Spent the first five minutes dealing with leaky goggles and maybe ten minutes before I started feeling comfortable. I gulped down about a pint of river water before I finally started rolling up higher to breathe better. Started to get cramps in my legs with about 300 yards to go but was able to shake them loose every time. A little slower than I was expecting but I didn't push the swim at all.

Seal my goggles better.

I didn't exactly rush through but I didn't waste any time either so this transition went as well as expected.




Nothing

Ok, maybe practicing on a few more hills would have been a good idea. South Bend is pretty flat and I was completely unprepared for the hills. I started cramping up at about mile 70 but fortunately only had problems with one leg at a time. I could actually see my quads knot up and then a fist sized lump would start wiggling around in my thigh. The crazy thing is that never really had to slow down because I was able to stand up and coast every time a downhill came along and the cramp would go away.

Train in the Rockies?

Hand your bike off and run to the changing tent. How cool was that!

Nothing

A decent half marathon followed by a death march. I spent miles 14 through 16 working one leg cramp out after another. One thing I've learned after thirty plus years of running is that to be good at it you better learn the art of the limp. I don't mean running through pain exactly but just learning how to adjust your stride to take pressure off problem areas. I started doing a kind of shuffling run for the last ten miles and managed to stop the cramps. I also walked through every aid station ("mmm gatorade, mmm coke, mmm water, sure I'd like oranges, bananas and pretzels") I may actually have weighed more at the end of the race than at start. Darn it, where are the body fat scale people when I needed them.

skip the leg cramps.

beer


I've been riding a bike for about a year so maybe another years worth of riding would help. Of course that will also mean I'll be another year older so it might be a wash.


Congratulations to everyone who finished!