LongHorn Triathlon Festival - Half Iron - Triathlon1/2 Ironman

I started the course on the right hand side in the 3rd row or so. This was an excellent starting place as there was not much traffic. Swimming is my major weakness so I started behind TexasMPgal- Brittany, knowing that she is a strong swimmer. I would have liked to draft off her but she took off and I was in my own little world after the start. I drafted several times but then would pass them and move on to the next person. Several times there was nobody around. One of my goals was to push it harder in the swim. I know the difference would only be a minute or so but I knew that I could suck it up and do it. In fact, kept on thinking,-after this my upper body can rest so now is the time to go for it! I passed several blue caps after the first turn and was very happy about that. I stayed on track until after the 2nd turn when I kept on veering to the right. I saw the finish and could not believe that I was almost done. I swam right up to the very end because I saw people walking and they were not able to walk very fast. Looked down at my watch and was stunned. That immediately put a smile on my face. Yes, the course was at least 200 m short but even so it was a great swim for me.

Warm up in the water. I need that warmup. It always takes me 500 yards to get comfortable!

I got out of the water and started running up the hill. Fitz yelled "go Jenny, Bob is 6 minutes ahead of you!" Got into transition, went to row H, ran down the row and panicked. I could not find my bike. I decided to just get my wetsuit off, think!, then I had to actually look down at my arm to see what my number was to find my stuff. SERIOUSLY! Major time waster! Had to go under the bar to get to my stuff. Threw my wetsuit down, grabbed sunglasses, put on helmet and grabbed my bike. RAN out of transition. With all that confusion, I had the 2nd best transition in my AG.

Know exactly where my bike is and not panic!

I have this new love for the bike. A year ago when I started doing these tris, I fell everytime I rode. I absolutely hated it. Now, got a different bike and I have really love this part of the race. When I first got on the bike though, my HR was in the 180s. WAY too high, LT is 165. I felt good though so I knew that it would do down soon. There were tons of people in a clump that I just could not drop. Got to mile 5, put it in a low gear and I was ready for the sharp turn and the hill climb. I did get out of the saddle at the end then I saw Brittany and said hi. That was the beginning of the back and forth with her. It was awesome because I knew that she was a strong swimmer so I was happy that I caught up to her. But also I knew that she is strong on the bike so we would leapfrog the rest of the way. I love that...it helps me stay focused and not lose interest, make excuses or let my mind wonder. I saw FriscoBob at mile 8 and said hello to him. I came upon the water handouts and it was so crowded. I tried to get the water but it dropped. I was about to stop and the girl next to me gave me hers. Seriously - unbeleivable that she did that! (thank you!) I was going to have to stop because I was out of fluid. (Never go just aerobottle again -lesson learned!)
I had a great average for the first 20 miles and was constantly doing the math in my head of what I thought I could do. (thinking of all the bets we made at dinner) Around 20 miles, I was ready to get out of this crowded area so I pushed it for the next five miles or so. My speed was around 21 then I started to fade around mile 30. I always seem to not push as hard on rough roads too. I need to get over that. Around 40 or 45, I was starting to get energized again and I came upon a smooth surface. I pushed it and loved seeing 23-24mph for the next 5 miles and my hr was at 165. There was a tailwind and I took advantage of it. Around mile 50, I came upon a girl in my AG that dropped me back at mile 20. This gave me confidence to push it to the end. Brittany and I went back and forth, then I realized we were about to be at quadzilla and asked her if she was ready. She smoked it up that hill. I got up the hill and knew it was almost over. I felt like the bike portion went by so quick. Got my feet out of my shoes and was ready for the dismount.
Food intake: - 4 GUs, 1 bottle Gatorade, 4- endurolytes, 2 - bottles of water

Have another bottle of water.

Dismounted off the bike and ran to the rack. Reset my Garmin as I was running and undid my helmet. Saw Brittany but don't think she heard me yell. I knew my feet had lots of dirt but it did not bother me on the bike so I was hoping that it would not affect my run. Put socks on, shoes did not go on smoothly but it was ok, grabbed hat, put electrolytes in pocket with a GU then took off. Got to the end of, the lane and had to run back to get my Garmin. I NEED MY GARMIN! That probably costs me 15 seconds.

Need to work on T2. Always slower than I would like it to be. 14th in AG. Racing flats were hard to get on and forgot Garmin.

I know how my body works and so my goal for the run was to start strong and probably fade latter. That is exactly what happened. I always feel great for the start and the run seems very efficient but that changes in the last lap. I caught Brittany and said good job, slapped the hands of disco volunteers directing us to the energy lab, saw Todd and Robin running together, who looked very strong, and I was just so happy to be out there on the last leg of a HIM. I could not believe how great I felt, I knew that this was not going to last but I was just so happy. Took a Gu at mile 3, drank lots of water, LOVED the cold towels and tucked one in my shirt, always had 2 sponges in my hands and constantly wiped my face. I saw Todd and yelled to him that he looked great and yelled back that he felt like sh--. I was concerned because I did not know what was wrong or if he was on his 1st or 2nd lap. Got to the downhill part of quadzilla and the guy next to me said, "this is an awesome downhill." I told him, "just wait." He later yelled "go girl, run up that hill," which motivated me.

I saw Pat at the start of the second lap and he cheered me on. This lap was very crowded which again motivated me to try to stay strong. My container of electrolytes slipped out of my pocket and my 2nd Gu was gone too. I was still feeling decent and started drinking more gatorade so I would not cramp. Did have several calf cramps but it went away. My pace had slowed by about 30 -45 seconds on my second loop but I was still hoping to meet my goal of 1:45 of the run. I yelled to ZiaCyclist and he put his arms up and looked liked he was having a blast. Saw Robin solo and she yelled that FastToad was cramping. FastToad and TeeCris looked good but they both had quad cramping. Caught up to both of them and they both were so encouraging, motivating me to try to pick up the pace. It did go through my mind at mile 10, that if I picked up the pace and did a 22 minute 5k that I could break 5 hours. Thst is doable but then remembered quadzilla and said forget it. Saw the electrolytes on the ground that I dropped 6 miles ago, stopped, but decided I was not going to bend down to pick them up. HAHA! Made it up quadzilla and knew that I was on the home stretch. Got to the sign where you either started lap 2 or finished and I kinda got teary. I got to the finishers chute, heard Pat yelling, and took it all in. I had the whole chute to myself and I was overcome with emotion! What an experience!

Hold on to the electrolytes.

Hung out with Robin and Pat, got ice for my knee, cheered for Todd (Fast Toad or Ordinary Athlete) and Todd (teeCris) and Bob and took some pictures! I walked around a lot so I would not cramp up and then we got something to drink. Congratulated Brittany and saw many BTers hanging out! Checked out the results and waited around for the awards. (thanks Todd, Pat and Buehler for the whip of waiting around)

I got a Clearwater Spot for November 2009!


More practice on the swim!


This was an incredible race with lots of talented athletes! Keith put on a top notch 70.3 and I was impressed with it!