I am not a fan of the swim and was nervous about this before the race. However, I did much better than I had anticipated. There were no real difficulties with body contact, as the waves were spread out, and I generally felt comfortable the whole time. However, on the last loop, I turned too much at one buoy and went way off course because I had difficulty seeing the other buoys because of the glare of the sun and also because my eyes are not what they used to be. I went so far off course that someone in a boat came out and sounded a horn to get my attention to go back the other way. Once I got back going in the right direction I swam hard because I had no idea of how much time I lost. In the end, and without my navigational woes, I did much better than I had thought I would,

Get contacts and continue to get better at the swim.

Before T1 there is a huge hill that people have to run up after the swim. I elected to take off my suit before going up the hill and did not push it too much. I took my time in T1 but got on the bike relatively quickly. I kept my shoes cleated into my pedals, which helped, and I was able to get my feet in okay.

So I really only began biking this year but my training really paid off because a lot of attention was put into getting me bike ready. I also live in a hilly portion of the state and my long rides contained a lot more elevation gains than on the race course. The race course was relatively flat and conditions were good. It was only around the last half of the race that the winds became quite gusty. All in all, I found the bike portion of the race to be relatively easy. However, I got a stupid song stuck in my head that I could not get rid of, which made the last hour or so rather tedious. I probably could have pushed the pace a bit more but I was not sure how my legs would feel.

I rented a pair of race wheels, which I think helped a tad. I plan to invest in a tri bike for next season, which I think will help too. I do not think I would have done anything differently, as I expect my times will improve with training. I do not plan to listen to anything but my own personal music prior to the race to avoid having a horrible song get stuck in my head.

I use Pearl Izumi ISO Transition shoes which are sockless. Helps with a quick transition. I was quite happy with my bike and saw my family so I took a moment to wave to them and actually smile.

I think overall I did well and PRd my half marathon (my prior best was from a stand alone HM). I thought, however, I might have done a tad better and did not anticipate how hard the last three miles were. I was given instructions to let it fly, so to speak, on the last three miles and disregard my HR. Unfortunately most of the last 3 miles were up hill, so that kind of sucked. I was also surprised to find that the last three to five miles were more mentally challenging than I thought. I assumed that by that point I would be really excited to be almost over. Not the case. Those last few miles seemed like it took forever.

Not much. I did what I was told and trained hard.

I was greeted by my family and coach at the end. After the requisite photos, I grabbed a beer. Although I was instructed to eat, I did not want a thing. This was surprising. It was also disappointing because they put out a good spread. All I could really manage was 1/2 of a pumpkin whoopee pie and two beers. I eventually got my stuff, hobbled to the car, and drove home.


The fact that I am new to this and am building my base and suck at swimming.


I cannot compare this race to any other half irons or really much else. With that said, it was a perfect race for my first half. It was smallish, well organized, the people were friendly, and it was a pretty easy course. Everything, from my performance, how it was run, and the overall atmosphere, exceeded my expectations.