Great Illini Half-Iron Distance Triathlon - Triathlon1/2 Ironman

I have not been swimming much (real almost not at all). The first 200-300 yards I stayed in the mix and "enjoyed" the contact and flurry. I then settled in and really tried to push a little. Sometimes, when swimming, I'll get bored and my brain goes elsewhere and I just cruise without thinking about my stroke. I'm not a polished enough swimmer to do this and my time suffers. I don't know for sure, but I think I probably even split this swim. My navigation needs work still. I would round bouy close but then alway end up way to the outside.
Came out of the water at 43:30 and ran up the beach and to T1, crossed the mat at 44:00. I was relieved that the stitching held.

Swim more? I really don't enjoy swimming much and it shows. I'm not convinced I'm faster with the wetsuit. It may be one size too big and I might be more comfortable in a sleeveless suit.

Estimated T1 & T2 times due to chip mishap. My first chip timed race in a wetsuit. I had planned to take off my chip, take off wetsuit, and then put chip back on, instead of tucking chip up in the wetsuit leg. Not a bad T1 except I forgot to put the chip back on. I was careful taking off the wetsuit.

Put chip on or tuck it up into the leg of the wetsuit.

I wanted to push the bike and did. I knew this bike course suited me and I could really go fast, but needed to keep it under control as well if I wanted to be able to run at all. About 10 minutes into the ride, my bike felt all wrong. I had some kind of vibration or something. Bike just felt loose. I stopped and checked the tires and skewers. Everything was good so off I went. It seemed to work itself out and thinking about it now I think it was just how the wind was hitting me.
First lap went well, no real problems. About 10 miles in I realized I didn't have my chip. I knew exacly what happened, I forgot it. At the farthest turnabout there was a timing mat. I told the woman there my bib number and that I didn't have my chip. She said she would call it in. The gravel stretch was tough and really beat you up and slowed you down. Headed back in from the first loop and made it to the 1/2 turnaround at 1:15.
The 1/2 way turnaround was a little confusing but made it around and saw my family. I "asked" them to let the timer know I didn't have my chip. My poor family. They come and stand in the rain to cheer me on and I come by and bark out orders. I better start being nicer or they may stop coming, lol. I love having them there and it certainly makes a difference.
Headed out for 2nd loop intending on matching the effort from the first. With all the out and back and it being 2 loops, I got to see alot of people on the course. Comic moment: I'm riding and it seems like every rider coming at me is looking at me. I started wondering if something was going on, like I had something funny stuck to my helmet or something. Kept riding and then thought that if I was noticing everyone looking at me, then that means I was looking at everyone too, lol.
Coming back to the dismount line, my wife was holding my chip and said they said to just put it back on and finish with it.

Maybe not push quite so much. I did not TT this course, but may have been able to be a little more conservative. I like to go fast on the bike. I love TT's. I love pushing on the bike until my legs feel like jello and I'm afraid to dismount because I'm not sure I can stand, but this does not work well in a tri. I back off quite a bit, but probably could go easier. No such thing as a good bike and bad run, right?

Estimated T1 & T2 times due to chip mishap. Tried racking at the wrong rack. Noticed the bike that was there didn't look like the one that was there earlier, then noticed it was not my stuff there either, lol. Put socks on and had to tie my "long distance" shoes.

This one went well, nothing really to change. Maybe put Yankz in my longer distance shoes, but don't mind the time to tie the shoes for comfort.

Coming out of T2, my dad let me know that to hit 5 hrs I would need to run 7:35 miles. I scoffed and said "That ain't happening." Again with my rudeness. Started running and felt good. First 3 or 4 miles really felt good. Not real sure what happened then. Pace dropped, I'd pick it up for awhile then look down at the Garmin and it would would show 9:15 or so. Walked the aid stations and drank water. Never really felt the caffeine from the gels I carried like I do in training. At the 1/2 way turnaround I dropped my hat, glasses, and tri top. I like shedding my top to finish a run it usually give me some pep. I would try to pick it up and see that my picked up pace was around 9:00. Probably ran better miles 10 and 11 then any of the others except for the first few. Took it on in to the line and was pretty happy with my finish time.

Ease up on the bike to maybe run better. Maybe I'll learn someday. This time didn't really match up very well with my training or training runs, I think.

My legs HURT after the race. Not crampy, just HURT. I walked a little waiting for my teamates to finish. I was afraid to sit down, thought I might cramp up. Finally put on my sweatshirt and headed down to the lake. I waded up to my waist for about 20 minutes and it really felt good.


Swim: Lack of swim training
Bike: Gravel
Run: Bike pace
Still I PR'd for this distance by 13:08 and left some room for improvment. I feel like I "raced" the swim, bike, and probably 5 miles of the run. Thinking about it and looking at numbers, it may have been better to have a longer taper.


Good race on fast course. Race director did a good job rolling with the changes. The 1/2 turnarounds on the bike and run were a little confusing. The run course is pretty rough, but doable.