Ford Ironman 70.3 Hawaii - Triathlon1/2 Ironman

Swim felt good. I'm fairly slow so I always start at the back in these mass starts. This year, though I found myself passing quite a few people. The currents and chop were heavier in '10 than in '09 and even though I felt stronger and more comfortable I was actually very slightly slower than '09. Turns out pretty much everybody was slower this year, due to conditions, though.

I would have had a little more confidence in my swim and started slightly further forward in the pack. That's always tricky when you're swimming with people you don't know, but I did lose some time trying to pick my way around weaker swimmers ahead of me.

I approached my transitions this year with the attitude of "calm urgency". I wanted to be more efficient and a little faster than the year before, but not waste a lot of energy by being frantic. I wore my race singlet under my swim skin and that saved time. I had practiced peeling my swim skin down to my waist as I ran from the water to the bike. Unfortunately I forgot I had my swim skin around my waist and started running to the bike exit with it still on! I had to stop and peel it off, then toss it to my wife as I ran past her heading to the bike exit.

Remember to get that swim skin off all the way before setting off. Even with that I was 2 minutes faster than the year before. I think I could easily be closer to 5 minutes if I got the swim skin right. Also I had a quick porta-potty stop between the water and the bike that probably cost 30-45 seconds.

The ride went fairly well for me - MUCH better than '09. My training and work on the hills definitely paid off. The elephant in the room, though, is my major mechanical. At mile 46 I blew up my rear derailleur and spent 25 minutes by the side of the road waiting (and hoping) for the mechanics to fix it. Ultimately all they could do was take the derailleur off the bike, put me in a single gear, and let me limp it in that way. Even with that I was still 5 minutes faster on the bike than in '09.

More hill training.

T2 was fine, though I was still feeling rueful from my bike mechanical and having to ride the rolling hills of the last 10 miles in a single gear. I could be some seconds faster if I was trying, but I was as much about "calm" as I was about "urgency".

Nothing really. Maybe a little more practice riding with my feet on top of the shoes.

Seemed hotter this year. Ran o.k., would have liked to have been a little faster, but this was all I had on the day. HR was a little higher than I might have liked, but not unmanageable.

More run training. It always seems to come back to wishing I had more training.

Laying on the grass with a cheeseburger and my wife. :-)


Bike mechanical, heat, lack of natural ability.


Well run race, LOTS of course support. Aid stations went well. Might have liked more/better food at the finish area, but even that was o.k. Parking was a minor pain - not easy to quickly get to your car and go after the race.