Great swim. They said the current was strong, so they had us start from the dock instead of wading in the water as in years past. Went really well. My plan was to head out strong to get away from the hustle and bustle. It went well. I couldn't keep up with the lead pack, but I found a strong couple of folks and we kept a good pace. I only ran into one person from an earlier wave, and was able to spot most other folks. Overall it went well. However, I did cramp in my hamstrings coming out of the water. I don't know what went wrong. I have never cramped coming out of the water. I did try to kick more in the last 200 yards in an effort to get my legs warmed up, but that my have had a negative side effect.

Not really much. Kicking in the last 200 yards may have played into the cramps. I was very pleased with my swim.

I had a difficult time getting my wetsuit unzipped. Not quite sure what happened here. I was able to get it before I got to the wetsuit strippers. Wet suit strippers are awesome! I took advice from previous race reports and found one of the "bigger" girls... Needless to say she didn't have any problems! I took my time.

Act with more of a sense of urgency.

I felt decent on the bike. My hamstrings were tight from the start. I stood up multiple times to stretch the hammys and calves. I tried to pace without going to hard and made sure to take in enough water. I took a GU at the start of the bike and every 40 minutes there after. I felt the urge to pee mid way through the bike. I managed to wait until T2 to use the facilities. Tried to enjoy myself and encourage others along the way.

The only thing I could think to do is pace myself a little better. I really don't feel like I overdid it. I need to consider a new nutrition plan. That goes for the whole race and training.

Totally forgot to take my feet out of the shoes until right before the dismount line. I did manage to get them out at the last minute. My toes were pretty numb when running through transition. Took a few minutes, but they got better. I didn't feel like I took that long to get through transition, but the time tells different.

Remember to remove my feet from the shoes well before the dismount line. Make sure to wiggle toes to get the blood flowing well before dismount.

I had a terrible run! I was hoping to average 8:30-9:00 miles on the run, but this did not happen! I ran too fast off the bike (6.5 min. mile for first mile), even though I consciously tried to keep it slow. I started cramping pretty early in and knew it was going to be a long day. I really struggled through the entire run. It was all I could do to run to the next aid station. I walked every aid station. I took in water, perform and a little coke. The perform seemed to help the most. I poured water on my head. Poured ice down my shorts to cool down my quads. I felt absolutely terrible around mile 9. One of the ladies from TriAugusta came by and asked what was wrong. I remeber telling her that I was just tired. I really was. I was spent! The last two miles felt like the longest. I was cramping severely in my hammys, quads and calves. Even after rounding the last turn to the finish line I had to stop to stretch out my calves. It was everything I could do to run through the finish.

Needless to say this was not the way I pictured it ending. I can remember reading race reports about people sprinting to the finish and giving it everything they had. Yeah... That didn't happen. No sprinting for me!

Train smarter! I learned a lot from my first HIM. I was not prepared for the distance. I need to do longer bricks and longer runs.

I seriously felt horrible! One of my teammates told me to "cheer up, it's over!" I told him, "I can't. I'm done!" It took me a while to recover. I chatted with the wifey and took a couple of pictures. I picked up some pizza and cookies, but couldn't manage to eat them right away. I sat against a fence for a while, and ended up laying down for about 15-20 minutes. I did feel better after that and managed to get a little food in me. It took me about an hour to really recover to a point where I could actually function properly. I should have gotten a post race massage. Next year.


I was not properly trained for this event.I underestimated the distance. I was a little too heavy too. All in all, I learned A LOT from my first HIM. I will be back next year with a plan and a goal.