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 Swim
Comments: As soon as the horn sounded and we took off, the anchor buoy let loose and ran us all over! The lady beside me grabbed it and tried to hold onto it; I told her to just let it go. It was really crowded at the beginning making it difficult to get going. Once I got going, I just kept a slow and steady pace. The swim was pretty uneventful; I just plugged along until I reached the finish. What would you do differently?: More OWS practice with wetsuit.  Transition 1
Comments: I stopped at the wetsuit strippers before starting the long run from the swim finish to T1. It was cool and windy, so I thought I would want my windbreaker on the bike. I took the time to dry off and put on my jacket. I left the changing tent, but when the sun hit me, I decided I did not want my windbreaker after all and went back for arm warmers instead. They had already moved my bag out, so it took a bit to locate it and swap my jacket for my arm warmers. Then I had difficulty finding my bike! ... hence the long T1 time. What would you do differently?: Be more organized and not change my mind at the last minute.  Bike
Comments: WINDY! We headed into a headwind for most of the bike; it was exhausting. Going over the bridge, I nearly lost my bike out from under when a gust of wind hit. Since this was a point-to-point course, I had my cell phone in my bento bag in case of an emergency and so that I would have it with me at the finish to locate Pete and take a few photos. At one point, I took my phone out and clipped it to the back of my Tri shorts so that I could better access my nutrition. I always train with my phone clipped at my back, so that is what I am used to. However, a referee saw my phone clipped to the back of my shorts and presented me with a yellow card. I know you are not supposed to have electronic audio devices, such as MP3 players, but I really didn't give any thought to my cell phone. I stopped at the penalty tent where they noted my number and sent me on my way saying that yellow cards are just minor infractions and you do not have to wait; it is just a stop and go penalty. What would you do differently?: Train harder. Transition 2
Comments: The bike course ended on a down slope into a dirt/gravel road, so we had to stop hard. Then it was quite a bit of a run with the bike on a carpet through construction area. Handed off the bike to a bike handler and went to T2.  Run
Comments: I was pretty much just slow and steady on the run. I walked a little at a couple of the aid stations, but mainly kept at a slow run. I was feeling down about a subpar race as I was coming through town when I heard a familiar voice fall in beside me. Gee Garner who was spectating jumped in and ran beside me for a moment. I was SO happy to see a friendly face; I told him he was a sight for sore eyes. The rest of my teammates were at the finish line cheering me in. We took a few photos before parting ways. What would you do differently?: The race reflected my lack of training and lower than past fitness level. Post race
Warm down: Hung out with teammates, ate pizza, walked around the finish area, then decided to get our gear and head for the truck. They day after the race, I received an email from the head referee saying that I'm disqualified for having a cell phone. I humbly ate crow and pointed out that I never used the cell phone and it provided me no unfair advantage. He basically said rules are rules and the DQ stands. I was upset at first, but since this was not my first Half and in fact my worst Half time, it was pretty insignificant. I still received my time, finisher's gear and photos, so it really made no difference; just a lesson learned. What limited your ability to perform faster: Lack of training and a few extra pounds. Event comments: Volunteers and law enforcement were AWESOME! I've done this race twice when it was run by Setup Events, so it was hard to warm up to Ironman running it. Ironman did not carpet the grated bridge which was VERY hard on the tires. I was fearful of popping a tire. Setup Events always covered it for us. Also, it has been my experience that Ironman is only out for revenue and does not care much about the athletes. Setup Events and Rev 3 cater more to the needs of the athletes. The race was okay, but I have no desire to do it again. Profile Album Last updated: 2015-12-29 12:00 AM
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United States
Ironman
Overall Rank = 247/434
Age Group = 50 - 54
Age Group Rank = 35/64
We got to the race site Thursday and went straight to the Expo for packet pickup and the pre-race meeting. While there, we ran into my good BT friend Dave Miller! Was very nice to see him; it's been a few years. After packet pickup, we went to Flaming Amy's Bowl for dinner. We eat there EVERY time we go to Wilmington. YUM! Later we took a walk on the beach and enjoyed the ocean.
Friday morning we did a practice swim, then took care of our bike and gear drop offs. It gets a bit complicated since this is a point-to-point race. We decided to leave the truck in a parking garage near the finish line so that we would not have to get a ride back to our hotel (near swim start) after the race. Had dinner at the hotel this night.
Race morning, we got dressed then rode our road bikes (brought 2 extra bikes with us) to T1 to drop off water bottles and pump tires. Went back to the hotel and had a light breakfast at the hotel restaurant. Since the hotel was so near the swim start, we had more time to relax in the room before leaving.
No warm up other than the .25 mile walk from the hotel to the swim start. We got there right as the National Anthem played and then it was time for me to get in the water. I was in the first wave. It was SO nice not to have to stand around shivering for hours before race start!