Med Express 1/2 Iron Distance - Triathlon1/2 Ironman

Great swim. My sighting was dead on, which allowed me to swim 20-25 yards before looking up to ensure I was headed in the right direction.

The water was reasonably clear, meaning you could see your hands and the feet of the guy in front of you as you swam near him. Tasted pretty good, too. No taste of oil, which I was expecting.

But watch that entry and exit. I had heard of the stones that you'd step on entering the water -- but we're talking chunks of concrete blocks here. I didn't understand why everyone was going in so slow until I hit one myself. You exit by pulling yourself up onto a boat launch, which means you're still in deep and you cannot push off the ground. The guy in front of me kind of pulled himself up one leg at a time and then rolled onto his back, limbs splayed, resembling a turtle. And then you begin the very steep climb up the hill to T1.

Start at the front. No more starting in back and easing my way into the swim, waiting for openings to slide up in front of others.

I have to work on getting onto the bike faster. And paying attention when I'm in transition to my gear. I casually tossed my wetsuit onto my pile of things, and when I came back from the ride noticed that it was not where I left it. No problems, I thought. Until I started packing up at the end of the race and realized that the wetsuit with my gear was not my wetsuit. Now since I was the first one out in my rack of bikes, I know I didn't put my wetsuit in the wrong place. And once again, my swim cap is gone. Not a big deal, you get free ones every race. But it made me aware of how things can so easily go missing. I need a system of stowing my gear away as I strip it off.

Just work on getting faster. 2 minutes is good, but 1 minute would have been so much better.

Very tough hills, which mean you're going about 6mph up, but 30mph down. A racer died at Mile 8 in 2005. A local going up it with me the second time around called it the Morgantown self-flagellation hill.

More hill training. My legs hurt. And take it easier on the first loop so I could crank it up on the second.

It rained throughout the ride and I was seriously soaked, so I decided to change socks and ditch the padded shorts for a pair of running shorts. Sat down to do it, which was a mistake. Felt like a mountain climber who says let me just sleep here in the snow for a minute. Put shoes on, turned my race number to the front, got about 10 steps from my stuff and realized I was just wearing the speedo. And my body isn't good enough to run in just a speedo. Backtracked to gear, pulled on shorts, and I was off. Note to self: never pass a portajohn if there is any inkling that one might be appreciated.

Work on T2. Doing it in your mind is not the same as doing it for real.

Serious hill, a/k/a Devil's Hill, at Mile 5, which you hit again at Mile 11. Let me say that again -- very steep hill. The kind of hill that you would avoid if you drove a stick shift. The kind of hill that you would have killed to have when you were a kid on a snowy winter day. The kind of hill that made me realize I live in a flat area of the world. Ouch. And Satan stands there mocking you as you work your way up. Of course, once you're on top, there's an aid station, with the sweetest grandmothers handing out water and drinks as you turn the corner.

My goal was a 10/minute mile because this is a practice race for Lake Placid. First mile out was at 8:04, so once I slowed it down, the run went as planned except for very tight legs at Mile 12.

I liked this run, and as I sit here now, wish I could give it another go.

More long runs at pace training.

Walked around for a bit, changed into dry clothes, and hit the road home.


Slow speed on bike, long transitions.


I'd do it again.