Tawas Triathlon Festival - HIM - Triathlon1/2 Ironman

These were the most difficult swim conditions I've faced in my 15 years of triathlon. The waves came in one after another and they smacked us around like driftwood. The upside was that the water was less than 6 feet deep in most areas which allowed us to stand up for air and reprieve. I normally do NOT like it when people walk during the swim if they can touch. It is a triathlon after all. However, today, I set that bias aside, threw up my arms feeling hopeless, and started walking with many others. I did TRY to swim as much as I could, but I kept getting pounded and kept taking in water. It was more of a matter of getting air and simply getting through it.
Now, once we got to the first turn, we could no longer touch and had to swim. I tried getting into a rythm, but just couldn't manage to settle in. I resorted to swimming on my back to make sure I could get air and move forward. My hope was that the water would settle down some and that I could swim freestyle again. I tried periodically to swim freestyle and did have moments of success, but it was an ugly swim. Either way, I got back to dry land and that is ALWAYS the first goal in the swim.

I think I did everything I could do given the conditions, but I might have given up too easily on freestyle because it was so cold, so rough, and it shook my confidence.

I had a REALLY long T1 and that was for a couple reasons. One reason was that it was a long way from the beach to the transition area that was across the street and behind a building. (If you saw the layout, you would understand the reason for this, but it was long nevertheless). The other reason it was so long is that I took the time to put arm-warmers on and they DO NOT go on easily.

I wouldn't do anything differently because having the arm-warmers on was critical later. I would have been quite cold.

I rode hard, but controlled. However, in the last 7-10 miles my effort began catching up to me. I struggled a little in the last few miles, so I went from aggressive to passive, but I didn't fold. In about the last half mile my energy level picked back up as provided by the crowd on hand.

I didn't feel like I needed it, but MAYBE take in more GU. My ride was fueled by one bottle of GU Brew, about half a bottle of water, and one GU gel. I didn't feel depleted or dehydrated, but I might have needed more heading into the run.

This transition was more like a "normal" transition. It took a little bit longer, but about average for a 1/2 Iron distance.

Nothing. It was a pretty standard T2 for this distance.

This seems to be the story of my 1/2 Iron distance participation this year. The first half of the run went pretty well, but I fell apart in the second half.
I started out slow and easy with the intent of easing into the run. Within the first 1/4 mile a gentleman by the name of Tyler came up and we ran together for about 3/4 of the first 1/2 of the run. He helped a lot, but I started losing confidence and I interpreted that as losing energy and I talked myself into being unable to hang with him. I let he and his friend (who caught us late in the first 1/2 of the run) go. I think I would have had to let them go eventually, but I should have hung on.
After about mile six I started to come undone. It was a mess after that. I walked more than I would have liked, I focused more on my woes than on my positives and it became a task of survival.
I did experience soreness in my right Achilles, but my calves and my hips held out pretty well. I also felt serious fatigue in my legs in general, but that's just part of running long.
When I finally made my way back to the finish I was happy to be done, but I was not happy with my performance. I finished feeling relieved but "relieved" is not the kind of emotion I in which I like to finish.

I would have tried to stay with Tyler and his friend longer. I would have tried to believe in myself more.
Apparently I'm lacking in mental toughness. I realize part of it stems from fear of injury, but I've got to BELIEVE.

I hobbled over to the food/drink table, drank some water, ate some watermellon and some cookies, and plopped down on a city bench on sidewalk.


Confidence in very rough conditions in the water and confidence in myself when I began to feel fatigued on the run.


The race itself was well run and reasonably priced for this distance. 3D also threw in a finishers sweatshirt for the half iron distance athletes, which was a nice touch. The volunteers did a good job, but they could have used a little help on the run course. I would recommend this race to athletes considering doing it. I just hope you have a little better weather.
The race as far as my experience was very humbling. It had me questioning whether or not I should be doing long-course triathlons. Interstingly, my results were about where I expected in terms of time. Generally when I do a 1/2 I expect a sub-5 hour effort. This time due to my training, etc, I expected a 5:15-5:20 effort.
The biggest problem I realized after later reflection is that my heart was just not in it this time.