I took this pretty easy and felt really good coming out of the water. I think that of all the benefits of masters swimming, it is learning to swim straight that helped me the most in this event. My navigation and spotting along with not swimming off to the left or right made it a much better swim. I had folks keep pulling what seemed like "crazy Ivans" from The Hunt for Red October in the beginning but as we all spread out it got much better. The start went pretty well as there were still plenty of folks around and we had a few bumps but nothing too bad. After rounding the first buoy we hit the long leg and I felt like I hit a good pace. I was just swimming and not pushing hard at all. My pace showed this but there was no sense in me pushing really hard for just a few minutes in the grand scheme of the race. I wanted to keep gas in my tank as this was my first iron-distance race.

The real fun for me started after the turn-around. It was then that the chop started and sighting was directly in line with the sun it seemed. It was likely only 1-1.5 foot swells but at times I would come up for a breath only to have a wave over my head. It seemed like I was swimming directly into them. That was not really a problem at this pace though as I could skip a few breaths if needed. Signting was really tough as it was both into the sun and into the chop. I had to follow the splashing of swimmers ahead of me as I could hardly see any of the markers until I was nearly on top of them. Made the last turn and headed in. About the first half of the last leg was still wavy but afterward it smoothed out nicely, just in time for the shore.

Nothing really for this event. I may kick the pace up slightly on the next one but the swim left me feeling really strong and good coming out of the water. Since I have no illusions of placing in my AG I was very happy with my strategy.

This went fairly well. My first im transition and I actually changed clothes. I figured if I was spending all that time on the bike I may as well wear my cycling clothes. I was able to get changed and head out onto the bike in less than my planned time so I think it went well. Had wetsuit strippers help me get the suit off and had help putting on sunblock after changing. The volunteers were really great!

Oh, I reckon I could wear my tri gear through the whole race sometime and save some minutes here and there. I think next time I can move more quickly through.

The bike went really well for me. I was riding at exactly the pace I rode all of my last training rides and I was comfortable. It was not particularly fast but with all the hills and 200# of me to carry up them I am really happy with my performance. I absolutely nailed my nutrition plan. I drank exactly as I had in my training rides and felt great. No GI issues or anything. Stopped to pee ever couple of hours and the volunteers were great.

I kept waiting for the 3 sisters everyone was talking about which were 3 hills of 18% grade. I hit them and had no troubles at all. The sisters were actually much easier than I expected as one of the hills on my training rides was not quite as steep but was over a mile long. I basically put it into my lowest gear, stood up and shot up the hills without any issue. Honestly, I was a bit underwhelmed by them.

On the bike path I had a fella on the bike ask for some water as he was cramping so I slowed down and gave him what was left of one of my water bottles. Im not sure if this qualifies as outside aid or anything but I did not need it and it sure seemed like he did. I think it was about 1/3
full so hopefully it helped him out.

The most miserable part was the bike path after the sisters and into town. I kept waiting for a downhill and it almost never felt like there was one. The wind was also picking up a bit here which made things tough.

Overall I feel I executed my plan on the bike but man, those hills did not stop.

Well, I nailed my plan so I feel it was good for me. I held back for pretty much the whole race waiting for that marathon so I may be able to push harder and ride faster next time. As always better bike fitness will help but I am really happy with my performance.

This one went well too. I changed into my clothes and headed on my way. There was a bit of dilly-dallying but I think it went pretty good.

Like the bike transition I may try one of these in my tri suit in the future.

Well, here is where things got interesting. I started out really holding back and was running slowly. I stopped and drank/ate at the aid stations just per my plan and was feeling pretty good for the first half. I had my special needs bag and drank my red bull and kept moving. My mile 16 my legs were absolutely killing me. My HR was way low, and I wasnt even pushing hard but those downhill sections just killed my legs. I made it a bit further and had to start walking a bit as my back and abs were getting tired likely compensating for my legs of fire. Even walking hurt for a while. I gradually did some run-walk and then was basically forced to walk for a good while. I continued to eat at the aid stations and drank plenty of good stuff while I rested my legs with walking. By mile 23 they were feeling better so I picked it up and started running again. I walked about a half mile or so of the last 5K and ran the rest of the way into the finish. MAN MY LEGS HURT!

Cardiovascular fitness was not an issue here. I need some more run durability in my legs. I think for next time, I will work on running much more hills in my training and get more long runs under my belt. This was my first marathon and I was about 2 minutes under my goal pace but I still am very happy with my overall time.

hobbling and wobbling. Drank a gatorade and ate some pizza. Got my junk, got into the car and headed back to the hotel. took a shower, drank some beer and fell asleep. Man did my legs hurt.


My run fitness. The legs just couldnt take the pounding of my 200# butt. More hills and more running base will definitely help me next time.

Since this was my first ever iron-distance race i am totally happy with my performance and came in within my goal time despite the walking I had to do on the run. Overall I am very happy with my performance.


This was my first iron-distance race and I think it went well. Lots of great volunteers, good support from police and was overall very well run. I cant wait to do it again someday!