Miami Man 1/2 Iron Triathlon - Triathlon1/2 Ironman

My first time ever in a triathlon, I followed my training plan and it worked as expected. The lake swim is not that different from a pool swim, just add a bunch of people on top of you and here you go! I could not draft well, swimmers were going in every direction, pulling my feet and hitting me on the side. The temperature felt on the warm side and the wetsuit (purchased the day before and never tried on the water) helped me keeping my legs up afloat. I am glad I chose the sleeveless one. I was a bit tired a 1/4 in the race but then got into rhythm and finished well.

I need to get some expert teaching and practice, practice. During training, I focus on counting laps to maintain speed and timing correctly. I should spend more time in focusing and keeping my style for long distances.

After the swim, running into T1, I rolled my wetsuit to the hip easily and skipped the stripers. Big mistake! When I sat down on the floor to get my legs out I pulled too hard and this cost me an over-stretched, still cold, left gluteus muscle. Big pain in the but!!!

Take advantage of the volunteers to get rid of the wetsuit!

Redlands + Ida hurricane = get into aero position or die!
Going out of T1 I got a severe pain in my left gluteus and could not go into aero. I was swearing, mad and crying (remember Norm Stadler in Kona 2007?) everybody passing me. At mile 4 I finally managed to control the pain and the "Swiss Express" took off. Downwind at 28 to 30 miles/h passing everybody felt great. The crosswinds were not so bad but then going east, bang! The wall! Super strong winds. We all struggled. I was able to maintain 16 to 20 miles/h and finished very well. I was glad I had the narrow rims on the bike. (Cervelo P2C). The crowd at the finish line was awesome. Hydration and gels went perfect. Lost my 2 CO2 cartridges because of vibrations. I have to change my x-Lab setup.


Again, have the volunteers helping me with my wetsuit and avoid starting my strongest leg with pain.

Long transition, I kept my bike shoes on to the rack.

Practice.

My weakest link. I started slow and kept it that way. My left gluteus still bothered me. I did not cramp at all but I was tired. It is not because of the bike leg but more of my general physical condition. I am still too heavy (200 lbs) to run efficiently. Thanks to the Hammerheads for their water station and cheers.

Loose weight, speed drills, find a running coach.

Kissed my family at the finish line. Stretched and walked. The waiting line for massages was too long; I did not have the patience.


General physical condition for running. Good, focused swimming technique. Let the stripers take care of the wetsuit. Inexperience overall. I will be more prepared for my next race.


Gorgeous medals, good organization, good parking, good crowd. A fun day to be repeated next year. Congratulation to all the finishers, it was tough!