Memorial Hermann Ironman 70.3 Texas - Triathlon1/2 Ironman

To be honest, the swim was a lot of fun. There was the pushing and colliding that is expected when you have so many people in the water. There were only two minor incidents that I wish wouldn't have happened.

First, I took a heel to my goggles around halfway through the swim. Thankfully, my goggles stayed in place and I didn't have any issues. It did cause me to swallow a WEE bit of water out of shock/surprise.

Second, I was struggling with my sighting because of the waves. At one point, I got excited because I had reached the second turn buoy and I was ready to turn towards shore. As I turned and swam, a lifeguard caught up to me and told me I was going the wrong way. I took a second to look at the course and realized I was only halfway through the long section of the swim. I'm glad to say I got back on track and finished strong.

If possible, I definitely need to work on my open water swimming in choppy waters. I think that is what really threw me for a loop.

Other than that, I was VERY happy with my swim time.

As I was running up the transition chute, I picked out who looked to be the strongest volunteers. They did a great job stripping the suit off. One of my heels got caught in the suit, but they had it off within 10 seconds.

Leaving transition was a little awkward. I hadn't had a chance to practice flying mounts, so I was wearing my shoes as I walked out of the crowded transition. Walking on the cleats was tricky, but not bad.

I'd like to practice flying mounts, but not sure if I can swing my legs over my water bottles (mounted behind my saddle).

The bike ride was a lot of fun. For the most part, the course was straight, flat and smooth. There were a couple areas with rougher pavement, but they were definitely in the minority.

Looking back, I wish I had pushed a little harder on the way back in. The tailwind was a huge asset that I feel I didn't take advantage of. Still, had I pushed harder, I may have had more issues on the run that I did... and there were a lot!

I became relaxed in my training leading up to race day, and I stopped pushing on my bike as much as I needed. I think I was simply missing my necessary base miles.

Next time, I need to stay consistent with my training!! Gotta build those miles!

T2 went really well. I could feel some tightness in my quads as I left for the "run." I ended up walking out of T2, as well as the first portion of the run.

I really REALLY *R*E*A*L*L*Y* struggled on the run. Normally during my training, I could maintain a 8:15 pace for 4-5 miles. From 5-8 miles, I would normally drop to around an 8:45 pace. But my lack of consistent training really cost me.

My quads began cramping several times throughout the course, forcing me to stop, stretch and walk. The crowd's encouragement was amazing, though, and it kept me going!! I continued slowly through the course... but I continued, and that was good enough for me!

Like I said in the bike section, I need to stay consistent with my training!! Gotta build those miles!

I finished and took some time to stretch. From there, we walked around Moody Gardens to loosen up my muscles. After a bit, I took in a quick massage and then headed to the medical tent for some ice.


I think the biggest factor in my poor run performance was my lack of quality miles. I just became too relaxed in my training.


One of the bummers after the race was in the vendor displays. After my wife finished her sprint on Saturday, she was able to go to a vendor that had some compression sleeves for her legs. She said the results were amazing and her legs didn't hurt after the race. I was hoping to do the same, but they had already packed up and left. I guess I went TOO slow on the run. :)