Pre- Race “I owe a lot to you and Dave, Wendy. Sure, I did the work required in each workout. But your training plans, podcasts, Training Peaks comments, guidance, swim analysis, YouTube videos, and the swim lesson in Woodstock were all collectively the lighthouse of direction, motivation, and confidence I needed, to get to this point. And I’m not just talking physically; I grew mentally and emotionally as an athlete a lot more than I anticipated as well. I owed you and Dave a huge “THANK YOU!” I appreciate you!”

Post Race

Wendy, I am officially half of an Ironman! 😅 I completed my race and am very pleased with how it went and with what I learned!

My goals were – 40 minute swim, 3 hour bike, 3 hour run, and no more than 7 hours total.

Swim – 36:31
Bike – 3:06
Run – 2:55 (my back and foot were hurting from mile 1, so I had to pace myself to make it to the end)
Total, including T1 & T2 – 6:50

I had a blast and learned a lot! When I get done traveling for work this week I am going to sit down and write out my learnings and thoughts.

I also have made the tough decision to leave my full Ironman aspirations for next year because my right foot and lower back are hurting quite a bit. I really need to give them 6-8 weeks to heal, with the assistance of medical professionals, before starting intense training again and even then I probably need to ease into running. So, after taking the next two weeks off, I am going to focus on swimming for four weeks, then add biking back for 2-4 weeks, then add low intensity running back if my doctors support it.

I hope to do at least 1 sprint or olympic triathlon later this year. Otherwise, for the rest of the year I will just enjoy swimming, biking, and running while recovering well and shedding the final 20ish pounds I believe would put me at ideal race weight.

Then, next year, assuming all goes well, I plan on doing the Chattanooga 70.3 again and the Chattanooga full later in the year as my first chance at becoming an Ironman.

I genuinely appreciate your guidance and encouragement along the way! And I absolutely intend to purchase more of your training plans in the future because the Beginner 70.3 plan was 100% spot on!

Many thanks, Sean