LongHorn Triathlon Festival - Half Iron - Triathlon1/2 Ironman

Definitely not my strong event! I've never actually swam this distance straight, I've come close in the ocean but not quite. It seemed very long. This was my first 70.3 and not knowing what the rest of the race would bring I definitely held back during the swim, not that my pace would have been blistering otherwise, but still better. Sighting went much better in this race than in previous races.

Continue to work on stroke improvement, as well as speed an endurance. I can swim under 2:00's in the pool, it would be great to start doing that past 100m!

Definitely took my time here, I wanted to get a gel down before starting the bike. Realized my bike computer wasn't working (poor pre race checks on my part!) First 70.3, I didn't feel a need to rush through transitions.

Pick up my pace some, get in and get out.

I was without a bike computer or my Garmin for the bike and was therefore completely clueless on my speed. I possibly pushed too hard on the bike, but even had I slowed down an mph I don't know that my run would have turned out significantly different. I stayed in aero a lot more than I typically do which was why my lower back was killing me the last 1/3 of the course. I'm looking forward to doing one of these races on my new bike once it is built. Had a bunch of other annoying things happen, my bottle cage broke (cheap aluminum), and the foam portion of the aero bottle cap came off while refilling, splashing me with delicious Gatorade Endurance!

Not screw up my Garmin and check my bike computer before setting off! Replace all my bottle cages and check everything that can be tightened down before the race!

Could have been faster here, again my first 70.3 and was just trying to take my time. I always over think T2, thinking I'm forgetting something! Wasted too much time at the sunscreen station! :P

Go faster, have my confidence that my legs won't freak out in T2.

This was the scariest part of the race for me, my best event but it was the biggest question mark for me. I skipped the Olympic distance event and honestly in my training I never had a bike/run brick where the run was any longer than 30 minutes. After the first loop my legs were heading towards a cramp, I had no idea how much I needed to take in nutritionally, if I had taken in enough to get me through, if I was already behind and wouldn't make it, if I could keep up. I really started to doubt my ability to finish without my legs blowing up. I found a cycle of taking in gels (only partials), chews, Gatorade on each lap that kept me going. I also didn't realize how crucial cooling myself would be, but learned quick and was able to manage that. Had the finish been .5 miles further away I'm convinced both legs were going to cramp, I felt like I was riding the line that close. I don't know if that is normal or not however, my guess is no!! Pace wise I wasn't thrilled with my run, but considering everything I did prior to the run I shouldn't be so down. In August I ran a straight half marathon in 1:36 (with cramping I might add), I was only 7 minutes slower here and put in 57.2 miles beforehand!!

Longer bike/run bricks in the future, understanding the nutritional aspect of the bike/run better. Honestly, having faced this situation psychologically I think I'm better prepared already for next time. I can do it!

No real warm-down save for some brief stretching and walking around to collect items at T2 and bags.


My swim will continue to bother me, I look forward to working on it during the winter. My lack of experience at this distance definitely hurt me, I enjoyed the training for this event, but I don't think I really thought through the race effectively. I decided to do this event on 3 months notice, pretty short for only my 2nd season of triathlons and never having done an Olympic distance.


A very awesome experience for my first 70.3. Thank you Austin, Ironman and my friend Tanya for hosting me!