Musselman Half-Iron Triathlon - Triathlon1/2 Ironman

I was mentally prepared for a wetsuit swim so I started freaking out that it wasn't wetsuit legal. We had the option to wear one but I didn't want to overheat and if I'm going to do this, I wanted to do it right, so no wetsuit for me. I started in the 2nd to last wave and the water was rough by the time I got in. I've never swam with such big waves, it took a long time to learn how to read them and not swallow a big mouth of water every time I breathed! It was tough to site too with them, I would look up and just see a big wave instead of the bouy. I definitely got off course as I'm not very good at navigating to begin with!

More open water practice, try harder to draft, and not get so off course.

Didn't mess around, just got the bike, helmet, on, and went. Put on socks because I'm used to wearing them on long rides but regretted it later when it was a torrential downpour for 20 miles and my feet and socks were soaked

Nothing

Wow do I suck at riding. I was getting passed a lot and felt like I was barely moving. Stopped at one point to make sure my brake wasn't rubbing since I was moving so slow! It wasn't...I'm just slow! Drizzled for the first hour and then DOWNPOUR for 20 miles. It was awful, I couldn't see anything and wished I had my goggles on! I had to hold back a little on the downhills because I didn't want to slip on the wet roads. I dropped my chain at one point which was bizarre...going from big to little ring. That got me really frustrated. I saw some people walking one of the hills though and I didn't need to do that at least.

Hit a deep dark place miles 30-40, I was just SO sick of the rain and sick of riding the bike. My back and neck were hurting. I drank 4 bottles of Infinit as my nutrition and just couldn't stomach anything but water by the end so I had that. Probably could have used another gel since I was on the bike so long but had no appetite for it. Just wanted off the bike!

Glad I didn't flat at all at least...saw lots and lots of flats and mechanical issues along the way.

Spend more time on the bike and get faster and more comfortable being aero for so long. Pittsburgh is so hilly that really the only time I have to be aero for an extended period is on the trainer.

Took a minute to sit down and put on my shoes. I was tired mentally and physically and just needed a second. Was getting a side cramp the last half hour on the bike and didn't know why. Was nervous to start the run.

Keep my shoes in a plastic bag so they wouldn't be soaking wet from the rain. Putting soaking wet shoes on before a half marathon is pretty demoralizing

Best and favorite part of the race! My calves and stomach were cramping really bad at the beginning. For the first 3 miles I ran to the mile mark and then walked for 0.1 miles and also walked through the aid stations which were like 0.25-0.5 into each mile. I took enduralytes at the first aid station which helped the cramping. Starting at the 2nd station I took a cold sponge, coke, and water. This made me feel like a million bucks! Coke really is a miracle worker. I started feeling really good around mile 4 and from 4-7 I only walked the aid stations. Then I started getting really tired. The coke wasn't enough calories but my stomach wasn't wanting anything else. I took a few gu chomps at mile 10 finally which made me feel better. From mile 7-10 I walked up a few of the hills but made an effort to run as much as I could. The last 2 miles were a struggle...I wanted to finish strong but EVERYTHING hurt. My legs were just so tired, my feet hurt and I was getting bad blisters from my wet shoes and socks. I was shuffling along at about 11:30 pace for my running portions but I got the job done! I was SO happy to cross the finish line and couldn't believe I just did a half ironman! I got emotional and choked up and smiled and cried at the same time while going through to all the cheers.

Taken in more calories...I just didn't have enough. Overall though I'm really happy with the run and had a great time!

Drank water, stretched, sat in the ice bath. Put my 70.3 sticked on the car :)


I need to lose about 10 more lbs and then I'll get some more speed. Other than that, I don't think there was much on this day I could have done differently.


GREAT RACE! I can't say enough about the organization of the race and all the volunteers. Everyone was so great. Would have been able to enjoy the bike course more if it wasn't pouring rain and I could actually see but really, I had a great time. I can't wait to come back next year!