Not sure what happened to my swim speed….I thought going into the day that I could go about as fast as I did in Florida a few weeks ago which was just over 37 minutes but it was not to be. The course was set up for a counter-clockwise swim, which for us left breathers is a great thing! Ran into more traffic than I have in other races so I don’t know whether I was just staying in line more or if there was more congestion. At one point I got kicked square in the forehead almost right between my eyes. No Seal mask slippage or leakage so I didn’t let it bother me. Felt decent the whole swim as I was determined not to go too hard and ruin the remainder of my day.

I don't know where things slipped...maybe I didn't race it as well as I should have??? Not sure.

Before seeing the results I was certain this would have been longer but apparently doing lots of races means you get lots of transition practice. While grabbing my shoes I waved “Hi” to my wife and daughter who were happily ringing their cowbell and sporting their “Team Daddy” shirts. Quick blown kiss to the admirers and I was off.

Not much....maybe not take that sip of Cytomax in T1...this may have slowed my HR from dropping as quickly on the bike...or maybe it was those hills!

I started out on the bike right on plan as I worked my way out of the resort through the rolling hills. I was really struggling to get my HR under control and for the first 5 miles or so I never could get it to cooperate and I never managed until later in the ride to get into the kind of race tempo I like. After about 30 minutes I started taking nutrition but it did not seem to help at all. So, I backed off for a few miles and stuck to Endurolytes and water until my gut finally seemed to like what I was giving towards the end of the first lap. Rode into the resort and then back out through the rolling hills again….Being a local race it is great to have friends and family and co-racers all encouraging the athletes and I think everyone of us wishes we could thank the folks who sit out there and just holler themselves silly….During the second lap I got into more of a racing cadence but still was not spinning quite as fast as I normally do. As we turned South into the wind, my cadence dropped as I fought to keep my focus on maintaining my speed and not get too much into grinding on the hills. As I headed up the final long hill into the resort I was happy to have that ride behind me and actually was pleased by the way this hills didn’t seem as bad the second time around…..Boy, would I be in for a surprise on the run!

Somehow get my GI tract taking nutrition sooner or in larger quantities. I seemed to struggle with getting my HR down....and my cadence up.....

This again was quick considering I added socks and all! Waved to the “Team Daddy” folks again as I ran out!

Not much

O.K. this is the one place I was right in predicting how the day would go…..I just wasn’t planning on it being this severe. I told everyone I spoke to about this race that the run would be a “Sufferfest”. I was VERY correct unfortunately! I ran out of T2 with my usual stride and trudged up the first little incline towards the first loop in the hills. My stride seemed to come around some as the pavement leveled out but I never felt like I had a much “jump” as in recent races. Looks like the hills on the bike had taken their toll! My plan was to focus on hydration and electrolytes at each aid stop in order to ward off cramps as the day had become very hot by June standards. After “running” the first two little hills during the initial two miles I decided that walking on the steeper hills yet to come would more likely allow me to finish coherently, which has become a requirement for “Team Daddy” membership because the team leader (my 4 year old daughter) would probably have removed me from the team if she didn’t get to run down the finish chute. One of the pieces of “mental training” I was hoping to take away from this race was the ability to run into the finish area and then go back onto the course for more. Since I’m headed to IMFL, I figured this would be a good skill to practice. Saw my wife and daughter and some other non-participating “tri-friends” at the turn as I ran around the cone and headed back up the hill onto loop two. I looked forward to loop two since I would get to see all the other folks out there and chat and encourage and generally commiserate as most folks out there were not having good days…As I ran the last time down the worst hill on the course (which I would later walk back up – thank you very much!) I began to feel a pinching type pain in the outside of my right knee…I knew I was not running very efficiently but this is one heck of a time for my first taste of my IT bands getting irritated! Shortly after I saw my friend and training partner Jeff as he walked to the crest of one of the hills. I paused for a few moments to encourage him to keep going and not push too hard (he was on his first lap and desperately trying to finish his first 1/2IM – which he eventually, though not DFL awfully close, would). I finally got to mile 12 and knew I could take it in from there if all I had going for me was the thought of how thrilled my daughter will be to “run the chute”. Came around the last corner and there she was ready to sprint! Ran down the chute and let her have all the fun and glory, all I wanted was to be done and get a beer.

Given the conditions...not much else could have been done.....maybe if I had charged right out of T2 and set a higher turnover rate from the start I might have kept the run tempo higher and made for a slightly better time...The hills, however, are what they are and "runnable" is not what they are!!!

Hung around and waited for everyone else to come in while sampling a few beers and a BBQ sandwich…saw Sister Madonna finish and gave her the applause she had earned. And the I waited……finally when rumors were abounding that there were only a few folks out on the course, my friend Jeff finished his first ½. Congrats to him, he wanted it badly and brought it home!


Heat and hills --that and this was my 4th race in 6 weeks including being my second 1/2Im of the year may have taken it's toll.......


As usual, Max Events put on a great show. They need to do something about the hot weather and those hills (maybe Sister Madonna can get some help from the big Man on this) but otherwise it was a great event. This event is unique in that it brings out the bulk of the StL tri community so folks you may never get to race with again this year are at this event so that made it even more fun! Great job to all that came and raced! It was a tough day but fun because of the folks involved!