South Carolina Half - Triathlon1/2 Ironman

I really liked this swim. Most people were wearing wetsuits and I guess I regret not having one yet although there really was no need since the water was very warm. I guess it could have knocked a minute or two off my time but is that really worth $250.....OH YES IT IS!!!!!
I had the best navigation I think I have ever had. I kept to the near inside of the pack and was always right next to the buoys as I passed them. I think there was one time I felt myself going off course but it wa a great swim overall! My goal was 40 minutes and I definitely beat that.

Buy very expensive wetsuit!

I gave myself 5 minutes in T1 and obviously flew through it faster than I expected. I felt good after the swim and was expecting the next 3 hours on the bike to determine how I would do in the race.

Nothing, this was fine

I am very happy with the bike. It is nice to see that the bike has gone from my weakest point to one of my strong points. The first 2 miles were really difficult and I thought I was in big trouble, but then my legs came back and everything went great. I wanted to go below 3 hours on the bike and I beat this goal by over 5 minutes. I looked at the half way point and saw my time was 1:55:45 so I went 1:58:16 on the second half, I thought this was a pretty reasonable split. I kept up with the same people for most of the time, but was passed by a lot of fast riders like usual since I am always farther up because of my swims. I felt fine, ate and drank the right amount, and had a huge smile on my face as I came into the second transition.

I would love to average 20mph in my full ironman next year so a little more distance riding and maybe some hill climbs will help this out.

Gave myself another 5 minutes for this and went below it again. Felt good at this point but things soon changed for the worse

Nothing

This is where everything seemed to fall apart for me. I thought I was going great until I started to run and then I found out how tired I really was. My legs were hurting real bad and I must have developed a blister on my foot during the bike because I felt it as soon as I started to run. The sun was also very hot at this point. I wanted to go 9 min/mile and then I would have broke 5:30, but after 2 miles at below 9 min pace I realized I either had to change my plan or face the possibility of not making it. I decided to start running 300 paces and then walking 100 paces. People probably thought I was crazy as they passed me because I was counting to myself but it helped me pass the time and forget the heat. I cam in just around 2:17, 20 minutes slower than anticipated, but I finished and that is the main goal I had for the day. I started out wanting to beat 6 hours and during the run I told myself to switch back to the original goal and this is what I did. I am very happy to finish and had a lot of fun!

I had a running injury 1 month ago when I was up to 13.5 mile runs, then I had to stop running and did minimal running this month, the longest being 5 miles. I think this hurt me a lot because I did not have my running endurance built up to where I wanted it to be at this point (would have been around 20 mile runs without the injury). I think my run could have gone much better without the injury but thats how things go sometimes.

I sat on the ground in the tent that sprayed water and then got a drink and stumbled out to the hill around which runners ran the final few meters and then up the hill to finish. I laid on the hill and fell asleep for 50 minutes until someone poked me to see if I was alright. I think I burnt real bad during this and the run since I am pink all over today. I then went and found my parents who just missed me finishing since they had to go to Commerce Georgia earlier in the day and it took them a long time to get to the event. I stuck around and watched people finish, including Scott Rigsby which was an amazing thing to watch (first ever double amputee to finish a Half Iron-man). I also got a massage!!!!


Heat, running injury.


Excellent race, lots of fun, good volunteers, and the tent that sprayed water that racers could go under after finishing is perhaps the best invention ever created!