High Cliff Triathlon - Half Ironman - Triathlon1/2 Ironman

The seas were angry my friend. Lots of chop. After about the first 200 we headed right into the chop. It was pretty rough going. Got bounced around a lot and had a tough time staying on the course. Got swam over by a girl who was side stroking toward a life guard. Then saw a guy yelling out to life guard for help. Somehow I managed to stay calm during this despite drinking lots of water. Never found any feet to draft. Final turn toward beach was fun, as current was behind you pushing you toward shore. Hit the beach at 43 and transition at 44. 4 minute PR over last year.

Not much. was quite pleased with this, esp. with rough conditions. Didn't realize at the time but this would be the highlight of the day.

Got suit off pretty quick. was at far end of transition so I had a long way to go to get to bike. Spent lots of time applying sunscreen, which by the looks of my shoulders, was a miserable failure. Is it really that hard to properly put on sunscreen?

wear a sweater to keep the sun off me.

Last year I was very disappointed in my bike. Swore that wouldn't happen again. So I focused on the bike in the offseason. Did Jorge's bike power training this winter, then picked a HIM plan with lots of bike volume. This was all done with today in mind. What was the result? The exact time as last year. Sure there are excuses: pretty windy, very hot. However as I stated before, I am not interested in excuses, I am interested in results. I had a lot riding on this ride and the direction I go in this tri thing. The result is an epic failure. The failure is not that it was 3:17 on a hot windy day. It is the fact that I saw ZERO improvement. Bright spot? The view was nice and I nailed my nutrition plan.

Drive my car, because I am apparently not cut out for this biking thing.

To be honest I was completely defeated at this point and just didn't care how long it took

run and hide

If not for the fact that I saw TriDDS and Travis coming in T2 and getting some encouraging words, there is a VERY real possibility that I would have ended my race right in T-2. I have never DNf'ed a race for any reason, included my IT Band meltdown here two years ago. The fact that I seriously considered this just because I wasn't going to make my goal, makes me sick to my stomach. I knew that with the heat, humidity and broken attitude that this would be a miserable run. I was half right. Physically it was miserable. I was hot, tired and bloated. I told myself to DTFU. There is very real possibility this was my last HIM run. I told myself to relax and enjoy it. Having lifted the mental pressure of hitting my goal, I just enjoyed the run, misery and all. I I enjoyed the natural setting. I enjoyed the small talk with the others suffering along side me. I enjoyed the banter with the volunteers. I enjoyed the physical misery. I enjoyed running the last mile strong (8:50 pace)

PR by 2 minutes. whoop de frick'in ding dong.

About 20 degrees cooler would be nice.

Tried to get my wits about me and not throw up or pass-out. Took about a hour before I felt together enough to drive home safely.


ya got about 3 hours...


Race run much better than last year!

As mentioned, I had a lot riding on this race. Not just in regard to my future in tris, but also in my ability in general to implement a plan to overcome a challenge. Again, epic failure. Maybe it was stupid to give so much weight to a goofy bike ride, but I did. I am not meaning to diminish anyone you took this long or longer to complete this event. I completely respect everybody out there in less than ideal conditions. I also understand that I might have fallen a bit short on my goals with the steamy conditions. However to fall SO short of MY goals is a huge disappointment. One from which recovery will not come easy, if at all.