Musselman Half-Iron Triathlon - Triathlon1/2 Ironman

I am not a great swimmer. It is definitely the area where I need the most work. Considering it was a no wetsuit swim and how choppy it was, I am relatively happy with my time. I would like to be faster, but knowing my abilities at the moment I swam about on pace. I did not care for all the seaweed in the water, but there isn't much I can do about that. For some reason, I couldn't find feet anywhere. I swam the entire thing without drafting anyone. It was weird because I took good lines. I'm not really sure what the deal was with this for me.

Find feet.

Pretty smooth transition. Transitions are quick when you don't have to get a wetsuit off.

I biked quite well. Being in an early wave I managed to avoid rain until about mile 38. The storm looked to be up north near transition from where we were riding. I could see the lightning so I spent some time wondering how that would play out. Fortunately, it passed and we were able to get on with the race with no issues. The rain made it a little dicey in spots and I was not about to take any crazy risks. The course is pretty with all the vineyards you pass by and I saw several Amish buggys along the way. There is a stretch of really rough "road" along Seneca Lake on the way back up, but it was only about four miles long. It is more of a path than an actual road. I was happy to be off that and back on real roads.

I probably could've pusshed a little harder on the bike, but I was saving the legs some for the run.

Not the quickest transition, but putting socks on wet feet takes a few seconds longer.

This was a really good run for me. I have been focusing on my run work and it is starting to pay off. The hill up the gravel road really spiked my heart rate, but I kept telling myself that once I got to the top it was pretty much all downhill or flat the rest of the way. I managed to run a few people down and that kept motivating me.

I can't say I'd do much different. I was really happy with this run.

I jumped in the ice pool.


This is a great race. It is very well run and organized. Jeff does an outstanding job at putting this weekend together. Musselman half iron in 2010 was the first triathlon I ever did. It was a nightmare for me and I had no idea what I was getting myself into. Over the last two years I have learned a lot, worked really hard, and my love for triathlon has grown so much. I finished that first race in just over 7 hours. It was pretty emotional for me to come back and race so well today. Thanks to all the volunteers and spectators for standing in the pouring rain to help us reach our goals.