Soma Half Iron Triathlon - Triathlon1/2 Ironman

Despite my complete lack of swimming leading up to this race the swim went phenomenally well. I was able to "swim smart" as I tell myself. So get good breaths and don't try and overextend myself. I think about every 500 or so meters I would get caught by the elite swimmers in the previous wave, so while there was some trampling involved there, for being such a huge race the melee was pretty minimal for me. It was definitely a LOOOONG swim, but honestly I prefer that over the chaos of the shorter swims, gives me more time to find my own internal, albeit incredibly slow, rythm.

Umm I might think about training.

I love transitions, especially in long races, because I feel like they matter even less. I was literally just strolling through transition after the swim. I was surprised to see my times below 5 minutes, I was shooting for something more in the 15 min range :)

Put the sock with the "L" on it on my left foot next time.

The first lap of the bike course was pretty good for me. The wind was low and I was able to turn out some pretty good speed. Met up with Tanya for a bit at the end of the first lap and rode and chatted with her for a while. It is so great to see other people out there as it really takes your mind off the race for a bit. Unfortunately by the second lap I could feel my hamstrings tightening up a bit so I let off just a touch. By the time my hamstring felt better I was way into my 3rd lap and the wind had picked up. I saw Jen starting her run when I was starting my last lap and for some reason I thought it would be a good idea to stop and talk to her about her race, She was kickin butt at that point and had to tell me to get going. Sometimes I am just a bit too unmotivated. I actually had a good time on the course though because the turns are just so much fun to cruise right on through.

Try and maintain a higher speed and probably have some device to tell me how fast I am going so I can adjust my speed accordingly.

Another wonderful walking transition. Unfortunately there is so little to do in this transition there is no excuse to take a long time.

Try not to rip my race number when moving it from my back to the front.

Ahh the wonderfully easy fun jaunt around the lake, wait what am I saying! The run was painful and HOT, H-O-T. I had a plan to run the long lengths of the race and walk the bridges and aid stations, for the first lap that worked out great, or at least until I hit the out and back. I really did not expect it to be that long so I kept wanting to turn back, it was a real motivation killer. Luckily my motivation returned when I got back near the end of my first lap and Jen started running with me. She stayed with me, IN HER CROCS, for the first 3 miles of the second lap. I don't know where I would have been without her motivating me along for those miles because soon after that I was done, kaput, finished. I walked the whole out and back and Rural bridge, then when I hit the dirt I knew I was close so I finished it up strong with a quick run to the line. It was so amazing to realize as I ran along the south bank of the lake that I was going to make it, just an amazing feeling.

I think it would help to be a bit overtrained for the run, also work in training on taking nutrition on the run as my stomach wasn't having it on the second lap.

Hung out for a bit with all the BT people that were there and ate at the post race banquet.


Overall this has been an amazing experience getting to the point where I can complete a half ironman race. I was really glad that I put no pressure on myself to reach a time goal, even to the point where I refused to wear a watch. It was a cool feeling being out there and not knowing how long it had been, how fast I was going, or when I was going to be done. I really wouldn't be here without the support and motivation from all the people on BT, it is amazing to be a part of a community that enables people to reach these goals. It has been great training with my wife and an amazing group of people and I am totally looking forward to the next half ironman, or whatever event comes our way.