Overall, it was a great swim. I was very happy with my stroke and, most of all, my lack of anxiety. I tend to be an anxious open water swimmer. At about the .8 mile point, I got a bad cramp in my left calf, which is unusual for me. I struggled with it for about 10 minutes, trying to swim without kicking, floating for a few seconds and stretching it, etc. After about 10 minutes, it subsided and I was able to finish strong.

Maybe take some anti-cramping supplements before the next race. I had a banana, which is supposed to prevent cramps, but that wasn't enough.

I wasn't trying to rush through this transition. Since it was my first half ironman, I didn't want to forget something. Worked very deliberately to get through transition and I was happy with a 4 minute transition.

Nothing

The ride out went great. I was cruising along at a very good clip (20+ mph). When I reached the turnaround, I realized this was because the wind was at our backs. As soon as I made the turn, I could feel the increased wind resistance and it made the 2nd half of the bike much more difficult than the first. On top of that, my gear shifter for the front derailler broke and it was very difficult to get out of the big ring for the last 1/4 of the race. And at about the 45 mile point, there is a huge bridge... that, along with the head wind had me pretty spent after the bike.

Get my bike fixed... I knew the gear shifter was loose and chose to wait until after this last race to get it fixed. It turns out it was broken and completely fell apart during the race. Pretty dumb not to have it looked at before my first Half IM.

I'm not disappointed with this transition time, but I was wiped out after the bike portion. I had thoughts of "packing it in" and quitting, but I knew I just couldn't do that. What would I tell everyone that's been listening to me talk about this race for the past 6 months?

Nothing really.

I was not totally prepared for how tough the run is in a Half IM. I was already wiped out after the bike and then had to run a half marathon. I started out of transition by "shuffling"... wouldn't call it jogging. Hit the port-a-potty on the way out and my pee was orange... not good, very dehydrated. Then I started doing a run/walk combo (300 run steps, 100 walk steps) and kept that going for the first half of the race. I drank at every aid station, but I guess not enough. At about the 9 mile point, I started cramping up very badly. My calves and groin were locking up if I ran more than 100 steps. So I stopped at an aid station and drank a TON of gatorade and water, plus ate a Hammer Jel. After continuing a running/walking in 100 step increments for the next couple miles, the hydration and nutrition finally started to kick in. I was able to go back to 300/100 and then saw my wife and kids at the park entrance. I probably ran 80% of the way after that, and ran the entire last 1/2 mile. I was proud to finish strong after struggling so much on the run course.

Lots more hydration on the bike and in T2. I just ran out of gas.

Drank a lot of water, went home, watched the Eagles romp on the Carolina Panthers. Drank a few martinis ;-), went to bed early.


Poor hydration


This is a great course for a first Half IM. It is very flat. The transition area is far from the swim start/exit, which means you have to put on shoes after the swim and run 1/4 mile to transition. No biggie, just different. If I ever do another Half IM, I would probably do this one again just based on the course. Neil Semmel's races are always very well organized and have lots of volunteers. They were all great once again! I would recommend this race to any first time Half IM-er.