Amanda Piccirilli-Hall

Heading out to Ohio for its Ironman 70.3 race was a solo trip. Back in whatever month it was when I signed up, I decided to travel by myself. With Taylor’s job, he doesn’t get paid vacation days and I just didn’t think it was worth him taking two unpaid days off to join me when at the end of the day, I need him for IMMD in September. That race there is no option, he’s coming. So it was me, myself and I hitting the old dusty for a 7 hour car ride to the Columbus, Ohio area.

FRIDAY: Ironman 70.3 Ohio was a Sunday race which meant I headed out on Friday and landed in Columbus that evening. This was the first time I stayed at an AirBnB where the homeowner stayed in the house while I was there. A little unsure of what it would be like, it was actually amazing and I loved being a guest in Whitney and Mark’s home. They were a young early 30s couple and it was great to get the lay of the land and some amazing food suggestions. Whitney and Mark are getting married this October so we talked weddings, dresses and decorations. Plus, they have an adorable one-year-old shih tzu, George, who gave me so many kisses and made me feel like I was home with my boys. I felt a bit homesick when I arrived, but they made me feel so welcome which eased the nerves.

Unsure on what time I would land in Columbus, I didn’t make any Friday evening plans. I ventured out to a cute little town called Dublin that reminds me of the King of Prussia area with shops, restaurants and apartments all in the same complex – lots of 20 and 30 year olds in that area dining al fresco. Food had long wait times so I opted for some ice cream for dinner (duh!) I hung outside in this outdoor seating area for a bit with my cone as an apartment tenant sat on his deck and played his guitar and sang. It was my own little private concert for a bit.

Exhausted from a day of long travel, I was off to the AirBnB and to bed on the earlier side.

Saturday: With all Ironman races, you need to check in one or two days before the race. I started the day early by getting to the Ironman Village around 9 a.m. right when it opened. The Ironman Village is a pretty poppin’ place with vendors, an Ironman gear tent, and of course, athlete check in. I waited in line to check-in and get all my race essentials – my wrist band, swim cap, running bib and timing chip. The swag was amazing as we got great shirts and this awesome rubber-ish bag that will be great as a swim bag with wet clothes. All of the volunteers were more than friendly and always willing to help no matter what you need. Funny thing when you travel alone – you have no one to take your picture. Thank you to all of the strangers who let me pose and took my photo. #GreatlyAppreciated

After checking in, I stayed for the 10 a.m. athlete briefing meeting. Anyone doing ANY type of race should attend these type of meetings. Course officials and race directors give you the play-by-play of the day letting you know about EVERYTHING – water conditions, road conditions, what to expect and what to look out for. My mind felt so much at ease after attending. The race’s announcer did the briefing and he was freakin hilarious. “Please remember, no family members can run down the finish shoot with you or you will be disqualified. So if you have a boyfriend planning on proposing to you, please note it will be the shortest engagement of your life when you find our your DQ’ed after him running down with you.” HAHAHAHA I WAS DEAD!

Something a little different about this race was that there were two transitions when usually at triathlons there is one (so for example: you swim in the lake, run out of the lake into transition which is nearby with your bike, put on your bike gear, bike, come back to transition, put on your run gear and go run). For Ironman 70.3 Ohio, there was a transition outside the swim at Delaware State Park and then another transition in Selby Stadium which is five miles down the road (and where the expo was). It was mandatory to drop off your T2 gear bag on Saturday which meant I had to pack up all my run gear ahead of time in my T2 bag and leave it in Selby Stadium until race day. I carefully got all of my items together, triple checked and left Selby Stadium – I will see you tomorrow on race day!

The next item on Saturday’s agenda was head to Delaware State Park to drop off my bike (which is another mandatory things all participants must do for Ironman events). I got to the park and got to check out the swim course – a triangle shaped course with some smooth lake water. My coach had me do a 30 minute bike and 15 minute run to shake out the legs. I had a little bit of an issue with my bike which made me almost have a break down because Taylor is my bike guy, but after I calmed down I solved the problem. I dropped off Khalessi in transition (yes, I named my bike) and my day was done until show time on Sunday.

   

Saturday Night: Saturday evening was one of my most favorite parts about the weekend. As many of you know, I’m a part of a triathlon club called Sonic Endurance. I am beyond grateful that they have become a part of my life (that will be a whole other blog post). One cool thing about Sonic is that we’re a national tri club with pockets of our crew all across the country. Luckily there is a handful of Sonic members from the Cinnci area and they were in town for the half Ironman. Being that I was solo all weekend, Michelle and Jamie welcomed me with open arms and asked me to join the Cincinnati Tri Club for their team pre-race meal. It was great to meet Michelle and Jamie face-to-face and laugh, tell stories and talk about our future races. Knowing that someone was there to support me on Sunday meant so much to me!

After an amazing meal (filet and garlic mash – yummm ) it was back to the AirBnB and bed time as I had a 3:30 a.m. wake up.