I kept the swim very easy given that I knew I had short changed my swim training. I just concentrated on drafting and staying very loose.

Severe leg cramps on the later portions of the course. Some of the climbs at the end were just brutal with my legs threatining to lock up from cramps.

Bring more E-Caps. I totally underestimated how many ecaps I would need and paid the price in the later stages of the bike.

My legs were fried coming into T2. I did not want to get up out of the chair and to leave the changing tent but I knew I had to finish so I made my way out onto the run.

Just finish baby. It was tough out there. Very early on pace became irrelevant and the only thing that mattered was finishing. You know its going to be a long day when you "run" almost twice your standalone marathon time.

Run

Training decisions (overracing, lack of training volume ...). Specifically, getting injured in early August I lost almost a month of training, although I still continued to do the races I had previously scheduled. The injury cut into my overall training volume and I'm just getting back to August's fitness level now. Live and learn.


I think the Silverman accurately bills itself as the toughest full distance triathlon. While the course was very difficult, it was also amazingly beautiful.

The swim in Lake Mead (literally right around the corner from the Hoover Dam) was beautiful and the water clarity was great. The bike and the run course constisted of unrelenting rollers that taxed my legs to their limits. That said, the course scenery was absolutely amazing. If I had actually trained intelligently, it would have also been much more manageable.

This was definitely a very professional race for an inaugural event. The RD, Dave Scott, numerous other organizers, and the close to 1000 volunteers went out of their way to make sure that as many people as possible came home safely in under 17 hrs.

I would do this race again. I can only hope that the event grows and gets the kind of support that it deserves. BTW - The only event I've been to that was marginally better produced was the Timberman but this was almost as well produced with much more difficult logistical challenges.