Ironman 70.3 Mallorca. I am facing my first triathlon this year. And while the distance is not really an issue, I am feeling rather tense. I am there with Stephan and his wife Annette, as well as my sister. We will race together.
My personal target for this race is to make it into the first third of all finishers. With about 3,200 participants, this means I need to finish within the first thousand (taking into account that some of the registered athletes will not attend.)
Unfortunately, my bike did not make it to the island, so I have to rent a bike - a Kross City Flitzer - for this race, which does not necessarily make my tensions and discomfort go away.
To cut a long story short, I finish as 903rd overall and as 140th in my division (out of 427). Goal accomplished. A detailed analysis brings my strengths and weaknesses to the table. I managed to finish the swimming in the first third, cycling in the first half, and running in the first fifth. This means I need to improve my cycling in order to finish the real Ironman in July 2017.