Tupper Lake Tinman Triathlon - Half Iron Distance - Triathlon1/2 Ironman

I've got to say that I'm very pleased with my swim. Took five minutes off my time here from two years ago. Had a plan going in and stuck to it. Got some last minute advice from coach stocksie that really stuck between the ears. I feel I have lots more to learn about swimming and feel I have the potential to do more.

Could always improve navigation and my ability to swim in a straight line. Been changing my technique lately and have changed it so much that I actually swim in the opposite direction than I used too! I guess I'm beating myself up here because i witnessed some folks who literally went completely sideways at the start and didn't look back to the kayakers chased them down. Need to work on breathing and sighting efficiency as well. Find feet and stay on them. Let the 6th guy in my age group get away from me in the last 400 or so. Won't happen again.

Could always do better here but needless to say I was stoked and whooping it up when I glanced at my watch running into t1! Tupper is strange because you bust ass getting to the road and if you happen to have a bit of bad luck the volunteers and police officers will hold you up until they let enough cars go through. I was held for maybe 20 seconds or so. Felt longer!

Pretty happy really, found my spot no problem at all (thanks to the bannana yellow equinox next to me) and got the suit off with no troubles.

I really shouldn't expect to do any better than what I did when you look at the amount of training I've done this year. I've got the heart of a lion on the bike and I really wanted to rip but I kept telling myself that I had a half marathon coming up and you better not leave it out on Route three! My hydration plan was probably geared towards a warmer day and I think I could've backed off by twenty oz's or so. Sixty ounces total consumed, with infinit in there.
The first three quarters of the course literally flew by. Went back and forth with a couple of guys, who eventually dropped me. Had fun watching the uber fit men and women, many of whom are gearing up for IMLP, fly by me. I wonder if there is anything to shaving the legs because I had enough hair on my legs for everybody!

Back off on the drinking a tad and train more!

Yeah I know this is a long T2! I spent a good two minutes going #1 after I racked my bike. I have never peed that long in my entire life. Felt like I was involved in some college fraternity prank where I drink ten beers and half to hold it for two hours. And I have an awesome bladder, believe me!
Sat right on my keester in order to put my socks on. Smiled and chatted with my brother, who was cheering me on beyond the transition ropes. Was definitely not in a hurry. Looked around and soaked it all in.

Drank a bit less on the bike. Sat down right away to put the socks on. This is my only race this year that I throw the socks on....don't bother with them for oly's or sprints. Really, really glad I had them on. No blisters on the run!

Starting out I felt pretty good but had a plan to run very slow for the first couple of miles then speed things up gradually. Ended up running very slow the whole time! Oh well. Had a lovely left side adductor cramp around mile five. Walked for about thirty seconds or so before I could recover. Walked twenty seconds or so at every water stop. Nutrition wise was pretty happy with my plan, two gels and one to two bloks per hour. A bit of water and a bit of heed at every water stop. Threw water on the head at every opportunity.
At mile six ran into (literally) a 23 year old construction worker named Ricky from Orange County NY. He was a pound or two from being a clydesdale and we started to shoot the breeze. We ended up doing the last six together and having a good time the whole way. Great company and good inspiration for yours truly. Got to meet his dad and family after the race, very nice folks.

Felt like I was fighting the cramps for most of the race. Again I was really undertrained coming in here so I can't complain. My ITBS was bad in the month leading up to this and I had to shut everything down. Speaking of that the IT's were screaming for the last few miles but I screamed back at them so we were even.

Ricky and I finished strong together, hitting the mat at the same time. Sucked down some oranges, bannanas and sam adams. Hung out with the wife and kids and went to dinner later.


Did I mention I was undertrained coming in? This race was stacked with uber athletes and I was happy just to be able to watch them kick butt. I will reach the point when I put in the proper time to this sport and then I feel I will reach my potential. I had no bikes over 40 coming in, only two around there. Only two runs to 12 the entire year. Most well below that. Very happy with how I performed given the training load.


Love the race and will be back. Plenty of vollies and aid stations. Great little town and glad I could play a small part in one of Tupper lake's biggest days.
Big thank you to my family, especially my brother rob, for supporting me this weekend. Love you guys. Never give up on your dreams!