3 Disciplines Triathlon Festival - Half Iron Man - Triathlon1/2 Ironman

I felt like this was one of my better swims even though I am very, very, very slow. My navigation was right on, and I pushed as hard as I could the whole way. Since I'm always in the back of the pack, I sometimes got cris-crossed by those who backstroke the course, some quite haphazardly.

Well, I suspect there are dozens of things I need to do to improve my swimming, and I'm planning to focus on that this winter. Even a 10-minute improvement would be excellent for me.

I put my sandals on for the 200m, or so, from the beach across the main road and up to T1 and the racked bike. This year, the whole length of Newton St. was set up with three long racks: one for Half IM, one for Oly, and one for Sprint. It was a neat idea, but it would prove frustrating for my T2 (cue suspenseful, foreshadowing music here).

Not much. Actually, I didn't put much pressure on myself for a super fast transition since, hey, it's a Half IM. What's the rush?

Well, this is definitely my new favorite bike course. It was reported to be so, and it did not disappoint. Very flat, relatively, with a strong headwind coming back along River Road. Still, the wind was pushing us nicely all the way back into town which meant for 20-23mph most of the way ... ahhh. Even the so-called hilly section down to the dam and back up again wasn't really that bad. I followed my hydration/nutrition plan like clockwork. Drank all 4 bottles I had with me as well consuming 2 sleeves of Cliff Shot Blocks and 2 packets of Gu.

Hmm ... I can't think of much I would have done differently, to be honest. This summer's tri's have been all about improvement in the bike and run, nice for a guy who just turned 50 the week before this race ;-)

Well, this was the only travesty of the race for me. What was an easy "find" in T1 was almost impossible for me coming back in. I just could not locate my towel, pack, and shoes on the long, continuous rack (I should have paid more attention to parking space numbers on the road--duh). One guy in the crowd, bless him, tried to help me find my place. It probably took a good two minutes before I finally did. My wetsuit had been tossed on the pavement, and my towel blown aside. Sigh, such is harried triathlete not thinking about rack landmarks. At any rate, once found, bike racked, helmet off, shoes changed, and I was running with my hat for the exit, determined to put this poor exchange behind me.

I definitely need to hang some "bling" next time so that I go directly to the right spot, maybe something bright orange or green.

I was running just slightly ahead of the pace I thought I could keep and was able to stay steady and solid pretty much all the way, perhaps falling off a bit in miles 11 and 12. I wanted to be as conservative as possible on the first lap since it brings you tantalizingly close to the finish only to send you back out of town for the last loop. I finished the last sleeve of Cliff Shot Blocks and drank when needed along with my last 6-8 endurolytes. I had absolutely no problem with hydration or cramping, which is saying something for me. The cool temps helped tremendously. Also, it rained on us briefly when I was at mile 4, and then--God has sympathy for us poor, crazy, wretched triathletes--it rained briefly again at about mile 9. Just the perfect amount of moisture to cool and refresh. A couple of high school guys at the turn-around were my favorite volunteers. They were a crazy but encouraging pair.

Not a thing

Chatted with a guy who finished just ahead of me and a first-timer who I had run back and forth with for a while on the first and second loops of the run. She did great. Guzzled a Pepsi and chatted with another first-timer young guy back in transition who's definitely got all the right gifts for the sport. I savored a couple of light beers by the car while I put the bike up on the roof racks and packed up stuff. 3D later provided an awesome fajita dinner along with a raffle in which just about everyone present won something. Kudos to the 3D folks! They really care for their participants.


I love the challenge of OW Swimming, even more than the pool. It's just something I need to improve at any way I can. Of course, the T2 fiasco shall not be repeated! So let it be written.


I can understand all the hype about this race now, and I'll be back next year if I can get out of Dodge. Well worth the road trip for you folks looking to PR on a Half IM course. I sliced nearly a 1/2 hour off my last Half from 2010. Wonderful feeling!