All I can say is- Boise sure knows how to roll out the red carpet and has great hospitality!  And they put on a darn good race!!!

Where to start? The whole weekend was fantastic! We stayed at the Hampton Inn which was right in the middle of everything…literally.  I mean T2 was right next to the building!  On the other side was the finish line…..You can’t get any closer to a race venue than that!

Friday we went to the expo early to attend the Athlete meeting and buy shuttle tickets to the race start followed by some grub.  We then drove the race course with our new found friend Richard (who had a car) and then of course, some more grub.  When we got back it was off to packet pick up and then started the task of waiting for Black Betty to arrive in the back of Keith’s truck. 

Early Morning at the Expo

Betty and Keith rolled into town around 3pm and we went right up to the swim start/T1 to drop off our bikes.  I walked into transition and looked for the row with my number (#183) and low and behold it was right on the end of the LONG rack just yards away from the pros!!!!  Betty was going to be getting some pointers over nite! 

I couldn

We racked our bikes and walked DOWN to the swim start.  Water temps were rumored to be 58-60 degrees….burrrr…we had to put our toes in the water of course!

Swim Start w/Andrea, Steve, and Keith

The water levels in Boise have been really high and they were releasing tons of water from the dam.  We had to stop on our way out and smell, feel and see the majesty of so much water moving!  It was amazing, the raw power of that much water.  You know how fresh the air smells when your standing near a water fall?  Well times that by 1000 and you have what this was like.

Water being released from the dam.

We were done with our chores and it was off to…..more grub! (Imagine that!!!)  And here’s the weird thing.  Boise 70.3 is a 2pm start time.  So that meant we didn’t have to be all anal about getting enough sleep and having everything in order before going to bed.  It was kinda cool, and really strange at the same time.

Race day arrived and we went downstairs for some morning grub (the Hampton has an awesome spread!) Then it was back upstairs to put the run and bike gear bags together and drop them off. Here’s the tough part about a 2pm start…the waiting around. But the time finally arrived to get on the shuttle and we were finally race bound.

T2 in Downtown Boise

That's me!!!

Run Gear is Ready to Go

So what about the race!! You’re probably thinking. Enough with all the pre race stuff!!

Well… I started in the 1st wave after the Pros- 2:05 to be exact! I put myself in the front of the pack as we got into the water. I’ve learned now that my swimming is good enough to be comfortable right in front. We waited, waited, and……the gun went off!!! 50+ women swimming their hearts out!

I had an awesome swim, especially since I’ve barely swum since February due to my shoulder. I had a lot of open water and swam the buoy line. I only had to swim over 1 woman and only got one hand to the head. Not bad really!!!

The swim felt Long, not because I was tired but every time I sighted the bouy line seemed so flippin far to the next turn! I was thinking “Dang! When we turning” and finally we did right back to shore.

I ran up the hill to transition and when I arrived realized only a couple of bikes where gone from my age group. “NICE!” I thought! It was onto Black Betty and on down, down the hill from T1. 

You’re probably imagining me getting all tucked down in my bars and screamin down this really cool hill…and you’re partially right.  The hill was awesome, only problem there was such a head wind that there was no tuckin and goin!  It was tuffjust to keep the bike under you and not get tossed around too much.  And to be perfectly honest….that is pretty much how it went the whole ride!!!!  The winds were FIERCE!  35 mph with bigger gusts. 

The bike course is great and relatively flat for those of us from Colorado…but any time we had a down hill it was in a headwind, so never once did we get the benefit of screamin down!  I cranked on the bike course.   A few times I thought I might puke…but didn’t.  I picked off a bunch of people which was fun!  I PRedon the bike, even with the nasty winds!  (BTW- Crowie’s finish time this year was 13 mins longer than last….the wind folks).

The 11 miles of head wind into town and to T2 was tough.  I just keep my legs going and new I had the juice to keep strong…heck, I’m an Ironman…… Rolling into town and seeing the capital building was a welcome relief from the wind.  I got into transition, made my way to my run gear, a quick change and I was out the other end running.

The run is awesome and takes place on “the Greenbelt”, which is  along the river.  The course was two loops and is shaded the whole way.  I learned a lot on the run.  I came to realize after the run that I am a stronger runner than I think I am.  I began with the pace I have been running for the last two years, thinking that is what I “have” to run. 

Well I discovered around mile 8 that I had a ton more in the tank.  I began running faster than I ever had in a half.  I felt good.  I felt strong.  I felt like I was becoming a “runner” and not just a “trodder” any more!  This was a big breakthrough for me!  Huge! 

I finally passed the 12 mile mark and picked up my pace even more.  I  made it back onto the street with the finish line is sight.  And this is why I know I had way more in the tank…I pretty much sprinted the last 4/10ths of a mile.  I passed so many people and when I made it into the shoot and across the finish line I was not totally spent. 

Crossing the finish!!!!

Good thing/Bad thing.  Good because I finished strong/bad because I didn’t leave it all out there on the course.  But then that’s what racing is about sometimes…learning what you have and seeing what you don’t have.  I learned  I could crank harder on the bike now, and I have more to give on the run.  I was really pleased with my race!  I placed 8th in my Age Group- 6th on the swim, 6th on the bike, and 8th on the run…..Not bad!  I’m ok with that…for now.  I’m looking forward to seeing how I continue to improve and get stronger. Every Time I race, I get the “bug” to workout harder and see how much better I can do in my next race….

So, if anyone is looking for a great 70.3 to do, I really recommend  Boise.  It was a awesome experience and a great venue….plus the crowds rocked!!!

This entry was posted on Saturday, June 19th, 2010 at 4:05 am and is filed under Ironman 70.3, Race Reports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.