Patriot Half Iron - Triathlon1/2 Ironman

I positioned myself right in the middle, thinking that it would be a good way to get some more full contact swimming experience before IMWI. It turned out that the wave was so small and spread out that there was not much fighting.
I swam hard at the beginning, but the water was choppy and I couldn't get a good stroke going until the second bouy. I found some feet and followed them until the turn, where I passed the feet's owner and swam along side for a little bit. I decided to save my energy for later, so I moved back behind him and stayed there for the rest of the swim. He swam nice and straight and I took it easy following his draft. This was my fastest ever swim leg and I felt fresh coming out of the water. Drafting is the way to go.

Find faster feet to follow? I'm not sure how I'd do that unless I scope out the competition before hand, but that doesn't seem reliable.

I still suck at T1. This time I took off my chip and wrist watch so my suit wouldn't get stuck.

I think riding without socks would be a good idea. I'll start trying that in my training rides.

I thought I was riding faster than I was and decided to back off after about mile 20 and let my HR drop to high Z1/low Z2.
I brought my Aero Drink plus one large bottle filled with HEED, got two small bottles of HEED and half a bottle of water on course. I ate 5 servings of Hammer Gel and two Clif bars.
According to the sweat rate tests I've done, what I drank should have been less than what I'd sweat out, but 1/3 through the second lap nature was calling urgently. I thought I might be able to hold it until T2, but since I'll probably want to pee on the bike at IM, this would be a good chance to try it. I waited until there was no one behind me and went. It was liberating and not as gross or difficult as I used to think it would be. I got a bottle of water at an exchange and gave myself a shower on the go.

Ride a little harder. My HR was too low and I could have gained a few minutes with just a little more effort. I should have finished eating my Clif bars sooner instead of having the second one towards the end. That might have helped my stomach during the run.

It was a longish run from dismount to the rack and it was hard running with rubber legs in bike shoes over dirt and gravel. When I was putting my running shoes on and grabbing my stuff I heard someone jokingly ask some guy if he had sunscreen for his bald head. That reminded me that I should put some on, and went into my bag and got my bottle of sunscreen and off I went.

Put sunscreen in my pile of things to take on the run. Be more careful getting my socks straight to avoid them bunching. If I can't ride without socks, leave a second pair that would be fresh and dry for the run.

I put on my sunscreen while I ran and settled into high Z2. I intended to run Z2 for the first 1/3 and then move to Z3 for the remainder of the run. My foot started hurting because my sock was folded under and I stopped to fix it in the 1st mile.
I intended to have HEED at every other aid station and pour water over my head at the others. My stomach was bothering me (maybe from the Clif bar late on the bike), so I had Cokes at miles 3 & 4. The first cup of Coke was still fizzy - I guess that aid station didn't know it was supposed to be flat. Had a gel at mile 4 and hit the porta potty at mile 5.
I was passing people constantly, but they were all from the waves ahead. I only saw one guy in my AG and a handful of 25-29s that were in my wave. Half way through, I started hearing someone behind me and he stayed on my heels for a few miles. He passed me and I let him go since I saw he was 29. Later I'd catch him and pass him, but then he stayed just behind me for a few more miles. At mile 10 I started pushing harder and maybe lose the guy on my heels and got into mid Z3 for a little while, but I was tired and couldn't stay there. I had no kick at the finish, which might mean that I ran a good race and left everything on the course or my nutrition was off. I think it was my nutrition.
In the chute, my hat tucked into my race belt fell out and a spectator picked it up for me.

Eat another gel at mile 8 or 9 for some extra energy for the finish.

I drank some water, had an orange slice and went back to retrieve my lost hat. I was told the person that picked it up had gone to find me and we missed each other. Too bad - it was a nice hat and matched my singlet.
I hobbled over to my transition area, took off my shoes and then went for a swim in the lake to wash off the sweat, Hammer gel, HEED and Coke. Changed into some dry clothes and wandered back to the finish line to wait for Danielle.


There is not much high intensity time in the current phase of my training, and I noticed it was hard to get out of Z2. My taper was short, but the point of this race wasn't to go fast. but to test my nutrition strategy for IM and I think I got some good experience.


They did a good job for this new race. I'd give it a five except that the course was long and some of the roads were really rough.
I might make this my A race next year if I don't do an Ironman.