The waves were horrendous! By the time I got past the first break I really started panicking...again. I had to swim almost the first lap doing the back stroke because of my anxiety. Just before the second lap started I just told myself that I'm going to have to get over this, and I just forced myself to swim freestyle. Going into the second lap, I got caught in the surf, did a couple summersaults, go water up my nose and in my goggles, and had to take a minute to recoup. Once I got past the break my second lap went much better.

Start off with single sided breathing instead of trying to breath bilaterally in the first few hundred meters.

A bit slow for me, but it was a long jog up the beach.

Not much

I felt pretty good on the bike. This has been what I have really been working on the most in my training, and I think it really paid off for me today. I rode in aero almost the entire race, and I felt comfortable and strong.

Nothing

Pretty good transition.

Not much

This was brutal!!! Even the overall winners both commented on the horrible run conditions. It was so hot (heat index well into the 90s) and the sun was just baking. There were plenty of hydration stations along the way, and I felt like all my heat training really paid off. I was passed by only about 2 people, and passed quite a few people who were walking. Overall, even though my time was not exceptional, I felt like I had a relatively strong run. An ambulance had to be called for one guy who suffered from heat exhaustion.

Nothing

They had a tent with water pouring from the top and some chairs set up which was a life saver, and I spent quite a bit of time just standing in the shower cooling off. Other than that I didn't do a warm down.


The heat and definitely my swimming anxiety.


Very well organized and fun race. There were plenty of volunteers, police, and aid stations, and I would definitely recommend Team Magic races for anyone interested racing in Alabama or Tennessee. I also got a very cool plaque for winning my division, a tub of Hammer Heed, and a beach bag that I won in the raffle.