Holly Lawrence ended IRONMAN 70.3 Oceanside in agony on Saturday, but at the same time she felt like her old self.

After what the 2016 70.3 World Champion herself describes as “a crappy last year” she came away from the California thriller taking the race as a big positive.

Lawrence fought through the pain of open bleeding blisters on the run to claim third spot behind brilliant winner Taylor Knibb and Brazilian star Luisa Baptista.

Holly says ‘wear your socks’

The cause of all that pain was deciding to operate without socks – something she probably won’t be doing again soon.

Writing on Instagram, Holly said: “WORD TO THE WISE – wear your damn socks 🧦 and don’t try and save a couple seconds unless it really matters – missing a lot of skin right now and I can’t say that it was worth it 🤦🏼‍♀️.

“That last mile all I could think about was my open bleeding blisters that was freaking torture – literally contemplated taking my shoes off – but I totally forgot about that sprained ankle!!! My beautiful white Nike’s are now red! 💁🏼‍♀️”

Lawrence back to herself

While Lawrence admits there is still a ton of work to do as she looks ahead to the big challenges ahead in 2022, this was a step in the right direction. Albeit a painful one.

“Still a long way off of where I want to be fitness-wise for the main races of the season but after a crappy last year or so I’m feeling like my old self for this time of year and that excites me and feels like a HUGE positive💃🏼

“Can’t wait to get my head back down to training till the next one and build through the season!!”