Horrible swim. At about 250 meters the water began to get rough and choppy, plus a current hit us. I struggled with the 2nd leg of the swim as water kept coming over my face so I couldn't breath or get into a rythem. Because of the chop, it didn't matter which side I breathed on. When I rounded the last buoy, I was swimming directly into the chop, and did fine.

I still need more open water practice...especially for choppy conditions.

Good T2. Had some struggle loading gels into my jersey. But for a HIM, I liked my T2.

Have more gels attached to my bike. My coach changed my nutrition plan after bike check in, so was having to modify my plan on the fly.

Felt great on the bike. Very pleased. Someone had thrown tacks on the course near the turnaround. Fortunately, I wasn't one of the many who picked one up.

I wish I could've stayed in aero bars more. My low back started to cramp. Need to spend more time stretching.

Didn't sit down to put on socks and shoes. Had a little trouble racking my bike, but other than that, this was a great transition.

Not much.

My run wasn't too much of a surprise. I'd hoped to be able to run more than I did, but knew it would be a challenge given the miles I've put in on the bike. If my back had not had issues, my result here would have been different. I did continue trying to run throughout the run portion.

Train more on the bike. My back pain started there, and the longest ride I've had was only 55 miles (not from lack of trying), so I really wasn't strong enough on the bike, which led to a poor run.

They were out of pizza, so I had a beer and potato chips. Other than that, drank some water, talked with my family and coach, and saw a few friends.


I am undertrained for a HIM. I have a lot of work to do before IMTX. If my back had held up, I would've been better. But, overall, I wasn't disappointed in my performance. Six months ago I could barely walk at all. Now, I've finished my first half ironman. I have to keep that perspective.