Timberman - Half Iron - Triathlon1/2 Ironman

Lots to learn for me. Overall, I was waiting for the heavy breathing and panic to come, but it really never came..which gave me a lot of confidence going into the bike. I ended up under a lot of buoys and getting ocassional contact - but it was less than I was expecting. I did have some sighting difficulties and got off course a bit. AntiFog the night before was a big plus. Caught several waves when i was expecting air, but was able to take it in stride.

Couldnt have expected anything more - I was very very happy with how I felt during and after the swim. Maybe I got lucky, but I will take it!!

I was expecting more contact and training without a wetsuit was really helpful. The wetsuit had an amazing effect on buoyancy (which sounds obvious, but feels great!) and my time. I could have pushed harder on the way in.

I used a sleeveless suit. I would like to know what a full suit feels like although I think any time made might be negated by the extra time removing it.

The wetsuit peeled off nicely since it was only sleeveless and went to my thighs. I put on my jersey and ripped my preclipped number (cost me 45 seconds or so).

Bike shoes screwed me up. Couldnt get things organized well (another 30 seconds).

Overall, should have been outta there in 2 min 30 seconds.

Wear a jersey in the swim and add the gel packs to pockets in transition.
Practice more with the shoes! This was a stupid mistake.
Didnt realize my bike computer would have such a tough time - it didnt work for some reason I have yet to revisit and figure out. This was mentally upsetting as I was looking forward to using the avg speed measurement as motivation.

Weather was very friendly and good thing too. A little rain made turns and downhills a little concerning but did not get hot even once. This course is certainly a lesson in making sure you know when the hills are and whats next - it helped getting up early ones.

Pretty happy with the bike (for my first one). My nutrition products made me nauseous about 35 miles in. I added some whey protein (about 12 grams over first two hours) to carbo force and I think it was either the protein not digesting right or the syrupy calorie dense carbo force. Drank diluted gatorade perfectly though and i will do this part again.

More mistakes. I was so happy to be back in the transition area, I forgot to undo my shoes earlier. Then had to come to a stop to prevent falling in front of spectators (close one). Ended up running in my bike shoes to transition and dealing with it then.

Switched tops again to sleeveless compression shirt. Wet body cost me 30 seconds.

Had to use the bathroom badly and that takes some time for some reason. cost me at least a minute.

Definitely will undo shoes next time. Just plain ol rookie mistake.

Will use same shirt next time but I enjoyed the sleeveless part. Maybe I will use a sleeveless running jersey with pockets and use the individual arm sleeves I see people wearing (ah ha)

Not sure what to do about using the bathroom.

Coming out of T2 I was expecint jelly legs, but I guess the weather helped as I felt really good! I was excited about thias and that enthusiasm carried me to about 12 minutes in, when I begain drinking the coffee I carried with me from T2. This also helped a ton. Was smiling and feeling fine after first loop with expected time of about an hour.

then things caught up with me. About mile 7.25 it all hit pretty hard. With a wave second to last, most people were finishing or had already finished so there werent the number of people to help motivate on the second loop. The way out was rough and i walked for about 45 seconds two different ocassions - which helped.

the way home was much easier as the energy of almost being done picked up and I could tast the finish line. About 2 miles out, I could visualize my training loop at home and knew I could make that dead. About a mile from finish, I could hear the announcer and spectators were congratulating me. then I wasnt tired at all. Could have run another few miles no problem.

I need to practice running faster. I did too much tempo running. I guess if you practice running slowly...you get good at running slowly. My training for running is a mjor problem in my triathlons and I am excited to find such an obvious issue. I am hoping to do the Eagleman in June and shoot for 6hr 10 min or so. I have three small kids so any better than that might make me selfish. It was a blast and my family and friends were awesome in support! Thanks to them!

Beer as I crossed the finish line. Thats about it.


Poor running training. I need speed work and need to do many more runs at a much faster clip. I got sucked into tempo runs.

Most of my errors are a function of this being my first triathlon. I am very happy with my effort and willingness to give this a go without any prep courses.


My only complaint was the post race. We paid $275 and got a weak goodie bag and one (thats 1, uno, un) can of beer? 2700 plus people at $275 a piece? I know these arent cheap to run, but do the math and indulge what would have been only another beer. But the fact that I could have had more would have been appreciated given the entry fee. Other than that (which is supposed to sound like a mild complaint), I loved the race and the official feel to the whole atmosphere. Chrissie Wellington is awesome to have stayed around. If more pros would be as enthusiastic as she is, this sport would rocket. Thanks Timberman!