TryCharleston Half - Triathlon1/2 Ironman

Swim: 36:05 (improved from 42:XX in last HIM) I’m finally a MOP’er!!!!!!

The swim was a wave start beginning about 50 ft off-shore. We entered the water and treaded water for about 5-6 minutes and we were off. Because the start was in deeper water, everyone gave each other a lot of space so there was less beating and banging. The course was 2 loops in a triangle. The water was really dark and smooth. Sighting was fairly easy. Overall, I liked the course particularly the deep water start.

I was pleased with my swim. I settled into a rhythm and the first lap was quick. During the second lap, I gagged on some water a couple times and pulled up into breast stroke because I almost puked. I recovered and continued on. This was by far the best executed swim of my tri career. The “alligator eyes” sighting technique we learned in the last open water clinic worked really well. It helped me stay in rhythm and on course!


not swallow as much water.

Sorry to # 241.

Be more careful in transition

Bike 2:40:32---59th overall, 5th in AG. The fun begins. This was 3 minutes slower than my last HIM on a similarly flat course but that means nothing.

The bike course was flat. No, wait, it was really flat. It was the flattest and least technical course I’ve ever ridden. It was redonkulously flat. Because it was flat, I stupidly thought it would be fast. When I drove the course the day before, I realized my mistake as the winds were blowing my SUV around. The first 20 miles were awesome. I was cooking along averaging right at 23 MPH. My legs were a bit achy, but that is normal for me. It usually takes around 15-20 miles for me to settle in. I’m not sure if a bike warm-up will help, but I may try it before PIT. My back was tight and I was uncomfortable in my aero position. This doesn’t happen in training rides so I’m not sure WTF. At mile 20, things turned rough. Fortunately, they turned rough for everybody. The wind picked up. When I say picked up, I mean they literally almost pick me up. The winds were non-stop the rest of the way. I saw 23 mph (actual speed, not avg) on my odometer turn to 21, then to 19, then for a 12 mile stretch, stayed in the 16-18 range. At this point, I turned my odometer so it was facing down and continued pushing. I’m not going to lie, I was a bit frustrated. I was working hard and not really moving. The last 6 miles were awful. I lost at least 5 minutes on the last 6 miles. Fortunately, my wheel selection was perfect. I was riding Reynolds Strikes (66mm rims) and despite the wind, I didn’t have any handling issues.

Relatively speaking, my bike split was solid. One of my goals was to validate my off-season bike training approach. Based on my relative placement, I definitely improved. I need to do more controlled testing to measure my bike improvements now that my training volume is built up to Ironman levels.

Bike nutrition—24oz bottle of perpetuem with 945 cals. I consumed about 65% of the bottle. I wasn’t sure if this would be enough so I carried an extra gel on the run with me. I drank plenty of water. My nutrition was was good.


Better space out my nutrition intake.

1:45:45 is my mud butt adjusted time.

I love the run! It is my strongest event. As a smaller dude, I knew that when the conditions got hot, it likely wouldn’t hurt me as much as everyone else. I recovered my mental state immediately coming off the bike and was strong the whole way through even as things got tough.

The first few miles were very solid. I was running around 7:30’s and feeling good. It was very humid (in the 90% range) but, there was a cloud cover. The highs were supposed to be in the mid 80’s so I knew if the sun came out, it would get tough. As I approached mile 2, I got an urge no runner wants to have. I made it to the porta potty at the mile 2 aid station and let it rip. Ron, I still don’t know how you got in and out in around 30 seconds. This is not something I’m going to practice. Fortunately, that was the last of the disturbance and I was fine for the rest of the race. I’m chalking this up to the same trouble I had pre-race. I continued on and ran strong through about mile 4. Then, the sun came out. I had been running with a HR around 165 in the early miles with the intention of pushing it to around 170+ as the run progressed. As soon as the sun came out, my HR jumped to 170 (my LT was 170). From here on out, everybody started crumbling. The run course had several out and back sections so I was constantly seeing the people in front of me and behind me. Everyone was suffering. My legs were holding out and I continued running my pace. Before the race started I had written on my wrist “push limits.” Now was the time to push them. I was running around 7:30s on pace to nail the run. Then, mile 8 happened.

Mile 8 was the turning point for everyone. We turned down a road and did a long out and back. At this point the effects of the heat and humidity were stunted by a very nice breeze. This out and back section was sheltered from the breeze. Almost instantly, it felt like I was in an oven. It was the kind of heat that takes your breath away. I saw runners in the opposite direction (these were AG winners and Open division athletes) suffering. Some were walking. At this point, I went into survival mode. I focused my attention on the ground in front and my breathing and stopped paying attention to pace and distance. I occasionally looked at my HRM. My HR was right at LT and my perceived exertion was right where it needed to be. Occasionally, my HR would climb a bit and I felt like I was hyperventilating. This has only happened in other hot races so I assume it has to do with the heat. At each water stop, I drank a cup of water and dumped one on my head. This soaked my visor so there was a constant dribbling of water to keep me cool. The water stop at mile nine had ice water!!!! I took 2 cups dumping one on my head and sipped the other one for half a mile. The turn around point was around mile 10. From there, it was a straight shot to the finish. After turning around, I passed someone in my age group. As much as I was suffering, he was suffering more. At this point, I realized I was going to live. I saw another runner about 500 yards ahead of me and set my sights on him. As I passed him, I said some encouraging words. At mile 12, I turned around and saw no-one in sight. I was all by myself and was smiling and cutting up. I passed a volunteer and asked “is this the way to the beer?” As I approached the final quarter mile stretch to the finisher’s chute, I let out a few rebel yells and was pumping my fist in the air. The spectators responded to my energy with cheers. The spectators’ energy felt great. I had suffered and now it was time to celebrate. I crossed the finish line absolutely spent with a smile!!!

I ran an ugly positive split as I saw my miles go from the mid 7s to the low to mid 8’s. My run split was 39th overall and 4th fastest in my AG. My avg pace without the porta john stop was a titch over 8 min per mile. I recently ran 1:33 at ING GA so there is a rather large gap between my open time and my run split. I’m not sure if the gap is a bike fitness issue or if I need longer tempo runs (I currently run 4 mile tempos once per week). I suspect more big mileage bike weeks will help me close the running gap. The heat certainly played a factor in my performance. I gained confidence in the heat which will help me in the Macon HIM.

beer and a massage


This will definitely be a good annual event for the area!