I'm not really sure if the course was short, the current was strong or a combo of all the above plus other factors, but I'm certain that it was at least 5 minutes off of my fastest 1000yd tt pace times.

Other than the time abnormalities everything went well. I was able to dolphin dive several times on the start and avoided any churn/bumping/wrestling around the first buoy by getting out quick and turning around the buoy wide. Navigation went well enough it felt like I was able to maintain a generally straight course.

Probably not a much.

Had the suit nag on my foot which had not happened in any of my training swims. Got the helmet and glasses on and grabbed the bike and started the run from the farthest northern rack to the bike exit. Got to the mount line and jumped on the bike. I was able to get my right foot into the shoe prior to the small hill and was able to get the other foot in and straps tightened before the first turn after the top.

Step on the suit and pull my leg out with some force.

Bike went much faster and better than I anticipated. The last 15 miles were pretty painful for my quads and legs in general, but I'm glad that I pushed it and was able to average over 20mph (one of my goals).

1) Buy a trainer 2) Hammer the bike all winter on the trainer 3) Start next years plan with a bike focus

Possibly change nutrition plan.

Had feet out of and on top of shoes before the hill and was able to get off the bike at the line with no issues. Ran all the way down to the far end of the transition area to rack the bike and put on my running shoes and hat with no problems.

Maybe nutrition.

I intended to keep as close to a 7min/mile pace for the duration but fell a good bit short. I was definately holding close to that pace for the first loop but it started slipping after the 2 small hills near the zoo. It became painfully obvious at around mile 7 or 8 that my pushing so hard on the bike was tanking the last part of the run as my pace kept slipping:) Oh, well the overall run time was still OK and I was more than glad to trade a slower run for a fast (for me) bike.

Nutrition.

Walk the bike and gear to the car 5 blocks away. Walk back to the finish line and around the area to stay loose.


From the very start of the bike I started having mild stomach aches and it quickly developed into gut rot after about 30 minutes of riding. I followed my nutrition plan pretty much to a T. I was taking in about 200 cals/hour via a gatoraide + maltodextrin mix and gu gels. That combo has worked well in training so I'm not sure what the real issue was being caused by. It could have been that I got too much of Lake Michigan in my belly during the swim or just that my stomach is less tolerant when I'm pushing that hard. Anyways, on the second half of the run I stopped drinking water and only drank heed and that seemed to help the stomach out a little bit.


I think that something could be done to get the swim course adjusted so that it is more accurate to our actual abilities!

Overall I was very happy with this race. It was my second tri and my first half ironman distance event. I'm already planning my tri training schedule for next spring, and am excited to start hitting it a lot harder than I did this cycle.