Rev3 Knoxville - Half Rev - Triathlon1/2 Ironman

There was a lot of contact, and I was even on the outside. I really think it may have just been one or two guys. Instead of just slowing down and letting them by I tried to ease in front to get away from the thrashing arms but in retrospect that wasn't the best plan. There was plenty of room for me to swim my own race.

There seems to have been a timing chip issue so I don't have T1 times posted. Long run from the swim exit to transition, so just jogged it and proceeded to remove cap, goggles, and brought my wetsuit down to my waist.

Practice donning the aero helmet a bit more. Both ears folded over when I put it on, so had to take a little time to get it fixed.

Again, there was a timing issue and my bike splits are messed up on the website, so the time indicated was from my 305. I went with only one bottle cage between the bars for this race, and it seemed to work well. My only concern was that when I grabbed the water bottles they always seemed to squirt a lot out during the handoff. Don't know if I under-hydrated because of this, but noticed at least one bottle that was over 1/3 empty after I grabbed it.

Thinking back on the temperature, especially later during the run, I may not have taken in enough liquid during the ride. Overall, my pace felt good and I didn't feel like I was pushing too hard (but maybe I was)... felt really good as I finished up the bike and was looking forward to a challenging but good run.

Overall pretty quick transition considering that I had a long run to my transition area.

Some day i'll get triathlon shoes so I can run out of T1 and into T2 without making a racket or worrying about slipping in my cleats. Grassy transition = no problem but this was in a parking garage so lots of pavement to run on.

Came out of T2 feeling good, and ran the first couple miles a little under my goal pace. Towards the middle of mile 2 my right hamstring started acting like it wanted to cramp up, and finally did on the first hill on the greenway. Had to stop for a few seconds to stretch it. At this point I was thinking I was in deep trouble. Ran on at a reduced pace, and tried not to aggravate the cramp again, but I could feel it there just waiting to happen again. To make a long story short, I made it through the run at a very disappointing pace. I know this was really one of the first few hot training days of the year, which may have played a part, but I think that I may have just ridden too hard on the hilly bike course given the difficulty of the upcoming run course. I just needed to have more in the tank starting the run.

Although I felt like I was riding at a very reasonable pace, my average speed was higher than I projected it would be given the elevation. I should have backed off on the bike to save more for the run. Very disappointing run for me but looking at the results pages it looks like the run course took more than a few victims, many of which fared far worse than I. Guess i'll chalk this up to a learning experience and try not to let it happen again.

I saw Amy and the kids with a prime spot at the start of the finishing chute, said Hi and slowed down to give Dylan a high five before going across the line. Really made me happy to see them. After that just walked a little, grabbed a ton of ice and stuffed it down the front and back of my tri top, and tried to find some good shade.


Overdoing it on the bike, 86 degrees and cloudless sky, maybe didn't drink enough on the bike, wasn't prepared for 800' elevation on the run after 2700 feet on the bike?


Overall, the course was really good. It's not a PR type of course in my opinion, and when I look at my finishing time it's clear to me that I have gained a lot of fitness since my first HIM last October. However, i'm just disappointed in my decision making that led to such a painfully (and just downright painful) slow run.