Pumpkinman Half Iron Triathlon - Triathlon

I took the swim really easy; going basically at warm-up pace. My goal was to keep a really consistent stroke and pace and conserve as much energy as possible. I did all that. I came out of the swim feeling great. The only issue was the start. I let myself get stuck in the very back of the pack going in, so when the race started, I had to wait and then slowly walk into the water before I could start swimming. Then, of course, there were a number of bodies that I swam over. Probably cost me 20-40 seconds. But, no big deal, it was still exactly what I wanted for the swim.

Get towards the front of the wave for the start.

T1 included this run up a steep grass hill that took maybe 2 minutes. Then, I just took T1 very casually, chatting with the family and getting ready for the long bike ride.

Again, I took the bike ride nice and easy, not pushing at all. I was trying to just conserve energy as much as possible for the run. I stayed in aero pretty much the whole time (except for turns and some climbing), which I was happy with as that is the longest I've been in aero consistently since getting the aero bars earlier this summer. The bike time includes one much needed pee break on the second loop at about mile 37 or so. That was probably a 3-5 minute detour. Nutrition was two bottles of Perpetuem, a gel at :15 minutes, a banana at the 40-mile mark, and another gel at the 50-mile mark.

Nothing.

Again, I took T2 slow and easy with no rushing, so I was much slower than a normal T2.

Well, that sucked. Starting the run out of T2 felt great. Legs were loose and running was easy. By mile 3, things were starting to feel like, well, I had been going for over 4 hours. The first 7 miles, though, felt fine. I kept to my pace goal (11 mins/mile), I took my walk breaks as prescribed of 1 min walking every 15 minutes, and I felt I was on target for a good run. Then, at just about the 8-mile marker, my legs shut down. The last 5 miles were all about simple survival. There were miles in there that I know I walked more than I ran. That was tough, tough, tough.

Not terribly sure. I think my nutrition was okay, and my 10-mile runs leading up the race were easy enough that I think my legs had basic conditioning for a half-marathon, but not for a half iron. Maybe I was dehydrated and didn't realize it, although I was taking in a least some water at every water stop, plus some sips from my own bottles. If I had to pin it on training, I would say that I needed more longer runs (5 miles and up) off the bike on longer rides (40 miles and up). I only had one leading up to the race (55 miles and then a 6-mile run).

No warm-down. I just had to sit and rest.


Not sure. Run training off the bike?


Hey, I finished. That's all I came out to do, and I did it. I just wish I had finished according to plan, which was to actually run the run.