this race, that I was prepared
went out the window. I do NOT like one single bit to ride my bike in rain. I do not like it and I do not do it. I also
find it dangerous. PARTICULARLY if you are climbing mountains in PA and
DESCENDING. So, I was nonstop thinking about what was going to happen with the
weather. Not only because I don’t think it is fun to bike in rain, but because
of the danger. I simply don’t like to take
that risk. I cannot describe the mental discussions constantly taking place in
my brain about what this meant. I didn’t trust that I would or could do a race
in the pouring and it was saying thunderstorms also, and… nope.
The day before the race the weather shifted and it looked
like maybe we wouldn’t even have any more rain for the race! I was overjoyed.
And now, so hopeful. Of course, it was supposed to still be cloudy, low percent
chance rain, so not my favorite conditions of sun, but now things were
possible. I was back on.
RACE START: I possibly should have looked up logistics a
little better about how far of a drive it was to PSU from Ryan’s aunts house
and then to lake because what ended up happening was that I woke up at 2:40AM
to get to PSU by 4 to board a bus to get to the lake for the start. (start and
finish of this race were not in same location). I knew it was going to be a
long day, but then again honestly, if I had stayed at a hotel- I still would
have been up at 4- so it would have only been another 1:20 of sleep, so it
still doesn’t seem worth it to me to get a hotel. Anyway. Boarded bus, got to
lake. IT WAS A MUDPIT.
We were not allowed to have shoes clipped into pedals, for T1,
which I usually do, and I knew transition was going to be a mess because you
would step on the ground and it was like “mud quick sand” your feet went down
INTO the earth (mud). It was disgusting. So, pre-race I adjusted to this and
tried to get a plan. PLUS, well, it was raining. And COLDER than I
thought. I had brought some simple
cloth/dollar store/throw away gloves that I thought I’d wear for a bit. These
ended up saving me so much, thank goodness I did that. I wore them the entire
bike ride. (more on that later).
SWIM: We went off in a rolling start 3 people each 5 seconds. I don’t prefer that start- I like to start in
age groups, but I will admit- it worked really well. It seemed like people were
really strung out on this one loop course. It was clockwise- I lined up on the
inside because my preferred side to breathe is right plus it was shortest
tangent, and worked awesome. It was a race where I never had any weird feelings
or worries or breathing issues. I started honestly pretty easy and calm and
really just kept that mentality going. I was so thankful during the swim for
that. Since it was raining and there was
no sun, it was also nice to never have the sun in our eyes blinding our
sighting of buoys. The course was well marked, kayaks were helpful in keeping
the lines of the buoys. It may have literally been my favorite swim I ever did.
I don’t think it was fast (I’ll be honest I haven’t even looked at my data yet-
that is how much I really just prefer right now to go by FEEL- how did this
FEEL- not the pace- but I felt STRONG and SOLID and that is honestly all I
need). I actually enjoyed the swim, even though it was raining. (Also, I should mention… it was wetsuit
legal! So, this helped me to have some nice floating assistance!)
Transition- went through the mud pit, mounted and was off.
It wasn’t fast, but no one was and I was being calm and just doing my own
thing.
BIKE: There was like a 1 mile out and back where I think
they were just trying to get the total distance up to 56 miles for the bike,
but I took it as a kind of extended transition where I got settled, was pulling
my gloves on while I was biking so there was some messing around with that, I
had a banana that I basically shoved down the front of my tri suit that I ate
for the first 20 miles of the bike (proving apparently that I have zero cares
about what my race photos end up looking like, because in the run portion
later, I also had food/fuel shoved in the front of my race suit)! The first
hour was really nice and flat. We began what I would soon learn was a tour of
so many farms and a huge highlight was all of the Amish family and children on
the course cheering for us! They were having so much fun and this was IN THE
RAIN- around 8am-9am in the rain- blankets of cute amish kids sitting cheering
for us. Young kids all the way through
teenagers all over the course. The parents sitting in groups on porches
cheering, with cowbells. They were the best spectators! I waved back to the
groups cheering us on, it was so helpful.
I also know that is a mental tool to really engage as long as you can,
keep the happy feelings flowing, knowing there will be a time that I do not
feel like smiling at people!
It was raining and windy and 20-40 miles were full of hills and climbs. One significant climb in here, but I handled it well and kept my fueling consistent. One reason I was being even more cautious on the fueling was….. I had packed my Heed electrolyte drink mix in a ziplock in my bags for the weekend and could not FIND IT race morning so I was only carrying water. I was nervous about that, so just tried to make sure I got all the calories in that I needed for the distance. At 25 miles I started taking a fig newton every 3-5 miles to keep blood sugar steady. I was trying to make sure anytime there wasn’t wind gusts to grab the food then, either banana out of my suit, or fig newton in my bento box, so that I could get my hands back on bike because it was slippery. My body looked like a bad windshield already, I was caked with mud everywhere. But I was having fun with the course and the fun spectators, cows on the side, beautiful farms we drove by.
Well I at least need to tell about the Center Hall Mountain
climb. This is a 4 mile climb starting at mile 40 that leads to “Mount Nittany.”
It was lined at the bottom with spectators with bells so I figured this was the
start to the notorious climb and was just open to whatever was to come. It was
raining, and again I am so thankful that I had those gloves because they helped
me to grip. As we were just grinding in our smallest chainrings up this climb,
there was a beautiful stream on the side of the road which from the huge amount
of rain over the weekend and days leading up to the race was now just GUSHING
with water. It reminded me of the smoky
mountains, it was really beautiful and I was thankful to glance over and see
the creek, hear the sounds. There were switchbacks up this mountain and every
time we would turn I’d look up and be like you are JOKING ME because I thought,
ohhh maybe this is the top soon????
Well, it got whiter and whiter as we went further into a cloud. When we got
to what was “Mt Nittany overlook” we had zero view. I could not see the cyclist
in front of me and now we had to go DOWN THE MOUNTAIN. I was literally
terrified thinking, what do I do? But… I
wasn’t about to get off…. (I mean what would I do up there except freeze) so
here I go, down the white mountain, trying to not brake too hard, but also brake
as much as I could, meanwhile, my body is just locked in still, trying to keep
myself from sliding and upright and core engaged, shoulders down, the wind got
so cold, my arm skin was freezing, shoulders and forearms so cold. I made it to the bottom without crashing which
was my prayer. Once I started pedaling
again I realized my toes and feet were blocks.
They had zero feeling, completely numb, as were my fingers. I worried
because sometimes this can be the end of it for me. So I tried to do little movements of my toes
inside my shoes. Tried to do little finger moves before my fingers went to the
full pain of Raynauds. At this point, we have 10-15 miles left of the bike, so
I am realizing, OK: I think I’m going to make it and energy is still okay, so
keep fueling and keep within yourself.
Keep steady, keep your hands from dying, stay mentally engaged and get
there patiently.
The final 5 miles were some more ridiculous hills that I was
like I cannot believe we are STILL CLIMBING. What goes up, does NOT COME DOWN
in a point to point race with elevation gain of 3462 feet! I was honestly so
proud of myself that I made it through the end- not just a hard bike course,
but in the rain, keeping myself fueled, positive, and steady and patient
throughout. I definitely played it a
little conservative knowing that I had a half marathon still, and was really
proud of my effort and plan so far!
T2: Well, I got to T2 and was NOW worried my day was
over. I could not get my helmet off
because I couldn’t feel my fingers and could not work the clasp without any feeling
in my fingers. After 60-90 seonds of
trying, I was about to ask a volunteer if they could help me, but I got
it. Then I couldn’t get my shoes on with
my fingers not working, or pick up my race belt and get the stuff into the
pockets (our transitions weren’t lined out as a normal tri- we had to have all
of our T2 stuff in a bag the day before, so essentially had to dump it out figure
it out during transition). I ran into
the bathroom to pee before heading out and realized I hadn’t brought my water
flask. Oh my gosh. 2nd hydration mistake of the day. But.. I wasn’t going back. At least I had
brought my gel and blocks for calories.
RUN: So, I exited transition and was so happy to see Phoebe,
Ryan, and Aunt Claudia cheering for me! I was finally on my own two feet- no
risk of crashes or flats anymore and it was all up to me now. I wasn’t sure how
this course was going to go, I hadn’t been able to run any of it, and so I was
just open to following the route and seeing what I saw. It was 2 loops, and my thought was, ok, go
out and “be curious” on the first loop- see how you feel, and see what you see,
have no pace expectations, and when things get really tough, “go sightseeing”
as if I was touring the college.
Well, first things first though. Within the first ¼ mile I thought OMG I’m
going to possibly have to go to the hospital.
My fingers were so numb, which is normal for my cold hands with Raynaud’s,
BUT: I felt like they were blocks that were going in the wrong direction, like
my fingers were going backwards. They
were so numb, but just also a different sensation than what I have previously
had. I knew they had hurt and were so cold on the bike and I had worried that
it was going to be a problem. The bike gloves that I wore were soaked from the
rain at the end of the bike. I normally
don’t wear socks with my run shoes, but I had put a pair of socks in my
transition bag for run in case my feet were super muddy or I felt like I might
need them because of the pouring rain. I realized that what I could do is try
to use my socks as “mittens”! HA! So…. I
did that and honestly. It SAVED my race possibly. I had grabbed those socks
during transition, stuffed them into the shoulder of my tri suit and brought
them with me. I balled my hands up inside my socks and tried to fist them up
and do some hand movement to warm them.
After 4 miles, I realized my hands were going to be ok! I am still
honestly really thankful. Yes, I did feel like a fruitcake running with socks
on my hands, but it was for me the perfect “survival strategy”!
During these first 4 miles of the run, I felt solid and
steady (mostly focusing on hands and the course, trying to remain calm and have
no expectations. I started taking my UCAN gel at mile 1. Every mile I’d have a
few sips. Through mile 4/5, I started to feel myself get a little fatigued, and
I had a little worry/awareness to make sure I had a plan to manage my energy. I
was mentally trying to break the race into sets of 4 miles. 3x 4 miles which
would then get me to just the final mile.
However, since it was two loops, that didn’t match up, but I figured
that the halfway point would give me another “boost.” At mile 5, we were weaving in and out of
pathways on campus and it was windy and technical with sharp turns which kind
of were hard and causing extra work, but I kept thinking- ok, finish this loop
to just see what the loop is and then you will be on the final loop! The final
mile of the first loop was really hard all uphill. I was definitely feeling the struggle. I
slowed down. (also I had to stop to use a port o pot at I think mile 5 but it
was super quick and not a troubling situation, such as I’ve had in past run
races, so very grateful).
I kept myself focused on getting to the halfway point and getting through the stadium again because that was so cool! GUYS: LET ME TELL YOU ABOUT RUNNING THROUGH THE PSU football stadium. THIS WAS FREAKING COOL. I’m not even a football fan. And it was RIDICULOUSLY AWESOME. So cool. It was amazing. The entire race was worth it right there. To imagine what that would be like to be one of those players in this stadium was just amazing. I was looking around as we did a lap on the perimeter of the turf. I feel so lucky to have had this experience. I am so surprised by how cool this felt like to me! I’m not joking that it was like 9.8/10 cool! So, that renewed me.
2nd loop: Yes, I was worried, 6.5 more miles is still
a long way.
I realized I was getting tired energetically, along with leg fatigue, and so I realized I possibly needed some caffeine. The aid stations were AWESOME and every mile. I thought: next aid station, I’m going to get coke. I am not used to drinking coke (at all, but def not in the middle of a workout). And I realize this is against the rule of not doing something new in races, but I also knew I needed it. (and I’ve done it before- ironman races). So, mile 7, I again went to the port o pot, but then told myself to walk through the aid station while sipping the coke (thinking that may be easier to let it go in without bothering my stomach). I did that. I also got a piece of a maurten bar they were handing out (which again- I have not ever tried- major rule break here because don’t try new things, but I kinda felt like I Needed a solid/ not a gel). I didn’t have it at the same time as the coke, but thought I’ll save it in case I need it.
NEXT Goal: get to mile 8 because then I would mentally be on
my last “set” of 4 miles. There were rolling hills through the campus and I def
could feel it and just thought keep going. Whereas on the bike, I was passing
basically everyone, I did get passed on the run. There were some people just FAST.
I thought, Sharon do not focus on THAT. There are just as many people that are
walking, or struggling that you are passing, so everyone is in their own
lane. It reminded me to stay within
myself. This helped. Mile 8, another walk through aid station and more coke. I felt these coke/caffeine/sugar surges,
THANK GOODNESS!!!!! So thankful! Mile 9:
I took a bite of that bar. Oh it was so good to chew something honestly. Like
food-ish. It was heaven. Another boost! I kept plugging. I wasn’t fast, but I
was smooth and feeling efficient and solid. I kept saying to myself, keep
pressing, keep pushing. I wanted to
press forward, only think positive. I knew that if I just kept little bit by
little bit not negotiating with the pain, I could continue. Mile 10: I was
feeling really huge in my stomach bloated from the coke bubbles, the jostling/
sugar/ food intake and was worried as I was starting to feel uncomfortable in
my stomach so I skipped this aid station. I literally was just “expanding” and
my stomach was bloating,getting big and uncomfortable with the jostling and I
didn’t want to run into a problem.
Mile 11: This aid station was actually a little bit after 11
and I thought ok!!!!!! THIS IS IT! Take something to get you to mile 12! AND
THEN YOU WILL HAVE 1 mile left and you CAN MAKE IT!!!!! This was my last walk
through (probably 5-10 sec of walking) and each time I definitely did get that
boost from the caffeine/sugar combination in the soda (also def was feeling the
bloating from the bubbles so that wasn’t good- that wouldn’t have been
sustainable for long because it was definitely getting uncomfortable).
I tried to stay steady through this mile, mentally patient
and plugging along, pushing and pressing forward, when I Hit the 1 mile left
mark, I did have enough to start to push myself, even if it was really an
uphill final mile that was difficult, I put all the effort into it that I
could!
I was so happy to turn the corner for the last maybe .1 that was flat along the finish chute with the spectators. I was so proud of myself, and it felt honestly awesome to say that to myself, about myself. I did it. It’s what I do, and I still have the fire to do hard and uncomfortable things. I’m never sure of the result, but I’m still willing to put myself into that vulnerable spot of stepping into the arena. I love the practice of fighting self doubt, to practice empowering myself by training my body and mind together- one just as important as the other. Day by day, it all matters. And so it goes- day by day, magic is created. You practice becoming the person you want to be, asking yourself questions about your tenacity and will, and then doing the thing. Taking the action. Showing up for yourself, becoming the strongest version of yourself possible. This is why I’m proud. I couldn’t tell you my numbers, splits, paces, times (although I will look them up and post at the end for future reference), but I can tell you the FEELING. What it feels like to have prepared, worked, and stepped off the sidelines and INTO life fully, with no guarantees.
I do love races so much. This one will always be really
special. What a really fun day of all
the things, all the emotions, all the feelings. As is life.
Taking a week light to recover and rest, then back into it
for Kauai Marathon training!
STATS:
(from my gps):
Swim 41:01, 2331 yds
T14:48
Bike 3:02 (15:25/13:47/14:49/15:30/15:28/16:45/14:12/20:30/19:50/14:26/16:43/4:38)
T2 4:33
Run2:01:02
(9:15/8:42/7:59/9:308:18/8:53/9:45/10:52/10:06/9:16/9:27/9:02/9:30/
0:23?)
