Troika Half Iron Triathlon - Triathlon1/2 Ironman

Started at the front. Got knocked around quite a bit for the first 300 yards. Once things calmed town a bit I was able to start breathing bilaterally. This was a big step forward for me. In my previous two races I have been too stressed and my heart rate has been too high that I have only been able to breath on one side. Although my breathing was good my sighting was terrible and I never got to draft anyone. I was allover the place. Lost some precious time there but that is not something I am loosing sleep over. It will improve over time. Overall I am pleased with the swim. I was hoping to get done under 40 minutes so I have absolutely no complaints.

Work on sighting and drafting

I am terrible slow at T1. Most guys get done in 1:25-1:45. I need 2:28… Not sure what I am doing wrong. I am going as fast as I can. This is an area that need some improvement.

Don't know...

This felt good. Rode hard but not too hard. I passed a lot of people. Around mile 20 I caught up with a group of 3 people and there was a guy standing by the side of the road yelling out our position. When I passed him I yelled ’35!’ I was thinking to myself, this is not possible. There is no way I am 35th. But I started to think back realized I had passed a lot of people and maybe it is possible. This was really inspirational and energizing. My goal was a 2:45 bike split. 2:36 is beyond wildest dreams.

It felt good passing people on their $7000 bikes. Here I am on a road bike with shorty bars and no fancy wheels. I was especially pleased to pass a guy on a Litespeed Blade with disc wheels… Although, I am hoping that one day I can join the “cool bike” club.


Nothing. This was better than expected.

They way T2 is setup is awesome. They grab your bike, helmet and bike shoes and give you your sunning shoes. Awesome!! Very well coordinated.

Nothing.

With the race going good so far I thought that this is what will kill the race for me. Surprisingly, my IT band felt pretty good. I could feel it but it did not hurt. Around mile 6 it started to feel it more and around mile 8 it started to hurt. I now also started to pay more attention to my watch and realized that if I kept at lest an 8:15 pace I would make it under 5 hours. I had to run this calculation several times because I thought I must have missed something. There is no way I will get done under 5. 5:15 would be an awesome race. Sub 5… Not possible… I kept trucking along but the pain got worse and worse. For awhile I was considering stopping because the pain was almost unbearable. Every time I considered stopping I looked at my watch and that gave me enough energy to keep going. When I reached mile 12 I caught up with a guy in my age group and we talked a little about getting done in less than 5 hours. That little talk really helped. Somehow I was able to block some of the pain and pickup my pace. When I saw the clock at the finish line I was dumbfounded. 4:57… Once I crossed the line I asked for ice and I had a bag in my hand in less than 15 seconds. Awesome support form the race crew!

Nothing!

Got a massage from club member who is a massage therapist. Tem Blaze is such a great club. Had some fruit and pop. A little disappointed that they did not have food with a lot of calories. I left hungry.


IT band and transitions. One of them will be addressed immediately. However, IT band or not, this was the race of my life so far.


Absolutely fantastic organization that runs this race. I hope I can work it in to my 2008 schedule. The volunteers were fantastic and there were aid stations at every mile of the run.