Timberman - Half Iron - Triathlon1/2 Ironman

water was rough and hard to figure out. sighting was really good and i swam a straight line for the most part. caught a few drafts, but nothing to write home about. by the time i drafted the people i was drafting from didn't seem to swim straight. after making the first turn, we were swimming right into the wind and chop. it was actually fun and i realize as slow as it is, i like the rough conditions. i guess it gives me a bit of an excuse to go slower. turn to home was interesting. had to switch my breathing to the right side for the most part and was breathing every 4th stroke as a result. took the whole swim relatively easy. got into a few grooves. need to work on swimming faster and more efficiently. close to home, wsa battling a few swimmers in previous waves who inexpicably kept cutting me off repeatedly and were impeding my swimming at other times. it was weird and frustrating as i didn't feel like sprinting past them, which i ended up doing anyway.

try to draft more, push harder.

i took my time in T1. took off the garbage bags, but sunglasses (clear) and helmet on. and forgot to put my arm warmers on, which i wanted to do. glad i forgot to put on the rain shell. i would have overheated. also forgot to take my endurolytes. this could have been a problem for the run?

be more organized for the rain.

i started out on the bike and instantly there is a hill! welcome to t-man! i finally got my feet in my shoes by the time i started climbing, but it was a bit difficult. had to adjust the straps on the downhill. climbed slowly, trying to warm up the legs and keep the HR down. i cruised the downhill. as i was about to turn onto 11B, i saw my family driving to the course. i waved and they waved back. that was a nice boost, but i thought...oh no...i'm not going to be back for over 3 hours!! what a long miserable day they are about to have. anyway, on 11b, the road surface was very rough and people were weaving and riding in the middle of the road, making passing a bit difficult. and then the hills started. i tried to take the hills conservatively since in knew i had a long ride ahead of me and that i had a bunch of hills on the way back also. screamed down the descents...which was fun. as i hit the monstah, a bunch of us were climbing together (not drafting, just in various stages of passing, etc.) when we heard the siren and saw the lead bike car. then right behind it came a cyclist FLYING down the monstah. learned later that it was eventual winner Bjorn. it was the coolest thing i have ever seen (or heard) on a bike! it was wild to hear that disk wheel screaming. hit some more hills and finally saw lovato and other pros still climbing! Bjorn was way ahead of everyone else! anyway, started the descending and then hit the rolling flats. seemed like a lot of downhill on the way out, which means...uphills on the way back. also the wind was blowing, but i couldn't tell from what direction. as i made the turn for the turnaround route, i saw dick hoyt standing there waiting for bike support. bummer. even when i passed that corner on the way back, he was still standing there - but with a few more riders queued up! i saw the support car up the road heading towards them and knew they didn't have too much longer to wait. my saddle started giving me problems on the flat section and i started getting antsy and then had to keep shifting my posiiton to avoid prolonged pain. this continued on the ride back. also, it started pouring. pelting. one rider asked me if that was hail! lol. came upon a huge moment of truth at the 2 hour mark when i started to feel very fatigued and questioned my ability to finish and race strong. i fought through that and then started hitting the gradual uphill. when i finally crested that and turned for the hilly section, i was having fun again. i bombed up the hills as it was working right into my race plan and shot down the descents in the rain. THAT will get your HR up!! it was a BLAST! passed a lot of riders on the way down as they were taking them conservatively. i was really flying down the MONSTAH when i hit traffic: both cyclists too far left and a car slowed down behind them. i had to hit the brakes hard and then as the car spotted me in his rear view mirror he hit the gas and i was able to continue down the last section of downhill there. but i wasn't happy with having to scrub all of that free speed. the last hill on rt 11 was very long, especially with seeing all those people on the run course already. cruised into T2, took shoes off after the turn, cruised into the chute, put my fist in the air as i passed my family and friends cheering me on and did a great cross dismount into T2.

attempt to stay in the aero position longer on the gentle but steady ascents. get a new saddle!! also scout out the finish of the bike to find out where i should take my feet out of the shoes.

took my time in T2 to make sure i had everything. put gels in pocket, d3 visor on, took off sunglasses, socks and shoes on. as i was putting on my race belt, the pocket fell off. fumbled with putting that back on.

leave the pocket off the race belt and put the endurolyte container in a shorts or shirt pocket.

legs felt ok to start the run, was able to keep my HR down right away. however, the stomach problems started right away. at the first turnaround i had to hit the bathroom. unfortunately someone was in there, but i had to wait him out. the next one was a few miles away. this cost me at least 5 mins. still felt bad. at the 5 mile mark, was unable to raise my HR steadily like eagleman. i was in a slow groove and any time i tried to run faster my stomach acted up. everytime i took in nutrition or water, i felt bad. was inconsistent with my calories bc of the gi issues. only had 2 or 3 gels during the run and some endurolytes when i remembered to take them. i may have needed some endurolytes on the bike and started the run in deficit, but hard to say as the bike was largely cold.

the last 2 miles i started to feel better. it was downhill and maybe i saw the finish line in my head and realized i was going to finish. as i sprinted past someone and turned the corner to the finishing chute, my wife and son ran out into the chute and started running after me. of course my son face planted, and the crowed OOHed. so what could i do? be a bad dad and leave him in the mud? no, i picked him up. and in my funk...CARRIED HIM! he was cackling as i ran with him down the chute to the finish line. however, about halfway to finish, my legs started to give, my lungs were BURNING and he no longer wanted the ride and wanted to go back to mommy!! so he started crying!! that made two of us. i pleaded with him to run with me so i could put him down, but nothing doing. i carried him crying across the finish line and nearly collapsed. can't wait to see THAT finish line picture. i feel sorry for anyone who was behind me as they were probably too afraid to pass me. i know i ruined at least one finish line pic. i was THAT guy. i'll have to coach my family on finish line etiquette. lol.

run faster, stay tougher mentally.

none really other than walking around and staying on my feet. stretched every now and again and hit the head as soon as i could.


GI issues, mental game.


Keith Jordan puts on a heck of a race. the volunteers were great. Seeing Dick and Rick Hoyt was unbelievably inspiring. i cheered for them every time i saw them. that was a highlight for me.