High Cliff Triathlon - Half Ironman - Triathlon1/2 Ironman

I was in wave 10 so I had to wait a bunch of time and was starting to get warm. Got up to staging, got in the water, adjusted my goggles, took a look at the wavy water and then got the "GO". Ran for a while because the swim was only waist deep for the first 200 yds, then finally put my head down and started to swim. And kept swimming, and swimming, and swimming. I kept reminding myself to breathe slowly and don't fight the waves. Sometimes it felt like I wasn't moving at all. I wasn't sighting as well as I could have, but the waves and general lack of people wasn't helping. I tried to keep my eyes on people that looked like they were heading in the right direction and watch for canoes and boats to guide me. I swallowed water a bunch of times and had to stop and catch my breath a few times. Finally when I made that last turn, I started towards shore, but was swimming into the sun and couldn't see anything. I finally saw the person next to me stand up so I swam a bit more and started running in. My head wasn't too dizzy, so I just walked quickly and started working on my wetsuit. Noticed Paul standing in the water taking pictures and smiled for him.

Mmmm... go to the pool and actually swim once and awhile. I need to get back in the pool and build some endurance.

When I left the water, I started up this huge hill but didn't run, just walked. On the side was Joan and her sister, Sue, so I tried to smile at them. Got up to the top of the hill and walked to my bike, worked way too long pulling off my wetsuit, then put on my shoes, helmet, and got going with my bike. Didn't jump on it until I got off the grass and then off I went.

Work on taking off that wetsuit. Not much otherwise. It wasn't like I was trying to do a speed demon during T1

When I got on my bike, I knew my first big challenge was making sure I was in the correct gear and starting to prepare for the hill everyone talks about. Well I had never driven the course before and I had no idea what stood in my way so when I started at it, it caught me by surprise as to how big and long it was. I kept shifting down gears and ran out but made it up to the top. I barely had time to catch my breath before I hit another small hill and then I was able to settle in and start to get comfortable. I had some basic knowledge of the turns and distance, but that really didn't help much when it came down to it. I started in on the gatorade early on and just started moving, changing gears and watching the miles tick by. I tried the method of counting by tens to break down the ride and that helped for a while. I realized pretty early on there was also some wind (no duh considering the waves out there on the swim) and started trying to figure out when this would most effect me. Grabbed water at the first water stop and downed some of that. Ate a package of fig newton minis at mile 15 and just kept at it with the water and gatorade. Around mile 20, the whole event started to catch up to me and the hills just kept coming even though they claimed the race course was flat. I kept playing leap frog with several bikers and knew that I must not be alone then. Finally started heading back up the big road after noticing some cool things like tons of wind generator mills and a great view from the top of a huge hill. Police and fire fighter intersection support was beyond awesome! At some point around mile 30 I realized I was not going to be able to handle too much solid nutrition and kept at it with gatorade. The sun was just killing me and I just kept going pushing on and on. Finally made it on to the back half but that is when the wind started getting crazy bad and I felt like I was going nowhere for the longest time. Crossed black roads that made me feel like I was melting and even though I only had about 5 miles to go I had no idea where I was or how I was going to be getting back to the park. Finally got back to a familiar area and started making turns towards the park. It was great when there was occasional support from spectators out there and they kept me going even if it was a car or person in their front yard cheering us on. When I finally got back to the park, made it the final distance to the dismount line and gladly got off my bike!

I need to do some more distance bike training with hills and get going with my speed work. There is a lot of work to do before my next race and IM.

Rode my bike into the transition area, where Joan and Sue were cheering and trying to keep me going. Took my time making sure I had everything I needed since I was so hot and sweaty, like bodyglide and nutrition. Then walked out the other side, making sure to stop and get some much needed water and gatorade and talk with Joan for a bit. She encouraged me to make a chase for the girl ahead of me and told me she would see me at the finish line.

Like before, I wasn't trying to speed demon this one. I was very tired and not sure if I even wanted to go on at this point so this was a successful transition.

So I started off and tried to catch the girl in front of me, but stupid me I had no idea I had to climb the huge hill that we had to bike up in the beginning. I walked it and it took a long time, but I did it. When I got to the top there were a lot of people out and many looking like they were starting a second lap. I walked for a while, encountered another big hill, walked up and and then decided it was time to start the 3/2 run/walk. I went on for a bit and came across Dr Al, who was holding a wood fox and told me it was good luck to touch the fox. I did and asked him if it would bring me energy and he told me that taking any fluids I could. I kept running and only made it into the 2nd mile before I decided to do a 1/1 and did that for a while, stopping whenever I got to an aid station and grabbing at least one water and one gatorade if not more. Finally about 4 miles in, my legs couldn't handle it anymore and I started to walk, which was actually good because this brought me into a bright sunny area. Just kept walking and trying to move along on a quick pace, staying under 15 min/mi. Finally made it to the point that I knew I would make it through the first lap. But then I realized that I had one more to go and the crowds were thinning out and I was starting to get really hot and tired. I just kept going and when I got back onto the trails in the shade tried run/walking again, but that didn't last long at all. So I started walking again and had someone catch up to me who also works in the mental health care field and we kept walking and started talking to pass the miles. Finally around 11, he said he was going to run ahead and I let him, called my parents to let them know I was almost done, and kept going. I knew I had at least one person behind me so that made me feel better and then got to the top of the big hill. I was not sure how my legs were going to turn over so I walked for awhile and Joan and Sue saw me started walking up the hill, met me, gave me some water, and then told me it was time to run it in. So that is what I did and I finally made it to the finish line and celebrated!

Train in the heat and do more bricks to get my legs use to running after biking.

I got across the finish line, got hugs from my parents and Joan. Then started downing the water and making sure I could stand up straight and that I was okay. After standing in the shade for a bit and recapping my day, we walked over and got my bike and packed up the car. Then we headed home.


Let's see, first things first, that I couldn't have controlled: the sun, the wind, the waves, and the heat. Then my ability to take in fluids and control my temperature. Then my waste of energy and the inability to run because of all these influences. It showed that conditions couldn't get much worse, but I got through the race, but that I need to continue to build endurance and strength.


I needed this half ironman in order to see where I stood in my training, but the overall event was not run as well as some of the other races I have done before. I was very disappointed to see the fact that so many of the water stations at the end had been abandoned and some out of water. The finish line was already almost torn down. There were certainly parts of this race that need a lot of work, but overall, it was good.