June 2025 – an amazing run

2025 Ironman 70.3 Rockford Race Report

DATE: June 22, 2025

WHERE: Rockford, Illinois

RESULTS: 2025 Ironman 70.3 Rockford Results BIB# 1385

I survived. That should be in bold. The day brought mid-90ºF temps with Real Feel temperatures in the low-100ºs. Plus, Mother Nature decided to throw some tough wind at us today as well, and not in a favorable direction. There’s a lot to unpack here, so let’s dive in.

TRAINING

When it was announced that Ironman was possibly coming to the Chicago area, I got intrigued. I hadn’t done any long-course triathlons since 2021 and was getting a little burned out chasing the 100-mile ultra that I have yet to accomplish. When Rockford 70.3 was announced, I signed up on day one. I encouraged anyone else I could to join me, and was glad when my Gunner teammates Jeff and his sister Jan joined in the fun. Numerous locals also signed up, too!

I dusted off my copy of Don & Melanie Fink’s IronFit Secrets for Half Iron- Distance Triathlon Success and followed the 16-week competitive plan. Training went pretty well. The spring was rather cool, and many training rides and runs were done with layered clothing, but overall, I put in the work I needed to feel prepared for the race.

I switched from using gels as my energy fuel to liquid fuels, opting for Tailwind and GU Roctane to fuel me. What I liked about using liquid fuel is that you don’t seem to have the sugar rush and then blood sugar crash when using gels every half hour. The energy level is more sustained, and you get the added benefit of staying on top of hydration because you are drinking your fuel.

I felt pretty well prepared from my training until the weather watchers on the race Facebook page started predicting the weather. It was not looking good.

RACE DAY

Had no other choice but to accept the day that was given to us.

SWIM – 43:06

I had packed my wetsuit in my Morning Clothes bag to carry to the swim start to use if I could, but as I was leaving the hotel, I got a push message from the Ironman app that the water temp was 79.2ºF, making the race wetsuit optional. I opted to leave the wetsuit in the car and use my swimskin instead. The swimskin is legal to wear regardless of the temperature and is designed to help you glide through the water, but in reality, it’s just a security blanket for me.

Jan, me, and Jeff waiting to get on the bus for the ride to the swim start.

I seeded myself in the 43-46 minute group, and it took 45 minutes for us to reach the water. I jumped in and quickly got into a comfortable swim. I had a few little toe cramps, but I worked them out and just kept pulling myself forward. I was far right in the water, often swimming closely by the kayakers monitoring the swim, but I wanted to avoid contact and had few issues with it. I knew that there were three bridges to go under and kept an eye on those. I could have swum a straighter line, but was happy to get to the Swim Out in good shape. The much-hyped current-aided swim for this event was non-existent. I felt no current assist with it at all, and my 43-minute finish time is right where I expected my finish time to be. I was happy with my swim.

TRANSITION 1 – 8:35

Most of my solid running for the day was from swim out to transition.

Out of the water led to at least a 1/4-mile jog to my spot in transition. Upon getting there, I grabbed a towel and got my feet dry. Then I applied some anti-chafe to my feet (which was beneficial on the run), got my helmet and sunscreen on, and then headed to Bike Out.

BIKE – 3:28:27

I had pre-rode the bike course a month or so earlier and made mental notes about my effort during the various sections. Today, though, the wind direction changed most of my expectations. We had a tailwind heading out, which made that climb north much faster. I started a little too strong and kept telling myself to dial it back, which took me about 5 miles to accomplish before settling in. My 20-mile split time was about an hour, so 20 mph was quite a good time for me.

Then we headed west, and it became more difficult. I was starting to suffer and came close to hitting the wall around halfway, but I slowed down a little and kept drinking the liquid nutrition. I also opted to up my electrolytes by taking a salt capsule every hour. I’m sure that helped quite a bit. I was sweating the whole time and kept an eye on that. I stopped at the second and third aid stations to urinate, and I took that as a good sign about being hydrated. I can usually get through 50 miles on just three water bottles, but I doubled that intake here. We were all drinking extra water.

I saw lots of people walking their bikes uphill, but I just spun up them. Only one hill on the backside of the course made me work really hard, but the downhill afterwards was always a welcome recovery. I hit 30+ mph several times, maxing out at 36 mph on one downhill.

Finishing up, wondering how many matches I had burned. I burned a lot.

I was feeling pretty good coming into T2, and I was happy to be two-thirds done with this sauna triathlon.

TRANSITION 2 – 8:45

I took time to add more sunscreen and wash my face and head off, trying my best to cool down with the hot water I had in transition. Oh well, off to walk on the surface of the sun for 13 miles.

RUN – 3:00:31

According to Ironman, athletes may run, walk, or crawl. I started with a walk, hoping not to crawl.

I tried to run when I started the run portion of the race, but it wasn’t long until my body said not to. The first section of the run course was the worst when it came to heat. Other than the breeze across the bridge over the river, it was stagnant, and the heat from being exposed to the sun on the blacktop made me walk most of the first three miles. Some portions of the course were just brutal. The best portion of the course was through a very nice neighborhood that someone on the Facebook page nicknamed “Sprinkler Alley”. These people were in the street with their hoses and sprinklers, offering people a chance to stay cool. I didn’t skip a single one of them. Everyone ran that course thoroughly soaked with sweat and water. Lots of squeaky and squishy sounds were coming from the shoes.

I had had it with Tailwind and switched to taking Coke at the aid stations and sticking with ice and water. Most of the ice went into my trisuit and visor, and some I melted in my mouth.

My mood/energy/pace was picking up as I came through to end the first lap and continue on to the second lap of the run. I tried to jog longer and at least jog from aid station to aid station, but I needed another break along the path that runs along the river. This was a hot section of the run course for me, but the “Sprinkler Alley” area followed along soon, and I was getting a boost from being closer to the finish.

I jogged through the finish chute with a smile on my face, high-fiving some crew and fans along the way. So relieved that the race was done for me.

TOTAL TIME: 7:29:24 / 1274th place out of 1692 / 34th place out of 47 M60-64 age group

Currently, the results show 1692 finishers. There were 2,700 actual registrants, and with an estimated 20% DNF rate, that’s over 1,000 people who either did not start or did not finish.

Not the best performance for me. Pre-race, I was shooting for a sub-6-hour finish. HA! Well, that wasn’t happening on this day. My strongest event, the run, was the one I had struggled most with, which is not really surprising, as running heats you up the most. I’m just glad to have gotten through this tough day. I was wondering at the beginning of the run if I was even going to be able to keep moving forward and finish. But I survived and will proudly display my medal.

Thanks again to my wife, Kari, for putting up with me and these shenanigans. Standing around in 90º+ weather for eight hours is not fun. Thanks also to my son Ben and daughter-in-law Emily for coming to cheer. It was much appreciated. Jeff’s crew included his wife Jill, son Charlie, and his girlfriend Kelly, who also provided much-needed support. Thanks to my Gunner teammates, Jeff and Jan, for joining me in doing this race. Thanks for buying us dinner, Jeff! And thanks to Karen for joining me on the course pre-ride and at the race. Everyone from the area seemed to survive the day as well.

Overall, and after a day or two of reflection, I actually enjoyed the event. Rockford was an awesome host city, the volunteers were spectacular, and I am seriously considering doing this race again next year. Hopefully, it will be a little cooler, and I can coax some more Gunners to join in on the fun.

Oh Boy, Here We Go

IRONMAN 70.3 ROCKFORD TRAINING – WEEK 15 & 16 WRAP-UP – June 16, 2025

As I wrapped up a really bad Week 15, I got busy focusing on this last week of training before the race on Sunday. Commonly called the “taper week”, this should really be called “madness week.” It’s pretty common to have some pre-race nerves leading up to the race, but man, everyone is freaking out, including myself!

Let’s rehash last week. I was up in northern Wisconsin and went out for my Tuesday run, an 8-miler, that has been the norm for the past several Tuesdays. It was cool, and I felt like pushing the pace a little bit. Welp, just before I got to the 6-mile mark, my right hamstring stopped me in my tracks. Yup, I pulled a hammie and had to walk the remaining two miles back to my truck. I got a little down thinking that I had just jeopardized my run race for the 70.3, but I spent the rest of the week laying off running, and it seems to be doing better. It didn’t affect my cycling at all, nor was it bothering me while working around the yard.

Then I tried an open water swim. I haven’t done an OWS in over a year, and silly me thought that it would be old hat. Nope. It was cold in both the air and the water temperatures. It was brutal, I’m talking the mid-50s. Garmin actually gave me the “Arctic Swim” badge after I hit stop on my watch.

A Garmin badge I never wanted and never intended to earn.

I started too fast, and quickly was out of breath. Fortunately, my wife Kari was kayaking alongside so I could take a break if needed. I took three, or maybe four, I don’t remember because my brain was frozen. My planned mile-long swim lasted 866 yards. It was not the confidence booster that I had hoped for. However, my coach-wife and I discussed it and tried to make it a positive experience instead of focusing on the failure. I was reminded that I need to start slow, very slow, and get myself under control. A lot of the high heart rate and being out of breath was due to the cold temperature, and my just not being able to focus on slowing down. But, I definitely won’t have to worry about it being that cold on race day because it’s predicted to be 94 FRICKING DEGREES FARENHEIT ON RACE DAY!!!

Oh boy, here we go again with another triathlon in miserable heat. Fortunately, I have experience in that area. I was a proud finisher of the 2019 Ironman Chattanooga race, a day that was in the mid-90s with a heat index in the low-100s. Somehow, I got through that non-wetsuit swim and the very warm ride and run. Maybe I should re-read that race report: 2019 Ironman Chattanooga Race Report I’m sure I can survive this as well, that is, if I just THROW AWAY THE WHOLE RACE PLAN THAT I HAVE BEEN WORKING ON FOR 16 FRICKING WEEKS!!!

Yeah, the plan was to go sub-six hours; have a great current-aided swim, not dawdle in transition, rock the bike like I stole it, then dial in for a sub-2-hour 1/2 marathon. Best laid plans… Now I will shift my focus to wrapping my head around the swim possibly not being wetsuit legal, and dialing it back on the ride and run to avoid heat exhaustion. And pray that my hamstring doesn’t flare up.

Time to stop focusing on what I can’t control, and get my mind in a better place. I’m off to sort through 13 years of triathlon related crap I own to figure out what I need to bring to the race. Next post will be the race report! Stay tuned.

Read All About It!

IRONMAN 70.3 ROCKFORD TRAINING – WEEK 14 WRAP-UP – June 8, 2025

The Athlete Guide is here!

Something to get excited about, I guess.

Last week, I touched on feeling a little burned out with training. I could sense it with a fellow rider who is doing her race soon, and to be honest, I was feeling it as well. Enough with the 4.25-hour rides every Saturday, and the 2+ hour runs every Sunday. Enough with this damn saddle sore that I’ve been dealing with for weeks now. Enough with this crappy weather, especially the Canadian wildfire smoke that seems to be lingering far longer than it should. Enough with just the general blahs of going through the swim/bike/run training to prepare for the race. I’m ready, already. Let’s get it over with.

But now my attitude has done a reversal because the Athlete Guide (AG) is out! The AG is often eagerly anticipated, and usually is forwarded to the athletes a few weeks out from the race. Smaller races may skip an AG, or have a shortened version, but bigger races like marathons and long-distance triathlons usually do. When the AG comes out, excitement builds, as it is a signal that the training is almost over, and the race is here.

So, what’s so exciting about the AG? Nothing really. 😄 Ironman typically just cuts and pastes the guide from year to year, with some editing for new rules and such. It’s always good to review the rules, though. There have been some changes to the penalty cards since I last raced, and the amount of time spent in the “penalty tent” when you get shown a card. Yes, you have to go to the penalty tent when you screw up, that is if they catch you. I haven’t been in the penalty tent before, but I haven’t been caught either. I’m a good sport and follow the rules for the most part, but the bike drafting rules are easy to break.

But I do have a favorite part of the athlete guide:

“RUN COURSE RULES – 1. Athletes may run, walk, or crawl.”

This rule always makes me chuckle, then wince a little. They tell you specifically that you can crawl in this event, not out of fun, but out of necessity. I’m guessing that it has something to do with Julie Moss in 1982 (see here) or possibly Sian Welch & Wendy Ingraham battling it out in 1997 (see here) – a battle not for the win, but for fourth place. Fourth place. Those two instances were in “full” Ironman races, so hopefully, no one will have to crawl across the finish line. I’ve had to walk plenty of times in races, but I’ve never had to crawl. Let’s hope I keep that streak going. I’m surprised that “rolling” is not listed in that sentence. There’s plenty of rolling going on, too.

~~~

Training this week went well. Wednesday was done inside due to some much-needed rain for our area, but the other days were done outside. I got my e-bike back from the shop, so I was also able to get some cheater bike workouts commuting back and forth the eight miles to work. They may be pedal-assist rides, but I’m spinning my legs nonetheless.

I moved my Sunday long run to Friday and got in twelve miles in about an hour and 51 minutes. That’s a good sign for possibly going sub-2 hours on the run, but I will need a smart ride to accomplish that. I’m also hoping for a sub-6-hour race overall. I’m hoping that the river swim will push me along quickly.

The plan had another 4.25-hour ride on it, but I had other plans. I opted to just ride for the race distance of 56 miles, heading out for 28 miles, then heading home to see how long it would take me. I held a comfortably hard pace, and the day was not bad. I held an 18 mph average, so that was a good sign.

Since my fellow competitor Karen and I rode the bike course and she suggested that I try Tailwind as my nutrition, I’ve gotten to the point where I’m comfortable using it. I also have been using GU Roctane powder, and neither has resulted in feeling drained while working out. I plan to use them during the race, but will bring some gels just in case.

I’m off to the lake home in northern Wisconsin this next week to get our boat out of storage, as well as putter around the house doing odds and ends. I’m looking forward to being on different trails and routes for a change. Plus, I will bring my wetsuit and get in some open water swims, which is often a benefit for the mind, getting comfortable in swimming in water that isn’t a warm, non-moving pool. I’ll fill you in next week on how that goes, but for now, I’ve got to dive into the Athlete Guide!

Week 14 Totals: Swims 1/1300 yards – Bikes 3/91 miles – Runs 4/31 miles

Birds Of A Feather

IRONMAN 70.3 ROCKFORD TRAINING – WEEK 13 WRAP-UP – June 1, 2025

I like birds for the most part. They rarely cause any trouble for me, and they are fun to watch. I gifted my wife a bird feeder with a camera for her birthday this year, and we have had fun watching the variety of birds stopping by for unlimited seeds.

But there is one bird I hate with all my physical being – the red-winged blackbird. This is the asshole of the bird world. Seeing that I live in Illinois and run through nature preserves on my route, I get to see these jerks on a regular basis. There are two of these birds that nest near a tree alongside the trail that I run on. First comes the hideous call, which is just the precursor to what comes next, the dive-bombing. I don’t regularly get an adrenaline rush while running, but these damn birds give me one every time. And they are very adept at staying exactly above your head so you can’t see them, squawking their little heads off and putting the fear of death into you until you are just far enough out of their territory. All I can do is take my visor off and wave it around, looking like a loon-atic (bird pun) until I am in a safe spot. I guess I can take comfort in knowing that it only lasts FOR THE ENTIRE SUMMER.

Photo credit to Charlie H., which I stole from Facebook without permission.

I saw a post from the local riding group that I ride with by my super-stud friend Charlie, who advised that he was doing a “chill” ride with another rider named Amy for 3.5 hours. A “chill” ride for Charlie should be taken with caution, as he normally has two speeds: all-out and stopped. “Chill” could easily mean 19 mph for him. But I got the sense that Amy was not going to be going super fast, and I decided to join in. I’m glad that I did because it was a fun ride, and I enjoyed meeting Amy. She is doing Boulder 70.3 in two weeks and seems to be experiencing some burnout, just like me. When you get to a certain point in training, you just want to get the race over with. I’m getting close to that point.

Coming back from that long ride, I was stopped at a railroad crossing waiting for a freight train to pass, and just behind me was a 1963 Buick Riviera. As I backed up to ask him about his car, he was instead wanting to know how much riding he would need to do to look like I do! I was a little flattered, as I am as fat right now as I have ever been, but I told him that I was 63 miles into my ride and had about 4 to go. His jaw dropped. Then came the words that I could have anticipated – “I need to do what you do, but I just don’t have the time.” Non-exercisers always have some excuse, and any conversation I have with people who are surprised at how much work I do running and biking will always have that caveat – I don’t have the time. Oftentimes, it is the desire to do the work, but a lack of time is a common excuse. I said to him, “If I had more time, I would be driving around my classic car instead of doing this!”

Training went well this week for me, and I had two strong swims to help boost my confidence a little bit. I have no doubt that I’m prepared for the bike and run, but my swim could use a little more work. Thankfully, my race in Rockford, IL will be current aided, and I am counting on that to not make me work so hard.

Week 13 Totals: Swims 2/2726 yards – Bikes 3/100 miles – Runs 5/35 miles