Half Vineman Triathlon - Triathlon1/2 Ironman

Felt really good in the water. Probably could have knocked off another five minutes had I worn a wetsuit. That's alright though, there were plenty of people with wetsuits to draft on. The water level at the turnaround was three feet deep, everyone kind of walked around the bouys. Very scenic course, you could mark the shoreline rather than looking up for bouys.

Nothing.

All the gear from this transition was trucked to the run transition fifty miles away. So I made sure I had minimal gear to look after and double checked everything before heading out on the bike course. Long, long run from the rack to the exit.

Nothing

Would have been five minutes faster had I not stopped to take a piss. Three sag stops on the route, one semi-difficult hill and a really sore back at the transition.

Taken my bike in for a tune up. Shipping it in the box put me gearing out of whack, I had difficulty shifting in certain situations and it would jump gears when I really laid the hammer down on some of the hills.

Another long run from dismount to the rack, so I undid the velcro on my shoes and road to the line barefoot. Ran to the rack, put on my socks, shoes, swallowed some salt tablets and ran out feeling good.

Nothing

I promised myself I would take it easy the first half of the course and if I felt strong I would open it up on the second half. My legs were strong and my breathing was great through mile six. Then I saw my teammate Joe about thirty seconds back...we were back and forth on the bike and both compete against each other during these races, so I stretched out the legs from mile six to eight. After that my hips got sore and my shoulders were tired. Then a few of the hills sapped my energy...I was barely surviving mile to mile. The only thing that saved me was the aid stations every mile. Just awesome support, they had water, gatorade, cola and all types of food. I was very happy to see mile marker twelve and felt even better when I crossed the finish line.

Run longer distances in training.

Laid down and stretched. Drank water and ate a big plate of food.


Well, I guess I could have ran more, or biked longer in the aero position. But considering my situation and goal of 5 1/2 hours, I was extremely fulfilled.


This event was incredible. The support and volunteers were great. People were hot on the run, but I've been training in Tucson so I didn't suffer all that much because of the heat. It was a great experience.