Yeah, I love this RR template, 'catch waves?', only in the face and mouth! This was now historically, my hardest swim conditions ever. I am proud to say that I swam the same time in Macon last year on a calm lake so my swimming is getting better since this one was done on the North Sea in the middle of winter. I had to laugh at this guy who in the first 200m yelled at me about watching where I was going, etc. I started to chuckle, dude is in the wrong sport! Other than that it was the usual swim hi-jinx.

I do wish I beared down just a little bit more in the home stretch. Might've gone sub 40. But that's ok.

When I emerged from the water I was feeling a bit dizzy. I forgot to wear my new ear plugs to help with this. My HR went up immediately when I left the water so I decided to take my time and walk up from the beach. In hindsight, I probably could've jogged a little bit. This was a pokey T1 for me. I had to sit down to remove my suit (typical) and when I went to exit the transition area I felt a little bit disoriented.

Wear ear plugs. Jog into transition once I hit level ground.

My bike was my greatest disappointment. For a couple of reasons: first, my FT has increased substantially since IM WI last Sept. I've gained 27 watts. So I really thought I was going to kill the bike. Second, my new Scott Plasma LTD was a lot faster than my road bike. And third, strength plus my bigger frame equals a better profile in FL. No climbing, always pumping, etc. Well, I can't say I had a bad ride, just thought it was faster. Now, I didn't have a speedo on my ride and that might've helped me push a little harder. Everyone is Jonny Lightning with the wind, but on the way back into it I was passing lots of racers. Saw Rivi. He passed me with about 12 miles to go and I passed him back with about 5 to go.

Firstly, I need new sunglasses. My Nikes are toast and I spent most of the time shoving them up my face. I also need more strength training prior to the race. Not so much interval training. Also, need to ride a little faster at times for longer periods to continue to build my aero position muscles. My right hip flexor and glute were very sore. I also was way over my HR speed limit riding in the 160's. I new I would pay for that later. Read on....

Since my tri shoes had not arrived by race day I was forced to wear road shoes. So, no getting out of my shoes prior to dismount. Now I love my road shoes. But, they are slower in transition. Otherwise no complaints there. I also took a little extra time with the running shoes. Wanted to make sure I was comfortable with what I knew was going to be a long run.

Wear tri shoes. I'm usually much faster in T2 than this performance.

I've run this course a couple of times for training purposes but never through the park. What is the deal there? It's like the freaking twilight zone. I never thought I was going to get out of there. I looked around for Rod Serling in that cool grey suit asking me about time and space. I was however still looking good for breaking 6 hours and a PR. Although it would be tight. I ran into Deb at mile 5ish and we were getting filmed. Apparently that made it into the movie that night. I also saw many friends including ATL_Runner and Steamy who were both heading in the a better direction than me, back to the finish line that is. At mile 9 the show was over. I was paying for the past sins of busting the speed limit on my HR. Both calves started to lock up. They had had enough. So, I started increasing my fluids and adding gatorade to the mix. The genie was out of the bottle though and all I wanted to do was continue to run more than walk and finish. I had started running 5/1's and by now was probably running about as much as walking. Down toward the finish line I saw some ATL folks partying under a tent and that was cool. The fan support in and around the finish area and out on the run was surprisingly good. I did muster longer intervals in the last 1.5 miles or so and went over the line in a jog.

Watch my HR on the bike. More bike training will eliminate my bad run here.

Get a very warm bottle of water from a volunteer and head back up the road to watch for other finishers.


Exceeding my LT for too long.


Overall I would say I wanted to do better than this. I am not a real fan of the course but the volunteers and the race organization do a good job. That's not to say that the course or race was the reason for my mediocre performance. I would say an inadequate amount of race prep workouts and about 10 - 15 lbs were also contributing factors. I will need to deal with both for a successful IM FL in the fall in the same 'hood. Not sure if I would do this one again. It is convenient and a lot of friends and training pals attend which make for a great weekend. Maybe next time I'll skip the race and go right to the social component instead!