Published Oct. 2, 2022
I plastered a smile on my face, looked up at the cloudless sky and sparkling lake and thought, “I am so lucky to be able to do this.” It really helped. I felt joy radiate through my body to give that extra push through the last few miles.
I signed up for Timberman in April and trained over the summer in California. This was my first Half Iron Man and second triathlon ever after Season Opener in the spring. The week prior to the race, I managed to feel both exhausted from week 1 madness and antsy from the taper. I got increasingly nervous for the race, having expected to feel a lot better the week of.
I drove to Laconia on Friday night where I met my Dad and my boyfriend, Andrew, who came to support my race. On Saturday, we drove the run course and parts of the bike course. It helped with my peace of mind to be able to visualize my exact trajectory for race day, including swim in, bike out, and run out from the transition area.
Although I was feeling pretty poorly on Saturday, I woke up Sunday feeling energized- –a reminder that good sleep two nights before the race is more important than the night of. Dad and Andrew made me a fantastic breakfast burrito (I highly recommend this as a race morning breakfast). Setting up at transition was straightforward. I felt some nerves, but mostly genuine excitement for a race I had been looking forward to for so long. I thought about the day as just another “unlimited energy day,” a day in which I get to move my body and enjoy being outside.
(From left to right: Ryan Brown '23, Carlos Ohler-Garcia '24, Elena Luria '25, Robin Sandell '23)
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It took a little effort to push to the front of the swim lineup, but I’m very glad I did. I went out a bit fast but quickly got my breath back under control and settled into a sustainable pace. Finding someone with good navigation at the right pace to draft off of proved tricky, so I mostly swam by myself. I got little glimpses as I swam of a gorgeous sunrise over Opechee Bay. It went by remarkably fast. I ran into transition with Andrew screaming, “You’re in first, you’re in first!”
The bike was the best leg of the race for me. I was aiming for 18 mph and averaged 19.6 mph. As a newbie to biking and not having a power meter to rely on during training, I really focused on maintaining a consistent power over the crests of the hills and turns. I also was able to get down quite a few solids early in the ride, which was essential to having energy on the run. Somehow my body seemed to forget how to swallow food. Coaching myself through swallowing a bite of a snack bar while barreling down the road was a fine moment.
Passing people was difficult because, especially early in the course, there were a lot of bikes on the road often bunched up around the base of hills. I took the effort to pass people if it allowed me to maintain a consistent power, even if they ended up passing me later. Thanks to my concerted efforts at hydration, I had to dash to the porta potties in T2. Unfortunately, the girl who ended up in first place was ahead of me by roughly the amount of time it takes to strip off a tri kit and frantically pee in a porta potty.
The beginning of the run felt really solid. I continued to eat goos every couple miles and drink water and Gatorade at every aid station. This involved chucking Gatorade in the general direction of my mouth as I ran and hoping some went in. The loop around the lake was pretty fast, with punchy uphills and long extended downhills during which I really tried to pick up momentum. By mile 9 or so, my body was really hurting and I was slowing down. Based on training I had expected to reach this point a lot earlier in the run.
At this moment I returned to my “Why’s”:
Why am I training for and running this race?
I plastered a smile on my face, looked up at the cloudless sky and sparkling lake and thought, “I am so lucky to be able to do this.” It really helped. I felt joy radiate through my body to give that extra push through the last few miles.
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I was euphoric and relieved to cross the finish line! My time was 5 hours :29 mins., 30 minutes faster than my goal time, and I finished second in my age group. A slot at the Finland World Championships next August was the cherry on top. This day was truly everything I could have hoped for. I felt overwhelmed by gratitude for an able body, for the privilege to train and race, and for all the loving people in my life who supported me in reaching this goal. A special shout out to Coach Jim, my Mom and Dad, Andrew, and the Dartmouth tri- team whom I adore.
There is always room for improvement, but this is just the beginning of my triathlon journey. I am absolutely in love with this sport and this community of athletes and cannot wait to see where it will take me.
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Takeaways
Trust my training. I got nervous during the taper when I felt slow and tired instead of energized. It took a little while to shake off the cobwebs from the taper, but once they were shaken off, my body had the fitness and knew exactly what it was doing.
Control what I can and do not stress about what I can’t. This is a classic lesson but cannot be overstated. Every time I felt stress arising in my body before and during the race, I quietly asked myself, is this over something I can control or not? If it was, I methodically went about making the necessary change to set myself up for success. If it was not, I took a deep breath and moved my focus elsewhere.
Have a list of “Why’s.” Training for and completing a half iron man brings with it many moments of physical pain, moments when everything in my body was screaming for me to stop. In these moments, I needed to return to the reasons I initially signed up for this race. I wanted to see what my body was capable of and experience the very edge of my physical and psychological capabilities. I wanted to dive deeply into a sport that brings me so much genuine joy and satisfaction when I reach my goals. I wanted to celebrate the gift of an able body. I wanted to honor those in my life who do not have this gift.
Love and gratitude are my greatest motivators. I know this sounds cheesy, but cultivating these two emotions in my training and on race day gave me a more profound reason to push my body than achieving my physical goals. I was motivated by my love for my twin sister, which overwhelmed me in the most physically painful moments. All throughout my training and on race day, I kept looking around and pinching myself: “I am out here in a beautiful place doing a sport that I love. How lucky am I.”
(Pictured: Robin and her father, pre-race)
Robin Sandell is a Dartmouth ‘23 from Palo Alto, CA majoring in philosophy. She's a Dartmouth tri team enthusiast and also love to rock climb, backpack, paint, and travel.