Delaware Diamondman - Triathlon1/2 Ironman

My plan was to swim slow and steady start to finish and that's just what I did. I ignored everyone else and did my own thing. It was a little close for the first few 100m but eventually I found some open space and didn't have any problems running up on people or having anyone swim up my back. On the way back I had a near head-on with someone from a later wave. Apparently we both ended up swimming along the dividing line and tangled arms. I got a little frustrated after that and took ~15sec on my back to calm down before I went back to business.

My official time was 35:54 but the timing mat was up on shore which required a good 50m+ slog through the deep mud and shallow water of the lake edge. I took a split on my watch when I hit the point where the swim started and it was 34:56. My goal for the swim was to remain relaxed and swim steady. Although I didn't set a specific time goal I would have been satisfied with 35min or under. One of my goals for this season was to be a solid MOP swimmer. I was in the top 35%(152/437) overall and 32% (18/56) in my age group so I'm happy.

I swam a good leg considering my abilities and knowing that I had a long day ahead of me. I need to focus on efficiency over the off-season and hope to improve my swim next year.

There was a ~600m trail up a gradual hill leading from the lake to the transition area. We were allowed to bring a pair of shoes to the swim for the trek up to transition. Even though I didn't kick much at all on the swim my calves and quads were cramping the entire way up the trail and while trying to get my wetsuit off. This made it a slow jog to transition and an even slower process of getting my wetsuit off without my legs totally locking up. Wish I know why this happened. Anyway, T1 time on my watch (from swim finish 50m out in the lake to mounting my bike) was 6:02 but they had mats at the entrance and exit of the transition area so my official T1 time (excluding the 50m slog through the mud) was 4:47. I had one gel before leaving for the ride.

Getting my wetsuit off was frustrating because of the cramping but otherwise I was happy with my transition. I had everything ready and organized so it was generally smooth.

Good ride. I went out slow and was able to remain calm as 50+ people passed me over the first 10-15 miles. Eventually I was passing people slowly and probably ended up only losing ~30 positions total. I never felt like I was hammering...always a comfortable pace. My only real goal for the bike was to have a negative split and I pulled that off riding 1:24:22 on the first half and 1:19:45 on the second half. My bike computer measured 55.34 miles from rack to rack so the course may have been ~1000m short.

Nutrition was perfect. I started with 2 20oz bottles with 200mg caffeine, 3 Endurolyte caps and 180 calories of Accelerade in each. I also took 4 gels along (360 calories). I sucked down one full bottle within the first hour, just in time to ditch it at the first bottle exchange and pick up 20oz of water. I worked the water and gel for the next 45min and grabbed a fresh bottle of water at the second exchange. Then I alternated between the other Accelerade bottle and the water/gel for the last hour of the ride.

I was happy when I felt the need to piss around mile 50 (because it meant I wasn't dehydrated) but then I had a decision to make...waste time pulling off to piss or just let it rip on the move. I'm proud to report that my bike had it's first golden shower :) I rinsed down with 1/2 a bottle of water and finished the ride feeling much better.

One of my goals for this season was to be a top 25% age group biker. I was in the top 42%(185/437) overall and 59% (33/56) in my age group so I fell short of that goal but it was kind of intentional. My pacing plan had me going out slow and remaining at a comfortable pace over the entire ride so I'd be ready for a strong run. So the trade-off here was a slower ride for a killer run (see my run split). Was the combination the fastest possible...could I have been faster on the day by trading a little from the run for a faster ride? I have no idea but I'm VERY happy with my run and I felt great for 4:40 of the entire race so I think I did the right thing.

Well, of course I'd like to go faster but I'm not sure how much harder I could have pushed without impacting my run so this was about perfect...at least it was right in line with the pacing plan I outlined.

T2 went smoothly. I had 1 gel, 200mg caffeine, and 3 Endurolytes before clipping on my number belt, grabbing my hat and taking off.

Nothing...my transition was good overall.

What a great run! I left T2 feeling great and had to keep telling myself to slow down as I rounded the park on the blacktop. I planned to run around 8min pace (relatively slow for me) for the first mile at least so I could get my legs and settle into a nice comfortable run. My HR was up in the mid-160s which is 15-18 bpm above my Z1 limit and typically means I'd be running 6:30/mile pace so I knew I couldn't pace off of my HRM...pacing plan out the window. I took along 3 gels in a small flask that I carried in my hand. I ended up only using 2/3 of the gel in 4-5 small doses and took water at every station.

I struggled with myself over that first mile to keep the pace reasonable until I hit the 1 mile marker and had some split data to work with. My first mile was 7:37 which was a little faster than I had planned but I felt so smooth and relaxed that I just settled in and put it on cruise control. About 1/2 way through the second mile there was a large downhill so I probably ended up doing mile 2 in 6:50ish but I missed the 2 mile marker and ended up with a single split for miles 2-3 which ended up being 14:00. At mile 4 (7:04) I noticed my total race time and started doing some quick math. Could it be possible that I might go under 5 hours? Well, If I could manage to hold steady at just under 7min/mile pace then it could actually happen. So now my goal was to shave 3-5 seconds per mile over the next few miles and hold steady around 6:50 if possible and hope I could at least maintain if not kick over the last 3 miles. Even if I couldn't drop the hammer on the last few miles I should have enough padding to make it under 5 hours if I was able to average under 7min pace for the second half of the run.

My splits went as low as 6:35 for mile #7 (I'm not sure how accurately the mile markers were placed) and I started to feel some cramping in my quads just after the turn-around. I wasn't sure if I could hold that pace so now it was a constant negotiation with my quads. I was continuously adjusting my pace to ride the edge of the cramping over the next few miles. Luckily I took 3 Endurolytes and 200mg of caffeine along on the run in case I needed it and I decided it was time at the ~7 mile water station. I backed down some over mile 8 (6:54) hoping the Endurolytes would help and was able to pick it up slightly over mile 9 (6:42) but basically held a relatively constant PE.

I felt great up to this point...breathing was completely under control and I wasn't struggling in the least, just maintaining a solid feeling run. Around mile 11 or so things started to get really tough. I felt a little short of breath and that big 100m hill was right in front of me. I came to a virtual crawl up the hill and actually took a 10sec break at the top to collect myself and stretch my legs before grabbing some water and making the final push for home. My damn HRM apparently quit logging data after the 4:40 race time mark so I don't have individual mile splits for the last 3 miles. All I know is that I covered the final 3.1 miles in 21:15 which works out to 6:51/mile pace on average but I know mile 12 must have been 7:20-7:30 because of that hill so my final mile was probably 6:00-6:15 and it felt agonizing. I was running flat out with everything I had left but felt like I was running through thigh-deep water. The last 800m was a true test of determination. I was almost there and I could have easily shut it down and coasted to the finish but that's just not my style so I sucked it up and brought the pain. Damn I wish I knew my final mile split!

One of my goals for this season was to be a top 10% age group runner. I was in the top 2%(10/437) overall and had the fastest run in my age group so I was more than pleased. My specific goal for the run today was to simply run a strong 1/2 marathon with a negative split. I averaged 7:05/mile over the first 6 miles and 6:42/mile over the final 7.1 miles so I did exactly what I wanted. I must have passed 50+ people on the run and it felt great to be running that strong AND feeling so good for most of it.

If my legs hadn't felt like they were going to cramp then I definitely could have gone faster. At mile #7 (6:35) the rest of my body was in great shape to hold pace but I didn't want to chance serious cramping and kill my run completely so I adjusted my pace as necessary.

Crawl to the shade and call for my dad to keep bringing cups of water. I probably went through 12 cups...mostly over my head. My girlfriend had my double dose of Endurox ready and I started to suck that down as I made my way over to a spot in the shade about 200m from the finish to wait for my good friend to finish. I mostly just concentrated on not passing out or puking for the next 20min. Eventually I felt reasonably well, considering I had just spent 5 hours swimming, biking, and running. It probably would have been a good idea to do a little jogging or at least walking but I just couldn't talk myself into it.


My swim technique definitely needs work. My bike will get faster over the next few years as I continue to build my base. My run is obviously strong but I know I can get faster with a better base and if I can figure out how to avoid the cramping.


This was a very well organized race with plenty of staff and volunteers. Freebies were average...t-shirt, water bottle, hammer gel sample and a bunch of promotional brochures. There wasn't anything exceptional but overall it was a great race and I give it 2 thumbs up.