Whirlpool Steelhead 70.3 Triathlon - Triathlon1/2 Ironman

Started out very well with the swim - but as waves grew, struggled a bit. Actually had both legs cramp in the last 1/4 mile - thought about floating on my back to catch my breath, but was worried I'd be pulled from the water, so gutted it out.

Time was slower than I hoped, but better than I expected. Almost exact time as my first Olympic distance - so I guess that's some improvement.

Training is the biggest thing. Swim is my Tri limiter - but I've improved significantly. Having said that, it gets the least attention in my training. To overcome that, I need to put in some longer distance swim workouts.

I made the decision prior to the race to be smart in Transition. I had to run through 3/4 of the bikes to get to mine - so there would be extra time in transition anyway. Developed a slight blister the week before - so decided to wear socks - good decision to have talc/baby powder in the socks and quickly on the feet. With wearing socks - had to put on shoes and run with those (glad to have Exustar cleats which are easy to run in)

Could save a little time - but with adding socks, didn't want to get pebbles and sand on them before putting on shoes. For a 1/2 - not bad.

Halfway through the bike - thought a sub 6 performance might be possible. Averaged 22 mph through about mile 35. Then the headwinds hit. The last stretch in - about 18 miles, was a stiff headwind all the way home.

Go faster in the first part so there was less headwind to deal with? Probably not doable. Biggest thing would be to watch my hydration a little more carefully.

As mentioned above - with blister, needed to wear socks - decided to switch socks in transition to make sure I had dry socks on. Used rest room real quickly - was a little worried about hydration after using rest room.

Followed my plan - so for this race, not much.

With hydration info noted above, made the decision to walk through each fluid station to ensure I was getting enough in. Added a little time to my run, but felt it was worth it. As 2nd lap and fatigue approached, moved to repeating my mantra..."One step, two steps, three steps, go!" Over and over and over.

Biggest thing would be to ensure hydration was good off the bike - then I could have run through most fluid stations. Also - needed to do more transition runs in training, or bricks - to work on the bike to run legs.

Walked to car after wrapping up - rain had come in, and I was freezing! Back to hotel for a cold shower, then a little swimming in the pool, 5 minutes in the hot tub, then a hot shower.


Biggest was probably the cramping in the swim - if that hadn't happened, I probably would have saved 5-10 minutes in the swim, and gotten to a better start on the bike. But - being the first half-distance I've done, I have knowledge of how to attack in the future.

Oh - and the headwinds didn't help!


Volunteers were excellent, including the police working the roads. Post race activities difficult to gauge, as a storm was coming in so they kind of had to rush. Pizza was great at the finish!