Patriots Half - Triathlon

The swim was going great until I got caught up in some bad tidal action rounding the last buoy and got totally disoriented (along with a bunch of other folks). Had to fight to get back to get around last buoy and then swam a zigzag the whole rest of the way in, until I could touch ground...and then I walked. Yes, I should have dolphin-dived, but really I just needed to get my head back on straight.

Do better with current/tide issues. I'm not unhappy with my swim, given the struggles I have had to get here...but I really wish that last buoy hadn't been such a pain in the behind.

I used the wetsuit strippers for fun. :)

Otherwise, this time is NOT as long as it looks, as there is a good quarter mile run up from the beach to transition included in the 6 minutes.

Nothing - I was calm, got my stuff together, and headed out on the bike in a really good mental place.

I am happy with the bike, but would have been happier if I could have been aero more. Nothing felt good on the bike. In aero, my saddle parts hurt; out of aero, my back hurt - so I just alternated between the two as I could stand it. If I could have been in aero more, I think my bike would have been even faster - it's a flat, fast course.

Aero. Also, not put too much salt in my super-Gatorade. Ick. Bad mix that I should have checked in the morning before the race, rather than for the first time when I was out on the bike.

Well, I fell off my bike while I was dismounting - didn't really fall, but I couldn't get my last leg over my water bottles on the back and ended up stepping on my tire and completely letting all the air out. Thankfully the bike was done, so I didn't need it anymore.

Not much - this was a good, solid transition.

This run felt awesome. I found folks to talk to and the time flew. Got to 10 miles and felt good enough to push through to the finish. Granted the time is not fast, but given that my stand-alone half-marys of late have been in the 2:40-2:45 range, this is really good for me.

Nothing - I'm proud of my run.

Beer Tent. :)


? I don't know - the tidal issue? The bike saddle issue? The fact that I'm not as fast a runner as I used to be?

I don't really care, because I'm so happy to have finished and finished well before the 8-hour time limit. I'll worry about faster next time. :)


An extended race report at my blog: http://trimomhalf.blogspot.com/2013/09/i-did-it-i-am-half-iron-man....

Set Up Events always puts on a classy race. Even though there was a small fiasco re: swim waves and timing, they fixed it immediately. They are well run events, catering to the athlete and making it a great day. Thanks, Set Up!