Soma Triathlon - Triathlon1/2 Ironman

I placed myself up front at the start and then put in a good 30 seconds of fast effort at the gun. This put me in clear water and then I settled in for the distance. I started catching the wave ahead of me at the second sighting buoy and was thick into them just before the first turn. I made a small sighting error when I saw the second turn buoy very close off of my left side and thought it was way too close to be the second turn buoy - so, I headed for it - potentially cutting the first corner. Luckily, I caught sight of the real turn buoy off to my right while taking a breath and redirected. On the way back I started catching up to the swimmers two waves ahead - so, a little more traffic there - nothing major though.

Nothing.

Very smooth transition. Everything went to plan with the exception of hitting the wrong button on my Garmin as I crossed the timing mat. So, I lost a little race time (on my Garmin)

Someday I may race without socks....

My plan was to run 200-210 watts average, eat 6 GUs, drink three bottles of water, and drink two bottles of electrolyte mix. I ended up averaging 209 watts and eating 6 GUs. However, I only drank two bottles of water and one bottle of electrolyte mix.

If I overcooked the bike (see run report) - then throttle back.
Otherwise, nothing different.

Very smooth transition. Exactly as planned.

Nothing.

Here is where it all wet wrong...

My first mile was 7:46. I knew that was too fast and I kept telling myself to slow down to 9:00 (target pace with option to speed up after 1 loop if I was feeling OK)... but, the message just wasn't getting to my legs. Second mile, 8:01 - same thing. Third mile, 8:14 - same thing. Fourth mile, 8:22 - same thing. Fifth mile... BOOM! For miles 5, 6, and 7 - I was just trying to come up with a run/walk strategy that would get me in under 2 hrs for the run. In mile 8, the leg cramps started. From there, it was run until I could feel a cramp coming on (or couldn't mentally make myself run any longer), then walk. I took in water and/or Gatoraid and/or cola and/or orange slices at every aid station and filled my hat with ice to combat the heat. There were a couple of "feeling good again" moments - but, they didn't last long. I just couldn't get myself back on track.

I'd really like to understand what happened here and correct it... Too hard on the bike? Lack of pace control in the first few miles? Not enough hydration (I did pee on the run)? Not enough nutrition? Heat? Lack of training?

I drank a bunch of water and a Muscle Milk, walked around and talked to my family that was there to see me, and then waited to cheer my friend across the finish line.


Lack of HIM experience? Lack of training? Lack of knowledge? I did the best I could with the tools I had that day. Ironically, I was shooting for a sub 5:30 with the thought that a sub 5:12 might be possible if everything went right. I'm not sure what to think of a 5:12 effort with such a frustrating run... I'm both happy and confused.

Either way, my first (not my last) HIM is now on the books.


Another great Red Rock event!