Patriot Half Triathlon - Triathlon1/2 Ironman

I struggled with the swim. At the beginning I got punched and kicked and run in to a fair amount (the water was pretty dark, so it was hard to see anyone until you hit them/got hit) and ended up giving up and just kept my head up and let people pass me until it spread out more. I sighted the amount I usually do, and I think enough, but just sighted badly I think. It was pretty choppy so I only got quick looks at the buoys and I think it may have been out of the sides of my goggles so I was misinterpreting where they were. I kept ending up too far to the left of the buoys (both out and back, so I don't think it was a current issue). I also forgot to put body glide on my neck so that was pretty sore.

Be more aggressive on the swim start rather than just letting people pass me. Sight better. Remember to put on body glide on my neck before the swim. Practice in my wetsuit/open water more before race day.

I put my goggles up on the top of my head, unzipped my wetsuit, then took my cap and goggles off and held them in my hand while taking off the sleeves of my wetsuit so they would remain in the sleeves. When I got to my transition area I removed the legs of my wetsuit and put it over the rack, put my sunglasses on, then helmet, then shoes, then grabbed my bike and jogged to the mount line.

Make sure I'm in a good gear for the start and my pedals are in a good spot. I lucked out that I happened to be in a good gear, and only stumbled a little with my pedals, so it was fine.

Overall I was pleased with the bike. I was pretty conservative on the corners which cost me a little bit of time I'm sure, but a lot less than going off the road and flatting. It's a new bike and I'm still getting used to being in aero, so I didn't want to risk it on a course I don't know very well. It was also pretty gusty at a few points and I was blowing around a fair amount, which was a bit nerve racking. I have a small frame and had two water bottles inside which left very little space for air to move through so it acted a bit like a sail. It was fine, but at a few points I probably biked in to the lane more than I should have because I was afraid I was going to blow off the road. I noticed other people doing the same, and up on their pursuit bars for added stability, so I don't think I was alone. My right foot also started going numb/tingly part way through. I thought I had maybe tightened my shoe too much, but I think it was actually a tight/crampy lower calf muscle constricting blood flow to my foot because it did not improve when I realized and loosened my shoe, and got much worse on the run when I was using my calves more.

I was hit by a car biking just a month and a half before the race which cracked the frame on my road bike and left me with some serious bumps and bruises (though thankfully nothing that took too long to heal). After waiting for the insurance money to come through I only had 3 weeks to get used to my tri bike and a new position before the race, so I'm sure I will be a lot more comfortable on it with some more practice. In retrospect I should have started the process of fitting/getting a new bike earlier so that I had more time to adjust, but overall I was happy with my bike. Stretching a little before the race may have helped my calves/numb right foot issue too, but I'm not too sure.

I have practiced taking my feet out of my shoes while biking and haven't ever had a problem before, but I unfortunately started just a bit too late this time. I was still taking my left foot out as I approached the bike finish, so I only got my heals out but never had my left foot solidly on top. As a result when I dismounted my shoe came unclipped and I had to go back and grab it. I think it was still faster than running quite a ways on the grass in my bike shoes on though. Otherwise T2 went fine. I wear fivefingers which people always seem to think should take longer, but my feet slide right in to them and I don't even have to do the velcro strap because it's fine where it is so there's no tying or strapping or anything. Just grabbed my race number and watch and put them on as I ran out of transition.

Start taking my bike shoes off earlier.

My right foot was a little numb/tingly at the start of the run, but a mile or two in it started getting worse and by mile 7 or 8 it was so bad I couldn't feel my right foot hitting the ground. At mile 9 I decided that if it got any worse I would have to stop and do something about it, but then it finally started getting tingly again, and then by about mile 11 or 12 I finally started feeling good and was able to pick it up a little at the end. I didn't have much left at the end, so I don't think it slowed me down much, but as a result of favoring my right leg a bit my left is much more sore than my right today.

I'm pretty sure the numbness was a result of a tight/cramped muscle from the bike that got worse when I switched to running and using those muscles more. I think if I had taken a little time in transition to massage/stretch a little bit that would have helped. In the future I should do longer bricks. My run was slower than any of my training runs by a fair amount. I was hoping it would have been faster, but considering it was my first tri longer than a sprint (I was planning on doing Cranberry olympic last year, but it was cancelled so I couldn't) and I hadn't ever run on quite that tired legs I was pretty happy with it, or at least not upset with it.

Ate lots of pretzels and some juice and walked around a bit waiting for my boyfriend to come across the finish line! After that some more walking and stretching with sitting in between and lots and lots of eating!


Inexperience and a numb foot, but overall I was very pleased. Third place in my age group in my second triathlon and first half ironman, can't complain about that!


This was a great race for my first half ironman and I would happily do this race again. My only complaint might be their decision to use Heed instead of Gatorade. I can't handle Head so I had to bring my own Gatorade (I just feel so much better when I use Gatorade rather than water and other ways of getting electrolytes). No fault to the race for my inability to handle it, just a personal preference. I also really like that it's a Saturday race. So many are Sundays and it's nice to have a day to recover before heading back to work. Also great post race food (meat lasagna and cake!!).