Ironman 70.3 Vietnam - Triathlon1/2 Ironman

The swim was good. More training would have helped but it was only a little slower than half my full iron swim time with a wetsuit.

More training. I'd like to be able to cruise at about 1:25/100.

T1 was atrociously slow. There was a long solid run up from the water but I still need to work on this aspect of my race.

Take less time.

The bike started very well. I was sitting on an average of around 30km/h even with the head and crosswinds. But near the start of my third lap the wind picked up substantially and I slowed down to an average of about 23km/h. This picked up to 24 for the last 20km but the damage was done.

I was on target for a time close to 3 hours but did 3h 23m. However it was still a PB by 11m 35s.

I need to train more.

There was a long run into transition due to the way it was set up but this was another atrocious transition.

Part of the problem was my garmin. I stopped it at the end of the bike and cleared it but when I tried to select run I locked it. I couldn't remember how to unlock the keys and in the end turned it off and on again.

This delay cost me a PB overall.

My run started very well with an average pace well under 9m/km even as I dealt with severe quad cramps. I was on a 2/1 jog/walk cycle.

The further I got into the run the more the heat started to hit me. It was 36C but above the road where we were running it was 40C-45C. My average pace gradually dropped away and I went from being on target for 2h 50m to doing 3h 12m.

I now know I should have been putting ice in my hat at every aid station, not just one of them. That may have helped keep my pace up but you live and learn and the extreme heat made finishing more satisfying.

I would use ice much more to stay cool.

This was the first year and I expected there to be a lot of problems but there were only a few relatively small ones and one potentially dangerous one. I expect these will be dealt with for next year.