As I type, I am sitting on my couch resting my very sore legs after an amazing race weekend in Cambridge, Maryland. I can’t get the smile off my face – everything went absolutely perfect at Ironman 70.3 Eagleman, despite some last minute hiccups. I cruised across the finish line of my second ever 70.3 in a personal best and hitting every time target I set for myself.
I’ve got so much to unpack from this race, starting with the training regime first. The race report is in Part 2.
The Training Program
If you followed along on my training journey last year as I prepped for my first half ironman, you would know I was undertraining and underpreparing for the event at hand. I ran more than I rode my bike. I only did one bike ride longer than 36 miles. I skipped a lot of swim workouts. I didn’t do any meaningful speed work. As I stepped away from that race, I knew I had a lot of potential if I actually focused on training, and knew I found a lot of joy in the multisport journey.
Me and coach at the start line of Eagleman 70.3!
This past winter, I made the decision to sign up for the DC Triathlon Club’s Half Ironman Program. When I say it was one of the best sporting decisions I’ve ever made, I’m not joking at all.
Led by coach Stephan Weyers of Wingman Multisport, I joined a group consisting of both somewhat new as well as quite seasoned triathletes on a roughly 20 week journey to the start line. This was hands down the hardest and most rewarding training block of my life (and I’ve experienced many training blocks over the years!).
We eased in to training in the first few weeks, which was great for me as I had taken a significant amount of time off after the New York Marathon to recover my tendonitis. By the time the training program kicked off, I was still pretty out of shape but primed to churn and build a solid foundation.
I basically lived in this spin room in January and February
The program pushed me out of my comfort zone in many ways. As the program ramped up, the volume moved with it. In the cold winter months, not having a trainer to ride my bike at home, I could be found grinding away on my favorite spin bike at OneLife Fitness (bike 21 – you’re the best!), even doing a multi-hour ride one weekend when snow and ice made an outdoor ride impossible. I am a low-frills athlete, weary of investing in things until I know for sure the investment will pay itself off. Maybe next year I’ll actually get an indoor trainer and join the storied Zwift rooms I’ve hear about.
There were also many 5am or 6am swim sessions, vying for lane space and brushing the exhaustion out of my eyes as I pushed through the monotonous laps. And many Tuesday mornings starting at 6:30am you could find me running in circles at the Coolidge High School track (though I did learn the hard way both the open and close time of the track – pro tip – it’s 6:30am and 7pm)
Rain or shine, I tried to make my speed workouts every week. Coolidge High School was the best spot for me - generally open and not too crowded, while also pretty close to home!
When I say the program pushed me out of my comfort zone, I mean it had me doing things I hate to do, and doing those things pretty consistently. I hate to run on the track, and I hate speed workouts even more. What did we do most weeks? Run on the track, and do speed workouts for each of the three disciplines. I hate to do back-to-back long efforts on the weekend, but what did we do? Saturday long rides and Sunday long runs. And I did consistently longer rides than I had done last year – along the way building greater confidence in my ability to go further and harder on the bike than I ever thought I could (generally with a smile on my face though there were some very wet and cold and windy weekends I was cursing my life choices).
We’ll come back to some of these points in my post-race analysis, because they are critical to my success on race day.
Camraderie
When I signed up for the DC Tri Club Half Ironman Program this year, part of my reasoning was because I wanted to meet more folks who also did multisport. And while, for the most part I am a pretty solitary athlete, I’ve almost wholly operated in the running world, and know lots of folks from DC and Mongomery County Road Runners, as well as some of the other local running groups. But I didn’t really know many people who biked, and knew even fewer people who swam.
I had never even heard of the Six Pillars Ride until I joined DC Tri Club and attended the spring clinics. Fast forward a few months, I had the opportunity to do the Eagleman bike course with someone else in my training program!
I’m not a confident cyclist. I know HOW to bike, and can bike well. But I don’t know how to compete on the bike – a critical distinction in mindset and effort/output that has required a lot of focus and learning.
In order for me to grow as a triathlete, and especially grow my skills in bike competition, I knew I needed to surround myself with folks who knew the sport, knew the disciplines, and could share some of their wisdom with me. Throughout the past few months, I've made some fantastic friends and learned a whole lot about how to operate a bike in a race format – from cadence to pacing to how to get a water bottle at an aid station (spoiler, I failed this during my race at one of the aid stations I tried to engage with).
One of our group training rides during our Eagleman 70.3 training block. I couldn’t make every group ride, but was grateful for this opportunity to get some miles in with these lovely folks!
A group of DC Tri Club athletes at the Crossing Currents Sunday swim the week before Eagleman!
I also had the chance to open water swim with others during this training block. I don’t think I ever really mentioned my open water swim training last season - but suffice to say it was insufficient and a bit dangerous. I went out the weekend before my first 70.3 for a solo swim at Sandy Point State Park on the Chesapeake Bay. It was the only place I knew was open for people to access, and figured I could just do some laps in the water right along shore. Fast forward to this year, I learned about all these amazing open water swim groups, and had the chance to join Crossing Currents in Annapolis, Maryland for an amazing Sunday swim session. I got to practice sighting, test out my wetsuit, and remind myself what open water swimming felt like - in a completely safe environment.
From whatsapp chats to in-person clinics and workouts – I got to learn, grow, and build friendship with other passionate (intense? Slightly crazy?) folks in this sport.
Lessons learned
I pushed myself harder, and sacrificed more than I think I ever have during this training block. Thursday night trivia? Nope, sorry Thursday nights are for my easy runs. Saturday morning brunch? Nope, sorry I’ve got a 3 hour ride infront of me. Work trip? Better make sure we find a hotel with a stationary bike. Wedding in Alabama? Thank goodness my husband was part of the bridal party so while he was hanging out before the wedding I could get in my 12 miler!
Between coach, my fellow trainingmates, and the sheer volume of training – I grew as an athlete, a competitor, and most importantly as a person. I reaffirmed that I CAN do hard things, that I am more than capable of balancing work, life, and training, and I can have fun while doing it.
Onwards!