Ironman 70.3 Florida - Triathlon1/2 Ironman

I felt good during the swim. I swam wide right and avoided almost all other competitors. I'm sure I added 100m to my swim, but it was relaxing and good. I tried to draft on a few people but the water was pretty dark. I really couldn't find good feet to stay on. I just swam wide and tried to take it easy. On the last half I started getting a little cramp in right foot and calf. It wasn't too bad, but a little concerning at the time. I felt like I swam faster, but this was my first 1/2 IM so what do I know. I was happy with the swim and very happy with how I felt coming out of the swim.

Swim OWS more. Practice with tri top so that I wouldn't have to put it on in transition.

I put my tri top on in transition. That was harder than necessary. I didn't wear the top during the swim because I never practiced that way. My transition wasn't all that slow, it was a looong run from the water to T1. I was actually pretty efficient.

Train swimming with tri top on.

The bike went ok. I'm not the strong of a biker, so I was happy to average 20 mph. I guess it was a little windy, according to others, but it didn't seem that bad to me. The bike went fairly quickly. I raced in the blind with no computer or accurate clock, just HRM. That was probably a good thing for the first race, but I need to get a bike computer for future races.

Train a lot more on the bike. I could make a lot of gains in this area.

This went pretty quick accept that I couldn't get my watch (HRM) off my bike and on my wrist while running. I guess I should leave it on my wrist the whole time, but I just don't like it there.

Practice more

I was pissed at myself about the run. I'm better than a 2:09 (well, apparently not...). I had no idea on my time as I left my watch running from the bike. I could have gotten in under 5:40, but I really had no idea on time. I "ran" the whole time and walked the water stations. I developed a calf strain at mile four. It was manageable, but definitely hampered me. People were acting like we were running across Africa. There were countless people walking and talking to their buddies about how hot it was and how horrible they felt. It was hot, but it wasn't that bad. I was mad at myself for not training the run enough. I just "winged" it, and paid the price. Never again.

It was good to see all the CAF supporters though

Run more. I've always considered myself a decent "natural" runner...until now. I won't "wing it" ever again.

Beer at the CAF tent. I felt good and it was nice to meet some true competitors.


Need more training.


This is my third tri but only my second recent tri. I thought it was good. There was much complaining about the transition close time and the run course, but overall, I thought it was great. If I had to pick between this and gulf coast, I would probably try gulf coast, just because I've never done it before.