senatorw

Hey,

Just want to say that it IS possible to complete a Half Ironman, even if you suck, and even with little prior experience. I'm not talking about setting any blazing speed records here, but I just finished before the cutoff the Hawaii 70.3 and the only two tris I have done before were Sprint Distances. In one, I quit the swim at the first buoy, having redlined and blown up. In the second, I finished it, but an oil spill in the San Francisco Bay cancelled the swim portion, so I don't really count that.

Because I know this forum attracts more first timers than others on the Net, I thought this might be helpful motivation. At least you don't have to mindlessly follow those who say you need to do Olympic distances for a year or two before you move up to HIM. I trained seriously only for 9 weeks, and I am competing on a knee that was surgically repaired (rebuilt) twice in 2006 and only had the hardware removed from my knee in January of this year (for those who know the knee, it was a broken tibial plateau in skiing accident, which is one of the hardest places to repair because it bears all weight).

At any rate, I finished, which was a big achievement. I mostly walked (or run-walked) the run, which was all I could do since my docs won't let me train for the run. My reasonable goal was about 8 hours, which I missed by 8 minutes. Because I know it doesn't happen unless there are splits, here they are (such as they are), in very tough conditions this year on the swim/bike:

Swim: 50:21
Bike: 3:54
Run: 3:11

Total: 8:08

cjbruin

Congrats! That is a great race...it was my first Half too. I hope you had lots of Mai Tai's after the race.

By the way, you had 22 minutes until the cutoff...that isn't "just".

Cheers.
-CJ

Jagee

Way to go! Especially in the face of injury and recovery, that's a seriously impressive accomplishment. What motivated you to go from sprint to half Ironman distance? That's a hell of a leap! How did you go from stopping in a sprint distance swim to finishing a half Ironman swim?

senatorw

Thanks. Well for the Donner Sprint 07 I hadn't really started training much. I got myself ready to swim just about exactly 500 yards on a whim. I had attended the Donner Tri 06 (about a month before I found out the first knee surgery failed) to watch a good buddy do the Olympic and got totally inspired by some 70+ guy who was completing his 15th triathlon. He told me to take it easy, and go slow, but I didn't know any better, and the altitude didn't help. I hitched a ride on a jet ski but when I found my buddy, he made me cross the mat and I finished the bike and run. After the run, I felt so bad for having failed that I jumped into the water without my wetsuit and finished to swim, just to prove to myself that I could do it.

After that, I learned a lesson about HTFU, and planned not to quit anymore. I was convinced by my buddy that I could jump to HIM that it really wasn't that big of a jump. I wasn't sure I believed him, but if you are planning to mostly walk the run, I figured maybe he was right. Having discovered road biking in between the two surgeries, I have done a bunch of centuries and half centuries so I figured I could manage the bike. I was a decent swimmer (swam one year in high school, way, way back in 1980) so I figured I could learn that too.

Took a swim lesson and learned about efficiency (though I still am not that efficient) and put in a lot of yardage during the 9 weeks before (about 9K-12k a week). The rest is history. I was determined to finish the Hawaii 70.3 no matter what. Early in the run, I was worried about the cutoff, and resolved to finish the course even if I missed it. It was a tough day, the pros (Macca and McGlone) said it was the toughest day in at least three years there, but I made it--with the help of some of my newest best friends I will never see again and whose names I will never really know.

Of all of it, the swim was the most daunting. 1400 people going off at one time, it was farther off the coast that I thought, and it was more of a contact sport that I thought. Amazing really. I loved the race, and I kept telling myself that you have to start somewhere. Now I know I must improve, and know where I need to concentrate. If I do more than just mostly walk, I can cut time there, and I should be able to improve the bike. Love the sport. Love the people and the experience of it all. Of course I want to get better, but even if I remain a BOPer I think I will still enjoy it all (the travel, the nerves, the whole thing).

Used to obsess about golf before the surgery and couldn't swing for about 16 months and discovered riding. Now I cannot believe I would spend 4-5 hours riding in a cart whacking a ball 85-90 times. Not that there is anything wrong with Golf, I just like this right now. I eat better and am SLOWLY, very slowly, remaking my body.

And, the equipment is way MORE fun (and more expensive) here.

Jagee

Thanks for sharing. Keep on trucking!

PerpetualMotion

Yes! I haven't moved up to a HIM yet, but am training for my first one in September. Thanks for your success story. And wow, what an accomplishment. I can't imagine what those surgeries must have been like.

Anyway, it's great to hear of other below-average overachievers ;-)

BigCat

I just did my first HIM, and I was pleased to just finish it. I was slow in everything, but so what? I finished it.

senatorw

Right on Brother. Way to go. Finishing IS an achievement.

Morrison

Hey, I'm doing my first HIM next weekend in Tupper Lake, NY. and am very nervous. I've trained hard I think, but have had a hard time making my body accomodate the training schedule (maybe overtrained?)

Anyway, your story is inspirational and has calmed me down a bit. Thanks so much!!

And good luck with the future endeavors.

senatorw

You will be fine. People advised me to enjoy the experience. It helps (of course, I was on the Big Island, and it was gorgeous). Write back and let us know how it goes. I just wanted to finish, which helped too (I'm used to getting passed all the time). Hope you're tapering a bit in this week before the race. Doesn't mean not working out, but shorter, high intensity workouts.

Good luck.

cjbruin

Big Cat...congrats!!!

Morrison...remember your nutrition...that will be your biggest key to getting to the finish line.

Morrison

cjbruin, good advice, too bad I didn't see it in time.

Overall, my tri went great. I was kind of slow out of the water, but that was my plan as I figured if I came out fresh it would be better for the bike and run.

Well, I came out fresh, but the bike killed me. Then I didn't drink nearly enough while on the bike. My run was brutal, but I'm generally a pretty competent runner, so I made up time there. However, due to dehydration, by the time I was done (and it did warm up significantly) I was cooked. Felt sick, couldn't eat or drink.

My wife had to drive me home, I sipped a little bit of water all the way. Once home I was able to put down significant quantities of gatorade. By 8pm I felt great.

Ok, so this sounds bad, but I love this thing and think I have learned a heck of a lot. Next year, train more serious on the bike. Practice drinking, eating on the run /bike. Maybe be a bit more aggressive on the swim.

The following day my body felt fine. My point being that this HIM takes a lot out of the entire system, but doesn't seem to beat up any one part. So it seems like a great motivator to work out througout the winter and get ready for summer fun, without damaging the old bod.

I have to say that the folks at work and in my neighborhood have been absolutely support of this great adventure. That was something I never saw coming.

Most of all it was humbeling to see people of such diverse ages and body types doing this thing. It's just a wonderful testament to life in the active lane.

haenous

Complete, don't necessarily Compete good job...finishing any tri is an admirable feat.

kuf

Good job. I did my first half less than 1 year after starting tri. Now, if only IM was that easy... I'm doing my second attempt next year, Coeur d'Alene.

cjbruin

Morrison...Awesome! Congrats!!! I totally screwed up my nutrition in my first Half and I learned a lot. You will be better next time. Enjoy your accomplishment.

Kuf...can't wait to read your race report from Coeur d'Alene!!!

kuf

The race is next June, so it'll be a long wait. But I'll post about my training here. (This is umd & my blog.)

gr8lksrungal

WOW...great job.

gervelo

Congratulations!!! Can't wait to my first HIM scheduled May 2009...