Rock 'N RollMan Half Iron Triathlon - Triathlon1/2 Ironman

I was pleased to see that I had improved on last year's swim by 10 minutes! I know there is more work to do but this was a great improvement. While I swim very straight in my OW workouts on this day I seemed to keep veering to the left. It was frustrating because I have been working out weekly in the lake and maintaing my line. The wetsuit was comfortable at first. About 200 yds out I got the anxiety gig but shed it quickly when I saw myself passing the first buoy. I even tried drafting at times in this event and that was cool. On the backstretch my arms got tired and signaled that I need to log more volume in my w/o's over the next three months. Homestretch leg was not bad but I was a bit inconsistent with my breathing and direction. That damn climb up off the beach is a killer though. By the time I hit T1 I was blowing a 180 HR.

Trust my swim line and continue to try the drafting thing. Keep thinking about the stroke and just bear down. Also, I think I'm going to try ear plugs.

I was two seconds faster than last year and this time with a wetsuit. Since I was breathing so hard I decided to take it down a notch and get my HR in check so I could properly execute my bike strategy. I sat to get the wetsuit off. The glide and shaving helped a lot.

Try to shed that wetsuit faster. The rest was pretty standard.

My strategy here was to ride under LT into Roberta, GA (which is @ 28 miles exactly). Then from Roberta to the lollipop at Mile 42 I would push it up to LT w/ some leeway to go over but don't stay there consistently. Final 11 miles to be starting bring my HR back down in prep. for the run.

I did execute just about perfectly with maybe some additional pushing on the last 11 miles. It took me about 10 miles into the bike to feel better from the swim/transition. The wind started to pick up on the second half from the tropical storm that had blown through however it was at our back coming out of Roberta. The 11 mile box we ride prior to T2 had some significant gusting.

While I did execute my strategy and beat last year's performance by 2 mins. I was not happy about my overall bike. I've been training alot on the bike this spring and have ridden this course on it's own with sub three hour times. I obviously have work to do on the bike prior to Wisconsin.

The only thing that cost me a few seconds here was running the wrong way out of T2. I've done this race once before and know the transition area but for some reason I got confused. As I was coming in I swear two guys ran out the top. Once I was re-geared I saw two others heading that way. I looked to the bottom end of transition and saw the sign saying Run Start & Swim Finish but dyslexia set in and I saw Run Finish! The worst part about it was that everyone I know saw it including my coach who happily announced it over the loud speaker. Bad timing on my part. I only ran a couple of racks and saw that a volunteer was sending people back so I just made a little loop and headed out the right way. Also, funny side note: At the beginning of the race Deb was volunteering @ body marking. By the time I exited T2 she had a walkie-talkie and upgraded to management. What a crack-up. Typical Deb she also had my brother working as well. Better to be racing than spectating, she'd have put me to work.

Bring my compass.

My strategy here was to run/walk 7/1's and try for neg. HR splits. I was most concerned with keeping up with hydration and electrolytes. This bit me hard last year at SC. I just didn't seem to get really going this time. I kept my HR reasonably in check but once I departed the bike my hamstring was bothering me a bit and made me a little anxious about what might lie ahead. About 4 miles out I started to get some lower intestinal pressure and thought it was mainly gas from swimming and the shot blocks and other crap we all eat on the bike. By Mile 8 it was really bothering me so I figured I'd hit the woods for a quick pee thinking that a little bladder relief would do the trick. Well, it didn't. I was stopping at all the water stops and doing just water and gels and enduralytes. I saw JB on the road and asked him if he'd seen a Porta-John. They had changed the course a little and it wasn't where it was last year. He told me he had seen one about a half-mile back. And there it was! I jumped into that beautiful little blue room and got my race back! Anyway, I continued on and around Mile 11 I finally felt better. I decided that those last two miles I would see if I could push the HR up a little and pick up the pace. It was amazing. I felt better and better and kept travelling into the park. There's a little bump up into the park that cost my about 10 bpm but then I was on the homestretch. I felt really good. I was going to make my first goal of beating last year's time but missing my second goal of breaking 6 hrs. As I ran down the road into the chute I got a lot of cheers from friends on both sides of the road. It was really inspiring. I kept picking up the pace and felt really smooth for the first time on the run that day. I finished strong, no cramps and was properly hydrated. It was a success.

Need to work on the bike more. It's obvious that my run suffers from a substandard bike. That's going to be this summer's focus.

I got my medal, a cold towel, a bottle of water and saw a chair in the distance. I took it.

Later, I checked in with some friends. Then made my way back to where my brother was and scarfed a couple of beers.


I really think it's the bike. I have concentrated in the last four weeks in losing weight. This plus an attempt to change my sleep patterns has added some confusion to my system. I didn't know what to expect for this race so the outcome was generally very positive. The weight loss will be a positive factor going forward but could be contributing to some fatigue now.

I executed my race plan including both hydration/fueling and race pace plans very close to right on. I think this is going to be a key to success in Wisconsin this fall.


Other than the buoys being put out late there's not much to say bad. The only other pet peeve is the requirement to dig out your race number to get your chip. They already put a bracelet on you the day before with your number on it but apparently Homeland Security must be involved in keeping the cheaters out. I would definitely recommend this race. Congrats to Bass Pro as the new sponsor. They're great!