Rev3 Maine - Half Rev - Triathlon1/2 Ironman

The swim started ok, but at about the Oly buoy (.2 miles) yards I got a little nervous after getting hit a few times and swallowing a bunch of water. I think I overreacted to the salt water because neither the contact nor the swallowing were bad at all. After regaining my composure and thinking about all the recent water tragedies, I decided to take it REALLY easy for a while and completely recover. I went to a hybrid side stroke/crawl to keep my breathing completely relaxed and decided to keep that stroke until I hit the half turn buoy (.35 miles). At the buoy I knew it was the right choice, if not the fastest one, since I felt totally relaxed again and settled in to a solid stroke. The rest of the swim was largely uneventful, just the typical bumping and contact along the way. Passed a lot of people on the 1.5 mile part perpendicular to the beach, but I assume that was because a lot of people passed me while I was basically floating. After the turn into short I wasn’t sure were to sight, but then I saw the Ferris wheel and used that the rest of the way. Swim was fine, and I came out totally relaxed and not at all winded or tired.

Swim more. I did close to zero training for this swim. Probably not the brightest idea for a half, but I feel like I'm a pretty strong natural swimmer. This result makes me want to be sure to spend some additional time this winter swimming and hitting it at the lake next summer. I love swimming, but for some reason I found excuses not to swim this summer when we were at the lake.

LONG way from ocean to transition. We ran up the beach, up the main boulevard, along the road parallel to the RR tracks, then to the far end of transition. My Garmin had the T1 distance at .47 miles. I did struggle getting the wetsuit off once I got into transition.

Convince Rev3 to get wetsuit strippers! Nah, I just need to run harder to transition and get the suit off cleanly.

After Timberman, I knew I’d have to work really hard to keep this bike under control. It’s very corny, but my mantra song was Billy Don’t be a Hero. Just bike steady and fairly hard with the goal to never feel like I was racing and never get winded. With the compact crank and without the steep hills of Timberman, I knew that I could spin up pretty much all the hills without pressing my legs, and that was my focus for the first half since most of the hills were in the first half.
The first 30 miles were absolutely awesome. I was staying in the plan and but felt like I was flying. And then the fun began. I had put on a new saddle for this race (I know, nothing new on race day) but my privates were numb from Timberman. I did a few short rides to check the height and such, and it seemed great. However, at 30 miles the saddle came loose and was hinging back and forth freely. I stopped got off to see if I could fix it, but I didn’t have the wrench I needed to undo the seatpost to get at the adjustment screws. Lesson learned. I decided I could do 26 miles balancing as best I could and restarted. Everything was ok until about 48 miles. That’s when I stood up to absorb some road bumps, and the seat fell completely off the bike. I stopped and found the pieces of the post, decided there was no way to put it back on reliably, and velcroed the seat to my bike bag. I knew from the course layout that the end was mostly flat and downhill, so I decided I could do the last 8 standing on the peddles. It was actually fine other than a few times I “forgot” and almost sat back on the post. At the end, I panicked for a second because I realized my newfound skill of taking my feet out of the shoes while biking and then running through transition in barefeet wasn’t going to be possible, but I figured I could just unclip the “high” shoe and step on the ground normally. Overall, I never felt out of control nor did I press too hard. My legs were actually about as fresh as could be expected following 56 miles, though I knew the last 20 minutes had put more strain on them than I wanted to do.

I got off the bike fine, but couldn't find my spot for some reason. Stupid, since were numbered and I'd been there about 67 times by then. Eventually I racked the bike, took the seat of and put it on the towel for some reason, added socks, put on the shoes and bug spray, and was off.

I'm not sure why I un-velcroed the seat and didn't just leave it on the bike bag. I also need to get my shoes/socks on faster if I'm gonna wear socks for this distance. But overall, I'm ok with this time given the length of transition. It was long and thin.

The run started great, and I decided not to check the pace very often but to really run by feel. The first few miles were on the road and had some rolling hills, but nothing too severe. I ran the uphills very slowly, keeping effort constant and not worrying about pace. At 2.5 miles we turned on the trail, and I was still feeling really good. Essentially it was a straight flat shot from there to the turn around. I checked my watch at the turnaround and saw just barely under and hour, so I felt like I was right on target. At that point, breathing was good, legs felt great, no pains anywhere. So far so good. At the aid stations I was taking water and sometimes Gatorade, and I had taken two salt tablets and a sip of coke. I walked while I drank since other I spill all over everything. At mile 9.5 I stopped at the port o potty since I couldn’t hold it anymore – I took it as a good sign that I was drinking enough since it was pretty clear. Shortly thereafter the run fell apart. My right calf started tightening and then quickly cramped very tight. I couldn’t flex it and couldn’t run, so I walked to the next aid station and asked for a quick massage. One of the volunteers worked out the cramp and I was off. I then proceeded to jog and walk my way through the last 5k, unable to keep a constant pace or keep the cramping totally at bay. Very disappointing section for me, but I just hammered through it and decided to think about it and analyze it later, not now. At the finishing chute next to transition, Zack joined me and we ran the last 400 yards together. It was a thrill to cross the finish line with him.

Run more leading up to the event. I'm not sure if this result was caused by going too hard on the bike, the seat issues, or lack or running the last month, or what. I don't think I went too hard on the bike, but they say there is no such thing as a good bike followed by a crappy run.

I think lack of running is really limiting me.

Not enough swim or run training. I really focused on the bike for Timberman this summer.


Great race, post race food not good unless you signed up for the Lobster.