Rev3 Williamsburg - Half Rev - Triathlon1/2 Ironman

Coming into the race I thought my swim would be my weakest discipline. I am comfortable in the water and I love to swim, but I am very slow. I had done the race distance several times in training so I knew I could complete it, but I was nervous about how long it would take. I alternated walking and swimming the first two hundred yards, and then I got into a rhythm and swam the rest of the race until the last hundred yards to the finish. I felt very good the entire time. I tend to be a little unbalanced and pulled to my right side. I think this was amplified by the distance of this race. I felt my self drifting further from the buoys and constantly having to re-adjust. I drifted way to the right after the last turn buoy and I had a hard time seeing the finish due to the sun. I probably added more than a hundred extra yards to my swim by pulling so far right. I swam until my hands were hitting the bottom and then I got up and ran/walked out of the water. I looked at my watch as I crossed the timing mat and I was very pleased with my time given my concerns going into the race.

Even though I was very slow compared to everyone else in my age group, I was pleased with my time. I need to work on being more balanced and get better at sighting in open water.

It was a little over a quarter mile from the swim exit to T1. I felt good and jogged the whole way. I was able to quickly get my helmet and sunglasses on and get to the bike mount line. I quickly got my feet into my shoes at the mount line and got up to speed pretty quickly.

Nothing. I thought my transition was very good.

I felt very good on the bike. My goal going in was to finish the bike in under 3 hours. I was well on that pace for the first 20 miles or so. I maintained a little over 19 mph to the first aid station. I made sure to drink plenty and I was eating two Shot Blocks every 30 minutes. I am not a terribly strong climber so my plan was to maintain my pace as best I could on the hilly portions of the course. I felt I did a pretty good job for the most part. I was feeling pretty good until around mile 42 and then I started getting a sharp pain in my left hip. It was hard for me to stay in the aero position. My hip felt better if I stood up on the pedals and stretched occasionally. The last few miles were net downhill, I finished in a slightly disappointing 3:10. Not sure why my hip started hurting. I felt my fitness was good and have no doubt that without the hip pain, I would have hit my 3 hour goal.

More time on the bike. I plan to address my bike fit and see if that may solve the hip pain issue.

My legs were a little shaky so I sat down to put on my shoes and socks. Overall I felt pretty good.

Nothing.

I felt going in that my run would be my strongest discipline. I felt very confident that I had trained enough. I had set PRs for a 5k and a half marathon during my training and my legs felt strong race morning. The first lap went very well, and the hip pain from the bike seemed like it had gone away. I stopped to use the port o potty near the end of the first lap and peed clear so I knew my hydration was good. I felt good until near the end of lap 2 and then the hip pain returned. I tried to push through but I ended up alternating running and walking laps 3 and 4. My hip and back hurt when I tried to run up the hills. I was pretty disappointed because I knew my cardio was there but my body was rebelling. Near the middle of the third lap, I had a strange experience. I heard some crashing in the brush and felt a rock hit me in the back, and then I heard a guy behind me tell someone "That deer almost hit you", apparently a deer ran between me and the guy about ten feet behind me. Kind of crazy, but a cool story. As I neared the finish one of my Team RWB brothers gave me a flag to carry across the finish line, so that was super cool. I was happy to finish my first half and share the finish line experience with my family.

Train more on the bike and figure out if my hip pain was due to bike fit. I was disappointed with my run and I will figure it out before my next half.

I drank a Gatorade and a water and took in a little of the post race food. I walked around with the family and gathered my belongings and hopped in the car to head back home.


Hip pain that started on the bike.


The race was very well run. The two transitions still caused the organizers some issues. I was one of about 5 or 6 people whose dry clothes bag did not make it from T1 to T2. I did get an email from Rev 3 saying they located my belongings and the person who mistakenly picked them up would be mailing them back to me.

I did not hit my goal time, but I was able to take some positive things away from this race. I am definitely planning to do another half and probably a full at some point