South Carolina Half - Triathlon1/2 Ironman

While I didn't warm up I did sneak in at some stairs and get wet. Water was warm and I had consciously elected not to wear the wetsuit for this race. It was an absolutely beautiful sunrise and the crowd was excited. I swam for about 100+ yds feeling relaxed and hopeful and then I got anxious. This is where a warm-up is so critical for me. After another 100 or so, I settled down and headed for the first turn. My non-fog goggles started to fog which was making navigation problematic. How hard is it to engineer some goggles that stay clear. This is only the second time I've used them. (First time, no problem} I try spit, defogger, spit + defogger, defogger + spit. Maybe some crushed up Cliff shots? I swam better on the backstretch and concentrated on my stroke. Navigation was frutstrating. I was swimming straighter but not trusting it. Luckily the sun was now behind us. Turned and headed to the boat ramp.

Warm-up. Continue to practice. My stroke is getting better. This is my second HIM and I beat my first HIM swim by six minutes so o.k. My goal was 40 min. Still an unsatisfied tri swimmer. :(

Good T1. Waited a moment to review my setup which might have cost me a few seconds. That uphill run to the mount line was a bit of a chug in bike shoes. Heard my cheering section but didn't see them.

Not much. I didn't suit up to save t-time. Happy with performance here.

Good news here was that I exceeded my first HIM bike by almost a full mph. Roads were shaky. Wind picked up after the halfway point and made some of the going tough. There was about 15 miles where I didn't pass or was passed but just rode alone. Like a tri was mean't to be. Extra: Saw a lot of drafting going on. At one point I was stuck behind a group of about 8 or 9 riders that were drafting and blocking! It took me several miles before I found terrain agreeable enough to overtake all of them at once. Until then I was forced to remain back the designated distance.

Eat way more. Eat more often. Drink more regardless of what the weather feels like. Even if I have to force it down. I pay the price later for not being regimented in hydration and fueling practices here on the bike.

Took a little more time here than for an Oly. Took off gloves (which I would normally not wear on any shorter distance) and put gels in my tri suit. Ran the uphill to the exit putting my race number belt on as I went.

Nothing.

Well, while I had enough time left to make my goal of sub 6 hrs, it was not meant to be this time. My run never showed up. I had a strategy of neg. HR splits broken out over 3 mile intervals. My HR was orbital from the get-go. My first lap was in an hour and I if I maintained that pace I would clear the six hour mark by around 10 minutes. I felt terrible! Around Mile 8 I had a feeling it wasn't going to happen here. Mile 9 might as well have been Mile 19. I was walking more and more frequently. I had some dizzy and light headed moments and knew that I had failed to maintain good hydration and fueling. I was trying to suck down water and Cytomax at various stations. Running in the shade was certainly a relief. My last half mile had both calves locked up. I just wanted to finish running across the line. I know that a normal 1/2 M is going to be faster than an HIM 1/2 M but I still would have liked to be @ 2 hrs or better. BTW, was that course ever going to end? Those last laps through the woods and down by the water were a real pain in the ass. Plus, nice place to put a steep incline...at the finish?

Set up and execute proper hydration and fueling plan. I know better. I got careless and it bit me.

HA! My warm down consisted of a med tech tapping me on the back and asking me if I was o.k.! I asked for a chair and they started bringing me cups of G'Rade Endurance. Later after I left the tent I still felt pretty wasted. I went back to the med tent and they suggested an IV and some rest. Wow! Did that feel good. Except for the PVC pipe they used to find my vein. That IV truly works. I felt better. Downed some more G'Rade and eventually was relaxed and gearing up to leave.


Definitely the nutrition and hydration plan (or lack of it). Even though I made this critical error, my mental and physical effort were good. I was still pumped up just didn't have the gas tank to go with that.


I would like another crack at this one. This was my 2nd HIM and 19 minutes faster than my first one so I did have success here. I underestimated the difficulty of this course. Wind and heat were definite factors. The lake is beautiful and while the roads are suspect, the countryside is nice. The SC people were very good hosts. Also, it was really great to have a lot of friends there racing and supporting. Deb (she was great!) and the rest were fun to see as each lap was completed. I have come to really enjoy that part of triathlons. Note for event improvement, double the entrants, double the Porta-Johns. And lose that little freaking hill 50 yds from the tape.