Should've started in the back of the heat instead of the front. I was being passed by a lot of fast swimmers while taking my time.

During the first straight, a lot of people were walking the swim course. My thought process is: why would you compromise your training and show a lack of respect for others by doing this action? It's OK to stop and rest, but do not have forward momentum. OK, I'm off my soapbox now.

Anyway, I did more breast stroke than free. I need to overcome this, because I'm a lot better swimmer than I've been displaying with past races this year.

As reflected in my time, the course seemed a little shorter than 1.2 miles. I did not push hardly at all and had a decent time.

FREE, FREE, FREE.

This year I've focused more on the bike and just 'maintaining' my swim. This off season, I will focus on technique and speed.

Took my time in transition. Everything was soaked, next time I'll bring a plastic sack. Couldn't see out of my sunglasses, I tried looking for something dry in my bag (no luck). Wiped them off with a wet pair of shorts, put them on and took off.

Bring a plastic sack to keep everything dry (at least glasses).

Bike began smooth (around the dam). Once on the road, I was nervous. Because of the standing water and some of the road conditions, I didn't spend much time in Aero. I did not want to crash during my first HIM. A lot of people passed me, but I reminded myself to race my own race.

At mile 6, we had a mandatory dismount because of the water in the roadway. It was a nice breather for me.

During BAS #3, a volunteer told me to watch for the mud a mile down the road. Once there, another volunteer told me to ride down the middle. So I did.

Around mile 48ish, I noticed my speed kept dropping. It continued to drop the rest of the course. Up until that point, I was avering 17.7 mph. From that point to the end, my average speed dived to 17.1 mph. AVERAGE FOR THE WHOLE COURSE! When I retrieved my bike after the race, I noticed my front tire was flat. Hmmmmmmm, a slow leak? I thought I was running out of gas.

Saw my wife while dismounting. I yelled that I didn't wreck my bike. She and the guy next to her laughed.

Overall, I'm happy with the bike. Even though it rained most of the time and I was quite nervous, I was happy. I maintained a 17 mph average (a goal) and my nutrition was dead on. Gels every 45 minutes, plenty of fluid, and Granola bars at miles 15 and 40.

First of all, pay closer attention to my tires.

Secondly, continue working on the bike. Even though I've shown improvements from last year, we have a long way to go.

I took a nice, extra long transition. Walked the bike in, put on some Body Glide (chaffing in front of the arm pits), changed into my wet shoes, walked to the outhouse to pee, walked to the run start, and then began running.

Absolutely nothing, except maybe have a plastic sack (see T1). I purposely took my time.

As a whole, the run felt good. The first couple of miles felt awesome. The rest was good, but I had to keep reminding myself to run. My goal was to run the entire course, not walk any of it.

The puddles and standing water made it interesting. The volunteers were very encouraging. Seeing my wife a few times was inspiring.

I passed a lot of people on the run. This felt good, because a lot of people passed me on the bike. I drank at every aid station (alternating with Gatorade and water), took 3 gels, and ran the whole course.

Cruising through the Finisher's Chute and seeing my wife, I began to cry. But that was short lived because I kicked it in gear to pass a guy right before the finish line.

I just about broke 2 hours for my Half-Mary. This would've been nice. Looking through my times, my fastest mile (by almost 30 seconds) was mile 13. I wanted to get home.

Work on intervals and tempo runs more. Earlier this year, I did awesome getting ready for the Half-Marathons. Once they were done, I did long runs and that was it.

Along with swimming, this will be an area of focus.

Tried eating a Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwich. Threw away because it was to dry for me. Sucked down a Gatorade and ate some Banana's. Gave my wife a big sweaty hug. We then went to Transition and watched some of the Full Distance Athletes come in from the bike. Got my bike, noticed my flat, got my soaked gear, and headed home. Stopped at Applebees on the way. Yummmmmm!


Swim-freestyle and technique. Bike-well my biking capabilities and confidence. Run-more intervals and tempo work. Overall-lose a little more weight, better strength training, stronger core, and cleanup my diet a little more.


1) The race was delayed because of the rain. This had nothing to do with the organization. Once they announced a new time, they began promptly on that time.

2) The volunteers were awesome. There were a ton of them and most of them were shouting words of encouragement. I saw one shoveling mud off the bike course. A few others were sweeping water into the draining systems. The volunteers is what makes this race.

This was a great race to experience my first half-iron distance. I would definately like doing this again. Maybe the full next........