Ironman 70.3 Worlds Zell Am See, Austria

Ironman Boise 70.3 was my gateway race to Ironman Worlds 70.3 in Austria. I dreamed about qualifying years ago when this competition was stationed in Nevada. I had given up ever getting a top spot or a roll-down to Worlds and began enjoying my new activity: mountain biking.

But here I was, heading to Austria. My bike had left weeks ago on Tri Bike transport. Sitting on the plane, I look down on what I suspected was Germany. I clutched my passport and try to stretch my legs. In a few minutes we would depart the plane. I'd grab my Ironman bag containing all my race essentials: helmet, bike and running shoes, wet suit, goggles and my Garmin watch, and make my way through airport security, the car rental, through the streets of Munich, and arrive in Austria.

It seemed surreal because I don't travel. Unless I can drive there. Traveling was never convenient, or so it seemed, with a house full of seven kids. Never a good time, never enough money... and the excuses lined up like soldiers at roll call.

We arrived with a few days before the race. I was able to run, swim, and ride a little in Austria. The area of Zell Am See is beautiful. We relaxed, toured, and became familiar with the people. It was a great experience.

Kaprun, Austria from my window.

Race morning arrived and as usual, I couldn't eat. Everything was upsetting my stomach and had been all week. I hadn't found anything "safe" so my choices were to get sick and not race, or race with no fuel. I chose the latter which is common for me. Par for the course. We had to get up at 6:00 a.m. to "eat" and get everything ready. My goal was to be in town and try to park as close as possible which meant we needed to be there by 8:30 a.m. This was a super good decision because as the day went on, if we had parked outside of town like they suggested, and rode a shuttle in, the chances of ever getting back to our car were slim. We didn't realize that then, but by night fall, we were so very, very grateful we didn't listen to the race announcer. We drove into town and took a chance at finding a spot within a mile. Luck was on our side.

Line into Transition 1

Because my wave was one of the last to go, just after 12:00 noon, I had plenty of time to get ready in transition. Feeling comfortable, I talked with friends, set up my stuff, checked my bags that I had checked in the night before. And then I went to fill my bike bottle. !!!!! I left my water bottle with my husband on the outside of the transition area. This does not seem like a big deal, normally, but they had made it nearly impossible to get in and out of transition. And they  had not provided water in the transition area. We had to circle around the track multiple times to get in and out. I ran around the barriers and tried to force my way through the crowd to see if I could find my husband. I frantically looked all around, with no luck. Then I heard my husband's voice calling me as I turned to leave, not sure what I was going to do without water. He had done the Boy Scout thing. He found a bench and stayed put. I took the water bottle and asked him to follow me back through the crowds.

We had offered to take a bike pump from my coach, and have Richard hold it until after the race. We parted at the split and I told Richard to wait there for the pump as I ran up and down the barriers circling the track. On the inside again, I learned that coaches' husband had popped a tire and had no replacement tube with the right valve stem. With less than 30 minutes to transition closing, I knew that even if the tire got pumped, we'd never get around the barriers, get the pump to Richard, and back in again. I ran all the way back around to tell Richard he was released from pump babysitting.

After the tire problem was solved, already tired and hot from running around, and around, and around the barriers, we were kicked out. The last people to leave, but we were finally ready. Now we had about an hour of sitting and waiting for our swim start, outside the transition area. The stress was finally starting to diminish and I got in a pre-swim warm up. Things were going well. I was calming down and starting to feel better. And hungry. This was a bad omen.

My wave went off without a hitch. The beautiful clear water of Zell am See is honestly the nicest water I've ever swam in. The start of the race was as much kicking and punching I've ever had, but I'm okay with it now. Again, the buoys weren't lined up on the way back and I followed the buoys, not the straight line. I just can't see that far away so I have to trust the buoys to be placed correctly. My first hint that I was off was the straight line of people so far to my right as I zigg-zagged in and out for each red beacon. But my time was fairly okay, considering...

Beautiful Lake in Zell am See, Austria

I hopped on my bike and took it easy for the first part, knowing that the long climb up the alps was coming. As I climbed I enjoyed the scenery, the people, and the cheering. I stayed comfortable and hoped for some replacement gels. Which never came. I was doing the entire ride on 300 calories! That was all I took for the bike ride, hoping for replacements at the aid stations. 

The top of the climb was supposedly a 14% grade for the last 2k. It was a tough, get-out-of-the-saddle climb, but I enjoyed the fact that I could do it. I knew I could. As I rode past people who got off and walked, it gave me even more confidence. As I rode past people dressed in traditional Austrian clothing, cheering, shouting, and waving flags, that inspired me even more! I was laughing inside-it was such an awesome experience! One I will never forget. Near the top, spectators were yelling, running a long side me, dropping refreshing water on my head, and pushing me up to the top of the alps. I felt like I was in the Tour D'France!

Nearing the 35-40 mile mark on the bike, it was increasingly obvious that I needed fuel. My speed was dropping drastically and I was becoming light-headed. My longest rides had been around 20-30 miles so mentally I was done, also.

Heading back into town at the end of a very long, hungry bike ride.

I focused on each mile and ticked them off slowly. If I could get to T2, I had more gels. I would be okay if I could just get there!

As I came off the bike, I thought I'd land on the ground. Walking into T2, I sat down and ate 2 of the gels I had for the run, changed my shoes, and headed out. Unsure if there would be more gels on the run (since there weren't any on the bike course), I wasn't sure how this race would end. Face planting on the ground? Maybe...

Transition 2, trying to stay upright.

In the first 1/4 mile, I saw a gel someone had dropped, lying in the dirt, completely unopened. Thankful, I picked it up and put it with my last two I had in reserve. I am not proud. I would have eaten a doughnut off the ground at that point. Lucky for me, Austria 70.3 did have gels on the run, however!

The run portion was a struggle as I tried to recover from my lack of nutrition. I began to feel better by the second half of the run, but without much run training, I struggled to keep one foot in front of the other. There were small victories of passing others, or just willing myself up a hill. 

Every time I passed a table with gels, I took one to eat and one for my back pocket. I finished with 6 extra packets by the end of the race, but I was so mad that they hadn't given them out on the bike course, I felt they owed me at least that much!

The finish line with cheerleaders! (?)

When I finished, it was starting to get dark. The awards banquet would start in an hour. I had to hurryto get my bags from two areas (the swim start and transition), get my bike and take it to Tri Bike Transport for the trip home, standing in a very, very long line. The one thing I regret is not having time to just finish and bask in the fact that I had just finished a World Championship event. I didn't get finish line food (of course, I never eat it when I do, anyway). I didn't get a finisher's hat or warm blanket.

I rushed to grab my stuff and bike before they closed it all down. This is when I realized that if we had parked outside of town like the race director suggested, we would have had to walk miles and miles to the car. The shuttles would no longer have been running. The race started so late and the post race wrap up of getting gear from two transitions would have made catching the last shuttle impossible. I was so tired and grateful that we had parked in town!

It was a tough day but I will always cherish the fact I was able to complete a goal I made years before: to participate in a World Championship Ironman 70.3 event. The fact it was in beautiful Austria was a bonus and a great excuse to get a passport for the first time and travel. Maybe I'll try another race somewhere else in the world. To see the world, doing what I love - racing.