Sit back and enjoy.  It’s a long one.  Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

Pre Race

The main task on Friday’s agenda was packet pickup.  There was no race day packet pickup (probably because of the size of the event), so I had to do my packet pickup a day early.  Unfortunately, this meant driving to and from Benton Harbor – about an hour and forty five minute drive.  The expo opened at noon and I got there at about 12:30 hoping to beat the rush.  Even getting there early, the line was wrapped around the room and down the hall.  It was about a 30 minute wait before I even got to the first registration table.  I say “first registration table” because there were 7, yes 7, steps to completing your packet pickup.  I don’t remember it being so complicated last year.

Step 1: Show USAT card (or pay for a 1 day pass) and get your bib number.

Step 2: Retrieve paper work based on number. There was even a wavier (you may die doing this event and we aren’t responsible sort of thing) and a sheet for medical notes (allergies/medications/emergency contact).

Step 3: Move to another table to read and sign the documentation (with one of the 5 pens available).

Step 4: Turn in paperwork at another table and get directed to a line to get your packet.

Step 5: Pick up packet (numbers, chip, swim cap – the essentials).  This step confused the most people because there were two tables based on numbers (below or above 1200) and it wasn’t clear where you were supposed to be.  At this step, the volunteer also wrote your number on the swim cap.  They didn’t do this last year and my volunteer wrote my number backwards the first time.  Even so, with my dark green cap, you could barely read the number.

Step 6: Pick up goody bag.  This year, we got a very nice K-Swiss drawstring backpack along with the usual food samples.

Step 7: Take your chip to the timing station to make sure it is the right one.  You basically just scan your chip and make sure your name pops up on the laptop.

Does anyone else find it ironic that packet pickup required more disciplines than the actual event (swim, bike, run)?  Even if you throw in T1 and T2, the race was more streamlined than packet pickup.

After packet pickup, I hit the obligatory Ironman store.  I got a new Steelhead 70.3 bike jersey, a Steelhead running hat, a Steelhead pint glass to add to my collection, and a sticker.  I was surprised at how much straight “Ironman” stuff they had available at a 70.3 event.  With the amount of respect and awe I have for the full Ironman event, I can’t imagine sporting anything that says Ironman unless it is accompanied by a 70.3 at this point.  It may be a brand, but it is so much more than that (at least to me). 

It wasn’t until after the expo that I actually realized I didn’t get a shirt – I didn’t miss a step, there actually wasn’t any available.  I was disappointed at first, but then we got a finisher’s shirt at the end of the race instead.  I actually like this option better because the shirt actually says “Finisher” on it.

After the expo, I headed home.  I got home around 3:00 and went out for a last minute bike ride to keep the legs loose.  I did an easy 30 minute ride in an easy gear.

After that, I did something drastic.  I’m still not sure why I did it.  It was more a mental thing than anything.  Perhaps it was seeing all the elite and top age groupers at the expo.  Maybe I was inspired by Steve In a Speedo.  Regardless of what it was, I went for the full body shave (legs, arms, chest).  Unlike Steve, I did not capture the moment on video.  You can thank me later.  I can, however, say that the look on Jennie’s face when she came home from work and saw me finishing up my legs in shower was quite priceless. 

After the shaving was complete, it was time for dinner.  Jennie made breaded chicken bites (basically healthy, homemade chicken nuggets), pierogis, and corn.  I think this is my new favorite pre-race dinner.  Easy to digest, tasty, and full of protein and nutrients.

Race Day

Race day started out very early.  3:45 AM to be exact.  I figured that we would have to leave around 4:30AM in order to get to Benton Harbor with enough time to setup my transition area.  We were about 10 miles away from the race site when it started to rain.  Parking was about a mile away from the transition area, but they had a shuttle for spectators.  So, Jennie hopped on the shuttle while I biked to the transition area.  I was able to fit all my gear in (or tied to) my backpack, which made it easy to get everything there.  I had my gear setup in no time – it gets easier every time.  I covered my shoes with a towel and my backpack hoping to keep them as dry as possible. 

After the transition area was set, Jennie and I hopped back on the shuttle to the car.  The transition area closed at 6:45AM and I was in the 18th and last swim wave of the day, so I didn’t actually start until 8:49AM.  I tried to take a little nap in the car, but I kept worrying.  First, I was worried that they would change the race to a duathlon.  There wasn’t any lightning or thunder, but you never know how they will decide things.  Second, the swim has two different starting points depending on the flow of the current (you swim with the current) and I forgot to check which way that would be.  Thankfully, another athlete was getting into his car and he knew for sure that they were starting at the same location as last year.

After resting for almost an hour, Jennie and I finally headed over to the swim start.  As we got to the beach, the rain was letting up and the sun was peeking through the clouds.

The Swim

When we got to the swim start, they were only on wave 13 and I was wave 18, so I still had some time to wait.  I headed out to the water and practiced my starts, made sure my goggles weren’t leaking and adjusted to the water.  The water was the perfect temperature for a swim – probably around 74*F.

Finally, it was time for my start.  As if on cue, Love and Memories by O.A.R. started playing over the speakers as we entered the holding area.  This song would be in my head for most of the bike ride.  However, as much as I love O.A.R., I’m not sure a song with the line “Drowning deep inside your water” is appropriate for a swim start.  That was followed by Start Me Up by the Rolling Stones (make sure to follow the link if you have forgotten what a classic 80’s music video looks like) as the horn went off.

 

I started off near the front of the wave.  After watching the previous waves, I noticed that everyone at the halfway point or further back was restrained to walking to almost the first buoy before they started to swim.  I wanted to be more aggressive than that, so I took off with a charge doing dolphin diving starts.  At the second buoy (the first turn buoy), I took a light kick to the face.  It wasn’t enough to knock my goggles off, but it did let a tiny bit of water in.  Not enough to stop and fix, but enough to be annoying.

How cool is the rainbow framing the swim start??

After that first incident at the turn buoy, the swim was relatively contact free.  I did have one swimmer who actually swam perpendicular to me cutting me off.  I was worried I was headed off in the wrong direction, but when I checked my line, I was right on target.  Apparently the other swimmer was just taking off to the Wisconsin side of the lake.

The course was orange buoys, then red buoys, then green buoys, then one last orange buoy for the final turn.  I passed 3 orange buoys and then 3 red buoys.  So using my deductive reasoning, I figured there would be 3 green buoys.  After the 2nd green buoy, I really picked up the pace only to see a 4th green buoy in the distance.  Then a 5th and a 6th.  Well, so much for making sense.

About halfway through the swim, the neckline of my wetsuit started rubbing despite applying body glide to my neck.  I tried to adjust the neck during the swim, but gave up fixing it.  Today, I have a good sized chafing mark on the back of my neck that is a little tender.  Oh well, that is the price to pay for a fast swim I guess.

Thankfully, I had a group of swimmers that I was able to draft off of for the second half of the course.  I’m not very good at drafting and really never drafted off of one person consistently, but there was about 5 or 6 swimmers in front of me that I would bounce back and forth between. 

Finally, I hit the final orange buoy and turned into shore.  As I hit the shore, I looked at my watch and was shocked to see 32:XX minutes.  Holy cow!  The swim included a run across the beach to the first timing mat which added about a minute to my timing, giving me an official time of 33:47 (1:35/100yds).

Trying to run through the sand with my mom, Nancy, and brother in the background cheering me on.

Running through the sand was very tough after the swim.  It was like my legs didn’t want to move.  Here I am demonstrating the proper hunched over method of stumbling to the transition area.  As you can see, the swimmer behind me was copying my strategy.

Rank: 514/1786 Overall, 57/167 AG

T1

Both of my transition times were much longer than previous races.  This is mainly because of the size of the transition area.  It was nearly .1 miles long with racks stretching end to end.

When I got to the transition area, I was pleasantly surprised to see that my backpack and towel had kept my gear completely dry.  Yay!  I was able to slip out of my wetsuit without actually sitting down to save time.  However, I did take time to put on socks for the bike ride.  I probably would have skipped them if they were wet, but I was going to need them on the run anyways.

Total time: 3:28.

Rank: 60/167 AG

The Bike

I was sort of worried about the bike.  Not because I didn’t feel ready, but because while I was loading my bike on Friday, I noticed that the crack on my saddle was more than superficial. I had just assumed that the material covering the saddle was torn (it has been torn for at least a year).  However, upon closer inspection, there was a solid crack on the bottom of the saddle extending from both sides.  Yikes!  I had a moment of panic that it would break halfway through the ride.  Thankfully it held out.  I guess now is the time to start looking for a new saddle.  Recommendations??

Doesn’t look that bad does it?  Well, if you could only see the bottom of it. 
Couldn’t get a good photo of it though, unfortunately.

On to the actual bike.  I still can’t get over how well it went.  I was able to stay aero for about 95% of the ride.  All but the aid stations, turns, and two of the hill climbs.  That is a huge improvement for me.

The first couple miles is a false flat, which is sort of defeating until you realize that you are going uphill.  After the first couple of miles, I really settled into a good pace.  I was seeing 21 mph, 22 mph, and even 24 mph when I would check my bike computer.  However, at that time, I really couldn’t tell which way (if at all) the wind was blowing.  Last year, the wind was out of the south, resulting in a head wind for the final 17 miles.

As the course moved on, I continued to pass people while maintaining a steady pace.  I passed the first aid station without taking anything.  I still had half of my aero bottle (with fruit punch Gatorade) plus a water bottle each of water and Gatorade.  However, at the second aid station, my aero bottle was empty so I decided to refill it.  Now, let me tell you.  My aid station technique was flawless.  I don’t mean to brag (oh wait, of course I do), but people will be telling their grandchildren about it someday.  Keep in mind that I have absolutely no practice taking a water bottle on the bike let alone filling an aero bottle on the go.  So, I winged it.  As I approached, I shouted, “Gatorade and Goo”.  A volunteer ran alongside me to hand me the lemon-lime Gatorade while I snatched a Goo (actually a Powerbar gel that was remarkably good – raspberry cream, I think) from the next volunteer.  I quickly popped the top off the Gatorade, filled my aero drink on the go (easier said than done), shot the gel, and still got my trash tossed by the end of the end of the aid station.  All without dropping below 15 mph.  As I pulled away from the aid station, I was shocked that it had worked so well and that I didn’t end up in a bloody heap halfway through.  On a semi-related note:  A small amount of fruit punch Gatorade mixed with lemon-lime Gatorade (probably a 1:10 ratio) is the new taste sensation.

On a funny note, as I entered the aid station, there was a sign that said “Shout what you want” and then a list of what they had.  The list contained “Gatorade, Water, Gel, Bananas, Worms, Minnows”.  Wait, what?!?? Worms? Minnows?  Then I saw the Mylar fish balloon.  Get it yet?  Steelhead are also known as rainbow trout, the trout being Michigan’s state fish.  I had a good chuckle after I realized their sense of humor.

Shortly after I went through the aid station, I hit the halfway point.  I was still feeling great at this point, but kept telling myself I should ease up a bit and save my legs.  But every time I started to ease up, I would see a rider in front of me and think.  Ok, I’ll pass them and then ease up.  That went on for the next 28 miles. 

At about mile 30, there was a rider stranded on the side of the road (lots of flats, just like last year).  I asked he needed a tube.  He did, so I tossed him my spare and wished him good luck as I went by.  I gave up my only spare last year, too.  Risky, I know, but good bike karma is priceless.

By mile 35, I had figured out that the wind was again out of the south and I would have a head wind for the final stretch.  Undeterred, I pushed on.  The wind wasn’t as bad as last year.  Plus, with the last 17 miles being a net downhill, the two pretty much countered each other. 

The last mile or so is on a narrow bike path with no passing allowed passing discouraged, which gave me a chance spin my legs easily for a bit.  I did pass a couple of people who were trying to slip out of their shoes before the dismount.  That is one thing I don’t think I’ll ever try.  Not only am I afraid of doing a face plant, but I fail to see the time savings.  Every time I see someone slipping out of their shoes, their speed drops considerably.  I’d rather keep my speed up until the very end and not worry about falling.

Total time: 2:42:03 (20.7mph) (1:21:XX/1:20:XX negative splits!)

Rank: 592/1786 Overall, 61/167 AG

T2

The second transition was quicker than the first one as usual (less to do).  However, someone on my rack had laid out both their towel and wetsuit (assuming it was the same person) on the bike rack to dry taking up about half the rack.  Not a huge deal, but pretty inconsiderate for the riders coming in.

Total time: 2:58

Rank 53/167 AG

The Run

As the run was starting, it was really starting to warm up.  The rain was long gone and we were left with a blue sky and the sun beating down.  I sort of wished for some more clouds and even a bit of rain at that point.

Where did the clouds and rain go?  I’m sorry I was cursing you this morning.  Please come back!

As I left on the run, the guy to my right pointed to the “Mount Here” sign that was leftover from the bike start and said, “Mount here? I don’t have anything to mount.”  I looked over and replied, “Didn’t they tell you?  This is where I jump on your back and you carry me the rest of the way.”  We had a good laugh over that.

Overall, the run sucked.  Let me first add a disclaimer.  Overall, I am extremely happy with how the race went.  I had a great time and I really have nothing to complain about.  However, that said, out of the three events, the run posed the most problems and is the area I feel could use some improvement.

In my opinion, this is a pretty tough half marathon course to begin with.  Add in the rising temperature and having already done 57.2 miles and it becomes a suckfest really quickly.

As soon as I started to run, my lower back started to hurt.  This happened to me during last year’s race, but has never happened to me at any other race or bike ride.

I started off by walking up the first hill.  It starts less than a mile into the course and my legs still hadn’t returned to normal after the bike ride.  I figured that running up the giant hill wasn’t going to help speed up the process.

After the first hill, I started a run to each aid station, walk the aid station taking water or Gatorade, and then run again plan.  The course is 1.5 miles out, followed by two 4.5 mile loops and then 1.5 miles back.

The first lap wasn’t too bad.  There were a lot of people on the course with some on their 2nd lap and others on their first like me.  The extra people made it easier to stay motivated and keep running.  I ended up walking the 2nd hill, too.  As I started walking, another guy continued to run past me.  Once he reached the top, I started counting.  He only gained about 10 seconds on me by running versus walking.  Not worth killing my legs for 10 seconds.

By the second lap, my legs had had enough.  There were fewer people on the course as many of the runners had finished both laps.  My aid station walks grew longer and longer as I took two waters and a cup of ice at each.  As I climbed the second hill (walking again), I looked over at the woman next to me and asked, “Would you think less of me if I started crawling?”  She laughed and said no and asked to join me.

When I reached the top of the second hill, there was only about 2 miles to go.  I had a renewed spirit and charged ahead (“charged” being a relative term).  I managed to run almost all of the last two miles with only a quick stop at one of the aid stations.

When I hit mile 13, I was stoked.  The last .1 is lined with cheering fans shouting your name (first names were included on the bib – very cool).  I gave it all I had and motored across the finish line.  I glanced down to see 5:29:XX on my watch! YAY!

Run time: 2:07:05 (9:43 min/mile) (:58:XX/1:08:XX splits)

Rank: 972/1786 Overall 102/167 AG

Overall

Overall, I am super happy with this race.  Other than bonking on the run, I met all of my goals.  And I now have an official Half Ironman PR of 5:29:21!

My main supporter, photographer, pack mule, and loving wife.

My mom, brother, and Nancy (brother’s g/f) all came out to cheer me on.  Thanks guys!

Official Results

Total Time:	5:29:21
Overall Place:	649/1786
Gender Place:	593/1292
Age Group Place:	72/167
Swim Rank:	514
Swim Time:	33:47
T1 Time:	3:28
Bike Rank:	592
Bike Time:	2:42:03
Bike Pace:	20.7mph
T2 Time:	2:58
Run Rank:	972
Run Time:	2:07:05
Run Pace:	9:43 min/mile

Famous Runners

First off, Regina at Chiu on This tipped me off to the fact that Aaron Scheidies was racing Steelhead.  Aaron is a legally blind triathlete who is simply amazing.  He took 4th in my age group (25-29) with a time of 4:22:21!  He is currently the only disabled athlete to have broken 2 hours in the Olympic distance.  I really wish I would have seen him in action, and I actually might have without realizing it.  He was in my swim wave so I should have seen him.  Jennie said that his guides had shirts with eye charts on the front of them which I vaguely remember seeing on the run, but never put two and two together.

After the run, I had lunch with some of the pros.  By “had lunch with”, I mean they were sitting at the table next to me.  I was able to snag a picture of Matty White who took 3rd overall with a time of 3:55:22.

Funny Runners

Jennie caught pictures of these two runners. The guy on the left is rocking a pair of plastic glasses with flip up lenses.  Pair that with the tummy shirt and purple shorts and you have one kick ass race suit.  Next up is the groom of the day.  He had an actual tri top – it was just designed as a tuxedo.  This almost tops Steve In A Speedo’s leisure suit bike jersey.

 

What’s Next?

This was definitely my A race of the season.  However, it isn’t the last race of the season.  The current plan is two more sprints and another half Ironman distance race.  I’m planning on the Millennium Triathlon next weekend.  This is a short sprint race (500m swim, 14 mile bike, 3 mile run).  It was rained out last year, so I am hoping that the weather cooperates this year.  After that is a potential half Iron distance (not an Ironman-branded race) up in Petoskey.  My in-laws are vacationing there in early August, so I am going to check out the course and decide whether or not to sign up.  Probably about an 80% chance of registering at this point.  Finally, I hope to close out the season with the Reeds Lake Triathlon.  Another sprint tri and the one I have closed out the season with the past two years.

Thanks for reading!  One of these days, I’ll figure out how to write a shorter race report!

I’m DONE (in more ways than one – read on).

First, I had a great race this morning.  Thanks for all the encouraging comments everyone!  And thanks to my lovely wife and to mom, brother, and Nancy (g/f of said brother) for making the trek out to Benton Harbor to cheer.

Full details to come, but here is the nitty gritty.  I started off by knocking the swim out of the park.  I still have no idea where it came from.  Official time was 33:47 (1:46/100yds) but that included a minute run to the timing mat.  I was shore to shore in 32:43.  Onto the bike.  I thought my swim was good.  But the bike, Holy Freaking Cow.  2:42:03 for just under a 21mph average.  On top of that, I negative split the bike by about 2 minutes on the second half.  It was incredible.  However, it toasted my legs for the run.  Coupled with tired legs and a hot sun beating down on us, I didn’t hit my 2 hour goal for the run.  I ended up with 2:07:05 (9:42/mile).  I’m very happy with the race overall.  Final time… 5:29:21 (nearly 40 minutes faster than last year) and right where I wanted to be! Couldn’t be happier.

And now for the second doneness.  You’d think I would have learned by now.  Not just by others “mistakes” (Sorry Jon, but as soon as I discovered the problem, I thought of your Timberman (I think) race), but more so from my own.  Here’s what happens when a race starts with rain (no sun) and then the sun comes out with a vengeance on the bike/run.

Looks like I am making friends with the bottle of aloe tonight.  Thankfully it is just my shoulder blades.  I did actually take time to apply sunscreen during T2, but I guess I need longer fingers.

Stay tuned!

Well. It is 6:45 which means 2 hours until my swim wave starts. The first wave goes out in 15 minutes accompanied by some light rain showers. At this point, I’m sure that all of my gear is thoroughly soaked through so even if the rain lets up, I’ll be racing in wet shoes. Oh well. Just gotta roll with the punches and make the most of it. At least I don’t have to worry about heat stroke or sunburn.

I forgot to check whether or not there is live tracking at ironman.com for this race. If there is, I’m bib number 2065 if you want to follow me.

I think I’ll take a short nap now. Nothing else to do. In fact, the rain is sort of peaceful on the roof of the car. Zzzzzzz….

Tool time!  Taper time!

Yep, less than a week until the Steelhead 70.3 which means it is time to rest up.  I’ve logged the hours, put in the time and effort, and now, as Kristin and Lindsay say, “The hay is in the barn.”

My training for this year began on February 1st for my Racing for Recovery Tri in June and continued on after that.  Since that time,

• I’ve logged 673 miles in my Brooks in 91 hours, 21 minutes
• That’s the 13.1 mile distance more than 51 times
• I’ve logged 2,181 miles on the bike in 120 hours, 2 minutes
• That’s the 56 mile distance nearly 39 times.
• I only logged 2,612 miles in all of 2009
• I’ve logged 9, 50+ mile rides
• I biked my first century
• I’ve logged 85.13 miles in the pool in 48 hours, 26 minutes
• That’s the 1.2 mile distance nearly 71 times.
• PR-ed the Marathon distance with a 3:34 in April
• Semi-PR-ed the HIM distance at Racing for Recovery (shortened course)

My goals for Steelhead are as follows:

• Log an official 70.3 PR on a full course.  Ideally in the 5:20 – 5:30 range. (I finished in 6:08 last year)
• Don’t bonk on the run.  I’d love to see an 8:00 minute pace (or better) for the run.  (I completely bonked last year and moseyed in with a 2:14 run split)
• Have fun!

Here’s to hoping I don’t go taper crazy!

Lastly, a prayer of thanksgiving as Jennie walked away unscathed from a potentially serious car accident today.  The last thing I wanted to see when I got home from my bike ride was a text message mentioning the accident and missed call from her.  Some bone head was in the left turn lane of a 55mph road and decided he didn’t want to turn anymore so he turned back into the flow of traffic leaving Jennie no choice but to slam on her brakes and skid out onto a side street.  The two cars behind her didn’t share her cat like reflexes and it ended up being a 4 car accident.  Thankfully Jennie was unharmed and although less important, the car had very little damage; a couple of scratches and some paint transfer.  I’m glad to see that her guardian angel was on duty and paying attention!  I can’t imagine what I would do without her!

We are finally back home and unpacked from a long weekend.  Now I have a chance to think back and do a full race report for Steelhead.  Sit back and enjoy!

Pre Race Day

On Friday, I headed down to Benton Harbor for the race expo and packet pick up because there was no race morning pickup.  As I entered the expo, they had a sign with the swim wave starts.  I was disappointed to see that I was in wave 18; the very last wave.  It meant that I wouldn’t be starting until nearly 2 hours after everyone else.  Jennie and I had plans on the other side of the state for the afternoon and this would push those back even further.

There I am – dead last.

After checking the swim waves, I picked up my packet and then checked out some of the booths.  I ended up buying some Ironman 70.3 garb from one of the booths.  I got a bike jersey, a 70.3 pint glass for my collection, a water bottle, and some stickers.  The line was forever long; close to 30 minutes just to checkout.

The race director giving a turn by turn
description of the bike course.

Next stop was a race talk where they went over the course and all the rules.  Nothing I really haven’t heard before, but I would rather not be surprised come race day.  I decided that after the talk, I would drive to the start and scope out parking and what it would actually be like on race morning.  It was a beautiful day and I could only hope for more of the same come race day.  After that, I finally headed home to get some dinner and head to bed early.

The transition areas seemed very well organized.  More importantly, the water looked very calm with hardly any chop.

 
This is where my bike would be on race day.

Race Morning

Our morning started at 3:30 when the alarm went off – way too early for my liking.  However, we had decided that it wasn’t worth finding a place to stay Friday night in Benton Harbor when it was only an hour and a half away.  I had packed almost everything the night before, so it was just a matter of eating breakfast (left over mac ‘n cheese) and getting dressed.  We were out the door by the 4:30 planned time, however, we had to turn around 10 minutes out because I left my water bottles in the fridge.  Normally, I put a sticky note on the back door to remind me, but for some reason I didn’t do that this race.  Despite having to turn back, we still made it to Benton Harbor shortly after 6:00 am.  We got a pretty good parking spot; better than some of the people that got there earlier than us.  Because we were about a mile away from the transition area, I hopped on my bike and rode there.

Racked and ready to go

Setting up the transition area went very well.  On my way into the transition, I spotted D, who I met a few days ago at the pool.  I also met a couple of the other people who were racked nearby me.  The racks were organized by age group/swim wave, so we were all able to lament about the late start.  One of the guys next to me was in the middle of a move from Philadelphia to San Diego, and this was one of his stops along the way.  And I thought a cross country move would be hard enough on its own.  After making sure everything was ready to go, I headed out of the transition area before they closed.

Pre Swim

Because we had about two hours to kill before my swim wave actually started, Jennie and I headed back to the car where I grabbed a PB&J, a banana, and some Gatorade.  Then we headed over to the swim start to wait.  I caught a few Z’s before I had to line up.

  
Headed to beach to catch some Z’s before the swim start. 

My beautiful and wonderful support crew and photographer.

Swim

The swim went AWESOME.  I still can’t get over how well I did and how good I felt doing it.  After my bad experience with Lake Michigan at the Grand Haven Tri, I was much better prepared for what to expect.  At the start, I hung back just a bit and took my time heading out to the first buoy.  The course was similar to the Grand Haven Tri where we swam out to a buoy, turned, and then swam parallel to the shore for a mile before turning back in.  Once I turned, I settled in and started plugging away at it.  It was less choppy than Grand Haven, so I was able to do a bit of breathing on both sides, but it was easier to just breathe on the shore side.  My only complaint about the swim course is that the buoys seemed awfully far apart and as you passed one buoy, it was difficult to see where the next one was in the distance.  As I swam, I settled into a 10 or so strokes and then sight the next buoy.  I managed to stay pretty tight to the buoy line for the most part and only had to swim back out once to make it around the buoy.  The yellow turn buoy appeared much sooner than I expected.

As I headed up to the shore, D was cheering on the swimmers and I gave him a high 5.  Shore to shore, my time was around 38 minutes; officially it was 39:25 including the run to the transition area.  Either way, that is about a 1:50 / 100 yards average; way better than my 2:10 / 100 yards at Grand Haven.

T1

The first transition went very smoothly.  One of the things I like about not having an “official” triathlon wetsuit is that it is easy to get off.  I think it is a bit looser than some of the tri-specific wet suits, so I never have to struggle with it.  I took some extra time in the transition to wipe the sand off my feet before slipping on my shoes.  I figured the extra time was worth the comfort of avoiding chaffing on the bike.

 

Headed out on the bike.  See how sunny it still is??
That’ll change soon.

Bike

As I headed out on the bike, I was all alone.  I didn’t see any other bikes for nearly a mile.  Very weird after just doing a tri where it was shoulder to shoulder for the first few miles.  I weaved around some side streets before heading out on the open road.  I finally started to catch up to some more cyclists and got passed by some as well – at least I knew I was in the right place.  About 7 miles into the bike, there was a cyclist off to the side with a frustrated look on his face.  I stopped to see if he had everything he needed to get going again on his bike.  It was already his 3rd flat of the day ,and he had gone through his 2 spares.  I gave him my one and only spare knowing that bike karma is priceless.  It paid off, I didn’t need it in the end.

The first half of the bike was awesome.  I was feeling great and pushing a 19 mph hour pace over the first half of the course.  I was passing more people than passed me, which is always a good feeling.  There were a few hills that I felt like I flew up.

At about the 35 mile mark, the bike ride turned miserable.  The wind was about 15 mph or so out of the SSW ,and we were headed west.  At about 40 miles, we turned south and it got even worse.  For the final 15 or so miles, we were headed directly into the wind.  I felt like I was pushing even harder than the first half of the course, but was only averaging around 15 mph.  By this point, the pain was starting to settle in and my arms and back started to ache.  Pushing hard into the wind didn’t help the cause.  By the time I got back to the transition area, my pace had dropped to 17.8 mph with the second half of the course taking almost 25 minutes longer than the first half.

Had I known how the aid stations on the bike worked, I would have planned a bit different for my bike hydration.   I had loaded up my bike with 3 water bottles and no open holders.  The aid stations were handing out full sport bottles of Gatorade and water.  Had I known that, I would have left one holder open so that I could swap out a fresh bottle at each aid station.  With the way it was, I had to hold on to the bottle while I drank it, which wasn’t very convenient.  Overall though, I had plenty of fluid throughout the course and never felt like I was going to run out.  There was one aid station where the volunteer forgot to take off the seal from the Gatorade bottle, so I had to stop to remove it.  Might have lost a few seconds, but it was worth it because I was able to refill one of my own water bottles rather than just taking a few sips and tossing it aside.

T2

After I got off the bike, my legs were beat.  I walked though the transition rather than jogged to give them a break.  It would have been difficult to run anyways because there was so much gear strewn about.  Nearly everyone else had already been through the transition area, so there were wetsuits, bike, shoes, etc. all over the path – another of the downsides to being the last wave.

 
Headed out on the run.  Still feeling pretty good.

Run

Never have I had such a crappy run.  Running is usually my strong leg, but not this time.  I didn’t think the run would be all that bad.  Just a half marathon, I told myself.  I’ve done full marathons before and half of that is easy.  What I forgot to take into account is that it isn’t just a half marathon, it is the second half of a marathon.  I headed out with a slow and steady jog.  My back was killing me and every step seemed to irritate it even more.  At the first mile, I turned and started up a gigantic hill.  No way I thought, so I walked up it rather than waste my energy a mile into the run.  I continued to run between aid stations while walking the aid stations and the hills.  There were 3 total hills I walked (the first one and the same one twice – once on each loop).  About half way through the run, it started to rain.  Up until this point, it had been fairly good weather.  It started off sunny and warm at the start, but gradually cooled down and clouded up, which was actually nice because it kept me from overheating on the bike.  I could have done without the rain though.  It was just sort of demoralizing.  Kind of like, “Hey, you’ve been at this for 5 hours now, how about a little rain to make it even harder.”

I never really felt like I found a groove on the run.  My legs felt fine, I really didn’t have the brick feeling I normally get with running after a bike ride.  It was just my back that was so sore.  After doing two 5 mile loops, I headed back to the finish line.  It was finally starting to sink in at mile 11 that I was almost done.

Amidst the rain and wind, I pushed as hard as I could for the last mile and down the straight away towards the finish.  Finished.  Finally.

 
Completely beat at the finish.

Finally enough energy to smile.  And yes, the medal is real.

Overall

Overall I ended up 6:08:28.  I am very happy with the time, however, I would always like to do better.  On the bike, I was thinking that I could get under six hours, but that mindset changed when I turned back into the wind.  It’s too bad my run was so slow or I could have picked up the time there.  Oh well.  My goal was 6:15 and I beat that, so no more complaining.

Post Race

After finishing, Jennie and I headed to the pavilion to figure out what to do next.  It was a steady rain by this point, so everyone was trying to crowd in.  I was not at all hungry at this point, which was strange because all I had was liquids on the course.  We decided to just pack it up and head out rather than stick around in the cold rain.  I loaded up my gear and then biked ahead back to the car so that I could pick up Jennie halfway as she walked in the rain.  Though thoroughly soaked, we still headed across the state for Jennie’s grandparents’ 50th wedding anniversary celebration.  I was actually in pretty good shape other than my back.  My legs were a little crampy, but they never got to the point where they completely tightened up on me.  On the way, I finally got my appetite back and we settled on some greasy McDonalds, which really hit the spot.  I also chugged a bottle of chocolate milk (the best recovery drink ever) I had brought with me.

It is finally over, I am a half Ironman.  I can now put the 70.3 sticker in the back window of my car.  I couldn’t be happier.  Time to relax.  At least until next weekend…

More pictures in the Gallery.

Official Results

Total Time:	6:08:28
Overall Place:	1004/1660
Gender Place:	795/1181
Age Group Place:	102/144
Swim Rank:	985
Swim Time:	39:25 (1:50/100 yds)
T1 Time:	3:12
Bike Rank:	1117
Bike Time:	3:08:37
Bike Pace:	17.8 mph
T2 Time:	3:20
Run Rank:	944
Run Time:	2:13:56
Run Pace:	10:13 min/mile