LongHorn Triathlon Festival - Half Iron - Triathlon1/2 Ironman

Determined not to repeat past mistakes, I was going to try to go out quick and try to find some clean water and get into a decent rythm. With the Clydes going off with the 20-24 year olds, this was a lot like watching "midget toss". I swear I saw a kid fly through the air as I struggled to find some water to swim in amidst the sea of humanity. It got way congested real fast. I've never seen so much grabbing and punching at a swim start. I finally broke away and had a rather uneventful swim after that. I kept having to correct back to the left so I'm sure I swam and extra 200 or so. Ran back into traffic as we caught the previous wave. Finished in pretty good shape and not too gassed.

I don't know. Hang back and try to pick my way through or start wide and try to avoid the pack?

I skipped the strippers after watching the pros do it. Since we had to repack the bag, I decided to go ahead and stop once rather than twice. The T1 time wasn't great, but it was a long run and a lot to do, so overall I think it was OK.

not dawdle around with the gear as much.

I felt very strong starting off. Everything was going better than planned, averaging 21.7 mph until the rear tire went flat at mile 48. I spun the tire and didn't see any obvious damage so, with only 8 miles to go, I took a chance that it was a slow leak or valve stem issue and aired it back up. Didn't hear any leak, so I took off again, but within 10 minutes, I was back on the rim, so stopped to do it right. Don't know how much time I lost as the watch decided to reset itself several times during the day. I must have jacked up my sensor for my bike computer when fixing the flat, so I rode in the rest of the way without cadence or mph. On top of all that, we were in the midst of the stretch of road where there was not a dedicated bike lane so it was difficult to push much here with cars/bikes pretty much in stop and go mode until we got back out near 130.

don't have flats?

Ran to the wrong side of the rack. Fortunately, there was a gap nearby so I dragged the bike under and hung it up right. I opened my bag to find that my lucky Hempstead honeybear jar had opened itself up and spread its contents all over my towel and other stuff. The socks and shoes were good, but I wasn't about to try to wipe my glasses or face with that, nor pick the bottle up and shoot some honey as planned. Pulled on the socks and shoes and trudged out the gate.

I'm gonna miss that ole' honeybear...

This was about all I had left at this point and it started to get hot. I think I lost my edge with the flats on the bike, plus I was only going off of clock time in my quest to get under 6 hours for the race. Made a point of walking the aid stations to make sure I got some fluid in me as I knew I didn't drink enough on the bike. It worked out, though the time was not swift, I didn't cramp and didn't have to walk.

learn how to pace better for longer races so I know what I have left.

After standing around the arena for a few minutes, I began to get dizzy, so went back outside for some fresh air and food and perked right up.


It was a dang good day and could have been better with a little luck. I'm happy!


Great race, great volunteers! thanks!