I really enjoyed this swim. The water temperature was perfect (lots of warm and cold pockets which gave you something to think about) I really focused on keeping an easy pace per my race plan. I may have pushed a little to hard on the way back, but I felt like I was beginning to loaf a little and was really feeling strong. My navigation in the first few hundred yards was questionable, but I sighted often so as not to get too far off course. I swam much straighter after the second bouy. Since I breathe to the right, I started at the back and left of my wave which really worked out nice. I could see swimmers when I was breathing which kept me straight with only sighting every 10-15 strokes. I came around the far turn and after about another 100 yards I see Shelly passing me on the right about 8 ft. away! I wanted to yell "hey Swimmergast!" but with her being such a strong swimmer I didn't want to break her concentration. (If it were Glenn I would have swam over there and grabbed one of his ankles!) Just a few more breaths and she was gone! Man, she was fast! Coming back I just sighted off the swimmers in front of me and caught a few drafts which I had never done before. I always feel guilty tapping someone's feet so I didn't stay in the draft long. When I stood up and saw 34:xx, I was pumped.

Nothing. Best swim I've ever had and at a very comfortable pace.

I let the volunteers help pull me up the drop off and all of the sudden the ball of my foot felt like it was bruised. I got up to where my shoes were at the swim start and took and look and could see a small cut and a little blood, but nothing major. I was rushing coming out of the water and slipped my shoes on before taking my wetsuit off. Doh! I pulled my shoes back off then tried to get my wetsuit off. It got stuck on my left ankle despite multiple attempts to get it off. I can't imagine how I looked to a spectator - probably like my wetsuit was attacking my leg. I finally pulled free, got my shoes back on and jogged easy over to T1. Turns out that all the time I spent doing this was included in my swim time, not T1. Bummer. My HR was through the roof - somewhere in the high 180s as I jogged to transition.

I've never had a problem getting my wetsuit off before, but I guess I should practice a little.

The first 10 miles went just as planned. I just took it really easy and focused on getting my HR down. Within 20 minutes it had settled down into the mid 150s so I started eating. Only about 15 miles in my back started to tighten up for some reason. I hadn't had this happen in training so this had me a little confused. It bothered me, but I still managed to stay aero until about mile 46 after which I had to sit up and stretch a few times. Fortunately, the last 10 miles had some tail wind so I don't think this really hurt my time much. Paul M. and Glenn both passed me on the first trip over the bridge which was fun. I turned around on the way up the bridge and saw Glenn behind me so I yelled at him. He blew by me like I was sitting still once we got off the bridge. Saw Shelly and Glenn again after they had made the turnaround. This was a tough bike for me which makes me think that my lack of bike volume in August cost me big time. I still managed to come in about 10 minutes under my goal of 3:00 so I was not dissapointed.

More bike volume. Hmmmm...race wheels for next year???

Nothing special. Took a little longer than I normally do in T2 to get a drink and double check to be sure I had what I needed for the run.

Here's where it all came down on me like a ton of bricks. I came out of T1 very easy trying to stick to my race plan. I had the worst side stitch I've ever had, but had read in Gordo's pacing tips that this is common comming off the bike with food and water in your stomach. I focused on breathing deep and focusing the air toward the stitch and it eased after about a mile. I hit the first aid station at 1.5 miles and grabbed a couple of waters and immediately sensed it was going to be a very, very long run. I basically spent the rest of the day running aid station to aid station, walking while I drank and dumped water on my head to keep cool. My worst stretch was from miles 4-7 where I had to walk a few times to work out some cramping and get my HR down. Paul M. who had withdrawn from the race due to a flat on the bike came up along side me on the run (how amazing is that - out of the race and still did the run!) He's a much faster runner than me, but just jogged along side me and walked with me when I needed to and got me to run some more when I didn't want to. He really helped a lot. I also saw Glenn looking like a friggin' gazelle at about mile 9. Met Shelly too which gave me a little surge of energy. I finally just hit survival mode and chipped away at it as best I could. I thought I would still crack 6 hrs. when I hit mile 9 with 45 minutes left. I knew I could manage that. Well, I was rather deflated when I hit the next mile marker and it said mile 9 too! Unfortunately, that was the true 9th mile. What's up with that?! I thought that maybe I was hallucinating, but Glenn confirmed it on the way home. Not only can they not get the mile markers positioned right, they can't even label them right. It really hit home that I had banked an extra 20 minutes on the swim and bike, and it was all slipping away on the run and there was nothing I could do about it. I was hurting pretty bad. From here on out I just focused on positive thoughts and about crossing the finish line. I tried to open my stride up just a little in the last half mile, but I was getting closer to full blown cramps with every step. I finally rounded the corner and it was great to see Marianne and Glenn and Shelly waiting at the finish. I felt like I had been running for days! I didn't want to have to walk as much as I did, but I gave 110% and kept a pretty good attitude about it.

More run training. Maybe book an appointment with Floyd Llandis's doctor a couple weeks before the race.

Tried to drink some water and sit down, but I was cramping bad all over - my feet, quads, hamstrings and back. Hung out and chatted a little then packed up and hit the road. Glenn was generous enough to buy us all blizzards on the way home which was a nice treat. I appreciated being included even though I failed the NSTD challenge! It was a fun ride home with Glenn swapping war stories about the race.


These are the possibilities that come to mind:
*Low bike volume (300 miles) in August
*Did I swim too hard? I really don't think so.
*Did I ride too hard? Most likely. I think I made the rookie mistake of not managing pace on the bike and I payed for it on the run.
*Run volume: I thought my run volume was sufficient, but running is my weakest of the 3 sports so I should probably focus more on running in the future.

All around, I had a great day and enjoyed my first Half Ironman. It was a difficult but very rewarding day. I learned a lot about racing this distance and feel like I gained invaluable experience.


I didn't care for the gravel/hardpack surface of the run, but overall it was a decent course and very well supported. Aid stations were well placed.