Atomic Man Half Iron Distance Triathlon - Triathlon1/2 Ironman

I was very pleased with the swim. My goal was to be out of the water in 31 minutes. On the way out, I kept veering to the right. We were heading right into the sun so when I tried to sight, I was blinded but couldn't see the buoys. Once I got to the first turn, I was doing better. I felt very comfortable and steady on the swim, and finished feeling very strong, yet it seemed like I wasn;t in the water very long. When I got out and saw 28:45 on my watch I was ecstatic. I might could have gone 30 seconds faster with better navigation at the start and I definitely could have pushed harder, but I will take this swim in a heartbeat and not think twice.

nothing

I was so excited about my swim time that I kind of sucked in T1. I couldn't get my wetsuit off, but I finally managed it and was off

nothing

I had a very good ride. My goal was 2:54. I felt good going out on the first loop, came back in strong to the end of the loop in 1:25. The second loop was almost as good, I slowed by about a minute on the way out which was OK and didn't surprise me becuase this was the hardest part of the course. I rode strong the rest of the way in. I was at a comfotably hard pace the entire way and felt good going into the run.
They had water bottle exchanges at mile 16,28, 34, and I made sure I was drinking a full bottle between stops, so I think I was taking in a good amount of fluids. I also ate a PowerBar at 15 minutes in, gel at 1:30, 2:00, another Powerbar at 2:30 and was ready to run

nothing. I could have pushed it a little more, but I would have been dead on the run for sure. I was very happy with the ride and felt great thinking I would kill the run

Had a good T2. I took my time, drank a little, put on race belt and IPod and was off. I know IPods are illegal, but I needed it for a 2 hour run, penalty be damned

nothing

I though I was ready for a great run with my goal being 1:50, 1:52 at the worst. The fisrt couple of miles felt good, as I was taking it easy the first couple of miles. The first big hill was at mile 4 and my time showed it. By this time it was almost noon and 88degrees. The sun just got my. They had plenty of water stops, at least every mile, and I had my fuel belt with 24oz on, too. At every stop I took at least 1 if not 2 cups to drink and poured at least 1 cup on my head, but it was so damn hot, it hardly made a difference. I was dying. I never got to the point where I was last year, that my quads were hurting with each step, I just had to stop every 1/2 mile to cool off. I never walked more than about 50 yards at a time, and ususally not that far, I only stopped once each mile. I was disappointed when I realized that I wouldn't break 3:30 about mile 9, especially after feeling so good at the beginning adn thinking 5:15 was a real possibility. Overall, I don't know what else I could have done. It was just too hot. I felt good starting the run, I flet my nutrition was good, I drank about as much as I could, it was jsut HOT
I did get a 4 minute penalty for the IPod, but I don't care. The 4 minutes certainly didn't keeep me from placing or anything. I just remember from my last 1/2 that the 2 hour run after being mentally drained was terrible. I thought that risking a 4 minute penalty was worth having the music on to try and distract me from the pain.

try drinking a little more

walked around poured lots of water over my head and ate a little bit of a sandwich


the heat


This course is just brutal. The hills on the bike aren't too steep or long, I could just never get into a rhythm because of the hills. The run course is the worst, being so hilly the first 6 miles and so boring and dull the last 7. There are a TON of volunteers out and plenty of water stations. Organization was great, good amenities and nice tech Tshirt. This is my second year to do this race, and while I've enjoyed it both years, if I do another 1/2 IM will probably find another one.