My First 70.3: A Vulnerable Race Recap
The goal has always been to be a professional at the 70.3 distance ever since I switched from pole vault to triathlon. Now, I am not the most naturally talented endurance athlete, but I have grown so much since my first triathlon in 2021. For the past 3 years, I have only done Olympic and Sprint triathlons, but I knew in 2025, I wanted to start doing 70.3s. This weekend I did my first one! I completed the Pacific Crest Endurance Festival’s Beastman 72.3 Triathlon.
You might be wondering, “What is a 70.3?” The number 70.3 represents the distances covered throughout the swim, bike, and run. It is split up as a 1.2-mile swim, a 56-mile bike, and a 13.1-mile run. This weekend’s race was 72.3 because the swim was 800m, 58.7 miles on the bike, and a 13.1-mile run. The Beastman earns that title because of how gnarly the bike course is. We leave Riverbend Park and go up for 20 miles, then up and then down. Then back to Riverbend Park. It was a lot of climbing, 4,592 feet to be exact. That’s like climbing 79ft per mile for 58 miles. Not to mention the base elevation of the race venue, Bend, is around 3000ft. Enough to be worn out by the elevation if not properly acclimated.
A week out from the race, I was properly freaking out. I felt like I was balancing this expectation of my big goal, but also understanding it was my first one. Thankfully, I am shameless when it comes to asking for help and advice (one of my strengths). I reached out to my trusted badass athlete friends, and I got some really good words from people who inspire me. I got advice like “Try to savor and don’t put too much pressure on yourself. It's different going hard for longer than before, and it’s ok to have new suffering… You might learn to really love it!”, “You have got this Sarah! It will probably be the hardest AND most rewarding thing you have done to date in your athletic career. The nerves are there to make you feel alive.”, and “do it scared.” All of these words I would carry into race day with me.
Pre-race hugs with the best boyfriend ever! Photo by Lindsay.
The night before I slept like shit. I had so many nightmares relating to the race. I also hadn’t been sleeping well leading into the race, so on race morning, I felt tired. I had my friend who I was staying with, Lindsey, drive me to the start. I got to transition at 5:30, 1.5 hours before the start, because I am so paranoid on race morning. When I found my bike, I noticed there was dewy frost everywhere. It was chilly! Around 40 degrees. I definitely could’ve used more layers. Even still, I took my time getting set up and chatted with others around me, when all of a sudden, I heard someone say, “Sarah.” I was like, who the hell was that? It was Andy!! He surprised me all the way from Bellingham to Bend to support me at my first 70.3! I almost felt like crying. I was so happy to see him; it was extremely comforting to have him there. I was mentally prepared to experience this race “alone”, but having him there did make things 100% better. It was really special and deserves the ‘best boyfriend ever’ award! I didn’t do a proper warm-up like stretching or running around (lesson #1). I honestly felt that the bike would get warmed up over time, and didn’t really see that point. We walked upriver to the start. I got my Zoot wetsuit on and went to the bathroom once more. I hopped in the water 5 min before the gun went off, just so the water temp wouldn’t be too much of a shock when I started swimming. I decided the day before I wanted to race in the Championship field, which makes you eligible to earn prize money if you place top 3 overall. I wanted to race there so I could see where I stacked up with the fast gals and to race. That wave was the first to go at 7 am sharp. We got numbered into the water, and after about a minute, it was go time! I usually start my swims with a strong lead-out and then settle into a pace and breathing rhythm. I started out strong and quickly found myself near the front. I was with one guy the entire time, who was nice company, but I never fell into a breath rhythm. It was a little scary, but I just held on knowing the swim didn’t last long. I got out of the water, 1st female, with 2nd place, 20 seconds behind. I knew I was going to take my time in T1 because I wanted to put on socks, a jacket, and gloves for the chilly bike.
Getting out of the Deschutes river, heading into T1. Photos by Unknown.
I sat down and did my best, trying to wrangle my frozen hands to fold my socks over my feet and pinch all the bumps out. It was really hard with such cold hands! However, I took my time and got my jacket and gloves on. In that moment, 2nd place had left transition, I stumbled, and left transition, forgetting an important piece of nutrition, a 90g of carbs gel packet (lesson #2). Remember when I said I was tired? Well, I was yawning on the bike and just didn’t feel rested (lesson #3). I started the bike almost at the same time as 2nd place, but then she took off and I became 2nd place, lol. I had a slight twinge in my right hip that didn’t go away until the first hour. I wasn’t concerned with the pain, just a tight and maybe too-rested/not-warmed-up pain. It eventually went away. The bike was a mental battle. I tried to reassure myself that I had enough carbs because I had 270g of carbs still, but that is 90 g per hour if I did 3 hours, but I didn’t know how long I would be out there for, and it's always better to have too much than not enough.
Heading towards Mt. Bachelor. Photo by Unknown
I had even stopped to pick up a gel on the bike out of desperation that I didn’t even use, derp. The bike just went up and up… and up. At one point, I wanted to just crash, so I had a reason not to continue. I didn’t do that because that’s horrible and cowardly, but that bike was hard! Even during the race, I still felt like I was managing my big goals versus the wonderful advice that was given to me. Many friends said, “Have fun!” but, my god, during that bike I was like “this is NOT fun” LOL. I continued to have this conversation with myself on the ascent back to Mt. Bachelor. This was definitely some type 2 fun, so I was like, “What is actually fun about this stuff?” I concluded that it was the whole experience of triathlon. The training, traveling, going through the hardships on race day, winning occasionally, and the people! I found comfort in that during my moments of pain and doubt, I do have many good reasons for doing this. Now, back to the actual race: Thankfully, I was dressed perfectly, not too hot, not too cold. I was still in 2nd place at the turnaround point, but I saw my competitors close behind. I managed to hold off 3rd place for a couple of miles, but she passed me on the big ascent, passing Mt. Bachelor. However, before she passed, we rode together for a couple of minutes, and she asked me what my main sport was. I said it was swimming. In that moment, I thought to myself, what if I had said I was a runner? Even if I was lying, maybe it could prove to be true (lesson #4) I felt sad that I was getting passed, but I didn’t have another sustainable gear to pop into; I was going my hardest, yet sustainable, on those climbs. Finally, I made it to the 20-mile descent into T2. I knew I’d be able to make up my average mph a little, but it came with a cost. It was windy, and my new deep-set, carbon race wheels picked up more wind. I wanted to stay in TT, but many times it was too risky. On my way back into T2, you can see the run course and I saw 1st place at mile 5 and gave her a good cheer. I also thought, “Wow, she is so far ahead of me, that’s amazing.” I was so drained coming into transition. People were like “great job!” and I was like uh huh, right. I was telling Andy, “My legs are so dead,” and “That was so hard”. I usually love the camera, but I really didn't want my weak moments to be captured. I told Andy as he was trying to take my picture, and I said “No, No, No,”, even though I am explaining it to you anyway. Andy said, “You just have to finish,” and yes, that’s true, but not the end goal for me; I want to thrive in these events. However, that is what the goal ended up becoming on this race day, which I am proud of.
About to start the loop-dee-loop. Mid-struggle bus. Photo by Unknown.
I thought today was the day I was going to experience brick legs, but I didn’t and never have. That was a good sign! My legs felt ready to run. I got my watch started to monitor my heart rate and got it going steady around zone 3/4. I had to pee, though. I needed to find a spot to go. There were porta-potties along the course, so I stopped there. The tri suit that I have is hard to get off, though. I went pee and got back on course (lesson #5) The run actually felt good until mile 9. I was cruising along, waiting for the turnaround point, ready to go down the slightly uphill course on the out. I got passed again, which emotionally hurt, but again, I didn’t have another sustainable gear to get into. I stayed strong and knew I was going to be ok. I took on gels, caffeine science in sport, and PF 30, but I was not taking on nearly enough as I should’ve been (lesson #6) At mile 9 and on, I began to slow down quite a bit, my abs tightened, and I felt like I could feel my leg muscles breaking down. I stopped and stretched out my abs a couple of times, which helped, but didn’t solve the problem of weak abs (lesson #7). I got close to the finish line, but then oop! You have to go around this silly little loop-dee-loop around the park for about a mile and a half. This last push felt like such a slog, my god. Another lady passed me; she was cruising. I was officially in 5th place for women overall in the Beastman, and that is how I would finish. Andy found me, and I reached out to hold his hand while running. I was so close to finishing! I turned the corner and there it was! I did it! 5 hours and 50 minutes later, I finished my first 70.3! This wasn’t the fastest time, as the first-place woman did the course in 4 hours 30 minutes, but it also wasn’t the slowest time, as the last-place woman was 10 hours 24 minutes. (These times give no context for what the person persevered to get to that point, both amazing in their own ways.)
Stopping the watch. Finally arrived at the finish line! Photo by Andy.
Bless the girl who gave me my medal, she was like “Marathon or Triathlon?”, I felt like I didn’t have the energy to speak to her. Andy found me, and I just needed to sit down in the shade and take my shoes off. I just laid there and then got some food. I was processing what just happened! I still felt a mix of emotions, even though I had just completed a huge stepping stone in my athletic career. I was feeling disappointment, accomplishment, hunger, not jealous of the women who were stronger than me, but just comparing, and perhaps a little embarrassed that I have a big goal when I didn’t show out on the first try. Becca, the woman who won, encouraged me: “It’s a course where you battle yourself. Truly, it’s more like an Ironman than a 70.3! You’ll definitely be ready for your next 70.3 if you completed the course today.”
It has been almost a week since the race day, and I’ve had some time to rest and reflect on my experience. I am feeling much prouder of my accomplishments than when I just finished. I feel much more hopeful for my future in triathlon as well. I just need to keep working hard, stay consistent, don’t put myself in a box, believe in myself, and learn from my lessons on race day. Speaking of which, let's go through them:
Lesson #1: Warm up. I should try doing a proper warm-up: active stretching, perhaps a little jog, and activating my muscles. Try something different next time. I think a different taper too, less rest maybe.
Lesson #2: Don’t forget nutrition. I was feeling rushed and got out of transition too quickly and forgot my nutrition. I need to quickly take my time, maybe lay things out differently, and just don’t forget nutrition!
Lesson #3: Get better sleep. I hadn’t been sleeping well, and I think that affected my alertness on race day. I need to take my sleep more seriously in training to build strong habits so that the bad night's sleep before race day doesn’t matter so much.
Lesson #4: Believe in myself. I felt like when I said I was a swimmer, I was also reiterating in my head that I wasn’t a runner. I need to start saying “I am a runner”. I may not believe it right now, but the positive reinforcement over time will become reality.
Lesson#5: Put nutrition in smaller bottles. I don’t know if it's normal to have to pee during a race like this. I am hoping to see a nutritionist and ask about this. I am hopeful we can nail it down.
Lesson #6: More carbs. I think I only took 50g of carbs per hour on the run, which isn’t nothing, but I don’t think it was enough. I hope I can talk with the nutritionist about this too.
Lesson #7: More core-workouts/lifting and longer runs. My abs are strong, but not quite strong enough yet to handle this much activity. I believe with more practice at this distance in training, and more consistent, core-focused workouts and lifting, it will get better.
I am proud of my first 70.3. I am proud that I have so many emotions, positive and negative, that I own. I am proud that I am learning from my mistakes and taking action to be better. I want to thank Why Racing for putting on a spectacular sports festival. The courses were really well marked and well supported with wonderful volunteers.
Products I used: I wore my That Triathlon Life racing kit for the first time, which was awesome. I used Tailwind High Carb mix on the bike, and SiS gels and PF 30 gels on the run. I drank Ascent protein and Skratch recovery mix after the race.
Thank you to everyone who took the time to read this, share advice, and words with me. It means the world to me. I hope my race recap made you feel like you can tackle your goals, one step at a time, even if they feel far away in the moment.