Rev3 Florida - Half Rev - Triathlon

First time ever doing a swim in the ocean. The gulf was pretty calm, but swimming in salt water was new for me. I also had never done a race where we ran into the water. All my other races had been in fresh water and started in the water. It was pretty calm and was easy to sight. There was a sand bar about 100 yards out from the beach, so everyone started out swimming hard and then hit a point where you either walked or dolphin dived for 10 yards. Coming back on the final turn the sign was up over the trees and made it hard to see the finish chute, but other than that it was a great swim.

Slightly slower than Austin 70.3, but that was in a wet suit. So salt water with no wet suit I was happy with my time. I am not a fast swimmer, but don't waste much energy and stay with the middle pack.

What can I say, I like putting on socks and calf sleeves, so my T1 is always slow. It was a long run from the beach to T1, but was pretty smooth.

The course was flat and had a bunch of turn arounds. I liked that as it made the time go by quicker as I could see how much I was gaining or losing compared to the people in front and behind me. Not much wind and the course if very flat. The aid stations had tons of volunteers and snacks along with water and Gatoraid. There were volunteers and police at each intersection and turn, so it was very well marked and easy to follow. Great course and day for a race.

This was the fastest bike split I have ever had. Since moving up north in September I spent most of my time in the basement on the trainer as I am a wimp when it comes to cold weather. I had really pushed hard on the trainer, but never did more than a 2 hour ride, with most being under an hour, so I was concerned how my ride in the race would go. Apparently quality is better than quantity in training. Loved the course and my performance on the bike this day.

Just put on my shoes, hat, and race bib and was off.

My bike split was almost 10 minutes faster than what I had done previously, so I was concerned my run would suffer. The first 3 miles I felt like crap and kept a conservative pace. I started feeling better and pushed my pace a bit. I felt great the entire time and was able to negative split the run. Was great seeing the family on each lap, and then getting to run with the kids across the finish line was the best experience. That really made my day.

Should have pushed harder the first half of the run as it was 5 minutes slower than my time in Austin.

This was my first Rev3 event and it was great. So well run and smooth, just like any Ironman event I have done. However it was so much more family friendly, and just being able to cross the finish line with my kids made it worthwhile. I am already seeing how I can do a couple Rev3 events next year as I am a fan of their product and will probably avoid Ironman races going forward.