My swim was off to a great start until about five minutes in. I got hi in the face by, I think, an elbow. My goggles shifted on my face. I stopped so I could fix them and when I did, I pulled the strap out of the clip. So I had to take some time to fix them. I started going again and my goggles quickly filled with water. So, I had to stop again.

Other than those mishaps, my swim was really good. I felt smooth and fast and was just gliding through the water. Navigation was ok (I think they could have had a few more buoys as markers).

Overall, I'm pretty happy with this swim.

Some things are just out of my control

Huge transition area. Long time in t1. But pretty efficient believe it or not. I took some extra time to apply sunblock.

I decided months ago that I was going to go all in on the bike in this race. I trained hard on the bike. I pushed, non-stop throughout this leg of the race and I had a great, great ride.

That being said... I know that it is often said that the run course is littered with people walking along talking about what a great bike split they had. It turns out I was one of those people today.

I came into t2 3:35 into the race. I was hoping for a pr (5:56) and really hoping to go sub 5:45. A 2:10 half marathon is all I needed. And I know that that pace is doable, especially having come off of a half marathon pr a month ago of 1:54:33.

Maybe I worked to hard on the bike. I redlined virtually the whole way and I was unprepared to deal with the heat after such a tough ride.

Tough, tough conditions in the transition area. Probably about 5 inches of mud in the areas you had to run through to get to the racks. Really awful.

Mile one was in 10:10. I knew that this run was going to be hard, but never in my wildest imagination did I ever think it would be as bad as it was. I figured I could hang on to a 10:10-10:20 pace and still get a pr.

That plan was out the door after I soon realized that there was no way I could keep myself in a comfortable spot. By mile 4, I was in a very, very dark place. I don't think I have ever felt this down in a race before. I was way too hot, getting dizzy and nauseous. I kept trying to get some electrolytes and fluids and calories into me, but I think by then it was just too late.

Bobby caught up to me about 4.5 miles in. I told him how bad my situation was and the really, truly good friend that he is, he walked, shuffled and jogged the entire remainder of the race with me.

The bottom line is, today just wasn't my day. I trained meticulously, dieted faithfully and planned painstakingly for the last 5 months in preparation for this race. Obviously, this race was a failure for me... But the bottom line is, I finished another half ironman. This is number seven for me. I got myself into, perhaps, the best shape of my life (maybe even better that when I did the IM), and for that I have to be happy. I mean the ultimate goal is to do all of this for fitness and health and I have accomplished that at least.

Not sure what I really could have done. I mean I just never have been able to deal with heat very well, and after training so much and so hard outdoors, during a very cold winter, I guess I just wasn't ready for the heat and humidity.

Walked around and ate some food to try to get rid of the headaches I had.


Heat. Maybe a bad decision to go out so hard on the bike.