Iron Horse Triathlon - Triathlon

This was my first open water mass start so i really didnt know what to expect. It was a time trial start by age group. Every 30 seconds a new age group would get in the water (about 9 ft deep) and wait for the signal. The course was out approximately 150 yard then a 90 degree right turn, approximately 50 or so yards then another right turn for about 150 yards back to the dock. I got to the back of our group so i wouldnt get run over. I clearly was not the weakest swimmer. Once the horn blew i felt like i couldnt get past a wall of slower swimmers. I breast stroked a while to see if the pack would spread out and it didnt. I eventually decided i couldnt waste a ton of time waiting for everyone to get out of my way so i swam through them. The water was very silty so you really couldnt see to draft. I in fact couldnt see my fingers when stretched all the way out. I passed many people during the swim. I could feel someone on my feet the whole swim but i just kept pushing on. During practice i swim with bilateral breathing. For some reason on this race i was breathing one side only. about 100 yards in my breathing got out of wack and i just had to tell my self to slow down, take long strokes, and breath.
During the swim there was a small alligator but everyone just ignored him. I think he was there to see the race.
Getting out of the water onto the dock there were steps that went pretty far down into the water so it was not an issue getting out. From the dock you had about a 50 yard run to the transition area. Some of this area was over a gravel (rock) drive but the race organizer had carpet laid down to run across so this wasn't an issue.


Get in the middle of the pack, breath as i do in practice.

There was a pretty long run from the swim to T1 but i jogged the whole way. To date all the races i have done i have my shoes mounted to my bike, do a flying mount and get on my way. This race however i did things differently (i know, i know). It was an open bike course with vehicular traffic. I was a little worried about trying to do a flying mount and get my shoes on with cars coming by so i decided to put my shoes on in T1. When entering T1 i quickly found my bike, put on my helmet, sunglasses, and shoes. It was harder to keep my balance than what i thought but it wasn't too bad.

Stick to my normal flying mount.

This was an out and back course which was very clean, while it was not closed to traffic law enforcement did a great job of not letting too many cars come through the course at once. For the most part any major bumps, cracks, holes etc. were marked with high viz orange paint.

When i started out on the bike i made a conscious effort not to start out too hard. About a mile in i had shifted up into my gears and settled into a comfortable cadence. I looked at my watch and was going 20 MPH, then 21 MPH, then almost 22 MPH. At this point i started looking around for signs of wind as the effort seemed too easy for the speed i was at. I didn't see anything. It looked dead calm. I kept pushing ahead. When i got to the turn around i was surprised to see volunteers handing out water bottles if you wanted one. I passed on the water and made the U-Turn into roaring wind. As normal you don't appreciate the help a tailwind is giving you until you meet the head wind. My speed on the way out was an average of about 20.7 MPH my average speed on the way back in was about 16.9 MPH. When i was about 50 yards out from the dismount line i pulled my feel out of my shoes and readied myself to dismount. During the bike course i drank about 18 ounces of water.

I hadn't noticed an issue until after the race but around mile 7 on the bike my garmin crapped out so i only have partial data from my bike, T2, and the run due to a corrupt file.

Train more. I have not been training like i should. I have been building a base as i am a noob and slacked off the last couple of weeks.

The transition was setup as three columns running East / West . When i originally setup my bike i came from west to east on the south of the center column. I didnt realize the bike into T2 shot you out on the north of the center column.

When i came in off the bike i was running West looking for my my area to my right. Not realizing this was the outermost column until i got to racks from the very end. I turned around now looking to my left (still the outermost column) then passing up my area. At this point i finally realized what was happening. I racked my bike, threw on my visor, shoes, put on my race belt and left T2.

Take time to walk through the transitions areas for T1 in/out and T2 in/out. Run out with my race belt while putting it on.

I started out with a high cadence trying to get my legs feeling normal. After about 0.75 miles my legs started feeling pretty good. There was great volunteer support on the run course. I think there were three aid stations (on a two mile course). Between the aid stations there were about 3 different spots with volunteers cheering you on making sure everything was ok. At the first aid station there was water, second aid station was water, and the third aid station there was water and ice cold towels (this was a nice treat). I should have pushed harder than i did as i ended the course feeling like i had plenty of energy still.

Push the mental game and push myself harder.

This is where i dont do a good job. Normally i cross the finish line and stop doing anything.

I finished the race, grabbed a bottle of water and sqwincher. After drinking them i stretched my quads and hamstrings and started looking for the food.


Training, i need to bike more and run with a focus on building up speed now that i have a good base.


The organization was great from start to finish. When you arrived and checked in there was plenty of help. From the beginning of the race to the end the support and volunteers were great and there were many of them.



The race swag:

I was shocked by the amount of stuff that was in my race bag. I have been to events that have had a much longer history and cost much more and you got much less. There was a head sweat race visor, a race belt, swim cap, tire levers, a long sleeve tech shirt, a few cozies, and a water bottle. Not to mention when you crossed the finish line you were handed an Iron Horse towel (about the size of a golf towel) and finisher’s medal.

The Run:

There was great volunteer support on the run course. I think there were three aid stations (on a two mile course). Between the aid stations there were about 3 different spots with volunteers cheering you on making sure everything was ok. At the first aid station there was water, second aid station was water, and the third aid station there was water and ice cold towels (this was a nice treat). When you got back to the finish line there was plenty of people cheering you on as you came into the finish line. After you crossed the finish line there was a towel handed to you, a medal, and a water or Gatorade (and sqwincher).

The Food:

After the race there was plenty of water, Gatorade, beer. The whole time I was there it was flowing. There was plenty of food to go around as well. The shrimp and grits were amazing as was the jambalaya. There were plenty of cookies (various types) ice cold watermelon, ice cold orange wedges, fruit salad, and bananas.



The Awards and Raffle:

There seemed to be some very nice plaques and metals for those that won overall or placed in the top three in their age group.

The door prizes that were raffled off blew my mind for a 2nd annual event. There were so many I can’t even remember them all. I would guess there were at least 20 items given away. Some of them included a yeti ice chest, a go pro camera, a Garmin 910XT tri package; three easy up tents, a bike pump, aero water bottles, etc. These were some great prizes.



In the end this was a great even for a great cause. The money raised goes to support fighting and finding a cure for ALS.



I will be doing this even again without question.