Timberman Half Ironman Mini Race Recap

TIMBERMAN Ironman 70.3 Finisher!

I did it! I completed my first Half Ironman this past weekend at the Timberman Ironman 70.3 in Gilford, NH. My official finish time was 6:36.16! A solid finish time for a first time Half Ironman Finisher and only my second triathlon.  I was in the 35-39 Age Group. My coach Denise from The Sustainable Athlete says that you would think athletes would get slower as they age but not for endurance sports athletes . . . they only get stronger and faster. This was definitely a highly competitive inspiring group of athletes! I was happy to have my awesome family and friends with me at the race and of course my race buddy Olivia who crushed the race in her age group!!!

Race Buddies ready to crush the Timberman Half Ironman!

An overview of my experience at the Timberman Half Ironman

Today I’m sharing some quick overall thoughts about the race as I am still processing the whole experience. The snapshots of my times don’t give you the whole race story. You can expect full race recap soon!

Timberman Half Ironman Stats

Here are my quick thoughts on each part of the race:

The Swim:

• The water was beautiful and warm but still wet suit legal! (Yes! Wearing a wetsuit helps with buoyancy)
• The music playing at the start of the swim was awesome for pumping you up.
• The group of swimmers felt large and it was and the body parts were flying . . . there is a story here.
• It was like swimming in a blender filled with people (and I am not kidding!)
• The swim was long but once I got moving and settled in actually didn’t feel as long as I thought it would.
• Wet Suit Strippers are awesome (more on that to come)

The Bike:

• I felt ready on the bike.
• The hills felt manageable after training where I training in Northern New Hampshire
• Be prepared for anything on the bike . . . the curse of the bike chain might even strike you!
• Eating and drinking everything you can on the bike is the key to surviving the remainder of the race distance.
• The course was beautiful, well marked, and the volunteers were awesome!
• I was never so ready to get off my bike.

The Run

• Running is my happy place.
• I finally felt like I knew what I was doing when I got to the run.
• It was like running in a frying pan it was so hot.
• I double fisted at every hydration station (sometimes maybe even triple fisted)
• By the time I finished the run I think I had eaten my weights worth of bananas, GU, energy gel and CLIF Organic Food Pouches, Skratch Labs Fruit Chews oh and let’s not forget chips, pretzels, hardboiled eggs, and orange slices too!
• This was one of my slowest half marathons ever. In the heat it was just too hard to go fast and I have a history of dehydration and ending up in the medical tent so I did not want to go there!
• I was able to negative split the last part of the run and cross the finish line feeling proud!

Timberman Half Ironman Stats 2

More thoughts on the race coming soon but that’s all for now asI’ve got to get on my bike now and get going on some active recovery! (Oh and of course start scheming about my next big race adventures!)

Next up for me is the Lobsterman Olympic Distance Triathlon in a few weeeks. Stay tuned!

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