Well, the big day came and went.  I was very excited for the race because my buddy Rhett and I have been training since March for this half Ironman.  It did not go as well as I would have liked but I learned a lot and I felt like I improved a lot in a few areas when compared to my first half Ironman.  I felt very healthy and I had no nagging injuries or problems with my body for the race. 

I got up at 5am after a pretty good night sleep considering I was racing the next morning and headed to the race.  I had half a bowl of oatmeal and half a banana.  I only forgot 1 thing and my awesome wife was nice enough to bring it to me.  I owe her for that one.  I hung out in the transition area for a while just talking with Rhett and a few other people and tried to keep my nerves in check.  About 25 minutes before the swim was to start I put the wetsuit on and gathered what I needed and headed out to the beach.  I was nervous, but not as nervous as I was for my first Half Ironman.

SWIM:  1.2 miles @ 30.13

It was a beach start so after the race director said a few words a mass of people headed out to the water.  It was a mass start so EVERYONE doing the full and half distances started at the same time.  The water was perfect and I really enjoyed the swim.  I tried to stay on the outside of everyone so I did not get punched and kicked too much, but some of the areas of the swim were very crowded so there were a couple times it was tough to get some spacing.  Overall I was very happy with my swim.

T1:  5:18

I thought I got out of the T1 faster than I did but I guess not.  I was not impressed with my ability to get out of my wetsuit and get all the stuff I needed for the ride.  This is an area I really need to improve on and get much faster.  This is a small thing, but can make a big difference in the overall time.  I was faster than last year, but not by much.  I will work on this for next year.  At T1 a took in a 5 hour energy and I think this could have contributed to problems later in the race.  Next year, no 5 hour energy at any part of the race.

Bike:  56 miles @ 2:55:44

I felt really good on the bike and thankfully my bike worked great and had no mechanical problems.  For most of the race I pretty much rode alone.  There was nobody really by me most of the time.  Most everyone I came by I passed pretty quickly.  My legs felt really good up until about mile 48.  At mile 48 I started to feel some sight tightness/cramping in my right quad.  This was a bad sign of things to come.  It really started when I went up the fist steep hill on the second loop.  I decided I should try to let the legs relax just a little so I slowed my pace for the last 8 miles to try to let my legs recover.  I think I could have been about 3-5 minutes faster had I not let my legs rest, but I figured I needed to save my legs for the run.  I felt good with my effort on the bike and I actually was pretty far ahead of most of the people in my age group at this point.

T2:  3:33

By the time I got to T2 I had to pee really bad.  I got my shoes on and took 3 endurolyte pills (I was very concerned about cramping on the run after what I felt on the bike) and used the restroom.  Due to the bathroom break my T2 time was much slower than I would have liked.  Looking back, I should have used the restroom right before I put on my wetsuit.  Yet another lesson I learned with this race.

Run:  13.1 miles @ 2:18:55

This is where things went south for me.  I started the first .5 miles well, but after a very steep part of the run my quads cramped up and boy did they cramp up.  By this time I was very upset and I was actually worried about being able to finish the race.  I stopped for about 2-3 minutes and sat down on the sidewalk.  I got up and started running again and made it about another .25 miles before I started having signifigant pain and cramping.  Again, I had to stop.  A lady game me some salt sticks that I took to try to help with the cramps.  After about 2-3 minutes for sitting on the curb again I got up and started to run again at a very slow pace.  I made it to the first aid station and started to down HEED, water, and bananas.  I sat down on a park bench for about 5 minutes and then started running again.  I was able to run to the second aid station, with the exception of walking up a steep hill, where I took in more of the same stuff I had at the fist aid station.  From there I basically was able to run from aid station to aid station.  At each aid station I would stop and make sure I took in plenty of fluids and pretzels.  My quads were cramping the whole time and it was very painful to run, but I was at least able to run which I was very thankful for.  By about mile 12 my mind and legs were just use to the cramps so they did not hurt nearly as much and I was able to pick up the pace a little and finish the run portion of the race strong.

Race Summary:  5:53:44 (52 minutes faster than 2013 Pumpkin Man Half Ironman)

I was happy to finish and PR the race, but I was disappointed with the run.  I learned a lot that I can use for my Half Ironman next year and I plan to train a little different.  More brick workouts and more running longer distances when my legs are tired.  I felt like my bike and swim improved a lot from a year ago, but my run was almost exactly the same as last year, and I mean within seconds.  Without cramps I likely would have improved substantially on my run from last year and knowing that will bug me for the next year.  Overall I had a great time and I can't wait to do it again next year.