Marquee Triathlon - Half Iron Course - Triathlon1/2 Ironman

First OWS in the new wetsuit. I knew the swim was going to be weak for me as I have been learning some new swim techniques. I didnt expect to be fast, but thought that I would be comfortable. For whatever reason, I couldn't get comfortable and felt way to constricted. They were talking about the water being cold. I was never cold at any point in the water, but never got comfortable at all. When I was swimming I felt good for a couple hundred yards and then my HR would shoot up. Switched to sidestroke several times. Note to self, adjust midsection before getting in the water. Had an issue with one of my gonads getting squeezed REALLY REALLY badly when kicking in sidestroke on my left side. Being a bit cold would have been a good thing, as I could have gotten some shrinkage. First time I have ever wished for shrinkage and I couldn't even get it!

Needed to do an OWS with new wetsuit. Should have adjusted wetsuit better prior to getting in the water. Should have worn clear goggles. Tinted didn't work well for some reason. First time I have ever been uncomfortable in an OWS.

Wetsuit strippers were awesome. Seriously don't know how that woman got my suit off that fast. Transition went well.

After the swim being so negative, I was really looking forward to getting on the bike. I headed out and got settled fairly quickly. Was feeling pretty good just a couple miles in. Wind was in my face more than expected, but it was bearable. Little did I know that a mini disaster was about to strike! So made the turn onto Beeline Hwy and started pedaling strong. Going along about 21 mph and all of a sudden my left elbow rest on aerobar broke. The outer portion broke off and I swerved and almost ate it. Saved it by grabbing the bar with my left arm and slowed down to assess what the hell happened. HR was sky high and I was pedaling along at like 10mph trying to figure out what to do. All those negative thoughts from the swim started creeping in and I was thinking about just calling it a day and limping back to pack up. I pulled the pad off and took the broken plastic piece and jammed it under the unbroken piece. Tightened up the velcro and said WTH I will give it a try. It wasnt really comfortable but I was able to pull my elbows in really hard and use about 40% of the rest on the left arm. I decided to do one loop and see how it was going. Slowed me down but I was gonna finish this race dangit! So now I was going again. Got positive thoughts flowing and was still hoping for a 3hr bike split. After the turnaround, I started hearing a noise with the bike. Thought it was a brake pad rubbing, but stopped pedaling and the noise stopped. Two other riders passed me and were helping me look for the source of the noise..No luck. Frt Derailluer was rubbing a bit so I looked for a stick. Found a stick. Pulled over and slightly bent it away from the chain. Started riding again. Noise was still there and was changing pitch now. Felt like I was pedaling harder than needed but not so much that I could pinpoint the source of the drag. Starting 2nd loop I knew my 3 hr bike split was gonna be tough to do but the wind felt like it had died down. Had been eating gels and drinking cytomax pretty much on schedule. One bottle every hour and 2 gels with a water washdown from aero bottle. Made the turnaround and started back to find out the wind had changed direction and was now blowing at me on the way back. That sucked! I was standing up every few miles at the end cause my body was cramping from the goofy position. So finished with sore shoulders from having to squeeze my arms in the whole time. Was not a comfortable bike ride at all, but it was still my longest bike ride in aero ever! Note: So after race was over and I was taking my bike apart I found the source of the noise. One of the 2 allen bolts that holds the rear dropout to the frame had backed out and into the cassette on my rear wheel. Metal shavings everywhere. Looks like I need one new screw and maybe a new cassette. That probably caused a bit of drag!

Obviously not having bike problems would have been a big help. Don't know what else I could have done. I knew I was pushing it to do a HIM on the bike mileage I had training but wanted to feel what it was like so I just need more time in the saddle. Also need to up my power on some of my rides

Didnt really run into T2. Just calmly walked to my stuff and threw on shoes. Love my Brooks Pure Connects. No socks and they felt awesome. Was so happy to be off the bike!

I felt good on the run overall, but was having a hard time pushing HR up. I started getting some soreness in my left knee, so I was walking at all the aid stations on the 1st loop. Was running a 8:45 pace and walking aid stations. I was telling some of the volunteers who were smiling/cheering that they needed to stop because I was trying to suffer and they were making it enjoyable! 2nd loop was walking aid stations plus a little more. After mile 10 I was just thinking run 2 mins walk 1 min.

Didnt have hardly any running in the month prior to this race so I was not at all disappointed with my run time. Kinda bummed I had to walk so much though. Was only running about 14mpw for avg for the previous 6 weeks.

Left knee was sore. Walked around and drank water. Orange and worked my way over to transition. Saw Todd and asked how his race went.


1. Swim ability and the wetsuit situation 2. Bike problems 3. Run mileage but expected for this race. Keeping the negative thoughts at bay after the horrible swim and then the bike issues. Considering that this was essentially my 4th tri ever I wasn't too disappointed, but know what I have to do to get where I want to be.


Red Rock always does an awesome job with their races. I would do Red Rock races everytime if it was up to me! Rio Salado Sprint(Red Rock again) in 3 weeks and IMKS 70.3 on June 10!