HITS Triathlon Series: Ocala - Half Iron Course - Triathlon1/2 Ironman

The Rain - About 40 minutes before the race it started to POUR.. No big deal for the athletes, as most of us just put on our wetsuits. Family and friends looked a little soggy and not impressed!

Swim - The swim was in a big but shallow central Florida lake. Water levels are near all time lows, so there were some "waders" through a lot of the course, but it was plenty deep enough to still get in a good stroke for the swimmers. The race was delayed a little bit for darkness, that was avoidable, as sunrise wasn't until 7:23 and the race was scheduled to start at 7:00. A common theme in this race report will be the inconsistencies between "advertised" and reality. Some of them were avoidable, and this is one of those. Why advertise a race start 23 minutes before sunrise? And if they insist on starting that early, LIGHT UP THE COURSE. There were only three buoys on the entire course, and no glow sticks or lights.

Transition - There were strippers on site, they did well. I got back to transition after a solid swim to find my stuff SOAKED. I picked up my Defeet Honey Badger socks only to find them drenched.. The honey badger don't care, but I do.. So no socks today (this will hurt later!). This would also be my first race on my Cannondale Slice 3 and FLO 90 wheels, latex tubes, Vittoria EVO Corso tires, and between the arms bottle.

Ride - I was here just to race a solid tempo + race. I needed to remove the taste from my last five miles of the New Orleans Rock and Roll marathon from my mouth (first five in 33, last five in 49, is that good?!?!?). So, I set the heart rate at a steady rate and went out. I believe the course was changed a few times, so I am not sure where we went on the bike. I followed the well marked course, and lots of police at the intersections. I got to the turnaround in 1:13 in 20th place.. Life was good! I I overcooked one corner and rode into the grass for a while, made me feel like a NASCAR drive.. Loose is fast!!! I rode a negative split, passed six or seven riders coming in and clocked a 2:23:XX. I had a blast on the course and was shocked at how much easier this new bike rolls as opposed to my 1999 Fuji Aloha w/ Zipp 404. I was in WAY better shape last year at Gulf Coast and REV3 Florida, and rode way harder than I rode in this race. Pleased with purchases!

T2 - Honey badgers still soaked.. Shoes, meet feet.. Feet, shoes.. Get to know each other over the next 13.1 miles.

Run - The run course was altered and became half trail, half road. That fit well into my hard training day plan, less wear and tear on the knees and ankles. I wouldn't have been very happy if this race was the pinnacle of my season, as all the changes would have bothered me. Into the woods (great play, if you haven't seen it).. The rain had hardened up the trail, and it ran well. There were aid stations every 1.5 miles, but the aid stations did not have nearly the advertised fair (no sponges, not coke, no cookies), once again, if you aren't going to have it DONT ADVERTISE IT. Under promise, over deliver. Back on the run course I gave up trying to record my splits, as I am convinced that the mile markers were only accurate to +/- 400 meters. After the first loop we came into lapped traffic and I made it my sole purpose to cheer for every single (running) person that I came in contact with (sorry walkers...). That made the run go by quickly, and I got a lot of smiles in return. Most of the front runners are real pricks on the course.. Its true guys, we take this crap way to seriously, I am an offender too, but not today!! Today, I am chatty Kathy Mr. Cheerleader! I cruised through 10, and then put a good effort in once we back onto the pavement.

The Finish - SHORT finish chute, such that if you were in a drag race you might not both make it through the last corner alive. But, I wasn't racing anyone, so had a nice trounce into the line. I found a picnic table to sit at and ripped off my shoes to see the sockless damage. Ouch.. Left heel was wide open and oozing.. Awesome! I sat in the lake for a while with my wife and reminisced about a good race. I clocked 4:34 and 11th place. The 4:34 was good enough for a PR (but wouldn't have been if REV3 Florida had a swim last year).. Hopefully that is a sign of good things to come this year.

The post race snacks were good, yogurt, soda, coffee?, chips, dips ext.. But the hot food? That was in chaffing dishes and it was NEVER SERVED (we left after the awards ceremony). Kind of weird.



Advice to athletes - Do a HITS race. Price is right, and organization is solid. But, I would not focus your season on a HITS, as it is just not as consistent as I would like to see.

Advice to HITS - You have a great product. Advertise it accurately. Don't overpromise! You don't have to. People only expect things after you tell them they will be there. No coke at aid stations, no problem! A 7:15 start, no problem. Snacks only at the finish, okay. A mostly trail run, awesome. But they become problems when you tell people coke!, 7:00 start!, hot food!, and mostly pavement run!