Ironman 70.3 Racine 2012

I participated in and completed my first Ironman 70.3 this past Sunday. It was a great learning experience. This is the longest triathlon I have done to date and with the longer distance comes some issues that I have not had to deal with in shorter events. I definitely made some mistakes that I will not repeat in future events, but overall I was very happy with my time and the results of the time I spent training. The day before a race, hydration and calorie intake are very important. I did well on the hydration and the calorie intake, but where I made a fatal flaw was in my food selection the night before the race. I don't know what the right foods would be for sure, but I know that haystacks (you may know them as taco salads) are not the correct option the night before a race. That is unless you desire to race with severe stomach cramps. From about mile 21 on the bike through the end of mile 1 of the run, my stomach was in knots. I did however, make myself eat about 275 calories per hour on the bike even though the food I was consuming made me want to vomit. I believe that this force feeding was what gave me the energy to complete the run portion because I was not able to take in many calories during the run. In spite of my mistakes during the race, I can't emphasize enough what a great time I had and how well the event was run. The volunteers where outstanding. It was also nice to go to my home town to compete and have family and close friends be a huge part of the process. It really is really meaningful when you see people that you love cheering you on from the sidelines. I am truly blessed to have such a wonderful family and such close friends who care about me enough to come out and cheer me on. If you have ever done any kind of race, you know what I am talking about. If you haven't I would strongly encourage you to train for and do one. They are addictive.