Rock 'N RollMan Half Iron Triathlon - Triathlon1/2 Ironman

Swim was great. I took it easy and swam a steady pace. The sun was angled into my breathing site making siting difficult. Not too much trouble with crowding. Swim time included run up to TA - out of water time was 40mins. Wet suit chaffed the top of my neck, the one place I did not apply body glide.

I took it fairly conservatively so I could probably give it a little more exertion to improve time.

TA was fairly fast. Executed to the flying mount well. Leg cramped slightly as I tried to get my foot into shoe.

Course was described as rolling hills and boy they aren't kidding. Not a flat anywhere to be found. Slow climbs and fast descents left the impression of always climbing which started to frustrate me. I did well operating with thin the drafting rules and passed quickly and dropped back when necessary. I had a solid conservative ride. Nutrition was perfect drinking Heed and gel on bike and with water at each aid station. Nursed a mixture of Heed and Sustained Energy and popped about 8 endurolytes over the 3 hrs.

Push the pace a little more aggressively. I never had any problems but I think I slowed my calorie intake toward the end of the bike as I started to get close to the barn. Need to keep calories coming in.

Executed TA well. Slipped off helmet, popped on shoes and grabbed visor and out I went.

Again with the hills!! Strange perception of always going up hill was very frustrating. The aid stations were fantastic. I donned a wet towel at each station. Drank a cup of heed and sipped a little water and poured the rest on my head to keep cool. I ran conservatively but never had any problems. I kept the heart rate around 158 - 160 but it would creep up on the hills. I walked the aid stations but ran the entire way otherwise. Never had any cramping and picked off a few death marchers along the latter 4-5 miles.

Nutrition was OK but probably should have popped one or two more gels. in latter half of the run.

Grabbed some fluids and went to sit in the lake for a while. Had some minor foot cramps but all in all felt great. Had a little lunch and a couple of cold beers then pakced up the gear and drove back to Charlotte.


Having not done the distance before I probably could have gone a little harder. I need to work on my strength on the hills and while my nutrion worked I need to make sure I carry it out to the end of each leg. I had a tendancy to drift off toward the latter half of the bike and run.


This was a training race for my attempt at IMLOU in augie. I had a steady conservative race. I think I can push the half distance a little harder next time and improve my times. Nonetheless, I was very pleased with the results and now have a benchmark to PR against. Plus, to put it in perspective: 5:55 race time, 2:00 of post race dawdling, 5:30 drive home, 0:30 to uunpack and grab a beer on balcony, and maybe, just maybe I will be finished with full iron in same amount of time.