Costa Rica Ironman 70.3 Race Report

All the FEELS!

     My job as a coach involves believing in the athlete, encouraging them, giving and receiving feedback while developing skills and helping the athlete unlock their true potential.  One of the true blessings of coaching is experiencing the athletes personal growth, through achieving their goals and concurring their fears. It is true that "life begins at the end of your comfort zone" 

  Below is Doug Kelly's race report that I am sharing with his permission. Very proud of these 2 who celebrated their honeymoon "PURA VIDA"

  *Coach Robyn

 "As far as the race, it was amazing and would suggest anyone who is thinking about Costa Rica 70.3 to do it. I felt really good and confident going into the race as the energy and the vibe of 1000's of spectators ( and I mean 1000's at the swim start ). The race was considered a national event so it felt like the entire country was there. Sunday morning 3:30 am the alarm clock goes off and my feet barely hit the ground before I am out of bed. We get our bags and head to the race start with a friend of mine that was driving. We get to transition and it is a mud pit ( ankle deep in mud due to heavy rain that apparently happens everyday there ). 

  Bikes are ready now and the energy is high, we head to the beach to settle down and meet several friends to hang out with for the next 1.5 hours. As we sit there I begin to fret about swimming in the ocean because of the jelly fish that have been an issue over the last week in the area. Now its race time........

 As my AG sets up at the beach, my heart rate begins to rise to 165 and I cannot get it down. The cannons go off and I walk to the water, again trying to get the HR down. I gently start swimming and after 100 yards or so I start to calm down and find my groove. That's when the first jelly fish sting came, then the second, then the third, for a total of about 20 stings. It was not a bad sting, just annoying, felt like someone pinching you on the face and arms. After I realized I was not going to die from killer Jelly fish I began to put in some work and enjoy the swim. The water was beautiful and a perfect 85 degrees. Coming out of the water was like a rock star, the entire beach and beyond was packed with people screaming shit in Spanish which I had no idea what was being said.

Costa Rica Swim

 I trampled thru the mud and carried my bike out of transition, mounted and began my journey. I felt really good on the bike but was unsure of what was ahead so I held back on the first loop. At mile 1.5 was the 1st hill that we had to climb and WOW. 15% grade and a little over 1/2 mile. I settled in for the next 56 miles. 

Thoughts on the bike =  it was really hard to get some power work between the amount of competitors and the rain. I took water and Gatorade at every aid station. I did not eat anything or take any gels. 

Off the bike to the run.

Coming out of transition 2 I knew what the first couple of miles of the run course held because we had ran it the day before. I started my pace and tried to settle in. It was already hot as hell and the sun decided to come out while on the run. Starting my run I felt better at this race than most races. My legs felt relative fresh, I am not sure if it was because we were racing in paradise or that I have an awesome coach that is already whipping me into shape. I began to dump water and ice in my FX hat to try and keep me cool. My stomach felt good, breathing was in check. I ate bananas at every aid station ( The bananas were amazing, seriously came from the trees to the aid station table ). 

At mile 5 or 6 the heat started to get me and I had to slow down a bit. I came in the last mile which was my favorite because you get to run along a trail next to the ocean which is shaded by palm, banana, and mango trees. It spits you out on the beach for a short run then to the finish shoot. At that moment all the emotions hit me and I almost lost it. This was it, we had been talking about this and dreaming of this for so long, planning, researching, and this was the end of the race.

 I seriously did not want the race to be over.. 

All in all I felt I did my best on the swim, held out on the bike a little due to not having a clue what the course was like. I wish I could have pushed a little harder on the run. I would like that to be my focus is feeling so much more confident on the run and able to hold a good steady pace.