Duke Liver Center Half - Triathlon1/2 Ironman

I really enjoyed this swim. I cruised through the entire thing and never had an uncomfortable spot. Navigation was good, so I didn't swim too far out of my way. I climbed out of the water with a big smile on my face and feeling good.

Just more swimming training.

Not too far to run after the water exit to get to transition. I was a little slow getting my socks on, but everything else went very smoothly. My transitions are not rushed, so I have a pretty good routine down pat.

I could try to go faster, but I was not concerned with that at all for this race.

Great ride for me! I pushed for most of the ride, but never all out. 3rd time on this bike course, so I was very comfortable with it. I climbed the hills well and cruised pretty well. Nutrition was where I came up short. I planned to eat 4 power bars, one at the start, and another every 45 minutes. I started having some gas issues about half way through the ride and felt very bloated and full. I managed to get the 3rd powerbar down, but never was able to eat the 4th. I paid for this with an empty fuel tank on the run. Drinking was good, and I actually didn't need to stop to pee the entire ride! ;-)

Try to find a way to take in all the calories I needed.

Nice, quick transition without being rushed. I stopped to pee in some bushes just after leaving the transtion area, since the port a pots were not convenient.

No worries.

My legs felt great starting out of transition. The muscular endurance is definately improving. I started running up the first hill, and it just kept going. I didn't. I was out of gas from not eating enough. I settled into a pace of walking roughly half of the uphills and running the rest. I hit almost every aid station and had a Hammer Gel and plenty of fluids. The gels did help, but never enough to replace my shortage of energy. Physically, I felt great for the entire run. No aches, pains, strains, sprains, etc. Just out of gas. I did end up with a good blister on my right little toe, but it didn't bother me during the race. I finished with a big smile on my face and a steady pace.

Better nutrition and more time running on the hills.

Some snack food and lots of drinks. Packed up pretty quickly and headed home to my loving family.


My nutrition limited me the most. My hill runing could be better, and more training there will also help, but I think my run performance would have been much better if I had eaten properly. An easier pace on the bike may have made the run better, also. This is a difficult course, with lots of hills on the bike and run. Stregnth wise, I really felt good. I think I was in great shape to rock on a flat course like White Lake. I used too much energy on the bike hills, didn't replace enough of it, and didn't have enough energy left for uphill running.


I am thrilled with this race! I'm thrilled that I completed a half ironman distance on a very hard course and felt as good as I did at the end. Energy issues can be dealt with. I had a ton of fun! I look forward to the challenge of this course next year! :-)