I was a little anxious since I had a late start getting into the water. I did not feel comfortable with the wetsuit on and it took awhile to get my breathing under control. I felt like I was too bouyant and just could not get much of a rhythm. Breathing to the left was null and void. also was one of the last waves to go so I had to fight through a sea of swimmers in the front. Not one of my best swims.

The transition was an absolute mud fest from the remnants of Andrea. My shoes and bike were caked with mud by the time I started. Also took time during transition. I wanted to get my heart rate down and have some bites of a banana.

My bike leg was the best of the three. I absolutely crushed it. I was hoping for 4 hours; not 3! Pace was steady and good but not too hard. I did struggle with my chamois towards the last hour and a half and needed to reposition often. Also, my left knee and right hamstring started to complain in the last half. However, all things considered, I had a great leg and would consider this a breakthrough.

Nothing.

Again, I did not rush through transition, especially having to go through the mud pit. I also took advil during the transition (which I found helped tremendously at the end of the race).

What an absolute suffer fest. By mile 3, I was not sure I would finish the race. However, I persevered by shortening the course to running to streetlights, mile markers and aid stations and then awarding myself with a walkie poo.. Probably left a bit of my legs on the bike but I still managed to do a decent run. Lack of heat training probably did not help either.

Heat training.
More run conditioning from hard bike sessions

Water and towel over head/


Heat and muscle fatigue during run.


I am very pleased with my first half ironman effort. The flat course was perfect for me. However, just because it was flat does not mean that it's easy. There was no opportunity to rest the legs during the bike which they were obviously used to with the regular training. More training on trainer and tow path for flat races. My time rocked.