Grand Rapids Triathlon - Half Iron Course - Triathlon1/2 Ironman

Nice swim course, started off to the right side and stayed pretty much on my own the entire way. Water was real cloudy, and sun is directly in the eyes after making the turn. Stayed along shore at first and sighted on a couple of taller trees which worked out real well. Goggles leaked a little but not enough to force a stoppage. Dark tinted goggles are a must here if sunny out. Kept my pace where I wanted it and bilateral breathed throughout, was out of the water in just shy of 33 minutes. Wet suit strippers were a nice surprise as I just about ran by them.

Nothing had a decent swim.

Transition is along a two lane road and kinda of tight not to mention long. Luckily the half athletes bikes were closest to the bike out/in gate.

Glad I drove the course the day before which helped me plan things out a bit. Really nice course overall. Just a few miles into the ride I came across a cyclist who had crashed hard and had obvious injuries, he was with a volunteer and a couple of deputies all ready. Stopped to make sure everything was okay, the rider had biffed somehow driving his face into the pavement. He was concerned about finding the teeth he had lost and said he would be okay and the deputies said they would help him search, told him good luck and got back to riding. Had a solid ride with the breeze out of the south I knew there were going to be some tough sections on the way out. Kinda of surprised the winds were as bad on the return leg down Grand River as I thought the trees and hillside would help block out the wind better, it didn't. Wore my DeSoto arm coolers and dumped water on them and my back at the aid stations and refilled the Aero Drink. Ate a Cliff bar and drank pretty much the entire bottle of Infinit which had 2.5 servings. Glad I wore my road shoes as I was able to get in and out of them without any issues. The tri shoes just didn't feel right the last couple of times out since I hadn't used them in awhile.

Surprised this time was as long as it was, some of it may have to do with the overall length.

I knew the sun and heat would get me here and it did. The breeze was only evident in a couple of spots. Some homeowners along the course had sprinklers or hoses out so it was nice to get cooled off. I kept the arm coolers on for the run which I never tried before and found them to work nicely for stuffing ice down the inside of my bicep to help in cooling. Had to walk the two hills for at least parts. Legs felt good overall, knee started aching about 8 miles in and I put on a patellar strap I had found before leaving home and stuffed in my pocket. This seemed to help the knee out until mile 11 or 12 where I was starting to feel it again and had to stop and rub it out on a couple of occasions. This was my slowest half marathon or HIM run ever which was a little disappointing.

Try getting acclimated to the heat better but when avg temps are suppose to be in the upper 70's and temps get into the lower 90's on race day it's tough to do. Not to mention the week before my workouts were in the early hours when temps were in the low to mid 50's. Try more mid afternoon runs this summer. Not sure if me and the heat will ever get along though.

Lack of long runs. Had some knee issues this spring with the chronic tendonititis which kept me from doing my normal long runs.

Drank some water and just chatted with Ben. They had some tasty sandwiches for the racers and someone brought over some fruit from the VIP area. Met Rymac and chatted with him a bit, grabbed the gear and started the walk back to the parking lot that was a little ways away for a CD walk.


Heat, Heat, Heat!

This was my slowest HIM ever but after not having raced a tri since Sept 2010 I'll take it. Glad my separated shoulder held up all day with just minor discomfort. It was just great to toe the line again. I really missed triathlon and I'm glad to have it back!




This is the second year of the event and they do a lot of things real well. The only gripes were packet pickup was a fuster cluck. I've done a few big races and don't think I ever waited in so many lines or for so long. Just a poor setup that didn't make any sense at all. The swim corral area was a bit strange too but this was a minor problem.

The volunteers were plentiful and did a great job. Had no issues getting my water bottles on the bike course and all the stations along the run were well staffed and stocked with plenty of water, gatorade, ice, snacks, etc. I was really impressed. The only volunteers I could rate a bit higher were the ones at Muncie on the bike course in 2008 that stood out in torrential downpours and thunderstorms. But with the bike and run GR does things right! This race just may be on my calendar to start the year like Tawas is for the end of the year.