Well, after two years or so of training, I braved the long haul and completed my first half ironman this past weekend. It was a beautiful day in my opinion, the sun hid behind the clouds all day, was in the high 70′s temperature wise.
Breakfast early in the morning was a banana, 4 dates, two granola bars, a little bit of gatorade. I had a cliff bar about 30 minutes before the swim. The swim went fairly well, I completed that in one hour, seven minutes. I was hoping to do it in less than an hour, but was very happy with my time.
The bike was windy! Some spots I was flying at 23 miles per hour, other spots slowed down to 12 or so. Lots of hydration on the bike, one vanilla gu in the beginning, and another cliff bar in the last few miles to prepare for the run. Completed that in three hours even! Right what I had hoped for.
The run was good overall. A little slower than I had wanted to do, finished in two hours and thirty four minutes. Walked at each water stop for a couple minutes. Had a caffeinated gu at about mile 7, and that pushed me to the finish line.
Overall six hours, and fifty minutes with transition times included. Proud to say I completed one, but I honestly don’t know how people do a full ironman. Should I take a crack at that next? Regardless, I relax this week, I’ve earned it.
I’m hoping to sell some of the triathlete wear I’ve created soon. If you like it drop me a line, I may tweak the wording a little more in the next printing. I have cycle jersey’s too!