Musselman Half-Iron Triathlon - Triathlon1/2 Ironman

i was SO calm going into the water. this swim really went great for me, about the same pace and comfort level that i had during Savageman. not sure why, but these longer the swim, the better i seem to do. i was a tad nervous looking from the beach at the chop and waves but once i got in the water and started to swim, it was awesome! i totally loved the choppiness of the water - it didnt throw me off one bit. only swallowed one unintended gulp of water.

nothing

i felt like my transition was slower than this, but it is what it is!

eh, not much.

i had a great ride. this was my first real HIM besides Savageman, where i could open up a bit more on the flats. i felt like i was holding my pace back a bit so as not to ruin my run, and still i passed a bunch of people. some of the roads were rough, but everything was marked well, tons of volunteers, and from where i normally ride, this course was what i would consider pretty flat. consumed 2 waters, 2 gatorades, 2 hammer gels, and one stick of Clif bars. didnt want any more or less than that.

well for one, i need to do more longer rides. i had one ride at 35 miles, and another ride at 40 miles. the rest were in the teens to 20-some milers. and my neck was feeling the effects of this as well, things were getting pretty sore.

felt good. i am pleased with this.

man, i dont know where this came from! for me, this was a great run! my run has always been the worst performing of the 3 events but i seemed to keep it together pretty good for this race. i did get off the bike feeling for the first time like my feet were floppy and almost numb-like. i started out holding back so i didnt crap out too soon. turns out my first 5 miles were an 8 min/mile avg. then the hills started to come into play. then the heat started to get to me. the aid stations were wonderful with the water and so were the homeowners with their hoses to spray us down to keep cool. that was a real boost, and could have made things alot worse i think if i wasnt able to be hosed down like that. i drank coke when i started to feel hungry, but every other station i would down waters. around mile 10 i couldnt remember what mile i was on was longing for the finish line. looking across the lake from the town of Geneva, over to the finish area at the park, it was tough! i made it till the last 1/4 mile till i had to stop and walk for about 30 seconds, if that. a lady started yelling at me that i was only a hair away, give it all you got! i smiled and thanked her for yelling at me, and kicked it back in gear. actually, i finished that last bit pretty quickly compared to the pace of my last 2 miles. the heat didnt seem to bother me until about the 10th mile. i just dont believe that i didnt bomb out during this part! but then again, by not doing enough long runs before this race, its hard to guess what i will do.

do more long runs. my longest run was only 12 miles and i did that once. the other runs were 7-9 miles, and infrequent.

my quads were howling. still are today!!! (monday night)
guzzled some water, sat with my family until my legs stopped screaming.


not enough long runs.
not enough long bikes.


very well run race. tons of volunteers and traffic control. well marked. course is very nice. cool lake, semi-flat bike, challenging run. neat swag. i will strongly consider this for next year, except i will stay in a hotel instead of a pop-up camper. we were still so hot after the race when we got back to the campsite that we ended up getting a hotel room for the night. the A/C was wonderful!!
my performance was alot better than i thought it would be for this race. i figured my time was going to be about 20-25 minutes slower. its hard for me to gauge my finish times, and i hadnt factored in the heat. i am just thankful that my body allows me to do this.