Race Report Ironman Hawaii 70.3 June 2023

The short version:
Venue: Big Island of Hawaii, United States of America
Date: June 3, 2023

My fourth Hawaii 70.3 race. Ahead of this race, I had some formidable medical and life challenges and constraints that caused some doubt and anxiety; I pushed, pulled, and dragged my way through them, got to the starting line, and then finished with a smile. It was sunny, hot, humid, and windy. Cloudy all week but the sun came out blazing on race day. The wind along with 701m elevation gain on the bike destroyed many confident athletes. Having an actual breeze on the run was welcomed and different than other years of oppressive golf course running. Volunteers were excellent and athletes are generally nicer than at other races. It is my most favorite race.

The longer version:

October 30, 2022, less than two weeks after my Mom passed away, I broke my elbow into many pieces and tore a ligament in a random accident. Without her, I couldn’t last very long on Earth before breaking myself! Yes, it was my dominant arm. It was my dominant arm. Surgery repaired everything physically broke in early November.

I missed The Coral Reef Swim on St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands in November 2022. It wasn’t a big goal for me, but a fun challenge in warm water with friends. Canceling flights and condo shares was the hard part. It was going to be a difficult Wisconsin winter without turquoise water therapy and sunshine. And Mom.

I had to keep my arm stable for 5 weeks: pronated and bent at 90 degrees. Worry about how stiff everything will be after the splint is off later. With lots of time off from running, cycling, and swimming, I was left with walking and barre classes. Maybe my nagging hip flexor injury will finally heal with all this rest. This was a difficult recovery for a yoga teacher who is used to high volumes of swim-bike-run training. And hiking. And, well, the general use of my right arm and hand.

If you’ve read any of my memoir travelogue The Competitor in Me series, you know I’ve seen many setbacks and challenges in the past. Cancer, relationships, parenting done well… This recovery was different because it included working through the loss of my Mom. And, not being able to travel to see my Dad as he grieved his wife of 67+ years. Dad, who had a spiral fracture of his elbow ~9 years ago, is remarkably resilient. He saw the opportunity to encourage me to do all of the physical therapy exercises and try everything. I did them, and more. Therapy, stretches, stretch brace, dry needling, anything to release the contracted muscles in my forearm and wrist. The therapist said she had never seen someone work as hard as I did, for so long. I was surprised to hear that from her; didn’t everyone want the outcome of full range of motion and use? She assured me many people start out with good intent and then fade.

Resilience is part of who I am, thanks to my strong faith and a determined focus. This elbow thing was not going to be impossible. But it would test my patience nearly to the limit of my yoga teacher capabilities.

My patience was worn thin on other fronts, too. It was time to end my marriage. I knew 2023 would be a year of transition; with no question of how or when all of this change would work out. Those details were not as important as my one job to recover from this horrible injury. I focused only on mindfully getting through the days and weeks in front of me. I wasn’t nearly as productive or creative as usual; I learned not to fight it and instead ride the wave of energy I did have. This meant no self limiting thoughts about upcoming races. No asking for estimations from the orthopedic surgeon, no speculation. Just heal and keep moving, with support of friends and family.

In January 2023, a gym locker room friend: “Did you break your elbow running?”

“No. I don’t have troubles running.”

Hawaii heat and humidity can crush you, if you’re not focused. Thanks to Zoot + Team Ashworth for the UV protection.

Running came back first. I’m glad I was walking and doing barre. I walked 100 miles in December. I loved running because I could mostly forget about my arm. I am not my arm! Indoor cycling on my smart trainer was dicey, putting all weight on my left arm. I started with a 10 minute, then 20, then 30 minute ride. With one arm, nothing longer than an hour. My first swim was two months after surgery. It was wonky and it was fantastic. With all sports, I aimed for frequency over endurance. Build muscle memory and habits.

I’ve raced Honu 70.3 three times, and feel I have unfinished business there. Even if I had past great Honu race performances, I would want to repeat. I’m in love with it and the idea that it is all mine. Well, I shared it with my daughters in the past, and this year Elise, the oldest by one minute, joined my support crew. Having been to the Ironman World Championship in Kona 10 times to support my spouse in every way he needed, I needed this personal Hawaii race experience. Repeat.

This year, the ocean swim was organized by estimated swim finish time, not by gender and age. I knew I would be slower than years past, but how much slower? About 4 minutes. I impressed myself with how little difference there was this year. Maybe I swam straighter than years past? That is a joke. Truly, it didn’t matter. I was happy to be able to use my still-broken elbow to get out of the ocean and onto my Argon 18 bike.

The ocean swim in front of the Fairmont Orchid Hawaii Hotel is stunning, except for the part over the rocks at the beginning and end. Maybe the tide was different this year than in the past, but my fingertips were touching rocks at the start and finish of the swim. I heard others cut themselves and I did see one gent on the ride with a blood-spotted towel around his hand. My vote is to bring back the swim to Hapuna Beach. It is hands-down the best.

Oh, Happy Day! Out of the mighty Pacific. Daughter Elise was always around to encourage me and get the action shots!

The bike route has 701m of elevation gain with heat and wind to keep you on your toes. This year, we had a headwind and a cross wind for the first 30 miles and a tailwind and cross wind for the last 26 miles. Combined with busy roads and Hawaiian heat, we had a great challenge.

Being vigilant for cyclists and traffic paid off: just 15 meters in front of me, I saw one athlete slide into another, causing him to crash. Hard to know if that was wind or athlete error. The roads on this bike course are not closed but have controlled intersections.

Any worries I had about being undertrained on the bike were gone. I was ready for this day. Once I could train longer on my smart trainer, I experimented using the FullGaz indoor cycling app. Team Zoot hooked me up with a trial and I was on my way. I love the app and worked very hard with it. I rested more than usual, too. This tempered my legs for the fast ramp-up of effort.

I felt strong on the hills of this rolling course that ends with an 11k uphill grind into the wind. I did not feel great on the grind part, but I did feel confident. Sweeping views of the Kohala Coast on the way back made me forget about rocks on the swim and that stupid-hard wind that was now at my back. I did not know it then, but I had a PR by four minutes for this Hawaii bike course. I felt strong, but I really thought my short training coming into the race was an impediment.

Looks are deceiving on the Big Island. Wind, heat, and hills are abundant and a delicious challenge.

Rolling in to transition, it was still sunny and hot. No clouds wandered over to us like in days past. This run was going to be about energy and heat management. I remembered mistakes of the past and worked hard to eat more at the beginning of this half marathon. I also held ice cubes in each hand every chance I could.

Once again, we had a slightly different run course, this time with a longer stretch in the steamy lava field of the petroglyph park. I liked the new course, but we had a fantastic breeze that is usually absent for this race. My vote is to keep this new run course.

My nagging hip flexor injury was not all the way healed, but could it handle a half marathon now that it’s all warmed up from that ride? I trained with a run-walk long run strategy that kept the irritation down to a minimum. At mile 4, I got my answer: it’s still a problem. Usually it doesn’t start causing problems until 5–6 miles into the race. Why now? Ugh! What I didn’t think of at the time was that my race number belt, across my hips, could have irritated it just enough to cause early problems.

Mindfulness is a catalyst for personal growth.

I managed the pain and tightness by stretching it about 2x a mile. It wasted lots of precious time but it kept me shuffling along and later in the race, actually running. By mile 10, the pain was not stopping with stretching. Why not try a different stretch? Interesting how innovation sometimes happens at the last possible moment.

I ate better this year, too. I ate more at the beginning and then kept a steady flow of my personal stash of food. I had sips of Red Bull and cola often. Over the last 5 miles, I started eating orange slices. Right? How messy and unwieldy, and yet they felt great in my fussy stomach. At this point, who cares if I’m 25% more sticky from oranges? The breeze kept any bugs away and so I ran a personal best on this Hawaii course by almost 15 minutes! I have run faster half marathons in a 70.3, but not here.

A different stretch was all I needed to keep running the last 2.5 miles. I wanted to push my pace but also knew that I was pressing my luck and pretty dehydrated. It always surprises me how many people I pass simply by running a steady pace, even in these final miles of the race. These last few miles of the run reveal the athletes who cooked their bike, or were overly taxed by the climb to Hawi. They are barely walking, and even sitting on the side of the course with a stunned look.

As I pushed myself the last half mile, I wondered if anyone would chase me. I stopped my thinking in its tracks: This is self doubt. And, hesitancy to dig any deeper than I thought necessary.

Stop. You don’t have limits, remember?

No self-limiting thoughts. I shoved the negativity out of the way and focused on the present moment. The breeze, the view, the vibes.

Back to the race field, there was no answer, and I cruised into the finish with a big sweaty, sticky-orange smile.