The swim wasn't too bad except for the chop on the back - long section of the course.

The only thing that I could improve on with this swim was my sighting. I need to train myself to come up out of the water a few more inches without breaking my swim stride too much. When I would site, I would be looking for the yellow and orange buoyies, but I was also seeing the yellow and orange/red bathing caps of the waves I had caught up to. This is a common problem for me, and since I can't expect race directors to discontinue these color caps -- I have to adjust my sighting technique to get up higher out the water to see the buoyies better. I may have been able to shave :30 up to a minute if I swam a straighter path on the course. I felt good coming out of the water, and overall was happy with my swim.

OK, so there is apparently a new push by the organizers of the Ironman events to outlaw having your bike shoes allready clipped into the pedals as you run out of T1. This according to one of the officials I talked to prior to the race in transition. I normally have them clipped in and run in barefeet out to the mount line. So, I followed his directions and ran with the shoes on.

The only way I could have shaved more time off T1 would be to get the socks on quicker. For half's and full's, I always wear socks. I can't sweat the T1 time.

A few seconds out of T1 and I looked down at the computer and saw that it wasn't working. Stopping to adjust the sensor on the fork wasn't an option, and I could only assume that that was the issue. So I put that frustration out of my head quickly and rode by feel. As it turns out, I probably should have pushed it harder.

I checked my computer the day before when I checked the bike in, and it was working. I should have double checked on race day. Maybe I could have pushed harder, but....

Nothing

Well, my run was not good. I was at about .5 miles out of T2 and I felt my right hamstring grab on me. I knew then that it was going to be me against leg cramping for the next 2 hours! I had this issue at Louisville last fall, where I had no choice but to do the ironman shuffle (mostly walked), because the leg muscles were seizing up on me. I did another full two months later at B2B, and had no cramping. The only difference in my nutrition was that I now subsidize with a calcium-magnesium supplement daily. I thought that was the trick, but the muscles were telling me otherwise. The rest of the half marathon was a run-quick walk routine. It was very hot out there, and the volunteers and those cold sponges kept me as cool as possible.

I would love to know why I have had nearly identical leg issues at two of my last three races. I drank a lot on the bike with gatorade being the majority of it. I had some potasium (banana pre race and one during the run), I supplement with the calcium/magnesium (and took a few extra leading up the the race). One of my wife's friends was racing too, and she told me she downed a ton of salt tablets during the race. Maybe that would have made the difference for me? It is frustrating especially since my run training leading to this race was excellent.

I was happy to be done. My wife, her friend and I headed over to the pizza tent for some grub. We sat in the shade and unwinded for about 45 minutes, and then looked at the race times and headed to the hotel.


Going into this race, I felt prepared with the swim and the run, but I knew my bike training was behind schedule. I normally ride outdoors all winter, but this year we got 6+ feet of snow. I had maybe 2-3 45+ mile bike rides before this race. I enjoyed the race even though the legs were cramping, etc. but I doubt I will do a long race again so ealry in the season.


This was my third ironman organized race, and all have been well done. At each, I'd say my only complaint is the lame food afterwards.

Many thanks to the army of volunteers!