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 Swim
Comments: Every race you're going to get at least a splash of water up your nose...Lums Pond's water tasted like campfire. I did notice that when I didn't look up to gauge where the buoys were, I veered right. This was consistent on both sides, so obviously I've got some kinks I need to work out in my stroke. What would you do differently?: Actually training for the swim portion would be a good idea.  Transition 1
Comments: I was so elated I survived the swim, I wasn't worrying about speeding through T1. Kim and the kids had a Go Daddy Go! sign and were cheering me on. I was glad they got there safely...knowing that, I was good to go! What would you do differently?: put more body glide and Pam on. remember where I put my bike shoes...I had put them under a plastic bag since rain was still a 30% possibility all morning.  Bike
Comments: Okay...here's where I was seriously concerned with completing my 2nd Half Iron. As mentioned earlier, the GatorAde and Gu I had earlier were starting to rumble the tummy. I wasn't thirsty or hungry immediately getting on the bike. A few miles in, I decided to take some sips of the watered-down gatorAde I prepared earlier. I immediately noticed something wasn't right. I kept going, probably pushing the speed a bit too fast early on. By mile 10, despite the fact I hadn't even consumed 1/4th of the bottle, I was burping up a greenish-blue color and my tummy was not feeling well. (the color came from Fierce Grape's purple and Gu's orange combined with stomach acid) My original plan was to ditch my personal water bottle at the bottle exchange at mile 22 and grab 2 bottles, one gatorade, one water. Well, with the stomach feeling like it was being wrung-out like a dishrag, I kept my bottle and grabbed a water at mile 22. I did my best to try and get it down and keep it down, taking sips here and there. Around mile 30 I was still hurting, but hungry, so I had a pack of margarita-flavor ShotBloks. Believe it or not, as time went on, for some reason, this helped keep the burp-ups away, I finished the 1 water bottle by the 2nd and last bottle exchange at mile 44. I grabbed 1 more water bottle and nursed it back to T2. Going north into the NE wind, especially up the Reedy Point Bridge, was rough. Around mile 15 or so I passed a dude on the left and gave my standard, "comin' left." As I passed him he thanked me and told me I was the first person to have the courtesy to call it out. It's just common courtesy...although I do have to admit that by the 2nd half, feeling spent, I left out the "comin'" and just barely able to vocalize it due to fatigue, I just said, "left." :) What would you do differently?: I promise...I pinky-swear!...I TRIPLE pinky-swear!! that I will not consume GatorAde with Gu again on race day. It's like Pop Rocks and Soda...it's like McNabb and T.O....it's like Axl and Slash! Highly combustible...big probs. Transition 2
Comments: Ran in with my bike with Natalie and Brendan running just behind me. Kim and the kids had done some hiking in the park, Kim with Natalie and Eric with the double-jogging stroller, and Brendan on his bike riding the hilly trails. They were already having a blast. They're awesome! What would you do differently?: again, kept my running shoes with their Shoe Goo under a plastic bag in case it rained out there. had a little trouble finding them in T2.  Run
Comments: I was very proud of my effort on this run. I was so happy the Shoe Goo held strong! I couldn't believe it had bonded already...especially considering it was 100% humidity most of the morning. The run was great except for one thing...the race organizers did not do a good job of giving mileage markers. Fortunately, I am pretty good knowing what my pace is. While I definitely felt fatigue, I also appreciated every drop of water I took in at each of the aid stations. I took 2 cups at each station to ensure I was hydrated enough. I didn't touch gatorade, I used all water, no gels, and 1 more pack of shotbloks. I felt solid and in control, but definitely felt the fatigue. About1/2 mile before the turn-around, I ducked over to the side and whizzed into the brush. I didn't go in deep...I figured what would they do, arrest me? By the end of the race, I knew I was cutting it close to my pie-in-the-sky goal of 5:30 overall. I turned on some after-burners as I was near the finish...there is still a good chunk of mileage remaining once you come in and are able to see the finish, it's kind of a tease! You see the finish, but you still have to run around the park a bit before you get back in. I kept asking people, "How much farther???" and all they said, was, "you're close!" (but I really wanted to know HOW close! :) What would you do differently?: Honestly, I can't think of anything I'd do differently on the run. There are a few hills on this course, and I ran up and down each one...some folks were walking up the hills. I wish I lived near hills. I enjoy running up and down hills. I felt for the folks who were walking...we've all been in those shoes at one time. I'd give the ones who looked like they could use some support a "you can do it" or "keep it up!" I know handy those come in when you're on the edge. Post race
Warm down: as I was coming through the finish chute, Kim and the kids had gone to the transition area to see if I was there! I immediately went over to a finisher's tent where they had snacks and drinks. I immediately pounded down some Vitamin Water and a couple bags of Baked Lays. I just craved more salt. The 100% humidity most of the morning made its presence felt! So, by the time I went to transition, I still didn't see Kim and the kids. I knew they were going to go to the pizza place that has gluten-free pizza, so I just figured they got held up over there. I put the bike on the car and saw them at the finish! Great hugs all around...PLUS PIZZA! Kim picked up 2 more gluten-free pizzas to go, and the kids didn't have any yet because they wanted to wait for daddy to get back first. :) Freakin' awesome! What limited your ability to perform faster: not swimming enough. poor nutrition plan! (Gu + GatorAde) Event comments: 4/5 rating would have been 5/5 if there were mileage markers out there...it's just such an important aspect in races, especially races as long s 70.3!!! The .4 mile run from the swim to T1 is also pretty damn long. Overall, it was AWESOME! How can I not love a personal best overall, bike, and run?...with a run negative split to boot!!! Shoe Goo rules!!!!!!!!!!! Maybe I'll get to 1,000 miles in these kicks with the help of Shoe Goo! :) Last updated: 2011-09-06 12:00 AM
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United States
Piranha Sports
68F / 20C
Overcast
Overall Rank = 66/204
Age Group = M 35-39
Age Group Rank = 8/16
The day before, me and the whole fam. went up to the race site, picked up my race packet, number, etc. We made the .4 mile walk down to the water from Transition. Seeing Lums Pond's water was nice. I was surprised to see the water was pretty clean...I was a little worried at first because as you walk down the road towards the pond, on the right hand side there is a giant algae-covered retention pond. The skies opened up on us so we took limited cover under some wooded area, but we were still getting soaked. I was going to go back and grab the car to pick the fam. up, but Brendan wanted to come with me. We headed out, and about halfway there, we noticed Kim, Natalie, and Eric were following. We found out they were getting just as soaked waiting as they were walking back.
We proceeded to hit Season's Pizza for 2 gluten-free pizzas for dinner. Since gluten-free pies are a bit smaller than regular pizzas, Kim cooked up a whole chicken for me when we got home.
A little after the chicken was cooked, and the rice was halfway done, the power went out!
I had to call Ajay back (as he finished up his first Half Iron the day before) and had to use a candle to light the way to his number. Talking with Ajay was a great reminder of the power of the 70.3 distance...respecting the distance is vital.
I felt like a neanderthal eating chicken by light of a fire (in this case a candle) so it was a good prep for the grueling task ahead the next day. Got some rice in there as well to give some carbs with my protein and chicken grease.
Around 9:00 I realized I needed to get my running sneakers secured. Earlier that evening I hit Wal-Mart to pick up some Shoe Goo. At the time I didn't realize it, but Shoe Goo recommends giving 48-72 hours to completely bond...I had less than 12 hours till game time! Since I had about 600 miles including my 140.6 last September in these sneakers, the toe cap had long since peeled off from the upper, and there was separation between the upper and the sole. I figured what the hell, sticking the Shoe Goo in there now was better than doing nothing and having the shoes explode out on the rocky course. I got the Goo in, duct taped the area, and wedged both shoes between a bookcase and a love seat.
Finally finished my packing late, got the bike on the car around 11:00.
I headed out to the race a little bit later than I would have wanted to...for some reason my alarm clock wasn't operating correctly...oh yeah, the power went out the night before! Took a shower, made my water bottle of Fierce Grape Gatorade 1/2 cut with filtered water, and hopped in my mighty Tercel. Took a deep breath, a swig of a Fierce Grape Gator Ade, and opened up the garage door to the opening chords of Welcome to the Jungle! Appetite for Destruction was the sole cd from home to Lums Pond. I got to the parking area during Rocket Queen.
There was definitely some trepidation...I had less than 5,000 yards of swimming total from July to race day, and only 41,000+ since January. Oh well. I saw one guy I knew in the Transition area before the race. A Spinning teacher named Jim. He was doing the sprint tri.
I should also note I could not get my helmet sticker on. The 100% humidity was laughing at the adhesive...perhaps I should have brought along my Shoe Goo! :) The race folks said don't worry about it. Very cool. :)
I started the .4 mile walk down to the water right after the National Anthem...unfortunately there was no time to soak in the words of the organizers on 9-11 as I had to get down to the water.
I ducked off to the woods to water a tree...got back to the area with about 5 minutes till the gun going off. In my infinite wisdom (okay, infinitely stupid wisdom) I decided to have a Gu gel before the swim. How many times do I have to do it before I realize GatorAde and Gu just don't mix well in my tummy? Also, not having any water to wash it down sucked.
Okay, time to get in...waded out to the starting buoy. I decided to wish good luck to everybody and said, "Good luck ladies and gentlemen" before realizing it was a sausage-fest of red caps only. A few folks laughed...oh crap, here we go!