SC Half - Triathlon1/2 Ironman

Man I thought I was really swimming well. That's what upsets me about this one. My first 600m I was swimming very smoothly and kind of pacing along with some guy on my left. I rounded the buoy and while they were set up at the last minute and a bit crooked, I could see the yellow turn buoy out there approx 700m. But here it seems I got slow. Not sure why. Review of my GPS shows a pretty straight approach to the course. I was peeking a lot on the backstretch but there was very little contact with this race. At 230 people I think I was bumped maybe twice on the start then swam virtually alone for the duration. My turn to the beach was easy enough but there felt like a current or something was pushing me from left to right just a bit. When I exited the water I saw my time and was truthfully disappointed.

Practice more? Look less?

I took a bit of time here to get situated. With no suit to take off I was there pretty quick. A good T1 position just off to the right. My bike gloves did get stuck on my one hand and that was frustrating but I really like racing with them for long distances.

Consider putting gloves on once I board and begin riding.

I've been practicing 'riding in reverse' during my races. In other words, I left the park in the small ring, making sure that I get acclaimated to the 90-95 rpm target I have. Racers were flying by me. I was interested to see if I would meet them again. The roads pretty much were awful in a lot of places. A few smooth stretches but, hey, SC, pave something! I continued in the small ring most of the first third to half. Somewhere between 20-25 miles I started to use the big ring more and more. All the while maintaining my 90+ rpm goal. At this point people were passing me but I would pass them right back. By the time I cleared the 30ish mile marker, I wasn't getting passed anymore. I continued to see people who smoked me coming out of the park. When are these triathletes going to learn some patience? I was very pleased with this bike considering my training levels were just returning after a pretty bad July calendar. I was really happy to hit a 90 rpm average for the entire ride. Very efficient.

Certainly more training will be required now. I have to start stretching the distances on the bike. But, overall, I would change much other than how in the hell do you pour Infinit in your tri bottle and not all over you? Man that stuff is awesome to race with but has a delivery problem for sure.

A decent T2. Not my best but ok. Again, a good rack space helped. I did struggle to slip on the socks quickly. Also, my race belt would not buckle. Time to replace possibly.

Maybe a little practice is required. But, hell, it's T2, who cares.

When I got off the bike and cleared T2 I immediately felt a pain in my lower right calf/Achilles. Not something that happens to me and was surprised about it. No indication on the bike that I was having a problem. These roads on this course are crowned and so I'm not sure if that was immediately playing a role. I continued out onto the course. My plan was for a run/walk 5/1 interval. It was still pretty hot and with my body and this heat I had to be careful. I didn't want a repeat of Macon with having to walk in the last two miles. I was having a better race than I expected so patience was the name of the game. A lot of runners who I passed at the end of the bike were now passing me back. To be expected. Some I would only see on the return and others I would get to pass again. The station management and volunteers were good here. The firemen stationed at the top of the hill out on the open stretch of road was a nice add-on from previous years. That is freaking Death Valley out there so it was nice to have the misting station going. I continued my disciplined approach to the run and cleared the first lap right at 1 hour. Very pleased at this point and saw Deb and little Shelly at the turn. I headed back out and even started to feel a little more loose and increased the pace just a bit. My leg still was sore but I was able to keep going with very little gait change. After heading out of the back park and back down the road again to the finish of the second lap my stomach started to give me trouble. This is very unusual for me and I elected not to eat the last gel. With just a few miles to go I was afraid that I'd yak and it would be over. I cruised in and knew I was running out of steam. I turned onto the cart path that takes you down by the lake and up that disaster of a last hill. I pushed to the top and was very pleased that I was going to hit my goal of being under six hours.

Still need to work out a few kinks with the nutrition plan. Also, I left my new salt sticks on the bike by accident. So I think I would stash some in another baggie in my shirt. Liked my pacing overall even though I still haven't reached my goal of breaking two hours on a HIM 1/2 Mary. A stronger bike would get me there.

Three steps then in the med tent! A chair and a big frosty bottle of Fruit Punch flavored Gatorade Endurance. That's how I roll!


Weight maybe. For IM FL I need to be down another 5 to 10 lbs I think. Not sure if I can get there in 60 days. Training has been erratic over July so August was a forced ramp up again.


I like that this race has gotten smaller. When I raced it last in 2008 there were 700+ people! Now it's down under 250. I had a better race in 2008 by about 14 mins but it was a month later in the year so it was cooler and my fitness level was farther along. Still, what a surprise when I sent Deb to go check on my final numbers and she came back with the first place plaque for Masters Clydesdale! A nice bonus for a long and fruitful day. I have renewed hope in my IM FL quest this year. My bike worked perfectly thanks to Atlanta Cycling again. The volunteers were very good this year with a lot of enthusiasm and humor. Nice touch with the spray canisters too. My only comments are: more body markers, put the scale inside transition and put the buoys out on the swim course the night before so they are straight! Otherwise, it was fun to be back in SC.