Ironman 70.3 Chattanooga

I love this course. I love this city. I love the atmosphere around this race. I could leave that as my race report and I’d be fine with it. This was my second 70.3 race in 3 weekends and is the site of one of my biggest failures on a course. I admit that I have a little chip on my shoulder from my DNF at 70.3 Worlds so I wanted to have a strong showing here. Like 2017, the upriver portion of the swim was cancelled due to the swift current and most of the age group racers were thrilled. I think all of us racing PC were happy with the choice. This was the largest group I’ve raced with and that is such a good sign. It’s been nice to see the para division consistently grow as it helps with the racing side of the competition. I had a strong swim, first or second out of the water. My transition was quick and ended up leading the pack on the bike but not for long. One of the VI athletes and his guide blew by me around mile 10 and I spend the next couple hours chasing them down. The ride was awesome and I felt strong. Of all the courses I’ve raced, this bike course is at the top (along with Lake Placid) but the run gets tough. There is a ton of support on the course but every year the stretch of the run on the roads is exceptionally hot. I hung with the leaders in sight for the first 9 miles or so but did not have the kick to finish with them. Still it was a PR for the day. The text from my coach was one line “did you just go sub-6?!” I sure did. That was a first and the new bar is 5:45 for me. I don’t know that I’ll have many races that fast but on this course, it felt good. I can’t wait to get back in 2020!