Silverman - Half Iron - TriathlonLong Course

The 1st 600 yds out were protected by the Marina so they were quick. Then you were out at sea. It was actually pretty fun after rounding the 1st bouy and riding the waves for 300 yards until the 2nd turn. The last 900 were slow and I felt like I was fighting it the whole way back. With about 400 yds left I thought I saw Scott just behind me and I thought I had a chance to beat him out of the water. Think again.

Draft - I say this every race. The 1st 200 went well but nothing after that.

T1 went slow but I didn't want to leave anything to chance. I put on a riding shirt, helmet, sunglasses, socks, shoes, the Garmin, pocketed 2 PB&J's and a gel flask before even touching my bike. I would have stayed for a beer if they had any.

Wear a tri-top under the wet suit and do less in transition (put the Garmin on while riding).

I felt good and pretty fast for the 1st 30 miles - I had 2 PB&J's and a full bottle of Heed. This was the plan and it worked - after the 1st 1-1/2 hrs on the bike, it was all gels. I cheered on Macca, AJ & Julia coming back from the TA - didn't see Scott. After mile 30 my hamstrings were tight and I tried to stretch them on every downhill (there weren't many opportunities). Just before the 3 Sisters I dropped my chain and had to get off the bike, flip it over and get it unstuck. It was slow over the 3 Sisters and up the false flat portion of the bike path but after that there was a fast downhill and a few more rollers into T2.

More careful with the gear changes.

Considering I changed from my riding shirt to a loose running shirt, the time wasn't terrible. My racing flats went on and I was gone.

Just the tri-top.

I feel lucky. As I exited T2 there was porta-potty which I took full advantage of, plus I got to hear Macca on the podium giving his victory speach. The run started great, I was flying on the downhill and felt strong on the ups for the first few miles. It wasn't my legs but my feet that gave me problems and by mile 5 or 6 they really hurt - stopping once to take off my shoes. I saw Julia about mile 6 and we gave each other a high five - she was past mile 9 at that point on the return. The last half of the run run was slow and steady and none of the pain mattered the last half mile. Crossing the finish line was an amazing feeling.

Save the racing flats for 5Ks or ditch them all together. My feet bothered me when I wore them on the 10K at the Cranberry Tri too.

Massage, a Vegas Show, and alot of Black Jack (which paid for the trip). Pretty great weekend.


Lack of experience and training. This was my 1st half which followed my 1st Olympic (August).


This was a great race. The course was very tough but alot of fun. There were a ton of volunteers and aid stations and the swag was the best I've seen - a real backpack loaded with cool usable stuff (goggles, a sling bag, nalgene bottles, water bottles, a blanket, etc.).

I've been telling Julia this all fall. As long as I enjoy the training and racing I'll keep it up. It's been a great fall and the race was Amazing. I'm definately looking forward to next season.