Grand Rapids Triathlon - Half Iron Course - Triathlon

swam 1.44 miles according to the garmin, almost an extra .25!!! Got pushed off course several times by the current after the first buoy turn and on the return into shore. MUST.SIGHT.MORE at IMMT. Pace was good for a nice pr if I could just sight properly!

Sight more frequently. It's like a golf short game to me...very much habit related. Don't work on it consistently (hard to do in MI what with winter and all!) and you loose your touch. Or as least I do! It will be better for IMMT!

Wetsuit strippers were great! I still am bad at getting out of this suit I bought last year. :) LONG run to bike rack and was totally off. Fumbled quite a bit getting the helmet on, glasses were wet from the rain and I had to "think" if I wanted to put them on, clean them....finally got going!

Ugh...the rain messed me up. CANT think in Transition!!! Decide and just go! First race of the year, so yeah...a cluster you know what! Transition in this race is not set up the day beforehand as it's on a road that has to be closed. I usually visualize transition when trying to sleep the night before! :) If I do the race again, I'll have a frame of reference at least.

It was raining at race start and part way into the bike...chip seal and rough road in places, but Stony prepared my butt for that! Legs felt pretty good throughout, and the effort was good. I couldn't ride my power at the end of the ride due to some chickas drafting and slowing, and speeding up etc.I was soft power wise and lower HR the last 15 miles. I choose not to burn a match in the last few miles of the bike to get a pr, and save it for the run. Good decision on my part. Was just a few seconds off of Steelhead last year and felt much better. Considering my spotty training this winter, I'm pretty damn happy with this bike split.

Try and ride a little higher watts overall. The last six miles were very fluffy due to traffic,but that was tough to avoid. I should have been riding harder in the last 15 miles, but I fell off power and hr was lower. Don't really know why...Had I ridden a bit stronger throughout, I may have been ahead of that and gotten the pr. Mental focus in the middle of the ride is always a challenge for me. Work in progress. ;)

legs were a bit noodle like hitting the pavement at dismount. By the time I racked it was better. Too me forever to get Fiona on the rack it seemed, and I had to mess with my feet a bit as they were wet from the ride too. As always, it didn't go quite as I'd practiced lol.

Hustle more and stay focused!

Stony had me well prepared for this run too. Running the Nature Center loop was good prep for today. Tried to execute as I'd rehearsed, but went a little too hard in the beginning, and slowed a bit on the hills in loop two. Walked up the big hill partially on loop two as well. It was getting hot out! Last 5k I was doing math in my head (never good in a race!) to see if I could break 2 hours, kept running but it was still a hill to go...nope, but realized I could pr, so picked it up..was running hard, ran through last 2 aids, and in the last mile I had to take a walk break...was pushing a bit too hard too early. Then picked it back up and went HARD. Finished just 30 seconds off of my half pr from 2010, AND with a 20" run pr from a flatter course where the swim was cancelled, also in 2010. Yay!

Still working on steady pacing in the first 3 miles, staying focused of not slowing in the middle and hitting it in the last 5k. I executed nutrition and cooling strategies perfectly. Happy with the time and willing as always to try and get execution better next time! Hopefully with more long runs before IMMT, I'll peak at the right time!

just hung out waiting for the rest of the team to finish, and get awards.


First race of the season, limited long runs, no tough open water swims, loss of focus on bike, and pacing as always on run. Still, happy with the day for what my training has been this year!


Didn't like the difficult parking situation (and walking all my shit back to the car post race 15' away!) and the long transition area but I know that can't be helped in this race. Very pretty course, nice swim. I gave post race a good because I hung out with a ton of friends, and there was decent fruit as well as pizza (I can never eat that...gut won't have it!) for recovery food.
As always, this race was made a great one because I raced with so many teammates and friends. Endurance Nation teammates, Team Fraser teammates, friends from the local tri scene. It was perhaps the most social race of my career...maybe surpassing Motor City! I had a total blast. :) Rooming with Jen and Nell (we were the chatty room!), sharing a meal at Brewery Vivant and Carraba's with friends and teammates before racing...all awesome stuff. Great weekend! Wish I could have stayed race night instead of heading home to celebrate at another brewery! GR is a pretty cool town!