ST. GEORGE — I was already awake when my 4:30 a.m. alarm went off on race day. For the past 10 weeks, my twin sister, Hayley, and I had been consumed with training, planning, and prepping for the St. George 70.3 Ironman. Race day had finally arrived, we had no idea what to expect and were both overflowing with race day jitters.

In efforts to be prepared for race day, we did a lot of research on where to stay the weekend of the Ironman. Comfortable king beds were a must, access to healthy nutritional food, a quiet and restful environment and a place with notable massage therapists on site were all factors that led us to choose Red Mountain Resort.

We enjoyed our pre-race meal the night before at Red Mountain Resort’s specialty restaurant. Our meal going into race day was organic, gluten free, dairy free and delicious. I can attribute part of feeling great on race day to our comfortable night's stay. I would recommend doing a lot of research and choosing carefully your food and sleeping arrangements before a big competition.

The morning sun was just barely beginning to shed light on the chilly shores of Sand Hollow Reservoir when the athlete bus dropped us off. The thousands of athletes swarming the reservoir shore, the constant buzz of the commentator’s comments and energy were so tangible you could feel it were overwhelming and invigorating at the same time.

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My twin sister and I are not triathletes. We grew up enjoying activities like soccer, volleyball, skiing and hiking — nothing that involved goggles and a swim cap or prolonged periods of running. That being said, competing in a Half Ironman had always been a goal of ours. We decided that it is now or never.

The St. George Ironman was sold out with 2,800 athletes and the thousands of other athletes were about to embark on the same adventure.

The race began in 60-degree water and I was very glad I had a wetsuit. If you are a novice swimmer like me, I suggest a full sleeve wetsuit: more buoyant and creates less drag that a sleeveless.

The chilly swim starting line was located 100 yards offshore. My sister and I were in the middle of our warm up swim to the starting line, when we heard the air horn blaring through the air annoucing that our heat had begun. In a frantic mess, we embarked on our first Ironman 70.3.

The 1.2-mile swim took us around the island in Sand Hollow Reservoir and for my novice swimming arms, it seemed to stretch on forever. It was hard to maintain a straight swim line with dozens of swimmers kicking, hitting and accidentally swimming all over you. It was a little panic inducing, so if you are planning on competing in a triathlon I would recommend open water swim practice.

With the frantic swim under our belts, we were off to pedal 56 hill-saturated miles. The cycling discipline is where I felt the most confident, but after driving the course the day before (familiarizing yourself with the course prior to race day is something I enourage), I knew the 4,042 feet of elevation gain would take its toll.

I had purchased a Garmin GPS watch prior to the race and was so glad I did. I was able to watch my pace, check my mileage and also time my nutrition consumption. Every 10 minutes, I was either drinking water and a GU Roctane calorie drink or taking salt pills or Power gels. Whether I was hungry, thirsty, or none of the above, I was constantly fueling and I think this is what got me through the bike portion of the race. The bike course was long and taxing but definitely provided plenty of gorgeous scenery.

By the time the grueling 13.1 run began, the temperature was in the high 80s. It was hot and the hills on the course did nothing to ease the pain of running. However, the aid stations located every mile were rejuvenating and the happy encouraging volunteers at each station made the run bearable. In this leg, salt pills and forcing myself to drink water was what helped the most.

Two hours and 53 seconds later, the painful run lead to the finish line of our first 70.3 Ironman.

My sister and I ended up beating our goal time by a full hour which I can attribute to many factors: proper training up to the event definitely was key, keeping up constant hydration and nutrition during the race, the cheering support of my husband and friends watching the race, having the right equipment and the impressive organization from the Ironman affiliation.

One thing I would recommend after completing such a big race is focusing on your recovery. My sister and I had scheduled recovery massages at the Red Mountain Resort Spa and I am so glad we did.

We also scheduled time to rest, relax and do a short recovery swim the day after. Moving your muscles in a low impact environment such as a pool is a great way to increase blood flow, flush out excess lactic acid in sore muscles and increase the range of motion in stiff joints.

Competing in the St. George Ironman was one of the most physically taxing things I have ever done and yet I found myself surprisingly happy almost the entire race. Not only was the scenery outstanding and the weather beautiful, but the spirit of competition and the energy buzzing from each competitor was contagious to the point that I really enjoyed myself despite the pain.

I would urge novice athletes and experienced competitors alike to join the experience.

Bryn Bingham is co-founder of Globecandy.com, a travel blog that celebrates the sweet spots around the globe. She currently resides in Salt Lake City with her husband and son. Email: bryn@sldestinations.com

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