South Carolina Half Ironman - Triathlon1/2 Ironman

I recently read a 5 Tips to a Successful Swim article in Triathlete which mentioned easing out on your first 200m while all the other mokes sprinted and died, jacking up their HR and panicking. I decided to try it and while I was bumped around a little more than usual, it basically worked. All of the chafe cleared rounding the first buoy and I was calm with a decent HR. My backstretches of 500 & 800 were good. There was plenty of room to cruise.

I need to trust myself more in terms of swimming straight. At my last race, my starting and finishing stretches were good but my backstretch was awful. I concentrated out there but was picking my head up a little more than I needed. Each time I looked up I was on target for the next buoy. My final 600m was ok. Nothing special and I need to just focus and swim in. This was a PR swim for me at this distance although it basically matched my IM WI first lap last year.

A bit pokey on the T1 but I am working toward IM FL so I wanted to simulate a smart, comfortable, complete T w/ no major mistakes.

Freaking wetsuit stuck on the chip leg again. Geezus! I think I'll just hack my foot off at the ankle in T and get better results. Does Zipp sell a carbon hatchet?

I got busted for a 4 min. penalty for Overtaken! Are you kidding me? The two ladies who continued to pass me everytime I passed them damn near knocked me off my bike twice. I finally just zipped by them and guess what? The ref shows up and I can see her writing away. Another friend of mine got clipped for the same penalty from the same ref. Argggh.

On another note, drafting was out of control. I did this race two years ago and it was the same thing when you crossed into Greenwood. I looked back and there were 6 people pacelining me. Where's that ref? Yo, blue, how 'bout that strike zone?

I guess be patient with the passing. I hate the Overtaken thing. If you want to race down a hill and die going up the other side, and manage to get your front wheel in front of me, why oh why do I have to slow down on a hill to help your sorry ass up it? Pass me with authority or relax.

Better T2 but not the best. I don't use Yankz anymore so I wait until I exit T2 to tie up. I took a moment to look down at my towel and make sure I didn't forget anything (but I did).

Grab an extra Gu.

I took it easy out of transition stopping to tie my shoes which one of them got hung up and I felt like the dumb-ass in kindergarten who doesn't get it. As I started to see that I could PR this course and the event I had to really talk myself into not picking it up too much. While I was exceeding the speed limit some, I remembered that I tanked the run two years ago which cost me breaking 6 hours. This race had many very good runners. It was evident as a lot of people that I passed on the bike were now passing me back. Hey! I'm a Masters Clydesdale for God's sake! My legs grew heavy with about two to go. They changed the course slightly and I thought I was much farther into Mile 12 when the Mile 12 sign appeared. Oops. I felt some cramping start after the 12 marker and did not want to unload and hobble in. For those that know this course, it ends with about a 50 yard run up a very steep hill and I still had to carefully climb it without cramping. This was the fastest I have run a half mary in an HIM.

Maybe, and I mean, maybe back down on the bike just a little and lose more weight. I'd rather be fast and halfway down the AG roster than a podium finish in my Bike Sansi-belt coaching pants clutching a Subway 6".

I was supposed to ride for 45 mins. I stood over that bike and looked up the hill and ultimately tanked it.


Weight, weight, weight.


I have only done this race once before and liked it even though I didn't finish very elegantly. In 2006 I tanked the run because of poor nutrition and hydration. It was still a PR that stood for two years. This race was my PR and a podium finish for third place even with the penalty! My first true hardware. I'm very happy with the outcome here. This was a much better performance than Gulf Coast on a more difficult bike and run. I was using this platform as a dress rehearsal for IM FL. My two concerns are: if I had to turnaround and swim back to get the 2.4 IM length I would've been dead. And, I will need to be much more patient and ride and run within the speed limit to have a successful IM FL.

Great friends attended this race and it was awesome to see everyone do so well. It was a very fast day for many people. The overall experience was great and the volunteers were very patient and it was well organized. I truly would like to come back to SC.