Ironman Waco 70.3 - Race Recap

Athlete Recap: Jordan Hanby

Ironman Waco 70.3 was my first half-Ironman distance race. I’ve raced shorter distance triathlon races before, but this race was an entirely different level.

First, let me tell you about the atmosphere. Arriving on Saturday morning the day before the race, I was in awe. Ironman village is a spectacle, and if you have never been, I highly recommend it. I tried not to buy everything in sight, maybe I’ll have better luck next time. Still waiting on my plaque to come in.

Transition:

I got to transition at 5:30am, a full two hours ahead of the race start. Set everything up and then started the walk down to the swim start. It is a 1.2 mile walk down to the swim start, imagine that! I wore some old Papa Bear slippers that I threw away, and a sweatshirt in my morning bag that I didn’t remember to pickup at the end. I was standing around forever. Had a waffle, Gatorade, coffee, and electrolytes before the race. Thank goodness there were restrooms nearby.

Swim Start:

I lined up in the back 43-48 minute corral. I took nearly 45 minutes before I got in the water. The water was warmer than the outside temperature and felt great at a beautiful 71.2 degrees. I used a sleeveless Zoot Kona wetsuit for this swim. At the beginning, there is a 100 meter swim to the first buoy, before a turn to the right and basically a straight shot for the rest of the swim. The first portion was not fun and a bit crowded, but once I made the turn it was smooth sailing. I kept drifting left and the kayaks kept telling me to turn right, but every time I did I was constantly having to pass people. So I stayed more in the middle of the river. Oh yeah, completely forgot, the swim is in the beautiful Brazos River! I read beforehand that the current is strongest in the middle, and had no idea why no one was not swimming more in the middle; had to be those pesky kayaks. Anyways, swim was wonderful. Had a blast. About half way I got the feeling that I was definitely finishing today. Just knew once I got passed the swim, that it was going to be a great day. Finished the swim in 43 minutes. Passed a ton of people, may or may not have slapped a butt or two, apologies whoever you might have been (whoops!)

Transition 1:

Used the wetsuit strippers and ran to my bike. Pretty quick by my standards.

Bike:

Had a blast on the way out. Was absolutely having an amazing bike until the second aid station turnaround. Then BAM the wind hit harder than hurricane force winds. 31.5mph head winds on the way back really slowed my pace. Riders were getting thrown across the road with ease when we would turn, but I was able to keep near my power target and just push through the wind. When there are heavy winds like this, it’s great to have a really aero helmet. I have an aero helmet, but my visor broke before and I used sunglasses instead. I could feel the extra wind in my face big time! Anyways, didn’t bike how I wanted to but overall my legs never felt pained and finished with a bike time of 3:24.

Transition 2:

I took some time for a restroom break, could have made up more time here. Also, could not for the life of me find the start line. Why wasn’t it clearly marked?

Run:

Started my run on wobbly legs. Nothing like my brick runs. I purposely went slow on that first mile because I didn’t want to blow up. By mile 2, there is a huge hill. Probably should have walked up, but I ran that thing. I don’t have an issue with the uphill, but the downhill was something else. I caught a rhythm by mile 3, and that is also when the pain set in. I’m a certified running shoe geek r/runningshoesgeeks and I tried out dozens of shoes before race day and in training. I went with the Saucony Endorphin Elite shoes in Pink for race day. At mile 3, the ball of my foot started to hurt pretty badly. Still trying to figure out if it was the running shoes or the bicycle shoes, but it wasn’t to fun. Other than that, the run was easily the best part of the race. The spectator-friendly course was spec-tacular (pun-intended). There were people along the whole course cheering on, it was a great time. By mile 10, my pace had slowed but I was still moving forward. I knew I was finishing, and somewhere in there I realized if I didn’t completely fall apart I would make sub 7 hours. Finished with plenty to spare. Run: 2:24

Finish:

Wow! Such a cool finish line over the suspension bridge and the red carpet. I had goosebumps the whole time. Quickly finished, got my finisher swag, and found my family. Couldn’t have done it without them or the Next Level Endurance coaching team. Can’t wait for my next race, and eyeing a full distance Ironman 140.6 race in the near future. Finish: 6:50!!