This was my first mass start with the added element of beginning on the beach. I am not a very strong swimmer so I lined up about mid-back. After the start gun, we all started moving into the water. I noticed several moving way up the beach before getting in the water. The first several hundred yards were an all-out scrum. Lots of folks panicking and moving slow. I was kicked pretty solid in the ribs and someone tried to tear my arm off (MORE ON THIS LATER). After a while it cleared up and I noticed the chop was pretty bad. After a while, I made the first turn and then the second and was at the ladders. I climbed up and looked down at my wrist to check my time. My arm was still there but unfortunately my Garmin 310 XT not. I moved on, got my wetsuit stripped and spent the run to T1 contemplating my plan for finishing the race with no watch.

Not go so tight on the goggle strap. Last year during the half I was kicked in the face and never could get them resealed, so I opted to pull them extra tight. By the end I felt like they were coming through my face to the back of my head.

Find a different watch strategy. Thinking of jut a regular watch for time and leaving GPS already on the bike.

I grabbed my bag and bypassed the tent and went straight to my bike. I was pissed about the watch and spent too much time thinking about what I was going to do. Finally pulled it together and got moving and was out.

Not fret over watch

I got started on the bike and asked one of the volunteers at the first turn what time it was, 8:45, so I knew my baseline for the bike. I figured I could continue this throughout the course to get a rough gauge of how my pacing was but I was more worried about when to eat/drink. I do most of my training on the trainer so I did not have a good feel for my speed based on gearing (no power meter). I started out decently and once on 140 the winds were starting to be noticeable and then when we reached 421 the wind was right in our face. I was struggling a little and really in the blind on how I was progressing both on nutrition and pacing. I stopped at the second aid station to use the bathroom. At mile 50, a guy told me we were 4 hours in so I knew I was pacing decently considering the headwind. I stopped for special needs and nursed a Snickers Bar for about 10 miles, lost my replacement Gatorade bottle (on to the HEED, yeah) on a bump but was loving the tailwind on the way back. By mile 90 I was pretty much ready to be done, but kept the pacing moderate and finished strong over the bridge. When I got in the convention center the time was 2:38 so I knew I had broken 6 hours (sub-goal) and figured I should have decent legs for the run.

Have some means of knowing my heart rate, speed, power, something..... or maybe not.

I opted for a full change to my running shorts/shirt, new socks, etc. I also went to the bathroom before heading out.

Run in tri shorts?

I have run a lot over the last year in prepping for the marathon and for a normal run I could probably judge my pace reasonably accurate, but after a swim and a bike I really had no idea. I felt I was starting out rather quickly and so I dialed it down. I was walking every other aid station for the first lap and alternating water and coke. I could not stomach anything solid until I tried some grapes and they tasted great. There were lots of folks walking, including a lot of the half participants, but I stuck to the plan. I made the turnaround and was back to the finish line before I knew it. I asked my father in law what time it was as they were standing pretty close to what would be the mid-point, 4:30. So that would be about a 1:45 first half, probably a little fast but I was feeling ok. For the second lap I started walking every aid station and was still feeling reasonably decent. I knew the second lap was going to be slower and at the turnaround (6 miles to go) I received a time update, 5:30. All it would take to break 11 hours was 10 min miles. Each aid station I walked a little longer, but when I ran between them I felt like I was moving about the same pace as I had been. I skipped the last station and ran to the finish line.

Maybe a little slower on the first lap.

Crossed the line under 11 hours to beat my stretch goal. Sat down for a few minutes and then met my wife and father-in-law. I was not really feeling like eating so just sat for a while. Took a few pictures and then off to the massage tent while they gathered my stuff.


Perhaps not having my watch ended up working out ok because I may have pushed harder on the bike and not had quite as strong a run.