Washington 70.3 RACE REPORT

coachramberg
Sep 25
5 min read

Saturday: The day before the race.

Ryan did the Ironkids run! He loves doing this race and being a part of the excitement. He’s always looking forward to his race! This was his first time racing with Tim. Ryan off course went out really fast and then quickly slowed down because of his side ache. He finished with a time around 10 minutes.

After the Kids run, I met up with Christina, Kevin, and Carliegh! We did a shake out ride and run. It was good to finally meet my athlete Christina in person after coaching her for a year now!

Then it was back to the Airbnb to eat lunch and take a nap. Riley did not sleep very well the night before and I was exhausted and needed the extra sleep.

We had our traditional Olive Garden dinner and were in bed by 8pm. Luckily both kids fell asleep fast and slept through the night!

Race Day!

4am Woke up and immediately feed Riley. I ate an English muffin with peanut butter. We loaded up all the kids and were out the door by 4:30!

4:30am With the logistics of this course and being 15 minutes away from the race, I had Tim drop me off at transition to get set up while the family took the shuttle over. I got the transition by 4:45 and had everything set to go by 5am. Tires pumped up, bottles filled, bike computer mounted…. I left my gels at the Airbnb!! AHHHH! Luckily Christina let me have one of her extra SIS gels. Then I would just plan on taking Maurten gels on the course. Control your controllables and focus on what you CAN do! This mind shift can help you have a successful race, especially when things don’t go your way.

5:30am I met up with my athlete Christina and her husband and we walked 1 mile over to the swim start. It was still dark outside and windy! I knew it was going to be a windy day already.

6am We got to the swim start and dropped off our morning clothes bags. With the sun barely even up yet and the cloudy skies, I went with clear goggles for probably the first time ever. I am very happy with this choice. We ran into Rosanne and Allen and lined up with them in the swim Carrol. The cannon went off and the race started!

The swim

23:18

12^th place age group

I ran into the water with high knees as far as I could, then dove in to start the swim. It was a very straight and fast swim down the Columbia River. I stayed in line with the buoys, swimming inside a couple of yellow buoys. It was a quick right hand turn on the last red buoy. I made sure to stay close to it so I wouldn’t get carried down the river and have to fight the current back. Swam towards the exit and ran out of the water.

T1 As I ran out of the water, we went straight up a hill into transition. Transition was very long as well, probably a little less than ½ mile. I quickly put my helmet on, got my bike shoes on, and was out of there.

The Bike

3:05:02

11^th place age group

A quick cheer from the family at the dismount line and I was pumped to take on this bike course. This was a new course to me and I was excited to see what I could do! The first 5ish miles were pretty fast. When we took a turn heading south the wind hit hard! Holy head wind! I knew it wasn’t going to be a PR day. I soon caught up to Carliegh! We went back and forth for a while, it was good to see a friendly face on the course. Right around mile 8 I saw my athlete Christina passing me! She looked so strong! We met again going up Cougar Mountain which was just what I needed. A friendly face and some good cheers. She gave me some reassurance that this was going to be the hardest part of the day. I actually really enjoyed the climb and the views!

One of the spectators commented “Up the hill and into the wind, just like life” I got a laugh out of that one. From there we headed towards some beautiful vineyards! The cross winds were bad! They gave me flashbacks from Ironman California! IYKYK! There were a couple of fast descents in there, with some cross wind gusts that were very sketchy. The last 20ish miles were actually really fast! Hello tail wind! I thought maybe I could break my 3-hour goal! But I ran out of real estate and clocked in just above that with a 3:05. At first, I was really disappointed. But after seeing other times, I felt better knowing that we all suffered out there.

I took all 3 of my Skratch Superfuel bottles on the course with Maurten Gels that I picked up at each aid station (since I left mine at the Airbnb, face palm!). It all worked out and I felt great coming off the bike.

Run

1:54:10

17^th place age group

I felt really strong heading out on the run. I gave a high five to Chloe, Ryan, and a quick kiss to Riley on the way out. The run was an out and back right on the River. It was scenic and beautiful. I saw so many friends out on the course and the vibes were high. At mile 4 it started to rain, and it actually was really refreshing. I grabbed caffeinated Maurten Gels at every other aid station. Then Maurtel hydration at the other aid stations. I switched to Cola at mile 7 and was holding on to a steady pace. I was planning on running around an 8:30 pace and I was able to keep it there for the most part. At mile 10 my IT band started to flair up. I was super frustrated because I felt like I had the endurance to go but couldn’t. I had to stop and stretch it out multiple times. I just wanted to cry. But I thought of my kids and how I always tell Ryan to try his best, even when things get hard. So, I did that. I kept going the best I could and did not let it derail me. I wanted to come anywhere between 1:50 and 1:55 and so I am actually really proud of this run. 7 months ago, I was 6 weeks postpartum and just starting to get back into run/walking after being pregnant all of 2024. Sometimes I lose sight of that. I have come soo far this year! To do TWO 70.3 Ironman races in the first 9 months of Riley’s life is a huge accomplishment. I am so blessed to be able to do this sport for me while being that inspiration for my kids.