Ironman 70.3 Eagleman Triathlon - Triathlon1/2 Ironman

This was spot on. I started towards the outside a bit from the front row. Hit the gas pretty hard at the get go and got a clean break from the pack. There were a few guys nearby and I jumped on some feet. I stayed on his feet for the whole swim. Guy was swimming straight from buoy to buoy and was a perfect pace for me. He navigated through the traffic of previous waves really well, too. Wish I could find someone to draft off like that all the time!

Nothing at all on this. Best ranking and time for this race so far. Current was pretty favorable this year - flood tide is what you need - not a raging ebb like the past 2 years. Guess it's a flip the coin kind of deal from year to year.

No problems here. I had to put my race belt on, otherwise everything was just fine. Wetsuit came off easily.

Maybe put race belt on under wetsuit but I had some salt tabs in the pouch...

I put in a lot of work on the bike this offseason. It's always been a bit of an achilles heal for me and in a half it really starts to rear it's head. So I kicked my ass on the trainer regularly and racked up a lot of TSS and threshold work (thanks TrainerRoad), did hill repeats and rode a lot of miles with some guys who want to hammer.

I've ridden this course many times now and I know a lot about it in terms of the winds and the road surfaces and what the turns are like, and where the eagles live and where the swamp rats are and all kinds of shit about it like what kind of beer the locals prefer (Bud Light 10 ounce cans) and that Sunday mornings at 7am in April are a quiet place in the wildlife refuge where you can see plenty of fresh roadkill. I've also learned that a course like this doesn't really favor a smaller/lighter rider like me so I've made sure to have every aero and rolling resistance cheating goodie I could get my hands on.

Anyway, I got going out of town just fine. This was a good steady/solid ride for me. I put it in a gear where I had to work fairly hard but where I wasn't burning many matches. There were the usual clowns blocking and drafting here and there but I did see a bunch of marshals handing out cards. I stuck to my normal nutrition plan for a hot race 1x600 calorie bottle of Infint and a bottle of water and 2 GUs. I replaced the bottle at each aid station. Just before I got to each one I drank what I wanted to and dumped the rest down my back. The back end of this course is always a bit of a drag. It always will be. Every time I train on this course I confirm that, every time I race this course I confirm that. It is what it is. Just gotta keep the mind as positive as you can and push onward through the wind and shitty roads.

On the way back into town I spun my legs out and had 2 guys in the age group pass me but I go them back on the run.

Not much - can't wait for the next offseason to repeat that bike madness again! My fastest split on this course by 6 minutes and felt really good coming off the bike.

This was fine. Socks and shoes on, hat on, and that's it.

Guess I could be a little speedier.

The past 2 years I've survived this run and did ok. This year it was a bit cooler, a bit less humid, and I'm in a better place mentally for dealing with heat and fighting those demons.

Got going out of transition and a guy who passed me late in the bike was right there. He pulled away in the first half mile but I took notice of him for some reason. Anyway, first couple miles were right at 7:15, and then I settled into about a 7:30 pace with a few seconds at each aid station tacked onto that to get ice and fluids. Was staying on top of that as I knew that it was warming up quickly. I stuck to mostly gatorade but mixed in water a couple times when I felt like my stomach was slowing down with processing. I was steadily passing folks and felt better as the run progressed. I took full advantage of the slushy machine and had 1 to eat, 1 in my hat, and 1 down my trisuit. By mile 8 I was really into a good groove and clicking off the miles and marking folks ahead. I was 37th in my AG off the bike and moved up to 24th on the run. At mile 11 I spotted the guy who started the run with me. I passed him before the mile 12 aid station, but took on fluids there and could tell he was right behind me as people were cheering for him by calling out the team name on his kit. Not that I was racing for anything besides 1 spot in our age group ranking, but I decided to make sure to empty the gas tank at that moment as I got the impression that he didn't want to be passed late in the race. I put the pedal down and that was that.

Nothing. I even split this (49:41 first half, 49:11 second half). Didn't fade at all and left it on the course.

Sat in chute and traded some stories. Drank a few waters and gatorades. Got some food, got cleaned up and changed. Hung out with Mike in the shade and shot the shit for awhile.


Not much. I ran faster at Kinetic last month but that was under really nice weather conditions. Today I was a bit slower, but I ran just as well IMO.


Cant say enough good things about this race. It's relatively local for me and I have a great place to stay nearby. The organization is awesome. They treat the athletes really well. The course can really test you in a lot of ways and the competition is top notch. Can't wait to do it again - even if it will be 99 degrees.