Wildflower Triathlon - Long Course - Triathlon1/2 Ironman

i thought i was prepared but in reality i was not. i intended to get in a couple open water swims but never did. in addition to that my wetsuit zipper broke a week before and i did not get any wetsuit swim time in. consequently i figured i would have to take it easy in the beginning to get the feel and then let it rip. well 5 minutes into the start in my find i was ready to quit. all the thrashing, water in my mouth, and heart heart through the roof i really thought quitting was an option. thank good needs my training told me that i had no problem with distance and i just needed to calm down. i decided to plow through the swim and make the best of it. i must have swam the first 300-400 yard breast stroke until i figure out how to really swim in the wetsuit. i decided to focus on my stroke and breathing and forget about my hips. next i decided to focus on swimming to each safety kayak. look ahead to the large buoys and the turn around was to far. i needed small little goals to get me to the finish. Once i rounded the turn around i figured it all out. turns out that my overall time was not as bad as i thought i would be. just a bit slower than training. pretty happy but upset that i freaked out.

practice more open water swimming and use a sleeveless wetsuit. the full suit seemed to make me not breath well and i think if i felt less compacted by the suit i could have breathed easier.

purposely took my time.

figure out how to start with shoes on the pedals.

really enjoyed the bike ride. i tried to kept my heart rate at 85%-90%. I think i did good doing that. coming out of the transition and climbing out of the camp was a bit of an eye opener but it got me ready and i was able to cruise right along. my gear was not all working so i did not know my cadence but speed and heart rate work. i was a bit disappointed with my watch because it shut off at mile 27. i did not realize it until mile 35. i lost some data there.

maybe a faster transition and areo position more.

purposely took my time.

feet out of shoe at transition and run with bike.

i probably could have pushed it more but i was concerned with over heating and keeping my heart rate down. i kept telling myself after mile 6 i would running continuously. it did not turn out that way.

run. run. run. push it more.

not much. a little stretching. water, and gatorade recovery drink that was ice cold. very nice.


blisters on my to pinky toe and one on my large toe. plus the balls of my feet were on fire because i walked bare foot the night before due to the blisters on my pinky toes. i need to be more careful. now that i know the physical toll of racing for 7 hours i think i know my physical limits and i can and could have pushed them some more.


very good organization. loved the race and all the volunteers along the way. their cheers and aid we welcomed and help get me through.