Superior Man Triathlon - Triathlon1/2 Ironman

This was a nice swim, water wasn't too choppy and the course was easy to navigate. I never noticed any issue with the rising sun or glare. The time trial start helped spread people out, at least at the beginning. Once you got going it felt like the same crowds you find any race with swim waves. However since the bulk of the swimmers were in the first wave most of them were past the starting point and on their 2nd lap when we were getting in the water, so we didn't have to contend with many of them. I did pass a few of them even towards the end, but never felt that anyone was in my way. Very minimal contact, only during the first 200 yards I got kicked in the jaw.
I had a little trouble swimming strait while breathing on my right side for some reason, but otherwise my navigation was fine. I wouldn't rank it "good" just because I felt I could have swam a slightly more efficient line. Performance was "good" only because my time was decent, however I didn't really feel good and was fatigued early in the swim. Not sure why that happened, I'll have to give it some more thought. Still shooting for a sub 30 minute HIM swim, but I'll be happy with this and move on for now.
In regards to getting out of the water, that ladder would have proved very tough given my calf cramp the second I stepped up and the dizzyness that set in, luckily there were two excellent volunteers who literally pulled my off the ladder and set me on the ground. I think the long run to the timing mat plus the few seconds on the ladder may have also contributed to my swim time.

Maybe a little more OWS practice before the event to practice sighting again. Never really been an issue before, I guess it was just one of those days.

I really can't figure out what took me 3 minutes! It was a long ways in after the timing mat, and the ice rink floor was very slick, so volunteers were screaming at us to walk the whole way. I was able to trot a little and just be mindful of my balance. I felt as though I got in, got my wetsuit off, helmet on, glasses on, grabbed my bike and left. I never sat down or anything.

I can't think of anything, I thought I was going quite fast!

Nice fast bike course. With the exception of the initial out and back over the railroad tracks, the roads were smooth with only the occasional expansion joint in the concrete that would give me a jolt. I felt really good going out, it was a net elevation gain on the first half but with the wind at our backs I made really good time, a little over 21.6 mph avg. I thought I was looking at about a 2:40 bike split, but then we turned around and wind hit me like a ton of bricks. It wasn't necessarily a strong wind, but just enough to make the downhills feel flat, the flats feel uphill and the uphills downright tough! I did not feel the bike course was crowded at all. This simply is not a large number of racers, maybe around 300, so spreading them out of 56 miles is fine. Being in the second swim wave there were not many bikes left in transition when I got there, but I don't feel I lost any time having to wait to pass someone or being caught up in a long line of riders.
I consumed 2 bottles of Infinit, 1.5 bottles of lemon lime gatorade from stations on the course, one Stinger waffle and two Gu's. I think that was plenty over the time I spent on the bike course.

I was already worried I had hammered it too hard on the bike which would affect my run. All I can do different is continue to train more and get more miles in.

Not too upset with this time, would have thought I had it under 2 minutes. I just don't know where the time goes! I lost maybe 10 seconds racking my bike because I thought I could get it on by the horns except my aero bottle is in the way, so I had to turn it around and rack by the seat, the same way I had it racked in the morning. I got everything accomplished without sitting down, that's a win.

I think I ought to change the order in which I do things. I had my race belt sitting on top of my shoes so I put it on first. That ought to be done while leaving transition, not while standing there. Next time I'll focus on socks/shoes first then grab race belt and drink and deal with those on the way out.

Nice run course, plenty of crowd support both from volunteers and spectators and from strangers just out enjoying the day who didn't realize there was a race going on. The run course was not really "closed" so there were alot of unknowing fans out there, which was a good thing. I never had any problems with people in my way because the course was not really closed. They had two short out and back sections, I guess to get the distance, which both sucked. The first one contained all the elevation gain for the entire run course, but at least had water at the turn around. The second one was like running in an oven because it was a concrete industrial railyard type area, and no water station at the turnaround. Despite those two sections, it was a really nice run course that allowed you to run in a beautiful area.

What can I say, I'm just not very good at running! I'm trying to get more disciplined at training with a focus and goal for each workout. The heat I think played a role in my performance, I just felt cooked by the 2nd lap. The first lap felt alright, I ran the entire thing with no walk breaks. Then by the 2nd lap the walk breaks at aid stations started, then started to get a little longer. The 3rd lap went a little better as I was able to catch up with people who felt as bad as me, run with them for a bit, then keep going when they decided to walk again. More training is necessary, it's that simple. Also need to figure out something to ward off the blisters.

Got out of the sun and sat down. Drank a couple bottles of ice cold water and stole some of my son's Pepsi. Did a short amount of walking and talked to a few other racers. Had some painful blisters on both feet that limited my walking. Didn't feel like waiting around for a massage or the ice baths, although an ice bath certainly would have been nice. Got in some more walking later in the afternoon as well as some Cold Stone ice cream with the kids.


The weather played it's part, but I feel I hit the best time possible with the level of training and "talent" that I have right now. I beat my 6 hour time goal, my wife thinks my new goal ought to be 5:30. I think I have a heck of alot of work to do if that's ever going to happen, especially on the run. I'd also like to work on my mental game, and ability to separate from the pain during the run and walk less. It's almost like I'm scared to skip the walk breaks for fear of falling apart even worse later on during the run. I need to just try and endure through the anguish and see what happens next time.


This was a great race, and I'm not just saying that because I broke the 6 hour mark for the first time! I've been impressed by the level of organization since this race first came online, and they pulled it off with great success. There was alot of potential for logistical complication but it appears that prior planning really payed off for them. Generally there's at least one major issue that comes up at an inaugural race, and I can't think of anything in that category. My biggest complaint was about the lack of water station at the super hot out and back on the run. So if that's my biggest issue then this race was a win! I'm not ready to register for next year yet, due to my own future race schedule issues, but I would absolutely do this one again.