About six or seven months ago, after what I’m sure was a few glasses of wine, Jenn and two of her girlfriends, Kandis and Alex, decided that they wanted to do a half Ironman triathlon (or an Ironman 70.3 as is the lingo) – I suppose Olympic distance events just aren’t cutting it anymore! ;0) After a little research, they found an event in Haines City, Florida, taking place on April 13th, 2014, and started their preparations.
After procuring a coach, some equipment, and hashing out their training schedules, they began six months of early morning training sessions (sometimes very early!), early bedtimes, and tightening up on the diet (more water, less wine!).
Finally it was time to pack up the bike and other gear and head to the airport. The timing of the race was such that it fell right at the end of Josh’s term break from school – so we made a holiday out of it! Jenn’s family met us in Florida where we rented a house and hung out for the week before the race (see more on that on our website… coming soon!). The girls met up occasionally for some light training during the week to stay loose and to acclimatize a bit.
Of course, there was a kids’ race the day before Jenn’s half Ironman – it wasn’t a triathlon, but just a fun running race in which the kids could do either a 1/4 mile, a 1/2 mile, or a mile run along part of the actual Ironman course.
After the warm up, Ryley successfully completed the 1/4 mile race with a smile on her face while Josh zipped through the 1/2 mile and finished in good form.
The evening before the main event was spent getting ready, Jenn had her very neatly packed ‘tri kit’ for the transition area all set. The bike survived the flight earlier in the week and Jenn treated herself by renting a set of ‘Zipp‘ wheels in Florida for the race, perhaps slightly for a little speed boost but mainly I think to look slightly cooler. That and her white arm sleeves. ;0)
The race started early in the morning, the first wave of swimmers was set to start around 6:45am or so, Jenn and Kandis’ wave was at 7:10am while Alex’s was about 20 minutes afterwards (due to an age group difference). We were staying about a half hour away from the race venue so that meant the girls being up and at it by 4:30am that day to get the bikes into transition by 6am! And being the dedicated husband I am, I was up not long after to see them off at the start of the race. (Though Kandis’ hubby Joel took the cake in the ‘dedicated husband’ category this time… flying in just the night before to surprise her the night before the race!) Alex’ boyfriend Pierre was of course there for support as well. We’re so supportive, us gentlemen!
After dropping off the bike to the bustling transition area and braving the lines for the bathrooms, Jenn has a few minutes to wait before race time… perhaps time to reflect on her six months of training, and to focus on the goal of finishing in 6 hours – or maybe just to admire her matching pretty blue finger / toe nails and tri suit?
Quick pic, and off they go! Good luck!!
On your mark, get set… go!
Unfortunately for me, there were a ton of spectators (so hard to get a clear shot) plus I wanted to go back to get the kids from the house to meet Jenn at the finish line, so I didn’t get many pictures of the race after the swim portion was over… oh well…!
The race itself consisted of a 1.2-mile swim which was completed in one ‘m’ shaped lap of Lake Eva (meaning lots of turns), the bike was a single 56-mile lap through the countryside around Haines city (mainly on small highways), and finally the run was three laps of a 4.4-mile course totaling 13.1 miles (a half marathon). I’m exhausted just thinking about it.
Jenn and the other girls handled it admirably, however, and I’m proud to say that she accomplished her goal by completing the race in 5:49:32 (see the full breakdown below)! (The clock on the pic below says otherwise but that is actual race time starting with the first wave…! And yes, Jenn is in there – just look for her head in the middle of the picture!). She finished 26th of 106 in her division (women 35-39), 145th out of all 549 women in the race, and 686th of 2,008 total competitors. Kandis rocked it, too, coming in just behind Jenn in 5:52:26, and Alex was also awesome with her time of 6:14:55!
Here’s a little clip of Jenn completing the race with a smile on her face!
…and the triumphant trio graciously posing in their matching tri suits for a post-race photo. Congratulations!
And of course, a massage and some Mickey D’s was in order after the race!
The kids and I (and the rest of the family) are very proud of her and her huge accomplishment, she did so great! She even got a mention in the paper today (as did Kandis and Alex)!
And I won’t forget how she said after finishing that she would “never ever want to do a full Ironman race”… consider it noted. ;0)