By Tom Schwartzkopf
Everyone loves good pictures of a tough race. This is the Prairie Man Half Iron race at Joe Poole Lake in Grand Prairie Texas. This was my toughest race this year in both distance and overcoming adversity. The word of the day today was "adapt". It rained all day and night before the race. The rain never let up during the day but that made for cool temperatures.
Here I am coming in after completing the 1.2 mile swim.
The waves were tough to overcome and made navigation difficult. My plan was to relax and enjoy the swim. I did have fun but the waves, wind and current conditions made the swim difficult. A few swimmers were brought in by boat due to the tough conditions.
Look at the fat guy.
I missed the swim exit by a few yards and had to run back to the water exit point. It was another lonely exit for me as few people wanted to stay out in the rain waiting for everyone to come in.
Here I am coming in after completing the 1.2 mile swim.
The waves were tough to overcome and made navigation difficult. My plan was to relax and enjoy the swim. I did have fun but the waves, wind and current conditions made the swim difficult. A few swimmers were brought in by boat due to the tough conditions.Look at the fat guy.
I missed the swim exit by a few yards and had to run back to the water exit point. It was another lonely exit for me as few people wanted to stay out in the rain waiting for everyone to come in.
I can't help but look back and see how I fared with my competition. I did well on the swim and came out of the water in first place.
Here I am exiting the transition area prior to the bike ride.
As you can see, the rain is coming down pretty hard. The roads were slick and slowed everyone down. The bike course was shortened from 56 miles to 42 miles. I did have a setback on the bike by falling down on the course. I'm ok but my bike is still in the shop.
This is me in the center of the photo at mile 2 on the run. The rain made it nice and cool for a long run.
The only real draw-back to all this rain is running in wet shoes.
I finished the 13.1 mile run averaging 9:41 per mile. Not my best but I was able to keep the pace for the entire run. My goals for the race were to finish without stopping to rest and to validate a nutrition plan.
Another long race under my belt. I was feeling good but also tired. My final time was 4:51:49. This is my last race before heading to Arizona in November. Ironman Arizona is twice as long as this race and is truly an endurance event. As always, my goals are to finish the race without stopping and having fun. For me, these are personal challenges but I also enjoy the friendly competition I have with the many friends I have in this sport. I will keep you posted on my progress. Ironman Arizona will take place on November 22nd.
Here I am exiting the transition area prior to the bike ride.
As you can see, the rain is coming down pretty hard. The roads were slick and slowed everyone down. The bike course was shortened from 56 miles to 42 miles. I did have a setback on the bike by falling down on the course. I'm ok but my bike is still in the shop.
This is me in the center of the photo at mile 2 on the run. The rain made it nice and cool for a long run.The only real draw-back to all this rain is running in wet shoes.
I finished the 13.1 mile run averaging 9:41 per mile. Not my best but I was able to keep the pace for the entire run. My goals for the race were to finish without stopping to rest and to validate a nutrition plan.
Another long race under my belt. I was feeling good but also tired. My final time was 4:51:49. This is my last race before heading to Arizona in November. Ironman Arizona is twice as long as this race and is truly an endurance event. As always, my goals are to finish the race without stopping and having fun. For me, these are personal challenges but I also enjoy the friendly competition I have with the many friends I have in this sport. I will keep you posted on my progress. Ironman Arizona will take place on November 22nd.
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