Volume 31: 70.3 Eagleman Full Race Recap

     

    Well, here it is.  The full 70.3 Eagleman race recap. Such a great race, a great venue, and a great finishing time for me!  On the last blog I put out what I said were some scary numbers, and I saw those numbers and pushed past them to finish stronger than what I thought I could.  To start this week's blog, I'm posting the total stats from the last 17 weeks (Feb 10-June 8).  Then hang on, I think I have everything, and I mean everything, covered in the recap!  It's a long read, fair warning!!  But if you want the short version, here are my final times for the 2025 Qatar Airways IRONMAN 70.3 Eagleman:

Swim-35:47
T1-5:21
Bike-2:41:00
T2-4:37
Run-2:04:58
Final-5:31:40

70.3 Eagleman Total Training Stats:

• Race Weight:  173 lbs
• Swim (45x)
• 54.87 miles (96,631 yards)
• 33 hours, 26 min, 10 sec
• Bike (51x)
• 1,176.5 miles
• 72 hours, 22 min, 41 sec
• Run (48x)
• 281.4 miles
• 49 hours, 8 min, 17 sec
• Strength (16x)
• 6 hours, 40 min, 25 sec
• Yoga (59x)
• 24 hours, 55 min, 43 sec
• Other
• 1 hours, 22 min, 22 sec
• TOTALS:
• 221 individual workout sessions
• 1,512 miles
• 187 hours, 53 min, 38 sec
• 114,964 Calories Burned

Full Race Recap:

FRIDAY CHECK-IN—

I got to the race venue at Gerry Boyle Park on Friday at 6:50PM.  Check-in was open until 7PM, so I barely made it, but I showed them my ID and I received my packet with Bib #1000 (that’s a nice round number that’s easy to remember!)  Swim cap, timing chip, event backpack and performance T-shirt, and wristband that gets you everywhere.  Forgot to ask for a second swim cap that they didn’t mark up with a huge sharpie.  But I wanted to get into the merchandise tent to make sure I was able to grab a t-shirt with all the names on it.  Grabbed that and a couple of event stickers as those are usually sold out quickly. Since I was pretty late, it was all really fast and no hassle! 

SATURDAY PRE-RACE

         I was planning on doing the shake out swim, bike and run on Friday, but we took a bit longer getting to the area as we stopped to see an old Game Warden colleague from when I started my Law Enforcement career in 1998.  Also, Julie and I dropped onto the island where we lived for a couple of years before moving to KS.  So instead of Friday for the warmup workouts, I got up at the AirBNB on Saturday morning, right at 1.2 miles from the race venue.  Great location!  I headed out of town on the bike course for a quick 20-minute ride just to make sure the bike was all good to go and get my legs moving.  I hit just 3 miles of the course before turning back but could tell that this was going to be fast race as it was extremely flat. Once I got back to our lodging, Julie jumped on her bike, and I did a run to the venue and back.  Again, nothing too fast, just to get a shake-out run to get the legs loosened up. Once I got back, I got a quick shower then wanted to head over to the venue to see the pro panel.  Julie and I did the 1.2 mile walk to the park where some of professional triathletes that I follow were racing the next day and it would be cool to see them in person in a Q&A.

  During the pro panel, it opened up and started pouring rain.  That wasn’t a good sign for race day, as the weather was calling for rain off and on all night and into the morning.  But it cleared up some so I was able to get back into the merchandise tent.  I ended up with a trucker’s hat and a sport towel with the event logo and all the participant names.  Don’t ask how much I spent.  But to give you an idea of the cost, I wanted the hoodie sweatshirt with the names (I have one from my first 70.3 in Arizona).  But I just couldn’t drop $148!!!  For a hoodie!? 

    Absolutely insane! Before heading back to the AirBNB, I swung into the bike transition area where I could mentally map out my route in and out of the swim and bike from where my bike would be racked. I walked by the professional area and several including Sam Long (#1 in the nation and #18 in the world) and Chelsea Sodaro (2022 Ironman World Champion and first American woman to win in Hawaii since 1996!) had their bikes already racked for the night.  Just walked right in and had an up-close look at the rides professionals ride to make their living.  They were impressive.  Snapped a couple of pics and hoped to channel some fast speed from their bikes. 

        
    Mandatory bike check-in was until 4:30, so back to the venue on my bike.  I checked the bike in, got it racked on spot #1000.  I walked the route from the swim exit to the bike, then from the bike to the exit onto the roads.  The bike and run exits out of transition were the same and since it was only 4 rows away, it was not a hard route.  Just had to get my landmarks to know where my bike was in the midst of 2900 other registered racers!  I went by the professional section again and this time Lucy Charles Barclay (2023 Ironman World Champion) had her bike racked.  This time I got kicked out by a volunteer!  Which was totally understandable.  I’m sure there are people that would go and touch all the nice bikes, but I just wanted a picture, which I got!  Spoiler alert, Sam Long and Lucy Charles Barclay ran away with the pro race and came in first in the pro series for the day.

        

After I got my bike settled, I grabbed my wetsuit out of my dry bag and headed to the small beach on the west side of the park. I couldn’t swim in the actual swim course, but they had a couple of buoys set up on the opposite side of the venue to get a practice swim in.  I have not had the chance to get into the water in my previous races, so I really wanted to do that before the gun went off on Sunday morning.  The water was perfect temperature, and I swam to the first yellow buoy and back.  Right at 700 yards total.  Felt great, the salt water didn’t seem to bother me.  The week before the wedding, I was able to get a swim in at the AirBNB in Delaware—that was a huge boost as I had already eliminated the nervousness or a tidal swim with salty water.

        After another shower to get the salt off, Julie and I took a drive on the one-loop bike course.  I wanted to get a look at the entire 56 miles of it, and it was beautiful drive.  The bike course goes through the Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge, and it absolutely flat.  Ironman had arrows on the road to designate the turns and the tracking app led us through the entire 56 miles.  Nothing I saw changed the way I was planning on riding, but it was good to see the whole thing.  Then we drove the run course.  This ran through the town of Cambridge—along the waterfront, through the neighborhoods, and even through the parking lot of an elementary school where there would be an aid station.  The run was a two-loop out-and-back.  As you came back into the park area after the first 6+ miles, I’d make a right turn to head back to the second loop.  After the second loop, I’d make a left turn and run down to the finish line.  Again, completely flat.  Not a lot of shaded area, so typically it’s a hot run.  But a fun run since it winds around and it’s got a small-town feel!  Once we finished a couple hours of driving, it was back to the apartment to get the rest of my gear ready for the early morning wake up call.

RACE MORNING--   
        My alarm went off at 4:10AM.  I can’t say I slept really well, but I did get some sleep.  I already had my 3 water bottles with my Tailwind nutrition ready to go in the fridge, everything laid out, and my backpacks ready by the door.  I just had to wake up a little, grab 3 Eggos with PB&J, and slather the sunscreen on. Julie was up shortly after me but didn’t need to be down at the park until a little bit later, so she drove me part of the way, so I didn’t have to walk the full 1.2 miles.  Showed up at around 5:10AM.  I went to my bike rack and got my transition area set up with a towel to step on.  My bike helmet, gloves and shoes went on the left side of the towel. My running shoes, socks, visor, and sunglasses went on the right side of the towel.   Tires pumped back up to 100 PSI (I let some air out at night so there wouldn’t be any chance of them popping—it was cool enough that was a slim chance, but I do it just because!). 

        Transition closed at 5:45AM, which is when the men’s pro field started their race.  The first cannon blast for the pro men was the signal to leave transition and get lined up for the swim.  One last look to make sure I had everything ready to go for the bike and run, and left transition with just my wetsuit, googles and swim cap.  I met Julie at a little playground area and squeezed into the my wetsuit.  I remembered this time to have an extra bottle of water and a Maurten gel to take right before I got in the water. Then it was get in line according to the time I thought I would swim.  The problem was, it was just a mob of people.  Everyone around me was a different time, so it was jut swim at your own pace!  But I felt good.  No big nerves like normal, I think the practice swims helped a lot.  The water I could pour down the inside of the wetsuit to stay cooled off. 
        The weather was cool—68 degrees or so, but the wind had picked up a little since it started getting light outside. I don’t think it rained overnight, and it appeared that the rain might hold off until later in the day with some sprinkles throughout.  Then I was just wait for my turn!  But the swim looked rough and choppy!

 
SWIM—

        The swim start was a time trial style start with 3 swimmers going every 3 seconds.  You had to start from the sandy beach and go through two narrow jetty things.  As soon as I got out past those, the water got very choppy!  For about 40 yards or so I kind of ran/jogged/paddled as it was still only about thigh/waist deep with a sandy bottom and everyone was kind of crammed into a not very wide area since we were all funneled out off of the beach.  I let some water into my wetsuit and cooled down, but the official water temp that morning was a 73 degrees!  Once I started actually swimming I just moved to the right a bit to get a clear path and tried to settle into a steady pace.  Normally my heart rate is already elevated due to some nerves, but the practice open water swims helped a lot.  I didn’t go out too fast either, I was breathing at a steady rate.  I was glad I breathe on my right as the water was breaking from my left to right from the wind.  I needed to keep all the swim buoys on my left. There were seven yellow marker buoys from the swim start then an 8’ red turn buoy.  I made a left turn, had one more yellow buoy (roughly the halfway mark) then another red turn buoy.  Made another left turn then straight back towards the exit with now orange buoys on my left. 
        Normally it’s too early in the year for these fun little guys, but I was stung by a jellyfish on my chin with about 300 yds to go.  Never saw it, but felt the sudden stinging sensation on the right side of my chin. I made a last left turn towards the boat ramp and the swim exit.  I swam until I felt my fingers hit the concrete of the boat ramp, then stood up and ran up the exit.  As I came out of the water, there were wetsuit strippers (peelers) there to help me get the wetsuit off.  Glorious!  First time for me!  I just got my top half off, then sat down and she pulled the wetsuit off my legs in 23 seconds.  I’ll have those in Florida too, so I’ve heard!  I really didn't have ANY issues on the swim.  Didn't feel out of breath, just got into my right pace groove and didn't shy away from the crowds.  Only stopped a couple of times for a split second to either sight the next buoy (hard to see with the chop sometimes) or to find the space between swimmers.  Made a point to get water down my suit a couple times just to cool off.  That made all the difference. My estimated time was 39:23, and I came out of water in 35:47 (-3:36).  What!!?? I didn’t think I swam that fast, but it’s official, so I’m going with it!  Total accumulated time-- 35:47
 
T1—
        It was a long run in (about 1/4 mile) from the swim exit.  I jogged into transition as I have been known to cramp up coming out of the water.  Not this time, but I didn’t spring either.  My bike was racked 4 rows from the bike exit about halfway down the row.  Knocked down a Maurten gel and got into my bike shoes, helmet and gloves and onto the bike as quick as possible.  Shooting for 4:16 but came out 5:21 (+1:05). Time goes by really fast trying to switch between sports! I couldn’t get on the bike until the mount line just outside the arch.  I got on the bike and was off! Total accumulated time-- 41:07
 
BIKE—
        The bike course was FLAT!!    The course started at the park, wound through town until we could get to the outskirts. I had a tail/rear quartering wind for the first 25 or so miles. I had my bike up to 23+MPH at some points along that distance.  Made the loop through the Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge and back towards town and started hitting some stronger headwinds.  Nothing like winds I deal with daily in Kansas but could definitely feel them especially the last 10 or so miles.  My plan was to drink 6 squirts of Tailwind every 5 miles but skipped miles 25 and 35 (my mixture was too rich—I had put 2-1/2 scoops per bottle instead of my normal 2—oops, not doing that again).  After mile 35, I took 3-4 squirts every 5 miles.  Knocked back a Maurten gel with 2 miles to go to get ready for the run.

     My goal was to maintain at least a 20.6 average and knew I'd be able to hold that once I got a good ways into the course so I then upped my goal to a 21.0 average.  I lost that in the last 6-7 miles but finished with a 20.97, just shy!  This was almost MPH faster than my fastest half Ironman bike split.  I was able to stay in aero position (elbows on the pads and leaned over) for probably 95% of the ride.  Only came out of that to make any sharp turns, get some drink, or to stretch my shoulders for a second or two. It did start to rain for just a few minutes in the first half of the bike course, but it went away My goal for the bike was 2:43:25 and I came into T2 with a 2:41 even (-2:25). My legs weren’t burned up and I know I maintained a pretty good HR throughout the ride.  Total accumulated time—3:22:07
 
T2—
    My bike rack position didn't help me much on T2.  I had to run the bike the complete circumference around the transition before getting back to where I could get my running gear on.  Quick shoe change, visor, and sunglasses, and then onto the run.  Plan was for 3:26, exited in 4:37 (+1:11).  Total accumulated time—3:26:43
 
RUN—
        As I came out of the transition area, they had water to start the run.  I grabbed a couple to dump on my head.  I started out way too fast, as usual.  Instead of 9:30/mile "too fast", I was in the 8:30’s. My right quad starting feeling like it was going to cramp up just above the knee—the run after the bike has always been my nemesis.  I slowed down and got into a groove at around 9:15/mile.  I carried a disposable water bottle with me for the first 4-5 miles, and had decided to walk through each aid station.  Water, Mortal hydration, Gels, Mortal hydration, then water again.  Coke, bananas, and chips were mixed in there after the first couple aid stations. At every aid station, I took two waters, one to drink, one for the top of the head.  One Mortal per table, just a quick swallow.  Had a couple cups of Coke, but wasn’t sure what that would do to me, but I really liked the change.  I’ll probably do a lot more Coke on the marathon in Florida.  I had a Maurten gel at 30 minutes, 1:15, and 1:45.  I maintained around a 9:15/mile pace which is what I was able to hold in training, but with the walking through the aid stations (about every mile), that lowered my pace.  I knew I could hold a steady 9:25/mile pace even with the aid station slow downs. 

    As I came to the end of the first loop, I was just over 1 hour, at an average pace of just below 9:30/mile. So I was right on track.  I made the right turn away from the finish line to start the second loop and repeated that all over again. With no headphones allowed on the course, you really have to get into your own head or talk to other people.  There were a lot of little conversations going on with so many other runners.  I just shot to maintain my pace, and continue to my aid station strategy.  I think I could have skipped every other one with liquid as my second loop I had to pee so bad.  It wasn’t sloshing on the inside, but it was starting to get uncomfortable.  I thought about stopping for the port-a-john, but didn’t want to mess up my steady pace.  

    The miles kept clicking down, and then I hit mile 12 with only 1 miles left.  At that point on the course, you’re running along the waterfront to your left with big houses to your right. A left turn down a closed-to-spectators road and the final left into the finish chute!  I wanted to be alone as I crossed the finish line so I made sure to spread out a bit instead of racing the person right next to me.  I just let her go ahead and then had to pass a guy who was in full double-leg cramp mode.  I feel for him, that’s how I felt on my first one.  But then the red carpet with the Ironman logo.  The crowds lining the chute.  I was able to pick Julie out in her light blue MNU shirt on my right side.  The finish line with the electronic sign.  And it was done!!!  I made sure to cross all the way until I passed the photographer before hitting my watch (that way I was looking up and not down at my watch for the photo). My goal was 2:09:32.   My actual time of run, 2:04:58 (-4:34).  That’s a 9:31/mile average pace, a full minute and a half per mile faster than my previous best! 

        

    A volunteer put a medal around my neck, another volunteer gave me a finisher’s cap, and then there was the Eagleman shower guy!  He had a trashcan with cold water and two water pitchers.  He scooped both full of the cold water and dumped them on my head.  Oh, man did that feel great!  He might have been the most popular volunteer at the finish line.  I went over to Julie and she asked if I knew what my time was.  I honestly did not know what my total final time ended up.  I didn’t see it on the electronic board when I crossed and I was only concentrating on each discipline one at a time.  I guessed in the 5:35-5:40 range.  NOPE!!  I had a final time of 5:31:40! Almost 9 minutes faster than my goal/estimate, although I knew I could beat that by a few minutes.  What a day!  What a course!  The training worked!  And I didn’t look like death (as Julie likes to say!).  I felt great.  Tired, but solid.  This time was a 33:56 PR from my best 70.3 distance back in 2016.  I can’t believe I pulled that off!  Total accumulated time—5:31:40. 

        And just like that, it was over.  17 weeks of training everyday.  Until my last two weeks of my tapering, I missed one day of workout in that 17 weeks. A part of me wonders if I had a little more in me to break 5:30, but I can’t think about that.  I ran my race the way I planned, and that’s all I can do.  As I sit and write all this down, I am still in shock that I went from hoping for a 5:50 back in February (I put that as a public goal on the Everyday Ironman podcast) to beating that by almost 20 minutes. 28th place out of 124  in my age group, 540th out of 1,384 in gender, and 697th out of 2,017 overall.  I'll take those numbers! 

We stuck around for the awards ceremony and the World Championship slots allocations.  Unfortunately, my age bracket was VERY competitive, so I'm not going to Marbella, Spain in November.  It was great, however, to see the excitement for the 45 athletes (+25 extra slots for the females) who punched their ticket to Europe. Julie and I had discussed ahead of time that I would say yes if it got to me,  but I was 1 hour off the time I would have needed and 24 slots away.  But I have Florida as my consolation prize!  Maybe some day.  There is Kona, HI slots available in Florida, just sayin',,,,

A couple of side stories from before and during the race....the week before, while in Chesapeake, VA seeing some great friends, I went to the local YMCA in Great Bridge.  I had already called ahead and they told me it was a $15 one-day pass fee since I am not a YMCA member here in KS.  I had to get a swim in, so I decided to pull the trigger and get it done. I went up to the front desk and said I needed a day pass.  The two girls at the desk asked where I was from (accent? or just curiosity?), and when they heard I was from Kansas, they went nuts.  One jumped up and yelled "I get to color it in!".  She went over to a hand-drawn map on the wall and she started to try to find Kansas.  Several states were already colored in, and the map was for first time guests and the states from which they hailed.  While signing the waiver, they asked about Kansas-if we really did have tornados (there was one the day before just north of us), if it was just like from the movie Wizard of Oz, and a couple other questions.  All signed, cleared for the pool, and off I went.  About halfway through, I realized I didn't get a receipt, then came to realization I never used a credit card.  So thank you, YMCA for the free swim. I guess it pays to be from Kansas!  

The second notable story is from the race itself.  One of my stated goals was to come away with more Maurten gels than I came with to the race. In the Everyday Ironman Podcast, Broccoli Rob is a regular on the show and on the weekly group rides.  He raced Eagleman a few years ago, and he challenged me to beat his record of 15 gels that he was able to grab from the aid stations.  Challenge accepted.  At every aid station I would grab whatever the volunteer was holding out in their hand (two or three) and jam them into one of my two rear pockets on my tri kit.  I knew I had quite a bit but wasn't counting.  Once I crossed the finish line, I told Julie I had to unload my back pockets.  TWENTY FOUR!!  These things are $4-$5 a pop. Challenge completed!!  Now, with the outrageous prices in the merchandise tent, I think I made up a little but Ironman still came out on top.  

Life Application:

Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding.  Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.

Proverbs 3:5-6 (NLT)

Trust the training.  So many times in the last 17 weeks I didn’t think I was doing enough during my workouts.  In my heart I knew I was following the expert (the 80/20 Triathlon Plan), but in my head it just felt too slow, too little, and not enough.  But as I was put to the test, and was made to see if the training was right for me, it was.  All of it came together in the best possible way last Sunday.  I felt strong throughout my race and that’s how I want to live my life in faith.  Trusting in the Lord even when I think the “training” isn’t going as planned, it’s not what I would do, or just not understanding.  But God has the big picture.  I’m reminded of Karate Kid and Daniel-son sanding the deck, painting the fence, and waxing the cars.  He didn’t know each thing he was doing was making him an instant black belt.  By no means am I a professional triathlete because I followed the training plan (the pro male winner came in barely a full 2 hours ahead of me). But when I am tested in life, I can’t rely on my own understanding, I have to fully trust in God to guide me to fall back on what I’ve learned.  Simple? Yes.  Complicated?  Also yes.  There is so much I can learn in life through my faith in Christ, and so much I still have to learn as I work towards bigger goals in triathlon.

Final Thoughts:

I have to give a huge shout out and thank you to my lovely bride, best friend, and race sherpa.  Julie honestly doesn't get why I do these races, but supports me as she knows I am passionate about them and have some big goals in mind.  We brought her bike to the race so she could get around, and let me tell you, even on her bike, she still got probably over 10,000 steps in chasing me around Cambridge.  She was with me helping me zip up my wetsuit and at the swim exit.  I saw her as I left the transition area onto the bike course.  She was near our AirBNB when I came back into town after 55 miles on the bike (after she had gone for "the best breakfast she's ever had at a coffee shop!").  And she was there at what seemed like every turn on the run course.  She helped other spectators with the Tracker App, and cheered for other racers ringing a cowbell. And she was along the right wall as I ran the final few yards on the red carpet finish line.  I love you, Jules.  Thanks for letting me drag you around the country this year to these big races.  I am so glad you're at my side in life and while I'm racing. 

This week since 70.3 Eagleman I’ve taken a rest, both physically and mentally.  A few days of driving (when I walked like Lt. Dan with new legs), a hike in Cuyahoga Valley National Park, a short slow run, a swim and a bike, with a  couple of yoga session mixed in.  But on Monday, my 20-week training block starts for Ironman Florida on November 1^st.  Five short months away.  I’ll be ready.  At this exact moment I know (and I told Julie this as I finished the race on Sunday), the full Ironman is going to be really hard.  So much harder than just doubling what I did a few short days ago.  But I’ll follow the training plan, and trust the process.  And keep my 70.3 wristband on as a reminder of what the training will do when I toe the starting line in Panama City Beach. 

As always, thanks for following along and for sticking it out on this REALLY long race recap.  I wanted to relish in all the aspects and remember how much fun I had along the way, both in the days leading up to and the actual race itself.  Not once was I miserable.   And that made it a fun day all the way around.  I’ll be back to Cambridge at some point (if you do the half and full Ironman in the same year, you get an extra Crabby Challenge medal—sounds like a good third full Ironman, after Cozumel of course--so much for one-and-done!) 

Keep Fit, Stay THE Course, and Keep Moving Forward

CPC

6/14/25

Olathe, KS

4 months, 2 weeks, 3 days 11 hours, 50 minutes until Ironman Florida!