It had been quite a long while since I did a Half Ironman, so I was very much looking forward to this race. I felt like I had forgotten the intensity at which to race a Half IM, so I was very fearful of blowing up too early. The weather forecast was calling for 25 mph winds and 38F at the start. Awesome! Fortunately, though, the temp was in the low 50's, which was much more manageable. The winds, however, were beginning to howl.
I exited the water in 4th place after what felt like an easy swim, most of it done with a small group of 3 others. At the turnaround they put on a surge and I was dropped. I definitely need to work on my "snappiness" in the water. I exited 2 min down on the leaders, and 40 seconds on the group I swam with. Unusual for me to be so far behind, but I was more focused on doing my race than on being in the mix, so 4th was ok by me. I had gloves and a jacket by my bike, but skipped it all and just went out as quickly as possible. I was cold for the first 10 minutes, but warmed up pretty quickly.
I rode alone for about 30 minutes, when Justin Daerr passed me. I tried going with him, but within a couple of minutes I realized I was pushing 15% higher watts to keep up with him, so I backed off. He went on to have the day's best ride - he was on fire! I stayed in 5th place for the remainder of the bike, riding alone.The winds REALLY picked up on the second loop of this truly urban race course. It was difficult at times to be on the aerobars.
On the run, I lost my gels when leaving transition ( flask fell and broke) so I had to count on the on-course nutrition - unfortunately, not all aid stations had gels, and my 38-someting minutes first lap was all in vain, as the pace crumbled for the second lap. With 4 miles to go I saw that was securely in 5th pace, and just jogged home to save myself for the week of training ahead. I think the quick pace of the first lap was too much on my body as have been having a foot problem all week. I can barely walk on it, and am hoping it will go away quickly.
My many thanks go out to my super supportive sponsors, without whom I would not be able to race for a living. I'd also like to thanks RaceShots.net for the photos provided for this blog and for my website - they really know how to place themselves in the race course for some amazing shots. And also thanks to the Clines family who so graciously made me very very much at home for the short time I spent in the Dallas Metroplex.
It was a good start of the year for me, and I am looking forward to the next races: The Alabama Coastal Triathlon (May3) and the Tri-America New Orleans race (May 24).
