Completing a Half Ironman was on my bucket list for a number of years, and when I turned 70 this year I thought the perfect present to myself would be a 70.3 Ironman. After looking at multiple 70.3’s, I decided on Santa Cruz because the course suited me well:
- A 1.2-mile ocean swim around the wharf
- A 56-mile bike ride along Highway 1 with 2,483 ft of elevation gain
- A flat half-marathon through parks and along coastal bluffs with 664 ft of elevation gain and 673 ft of elevation descent
- A beach finish
Individually, I’ve done twice or more these distances in previous races, but I’ve never done them all together in one event. My main concern was the run after the bike. I’ve had moderate bunion pain for years, and even with the very wide toe box of my Altra Lone Peaks my feet still hurt after 10+ miles running (actually walking & running) on road. That indeed was the case in this race. My bunions were so painful by mile 10 that I mostly walked the rest of the way, only to pick up my pace to cross the finish line. Having trained well for these distances and elevation gains, I had predicted that I could beat the cut off time of 8 hours and 30 minutes, which I did. My overall time was 7:56:34. Out of 2162 total participants, I placed 1953 (the year I was conceived, haha); and I placed 3rd out of 3 in the F 70-74 division.
Despite the bunion pain, I thoroughly enjoyed the event, especially meeting many other participants who were friendly, supportive and inspiring! Best of all, was the love, support and devotion from my partner, Alastair!
Our trip to California included staying several days near Malibu on the way to Santa Cruz, where we enjoyed some hikes, vegan restaurants, and great craft breweries. We were surprised that the area was experiencing an unusual heat wave, actually hotter than Tucson! Day time temps often hit 109F! In addition to that, the week after our stay the area experienced a 4.7 earthquake. Santa Cruz was fantastic – the people, weather, environment, and craft breweries – we thoroughly enjoyed our stay! One the way home, we stay a few more days in Avila Beach, an area my family frequented in the early 60s when my dad was stationed at Vandenberg AFB. We did a few more hikes and checked out the local scene – which has an abundant number of breweries and cideries. The drive home was a long day, through LA and the smoke from 3 major fires.
