MightyMan Montauk - Triathlon1/2 Ironman

Everything started out OK. The swim started from a small , maybe 10 foot, section of beach? I don't know what else to call it. I have a hairline fracture of my right ankle so I tried as hard as possible to avoid uneven or slippery footing (I failed miserably) I got down to the water just as my wave was starting. I did pretty well for the first 200yds or so and then it started raining so hard I couldn't see the Buoy. << Side note When I got into the water There was only one buoy that I could see and it was about 600yds out.>> I found myself swimming along with a young man who couldn't see more than 10 feet in front of him because he didn't have his glasses on. He was just following whoever was in front of him. Unfortunately for him, I was in front of him and I was doing a great job of sighting on the WRONG buoy. Luckily one of the kayaks intervened before we got to far off course and pointed us in the right direction.
It was raining the whole time but now the wind starts up and it starts coming down like a monsoon making it even harder to Sight.(That would happen every 15-20 minutes. The rain would come down so hard it stung your face.)

We finally make it to the first turn Buoy and now I am in a little pack of about 10 people. Evidently the winds were out of the south because once we turned I was getting slammed by these little waves. I was able to get my bearings and get into a rhythm. I only breathe to my right and luckily for me the The waves were hitting me from the left. We round the next turn buoy and heading back to shore. There is one last Buoy and we keep losing sight of it. AS we finally get to within maybe 25 yards of it some guy in a kayak starts furiously paddling over to us. I thought someone needed help. Kayak guy starts screaming "Forget the Buoy. It's FLOATING AWAY!" I can laugh about it now. But at the time I was like WTF!

So we start swimming in and since I'm 6'4" I tend to stop swimming as soon as I know I can stand up but with the bad ankle and the rocky exit entrance I swam all the way up to dry land and beached myself like a baby whale. lol

Coach Earl and some of my teammates/ friends were ther waiting for me. What agreat feeling! My first question was "Did I make the 1 hour cutoff?" "No. 65 minutes. but due to the conditions and all of you guys chasing that buoy they aren't holding anyone to the cutoff"

Hot Damn! I can live with that. I start hobbling over to Transition and I am dizzy as can be.

Swim lots.
This is my First Season and I just started taking lessons in February. I didn't exactly keep to the schedule when it came to my training and due to a Death in the family and My ankle I have missed 5 weeks of training since July 30.

It's pouring rain. I have everything organized in my Rocket science bag( Which I love) which is inside a garbage bag. I start my Garmin, put on my socks, bike shoes, Heart rate monitor, my top, my Bike vest, Helmet, and gloves. Reach down to zip up my Rocket science bag and the freaking seam next to the zipper breaks. #$%# I really liked that bag and it was perfect for the rain because everything goes in it's own little compartment. I stood ther for a moment lamenting the fate of my poor bag that had served me so well and then someone yelled out" Rob! Are you drunk? Get your ass moving!" So I dropped the bag grabbed my bike and headed out. LOL

Practice swimming with my heart rate monitor and my top on under my wetsuit. It was tough because of the rain and lack of a dry pleace to sit and put your shoes on. Balancing on my leg with the bad ankle was a comedy show.

While I was saying a silent prayer for my Rocket Science bag I noticed two people leave transition. I could see one person so I sighted on her and started pedaling. I caughther just as we reached the first big hill and since I am terrible on hills I figured I would just try to maintain my distance but she ended up being slower than me so actually passed her on the hill. First time for me. As I came over the hill I see target number 2 and lock on to him. He's coasting down hill and I am pedaling so I end up catching hime as well. I'm tired, I'm wet, I'm hungry but I just passed two people and for me that's a great start.

I start seeing the fast guys who wear the funny helmets (The aero helmets) on their way back from their first loop. I get to Rt 27and I know there are some big hills ahead. I start taking my Powergels and drinking my gatorade every half hour. I passed a fair amount of people and saw quite a few people get sidelined with flats. I saw one girl get 2 flats. She wasn't a happy camper.

Just as I get to the top of the second really big hill. Some dummy, nice and warm in a Lexus truck parked on the side of the road starts beeping at me. The dummy turns out to be coach George. lol It was so good to see him out there. It's a real morale boost when you see friends and teammates out on the course. (Especially when you are last) My friends and the coaches were all waiting at the Transition area

The water was 6-7 inches deep in some areas. My feet were actually submerged at the bottom of my pedal stroke. The wind and the rain kept coming in gusts and there were several times It was coming down so hard you couldn't see more than 20-30 feet. Plus, when you are moving at 20 miles an hour that driving rain really stings.

Did I mention that the sun came out for about 3 seconds? Did I mention the Freaking Lightning and thunderstorm? I saw Three bolts of lightning followed by the requisite Rolling thunder.

Light a candle for better weather.

I made it back into T2 in the middle of a torrential downpour. So of course the first thing I do is put on DRY SOCKS. They were soaked before I could get my shoes on. But being the creature of habit that I am, I stuck with my plan.

I got my sneakers and fuel belt on and headed for the bathroom. Everyone else told me thay peed on the bike and it washed away in seconds but I just couldn't bring myself to do it.

Not have a bad ankle that kept me from being able to stand on one leg. Light a candle for better weather. Bring something to sit on?

I was worried about my ankle but oddly enough it was my IT band that gave me trouble right from the start. My first mile was an 8:30 and Everything felt good except for my Left hip. Funny thing about me and my pain. I tend to cherish it. It helps me feel alive. So let me tell you that I was doing a whole lot of living on this little run. After that first mile I never did better than a 9:30

About 3 miles into it I hit MURDER HILL. And it was murder going up that thing. It was 2 extremely steep hills one on top of the other then you went down into THE PITS. The rain was coming down so hard I found myself wading thru water that was up half way up to my knee. Not just once or twice but more like a couple of times each mile.

I suffered thru my first loop and as I started my second I saw my coaches and my friends and they helped breathe a little life into my tired old body. It's not easy being an old, semi lame Clydesdale trying to keep up with a bunch of young, fit cheetahs.

As I started my second loop I noticed a young lady about half a block ahead of me. She kept looking over her shoulder as I closed the gap between us. We started talking and were trying to figure out if we were last. It's hard to tell on those two loop courses. MY ITB Band issue worked itself out and My second loop ended up being 5 minutes faster than my first. My new friend Cara did a great job of keeping my mind of off my running. I am generally not a big talker but we stayed pretty chatty right thru the end. I bid Cara good bye and let her pull ahead as we entered the chute. ( I didn't want us to mess up each other's finish line photos)

One of the best things about training with a team is that in addition to my friends two of my teammates were out on the course just cheering people on. It was great seeing them out there.

Not have a bad ankle. Light a candle for better weather. Stick to my training plan.

Warm down consisted of gathering up my crap and getting into my car. I stopped to get some chocolate milk and headed back to my hotel room. Took a hot shower and Thanked God for helping me finish my first Half Ironman.


The weather. My lack of training. My ankle.


Excluding my first hour in the water. I had a powergel and some gatorade every HALF HOUR. That's right 11 powergels. For the record 11 powergels does not adequately replace lunch.