Outer Banks Triathlon - Half Iron Course - Triathlon1/2 Ironman

First race in ocean and the chop in the sound took a bit to get used to breathing and not getting a mouthful. I was in no rush on the swim, just looking to see what IM swim pacing might be in salt water. Went out at pace I thought I could hold for 2.4 miles. Pace was 1:45/100 which is right around my easy 1hr swim pace in the pool. No problems getting into shore and was happy to see there weren't too many people already finished.

For a IM tune-up race, nothing. If this was an A race, maybe knock 2min on total time.

No issues here. Wetsuit a little stuck trying to get if over the Garmin.

Maybe use body glide on forearm to help suit over the Garmin

Let my HR dictate the pace. Goal was to keep HR in zone 2 the entire ride. Coming out of T1, my HR was too high or HRM was acting up (probably a combo of both since there was no way I was at 180). Took about 4m for my HR to settle in. Once I was in the groove, I felt great. The multiple turn-a-rounds were slow but I was out front so not much traffic. The headwind going out over the bridge was ridicules, especially on the second loop. It was all I could do to avg 17mph for those 2.5 miles (although a nice 25mph on the way back). Was passed twice on the bike, including the guy who won my AG. Roads were excellent except for the mile stretch on Airport Rd (which you rode 4 time). Felt good the entire bike (minus the bridge) and my IM nutrition plan seemed to work well (350-400 cal/hr).

For a IM tune-up race, nothing. If this was an A race, ride low zone 3 instead of zone 2. Need to remember to tighten HRM as it loosened up on the swim under the wet suit.

No issues here.

OK, the main plan here was to not blow up on the run like I have in two previous HIM. I made a conscious effort to keep the pace slower on the opening miles (unlike I have done in the past) and to keep an eye on my HR. First few miles clicked off at 7:55 which was a little faster then I wanted but still acceptable. First 3 miles couldn't tell if we were passing HIM or Oly folks. Once we got past the Oly turn around, could see who actually in my race. Felt excellent through 5 miles or so. Saw the lead male coming by and he had quite a lead. Didn't see 2nd place until almost another mile and I realized I wasn't that far from the turn around so I started counting runners to give me something to do. Got to the turn around and I was in 12th overall (with some relay folks in there)??? At that point I turned off my HRM alerts as I know I was like 1bpm below the alert and the temps were rising. Still feeling great and came up on the womens leader and passed her pretty convincingly and another two guys that were in front of me. I then got schooled by the overall womens winner as she was flying (but she still finished slower than me as they started before us ;-). Was getting warm but otherwise felt great...until mile 12. The last mile is through a soft trail in the airport and totally exposed. The soft footing was starting to give me calf cramps with about 3/4 mile to go. I kept looking back to see how far the next runner was in case I had to limp it in. The cramps kept coming but none were long lived and I was able to make it in in good shape. The crazy headwind for final half mile made it even more interesting! Saw the family as I was about to come down the shoot and my daughter made sure she run the finish with me since she knows she can't do it at IM Florida. Felt surprisingly good at the finish compared to the other two HIM's.

Probably should have worked more on my IM pacing but once I saw where I stood overall, I knew a AG award was in the works if I could keep a decent pace for the second half. If this was an A race, I feel I could have run 1:41ish and not blown up.

Grabbed some beer, bananas, and a coke and then just hung with the family on the playground and let the dog fetch sticks out of the sound. Results went up and I was 2nd in AG and 7th overall so waited for the awards ceremony that was supposed to be at 1pm. 1:30 rolled around and still no ceremony yet and I was getting antsy so I asked a few folks and learned the male AG awards did't arrive in time and they were going to mail them so I packed up the family and hit the road back to the beach.


Used this race as a IM Florida pacing tune up due to it's similar conditions and course. Plan changed s little bit on the run but didn't go all out.


Great overall race. My only complaint was that awards ceremony started way late and the male AG awards weren't even there so I wasted 90 minutes just waiting around when i could be back at the beach (this was vacation first, race second). The swim, bike, and run courses were nice, the volunteers friendly, decent post race spread (more salty food next time please), and really cool finisher medal. Not sure I will be back as 6hr drive to race isn't my thing but recommend this race (or the Oly) to anyone looking for a great race in a great OBX location.