The Augusta 70.3 Finally Arrived

Well, the 2009 Triathlon season has finally come to a close. We did not participate in as many events as last year, only 4, but our season was actually longer. We started our training in January and finished with our A race, the Augusta Half Ironman last Sunday. This was the inaugural event, and the Ironman folks claim it was the largest 70.3 race ever. Whether that is accurate or not, it was a huge field with over 2,800 participants.

This is a picture of the 1.2 mile swim start. There were 25 swim waves that started on the pier and swam down river to the transition area. This was a fast swim due to a slight current and a great way to start our race.

Ann crushed the swim but her wetsuit zipper broke and would not open, causing her precious time! Even so, she still had a blazing swim split.

Steve is heading out of T1 trying to figure out where he is going after his best swim ever.


Speed racer... passing several men... typical males don't want a woman to pass them, so they speed up and try and pass her again, only to delay the inevitable.

Steve looking calm and confident on the bike..."if only I had aero wheels I would be really destroying this bike course!" We did a great job with our bike training as we both held back on the bike and managed very good times with a controlled effort. It is a great feeling when 56 miles seems like an easy distance. Too bad the impending winter will cause us to lose much of our bike fitness and have to build it back up again in the spring.

The 13.1 mile run snaked through FLAT streets of downtown Augusta. This sounded like a great run at first, flat and fast! Surprisingly, the 1.5 mile stretches through town became a mental grind from the monotony.

The run is where the race is made. Unfortunately, both Steve and Ann did not perform up to their potential. We had decent times but need to figure out how to nail a run that we are capable. More speed work for Steve and back the drawing board for Ann's race day nutrition in 2010.

Overall, the race itself was a ton of fun, and we will probably sign up for this event again. The entire Stien Mountain Triathlon Team qualified for the USA Triathlon National Championships next fall! Ann Hattamer, Donovan, Ann and Steve all had PR's (John did a full Ironman two weeks prior so PR was not expected). In fact, Donovan popped off such a fast race that we are waiting for the drug test results to see if it actually counts.

Again, we have to thank Grandma Moe for watching all three kids overnight back in ATL so that we could do the race. I wonder who expended more energy???