Ironman 70.3 Arizona Race Recap Part 1

Annnndddd, just like that it’s done. It is such an odd feeling to be on the flip side of this journey that I’ve been hoping and working towards for 3 solid years (and many more years before that). I’ve wanted to compete in tri’s since I worked as a lifeguard in high school. In 2013 I finally got the chance to compete in my first sprint distance tri (Irongirl) and I’ve been completely hooked since then. The race and the entire weekend was (for the most part) everything I wanted it to be. I worked really hard to get to this point and I really am proud for what I’ve accomplished. Today I’ll recap the overall weekend and tomorrow I’ll post about the race!

Overall weekend:

SO much fun! We left on Friday morning after getting brunch at our favorite place and it was a wonderful way to start the weekend. Traffic wasn’t bad heading down to Tempe and I did a good job at making sure I stayed hydrated as I knew the race was going to be a warm one. We got my stuff dropped off at my dear friend’s house and then headed over to athlete check-in. This part of the weekend was one of the parts I’ve been looking forward to the most. I remember being a lifeguard in college and seeing the Ironman village at multi-gen and wanting so badly to be a part of it. I remember seeing friends post about their Ironman athlete wristband and wanting so badly to have one of my own (still have it on by the way). So to go to the check-in and sign the paperwork and walk through the merchandise tent knowing that I was days away from being able to call myself a (half) Ironman was so overwhelming. We picked out the bag I was eyeing and a hat and took a few photos before heading over to my other bestie’s house to have dinner and make rice cakes :)

On Saturday my main goal was to stay hydrated, memorize my race plan, stay calm, MEET MELISSA HARTWIG and get to bed at a decent time. Mission accomplished. We got my shakeout bike and run done (which helped calm all my nerves), went to the athlete briefing, got a delicious breakfast, dropped my bike off and then headed over to a local bookstore to meet Melissa. You guys, this was the second best part of my weekend. She is even more gorgeous in person, so kind, so down to earth and genuinely wants to see every person succeed with Whole30 and life after Whole30. I know I can be a bit of a nut job with Whole30 so this was like a dream come true. To tell her (quickly) about how whole30 has changed me for the better was just so exciting. She is awesome. And we got a couple photos and I about died from excitement! To end the day, my dear friend's Nikki and Niki found this awesome restaurant where we could order gluten-free delicious food that was pretty much exactly what I wanted. It took SO much stress away from me. The restaurant was gorgeous and it was so fun to chat with my girls about whole30 and the race and life in general for a couple hours before heading back to Breezy’s to go through my bag one more time and get some sleep! 

Tomorrow: Part 2!