I laid back in the middle of the group of about 90 in my age group. Tried to find Murphy and Payne but everyone looks pretty much the same from the chin up bobbing around with cap and goggles. I also wasn't sure I wanted to know what they were doing right out of the gate so I hung out and waited for the gun.

Once we strated I got a few hundred meters in and had avoided too much heavy contact and found my line in the water but I was breathing pretty heavy. From this point on I really tried to focus on my stroke and breathing and make like I was in the pool for a long set. The wetsuit makes sighting so much easier for me that I did much better with it this time. Anytime I found myself off course I started to immediately point myself back toward the proper line. In the past, I've just tried to veer back on course and that didn't always seem to work. The dive back toward the right line seemed to work a lot better for me as I was able to get on track quicker and I held the buoy line after the left turn the best I ever have for a long stretch.

That part of the course was also down current so I got into a good rhytmn and even passed some green caps (the first swim wave right before us) in this stretch. Admittedly, these guys were struggling but it was a mental boost to be passing anyone at this point since in my previous 2 Oly's I've been overtaken by the group behind. I hugged the last turn buoy nicely and turned for home and found myself completely alone. The group ahead of me was half way there and no one was around me anywhere. I didn't want to look back but I was very curious as to where I was compared to the rest of the field. It was weird being alone in such a big field but I went with it and tried to go hard once I was half way to the finish.

I read somewhere that you should get the legs kicking a little more in this stretch to get them loosened up for the run up to T1 and get some blood flowing for the bike. So, I kicked for about 20 seconds and got a massive cramp that I couldn't get rid of in my right calf. I couldn't have been more frustrated at this point. I felt like I was having my best swim yet and then this! I tried to straighten my foot out and work it out but nothing helped it go away so I ended up just leaving my right leg dangling there and pulling myself in. I guess the only good thing is that it happened with about 300-400 meters to go and I only had to deal with it for a short time. But I was left wondering how this was going to affect the rest of the day.

I got to the finish and ran out of the water with no calf issues so I was happy with that but damn was I winded after getting up from the wetsuit strippers. I saw dad and Jen yelling and it felt great to see and hear them. Jen was snapping pictures and dad had this look of amazement on his face at everything that was going on. It was cool to see him getting into it and be so excited for me. I defintely got some energy out of it and trucked it into T1.

Figure out why I cramped in the calf when I really hadn't been over kicking or doing anything differently (I think). This has happened to me in the pool before but it has usually been when I've pushed off the wall and have run earlier in the day. Any feedback on this is welcome. Other than that I loved the wetsuit swim, sighting was best yet and I felt like all the swim sessions have paid off as I focused on my stroke the entire time rather than struggling through and forgetting my fundamentals as I have in the past. I still have plenty to improve in the swim but I felt like this this was a pretty good swim for me.

Coming up to the wetsuit strippers I remembered a conversation we had the night before about not having your cap and goggles in your hand if they are were going to try and get your suit off your arms. I had my arms out of my suit and my top turned down to my waist but I guess I was disoriented a little because I couldn't make myself pull off my cap yet as I was thinking something was going to get stuck.

I grabbed some water and Gatorade coming into T1 and took a few sips of each as I headed to my bike. My rack was right up front so finding the right row was easy but my legs were not cooperating so I started walking down the long rack to my bike as I figured it was a long day and I needed to get my HR down and get composed. I saw Murphy's bike still there and was shocked. That got my ass in gear and I started getting my helmet and glasses on to get out of there with a little lead. I guess the walking cost me a little because I look over and there's Murphy getting to his bike. I gave him a "nice job" or something like that and got out of there knowing that I needed every second of head start I could find.

HTFU and run to the bike like you have in every other race. Not that it matters too much in overall time but it is a damn race and I can improve here.

I let my HR settle down for the first 10 mins like 'ol Gordo Byrne advises. This part went as planned and what started as a spiked HR with a small ring, moderate effort became nornmal training HR with good cadence and I fell into my rhythmn. I followed the plan and kept it smooth and easy, started the nutrition plan all the way to the turnaround and was feeling fine.

Just after the turnaround I see Murphy on his briggs and stratton powered Kuota pull up next to me and give me a shit eating grin. He moved up in front of me and I settled in behind him and figured I'd pace off of him the rest of the way and then smoke him on the run! : ) That was a nice thought but about a mile later my HR dropped about 7 BPM and I started to get cold sweats and needed to dry heave. I was really freaking out becuase we were 15 miles in and all of a sudden I was a mess. I had decided to put a Clif bar in my bento box for the end of the ride but decided to start nibbling on it now because I couldn't even stomach putting a GU in me at this point. My stomach was upside down and I couldn't even drink anything but I had to try something to get through this weirdness. The Clif bar worked as I got back to normal and got back on track.

Murphy was long gone at this point so I settled in a tried to get back on plan. On the way out the first time the wind felt like it was helping but I didn't take full advantage since I was trying to start out nice and easy. I was planning to hammer it on the second loop and got there and found the wind had shifted to be no longer helping but more of a cross. This kinda sucked but I decided to turn it up as much as I could and it was fun to start picking off the quarter iron people and it kept it interesting to constantly have a target and goal in front of me. The rest of the way I felt great and tried to go as hard as I could with the run in mind.

I only drank water from here on out and that was going to be a problem later on. I saw the whole family coming back into Moody Gardens and yelled for them before they even saw me. I gave them the fist pump and it was a total rush to see them get all excited for me. I was jacked realizing I had completed two legs of this thing under my goal time for each and I had fought thru a little GI episode and was ready to run.
Funny side note: An official pulled up next to me around mile 10 or so and started looking over and writing on her pad of paper. There was no one in front of me and I didn't think I launched a bottle or anything so I'm giving her the WTF look and I get nothing in return. I have no idea what the issue is until after the race Murphy wonders if he's getting a penalty for drafting me. Who knew he was back there letting me pull him down the first stretch? And with typical Murphy luck, no penalty! I have written Keith Jordan a letter asking that he be disqualified so we'll see what happens :)

I had to abandon my nutrition strategy since my stomach was a mess and even though the Clif bar did the trick I couldn't get another GU in me without wanting to throw up. This was short sighted but I couldn't do anything about it. It would defintely hurt my run but my adrenaline was pumping and I did the best I could. I've never encountered anything like this in my training rides or other events so I don't know if it was the salt water or lack of breakfast or what but I'm not sure what to do about it other than try some early morning hard efforts and see if it happens again. Most of my training rides have been mid-day with a solid breakfast and lunch pretty well digested already. I think the relatively empty stomach from the start had a lot to do with it.

Pretty uneventful, went as planned but can always be faster

Came out feeling pretty good, looked down and saw my pace was 7:40ish about a half mile in and my HR was 158 so I backed it down to follow the plan. Well, my pace slowed but my HR climbed to 160 and the plan didn't seem to be working. I got frustrated and took the HR monitor off just past mile 3 or so because I didn't want to see it climb while my pace slowed. I figured I'd go on PE and try to manage the pace to where I wanted it to be.

I saw Murhpy and he looked STRONG! I felt like I was dragging my feet compared to his stride so I tried to pick it up but figured I wasn't gong to catch him today. The exact details are sketchy from here on out as far as what happened at what mile marker but the nausea came back and the wheels shot off all over Moody Gardens. I saw a guy throw up going the other way and I figured it was the only shot I had since I was only around mile 7 and was a mess again. I tried sticking my finger down my throat at 2 different points but couldn't get anything up. It was frustrating at the time but looking back I probably had nothing in my stomach to come up. I was walking the aid stations and sipping water and gatorade but felt like if i took in too much I would have the sloshy nausea feeling the whole way. I needed a balance between hydration, nutrition and not puking but they seem to work against one another so I decided to try and gut it out and promised myself when the nausea went away I would go faster. Potato Chips and cola did the trick I think and the feeling was gone. I was so relieved and I tried to pick up the pace.

Almost immediately I got a massive stitch in my right side that I had to walk/run through with my right arm in the air and my left hand pressing into my right side to try and make it go away. This went on for almost a mile and I was just frustrated at the entire stomach thing since it had gone so well in training. I got kind of down thinking about how much I have trained and for nutrition to be the thing that was ruining my day got me pretty depressed. Well, that is no way to think when you have 5 or 6 miles or so to go. I tried to put a smile on my face once the stitch went away and slug thru the rest of the run.

I took every sponge offered and was a disgusting pig at the potato chip and pretzel bowls but I think they saved me. I sipped cola and could take very little water or gatorade without having stomach issues. This was a huge problem in not having any energy to turn up the pace toward the end but I was relieved that the stomach pain was gone and I was dealing with only the normal leg fatigue that I expected now.

I saw Jenny twice in the last 5 miles or so and was glad to see her looking so good. I always worry about her on the bike so when I know she's on the run I feel a lot better. I brought it to the finish the best I could and was glad to get there but this was such a frustrating finish to an otherwise great experience that I never really soaked in the accomplishment. That is until I saw Jenny finish and we shared a big hug. It kind of hit me there that we were able to do this together and had put in a lot of time to reach this point. We both made it under our goal times and we had a lot to be proud of.

A good run starts with proper hydration and nutrition on the bike. I know this but couldn't get anything down. So, looking back I think I have to be pleased overall considering that I really gave my body no chance to have a good run.

Nutrition Stats
Planned vs. Actual
Bike:
7 GU's, Clif Bar vs 2 Gu's, Clif Bar
48oz GU2o bottles vs 30 oz drank
32oz water on board vs 32 oz water
Water at the bottle hand ups. vs 1 1/2 bottles at hand ups

Run:
2 GU's vs 0 Gu's
Water and Gstorade at
each station like a
normal half mary.

vs
sips of water/gatorade and lots of chips/pretzels and some cola

Lots of stretching and walking around to avoid any cramping.


Nutrition issues from the beginning leading to nausea.


This was my first HIM and the course was flat and fun. I've heard that Keith Jordan puts on great races and I must agree that the whole weekend was well organized, on time and a lot of fun. It's a great venue for kids and ours had a blast. I would defintely go back and recommend this to anyone.