EagleMan Ironman 70.3 Triathlon - Triathlon1/2 Ironman

I know I should be upset about this swim but I'm not. I did the best I could and, although I wish my time was better, at least I made the cut off and came out of the water feeling great and ready to hit the bike. They prohibited wetsuits and the current played some games with the course but everyone was racing under the same conditions so it was fair (which is all we can really ask for - that and that the race be safe, which it was). Usually swimming in a crowd doesn't bother me but for some reason in this race I kept getting jostled and bumped (swimmers in front of me, to my sides, behind me, on top of me). I started searching for open water and, to my detriment, eventually found it. I began swimming on the opposite side of the guide buoys from everyone else. It seemed like a good idea at the time but, combined with drifting with the current, I found myself way off course at some points and had to swim my way back in line. In the end, my total swim distance was probably more like 1.5 miles.

Stay with the pack. Sight better. Practice sighting without a wetsuit - when you lift your head to take a look, your legs drop and your forward momentum stops.

For a non-competitive athlete I think I do pretty well in transition - helmet on, shoes on, go. Not having to wrestle the wetsuit off certainly helps (and in all honesty probably offsets a decent amount of the time that is lost during the actual swim from not wearing the wetsuit).

The best part of the day for me. I love being on my bike and just getting to ride. As everyone knows, the course is flat so you are constantly pedaling.It was almost like riding my trainer at home (but with much nicer scenery). I had a certain average wattage target for the race and I hit it exactly with very little variability. Being new to using power in my races it was really interesting to see how you really can be putting out the same amount of wattage but moving at a very different speed depending on, for example, whether you're riding into a headwind or with a tailwind. I really just tried to ride my ride and keep something in reserve for what I knew was going to be a tough run.

Check my equipment more carefully - when I started riding I noticed that my speed/cadence sensor was rubbing against my disc wheel cover. It click-clicked for the entire ride. Annoying but didn't seem to be slowing me down. In general though there is nothing I would have done differently. One of my goals for this year was to break a 20 mph average in any race this year (sprint, olympic, etc.). I did that in a sprint a few weeks back. To average over 20 mph over 56 mph (regardless of the flatness of the course) is just fantastic and very encouraging. Seeing the work I did over the winter start to have concrete returns is very motivating.

Helmet off, bike shoes off, running shoes on, laces tied, hat on and go.

Stop here to use the porta-potties instead of waiting for one two miles into the run course - there were many available in transition without any wait time. Something to remember for future races.

Brutal. There really isn't much more to say than that. My hats off to everyone that was able to make it through the course on this day. I'm fine with my time although there is something mildly upsetting about having a run time and bike time that are only a few minutes apart. I ran for the first 9 miles or so (only walking through the aid stations to get as much ice, water, gatorade as I could). In the last 4 miles or so I was reduced to walking for a minute every 5 minutes or so. I look at it this way - two years ago (when I started with this triathlon craziness) I would not have been able to finish this run, last year I would probably have been reduced to walking most if not all of the run course (as evidenced by my other half iron distance race), this year I was able to run (10 to 11 minute miles is still running) almost the entire course. If the heat wasn't so bad I probably would have made it the entire distance without walking. Big thanks to all of the volunteers who handed out ice, water, gatorade, cola, gels and (at the turnaround) snowcones and to the residents of the neighborhoods we ran through for their support, garden hoses, sprinklers and cheers. I would not have made it without pouring water over my head at every aid station, filling my hat with ice and pouring ice down my shirt every chance I had.

Again, nothing. I did the best I could under the conditions, have made a lot of progress over the past year and am very happy with where I am in my abilities and fitness. I've got about five weeks between now and Ironman Lake Placid and am really excited to complete the remaining weeks of my training and race that race.

Crossed the finish, was handed a bottle of water, sat down in one of the folding chairs and (as usually happens to me) was asked by a concerned-looking volunteer whether I was OK. I said that I would be fine, rested for a few more seconds, wandered out of the finish area, looked around, got in line for food, felt woozy, got out of the food line, laid down, closed my eyes for about 20 minutes, got up and headed over to transition to pack up and head out. Met up with my family and relaxed for the rest of the day.


I think the heat limited everyone's ability to perform faster on this day.


A good race. Tons of volunteers. This was my first Ironman branded race so I might have been expecting more - a little better organization, more value for the price of admission. People talk up this race a lot and now after doing it, I have to say that although it was good, I just don't see what the hype is about. Logistically this is a hard race to attend - hotels are expensive, the parking situation is still a work in progress, lots of people squeezed into a relatively small space. They do a good job but now that I've done this race I probably won't be going back to do it again. There are too many other races I'd like to try. If you live near this race it is probably worth doing but if you have to travel and stay at a hotel, you might want to consider whether the time, effort and money is worth it.