Just a quick note on the Spirit of Racine 1/2 Ironman.

Boy was it HOT!
They announced at the venue that it was 100 degrees and that the heat index was 117!!!

The swim was pretty choppy and against the current in Lake Michigan. Had a reasonable time in the water (well for me, that is). Then a long run up the beach to transition.
T1 was pretty quick. Got out on the bike feeling good.
The heat and winds came on pretty strong It was a large single loop course - so the majority of the time fighting cross and head winds. Fast bike course - some rolling hills. The roads were a bit rought tho. I was able to average 21.5 mph. Never have I seen so many guys flatted on the side of the road. I guess the hot road temperatures made the tires more prone to flatting?
Then the run - Arg! Not a lot of shade - very flat course, but just baking in the sun.
Made for a slow run. Started to cramp immediately on the run - but some sodium / electrolyte tablets and that was taken care of.
I was happy to finish 20 minutes faster than my time last year - moved up from 700'th to a little over 200 in the overall rankings.
An incredible number of DNFs.
This race was really more mentally taxing. Just to push through and especially on the run to make sure hydrating properly etc.