Revolution3 Half Ironman - Triathlon1/2 Ironman

The half had wave starts. I was in the first wave, men 30-39, a good sized group. I should have gotten myself up to the front of the group, I am always shy at the start of any race and this is a recurring theme for me. That and my poor sighting might have cost me a position or two on the swim, but I am definitely happy with my top 10% in both AG and overall on the swim.

Swimming is definitely my strongest discipline. I've been swimming since about age 5, but probably had a good 15 years off from any regular lap swimming. I guess its similar to riding a bike though, it comes right back to you. The first leg out from the beach, my sighting was terrible, I kept veering off to the left away from the course. A lifeguard had to get me back on course once. I swam a very wide route out away from the buoys. I do like to be out of the washing machine, but I need to not add extra meters to the swim like I did Sunday. I rounded the buoy and was a third of the way done with the swim.

This section parallel with the beach was pretty good. It was probably the shortest section. Again I had a little trouble navigating and found myself headed out to the middle of the lake a couple of times. I was starting to catch people from the full but pretty much found myself in open waters. That next turn buoy came up pretty quick and then we were on to the home stretch.

This third leg I was able to let the guy to my right do the sighting. I swam with him for probably have of the way in. Every time I took a breath from the right side I made sure he was about the same distance to my right as before and corrected if needed. This really helped me out. He started to slip behind me, but I was able to pick up others as I was moving up the field.

Very happy with my swim.

Not start in the very back of the group. I usually make this mistake and just can't seem to move myself to the front. I need to learn how to swim straighter. Improving my swim isn't a high priority for me though. All a fast swim means is more people will pass me on the bike

First race with wetsuit, had no issues getting out of it. Went sockless for the ride so I just had to get shoes on, strap helmet, grab sunglasses and cliff bars. I was good to go.

Nothing

This is the worst of my disciplines. I need more time in the saddle, plain and simple. I just don't have the cycling down yet. I was hoping for 3 hours and just got there. I was so ready for the bike to be over when we turned up the road back to the park. There was really nothing good or bad about it, I was just done.

The course started with a flat ride through the parking lot out of the park. It was about a 8 mile ride until we got out to the main loop, on the return we rode on this section to get back into the park. Nothing special here, it was flat, there were a couple of spots that were wide open and the wind just whipped across the bay at you. Pretty much once we got out of the park I was on roads that I had previously ridden. I am very glad I was able to ride most of the course on the CTC training days. Knowing where I was going and what to expect really helped me through.

It took me a good 15 miles or so to really feel good on the bike not really sure why, but once I hit that point riding felt pretty effortless for a while. This feeling lasted until about mile 45 or so. I don't know if it was knowing that I still had a half marathon in front of me or what, but I really just didn't want to be on the bike anymore.

After putting a few more miles down, I was back on the road into the park. I was on the home stretch of the bike and that lifted my spirits. I did my best to try to hold off any people behind me on the road in, but still got passed a couple of times.

Glad that was over

More training time. I let my cycling time really slip towards the end of my training and it showed in my results. I need to get a trainer for the winter and put the hours in.

Good transition here. Put socks on for the run and I was off.

Nothing

I had a plan going in that I would start the first mile at a 9 minute pace, since my Garmin didn't cooperate with me in the morning I was just going to have to wing it. I think I got into a pretty good rhythm and felt really good. At the first aid station I made the decision that I was going to run as many as I could because I felt if I allowed myself to walk I might not get back into the running groove again. This was a very good decision, I had no problems drinking and running.

The second aid station I decided I need a bathroom break. When I finished, I thought that might have been a bad idea because I lost my running stride. It actually turned out to be one of my better decisions of the day. Shortly after coming out of the aid station I caught up with another runner and we paced each other until we got back to the causeway. Andy, my new running partner, chatted and kept each other motivated for the next 8 or so miles.

At about mile 4 the pro leader passed us. I need to figure out what time that was so I can try to go back on the video and see us out there. I'm sure the motorcycle cam got a great shot of us. As the miles passed so did more of the pros, they are all amazing it is pretty cool that we are all out there together. I was able to maintain running through the aid stations for the first 8 miles. I finally had to break down at about the 9 mile aid station, I walked this one got some water and some pepsi (I'm really a coke guy, but you take what you can get). Andy made it out of the aid station before me and looked back for me. He yelled back for me to pick it up. It was much needed and appreciated.

The next few miles went by pretty good, we walked the aid stations and talked about the race. When we got back on the causeway, Andy told me to go ahead if I needed to. I felt bad that he helped me through those 8 miles and then I was going to take off. He assured me it was all good and we parted ways.

I did pick up the pace for the final couple of miles. I felt like I finished strong. At the final aid station they finally had the Browns game on so I got an update, at that point they were up 7 - 3, too bad they lost. That gave me a little pick me up. When I got into the parking lot I made a decision that no one was catching me. I didn't realize how far into the park the finish line was and had to battle to keep one guy at bay. Finally the finish line came into view and I was done.

Nothing, I think I did what I could on the run. This is more of a reflection of my bike than my run. If I get my bike up, my run will follow.

Grabbed some water and met up with the family. Tried to eat but didn't really have much of an appetite. Hung out with family and friends at the park a little bit then headed out.


My bike, or rather lack there of, skills. I really need to put more T.I.T.S.


Great race for a first event. Great event for my first HIM. I really enjoyed everything about the race.

I also need to give a huge thanks to Andy, that's what you introduced yourself as but I think your race number was 797 and name was David on the REV 3 materials. You really made the difference in making my run a good one. I hope it was a two way street.

Hope everyone else out there had a great day. My goals for each leg were 35 minutes, 3 hours and 2 hours and I nailed them all.