5430 1/2 IM - Triathlon1/2 Ironman

Even though this was my slowest leg and I finished firmly in the BOP, I was probably most pleased with this leg than any. My last tri was the Lake to Lake OLY where I freaked out and after a couple of hundred meters went to my back and swam a modified back stroke/dog paddle. Today though, I swam smooth and steady. I never felt uncomfortable and although I was slow, I wasted much less energy swimming this time than last. In fact, my time today was faster than my OLY time. So big improvement here.

Train more. I just can not find the desire to swim. Although I plan to do just that this winter. Sort of my official motto: "I'll do it tomorrow"

Ok transition... no real problems, my heels sort of stuck in my wetsuit. Forgot to strap helmet and was stopped by an official otherwise... pretty good.

Put shoes on pedals prior to race.

Had a pro tune-up prior to the race... bike felt tight and right.
I ride a road bike without tri-bars so I look like the newbie that I am...
Anyway, looks aside, I felt strong on the ride. My average speed was almost 2 miles per hour faster than the Lake to Lake OLY in June. I noticed that I climbed the rolling hills well, as "my group" would either lose ground or I would gain ground whenever we encountered hills. So I was happy with that. I tried to eat a P&J sandwhich on the first mile, ate half, dropped the second half. I rode faster on the first half (22+ mph avg.)- faded a bit on the second. I developed some weird stomach issues that began and worsened on the bike... I stopped drinking gatorade and taking goos...

Better morning bathroom experience... Eat less the day before.

Good transition... had a little trouble with my slick new shoe lace thing-a-ma-jiggy.
Forgot to grab my Gatorade bottle... I always run half and full marathons with a full twist top Gatorade bottle as I don't seem to consume enoug fluid with aid station cups

better placement of running items.

Well here is where I did not meet my expectations... I consider myself a runner with a 3:00 marathon, 1:23 half marathon and a 37 minute 10k this summer. I really expected to break 1:40 (even hit the low 1:30s)... Unfortunately, it was hot and my stomach was in knots the whole race... I ran ok on the first lap, then my left knee cap tightened up painfully and I went into survival mode... I didn't have to walk (thankfully), but it was a very difficult run for me. Kudos to the volunteers and the event coordinators as the food and water stops were excellent. I wish that there were mile markers. I never new what mile I was on...

Grab my gatorade in T2 and drink it. Other than that, be better trained and hopefully experience less physical issues.

Ahh, my warm down.
Walked straight to the beer tent and had a beer! And then I had another. I wasn't hungry so I had some watermelon and sat down and watched people finish the race for a while. Then I had another beer... Heard Lilia's name - thought she was finished... She was - with the first lap of the run... so I went and had a few more beers.


Primarily my stomach issues and my knee pain.
This could be related to lack of training or just bad luck. Also, maybe I pushed larger gears than I should have in the ride... this may have caused my knee pain.


I will do this one again. I really think I can break 5 hours in the HIM... Part of me thinks I could have today... a few minutes on the swim, and a slightly better run would have gotten me real close. I'm happy though. I think I did good.
Cheers, Richard