MOOSEMAN

What a day! The temp was an unofficial 95 degrees. The sun was hot. I have to preface that I was not too sure how I was going to do today. I didn't feel that i was ready for an all out push at the 1/2 ironman distance but I proved myself wrong. I finished today's race in 4:53:34. I was more than pleased. I must first thank some friends who gave me place to crash last night and fed me a great plate of pasta and chicken. Greg and Sarah and everyone else thanks for the hospitality.


Race morning went as planned up and out the door at with all systems go. Everything was feeling pretty good. Got my gear in check and lined up my stuff. I think I debated 10 minutes on which shoes to wear for the run. I was tossing up the new Zoot and the Mizuno percision. Both treated me well on long runs so I was torn. finally picked the Zoot got on my wetsuit and off to the swim start. 0730 the gun goes off I so do I. the swim was uneventful. Grabbed onto a few sets of feet and drafted as much as I could. I thought I was harder than I remember, maybe b/c it was my first open water swim of the year. The water temp was just about right. 65. That is good for living in New England. I hit the final turn buoy and kind of put it in another gear. out of the water in 31:00.

Funny thing happened. I got a massive cramp in my hamstring when I was getting out of the water. Never happened to me before but what are you going to do. Got on the bike and started to chug Gatorade. I figured either get it all in snd try to save the race of get bloated and deal with the consequences. I also popped electrolyte tabs every 45 mins. that helped too. I had a pretty solid bike. rolled through the course with an avg of 20.6 mph. time 2:43:00.

The run was off to a pretty good start. I got off the bike ready to go. I went out at about 8:00 miles for the first four. I felt pretty good. At the second turnaround I decided to open it up a bit and pick the pace. I felt good and this was a big training test for me today. I realized breaking 5 hours was possible so I that was my new goal. I ran the last 7 miles in 51 minutes bringing my total to 1:35. I finished feeling strong, my legs where a little crampy that last mile but it was to be expected.

I was more that pleased with my race today and know that this will help put me where I need to be for Lake Placid.