Redman Half Iron Distance-FINALLY

There aren't many pictures since it was raining and both Tim and I were racing and the people who took the race pix have them protected, so I can't copy them over. Wouldn't matter. THEY ARE AWFUL!!! I take awful pictures!

As you may have read, Tim's back was wrenched and he wasn't even sure he'd be able to race. Well, he raced and I didn't get my chance to beat him. LOL! We got up around 4:45a and travelled the 2 whole miles to the race, found a sweet parking spot, unloaded our garb and walked to transition to get everything set up. Should have brought my headlamp because transition was dark and the lights they set up weren't wide spread enough.

After we got set up we felt a few sprinkles. Sprinkles, NO PROBLEM. A few sprinkles turned into a downpour turned into a flood.

Pretty red clay!!! NOT!!!! Everything I had was soaked and red. My transition spot was in the middle of a river. I SO wanted the officials to cancel the race. Not only because my training sucked, but I just wasn't into the race. Instead, they postponed one hour then rushed us all through the start like cattle being prodded and I swear the start had to look like a fish hatchery even though we started in waves. The waves were only 1 minute apart instead of 3-5. YIKES! OK, maybe they weren't that close to together, but it sure seemed like it. Just as I got into the water they were blowing the GO whistle. Seriously, I had no time to pee. The funniest part of this swim is that the first half you can practically walk. The water is so shallow that people were actually running in the water instead of swimming. I'll admit, I was one of those for a few minutes because I was trying to pee.

The Start:

The swim wasn't that bad. I swam faster than I had at IMKS, so I was happy about that. What's the big deal about swimming in the rain? You're getting wet anyway. right? Into the T1 I went, feet covered in red mud with nothing dry to wipe them on, got myself on the bike and out on the course. Half a mile in I had to pee. Yes, PEE. I didn't get it all out in the water. DAMN! Here's a little tidbit and maybe a little TMI, but cyclist, pee on their bikes. That's right, they don't get off to stop at the potty the just let it fly going 20+ mph (or less in my case). Not fun being the person behind the person peeing. I know what you're thinking, April let it go on the bike. NOPE! Couldn't do it. Tried and tried again and again. Even saved some water in the water bottle to wash off when I did, but NOPE, couldn't do it. 56 miles of chip and seal road, a mandatory dismount due to the road being flooded and you would have thought I could do it. Heck, it was even raining. What more does one need? Apparently, this girls needs more! The bike wasn't as fast I would have liked, in fact, I had almost the exact same time at Redman as I did at IMKS on an easier course. I guess rain does make a difference, for me.

Off the bike and into T2. The sun was starting to break through finally, so I wanted my hat and/or sunglasses. Quickly I decided that I would wear my visor instead since I don't like to run in either, but I needed something. Of course, I needed to find my sunglasses as well, so I squatted down at my transition river to pick up my visor and find my sunglasses. Squat was the wrong thing to do. That's right! The flood gates opened and I sat there next to my mud river making the waters rise with mellow yellow. I couldn't move! OMG the relief! T2 was a little longer than it needed to be with, but off I went on the run.

Here is where I should have paid more attention to the meetings before the race. The run was two, 2 loops, not one. That was a bit of a downer. Thankfully I realized it pretty early, so I could be pissed, process then accept. Really, the run was very uneventful. Yes, there were small lakes that we had to run through, seriously, up over our ankles, but I turned in a pretty good run time. It was better than IMKS, but I knew it would be. I knew I could run faster than I did at IMKS. I still know I can run faster than this race, maybe next time. My stats weren't that good, but it was the HalfMax Championships for half iron distance, so I knew they wouldn't be, plus, it was only my 2nd half iron distance race.

Overall Place 432/574
Division Place 22/28
Gender Place 98/152
Swim 39:19
T1 3:02
Bike 3:14:29 (17.3mph)
T2 3:36
1st 10k 1:04:42
2nd 10k 1:07:47
Run 2:12:29
TOTAL 6:12:56