First Half Ironman Racine, WI

Hey Paul, 

The big thing to remember is DON'T overdo it this close!  I've had people with similar experiences and their gut reaction was to schedule as much training as possible in the last two weeks and they ended up overtraining, more prone to injury and just mentally burned out. 

Not sure what your schedule looked like before you were out, but you probably aren't in as bad of shape as you think. 

I did Racine last year and actually crashed my bike the week before and ended up w/ some nasty cuts on my knee and I tweaked my calf. I didn't run for the whole week leading up to the race, and I was super nervous about it. I ended up having a PR in all 3 events and overall. Though I had only done Branson the year before, an the bike portions are no comparison. Just take it easy to start each portion of the race, and feel it out. Being your first, you have nowhere to go but up, so feel your way through the race and open up as you feel comfortable.

I too was a collegiate athlete in soccer, and I know what you mean about knowing how to push yourself. The trick here is to NOT push yourself. At this point you're too close to the race to be concerned with going overly hard. If you've got a solid base, keep doing what you've been doing. Get some swim, bike, run in at those distances or close to it.

And for the race specifics, like others said, it's been HOT. I finished at about 95 degrees last year. There's no shade on the ride, and very few on the run. The run is very flat except for 2 quick bursts up little steep hills down by the water. Almost worth it to walk them. Last year people had sprinklers out spraying the runners as you went by, so that was very helpful. The finish is a slope downhill, so you can give a little kick at the end. For the bike, it's bumpy, but not bust your tire bumpy. Just lots of small slivers across the whole road that can get annoying. I had trouble finishing the whole race in aero, so I sat up from time to time to give my arms a break from the jolting. The bike course is also flat. I only needed to stand a few times, but mostly to stretch out the legs.

If you've got some solid heat training in, and are plenty hyrdated leading up, you should have no problem. Last thing, the swim is flat, too ;-) But the water was a little chilly, and I was perfectly fine in my sleeveless suit. There were a few swells that got my stomach going, but you get used to that. Keep an eye on the wind. Luckily it's rare for the wind to be strong that early AND be coming out of the east. The walk out is kind of rocky, but not bad, and the run out of the water is kind of long and sandy, but again, not bad.

First off thank you all for the words of advice and encouragement. I really appreciate all of the advice and additional information about the Racine race.

I have been running 8 miles a day for the last 4 runs and they have all been in 90+ weather. I live in Central Il so the heat and humidity are both here at this time. I did get a full wetsuit the other day and went out for a swim in it this afternoon. WOW what a difference the wetsuit makes while in the water. This Saturday I plan on swimming and then practice taking off my wetsuit and transitioning into the run just to get used to it. I have been hydrating non stop and because of so much water intake my appetite is not what it used to be. Thanks again and any other information will be much appreciated by this newbie.