PrairieMan Half Iron Triathlon - Triathlon1/2 Ironman

By far my best swim ever of any race. Averaged 1;47/100 yds (1:57/100m) and improved my previous HIM swim time by 5:42. My navigation was much improved over my last HIM and my last open water sprint race just a month ago. Breathing was good. did get a slight cramp in my foot while i was treading water at the start. The water seemed significantly cooler than the pool water I had been trainining in all summer, so that probably was the issue.

Maybe warm up a bit more to prevent the issue with the cramping foot from happening again. But other than that, I can only hope to have as good of a swim in future races.

Ranked 10/33. I feel like this was a solid transition. I did everything I planned to do, didn't forget anything, didn't have to look for anything. Wasn't going for speed. Just trying to get HR under control and get my mind right for the bike. Got on bike and got feet strapped in without incident. Successful and efficient.

Maybe even slow it down a little more and walk to my bike from the swim in order to get the HR down more.

Hard to know how to interpret this segment. I went slower than everyone who fnished ahead of me and slower than 8 others behind me (including 3 that DNF)--which is a good thing, since I was trying to stay within myself and not blow myself up for the run. I spent the first 10 miles trying to get my HR back down to my zone 2 (140 BPM), and got it there right at the 10 mile mark. But I really didn't feel I was over-exerting myself even at 150 BPM. I definitely asn't going all out, but steady. The heat was a significant factor, so I decided to go on RPE rather than HR. There were some times when the wind was clearly at my back and when I could carry the momentum from a downhill out I did that, but I made sure to recover periodically (back down to 145 bpm or so) and spin the uphills at 95-100 rpm. Only two people that went slower than me on the bike had a faster run split, and those were both at a :16/mi and :04/mi faster pace than I ran. So I think I stayed within myself sufficiently on the bike.

I could have maybe stood to ease into it a little more to get my HR below 140 for maybe 5 minutes or so, and recovered periodiaclly a little more than I did. could probably have had more salt to help aid in liquid absorbtion.

Rank 16/33: Much like T1, I feel like this was a solid transition. I didn't forget anything. I managed to sit down, try to slow my HR, get my mind right for the run, dry my feet off, get my socks and shoes on and stand back up without my legs cramping, which has been an issue in the past. Successful and efficient.

Nothing, really. Maybe take some salts before getting out on the run, but this was easy enough to do after running 0.5 mi

Mixed bag. My legs felt good starting out with a nice comfortable cadence and, short quick strides. HR was still high, but again, with the heat being what it was, I was going more on RPE at this point. Made it a point to drink something at every rest stop (every mile). Took 2 salt sticks at about a 1/2 mile in, along with some water and my Hammer gel. Thighs were starting to cramp a little early on, but then they worked themselves out. Walked the aid stations and loaded up with water and gatorade to try and fend off the quad cramping. Then by mile 3, started to feel quite bloated. Took all the salt caps I had left at mile 6 to try and aid in fluid absorbtion and cramping, which seemed to help a bit. Walked periodically between rest stations, too, but mostly ran between them with HR pretty steady at 166. Started piling ice into the front and back and pockets of my shirt at about mile 5. This helped a lot. Started putting ice in shorts at mile 8 to aid thigh cramping, whichhelped. Did this the whole way back at every aid station except last 2 (no ice available). Finished the last 3 mi without walking between aid stations, and finished the last 1/2 mile at a relative sprint, and was able to track a guy down that was a few hundred yards in front of me and pass him with about 100 yards to go (but he wasn't in my age group).

Maybe take the bike at a 1 mph slower pace (19 instead of 20 mph)and save my legs a little more for the run. Just 1 mph slower on the bike would have cost me 9 minutes, but I think I could have made up that time on the run had my legs not been quite as crampy (only :45/mi). But the cramping wasn't the only issue, as the bloating and heat had a lot to do with my slow time and most everyone else's as the run is notoriously tough in this event. although I would rate the run as average to even poor for me, on this day, it was significantly better than most everyone else's and was consistent with my overall ranking.

IT band and quad massage. Stretch. Hydrate. Eat.


Heat. Bloating on run. Mild to moderate cramping in quads.


Swim was well marked and monitored for safety. Bike course was well marked and monitored for safety. run was sometimes well marked and other times not...plenty of aid stations but I saw no porta potty on entire run course, although others said there was one at 2.5 and 10.5 mi mark. Not a very good selection of post race refreshments. No scale at med tent to check weight change.