Firmman Half Iron Triathlon - Triathlon1/2 Ironman

We really lucked out - there were no waves to speak of going out. On the way back in to the beach, they were definitely kicking up, but going in the right direction.

I made the HUGE mistake of following the male pack that started behind me when they came by. I think that they all tried to swim to Block Island. I couldn't see the buoys well at all - my goggles are orange, they were half filled with water, I am ridiculously nearsighted, and the buoys are really far apart. I think a purchase of non-orange goggles is in order.

Pull myself together sooner - I think it was 2 or 3 minutes before I got down to a nice normal stroke, and by then the chance to find a swim buddy was gone.

I felt really woozy (water in ear) so I was here forever. I changed, I ate a granola bar, I drank gatorade, people came and went.

Um, nothing really. I felt bad.

Going up King's Factory Road was hard - not at the halfway point yet, there were a few quadbusters, and I was jealous of the pack bombing down the hill. Going down was a highlight, though.

This was my first time using bike aid stations, and I stopped and chilled at each one. Took two gels at each, plus ~ 250 cals Gatorade.

The headwinds sucked - I didn't really notice them until the turnaround. I was feeling fine and thought I would just cruise back into town. Um, no.

The winds were so bad that I threw a hissy fit, seriously. I used the f word, I gave the wind the finger, I was pissed off. At this point, there were only a few people behind me, and no one came up. I wouldn't have minded a little action - it was pretty lonely.

My biking was pretty weak this year. Garbage in, garbage out. I honestly feel like I'm close to a breakthrough, but it won't happen without work.

So, I was in a horrible mood coming into T2. I thought, I hate this race, I hate this distance, so I'll do the run so I never have to do it again. Yes, I did the run. It was stupid. I walked huge chunks of it, and I felt fine. I passed a lot of people, but I'm not sure if all of them finished. The people at the aid statiosn were very nice - and I think that they were relieved to see a straggler who was not suffering.

Not have a screwy knee.

I was really, really happy with the volunteer support. I did about the time I was anticipating, and I was fully prepared to find empty aid stations. But the support was awesome - I didn't see any stations that had been manned on my way out empty on the way back. With people finsihing from 4 to 9 hours, it must be a really long day. Special props go to the woman living at the mile 7 aid station who let me use her bathroom.

Note: I'm missing a T2 and run split. Assumed 2 minutes for T2, then back-calculated.