Beach 2 Battleship Half and Full Triathlon

Yesterday was the Beach 2 Battleship Half and Full Triathlon. This was an inaugural event in Wilmington, NC. The triathlon community is very large and active in North Carolina, and there has been a demand for a full distance event (aka Ironman, but that is trademarked) for a long time (2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike and 26.2 mile run). An ironman competition has been a goal for Erik for several years, but it is hard to get a slot in these races since there aren’t lots of them and the competition is so fierce that they often close out registration within an hour of opening! So when this event was announced early in the year, Erik jumped on it and talked me into coming along since they also offered a half distance race as part of the event (1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike, and 13.1 mile run).

Training for either of these events takes months of dedication on the athlete’s part and Erik was focused and well prepared. I wasn’t quite as ready as I should have been due to my foot problems this year, but was fairly confident that I could muddle through. During the last few weeks, we finished our “build” period of training and worked hard at the recommended “taper”, which was hard for Erik and too much like my regular regime for me. We had to figure out what clothing and equipment to bring, which is harder than it sounds but since it was a Nov. 1 race, we had to be prepared for all types of weather. Think about what is required in equipment: warm up clothing, swim goggles, wetsuit, bicycles, cycling shoes, helmet, gloves, running shoes, sunglasses, hats, arm warmers, cycling shorts, running shorts, nutition, well, you get the idea! So we pulled it all together and headed to Wilmington Friday morning to check in and be ready to be at the race site by 5:30 am Sat.

The most daunting part of the race for me this time was the swim, because of the cold weather. Erik had to be in the water at 7 am for the full distance. We half distance racers got some small break and didn’t have to swim until 8:30. But the air temperature was low to mid 40’s and IMHO, the water wasn’t much warmer. Even with the wetsuit, it was enough to take your breath away it was so cold. And that was after standing around outside waiting for 3 ½ hours! My teeth were chattering before I even got a toe wet. The good part was they timed the swim to take place as the tide came in (It took place at Wrightsville Beach in the Intracoastal Waterway), so the swim times were very fast (the fastest full distance guy did 2.4 miles in 39 minutes!). I managed to have a decent swim, but it took quite awhile to warm back up as I biked.

The day (after the sun came up) was picture perfect for racing: sunny, cool, minimal wind. I had a good bike segment but tried to conserve some energy for the run, which is always torture for me. And I hadn’t been able to properly build for a 13.1 mile run since I only started running again a few months ago. But I actually had a tolerable run and felt good 7 miles into the 13. Then I faded but was able to keep up a steady jog, with a little walking at the food stations (which were every mile and very nicely done).

I completed the race in 6 hours, 44 minutes which pleased me since my goal was to get in under 7 hours. I pulled out first place in my age group (I think out of 4, but they haven’t posted all the results yet).

Erik will tell you his own story, but I’ll simply report that he had a fantastic race and finished in 11 hours and 52 minutes, a real accomplishment for a first iron distance race.