Timberman - Half Iron - Triathlon1/2 Ironman

My nerves really got to me on the swim. Not only did I have WAY too much time to think about the race, but I put a lot of pressure on myself for this race (my A race of the season.) I let that dictate the beginning of my swim- I couldn't catch my breath, I couldn't get into a rhythm, and I couldn't stop worrying about the girls around me.

Not freak out so much at the beginning. Trust myself. I'm never going to be one of the first swimmers out of the water, but if I can put the effort into moving forward that I have to put into calming myself down it'll do wonders for my swim.

The wetsuit strippers were great- oh high school boys!

Nothing- I thought transitions were one area I shined in.

My emphasis during the bike was on patience. I know that I have a tendency to push hard on the bike if I am surrounded by faster people, and I knew I just had to let them go and focus on my own race. Unfortunately, I got so caught up in the race that an hour passed on the bike before I realized I had only taken in water. NOT good. I knew not to try to make up calories, but I started taking them in immediately. Throughout the entire bike, I prayed that I didn't get a flat because I was stupid enough to be racing without the proper equipment to change one. Fortunately for me, my luck held out. At about mile 40, some guy who obviously knew me (I *think* it was Jorge's friend, either that or the guy from the inn) passed by me and yelled words of encouragement, which was perfect timing since we were headed for a tough section of the course. Overall, I think I did well controlling myself on the hills and riding my own race, although it did seem that I was doing a lot of back-and-forth with 5 or 6 riders. I was petrified of drafting, so that may have led to some of the back-and-forth nature of the ride. It was a solid ride in general, and I'm excited to see how my riding improves as I spend more time with my baby.

Spend more time in the saddle (I've only been riding my bike for 2 1/2 months). Get that nutrition in in the first hour.

Again, transitions were solid.

Not much.

I started out on the run and thought "hey, this isn't so bad." Yes, that thought actually went through my mind. The plan for the run was to start at about 9 min/mile pace and pick it up as the miles went on. Clearly I had never done a race of this distance before. According to my watch as I went through the mile markers, I was doing between 9-9:30 miles for the first loop. The second loop came around and I knew I was going to have to REALLY pick it up if I wanted to be anywhere near 6. My body wasn't having it, though. Part of it must have been mental, because, according to my family, there was a significant change in the way I looked between when I came into the area at the end of the first loop and when I headed back out again on my second loop. This was just a matter of seconds, but passing over that mat and realizing I had another loop to go really must have taken a toll on me mentally. By the time I hit mile 7, my body was giving out. At that point, I took a Gu at the aid station, and thankfully it helped some once it kicked in. But I had already hit a wall, and my body just wasn't moving- I had still convinced my body to continue running (there were lots of walkers around me at this point) but I was really just slogging along. As miserable as this second loop was, however, the spectators, volunteers, and other competitors were AMAZING. I loved that the run numbers had our names on them because it made me feel as if the people shouting for me knew who I was, even if they didn't have a clue. Around maybe mile 9 I kept in pace with a guy from Arkansas for whom Timberman was his first ironman too. We had a great little conversation that kept my mind off of the physical agony for awhile (see Monday's blog for a particularly funny bit.) At mile 11, I hit my last wall and the final big hill all at the same time. It wasn't pretty, but I somehow convinced myself to keep moving forward. there was no way I was walking the last two miles if I had gone this far.

Practice bonking during training. Get more races at this distance under my belt so that I can actually race, as opposed to hobble, the run.

Apparently I looked AWFUL after the race. I had several strangers come up and ask if I was okay. I *think* I was- I walked around in a trance trying to find my family, who, once I found them, pushed me in the direction of the food tent. One of the guys from our weekly Walden swims (Rob) came up and said hi, and I was having a very hard time carrying on a conversation with him.


Poor nutrition on the beginning of the bike. Lack of experience at the distance and/or at triathlons in general, as this was my first season.


As disappointed as I was at not hitting that sub-6 mark (or making it anywhere near it), this was an amazing race. Not only was it well coordinated, but the camaraderie of all the triathletes there was unsurpassed. In fact, I may just have to come back up next year, even if the trek will be a little bit longer!