South Carolina Half - Triathlon1/2 Ironman

First off, my googles kept leaking. I had to stop about 5 times in the first 5 minutes to re-seal my googles. That was frustrating. Plus I couldn't see the buoy's because the sun was shinning directly into my eyes burning my retnas :) The saftey boat people kept directing me in the opposite ways I was swimming.."you're going the wrong way" I just laughed and would turn the other way and keep swimming. They must have been thinking wow this poor girl. I was having a little difficulty in the water but I was use to it so it didn't bother me as much. I kept moving forward, slowly but surely I knew I would get out of the water. I would tell myself I'm having fun and what a beautiful day it was to be racing. I included breast stroke, doggy paddle, and even tried back stroke. Yikes. I made it though and man did it feel good to hit dry land.

swim faster. dunno. there was nothing I could have done yesterday to improve my time. it was what it was. a bad swim :)

I had some trouble getting my wetsuit off. Other than that it went fine. I'm sure I oculd use some improvement here but after that swim I really didn't care.

get wetsuit off faster

Wind: All of the above. Got on bike and immediately started drinking. I was bad and didn't really drink anything prior to the start. I know, bad Amy. Anyway, the bike went as I figured it would. The first 30 miles went by quick and were fairly fast. Hills really didn't seem difficult and I felt I was pushing a good pace. I stopped after mile 30 water station and peed in the bushes. Had to or else Frankie was getting a golden shower but I didn't think we were ready for that step in our relationship. I like to take things a little slow. Call me old fashion :) So, mile 40 somebody mean and cruel turned on the wind tunnel and I really thought I was going backwards. Holly crap that mile stretch was a pain in my ass. Winds were pretty strong during the remainder of the ride and the roads were less than smooth. I pushed when I felt capable and took it "easier" when I needed a little break. I will say my neck, shoulders, and ass hurt more than usual but I think that's from my seat change right before the race. It didn't bother me though, just a part of racing. Coming back into transition was a bit cramped to say the least. All runners and bikers were supposed to be on ONE side of the road. Well that makes no sense and made for a dangerous situation. Runners heading back in couldn't see you coming towards them so I had to keep yelling "on your right" in hopes they would move. I was racing and didn't want to slow down but I certainly didn't want to crash into anyone either. I was glad to get through that part with no incidence.

Hmm. Well honestly I gave what I had. I would like to eventually not have to stop on the bike to pee but in the name of comfort I think that was best. Just keep working on bike strength.

This went smoothly. I had an amazing bike rack position. My bike went right on and I thought I was out pretty quick.

Nothing that I know of but I'm open for suggestions.

I started off conservative to get my running legs and also assess how I was feeling coming off the bike. I had slight stomache issues from not "using" the bathroom before the race. ( I know, who wants to know that) But I could tell all day. Yuck. Anyway, I felt good so I just kept a steady pace and pushed my way to the turn around. I alternated gatorade and water for the first 4 or so water stops but that would prove to not be enough. My legs felt good and I was feeling strong otherwise. I really feel I ran the first loop at an even steady pace. Coming back to the finish area for my first lap was a little sad but I was having so much fun I kinda didn't want it to be over. After all I was running in a HIM! That got me excited. I pushed on and tried to keep a steady pace going back out. I heard a girl tell another runner to drink the flat coke..so I tried it at the next stop and it helped a lot with energy. My legs were getting a little tight but I put that aside and made myself keep running. All I needed to do was keep moving forward. So that's what I did. I realized at about mile 8 or so I hadn't taken a gel the whole run but as I mentioned earlier my stomach was "full" and not wanting any more gels. So I ate a couple pretzels and took 2 electrolyte pills. That helped. Running into the park was awesome. I felt so good and it was great to see everyone and hear people cheering. My last mile was fast and strong. Just the way to end a great first HIM race and Tri season. Whoo HOO!!

I could have not walked at the 2 water stops where I drank coke and also should have poured water over my head to keep cool. I had goose bumps the last 5 miles of the run so obviously I was getting dehydrated. Otherwise this was a good run. It was a PR for a half mary :)

Nothing. Walked over to watch other racers coming in and drank some water.


Overall I think I gave this race all I had to give. I do think my lack of power on the swim obviously hurt my time but it's something I need to work on and give time to improve. On this day particularly, the only thing that "bothered" me was my bathroom stops or lack there of.


The venue is beautiful and well organized with lots of volunteers. The end of the bike course/beginning of run is way too cramped. Bikers and runners should NOT be sharing one lane of a road. That is dangerous as people on bikes are coming up fast on runners with their backs turned. Also, some of the roads are a little rough but it's mostly between miles 40 to 50. The water stops were excellent on the run. They had anything and everything you could want. All of the volunteers were great and there were plenty of them on the entire course. A special thanks to the girl in the boat cheering me on during the swim.