White Lake Half - Triathlon1/2 Ironman

The swim was just barely wetsuit legal. I was in wave 2 and there was a lot of jostling in the first 600 m. Had guys crossing left and right in front on me. Once past the first turn buoy, I was able to get into some open water an into a rythm.

Attempt to draft more.

After climbing ladder out of the lake, took wetsuit off to my waist. It was about a 300 yd run to T1. Had to watch for stumps, pine cones and tree roots on the run. Once at my rack, got the wetsuit off with no problem. Got into my helmet, sunglass, socks, shoes and gloves and on my way.

Nothing, happy with T1.

Had to watch for grooves and some holes on the road in the first few miles. Also had to avoid water bottles that others had lost from the bumps. I do not have a tri-bike, just a basic road bike with aerobars. You can tell by my age group and overall ranking on the bike. The first 25 miles of the bike I felt great, averaging 19-20 mph. I was still getting passed like I was standing still, but that was ok. Then when we made the turn onto Hwy 53, we had a headwind for the remaining 30 miles. That totally took all of my energy.

Continue to work in the aero position to maximize my speed since I do not have a tri-bike.

I was feeling it coming into T2 with that headwind for so many miles. Once I jumped off my bike, just made sure I had my legs under me before jogging to my rack. Took a little longer in T2 just to get comfortable before starting the run.

Simply speed up.

I knew going into the run it was not going to be pretty. I could not get my legs going and then add in the 90 degree heat with no clouds. I did the best I could and ended up with more of a walk/job for the entire distance. Glad there were colde towels at the aid stations as it was tough to try and stay cool.

Drink even more fluids.

After finishing, worked my way to the spray tent which felt great. Grabbed a pepsi, mountain dew and hot dog. Then, I went into the lake which felt great to help cool off.


The headwind on the bike and the heat limited me in a better performance.


This was my first HIM. It was an amazing experience that I will never forget. I learned a ton on preparation and made sure that no matter what, I stayed positive.