Rev 3 Half Ironman Knoxville

May 11th marked the second year for the Rev 3 Half Ironman in Knoxville, TN.

Race morning was unseasonably cold. It was a dreary overcast day with temperatures hanging around the high 40's. I lined up for this race in my full sleeved wetsuit and swam the chilly waters of the Tennessee River. This swim was going to be ugly since I hate cold water and my swim fitness was lacking. I literally swam 3-4 times in preparation for the race. If you are a triathlete.... you can understand that this is not advisable for a half ironman distance race!

Somehow... I finally made it out of the chilly waters and managed to jog back to transition and get on the bike. The air temperature was cold.... so I took the extra time to put on socks and arm warmers. After all... this was simply a training race to get me geared up for Ironman Coeur d'Alene in June. The bike went about like I figured and I was able to post a decent bike split.

On the run it took me a while to feel the bottoms of my feet. They must have gotten cold from the bike. After about 3-4 miles of running... there wasn't an issue anymore. I enjoyed the run course and was happy to see some hills. Running on flat surface gets incredibly boring for me. Before I knew it... I was back around and passing the transition area and headed for the finish line at the World's Fair Park.

A great day of training on the books... even if it wasn't running in the woods!