Musselman - Triathlon1/2 Ironman

Water temp 69 degrees. It was supposed to be a “sandy start” but there are rocks in the beginning and then sand and seaweed at the start line. Wet suit worked well overall. Got chafing on the back of the neck to the right. A third of the way a guy hit me in the mouth and chipped my tooth. Water otherwise felt great. The current in the channel was in our favor. Felt strong while getting out of the water.

eat gel before swim

Sat on the ground to take off my wet suit. Ate a gel in transition to make up for the one I missed before. This made my time longer. Also had to place my Garmin heart rate strap on.

Next time take a gel before the swim and take the next gel while riding. Skip heart strap.

Pretty Good. Felt sluggish and slow for the first 10 miles. Went to the bathroom at the first aide station and then picked up speed. Also the gel may have finally kicked in. There was a big hill at mile 32, and there was a head wind. I was tired between mile 32 and 39. My back hurt. I got hit in the face with a wasp. I got my second wind at mile 39 on the downhill and then finished strong. I ate accel gels every 20 to 30 minutes. I chose those specifically for the protein. I tried to drink as much water as I could. The aid stations had heed, Gatorade, cliff bars, gels. Make sure garmin is set before hand.

Eat first gel before the swim and then eat second gel while on the bike and not in transition. Set garmin before race. Drink more water (20cc/hr. – one water bottle/hr)

Went smooth. Changed shoes, drank water, and grabbed a gel.

could eat gel while running and not in transition.

Started running with some fatigue but otherwise okay. However, after .75 miles my quads spasmed. It was very tight and hard. I tried stretching but it helped only some. The run was mostly uphill for the first seven miles and then mostly down hill, rolling hills, or flat. The first and last two miles were flat. I had left him pain in the months before the race but my hip didn’t bother me during the race. I was tired of eating gels. The aide stations had gels, water, heed, flat coke, cliff shots, wet sponges. I used some coke for a change.

Well organized race. Aide stations were very good.