Timberman - Half Iron - Triathlon1/2 Ironman

Those buoys sure looked like they were pretty far out in the lake! Swim went really well. My goal time was 50 minutes so I beat that. Felt good coming out of the water; not tired, no dizziness, and with my breathing under control.

Nothing

Wetsuit strippers were a nice touch. Didn't really rush through transition because I wanted to take it easy anyway.

Nothing

Satisfied with the bike since my goal was to break 3 and a half hours. Not very fast, but I'm not very fast anyway. Was in a good groove right from the start and climbed well on the hills at the beginning and even passed a few people. After the turnaround heading back up route 106 the headwind got a little strong which was a somewhat discouraging at times. Did fairly well on the climbs towards the end although my legs were complaining some towards the tops of the hills. Should have been faster on the downhills near the end. I'm a big fat chicken when it comes to descending anyway, so combine that with a couple of rough spots in the pavement, curves and a lack of familiarity with the course, and I ended up being overly cautious. The only real trouble I had was my back and shoulders were a little sore; probably fatigue from the swim since I don't swim train nearly enough.

Not much, but I probably could have pushed harder in the first half.

Slow and uneventful.

Well, my run was not very good since my goal was 2:15 to 2:20. Some bad things on the run, but also some very good things. I'll start with the bad. Towards the end of the bike I was starting to get some abdominal discomfort, which was odd since I had done the same nutrition as in all my training rides and it had gone really well. Started the run and my legs felt really great, but my stomach started to really bother me. I've been trying to think of a gentle way to describe this, but I can't, so here goes. I felt like I needed a porta potty really badly. Stopped at the first one, but nothing happened. When I was telling my employees about it back at work, one of them said maybe I should have had a newspaper and it would have relaxed me which I thought was pretty funny. So I get back on the course and start running at my normal (slow) pace and my abdomen tightens up, I get a stitch and can't catch my breath. I slow down to even slower than my normal pace, and I don't feel too bad so I kept that up for most of the first loop. I'm a little weird with my nutrition on the run and usually don't like any calories and only drink water, but I figured some gatorade might help things along (I don't know why I thought that) so I tried drinking some at the aid stations. Didn't help, and it came back to bite me later. Tried another porta potty break towards the end of the first loop, but still nothing. Felt worse on the second loop and had to walk some of the hills. Tried yet another break and still nothing. On the big hill heading back I got a little angry at myself after walking halfway up, so I started running, and got a little angrier because my legs were really strong, but I couldn't breathe by the time I got to the top, so I had to slow way down again. So, that's how I ended up with a nearly 3 hour half marathon. Not sure how all this happened, but I do tend to get out of whack when I travel. Maybe because at home I eat a TON of green vegetables, but that's hard to do when you are dining out.

Now for the good stuff which was very very good. At the end of the first loop I heard my wife calling my name and there they all were; my wife and 3 children. I only expected to maybe see them at the finish so that was a big surprise and a much needed boost. My oldest son was funny because he asked me how my feet felt since he sold me my running shoes (he worked for the summer at an athletic shoes store). The energy level of all the volunteers was also a really nice boost. On the second loop it was more subdued since I was one of the slowest people in one of the last waves so there weren't very many of us left out on the course, but 2 ladies in particular stand out in my mind. They were both dressed pretty colorfully and were still enthusiastic after a long day. The first cheered me on and even laughed at my feeble attempt at humor when I asked her why she made the hill we were on steeper for the 2nd loop. The second one called out my name while cheering me on (nice touch having our names on our running numbers), so I tried to give her a big smile and she said something very positive about my smiling and having a good attitude.

The best thing though was, even though I didn't meet my goal time, I finished my first HIM, and my family was there to see it.

Well, this report is even longer than my race, so I apologize to anybody who actually read it;)

Ummmm, feel good? Eat my veggies like my mom always told me? Suck it up buttercup?

Felt great mentally because because I finished and my people were there to share it with me. Felt pretty bad physically, so I just wanted to leave and get back to the hotel as quickly as possible. Packed up and while walking to catch the shuttle bus back to our car my stomach rejected all that gatorade suddenly and violently. Luckily, I managed to get my finisher's medal off in time to avoid getting anything on it. After that I felt much better, and ran to catch the shuttle bus and it was the best I had run all day.


I'm slow and don't train nearly enough. Digestive "issues"


Everyone says that Keith Jordan and Endorfun really put on a great event and they really do. Everything about this race was top notch, and anyone who has a chance to do one of their races really should.