Musselman Half-Iron Triathlon - Triathlon1/2 Ironman

Ugh!! I knew this would happen. I got maybe 200 yds in and had my usual, "Oh my God, what am I doing moment". I had worn my booties even though I didn't have the wetsuit on and ended up losing one at this point. I did end up hanging on to a kayak just for a second and gave the very nice volunteer in the kayak my other bootie. I was absolutely fine after that though my sighting was abysmal. Apparently I was having such a good time in the water that I wanted to go further than everybody else! I was tight to the buoy at the first turn, but must have drifted after that.

Then, about 100-200 yds from the boat launch I got swum over and when I pulled up, my right calf cramped. I had to roll over and rub it to get it to release. I had a funny sort of kick for the last little bit and hobbled up the ramp and back to the mat. I suspect that I lost more time in that incident than the kayak hanging incident.

Not wear booties without wetsuit and do a swim warm-up. I do not regret leaving the wetsuit behind as I am comfortable without it (the freak out moment would have happened with or without it). At the end of the day, my wetsuit was the only thing that was dry!!

I suppose I really should do more OWS. I knew the freak out moment would happen, but I was hoping that the confidence I had built from Swim for Life (1.4 mile ocean swim in 63º choppy water) would allow me to more quickly unfreak out. Frustrating because I really am not a bad swimmer, but I was pretty close to last in both my age group and my wave!

I wasn't particularly rushed. I sat down to towel off my feet and put on socks/shoes. Drank some Powerade and then headed out.

In hindsight, probably didn't need socks with all the rain! Not forget to put towel in plastic bag with running stuff.

I optimistically thought the weather was clearing up as I left the park. Wrong! All was fine up 96A and across the back road to 414. I did drop my water bottle once and had to stop quickly to pick it up. 414 had beautiful new pavement. However, once I was turned back to the north, the sky was purple/black and there was lightning in the distance. I kept thinking "I hope that slides north". Well if it slid, it slid right into us. It absolutely poured - like sting your face poured complete with lightning and thunder. I thought I was going to get my due after telling all those people who said I was going to get attacked by a shark at the Cape that I was more likely to get hit by lightning! The volunteers were saints standing out there in that. I kept saying to people who passed me that I thought we were done with the swim. I suspect I could've been a smidge faster if I hadn't been worried about potholes under puddles and descending in all that water. Hey but at least it wasn't cold!

The descent down to Sampson State Park was fun and a much welcomed little break. I didn't think the park was a bad as some people and I liked that the gates were open so we didn't have to squeeze around them.

I ate 2 Honey Stinger Waffles, a power bar, and a pack of shot blocks. I drank a full container of Gatorade and then just water as I felt like it.

Overall, I was pretty happy with the bike especially given the conditions. If I did this again, more bike training would obviously help.

I tried to run (well jog) through transition but my toes weren't happy about running in wet bike shoes, so I just walked. Luckily, my running shoes/socks were still dry inside the Walmart bag. My towel was not. Sat down to switch shoes. Took one more swig of Powerade and headed out.

Not much - hurry more?

Well, that was interesting... Ran with no watch so I have no idea what my splits were. Stopped in porta potty at first aid station. Felt faster after that! Didn't take anything at the aid stations until I was up the hill and running along 14. Did just water and took a sponge to wipe my face off at each one. Was carrying 3 gels, but only ate 2 - one at ~ mile 5 and one at ~mile 10. I could tell my feet were blistering, but other than that didn't really feel terrible - perhaps because I wasn't moving very fast! Ran to the aid station on the big hill and then walked the rest of the way up. Pretty much walked most aid stations, but not much other than that. Stuffed my sunglasses in the pocket of my tri-top at ~mile 8 because it did not appear that I was going to need them! Really glad it was overcast/rainy on the run because it looked like it would've been pretty miserable if the sun had been out. I did not like the so-called "path" that came down by the mural - too steep and rocky for that point in the day! By the end I was in marathon mode - just keep moving, don't stop because it will hurt too much to start again. It seemed like a LONG way from the 13 mile marker to the finish line.

Perhaps figure out how to wear Garmin next time.

Try some HEED since it apparently "Tastes Like Success!" :)

Got my medal, water bottle, and a piece of watermelon. Staggered around (on my blistered feet). Wanted something salty, like some pretzels but couldn't find any (other than in the stand where they were selling them). Tried to get a massage but they weren't taking any more names. Finally staggered to food line. Got what looked really good (pulled pork silders, potato salad, and some sort of fruit salad), but only ended up eating a few pieces of pineapple out of the fruit salad. Got a yogurt instead. Found Sharon and Bruce and watched Bruce and the other Rogues collect their prizes.


Lack of training. I really didn't train as much as I should have for this. There were a lot of weekends away with no bike access. I did as much as I could and ran a lot, but if I do this again, I will follow a plan more closely.


Even though I was slow and the weather was challenging, I enjoyed the weekend. I had fun helping out at the run aid station on Saturday. The race is well run and I enjoyed the course. However, I think maybe next year, I'll stick to the sprint and volunteer at the full.