Deer Creek Fall Challenge Half Iron Triathlon - Triathlon

I haven't Trained for speed in swimming in a long time. That said, I was surprised to see how fast I got out of the water. I was sure the course must be short, because I certainly wasn't "killing" it out there. I was just trying to relax and not go off course. Ashley said her watch called the course the correct distance. Who knows......My right shoulder seemed to be strained a bit but didn't hurt, so I purposely didn't try to push myself very hard.

Nothing. I had zero expectations on this swim and tried to judge my outcome based on previous Ironman's I had done. I ended up doing much better than expected.

First let me say, my "OFFICIAL" swim time was about 45 seconds longer than I posted above. I used the time I got in the water and the time I got out. They didn't stop my swim time until I had ran up a long hill and crossed into the transition area. I'm pretty happy with my swim time, so I posted the actual time. FYI. Transition went ok. Not super speedy, but I didn't dick around either. I stopped long enough to borrow a bit of Ashley's sunscreen and slap it on my neck and shoulders. Good thing too, because I still ended up a bit burned, so would have been much worse without it.

Probably practice a home a bit. I haven't done a transition in years.

The winds were in your face, then at your back, so ya got it as bad as it gave ya. It kinda all equaled out. I purposely held back a bit. I could have easily went harder, but I kept telling myself to save it for the run. I didn't want to walk ANY of the run. I got passed a few times on the bike, and it was hard not to pass them back when I knew I could, but I stuck to the plan. Hold back. Hold back.....I still ended up with a nice average pace, so I won't complain. In the end, it worked out great, because I was able to put down a good run.

Train speed more, but I did put in some good hill training, so I did ok.

Just as earlier. I could have been faster but not much. I didn't loose 2nd place because I didn't transition fast enough, and 4th place was well behind me.

Practice. 1st and 2nd places were very fast non transition, so I know it CAN be done faster.

Gotta be happy with this. Last few Ironmans, I've had to walk some of the course. I was determined to ride the bike smart so I could put any extra energy into the run, and it seems to have worked. I felt strong the entire run. Sure, I was hot, and it was hard, but I never felt like I had to walk. I could have gone a bit harder I believe, but I was doing 8:30 splits most of the time, so I had nothing to complain about. No one passed me during the run, and I was able to pass several people. The wind played a role on how hot it felt at different times on the course. Overall, I think I played this good.

Nothing. I planned the race and raced the plan.

It didn't take me long to go to hell in a hand basket. Within 10 minutes after the race, I went between wanting to collapse and throw up. I had shit to do, but all I wanted to do was lie down and breath for about an hour. I wussed for a bit, but eventually ate some stuff and after about 45 minutes, I began to feel better again. Wow, that sucked.


I didn't train for this event like I wanted to race it. I trained for it like I wanted to finish it in good style. I didn't take it overly seriously for several months during training, but the last 8 weeks, I stepped it up a bit. I have trained harder, but I'm very happy with how this turned out. I used my head more for this race and it paid off. I'll look at harder training next year.


I actually expected there to be drinks on the course during the bike. If I had read about the race more beforehand, I would have known there wasn't. My fault.