Florida Challenge Triathlon - Half Ironman - Triathlon1/2 Ironman

Swim went OK. I was hoping for a few minutes faster since this was wetsuit legal and I swam a 1:28 at an IM.

Navigate better? Swim more? I'd like to get faster on the swim, but the fact is I could spend twice as much time working on my swim for what, dropping 5 or 10 mins off my time? I'm where I need to spend that extra time on the run and bike.

I'm slow in transition, but for the long course I don't want to forget something and regret that during the bike segment.

I like the extra padding of bike shorts so I slipped on a pair of bike shorts over my long legged race trunks.

Felt good on the ride! I've been working on the bike for the last few months and have really improved. Used my relatively new road bike (Giant TCR Comp 2) with no aerobars, and felt fine.

Possible nutrition issue - I had 3 bottles of sports drink, plus 2 gels. This felt right, but might not have been enough to carry forward into the run.

Walked it in, no need to hurry and trip, etc.

Wheels fell off at mile 3. No leg cramps, but I did have trouble with a left side stitch and general abdominal cramping. I had to breathe shallow to avoid right side abdominal cramps. I had to walk after ingesting all liquids (water, sports drinks). I felt sloshing so I wasn't absorbing liquids well. I took 3 endurolytes (1 every 45 mins or so) for fear of low electrolyte levels. At most aid stations I grabbed cold water sponges to cool off. I had a few cold chills, which was not good for the generally hot/humid conditions (but this eventually passed). I decided if I ever felt dizzy I would sit down, rest for 5 mins, and call it off if necessary. Fortunately, that didn't manifest. I walked when I needed to, and eventually found a death march pace to complete the event.

More bricks, more run volume, better bike nutrition (?), more heat acclimation. The run was far tougher than expected.

Stretching, walking, light nutrition, recovery drink, massage.


A very tough time on the run. I was shooting for 6:30, and missed it by 17 minutes. In one sense this was a good result in that I was close despite a horrible run. I think my goal is quite reachable.


My only complaint was a few miles on the run course was on a road with no shoulder, and open to traffic. It would have been nicer to have a lane blocked off. Unfortunately I can see how that really isn't possible without redoing the run course altogether.

The race started 30 mins late.