Duke Liver Center Half Ironman - Triathlon1/2 Ironman

*Update: Ranking AG: 4/57 and Overall: 31/300. Sweet!

By far one of the weirdest and best swims of my career. Tons of wind which really stirred up the wave. Against the waves on the way out. So I inteded to swim at a 1:50 pace and was going to start on one of the outsides. No one wanted to be front and center though. Weirdest thing. So I took the spot. I promised myself that I would NOT sprint the first 200 or so yards. I didn't...no one else did either. WTF??? I got into the groove from the get go. Great sighting the entire time. At the 2nd buoy, I'm swimming away and I hit the freaking bottom with my hand. We're talking about 2 feet of water. So I start dolphining until I realize that there's huge rocks in this 2 feet of water. LOL! So I walk until it gets deeper. I couldn't take a regular stroke, so it seemed like the right thing to do. Rounded the turn and headed back. Ran into (literally) and passed a female elite along the way...the whole time, I'm thinking...where the hell is everybody?? I'll be interested to see what my rank is in the swim. The other thing that blows my mind is that I never went anaerobic or even started breathing heavy! What is up with that???? Bilateral every 3 the whole way. Nice full complete stroke with some glide with my slow efficient strokes. Best swim I've ever had.

So I get to the end of the swim and stagger up the slimy slippery boat dock and there's a ton of freaking people. I put on my great big cheesy smile and the whole place erupts. Its the closest feeling I've ever felt to what I think a pro would go through. I'm sure many of the other participants got similar cheers, but wow....what a rush!


Absolutely nothing.

No idea on time right yet. I took my time though. Should be in the 4-5 minute range. Made sure I had everything.

*update...ok I wasn't that slow. :)

Gradually, this needs to become more efficient. The goal for today was to take my time and do it right. Mission accomplished.

Update: AG: 37/57 Overall: 184/300. Pretty much what I expected. Saved up for the run.

Went out slow (according to plan). Had to reel myself back in constantly. I'd get passed and it would piss me off and I'd end up speeding up. Everyone that got away from me, I'd tell myself...I'll get you on the run. :) LOL!

Got chased by a dog! LOL! I hear the guy behind me yell...."DOG!!!" and I hammered it. He nearly caught me the little shit.

Dropped my chain while going up a hill. Was switching from big to little chainring. Unclipped the left foot, but then decided to try to get it back without dismounting. Slammed the shifter back over to big chain ring and pedaled easy. Chain caught right on and off I went all proud of myself. Pace was spot on what I expected to hit and still keep body from going anaerobic. Except for a few hills, the breathing was pretty normal.


Yelled at a cow along the way. It was licking an electric fence. The guy who was currently passing me gave me a funny look.

Saw a dog identical to our old lab mix that I got Denise as a wedding present. Very cool...almost very emotional (she's gone now :( )

When I got to mile 50, I had had enough. I started checking my Garmin every 1/4 mile. The last 10 miles felt like they were right into the wind. Brutal end.

Did EXCELLENT job hydrating and getting nutrition. Probably took in about 1500 calories and endurolytes every 30 mins.

Keep working on that bike endurance. That's my biggest limiter right now.

Another long transition...by design. Feet out of shoes for the last 1/4 mile though. That went well. Gave kisses to the family who showed up for the last half of the race. :)

Next race, we'll optimize this. For this one though, I'm happy and didn't forget anything.

Update: Rankings are out. Made up a few spots from those that didn't plan well on the bike. Not a bad time. MOP effort. Happy with my pacing though.

Plan was to go 10 min/mile to start, then if I felt good to drop it down. I have the terrible problem of leaving T2 and going way too fast, which will make me pay later.

Stayed slow for the first 3, then all of a sudden, my legs just found a groove. They were tired, especially with all the damn hills. But, from mile 3 to mile 8, I dropped down into an 8:30-9:30 pace....the 8:30 was on the downhills of course :) :).

At the turnaround, I got a very interesting surprise. My boss / semi-former boss from work showed up to cheer me on during the run! I gave him a high 5, and my spirits were boosted even further. How freaking cool is that!!!!!

Walked every aid station. Ran all the hills except for the 2nd to last hill. Just ran out of gas.

Did a ok job hydrating though the heat eventually kicked my ass. Did a poor job taking in calories. Gelled only once, but wasn't feeling very comfortable in the belly to feel like taking in any calories. If they only had real freaking GATORADE instead of that Cytomax shit, I'd have gotten in another 400-500 calories.

Barely any kick at all. 1st cramp showed up with 0.1 mile to go. :)

Run highlight: Emma running across the finish line with me holding my hand. We BOTH got a finishers medal. :)

Continue to get the long run distance up. Get comfortable running 13 while tired.

Got my medal, found a soda for a quick sugar rush, then headed over to the aid tent. Tons of people hooked up to IV's. They smothered me with love (it was being run by a bunch of the Duke Hospital nurses). Lots of ice cold towels on my head, back, and front and a couple of oranges got me feeling human again.

There was nothing left in the tanks when I crossed that line.


For my first HIM I'm so happy with how this race turned out. It was a great swim, a good bike, and a tough run. If I'm going to eventually "race" this distance, I've got to develop some longer endurance.


Once again...great race, even better company. Y'all have to check out Christian. You won't freaking recognize him. :)

Got to see Tom and Shannon cross the line! Shannon we could see coming a mile away with her ponytail swinging. And Tom has this stride that looks like he can keep up all day long. GREAT RACE SHANNON AND TOM!!!!