For my first HM, I felt clueless about the basics like how the pace should feel, how fast I could go, and what my time would be. My only strategy was to chase my highly experienced friend Tim, like I've done for the past few races. It worked again. I hung on Tim's heels until about mile 9, when he urged me to pull ahead. He kept close enough and won his age group by 6 or so minutes. I finished with another friend, Mark, who'd hung with us the entire race, and we both exceeded our expectations when we saw 1:39 on the timing clock.

Tim made me work a lot, but I still had energy in the tank at the finish, and felt good the entire time. We saw a lot of friends on the route cheering us on, on relay teams, fellow competitors, and friends along the course.

The vibe was great anyway, but it was a special experience to see so many friends in and supporting the race.

My tri and running buddies are now forcing me to admit that I'm a runner, and that''s okay ;)

Ha. Not much, this way exceeded my expectations. If I did it over, I'd try to pace off of a friend who had three minutes on me, but I don't have any regrets about this, my first ever HM.

I was in solid shape, and was supporting other finishers within a few seconds. I eventually grazed the snacks and hydration.


Only experience. I was a complete rookie going into this. The next 70.3 will be a great run, and I'll have a good idea about what to do and what to expect.


The water stations were perfect, there were a lot of volunteers, and I was easily able to get Gatorade, water to splash on my jersey and drink, and even a gel. The course has a lot of turns, and isn't pancake flat, but is pretty and fun through Las Palmas and the Movie Colony. I'd do it again in the morning if I could ;)

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