Pumpkinman Triathlon Festival - Triathlon1/2 Ironman

Female Rank: 48
Just planned to take it easy and that's what I did. Drifted a little off course a couple times, and had a bit of a hard time siting on the 2nd lap on the way out with the sun in my eyes. Able to do a little drafting, but also surprised at the amount of contact intermittently throughout the course - just enough to keep it interesting.

Work on siting a bit more, and maybe put in a little more effort (but not much), improve drafting.

T1: 98th overall, 4th age group)
Hill Climb Challenge: 1:23 (131 overall, 8th age group)
I certainly wasn't aiming to win the hill challenge, but I did indeed jog up the whole thing and apparently did better in this "event" than other portions of the race.
Took more time than usual to get my suit off and helmet on, etc. but I was trying not to spike my heart rate too much given the longer distance.

A little more efficient w/ wetsuit removal.

Took it easy on the course, given my first HIM and knowing I had 13.1 m run ahead of me. I continue to be passed on the hills, and need to work on climbing. Fortunately, I get a lot of those people back on the downhills. My effort felt comfortable throughout, by no means did I feel like I was pushing.
Started w/ water in my aero bottle and Clif electrolyte bottle. I drank the water, then put the Clif in my aero bottle. Then I picked up a gatorade on the course, drank that out of the aero bottle, and finally picked up another water. As far as food, I ate 2.5 Lara bars during the bike. I cut each into 4 pieces, and then I ate 1 piece every 5 miles. Worked out great.
I did start noticing about 30m into the bike that I needed to pee. I kept hoping that it would go away... no such luck.

Increase effort a bit. Work on hill climbing. Though, I aimed for under 3:30, so I have to be happy w/ 3:06.

96th overall, 5th age group.
Got to talk to Julie a bit while in T2, which was nice. Didn't super rush, but pretty steady. Started to head the wrong way out of transition (despite knowing hrs before the correct way), but thankfully Julie pointed me in the right direction.

A little mental imagery of transition while finishing up the bike (i.e. to be sure I am going in the right direction).

Felt strong off the bike and was sooo pleasantly surprised that I ran mile 1 in 9:30. I continued to be surprised as the miles passed and I remained consistently sub-10' mile pace while feeling good. At no point did I feel like I was suffering (I guess this is what I was anticipating), and used the advice to smile while out on the course w/ + results. The one problem I ran into was that by mile 6 or so, I really had to pee. I didn't want to take the time to stop, so I kept pushing on, hoping that it would somehow resolve, but no such luck. This was actually the only suffering I endured the whole race. I do wonder if I might have been able to run a bit faster had I just stopped to pee?
I might have had too many fluids on board given the cool weather, though I did not feel bloated or otherwise uncomfortable other than the full bladder. I carried a 20 oz water bottle w/ ~16 oz of Clif electrolyte. Had 2-3 swigs of water along the way as well.

Just stop and pee. There was plenty of foliage along the route (as well as a porta pottie). Then, push a little more.

Jogged to the porta-pottie to pee!!! A little stretching... and then hit the turkey feast!


Hesitation about the distance/what remained ahead given that it was my first HIM and I didn't want to implode. I felt GREAT after and definitely think I could have pushed a bit more on all 3 legs. Live and learn.

Overall, my goal was to finish in < 6:30, so I was THRILLED to finish sub-6, and esp feeling as well as I did.


What a wonderfully organized event! TONS of happy, energetic, & helpful volunteers. Their cheering and encouragement really helped along the way. The venue is terrific and the post-race feast was delicious. I really like the long-sleeved finisher t-shirt as well. I enjoyed myself thoroughly throughout the event, both racing and otherwise. It wasn't at all hectic, just fun, and energetic. A top-notch event, I would recommend it to anyone!!!