Musselman Half-Iron Triathlon - Triathlon1/2 Ironman

First HIM, so intended to ease into race and not tax myself during the swim, so essentially swim like a tourist and feel tip-top for bike. Since the Philly OLY swim was cancelled, I didn't have any long OWS opportunities yet this season. This also was my first wetsuit race this season, so wasn't entirely used to swimming in wetsuit since last season. For some reason the wetsuit zipper top was digging into my neck, which was annoying. Nice to swim in clean, clear water and be able to see feet and/or slower swimmers from early waves ahead. Sighting on leg into river / canal was tougher with sun glare, but felt like I navigated pretty well. Concrete boat ramp was covered with slippery algae, so I ended up slipping and needed a hand up by volunteer to get up the ramp. I think the one detail the race missed was putting a carpet up that ramp -- heard lots of others had the same problem.

Do more OWS / wetsuit swims prior to race. Swim training hasn't been a big priority this year, so can't say I'm disappointed with my result. I expected to finish around this time.

Usually my wetsuit gets stuck on chip strap, but solved for that this time by having chip underneath wetsuit on left leg. Then of all dumb things wetsuit was stuck getting off right foot?! Took a little extra time to dry feet a bit, put on socks and bike shoes. Somehow Garmin Edge 500 had shut off and needed to re-start, didn't hit start button until ~1.5 miles into ride once I noticed. Also put on Garmin 305 on wrist, which I'd be using for run.. probably a waste. Will be getting a Garmin 110 sometime soon for run pace / HR.

Have more practice getting out of wetsuit quickly. Make sure bike computer is on and ready to go. Hit "start" right at timing mat. Generally have quicker T1

Was hoping for sub 2:50 ride, so this worked out well. HR was in high 130's / low 140's for the non-hill portions of ride (most of it), so comfortable pace overall. Shoulders / neck have been tight for the last couple weeks, and didn't feel any better for the race. Few hills put HR into the 150's - since this was my first HIM, plan was to hold back and stay comfortable on the bike throughout so as to have good legs for the run. Ended up getting a little competitive with some people along the way since I was feeling good for the most part. Could've squeezed a few minutes out of the course, but again - didn't want to overcook the bike. Said a few hail-mary's that my patched rear tire (puncture from big-ass nail on training spin the prev. night) would hold (IT DID!!)

Not ride over a nail the night before the race. Bring spare tire(s) and latex tube(s) along next time. Do more than just a handful of ~3+ hour rides and generally get stronger on the bike. BTW- Ordered a computrainer this week..

Kept feet in shoes at dismount since I was planning to run in same socks and transition area grass was damp. Got shoes, visor, sunglasses and race number belt on pretty quickly. Took in remaining HEED from bottle I had on bike before I ran out.

Dismount with shoes on bike next time..

Started run with slightly sore left leg from bike ride.. planned to ease into run, but saw on garmin that I was doing 7:30's right away, so backed off a bit. Hadn't previewed run course other than looking at online hill profile, so a couple of the large hills caught me by surprise. Luckily, nothing on the course was any worse than my regular b-wine valley trail runs at home. Only passed by a couple people the entire run (both women, fwiw). Felt good by mile 5/6, so started to push the pace some and pick up spots. I ran both of the big hills, albeit slowly -- where most others walked it. The downhill sections actually hurt about as much as the hills due to pounding and the blisters that opened up.. but ran closer to 7:00 pace for the last 4-5 miles. Slowed down at each aid station so I could get down HEED and water + get sponges / ice to stay cool. Ice down shorts was a new experience, but didn't have hat to dump ice into. Last straightaway to finish seemed endless, but passed a couple guys in my sights in the last mile and finished with a good surge.

Start run a little more aggressively.. wear baseball hat so I can dump ice on my head. Train downhills more so I don't get blisters as easily. Running is my relative strength right now, so keep improving, if possible.

Sitz bath in ice water kiddie pools, visit to massage tent, lots of HEED / water


Limited long distance swims and bike rides prior to race... otherwise went about 30 minutes faster than I expected for first HIM!


Musselman is a very good regional event with an interesting / challenging course. Like that the field is smaller (<1000). Plan to go back next year and try for sub-5!!