Big George Triathlon - Triathlon1/2 Ironman

Another really good swim for me this season. The buoys seemed out of place and my watch measured this course long (others agreed afterwards) so I think my pace was actually faster than listed here. I started up front hoping to hang with Alex as long as possible. The start was pretty frenzied, but I avoided contact until a few hundred yards in when some jerk just started clobbering me without even attempting to give some space. I decided just to draft this guy and he actually held a really nice pace at the upper limit of my ability. On the way home he started to fade a bit just as another swimmer was coming around us, so I hopped onto those feet.

The home stretch was pretty rough and the chop was very noticeable. With each wave I felt my stomach get more queasy, and I realized I did not have my Gas-X in T1 waiting for me - oops. As shore neared I picked up the pace and powered it in strong.

Really good swim, no complaints.

Its been a really good season as far as my swim legs are concerned, I've been coming out of the water much further up than in previous years. Will definitely try to find the right balance between form and speed training in the pool for future seasons.

Pretty eventful T1 for me. First, I was surprised to see Alex still in transition when I got to my bike (even though he was on his way out) - confirmed that I had a really good swim! Suit got stuck on one heel, but otherwise things went okay until I actually left T1. While trying to mount my bike I round-house kicked my bottle out of the back cage. Luckily, the Loco crew was standing nearby and Liam immediately ran to my bottle and delivered it to me without me having to go back for it. Saved my butt twice before 8:00am - what a guy!

Not kick my bottle while trying to mount the bike.

Wasn't sure what to expect here given my lack of training the past 5 weeks. Wanted to get my watts up around 170, but was only able to average 159 (165 normalized). About 6 miles into the ride my right knee really started bugging me (the same issue that bothered me a few days ago), which was very concerning. The pain never really went away, but it also didn't get worse. My stomach also felt pretty terrible for the beginning of the ride, but the Rob Blobs were going down with no issue, and eventually my body figured out a way to get rid of the excess gas (and give me some rocket boosters?).

Settled into a nice pace in the middle third of the ride once my initial discomforts were sorted out. I ended up leap frogging with two other guys for much of the ride, good naturedly joking with them that we'll have to settle it on the run (nice to have that in my back pocket these days).

Wasn't as fast as I was hoping for, but given my recent training I'm still pretty happy with how this ride went.

Started my dismount a little early (the signs were a little confusing) but otherwise this was a solid T2.

I really should stop skipping socks for this distance. Not sure the handful of seconds I save is worth the horrible blisters.

It was very hard to settled into a nice pace on the new run course here. While the old one featured about 2 miles of sustained uphill (two times), I actually found this one harder. Recognizing that the course was harder and my training has been lacking, I had no illusions that I would PR, instead focusing on trying to move up in the AG (if possible) and getting under 5 hours.

Funny race encounter side story:

On the first two loops I noticed a guy with a bib number right next to mine (I was 25, he was 26) was flying, really gaining on me. I had no idea how I was going to hold him off, and when I finally heard him coming up behind me I was disappointed but said "ahh, I knew you were coming for me, good job". Then as he went by I saw a "30" on his calf. "Oh, you're 30!" I yelped happily "Go on then!" I encouraged cheerfully. He laughed, "I thought the same thing when I saw you!" he said as he sped away. My joy that I had not lost a spot in my age group was quickly replaced with sadness when I realized I was the oldest person of the males 25-29.

The final two loops the hills really started getting to me. I was fighting off some minor cramping, as I was relying solely on the aid station Gatorade for calories (forgot my Clif Blocks for nutrition). I have to say I enjoyed the new course for this reason: coming around 4 times and getting cheered on by everyone, especially the Loco crew was fantastic (even the butt smack from Leigh). It was a big boost each time and I really needed it heading out for the final loop. Starting #4 I began checking my watch and calculating the pace I would need to run to get under 5 hours. It wasn't going to be easy, but it was definitely doable. Nearing mile 12 my quads gave me a scare as they were really trying to cramp on me. At that point I knew I only needed about a 9 minute mile so I took a couple extra steps at the aid station and told them to knock it off before picking it back up for the home stretch.

Very solid run, but I wish I had noticed the coke at aid station #3 earlier in the race.

Went in the lake for a few minutes to get the heat off my legs. Cheered on Alex and Danny as they finished up, then just hung around with the Loco crew eating pizza until the awards.




Lack of training for the past 5 weeks. Given that though, I feel like I executed really well and got the most out of my fitness here. An excellent end to my 2014 triathlon season.


I really enjoy this race venue. I've done all 4 Big George HIMs and depending on where my life is at next year, I would really like to try and make it 5 for 5.